"Who is it!"
Almost the instant that voice rang out, Onigumo and Momonga's faces darkened in unison. Both drew their swords in a flash, while the surrounding Marines raised their rifles in perfect formation, aiming toward the rooftop.
"Hey now, no need to get so tense, little ones."
A cold, slithering voice floated through the night. The ground suddenly split open as thick green vines burst up through the cracks in the bricks. From above, a figure descended gracefully along one of the vines, as if gliding down a natural staircase.
Paramecia-type… the Mori Mori no Mi (Forest-Forest Fruit)?
Nao's brow lifted slightly.
The others, seeing him clearly under the moonlight, could finally make out the newcomer's appearance.
He was a man in his early forties, wearing a spotless white suit. A rose was pinned to his chest, and his features were sharp yet effeminate. His expression carried a superior's calm arrogance—an aura that instantly marked him as someone accustomed to command.
"Lord Ray!"
The CP-0 agents' faces changed dramatically in an instant. Captain Wilson, in particular, turned pale and stammered, "You... You said you would wait for us at the secret base in the North Blue. Why..."
"Why am I here?"
The middle-aged man in the white suit, referred to as Lord Ray, gently sniffed the rose and smiled:
"Why, because I was so eager—so curious—to see for myself what this White City had become, after you 'righteous' men with consciences destroyed my carefully laid plans."
"Vice Admiral."
While the other was talking to Wilson, Momonga , with a grave expression, whispered closely into Nao's ear: "I've heard of this man. If I'm not mistaken, he's the Deputy Chief Director of CP-0."
Deputy Chief of CP-0?
Nao gave a subtle nod, glancing at the man thoughtfully.
So that would make him the third or fourth most powerful person in all of Cipher Pol.
After becoming a high-ranking Marine officer, some matters of the World Government were no longer secrets to him. He had vaguely heard rumors that in Mary Geoise, there were two powerful individuals whose strength was not inferior to that of Admirals.
One was known as the Strongest Spear of the Celestial Dragons, and the other was known as the Strongest Shield.
The Strongest Spear had always been mysterious, his identity unknown to the outside world. The Strongest Shield was the Chief of CP-0. Below him, there were two Deputy Chiefs.
This Lord Ray was one of them. Converted to the Marine system, his status was second only to the level of Kong and Sengoku.
As for strength...
"Very strong." Momonga murmured. "A few years ago, Vice Admiral Jack of G-4 clashed with him. They fought head-on, and Jack lost. He had no choice but to hand over his mission target."
Momonga wasn't just recounting facts—he was warning Nao. This man's rank and power both demanded extreme caution.
Clap, clap, clap.
Applause broke the tense silence. Momonga turned sharply to see Ray approaching with an easy smile.
"Well, well," Ray said smoothly, "for a mere Marine Rear Admiral, you certainly know a lot about me. Very good. I like sharp men—men who know their place, and speak politely."
Then his eyes shifted coldly toward Onigumo.
"Unlike some people… who seem to enjoy throwing around words like 'criminal' and sticking such hats on my head without a second thought."
Whoosh!
A faint green gleam flashed in Ray's eyes. In an instant, several vine tendrils as thick as giant pythons erupted from beneath his feet, whipping toward Onigumo.
Caught off guard, Onigumo had no time to react—until a blinding surge of white lightning flashed before his eyes.
In the blink of an eye, every vine was reduced to ash, scattering into the moonlit air like dust.
"You bastard!"
Onigumo snapped out of his shock, face twisting with fury. He reached for his sword—only for Nao to step forward and place a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Vice Admiral!"
Onigumo was both furious and confused, staring at Nao with wide eyes. The look he gave clearly said it all—
This guy… he's the one who gave that secret order to Engel, isn't he?
The tragedy of White City was deeply tied to this man as well—
and now, after all that, he even dared to attack?
How could the Vice Admiral still be speaking to him so politely?
Shouldn't he be tearing off the mask right now and settling the score?
But Nao only smiled faintly and said,
"My subordinate spoke rashly—just a careless comment, nothing more. A few words of rebuke would've been enough, don't you think? Resorting to violence seems… rather inappropriate."
"Violence?"
Ray let out a low chuckle. "Vice Admiral Nao, you misunderstand. In front of someone as famous as you, how could I ever have the courage to truly attack?"
He glanced at the pile of vine ash on the ground, then lifted his gaze again—his smile polite, but his eyes sharp and mocking.
"What I did just now was hardly an attack—merely a little scare for the kid. And as for why I came here, it certainly wasn't to punish such trivial insolence."
"Oh?"
Nao's expression remained calm. "Then what brings you here, Lord Ray?"
"I already said," Ray replied lightly, "I came to see what Flevance looks like now."
His smile stayed, but there was something cold beneath it, something that made the air itself feel heavy.
"And I must say, it is rather surprising. Not only have all five nations' armies retreated, but even these surviving civilians—somehow you managed to cure them all. Quite the accomplishment, Vice Admiral Nao. Must have taken quite the effort, hm?"
"Now the civilians are happy. You're happy. Even this bunch of 'conscientious' failures…"
His gaze slid over to the silent CP-0 agents, who stood stiff and pale, before turning back to Nao with an almost cheerful tone.
"…they're happy too. But let me remind you of one thing, Vice Admiral Nao—when someone is happy, that means someone else certainly isn't."
"Oh?"
Nao raised an eyebrow, pretending to sound curious. "You mean to tell me… someone's unhappy? How odd. Don't tell me—it's you who's unhappy?"
"Come now, must you play dumb?"
Ray tucked the rose neatly back into his suit pocket and spoke in a voice soft as poison.
"You know perfectly well the mess you've caused. Flevance's fate was decided over a century ago—its destruction, its annexation by neighboring countries, the silencing of all witnesses. That was supposed to be its proper end.
"But you—
you chose to save them.
You dragged everything into the light, shamed the Holy Land, and humiliated the World Government before the eyes of the world."
Nao's eyes narrowed, though his tone stayed light and steady.
"I'm afraid you're giving me too much credit," he said with a faint smile. "The only ones capable of disgracing the World Government… are the World Government itself."
"Saying things like that won't do you any good, White Dragon."
Ray sneered, his tone dripping with mockery. "All you need to remember is this — my subordinates and I spent half a month working ourselves to the bone to barely clean up the mess. And because of your little stunt last night, all of that went completely to waste."
This bastard... calls refusing medical aid, secretly blocking the news that Amber Lead Disease isn't contagious, and instigating neighboring nations to besiege the city, "cleaning up the mess"?
Onigumo's face flushed red with anger. Even the normally calm and composed Momonga looked grim, while the young Marines nearby all clenched their teeth, glaring at Ray as though they might rush forward and beat him senseless at any moment.
Nao, however, showed no change in expression. He simply looked at Ray in silence.
"What's this? You don't seem very bothered," Ray said, raising an eyebrow. "Well, I suppose that makes sense. The Marine and our CP division have never exactly gotten along. A little hostility from me shouldn't surprise you."
"But…"
His smile slowly faded, his tone turning cold. "Don't forget, besides us, the people above are the ones who should be most annoyed."
"If the government manages to completely suppress the fallout from this incident, maybe it'll all blow over. But if rumors start spreading across the seas…"
He narrowed his eyes, the glint in them openly threatening — and tinged with schadenfreude.
"Trust me, White Dragon. Your days in the Marine are about to get very unpleasant."
With that, Ray didn't bother to look at Nao again. He adjusted his immaculate white suit and cast a cold glance at the trembling Wilson and the others.
"What are you still standing there for? It's time to go, you bunch of trash!"
Wilson and Shumi exchanged one last, helpless look with Nao, then sighed deeply and followed behind with lowered heads.
Ahead lay the street leading out of the city. Every agent's heart was heavy — they knew what awaited them. There was surely already a ship docked by the shore. Lord Ray rarely lost his temper in front of outsiders, which meant once they boarded, the real reckoning would begin.
However—
Just as they passed beneath a black streetlamp and were about to turn the corner, a calm, almost lazy voice drifted from behind them:
"Lord Ray, aren't you leaving a little too abruptly? Did you perhaps forget something?"
Wilson, Shumi , and the others froze in confusion. They looked up instinctively — and sure enough, the man in the white suit at the front had stopped in his tracks.
"Oh?"
Ray turned around slowly, squinting toward Nao, a faint smirk curling his lips. "Forget something?"
"That's right," Nao said cheerfully, pointing toward the square behind him where the citizens were gathered. "Since you're already here, shouldn't you bow to them and offer an apology before you go?"
"Bow? Apologize?"
Ray blinked, caught off guard — then burst out laughing as if he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world.
"Apologize?" he repeated between laughs. "White Dragon, have you been up all night to the point your brain's gone soft? Those filthy commoners should be grateful I haven't punished them further! And you expect the Deputy Chief of CP-0 to apologize to them? Can you even imagine such a scene? Tell me — does that sound even remotely appropriate to you?"
"Indeed."
To everyone's surprise, Nao nodded seriously. "You're right. It doesn't sound appropriate."
He paused for a moment.
"Just bowing isn't nearly enough."
Nao's voice remained calm as ever. "At the very least, you should be on your knees — knock your head to the ground five times… no, ten times. Hard enough for your forehead to turn red. Keep bowing until they've forgiven you, even if only a little."
The moment his words fell—
BZZT!
A brilliant surge of blue lightning shot skyward, soaring tens of meters high before suddenly splitting apart into countless threads of light. Those electric strands cascaded downward like a glowing net, closing in around Ray.
Crackle!
Everything happened in a flash. The CP-0 agents didn't even have time to react before their eyes widened in shock — the man standing just a few paces away, their superior, Ray, was now trapped like a prisoner inside a cage of thunder.
"Beautifully done, Vice Admiral!"
Onigumo couldn't hold back a cheer.
Damn — he should've realized sooner! There was no way the Vice Admiral would simply let this arrogant bastard strut away unscathed.
"Vice–"
Momonga, beside him, had been about to say something, but after glancing at Nao's calm profile and recalling what he'd witnessed earlier that day, he took a deep breath, pressed his lips together, and stayed silent.
"What do you think you're doing, White Dragon?!"
Inside the cage of lightning, Ray's expression shifted from disbelief to fury. He lunged forward, clutching the crackling "bars" before him, roaring—
"You dare lay a hand on me?! You've got some—AARGH!"
His words broke off into a piercing scream.
A surge of thunder burst from the barrier, scorching his palms black in an instant. The searing pain made Ray stumble back, his elegant features twisting into an ugly grimace.
"Damn you, White Dragon…"
Wracked with pain, the composed air of the CP-0 executive shattered completely. Bloodshot eyes blazing, he bellowed—
"You think you can trap me with this pathetic trick? Keep dreaming!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Countless massive vines erupted from the ground like a forest sprouting overnight, each one instantly coated in an obsidian sheen — Armament Haki.
A moment later, they lashed out wildly, crashing against the lightning cage like a torrential storm.
Crackle… SNAP! SNAP!
At first, the cage seemed to flicker under the assault, its glow dimming as though it might collapse at any second.
But ten seconds passed… twenty… a full minute.
The vines on the ground broke and disintegrated one after another, filling the air with the scent of ozone and smoke. Ray was drenched in sweat, gasping for breath — and yet, the cage around him still stood firm, unbroken, unchanged from the moment it appeared.