Lucci clutched his chest and stood up from the ground, his mouth faintly still stained with blood.
The Zoan-type physique allowed him to withstand the kick without losing consciousness.
The fight could go on, but...
The leopard form he transformed into now receded, turning back into a normal human form.
The gap was too great.
This guy was using the same Six Styles, with no extra strange moves, but whether in terms of strength or mastery of the Six Styles, he far surpassed them.
Lucci wasn't someone who would persist blindly; on the contrary, as a Special Agent, assessing the situation and measuring the gap between both sides was a better way to complete the mission.
The entire CP9 team wasn't a match for this guy.
And seeing how relaxed he was, it was clear he hadn't used his full strength, yet on their side, they had already used their Secret Technique from the start, but forget hurting him, they couldn't even force him back.
Continuing the fight was meaningless.
"Alright, let's go."
Sage waved his hand, not bothering with these guys, and walked towards the main gate as if he were returning to his own home.
In his eyes, CP9's strength was just so-so.
Lucci was decent; though he stopped fighting after taking one hit, in terms of strength, he wasn't that weak. Overall, he surpassed the Vice Admirals he'd encountered and was even close to Moriah's level, though certainly weaker.
It was simply because he used body techniques.
In power, skill, and speed, Sage comprehensively surpassed them, and such a surpassing was essentially a crushing.
The remaining CP9 members, after lying on the ground for a while, also silently got up and followed behind Sage.
With CP9 following, when Sage entered the main gate, those Navy and World Government officials only watched and didn't step forward to stop, seemingly thinking that this heavily wanted criminal with a six billion bounty had been caught by CP9.
Enies Lobby, a total of three gates.
The foremost front gate, after passing it, was a passage. On the left and right of the passage, one could see the bottomless circular waterfall surrounding the island. Ahead was the main island connected by numerous buildings, which also had a large gate.
"It's still night now; the two Giants guarding here should be sleeping, chababa."
Seeing no Giants guarding the gate, Owl bounced around, unable to contain himself as he wanted to expose this information.
After passing the main island gate and entering the town, they had walked about halfway when Jabra began looking around, raising his hand to his forehead and looking around, "Catherine, is my Catherine here? Today, I must confess to her!"
Owl raised an eyebrow at his words and quietly followed behind Jabra, his footsteps becoming silent, as if deliberately suppressing them.
Just like his title 'Otonashi', silent.
"Owl, what are you doing?"
But his movement was too apparent, making Jabra ask in confusion.
"I'm going to quietly follow you to see if you succeed. If it becomes a secret, I'll know the secret, chababa," Owl said straightforwardly.
Becoming a secret, obviously, meant the confession failed.
If it failed, then it could be disclosed!
"You rascal!"
No need for Owl to elaborate; Jabra understood what he intended to do and hurriedly walked over and stomped on him, grabbing his zippered mouth, pulling and tugging it like kneading dough.
"I will definitely not fail! Catherine surely loves me! Also, what is this zipper on your mouth for, keeping things secret, secret!"
It was precisely because things weren't kept secret that led to the current situation.
Otherwise, they would have returned to Enies Lobby by now, and he would have confessed to Catherine long ago, yet they ended up on Sage's ship, leading to the current situation.
Jabra ultimately did not get to meet his beloved Catherine; as they walked past the town, they reached the Judicial Court, a place used specifically for judging and convicting criminals on Enies Lobby.
And behind this door, one could see the Enis Tower, not connected to the main island, with a broken section. Behind that high tower was a gate larger than the island, looming on the sea surface, with the emblem of the World Government.
"That's..." Sage asked.
"The Gate of Justice, chababa."
Owl, whose zipper was recently tightened by Jabra, secretly unzipped it halfway and said, "After trial on Enies Lobby, they'll be sent through the Enis Tower, then taken by ships transporting prisoners through the Gate of Justice to be held at Impel Down."
"Quite the process."
Sage chuckled, "If I were to be convicted, what would the verdict be? Death sentence?"
"Death sentences are rare, chababa."
Owl said, "As a captain, you would definitely be sent to the sixth level and imprisoned forever."
"Hey!"
Jabra again grabbed Owl's face, "Don't disclose everything!"
"Not killing a major criminal like me... well, it's true that few people die in this vast sea."
Sage shook his head with a smile, "So I said, you guys really are like prostitutes still wanting to have a reputation, insisting on calling yourself an entertainment queen or something."
"It's human rights," Kaku said. "The just World Government respects everyone's human rights, hence Enies Lobby."
"So that's why there's CP9 like you?" Sage glanced at him, his tone mocking.
He didn't know about others, but he could see through Rob Lucci that, although there was some justice in his heart, it was more for 'legitimate killing'.
Out on the vast sea, even the Navy usually doesn't kill easily after defeating someone, except in the chaos of battle.
The only ones who kill without hesitation are these CP9 agents lurking in the shadows.
But here's the contradiction.
If the end result is to kill, why make it so complicated?
"So if I get caught, I won't die? Then I'm just going to be locked up for sentencing? Well, thanks to the World Government, I, a pirate, actually won't die... Thank you!"
Sage sneered, "I say it's all bullshit! It's more convincing to just tell me 'we call it hard to kill, so we might as well capture you.'"
Who doesn't know the infamous name of the Heavenly Celestial Dragons.
The kind of conduct in the Bridge Kingdom, how could Sage not know, when he gathered his men from there?
Human rights?
What does CP9 do?
It's the exact opposite of 'thank you,' it's all 'bullshit!'
"You might as well speak straightforwardly; at least that would earn some respect from me!"
Sage spread his arms and grinned menacingly, "What's wrong with slavery? What's wrong with exploitation? What's wrong with not treating people like people? The original accumulation of capital is inherently ugly, and wanting to enjoy privileges and then exploit others is something everyone does! What's there to hide?"
"Admit it openly, proclaim to the world, this is what the World Government is like, and if you're not convinced, overthrow it if you dare!"
"Opinions of affiliated countries? Do you think those nations care about such things? They only care about ruling, and as long as slavery and the Heavenly Celestial Dragons don't hinder their rule, it doesn't matter. Just say it outright, and things would be simpler; all this shenanigans, who are we putting on a show for?"
He pointed his hand at CP9, "For you?"
Then pointed to himself, "Or for me?"
Sage had plundered many countries, met good kings like Cobra, and saw cowards, who were the majority.
Or rather, he's only seen one Cobra who was decent, along with his daughter, because they didn't have much money to plunder.
In other kingdoms, every time he walked away with riches, even in Anu Country, it was because of battle that the foolish king melted the gold. Otherwise, he could still have seized significant wealth.
Money doesn't appear out of thin air, even if Sage robs, he relies on force.
Having seen so much, Sage understood that affiliated or not, it's all the same.
No human rights in unaffiliated countries?
No problem, even the kings of unaffiliated countries don't treat their citizens as people.
There's essentially no difference.
The poor and weak will always be poor and weak, regardless of whether in affiliated or unaffiliated countries.
So...
Why make it so complicated?
Neither killing nor human rights, it's like...
Sage stared through the giant Gate of Justice, fixating on the World Government's emblem, as if seeing beyond it to the distant Red Earth Continent.
"Rats!"
Sage laughed heartily, "Just like rats! That symbol is like a network of rat holes, hidden cautiously in the shadows, not wanting to be discovered."
"But a gutter rat can't see the light, and when it does, it flees. It would be better to come out openly from the rat hole, show your ugly form, and maybe it would incite fear!"
"Once I have my own turf, and you come to work for me, I'll let you experience what it feels like to live under the sun!"
"No need to hide in the dark to kill, if you want to rule, do it openly, expose everything to the world, don't care about anything, because as long as you're strong enough, there'll be people to whitewash you! Ha ha ha, whoa ha ha ha!"
His laughter seemed to pierce through the confines of the Judicial Court, reaching the towering Enis Tower ahead, as if mocking everything done under that flag.
What's wrong with exploitation?
It's something unavoidable!
Ruling inherently involves exploitation; not only humans but everything in the world can't escape it, even plants with roots that compete for nutrients in the soil.
But this isn't necessarily a bad thing!
When Sage needs to give, he'll still give; when it's time to kill, he'll still kill.
He doesn't like being a rat, but sitting supreme like a dragon on the mountain, that's something he can do.
Watching Sage's wild laughter, each member of CP9 stood frozen, even Lucci felt a chill in his heart at this moment.
He couldn't pinpoint what was different, but there was an odd feeling, an inexplicable sense of fear...
He couldn't articulate it, but at this moment, Sage before him felt like he was detaching from human form, as if the monster from his heart was about to be unleashed!
"Alright! Go find your idiot superior and start the plan!"
Finished laughing, Sage strode towards the doors of the Judicial Court, showing not an ounce of fear for a place that claims to judge all sins in the world.
Judge him?
He hadn't lost!
If he lost, then he'd be judged!
Winning, now who judges whom, that's still uncertain.