When Finn followed the old man into the Welfare Home, he happened to see a member of the CP agencies talking to the kid Lucci in a courtyard.
What surprised Finn was that he knew this CP agency member!
The famous Stussy!
Stussy appeared to be in her twenties—beautiful, poised, and slightly seductive, the kind of woman who wielded elegance as a weapon.
At this point in time, she hadn't yet risen to the position of Queen of Pleasure Street, since the CP agency restructuring plan hadn't begun.
But her origins were far stranger than anyone outside the Government could imagine.
She was not merely human. Stussy was the first successful human clone ever created by MADS, modeled after Miss Buckingham Stussy, a former member of the Rocks Pirates.
Her youthful appearance and flawless complexion were products of perfect genetic engineering, not time.
It was said that the original Buckingham Stussy had once worked with the World Government under secret arrangements, selling her expertise to science divisions that would later evolve into MADS.
Another thought came to Finn, if it weren't for that festival in the giant country of Elbaf, if Charlotte Linlin hadn't eaten too little, gone crazy with hunger, and killed the Carmel... Maybe Charlotte Linlin would now be a Vice Admiral or Admiral in the Marines, and he'd have to call her "senior" or something.
What a pity.
As if hearing footsteps, Stussy turned to look at Finn with some surprise in her eyes.
The Marines had always been at odds with the CP agencies. Even if they met, there was no need and they wouldn't greet each other. But now it seemed they were coming for her.
Simultaneously, the Marines rarely came to the Welfare Home to recruit personnel. What was happening today?
Finn walked forward. Just as the old man was about to speak, he waved his hand to interrupt and said directly, "Rear Admiral Rodriguez Finn of Marine Headquarters."
Stussy frowned slightly, wondering what the Marines were up to.
But soon, she smiled, with a touch of charm in her expression. "CP-9 Commander, Stussy."
Finn was slightly surprised. He remembered the current commander of CP-9 should be Spandine.
That good-for-nothing Spandam's father.
After all, the O'Hara incident was handled by that guy Spandine.
But after a moment's thought, he accepted reality. The O'Hara incident was still a few years away. By then, Stussy might have been promoted to CP-0 and taken over establishing Pleasure Street.
Now she was CP-9's commander. Nothing surprising about that.
Thinking again, after the Enies Lobby incident, Lucci and other CP-9 members were all wanted by the World Government. However, two years later, they'd inexplicably switched and joined CP-0. Finn wouldn't believe there was no secret behind this.
Now looking at the scene before him, he had some guesses. Maybe there was some connection between Stussy and Lucci from this place. And in the future, when Lucci was in trouble, it was probably Stussy who'd lent a hand, helped them out because of past friendship, and absorbed them into CP-0?
In terms of administrative hierarchy, Stussy, as CP-9's commander, was higher in rank than Finn, equivalent to a Vice Admiral in Marine Headquarters.
However, Finn showed no intention of giving her face. He nodded. "Excuse me, this little brat named Rob Lucci has been recruited by the Marines. Miss Stussy, please show some respect."
Stussy frowned. "When did the Marines start requesting people from the Welfare Home?"
Finn smiled. "Miss Stussy, how forgetful of you. Did the Marines suddenly lose the right to pull recruits from the orphanage?"
"You..." Stussy was annoyed by Finn's retort. After a brief pause, she continued, "Everything should be based on first come, first served, right? Lucci has been spotted by CP-9 and is being taken back to be trained as a CP agency member. You Marines are late."
"Really now?" Finn stopped mid-step and glanced at the old man beside him. "Tell me…did they finish the transfer paperwork? The recruitment forms…are they signed?"
How could the old man dare get involved in this? He quickly shook his head. "Rear Admiral, not yet."
"Haha, Miss Stussy, you heard it too. The procedures and documents haven't been issued yet. Theoretically speaking, Lucci is still a member of the Welfare Home, so there's no such thing as first come, first served," Finn smiled, giving no face.
"What if I say no?" Stussy's tone grew slightly colder.
Finn reached out and tapped the longsword hanging at his waist. A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He said softly, "I'm here with orders from Headquarters. As a soldier, the mission is most important. No one can stop me from completing my mission!"
"You dare threaten me? From a mere Rear Admiral, no less?" Stussy's voice trembled with restrained fury.
Rodriguez Finn. She had no recollection of him.
Though CP-9 was also an intelligence agency, because the entire CP organization had always had a bad relationship with the Marines, it was difficult for them to obtain internal Marine intelligence.
Additionally, Finn really wasn't well-known. He'd only been on two field missions, and both were classified as top secret. After all, one was a chance encounter by the Marines, and the other involved the G-1 base destruction and the attack on the Fleet Admiral. Of course, such matters must be kept confidential. Even most people in the Marines only knew Finn was involved in these two missions but didn't know details, let alone the CP agencies.
So if you insisted, he was just a little famous as the 'Violent Tiger' in gossip and rumors, but it was obvious the CP agencies hadn't yet become bored enough to investigate Marine gossip.
So she didn't know much about him.
"I'm only stating a fact," Finn's eyes gradually turned cold.
As soon as he finished speaking, Stussy suddenly attacked. She stepped forward and rushed in front of Finn, her Shigan pointing directly at Finn's shoulder.
Finn wasn't surprised. The conflict between the CP agencies and Marines was huge. Occasional fights weren't surprising at all.
However, it was also clear Stussy had no intention of killing him. She just wanted to teach him a lesson. Otherwise, that Shigan would have aimed for his throat.
With a ding, Stussy's eyes showed some seriousness. At this moment, Finn reacted extremely quickly, raising Sōzai with its scabbard at his waist, using the scabbard to steadily block her Shigan.
And on the scabbard, there was a faint trace of Armament Haki.
"Miss Stussy, you must give me an explanation for attacking a Rear Admiral on a mission without any reason..." Finn said with a grin.
As the words fell, gravitational force was suddenly applied to Stussy. Her expression changed. She kicked off the ground and retreated backward, finally breaking free from the gravitational suppression.
Her eyes also became more serious.
"Who are you?" Stussy asked seriously.
"I've already said it. Rear Admiral Rodriguez Finn of Marine Headquarters," Finn repeated.
"I don't recall Marine Headquarters producing someone like you," Stussy said coldly.
"Probably because I joined after you stopped paying attention," Finn answered, voice even.
Simultaneously, Sōzai in his hand was slowly unsheathed. It was one of the twenty-one Great Grade Swords. The cold light brought by the unsheathing blade was murderous.
Stussy's hands were also wrapped with Haki.
In this situation, she wasn't only competing with Finn for personnel. She was also preparing to test how capable this Rear Admiral who'd suddenly appeared in the Marines was.
Was he really worth the CP's attention? If so, she'd make sure to remember this man.
As a Cipher Pol agent, it was her duty to monitor the movements of potential threats—especially former opponents.
The old man beside them froze, stunned. Were they actually about to fight?
Not daring to stay or intervene, he quickly scooped up the bewildered young Lucci and retreated to a safe distance.
"Hishigan!" Stussy growled.
She raised her hand and pointed at Finn.
Cold light flashed in Finn's hand. Sōzai cut the Hishigan in half with one slash.
"Rankyaku: Humming Blade!" Stussy didn't know what ability Finn had used to suppress her just now, so she didn't dare get close casually, only using long-range attacks to test him.
"Rankyaku: Hawk!" Seeing this, Finn raised his foot and kicked outward fiercely, launching a slash that blocked Stussy's Rankyaku in midair.
To be honest, he was a little hesitant to let loose. If he used too much force and destroyed the orphanage, that would be terrible.
"Miss Stussy, are you sure you want to fight me here?" Finn asked evenly.
The moment his words fell, the air around him began to change. His aura swelled, and the Devil Fruit power within his body stirred—an invisible force that made the gravel underfoot rise and drift, trembling in the weightless air.
Stussy's expression hardened. "You're not just any Rear Admiral, are you? If every officer of your rank were like this, the Marines would've already conquered the New World."
Finn smiled lightly. "Ah, I forgot to mention—I'm the Chief of the Sixth Officer Training Camp."
Stussy's heart sank. Sure enough, he was from the same group as those monsters like Sakazuki and Kuzan?
The Marines were really lucky. After a few years, they'd found such a person again!
But the more this was the case, the more she wanted to find out how powerful Finn was.
Therefore, Stussy's expression straightened. "You want to take Lucci away, and I want to take Lucci away too. In that case, why not have a match? Whoever wins gets that brat."
By speaking, she defined the incident as an "exchange and discussion." Otherwise, if the situation really got out of hand and couldn't be controlled, she'd definitely be the one to take the blame as the first person to attack.
Finn brushed off her words with a quiet smile. "Then I'll begin. Make sure the CP cleans up what's left."
As soon as he finished speaking, Finn swung Sōzai toward Stussy.
"Gravity Blade: Tiger Kill!" Finn growled.
The slash carried crushing gravity, tearing through the air with overwhelming force. Even the ground heaved upward in its wake, ripped apart by invisible weight.
Stussy hadn't expected him to be so ruthless. She quickly coated herself in Haki, crossing her arms before her to block the strike.
But unfortunately, the impact of this slash was too strong. It directly sent Stussy flying.
After rolling twice in the air and stabilizing her body with a few steps, Stussy looked at Finn in surprise, extremely shocked.
At this moment, the courtyard wall had been completely destroyed by one slash. There were only ruins.
Simultaneously, Finn raised Sōzai, pointing the blade's tip at Stussy in the air. "It's best not to fly in front of me, Miss Stussy."