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Kalifa went to contact the World Government. After much thought, she ultimately chose to contact Spandam! There was no other way; cancelling a Kill Order required someone with significant influence within the World Government. Among the people Kalifa knew, only Spandam possessed that kind of power.
"Kalifa, how dare you, worthless agents, contact me?" Spandam's vicious voice came through the Transponder Snail.
Kalifa calmly adjusted her glasses and slowly said, "We have obtained concrete intelligence regarding the Pluton blueprints from Iceburg!"
"We can hand Iceburg over to the World Government, but in exchange, the World Government must cancel the Kill Order against all of us!"
Spandam was clearly taken aback for a moment, then sneered.
"You say you have intelligence just because you say so? You spent six years and found nothing. Now you tell me you have concrete intelligence? I don't believe it!"
Kalifa knew she had to offer compelling evidence to move this bastard, so she stated directly.
"We have confirmed that Franky of Water Seven is actually Tom's other apprentice, Cutty Flam! The Pluton blueprints are in his hands!"
"Given his relationship with Iceburg, as long as we have Iceburg, we can lure Franky out! The Pluton blueprints will naturally be within reach!"
"Oh? Are you that confident?" Spandam sounded surprised.
"Of course! Iceburg is like family to Franky; he will never ignore him!" Kalifa projected an air of certainty.
"Spandam, although you weren't punished this time, the destruction of Enies Lobby must have had some impact on you, right?"
"But if you can obtain the Pluton blueprints, all those missteps can be erased!"
Kalifa dangled an incredibly tempting bait.
Spandam fell silent for a long time.
"Fine! Hand Iceburg over to me, and I will find a way to cancel your Kill Order!" Kalifa was right. Although he had shifted the blame, as the highest-ranking official at Enies Lobby, his reputation was undoubtedly affected. Furthermore, it reduced the favor he held with the Five Elders. He needed to make amends as quickly as possible!
A look of joy immediately appeared on Kalifa's face.
"Good! It's a deal!" In truth, Kalifa wasn't completely certain, but at this point, she had to act confident, regardless!
Otherwise, what would they do about the Kill Order? If things didn't go smoothly, they could always figure something else out later!
Kalifa informed Lucci and the others of the good news, and their tightly wound nerves finally relaxed.
"Finally, that's taken care of. I've been so stressed these past few days!" Jabra slumped onto a sofa, looking completely exhausted.
Lucci shook his head.
"It's not time to relax yet! Let's take Iceburg now and wait for Spandam's people to arrive."
Kaku lifted the severely injured Iceburg, and the group headed toward the safe house.
All of this was observed by Auguro and his group from a nearby location.
"Lord Auguro, shouldn't we rescue Mr. Iceburg?" Robin asked, her eyes full of confusion.
"If they actually let Spandam take him, Lucci and the others might genuinely be reinstated into CP9!"
Auguro smiled faintly, saying meaningfully, "Robin, you still don't understand Spandam well enough!"
The intelligent Robin quickly caught on. "You mean Spandam will take Iceburg but won't re-accept Lucci and the others! He'll break the deal!"
Auguro nodded with satisfaction.
"In the eyes of a person like Spandam, promises mean nothing! All he cares about is whether he can get a promotion!"
"For him, these people, Lucci and the others, have always been insubordinate, and they saw Spandam at his most pathetic moment!"
"Given Spandam's nature, he will absolutely not allow these people to return to the World Government!"
"If my guess is correct, after handing over Iceburg this time, Lucci and his crew will be ambushed!"
Spandam could never accept a group of subordinates who were already disobedient, yet managed to achieve a greater merit than himself. True to his character, he would not only kill Lucci's entire crew but also claim the merit for himself!
The reality was exactly as Auguro predicted. In a certain World Government facility, Spandam met with his father.
"Father, Lucci and his crew found the whereabouts of the Pluton blueprints!"
Spandine glanced at him, saying faintly, "What do you intend to do?"
A look of frenzy immediately crossed Spandam's eyes.
"I want you to assign a team of CP0 agents to me! After taking custody of Iceburg, they will execute Lucci and his crew, who are all wanted criminals, on the spot!"
A trace of a smile finally appeared on Spandine's cold face.
"Excellent! That is my son! The Pluton blueprints are too important to be handed over to the Five Elders by a bunch of discharged trash!"
"I will contact CP0 immediately and have them support you!"
In the original timeline, Spandam was useless, but his father managed to arrange for him to become a Commander-level officer in CP0. Assigning a small team now was certainly not difficult.
"Once you secure the Pluton blueprints, my position will rise further. You can also naturally enter CP0!" Spandine instructed him seriously.
"CP0 is known as the Celestial Dragons' Strongest Shield. You'll have a great chance to directly interact with those important figures! As long as you can win their favor, power and wealth will be within easy reach! Do not waste this opportunity!"
Spandam said excitedly, "Father, don't worry! I will not disappoint you!"
Joining CP0, connecting with the Celestial Dragons, and soaring to success from now on! Spandam seemed to already see that beautiful future! For that beautiful future, Lucci and his crew had to die! All the merit would be his alone!
Water Seven: Abandoned Shipyard
The abandoned shipyard was filled with scrapped materials from shipbuilding and various kinds of trash. It was the dirtiest and messiest place in all of Water Seven, a place where people generally wouldn't venture. Lucci chose this location to hand over Iceburg to prevent others from seeing them.
Iceburg lay weakly on the ground, his hands and feet tied. Although his wounds had been hastily treated by Lucci's crew, they weren't professional medics, and Iceburg's condition was poor.
"Rob Lucci!"
A cold voice rang out.
The group whirled around, seeing three figures in white suits and masks slowly approaching.
"CP0!"
Lucci and the others looked astonished. This was a secret organization directly under the Celestial Dragons; Spandam could actually command them!
"Hand over Iceburg! Your mission is complete!" The burly CP0 leader said in a deep voice.
Lucci was silent for a moment, then asked, "Where is Spandam?"
"He said he would help us cancel the Kill Order. Why isn't he here?"