Chapter 163: A New Plan
"What?! You didn't bring that brat back?"
Spandam sprang up from his seat, his voice cracking with disbelief.
Because of his father, Spandine, he knew exactly what CP9 was capable of. These people were monsters trained from childhood, the World Government's hidden blades. To hear that they had failed to bring back one child was almost absurd.
"Do you understand what's at stake?" he snapped. "That kid might still have the Pluton blueprints! The blueprints!"
He swallowed the rest of his thoughts.
Those blueprints were his promotion. His future. His chance to climb higher.
But he did not say that out loud. It was not because he cared about dignity. Rather, he still did not know how to handle these new subordinates, and until he had them properly under control, revealing too much of himself would be foolish.
Lucci paid no attention to Spandam's agitation.
Instead, he asked in a flat voice, "The target knew our identities. I expect an explanation."
He offered no courtesy just because Spandam was technically his superior.
In Lucci's view, his previous subordinates had no chance to leak CP9's identity to Axel, nor any reason to do so. The most likely source was their newly appointed acting director.
Spandam's face flushed.
"Bastard! Are you suspecting me?"
"Yes," Lucci answered without hesitation.
The room went silent.
Lucci continued, "The moment we made contact, the target called out our identities. After the World Government issued this order, very few people knew who we were. Or to put it another way, those who knew and were not here are already dead. Under those circumstances, shouldn't you be suspected?"
If Spandam stood in Lucci's place, he would have come to the same conclusion.
Unfortunately, logic was only useful when it was not aimed at him.
Spandam had spent most of his life relying on his father's name and the World Government's authority. When had any subordinate ever questioned him to his face? A wave of humiliation and anger rushed up his throat.
"I am your director!" he shouted. "You dare suspect your superior? Didn't the World Government teach you to obey orders? You are nothing more than tools for carrying out missions!"
The words landed badly.
Behind Lucci, the other CP9 members looked at Spandam with cold eyes.
They knew what they were.
They had been raised, trained, and sharpened into tools of the World Government. But knowing it and hearing this useless man say it so openly were two different things.
Still, CP9's first lesson was obedience.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Spandam realized what he had just said a moment too late. His back stiffened, and fear crawled over his skin.
He had seen what these people could do. Any one of them could kill him before he had time to scream. Their training had long since stripped away ordinary hesitation toward murder. If they truly lost patience with him, he might not even leave behind a corpse worth identifying.
Fortunately, their expressions changed only slightly.
They did nothing.
Spandam let out a quiet breath and silently thanked both his father and the World Government.
Good.
At least they had been trained properly.
After forcing himself to calm down, he finally began thinking about Lucci's report.
"You're saying that brat called out your identities the moment he saw you?" Spandam asked, his tone making it clear he found the idea ridiculous.
No one answered.
Their silence was answer enough.
Spandam's expression twisted.
Even after accepting the fact, he still could not understand why it mattered so much. So what if Axel knew who they were? The World Government wanted to investigate him. Shouldn't a Marine captain come running obediently when called?
"Even if he knew who you were, what could that brat do?" Spandam demanded. "Couldn't you just capture him by force and drag him back?"
Jabra, already irritated, could no longer hold back.
"You're not our real director yet," he said. "You're only temporarily in charge. Our mission here is to confirm whether the Pluton blueprints were truly destroyed, not to obey your every stupid command."
This mission held first-level priority.
Under that classification, CP9 had the right to judge the situation and act accordingly. Anything that obstructed the mission was an obstacle, even if that obstacle happened to be their temporary commander.
Spandam bit down hard. His fingers trembled.
Jabra was right.
That was exactly why it infuriated him.
He cursed inwardly. How many times had he been treated like this already? These damned monsters did not respect him at all. One day, he would become the official director of CP9. When that day came, he would tame every last one of them.
Lucci then answered Spandam's earlier question.
"The target used our identities as leverage. And he is not as weak as your intelligence suggested. I judged that a forced capture had no guarantee of success."
His voice remained cold.
Under normal circumstances, that attitude alone would have been enough to enrage Spandam. But this time, he seized on something else.
His eyes widened.
Then, suddenly, he burst into laughter and slapped the sofa beside him.
"Hahaha! You must be joking. That kid? He's only about ten years old! When I was that age, I couldn't even beat an ordinary Marine!"
He paused in his heart and added, Not that I'm much stronger than one now.
But he would never say that aloud.
"How could a brat like that compare to all of you?" Spandam continued. "You're elites trained by CP9 since childhood!"
"Yeah, Lucci," Jabra said, frowning. "Did you misread him? Something like that shouldn't be possible."
Aside from Jabra, no one else questioned it.
They knew Lucci well. He did not exaggerate. He did not joke. If he said the child was dangerous, then the child was dangerous.
Lucci slowly opened his hand.
The wound had mostly healed due to his Zoan-type Devil Fruit's recovery, but a dark mark still cut across his palm.
"This happened when I shook his hand," Lucci said. "He is not simple. If we are to complete the mission, I need as much accurate intelligence as possible."
Spandam still looked doubtful, but he understood what Lucci really wanted.
He wanted to know how the information had leaked.
If their identities continued to be exposed before every move, the mission would become far more difficult.
Spandam racked his mind, trying to remember whether he had bragged to anyone after being given temporary control of CP9.
Then his face changed.
"Damn it, I remember now!" he shouted. "Earlier, through my men, I made contact with someone inside that brat's base. To make them believe it was official, I used a government seal. And that seal happened to belong to CP9."
The room fell silent again.
Even Jabra looked at him as if he had just witnessed a rare species of idiot.
He had exposed the World Government's secret intelligence agency with a seal?
What kind of director did something that stupid?
Now was not the time to settle blame.
Kalifa pushed up her glasses and said, "Then our next step should still focus on investigation. Since direct force is not suitable, we can use a softer approach. According to the intelligence, Axel contacted Enies Lobby before going there and taking Tom away. We can do the opposite. Contact the Marine base in Enies Lobby's name, then enter under official pretenses and investigate from within."
Spandam immediately nodded.
The CP9 members, however, looked to Lucci.
Lucci remained silent for a moment.
Then he nodded.
On his shoulder, Hattori flapped its wings lightly and spoke in his place.
"Acceptable."
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]