Cipher Pol agents had to carry out their mission, and the kingdom’s army had to protect its citizens, but these Cipher Pol agents also knew very well what the current situation was.
They weren’t some once-in-800-years prodigies, and the World Government wouldn’t take their circumstances into consideration.
If they really got into a full-scale fight with the army of an affiliated nation and things blew up, the World Government would just throw them out as scapegoats. So there were no major clashes, only that they were unable to continue carrying out their mission.
And they would soon realize that they should be grateful to those kingdom soldiers for stopping this operation, because without that obstruction, every one of these agents would have been walking straight into death.
At this moment, the Cipher Pol agents who were still being pursued had already begun complaining about the unfairness of the world.
“Damn it… isn’t their talent a bit too ridiculous? One controls water, another manipulates fire, there’s even one who can discharge electricity…”
“That’s just how their races are. Be thankful the Minks’ static electricity ability is limited, or we’d all be getting struck by lightning right now!”
Compared to brute strength and powerful physiques, the shock brought by these elemental manipulation abilities was far more direct.
“Don’t you World Government people even have basic knowledge? The Fish-Men’s ability to control water isn’t innate, it’s trained after birth!”
Techniques like Fish-Man Karate can be learned by any race; it’s just that Fish-Men or Merfolk pick it up more easily.
The few people who had been fleeing just moments ago now stopped running. This location was already away from the bustling city center, and the aftermath of their battle wouldn’t affect Dressrosa’s civilians.
In an instant, offense and defense were reversed. The original pursuers became the ones who needed to flee, but engaging a Lunarian in aerial combat… was an extremely foolish thing to do.
If King back then hadn’t extinguished the flames on his back and come down to the ground to fight Zoro, the outcome might have been very different.
With Hermes, the flying item, added to the mix, the pursuing Cipher Pol agents were quickly wiped out.
And right up until the very last moment, they were still hoping that their CP0 superior would come to support them. They died without ever knowing that their superior was the unlucky one who had been taken out first.
“What a pity. This is Dressrosa. If it were somewhere more convenient to act, I could have eliminated all those Marines and CP agents. Then my ‘black eats black’ plan could have proceeded.” [TN: Used when criminals rob other criminals, or shady entities scam each other.]
“Stop filling your head with nothing but money. Come to think of it, it’s quite strange. I’ve never really deprived you of money since you were little, so how did you end up this obsessed with it?”
Nereus flicked Nanamo on the forehead. Watching her squat off to the side, clutching the top of her head, he couldn’t help but wonder how his daughter’s peculiar hobby had even formed.
“I just simply like this stuff, that’s all. It’s not like there aren’t things more important than it, and besides, isn’t that just human nature? Dad, would you really complain about having too much money in your hands?”
Nereus didn’t reply. He just stared at Nanamo. For some reason, he felt that one day in the future, this girl might sell herself to a slave trader to make a profit, then casually rob the entire auction house clean.
As for why he didn’t say it out loud…
At present, Nanamo hadn’t yet thought of that move Rayleigh will make in the future. If he mentioned it now, she might really go and do it.
Although she was a bit greedy, she had no issues when it came to right and wrong. Nereus didn’t interfere further in this regard. Compared to that, some other problems might be a bit more troublesome.
After finishing their trip to Dressrosa, they didn’t linger for long and instead headed toward Delta. Nereus planned to pick up a few teachers from the island and, along the way, check on how things were going there.
That night, however, Amphitrite stood alone on the deck, seemingly lost in thought.
“Where do you plan to go? We’ve known each other for months now, is it really okay to leave without saying a word?”
“I just… don’t want to keep causing you trouble. This Lunarian identity… the problems it brings are endless. Just the possibility alone attracted the World Government’s people.
If they hadn’t shown up so suddenly, Nanamo probably could’ve stayed here to play for a few more days.”
Back when she was alone, Amphitrite didn’t think much about these things. But as the number of people she interacted with grew, she became increasingly unwilling to let her own troubles spill over onto others.
“This kind of thing doesn’t really matter. Even if you weren’t here, we’d still run into trouble all the same. Just wait a bit longer, once word spreads to the World Government that you’re following me, their subordinates will naturally calm down.”
Nereus still carried a fair amount of deterrence. As a World Government that was very good at enduring things, this was well within what they could accept.
“But you’ve already taken over the Ryugu Kingdom. My identity—”
“Amphy, let me put it bluntly: you’re overestimating your own importance. The world’s gaze isn’t going to change just because of a single Lunarian.
My goal will take the people of the entire Fishman Island a great deal of time to accomplish, even taking several generations isn’t out of the question.
As for your identity… as long as we hurt the World Government badly enough, you might even see them voluntarily issue a public statement saying you’re not a Lunarian at all.
Instead of dwelling on this, you’d be better off thinking about how to become stronger; it’s more practical.
Besides, when you joined back then, everyone on the ship saw it. Letting you leave over something this trivial, where would that leave my reputation?”
Nereus knew what Amphitrite was thinking and felt she was making a mountain out of a molehill. After a brief moment of thought, he reached into the Blood River and pulled out a “pineapple.”
“Catch.”
“This is…?”
“Bird-Bird Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Phoenix. One of my previous spoils of war. You know our situation, Merfolk or Fish-Men who eat Devil Fruits are a minority.
I’ve got quite a few fruits on hand, but none with suitable owners. Your fundamentals are more or less in place now, so gaining an ability isn’t a bad idea.”
Because of racial factors, distributing Devil Fruits to others didn’t make Nereus’s same-race subordinates feel anything was amiss. Many of them even thought it was only natural.
“The Lunarian race does indeed possess rare racial advantages, but it’s not without weaknesses. This Phoenix fruit can make up for your shortcomings.
That said, it also has its downsides. It’s a Bird-Bird Fruit after all, and the wing-related traits are a bit wasted on your kind.
I’ve got some backup options as well. For example, the Logia-type Rumble-Rumble Fruit. Its offensive power is stronger, but I only know its general location for now and haven’t found it yet.”
The Phoenix’s Flames of Regeneration were extremely special. Attacks without Haki couldn’t deal effective damage at all. Even Haki-infused attacks, while capable of causing harm, would be repaired by the Flames of Regeneration. Until their stamina ran dry, it could practically be called a perpetual-motion machine.
“But the Phoenix has one particularly unique trait. Although its Flames of Regeneration can’t burn things in the physical world, they can scorch souls, causing soul entities intense pain. It is a fire specialized against beings of the afterlife.”
Based on the intelligence I currently have, it should be exceptionally effective against those undying old guys in the World Government.”
You can read ahead upto 25 chapters on my patreon and I’ve also activated (date to date) subscription model on my patreon.
Become a Patron!