[75] Navy's Arrival
[2800 Words]
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The Grand Line, Paradise.
Alabasta.
In Ren's room, there was an unusual scene unfolding.
A woman with yellow hair and formal black attire stood in front Ren, her eyes empty, as if she had lost her sparkle.
"Remind me what you'll tell your superiors if they ask you for any information about me?"
Ren's voice entered Kalifa's mind directly, his words causing ripples in her subconscious. Kalifa's quickly responded in a deadpan voice:
"I'll make up excuses and tell them I haven't discovered anything useful yet."
Ren smiled upon hearing her answer, indicating that the hypnosis had worked.
"Very good. Now, after I snap my fingers, you'll return to your normal self, but whenever you speak with the bosses via Den Den Mushi, you must execute what you just said. Remember...right after completing your report, you'll forget you lied. Understand?"
Kalifa didn't even blink. Then she promptly replied to Ren in a deadpan voice:
"Understood."
*Snap*
"Hmm?" Kalifa's eyes returned to their natural state. She looked around, recalling her current situation—a spy working under the guise of this pirate in front of her.
"Remember you wanted to tell me something, Captain?" Kalifa inquired. She had come here because Ren had told her he needed to inform her of something, but he hadn't spoken yet.
"No, nothing. Let's introduce you to the rest of the crew."
Ren smiled warmly at Kalifa. She frowned momentarily, feeling puzzled, but she didn't suspect anything.
"As you wish, Captain."
.
[1 hour later.]
Several women gathered in Ren's room, which was now filled with people. Some sat on sofas, others on the bed, while a few found chairs to sit on.
All the girls were beautiful, almost supernaturally so, especially three of them: Nami, Nojiko, and Robin.
"So, is this the new crew member?" Nami looked at Kalifa, studying her with suspicion. She didn't trust this woman, especially after learning she was a recent agent of the World Government!
But she trusted Ren. She knew he had a way of taming her.
"Damn, how many are we now?" Zala, who was starting to blend in with the group, could only be shocked. She sat on the soft couch, her legs crossed, accentuating her slender figure.
"Fufufu~ the Captain caught another beautiful woman." Robin chuckled, but she was a little concerned when she learned the woman's identity.
She was a covert agent, the same agent she had been running from for years!
If the old Robin were here, she wouldn't stay in the same place with these agents for a second and would escape. But now she wouldn't, and the reason was clear.
She saw Kalifa's stunned look, although Kalifa tried to hide it quickly, but the smart and perceptive Robin noticed it.
So she knew this woman knew her, even though her appearance had changed, but some things couldn't change, and her crewmates had mentioned her name several times in front of Kalifa, so Kalifa became convinced that this was the Devil Child, Nico Robin!!
After Ren introduced Kalifa to the rest of the crew and informed them of the need to cooperate with each other, a few minutes passed as they chatted. Then suddenly Kalifa said, "I'll go to the bathroom, Captain."
Everyone looked at her, but Kalifa remained calm and showed no signs of tension. But in reality, she was very excited to report the information she had obtained!
The Devil Child was in the Black Death Crew! Massive information! If this information reached the ears of the Five Elders, many things would change! And they might send stronger agents to kill Ren and bring Robin!
"Of course, take your time Kalifa." Ren smiled warmly as he looked at her.
Kalifa took her leave and left. Then as soon as she closed the door behind her, the girls remained silent for a moment, then Robin broke the silence:
"This woman can't be trusted, Captain..."
Upon hearing Robin's complaint, Ren nodded towards her, then said, "I know, but she can't do anything to us. Use your Devil Fruit power to monitor her now, and you'll understand what I mean."
Robin didn't understand, but she nodded to him and used her Devil Fruit power to spy on Kalifa.
.
In one of the royal palace corridors, far from Ren's room.
Kalifa strolled a bit, but the determination was visible in her steps. Then, when she found a good corner, she pulled out her Den Den Mushi and called a specific number.
But at that moment, her eyes lost their sparkle.
Her eyes became lifeless, and the cold expression remained on her face. Then a voice from the other side answered:
"Kalifa, are you in a safe place to talk now?"
It was Rob Lucci's voice, of course. After seeing Kalifa contacting him, he knew he had succeeded in planting a highly trusted spy in a powerful pirate crew!
"Yes, I'll provide you with information when I get anything useful." Kalifa's voice was lifeless, but Rob Lucci didn't doubt anything. His voice came again quickly:
"Very well, have you discovered any useful information?"
Rob Lucci clenched his fist angrily, recalling the humiliation he had endured from Ren before, being forced to kneel and act like a frightened cat.
He swore to himself that if he found any opportunity, he would take revenge on this insolent scoundrel! He wanted to shatter that friendly smile hiding a massive amount of malice and evil! He wanted to shatter his face!
Throughout his life, he knew he was a genius who emerged for the first time in 800 years among the agents of the World Government, and it was only a matter of time before he became the leader of CP-0. He just needed to train harder!
Away from Rob Lucci's vengeful thoughts, Kalifa's voice came again: "No, I haven't obtained any useful information at the moment. I'll contact you as soon as I do."
"Good, you'd better stay cautious. The higher-ups don't want to lose such an important chess piece like you."
"I'll keep that in my mind."
*Ca--Tcha*
.
Back to the royal palace.
The call ended, and Kalifa's eyes returned to normal. She looked at the Den Den Mushi in her hand and said, "Strange...what was I supposed to report?"
"Anyway, I just need to continue monitoring."
She sighed and tucked the Den Den Mushi back into her pocket, then slowly made her way back to Ren's room.
But she didn't notice that there was a hidden eye on the wall, observing the conversation from the beginning..
.
In Ren's room.
Robin deactivated her ability and looked at Ren with awe and shock. Her captain possessed truly terrifying methods!
The agent's mind was completely manipulated, with no chance of leaking any information!
Now she understood why her captain was so relaxed...
She looked at Ren, who nodded to her and said, "Relax, I won't make the stupid mistake of letting a spy wander around under my nose."
Ren had also seen the previous conversation using Observation Haki, so he was in a better mood after resolving Kalifa's issue.
After a short while, Kalifa returned and didn't raise any suspicions. That was only in her mind; in reality, all the crew members knew she couldn't be trusted at the moment.
But most importantly, Kalifa ignored Robin's identity, and it seemed her mind overlooked the necessity of reporting her after being hypnotized the first time.
.
[Zoro POV]
My friends are dead, and I'm hungry. It's been days since I've eaten anything. It's not like I haven't found any food, but I refuse to eat anything offered by my enemies.
I've been in this cell for several days. We were five people at the beginning...
But three of them have died. I failed. I failed to protect them and fulfill my duty as the Straw Hat's first mate.
All I could do was watch them be killed by that man, Ren.
Even I couldn't utter a word when I saw Luffy's screams upon seeing the bodies of our crewmates...
How painful this is...
Speaking of the Black Death, Ren, this man, seems to have a fate that is always intertwined with ours.
Our first encounter in Syrup Village wasn't a friendly one, and it ended with us being beaten like little children.
Since that loss, I've trained day after day, shedding tears and sweat, screaming and persevering, hoping I wouldn't lose in such a pitiful manner again.
But I met the world's strongest swordsman and challenged him.
Then I lost again.
I became burdened with losses, but I didn't give up and became stronger day by day as I sailed happily with my comrades.
But everything was destroyed again.
And I lost again.
I lost to that orange-haired swordswoman.
What's the point of the promise I made to Luffy that I wouldn't lose again? That woman stood out with integrity, and there was no deceit in that confrontation.
She was stronger than me, and my strength, which I thought had increased, was useless.
And here I am now, trapped in this cell, filled with sadness and hunger, listening to the curses and screams of this damned cook...
I could have accepted the Black Death's offer, but I didn't. I won't betray Luffy ever.
But...what will happen to my dream?
Will I die without achieving it or even attempting it? I've just entered the Grand Line!
When I decided to follow Luffy, I told him I would kill him if he got in the way of my dream...
So can I consider that Luffy is indirectly getting in my way? Since I'm going to die in this cell because of my loyalty to him...
Maybe my words are illogical, and maybe hunger is starting to affect my mind and thoughts.
Or maybe I'm just making excuses...because I don't want to die before achieving my dream...
Should I accept his proposal?
I Just don't know....
.
[Third-Person POV]
.
[Next day]
A marine ship that had set sail from Marineford arrived at the shores of Alabasta and docked in the port of Alubarna.
Many marines disembarked from the ship, all of them seasoned and well-trained.
But there was one thing in common among them—they were all women.
These women were led by an old woman and a mature woman.
Yes, Tsuru and Gion had finally arrived in Alabasta!
With the arrival of the Marines, news of their arrival spread in the capital, sparking intense debates about their purpose.
Especially when they learned about Great Staff Officer Tsuru! Should it be related to Crocodile?
"It seems that the Black Death is very popular among the people of Alabasta," Gion Said, listening to people's conversations about the battle of Crocodile and Ren using Observation Haki.
Rumors about Ren didn't die down, on the contrary, they increased, because there was no official report in the newspapers about what happened. Well, this was logical because the news was delayed in order to try to distort it a little by the World Government.
"Remember to stay cautious, Gion... I've felt Observation Haki monitoring us since we landed on land," Tsuru Said with a serious expression.
"I've felt it too, it must be the Black Death, right?" Gion was also an expert in Haki, so she knew someone was watching them.
"It seems to be in the royal palace."
"It's natural for him to be invited to stay there after saving this country."
"Let's head there."
A debate ensued between Tsuru and Gion, then Tsuru led the crowd of female Marines to the royal palace, while the others remained aboard the pirate ship.
.
In the royal palace.
"Get ready, girls, our guests have arrived," Ren smiled as he sensed his Observation Haki picking up on the group of Marines heading to the palace.
'I expected someone higher-ranking to come for Ace, but luckily it wasn't Garb, although I doubt he would do anything.'
Ren thought, his only bet being that Garb wouldn't do anything against him as he was being positioned as a Warlord, to be officially announced after a short period.
Even if Garb wanted to imprison him in Impel Down or kill him, he wouldn't sit idly by.
Hahaha, he'll escape with all his might, accomplish his missions quietly to become stronger, then return to wipe out the monkey family...
Ren quickly snapped out of his strange thoughts and looked at Robin, saying, "The Marines will discover you if you stay here, they have an annoying person on their side, or two."
Robin understood what he meant, then got up after bidding him farewell and left with just one sentence.
"Fufufu~ Good luck with your negotiations, Captain."
It didn't take long before she left the room where Ren was to receive the Marines.
There weren't many people in the room, Ren was accompanied by Nojiko and Nami, while Mikita was ordered to bring the prisoners.
The rest of the girls were informed by Ren to hide in a place far from the palace. He didn't want the Marines to uncover any information about him or his crew at the moment, and hiding in the palace rooms wasn't a good option because the other party was the Great Staff Officer Tsuru and Momousagi Gion, who undoubtedly possessed stronger Observation Haki than him.
So the girls left, and the evacuation was arranged with the help of the king and Vivi. Cobra was pleased with the help of the country's savior, and he also didn't have a good opinion of the Marines anyway.
Ren had to hypnotize Khalifa to make her leave with the girls, and he had sworn that when the Marines left, he would remove the magnetic sedation and take care of raising this sexy secretary in the "hard" way.
And after a few minutes, the Marines arrived at the palace entrance. The guards who were notified to receive the Marines weren't surprised, so they led the group of women to the meeting room.
*Squeak~*
The door opened and several people dressed in official Marine attire entered.
Ren was able to know who they were, Tsuru and Gion, and some other female Marines. The common thing among them was that they were all beautiful.
King Cobra and Vivi joined Ren not long ago, while Mikita was still with the prisoners.
"Welcome Great Staff Officer Tsuru, to my humble presence," Ren was the first to break the silence, opening his hands in a welcoming gesture and smiling warmly at the Marines.
Tsurul and Gion looked at Ren calmly, but deep caution could be seen in their eyes, while the rest of the recruits also looked at Ren's handsome face.
They hadn't mingled with men before, but they could see that the men in Marineford or the pirates were of ugly shapes.
Where one had a square head and the other rectangular or triangular and different geometric shapes, and some had long necks or eyes not in their place.
Even some had a rounded face which made them laugh and consider most men like this or that's their nature.
While the rest of the men were of an acceptable appearance usually, handsome ones were rarely found, so they focused on Ren, but they maintained their calmness and caution, looking at the others in the room as well.
"So you're the Black Death.." Tsuru replied to Ren and her stance wasn't friendly, of course it wouldn't be because Ren had killed a Vice Admiral not long ago.
"Looks strong," Gion commented as she observed Ren shrewdly, sensing a superior aura emanating from this person. She couldn't help but think: Could he possess it?
"Excuse my intrusion, King Cobra, and Miss Vivi," Tsuru gave a slight greeting upon seeing the king and his daughter sitting calmly. She still greeted them properly; she didn't interact much with these characters , but they attended the Reverie every 4 years and were affiliated with the World Government.
Gion followed Tsuru's lead and greeted the king and Vivi, as did the rest of the Marines, while Gion looked at Nami and Nojiko with scrutinizing eyes.
"Tch," Nami scoffed quietly, staring at Gion coldly.
"Why is this slut staring so much?"
Nojiko said coldly, looking at Gion, causing a disturbance among the Marine crowd. And as tension mounted above, it seemed like something unexpected was about to happen...
*Squeak~*
Suddenly, the door opened, and a crowd of people entered, led by a woman with a crazy smile on her face.
Mikita finally arrived with the prisoners.
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Author's gossiping.
What do you think Zoro's choice would be?
C'mon Power stones , if I was satisfied about the quantity I'll Update another chapter.