Joining CP9

The man in the suit finally arrived next to me and looked at my face closely. He asked, "You Marcus Fulbright? The kid who took down the Shark Eaters?"

I flinched when I looked at my face. I had covered the bottom half of it with a mask, like Kakashi. I had kind of been ignoring a problem for a while now.

Although Roderick was nice enough not to point it out, getting shot in the face by a gun, even though it passed through my cheeks did not leave me looking normal.

My cheeks were just gone, they hadn't magically regenerated. Now I was left with my teeth showing from the holes in the side of my face.

I looked like Two Face's uglier half, just on both sides. The missing ear and burn mark don't help me much. So yes I was now kind of recognizable even with a mask.

How did missing cheeks not affect the way I speak? I don't know, this is the world of One Piece apparent;y cartoon logic still applies.

I responded, "Yes, what's it to you? The supplier I've been hearing about?"

The man said, "My name is Bartholemew Mattius Wingston and I am an agent of the World Government, serving directly under the Celestial Dragons."

"I have an opportunity for you. You have truly impressed me with the way you dispatched the Shark Eaters gang nearly singlehandedly."

"I have an opportunity for you, one that you should pass up. I would like for you to join our organization and become an agent in the future."

My eyes widen in surprise. He was much more reasonable than expected. No threats, no coercion, no blackmail just giving me an offer. If I refused however I'm pretty sure it wouldn't end well for me.

To keep up appearances and not act too eager to join I repeated my question, "You the Shark Eaters' supplier?"

He sighed and said, "That I am."

"So," I continued, "You ain't mad at me for killing them all."

"No child I am not." Bartholemew continued saying, "They were just some thugs, more skilled than most but still just replaceable thugs."

"You however are a rare talent. Rarely has someone so young been so strong. I believe that all misgivings can easily be resolved by you joining my organization."

I nodded before asking one last question, "What will happen to this place? Will you continue whatever you were doing here?"

Bartholemew replied saying, "All I wanted to do was prevent the people here from plotting to take revenge on the people inside the city."

"Considering the gang wars that are brewing, they should be more focused on killing each other than attacking the city. I see no reason to continue to meddle with the region for a while."

I said, "Well then I guess I am in. When are we leaving?"

He smiled for the first time since I had met him, seeming genuinely happy. He stated, "We are leaving now, we should be able to leave this island by sundown."

He started walking toward the city and I followed, "Now that I have agreed to join can you tell me more about what I am supposed to do?"

He said, "Shush, once we are in the boat, then we may continue our discussion. We don't want people to overhear what we are saying."

So the rest of the trip was silent. We reached the city walls and Bartholemew simply knocked on a part of it that looked the same as any other part of the wall, but it opened up.

The man behind the wall well both of us through, looking at me with disgust but staying silent. We were in the backroom of some type of bar.

Bartholemew continued exiting the bar through a side door and moving through the winding streets of the city.

Looking at the city it was not as impressive as I had imagined considering the size of the walls they had built. The structures were made of wood and looked to be in multiple states of disrepair.

The people I saw here while not as rail-thin as the people in the Devil's Shithole still looked starved and sickly. I guess we're in the city's version of the slums.

In the distance toward the center of the city, I could see massive buildings built of stone and brightly colored with lights shining up into the sky.

Looks like the closer you are to the wall the poorer the region becomes. But soon after we finally reached the docks. It looked as decrepit as the surrounding buildings with no people around.

I could see any boats lined that could take us far. Only small fishing boats that definitely couldn't survive a proper trip into the Grandline.

I was confused before Bartholemew kicked the air with a Rankyaku, sending a blade of compressed air into the water. It caused a massive splash but then nothing happened for a while.

But then after a few seconds, I could see the top of a submarine rise up. He motioned me over and we climbed into the submarine.

He walked down the hallway ignoring all of the people bustling around us working on keeping the submarine afloat.

We reached a door and when we opened it I realized I lead to an incredibly well-furnished living room with 2 other men dressed in suits.

They looked up as we entered, the short and older-looking man asking, "What have you brought to the ship Bartholemew?"

Bartholemew replied, "Well Edward, you know we have been looking for talent for the new division in the works. Marcus here is a perfect fit for the new division."

The young man with auburn hair said, "Really? He looks like a kid you pucked out of a garbage can. What made you think he was anything special."

Bartholemew said, "Gregory what have we taught about not judging a book by its cover. While the description of getting Marcus from the garbage is pretty accurate it does not affect his skill."

"You know our mission on these patrols has been to expand a certain gang by giving them those advanced armaments right?"

Both men nodded. "Well, Marcus here took the entire organization out nearly single-handedly. Marcus, pull down your mask."

I did as he bid and both men did a double-take at my appearance. Bartholemew continued, "He sustained that injury after fighting 2 lieutenants of the gang and the boss and his right-hand man."

They looked at me more intrigued. "So," Gregory asked, "What's his deal? Got a super-powerful devil fruit or something?"

"No surprisingly," replied Bartholemew, "He seems to be a chase like Charlotte LinLin born with incredible natural speed and strength."

"Reports say he took them out with a mixture of brawn and cunning. Using their own guns against them, attacking their prison when they were distracted, and killing the entire fortress himself."

"From what I hear he appears to have particular strong kicks. Enough to shatter the earth around him in a 20-meter radius. Are the reports right Marcus?"

I nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm strong and good at kicking things."

Edward asked, "Are you formally trained in any martial art?"

I once again nodded making up a lie quickly, "My Pa taught me when I was young. The style is called Renewal Taekwondo and mostly focuses on kicks."

They all nodded. Then Gregory stood up and walked to me, "While this ship ain't big enough for anything fancy why don't you try your best to knock me out."

I immediately got in stance. This was my one moment to impress them so I had to show my worth to them right here right now.

I prepared myself to take deep breaths before lashing out with a 3 stage Hwechook, landing 3 shots cleanly on his head. It felt like I was hitting a steel pillar.

Gregory staggered a bit before steadying himself and announced, "Yeah, he's the real deal. He's probably as stronger than most lieutenant commanders I've met."

Edward turned to Bartholemew and said, "You definitely did the right thing bringing him in. Considering the rise of the supposed Great Age of Pirates we need stronger agents."

Bartholemew smiled genially and said, "Well now that we have all agreed that he is a good recruit we should probably explain to him what is going on. He must be confused right now."

I nodded pretending that I had no clue what was going on. Bartholemew continued, "Our organization is called Cipher Pol or CP for short."

"We are the agents that work under the Celestial Dragons and Marines that deal with the more covert operation. Information gathering, inciting rebellions, assassinations, that is us."

"We have recently been thinking of forming a new division purely focused on conducting high-risk assassinations. We think that you are a perfect candidate to fit this role."

"With your incredible strength and speed for your age, you should be able to learn the Rokushiki. A set of 6 moves that turns a person into the perfect superhuman assassin."

Did not have to feign my excitement, "When can I start training? I want to learn to do the Rokushiki as soon as possible."

The men looked in amusement at my enthusiasm before Edward said, "Be careful what you wish for. Training will incredibly harsh, especially for you."

"We expect great things from you so the workload you will be expected to endure will also rise to match. You will become the perfect tool of assassination soon enough just be patient."

I nodded, then put my mask up once again. Bartholemew seemed to notice that motion as he said, "Is that injury bothering you? We can replace the missing parts with metal if you feel up for it."

I said, "That would be great."

So after a few more hours of the 3 men chatting about their respective mission. Bartholemew took me to the engineer of the ship, not the doctor.

He asked, "I have a person here that needs a replacement of his missing cheeks. I want it to be made of high-grade steel, and flexible to change and he grows."

The engineer looked at me and said, "I am no cyberneticist, and replacing his cheeks while allowing for growth is well out of my wheelhouse. Would a mask suffice?"

Bartholemew looked at me and I shot him a thumbs up. He said, "That will have to do."

So the engineer took some measurements of my face and in 10 minutes came out with a mask that would cover the lower half of my face.

It was an oni mask that you would see samurai wearing. It was blood red and have hinges that would allow me to open and close it if I wanted to eat.

I put it on and it fit perfectly. And in the dawning of the mask, I felt its symbolic significance. I was moving on from one chapter of my life and on to another.

While my life in Devil's Shithole was short, it was filled with unforgettable memories. Now dawning on this mask representing a demon, I knew that the next chapter in my life was going to be even bloodier than what I had already experienced.

I after all was going to be a member of CP9, an assassin organization working for one of the most corrupt organizations in all of fiction. Well, I just gotta hope it's going to be worth it.