Chapter 260: The Battle with Lucci

"So, what do you plan to do from now on? Are you still going back to the World Government?"

"How is that possible? We are all wanted criminals now; how could we possibly return to the World Government?"

Kalifa shook her head with a look of helplessness, a hint of worry appearing on her face.

One had to know that her father was still an Agent of the World Government; now that she had become a wanted criminal, she had no idea how the World Government might deal with her father.

"That doesn't really matter. Alabasta is, after all, one of the member nations of the World Government, and it carries significant weight among all the member nations. It is not a difficult matter to talk to the World Government and have your wanted warrants rescinded."

"But Enies Lobby..."

"Wasn't that matter handled by Spandam? Even if Spandam could pin the blame on you, in reality, anyone with a discerning eye can see the problems within it."

"At the very least, that Marine Admiral Aokiji personally handed the Golden Den Den Mushi to Spandam. Based on this point alone, it can be determined who it was that called for the Buster Call to bomb Enies Lobby."

"Many of you come from families of Agents and are not without support within the World Government. As long as Alabasta provides you with a channel to interface with the World Government, clearing your names is not a difficult task."

"After all..." Uchiha Feiyu looked at Kalifa meaningfully: "To the World Government, this is not an important matter at all, is it?"

"Agents are merely tools of the World Government. As long as they demonstrate sufficiently strong power and make the World Government realize that the tools still have value, then they will not discard the tools."

If it were before, Kalifa might have retorted, but now, this Agent remained silent, tacitly accepting Uchiha Feiyu's "slander" of the World Government.

As for leaving, betraying, or even taking revenge on the World Government, this group of Agents had never thought about it. Firstly, it was due to Uchiha Feiyu's mental suggestion, and secondly, they had inextricable ties with the World Government—they couldn't just abandon their own relatives working for the World Government for the sake of revenge!

"Then I will leave it to you, Mr. Feiyu..."

"It's fine, this matter is beneficial to me as well."

Uchiha Feiyu waved his hand, his expression indifferent:

"Alabasta can be considered my country, and as long as it is a World Government member nation, there will inevitably be dealings with the World Government. Once you return to the World Government, it will be equivalent to having an additional channel to understand the World Government's situation and communicate with them."

If they had heard such "disloyal" words in the past, these World Government Agents would have jumped up, but now, these Agents nodded, looking as if they deeply agreed.

Seeing their reaction, Uchiha Feiyu felt at ease. It seemed that in the hearts of these Agents, the World Government, which once belonged to their supreme faith, had now transformed into an ordinary company boss who exploited them.

Making these Agents betray their faith was almost impossible, but betraying a company boss... that was just a matter of whether the pay was enough.

As descendants of the original Twenty Kings, the royal family of Alabasta was wary of the World Government, but it was also very easy for them to make contact with the World Government.

Just like that former Celestial Dragon, Donquixote Doflamingo, although he was constantly watched by the World Government and could be killed by them if any problems arose, he could simultaneously exert some influence on the World Government regarding non-principled issues.

The current Alabasta is the same, and the problem of these Agents belongs to non-principled issues.

After all, to put it bluntly, other than failing to defeat the Straw Hat Pirates, these Agents actually made no mistakes. The one who truly made a mess of the situation was that idiot Spandam. As long as the World Government investigates even slightly, they can reach a conclusion.

Therefore, very quickly, the wanted warrants for these Agents were canceled, and at the same time, they made contact with the World Government and were reassigned to the Agent organization.

"Congratulations. I heard you were promoted. It seems you are being promoted to members of the CP0 organization this time?"

"It's not that easy. As the shield of the Celestial Dragons, the requirements for strength to become a true Agent capable of carrying out missions for the CP0 organization are extremely high. Otherwise, one can only perform those trashy missions of protecting the Celestial Dragons."

The one who answered Uchiha Feiyu was Lucci. He looked serious at this moment, with a faint hint of worry.

Although CP0 is an Agent organization one level higher than CP9, in reality, because of the Celestial Dragons, the average strength in this organization is not necessarily better than CP9.

The top-tier powerhouses are definitely stronger than CP9, but for those CP0 bodyguards who protect the Celestial Dragons every day and run rampant with the prestige of the Celestial Dragons, it is hard to say how much strength they actually have. In any case, when the Straw Hat kid beat up the Celestial Dragons back then, those bodyguards didn't seem to be of any use.

If Lucci and the others were really assigned to protect a few Celestial Dragons, they might as well be CP9 Agents! At least they would be a bit freer and have more time to train.

It must be said that after shaking the loyalty in their hearts toward the World Government and being able to examine the World Government more calmly, the Celestial Dragons in Lucci's heart were directly downgraded from descendants of gods to brainless trash.

"Mr. Feiyu, I have an uninvited request. I wonder if you could agree to it?"

Looking at the fighting spirit igniting in Lucci's eyes, Uchiha Feiyu didn't even need him to say it to know what this uninvited request was:

"Go ahead and say it!"

"I want to test my strength and see how much I still lag behind the top level of the sea!"

"Hmm, as expected... The desert outside is quite spacious, let's go there to fight!"

After a few words, Uchiha Feiyu transformed into a streak of blood-red light and soared into the sky. Lucci also didn't say a word, transformed into his half-human, half-leopard form, and followed behind Uchiha Feiyu.

A few minutes later, the two arrived at a desert far from the capital of Alabasta. Uchiha Feiyu landed immediately and turned to look at Lucci, who was rushing over:

"Do you want to rest for a while? The pressure on your legs from using Soru so many times in a row should be quite significant."

A high fighting spirit appeared on Lucci's leopard face, and he spoke excitedly:

"No need. If anything, it's perfect as a warm-up, allowing me to unleash even greater power!"

"Then you are quite impressive."

Uchiha Feiyu said with a grin while slowly drawing Sandai Kitetsu.

However, no matter how bright the smile on his face was, after the Sandai Kitetsu at his waist was unsheathed, Lucci felt a chill strike from his forehead straight to the base of his spine. In an instant, the leopard's fur stood on end!

Ghostly wails and wolf howls, a bloody storm, the heavens trembling and the earth moving, the sun and moon losing their light... countless terrifying omens appeared in Lucci's eyes. It wasn't until he bit his tongue and used the pain to drive away the illusions that he realized he was still in the sunny, warm-climate desert, but the cold sweat all over his body told him just how real everything that just happened was.

"This sword... exactly how many people has it killed?"

"Hmm!? I forgot, probably over a hundred thousand! Mainly because after I obtained the Vampire Fruit, the number of times I used the sword decreased quite a bit; otherwise, I might have been able to rack up a head count of 200,000!"

Lucci only felt his mouth go dry and his scalp tingle. Even though he was known for being cold-blooded within the Agent organization, hearing Uchiha Feiyu state the terrifying number of over a hundred thousand in such an indifferent tone, he wanted to say: "You guy is too extreme."

He felt that his duel with the killing star in front of him was perhaps too hasty. What if the other party slipped up and hacked him to death!

He took a deep breath and cleared all distracting thoughts from his mind. Regardless, the leopard-man was hailed as a genius who only appears once every eight hundred years among CP Agents. Even though his mind had wavered just now, as he breathed, he had already steadied his thoughts again.

No matter who the opponent is, just fight!

With a flash, Lucci charged straight at him. The Six Powers, which he had mastered like an instinct, allowed him to use Soru while maintaining his Iron Body state, keeping extremely high agility, and he could even continuously perform Flying Finger Gun to probe while moving.

Condensed air bullets bombarded Uchiha Feiyu's entire body. The other party seemed unable to react and didn't move at all, which made a look of joy appear on Lucci's face.

"Very good, just like this, take this opportunity... where is he!"

The air bullets passed through an illusory afterimage, and the standing figure vanished without a trace like a mirage. Alarm bells immediately rang in Lucci's heart.

"The speed is quite good, the power is also acceptable, and the technique has almost been polished to the level of instinct."

A faint voice sounded behind Lucci. No matter how he spun, jumped, or took to the sky and earth using Moon Walk and Soru, that voice still sounded behind him unhurriedly, causing cold sweat to drip down Lucci's forehead.

(Is this... the speed gap is too large? No, I cannot be so pessimistic. Perhaps it is because the other party has some special Devil Fruit Ability...)

"Are you done moving? Then it is my turn now."

Uchiha Feiyu's calm voice sounded once again. Sensing that bone-chilling, sharp cold intent behind him, Lucci let out a wild roar, pushing his speed to the limit and using Soru continuously in an attempt to evade this strike.

However, a tearing pain still came from his back. Lucci roared in anger and turned around rapidly. He had expected that he would still be unable to see Uchiha Feiyu, yet he found him standing opposite him with a face full of smiles.

But at the same time he saw Uchiha Feiyu's smile, Sandai Kitetsu had already transformed into two sword beams, crossing and slashing through his chest!

It was not that the opponent's weapon could split into two; it was simply because the speed was so fast that the two slashes seemed to be unleashed simultaneously. Lucci only felt a chill in his chest, followed by the same pain he felt on his back.

By the time Lucci reacted and reached out to cover his chest, he discovered that the opponent's blade light had only sliced through the fur on his chest. While the wound appeared large, it had actually only penetrated the flesh by an inch or two.

Lowering his head to look at the cross-shaped wound mark exposed on his chest, Lucci knew even without looking back that the same cross-shaped wound must have been left on his back as well.

Slowly lifting his head, a few traces of confusion flashing in his eyes, Lucci said in a low voice:

"I knew there was a gap between us... but I didn't expect the gap to be this large!"

"I thought I couldn't compare to top-tier powerhouses in terms of Two-Color Haki and Devil Fruit abilities, but I didn't expect that even in speed, which I am best at, there would be such a huge gap!"

"Ha, who would have thought the result of this challenge would be like this? I really was quite overestimating my own capabilities!"

When he said this, only a dejected, bitter smile remained on Lucci's face, as if his very spirit and energy had been beaten out of him.

"It's not just speed; it also involved some Genjutsu factors... Of course, in terms of speed, I am indeed much faster than you."

Uchiha Feiyu sheathed his sword and explained generously:

"But don't think that all top-tier powerhouses on the sea have this kind of speed. My own nerve reflexes and speed are my personal strengths, and the Vampire Fruit I ate is a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit that leans towards agility."

"Compared to ordinary top-tier powerhouses, it's hard to say regarding other aspects, but in terms of speed and reflexes, I am definitely second to none. Perhaps only someone like Kizaru, a Glint-Glint Fruit user, could compare with me."

Hearing Uchiha Feiyu's explanation, a look of relief finally appeared on Lucci's face, though his spirit still couldn't be lifted, and he looked very listless.

"If you want to increase your strength in the short term, I do have a very good method."

Glancing at the listless Lucci, Uchiha Feiyu rubbed his chin, a sudden idea forming in his mind.

"What method?"

Lucci lifted his head, the anticipation for strength in his eyes undisguised. Seeing this look of thirst for power, Uchiha Feiyu immediately smiled:

"I have a strengthening method. Although it is not dangerous, it requires paying a not-insignificant price..."

"No matter what the price is, I accept it!"

"Including your freedom?"

"An Agent has no freedom to begin with! Only by possessing strength can one have the right to choose!"

"That is true... I was overthinking it."

Uchiha Feiyu said self-deprecatingly. Being transformed into a vampire thrall indeed required a heavy price, but thinking of those guys in the Beasts Pirates, who had to queue up just to eat those trashy Artificial Devil Fruits, his own ability was definitely more reliable than an Artificial Devil Fruit!

As for the issue of being controlled by him, it was as if Lucci could resist him even if he weren't a vampire thrall.

In fact, the talent of this once-in-eight-hundred-years genius CP Agent was indeed extremely high. Unfortunately, he had eaten a Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Leopard, and after being sent by Spandam to carry out undercover missions for so many years without being able to train openly, he was already half-ruined and could never enter the first tier again.

Now, if he wanted to catch up, he would either have to engage in life-or-death battles with strong enemies to stimulate his potential, or he would have to rely on some underhanded methods.

(End of chapter)