Chapter 153: On the Connection Between the Six Styles and Haki

Recalling the experiences of the past few days, Miss Kalifa wore an expression of lingering fear.

She had done similar things before, but never to this extent; even the Navy had been dispatched under the World Government's orders.

The pursuit targeting her was a genuine pursuit, the kind where a single slip could truly cost one's life.

The wounds on Roubo Luqi had been inflicted personally by a Navy Admiral.

Thinking of this,

Miss Kalifa gritted her teeth and said:

"If things continue like this, before we even reach our target, we will likely die at the hands of our own people."

Having said that,

seeing Roubo Luqi remain silent, Miss Kalifa spoke no more and focused her attention on the tweezers in her hand.

As bullet after bullet was extracted from Roubo Luqi's body, his complexion grew increasingly pale, yet the coldness in his eyes did not waver in the slightest.

The excruciating pain, like a dull blade cutting flesh, did not alter his expression much.

As the strongest person in CP9's eight hundred years,

and the most terrifying killing machine cultivated by the World Government, Roubo Luqi was not only ruthless to enemies but equally so to himself.

Clatter!

The last blood-stained bullet was extracted from Roubo Luqi's body.

Only then did Miss Kalifa finally sigh with relief.

At that moment, Roubo Luqi spoke, his tone as cold and hard as ever:

"One can never be too careful with this mission."

"Knight Gao Wen's displayed combat power alone is monstrous; not only the former Warlord Hanafaza, but even the former Navy Admiral Zephyr were defeated by him."

"To deceive someone like that, we must reach this extent."

"More importantly, according to the intelligence we received, half a year ago he was chased by an East Blue Navy Lieutenant Commander; that is to say, in merely half a year, his power has reached its current level."

"Give him a few more years, and he might become a pirate of Yonko level; the New World can no longer contain such an existence."

"We need to become the final insurance; if he truly harbors the thought of entering the New World and challenging those monsters, then we will make him disappear."

"But if he truly remains sufficiently well-behaved, then he will be a sharp blade in the World Government's hand."

"A sharp blade capable of balancing the Yonko!"

Miss Kalifa was stunned, feeling at that moment that this mission was utterly absurd:

"Roubo Luqi."

"I know you are strong, but I must admit that compared to such a monster, there is still a huge gap."

"Relying solely on our strength..."

Roubo Luqi's expression did not change as he said:

"There are many ways to kill a person; it can be a lover's knife, or it can be a terminal illness."

"Even as strong as Roger, he was forced onto the path of surrender due to illness; the once arrogant Whitebeard, is he not now old and frail, plagued by severe illness?"

"Force is the most costly option, and also the last resort."

"However, according to Spandam, what we need to do for now is merely monitor the movements of Gao Wen's pirate crew."

Miss Kalifa was slightly stunned, then immediately understood why she had been chosen for this mission.

But the special agent training she had received since childhood had already instilled in her the notion that justice and the mission come first, even if what must be sacrificed in the end is her own body.

"I understand."

The conversation between the two ended there, and the sounds within the cargo hold immediately grew fainter.

Not long after,

even the sunlight filtering through the cracks gradually dimmed.

The Marines wandering the port, after searching in vain, gradually departed.

Several days later.

Dusk.

The nearly crimson sunset glow shone upon the port, turning the seawater a deep red.

The seawater rose and fell.

On the sea surface, it was as if countless bright red rose petals were floating.

This is the origin of the name Red Rose Port.

Red Rose Port is a somewhat neutral port.

In the past, not only regular Marines but also many pirates moored their ships here.

However, the current Red Rose Port appeared somewhat desolate; moored here were only a handful of merchant ships.

When Gao Wen and his group arrived, they saw only an empty port.

In many places, traces of cannon fire remained, and even within the port lay the wrecks of several ships not yet fully sunk.

Had Nami's Eternal Pose not pointed here without the slightest deviation, Gao Wen would have suspected he had come to the wrong place.

"What is going on?"

Xiang Keluo stood on the deck, looking at the port before him, his brows furrowing slightly:

"This place looks as though it has just suffered a pirate attack."

"If we cannot obtain necessary supplies here, our subsequent route will have to be replanned."

Gao Wen nodded, gazing coldly toward the distant port and said:

"Since you're here, make peace with it."

"Let's first see what's going on inside the port."

With that said.

Aside from Fan Aoka and Zolon, who stayed behind to guard the ship, the rest each had their own assignments and followed Gao Wen down the gangway, then headed toward the port's center.

Fortunately,

though the port looked desolate, its internal facilities were still intact.

After agreeing on a time to regroup, they scattered throughout the port according to their assigned tasks.

Gao Wen and Xiang Keluo went together to gather intelligence inside the port.

……

A few minutes later.

In the center of Red Rose Port.

Inside a bar.

Lights flickered, music played softly, yet only a few patrons sat in booths—utterly lifeless.

Gao Wen and Xiang Keluo pushed through the door, took random seats at the bar, and began questioning the female bartender.

"What's happened in the port lately?"

The female bartender smiled faintly, skipping right over the question, her gaze fixed on Gao Wen. She licked her lips with her tongue and said softly:

"I'd rather have something happen with you, handsome…"

Gao Wen rolled his eyes:

"I'm a pirate."

The bartender froze, then laughed:

"Don't joke—no pirate looks so… like you."

Seeing words were useless, Gao Wen reached into his coat, pulled out several banknotes, shoved them into the bartender's hand, then clearly restated his question.

Only then did the bartender, with slight regret, explain why Red Rose Port had become so desolate.

"Have you heard of CP9?"

Gao Wen's interest stirred; he nodded:

"A covert agency under the World Government, operating as spies worldwide."

"And?"

"Is the port's decay connected to them?"

The bartender nodded:

"Precisely—connected to two of CP9's members."

"Roubo Luqi, Miss Kalifa!"

"Who?"

Gao Wen froze, instinctively thinking the woman was pulling his leg.

After all, by timeline estimates,

at this point, Roubo Luqi and Miss Kalifa should still be undercover in Water Seven—one as a foreman, the other as Bingshan's secretary.

Actually searching secretly for the blacksmith Tom's design for Pluton.

Thus, CP9 could not possibly be here.

But when both names—Roubo Luqi and Miss Kalifa—appeared together, especially spoken by a barkeep, the situation instantly changed.

Is this a butterfly effect caused by my arrival?

Did they complete their mission early, still become Spandam's scapegoats, and get wanted by the World Government?

If so, it might be worth considering recruiting Roubo Luqi and his team.

Even ignoring the others, Roubo Luqi's own potential is solidly Gold-tier.

After awakening his Devil Fruit ability, he could even go a few rounds with Nika.

Even if Nika was merely toying with him then, achieving that level means Roubo Luqi's combat power on the island was at least Gold-tier, and not weak even among Gold-tier fighters.

Moreover, Gao Wen had some interest in the Marine's Six Powers.

On one hand, the Six Powers were highly practical skills—even if Gao Wen himself couldn't use them, giving them to subordinates would be worthwhile.

On the other hand, Gao Wen suspected the Marine's Six Powers might be techniques directly tied to Busoshoku.

The clearest examples were Iron Body and Finger Pistol.

The former enhances bodily defense to near-invulnerability, strikingly similar to Busoshoku Haki forming an invisible armor over the skin.

The latter appears to be a dodge technique, but dodging requires predicting where and how the opponent will attack—aligning perfectly with Kenbunshoku.

A little thought reveals Iron Body and Finger Pistol were likely originally training aids for Haki cultivation.

Meanwhile, Finger Pistol, Lotus Kick, Moon Walk, and Shave probably supplemented offensive and mobility capabilities, combining into a complete combat system.

Thinking of this,

Gao Wen's mind stirred, yet his face remained expressionless as he asked:

"Why were they attacked by the Marines?"

Seeing this, the bartender threw Gao Wen a seductive glance, leaned forward, revealing a deep cleavage:

"Honey, really not considering me?"

Gao Wen's lip twitched—he glanced at Xiang Keluo beside him and realized the bastard was grinning like a fool!

He would never sell his body for a piece of information.

But now that he needed a favor, he could only brace himself and pull a few more paper bills from his pocket, stuffing them into the bartender's hand.

Only then did she continue:

"Recently, rumors have spread at every port in the Paradise: those two stole the treasure map of the great pirate Wunan, the World Government found out, and that is why they are wanted. The leader, Roubo Luqi, already has a bounty exceeding one hundred million!"

"Legend has it Wunan owns more than a third of the world's gold. Find even a tenth of it, and you'll never worry about food and drink for the rest of your life — and besides…"

The barmaid glanced at Gao Wen before her, then at Xiang Keluo beside him, unable to stop her imagination running wild.

By the time she came back to herself, the two of them were already gone from sight.

It was also at this moment.

The bartender inside the bar walked to one side, tore down a bounty poster stuck on the wall, and prepared to throw it into the trash can.

The barmaid gave a slight start and said:

"Which pirate did the Marines catch this time? Or was someone killed and turned in for the bounty?"

"Neither — this bounty has already been revoked by the World Government."

The bartender casually placed the bounty poster in front of the barmaid and asked, puzzled:

"Don't you know? The big event that happened in East Blue recently?"

"The great pirate of East Blue, Knight Gao Wen, replaced Gecko Mo Li as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea recognized by the World Government!"

The barmaid curled her lip and said:

"What does a big shot like that have to do with us?"

(End of chapter)