Chapter 163: Spandam's Defeat

A smile of triumph involuntarily curled the corners of Spandam's mouth.

This mission to infiltrate Gao Wen's pirate crew was not only important to him, but the upper echelons of the CP organization attached great importance to it as well.

If he did well, promotion and wealth would be trivial matters; there was even a slight chance he could enter CP0.

That was the pinnacle of the CP organization, a place where countless monsters and those with real power gathered; even within the World Government's system, it was considered a position of high rank and great authority.

Therefore, for this mission, he had deployed Luo Bu Lucci, the strongest CP9 agent in eight hundred years, and Kalifa, the only woman of CP9, who was renowned for her peerless beauty.

With the two of them joining forces, this mission was practically a sure thing.

"Now, I only need to wait."

"Yahahahaha——!"

Inside the office.

Spandam's unrestrained laughter rang out, paying no heed to the presence of those around him.

Yet, in the next instant, that laughter was abruptly cut short.

An old man, whose face bore a three-tenths resemblance to Spandam but who was two decades older, pushed the door open and entered directly.

"Father?"

Spandam looked at the old man, his eyebrows knitting slightly:

"What is it now?"

Spandine leaned on his cane, loosened his tie, then casually found a seat and said indifferently,

"The operation on Crocodile has failed."

"That Devil Fruit, which was valued by one of the gods in Mary Geoise, has ultimately fallen into the hands of Gao Wen's pirate crew."

"Shh!"

Spandam's expression suddenly grew tense; his face filled with panic, he pushed the door open, looked left and right, and after confirming no one was there, slammed the door shut with a bang.

Only then did he turn back to look at Spandine, his tone quite helpless:

"Father, if the people above find out about your secret cooperation with the Seven Warlords of the Sea, you will undoubtedly face targeted retaliation."

"I can cover for you once or twice, but if it happens too often, I won't be able to hide it."

"Besides, how would a god in Mary Geoise take an interest in a Devil Fruit? And why would they approach us in private?"

"There are too many unreasonable aspects to this matter."

"You do not need to know these things!"

Spandine's tone was cold and hard as he said,

"I am merely conveying the command of that person: make the one who ate the Bone-Bone Fruit disappear."

"If you can do it, this matter will benefit both you and me."

"Impossible!"

Spandam shook his head firmly.

Although he had many flaws, he knew that diving in without even understanding the situation would only lead to a death without a grave.

Moreover, given the current situation, as long as Lucci's side proceeds smoothly, his promotion and wealth would not be a problem.

Why take such a risk?

"Lucci has already successfully infiltrated the interior of Gao Wen's pirate crew; attacking his key subordinates at this time would only expose them."

"Is that so..."

Seeing this, Spandine did not press further, merely saying indifferently,

"Then tell me whenever you have made up your mind."

Having said that.

Spandine stood up, leaned on his cane, and slowly departed.

Spandam watched this scene for a long time without speaking; since he had replaced Spandine and taken his position, the relationship between father and son had grown increasingly distant.

It was simply that he could no longer understand what was going on in Spandine's mind these days, or what secret things he was doing.

Secretly contacting pirates, even the Seven Warlords of the Sea who were authorized by the World Government, was a matter that could cost one's life with a single misstep.

After some thought.

Spandam's mind was still completely blank; he could only place his hopes on Lucci and the other:

"Only after I enter CP0 will I be able to help Father cover up more; my current power is still too small."

With this thought.

Spandam's heart could not help but grow fiery.

Night fell.

On Enies Lobby.

Several agents hurried along, their footsteps merging into a single sound.

Soon.

They pushed open the large door to Spandam's office and placed the intelligence Lucci and the other had transmitted on the table.

"My lord Spandam, this is the intelligence we found on Silver Moon Island."

"Although that place suffered a great fire, our people hid the items extremely well, and they were not ignited."

Spandam, who had originally been dozing off, instantly became alert.

He raised his hand to wipe the drool from the corner of his mouth, and, unable to wait, opened the intelligence on the table.

Soon.

Several sheets of oil paper, which had undergone special treatment, appeared before Spandam's eyes.

He took out the specially made purple lamp from his chest again, shone it on the oiled paper, and instantly rows of neat characters appeared.

"You all go out first."

"Yes!"

Several agents turned and left.

Only then did Spandam shift his attention to the intelligence in his hand; the first piece of news made his eyes light up:

"Roubo Luqi and Miss Kalifa have successfully infiltrated Gao Wen's pirate crew, even gaining the approval of most of its members?"

"Excellent!"

He was so excited he almost stood up from his chair.

This was because, in undercover operations, the hardest part was clearing one's own suspicions and infiltrating the enemy's interior.

With this, as long as the two made no mistakes later, every move of Gao Wen's pirate crew would be within his sight.

His gaze moved downward.

Spandam's expression froze on the spot, shifting from shock to confusion, and finally to a face full of question marks.

"What the heck is this?"

"Roubo plans to improve his combat power through hard cultivation and infiltrate the core circle of Gao Wen's pirate crew."

"Something seems off, but overall it's reasonable."

"But..."

The corner of his mouth couldn't help twitching, and he completely lost his composure on the spot:

"Kalifa, which third-rate novel did you learn this trick from?!"

"Control Knight Gao Wen's heart, and thereby indirectly control the entire Gao Wen pirate crew?"

"..."

"How many of these great pirates would be swayed by their personal emotions?"

Spandam's face wrinkled into a bitter melon, but he was from an office clerical background; in terms of professional ability, he was far inferior to Roubo and the other.

Therefore, even though he felt something was wrong, he could only grit his teeth and let them decide for themselves.

Yet that ominous feeling grew stronger and stronger, to the point that the hand holding his teacup trembled.

"I have a feeling you're going to give yourself away for nothing..."

Spandam took a sip of the warm tea, but the instant he saw the shocking information on the intelligence, he spat it all out...

Pfft!

"How much funding do you want? Eight, eight, eighty million Berries?"

"Kalifa, are you applying for funding or robbing a bank?"

"Oh."

"Robbing a bank isn't that fast..."

The corner of Spandam's mouth twitched wildly, lasting for dozens of seconds before he finally came to his senses, read the intelligence from start to finish again, and completely lost his composure:

"So after several months, aside from successfully entering Gao Wen's pirate crew, there's absolutely no progress, right?"

"If someone else did this, they'd probably think you've already defected."

Spandam's gaze fell again on Kalifa's funding application; after hesitating for a moment, a flash of sharpness passed through his eyes:

"You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child."

"Whether I get promoted and a raise depends on this move!"

Having said that,

Spandam opened the drawer, took out a funding application form, picked up the fountain pen on the desk, and began to write furiously.

Every word and line spoke of the potential of Gao Wen's pirate crew and the harm it might cause in the future; it was as if he was about to write "will definitely become a Yonko in the future" to blow up the importance of this operation.

Finally, in the funding amount column, Spandam hesitated for a long time and filled in forty million.

After doing all this, Spandam was about to submit the report to his superior, but he paused at the very last moment.

He picked up the fountain pen again and added a zero after the funding number.

"Hmm."

"I'm doing this all for Mary Geoise!"

"Did they reject it?"

Enies Lobby.

In an office, Spandam held a Den Den Mushi, and Crocodile's low, hoarse laughter came through the receiver.

"Guhahahaha..."

"So does our deal continue?"

"Yes."

Spandam nodded and said:

"As long as Ghost Jin is killed, that fruit will inevitably be reborn somewhere; at that time, we will be able to obtain it."

"Of course, as a reward, 'That Person' can cover for all your actions in Alabasta."

On the other end of the phone.

Crocodile sat on the sofa, legs crossed, posture relaxed, and said calmly:

"No problem."

"Still, I'm curious—you, an elder of the CP organization, are already at an age where you could retire in glory, so why place yourself in such danger?"

Spandam spoke calmly:

"Only after entrusting everything to that boy did I finally understand."

"Mariejois can grant me supreme glory, yet also strip it away with a single thought."

"Power that can be taken away by another's word is never true power."

"Only absolute violence, capable of destroying everything, is the foundation of power."

A silence fell on the other end of the line.

Only after several breaths did a sigh come through:

"I find it hard to imagine that the arrogant, no—incredibly foolish man who invited me to join the Seven Warlords back then could say such things."

"But."

"Happy cooperation!"

"Happy cooperation!"

Click—!

He hung up the phone.

Spandam turned toward the window and murmured:

"Past lessons have shown that Crocodile alone is not enough to ensure safety."

"Roubo Luqi must act."

"But."

"How do I convince that idiot son of mine…?"

For a moment.

Spandam fell into deep thought.

The office lights burned through the night, only turning off when the sun rose the next day.

…

…

…

Near the Magnetic Drum Kingdom's waters.

A pirate ship sailed through purple smoke.

The lead man had a pink mushroom-shaped haircut and wore an eye patch; his expression radiated uncontainable cruelty and defiance.

His name was Mshuru, elder brother of the current Magnetic Drum Kingdom king, Wapol.

More than a decade ago, due to his excessively brutal nature, he was exiled by the former king and became a pirate lord operating near the Magnetic Drum Kingdom's waters.

"How could that fool Wapol possibly govern a country?!"

"That old man took everything from me just because I killed a few civilians?"

As he spoke,

countless purple mushroom spores drifted from Mshuru's body, carried by the sea breeze into the surrounding air.

This was precisely the ability of the Kin-kin Fruit.

It could generate deadly mushroom spores that spread through the air.

If left unchecked, these spores would cause catastrophic consequences, triggering plagues, countless deaths, even the collapse of an entire nation.

This was the source of his confidence.

"My lord Mshuru!"

A pirate wearing a gas mask hurried to Mshuru's side and said with Solemn expression:

"The spore cultivation base we left at Silver Moon Port has been destroyed."

"The attackers were a band of pirates."

"But those we stationed nearby saw a giant dragon, entirely crimson, breathe fire and burn the entire port to ashes."

"They say the dragon's size was even larger than a pirate ship—no, larger than a warship!"

"Dragon?"

Mshuru's face darkened:

"A Mythical Zoan user? Can you confirm their identity?!"

"Yes, but…"

The pirate's voice trembled with fear; he swallowed hard before continuing:

"We compared their pirate flag and confirmed the attackers were the new Warlord—Knight Gao Wen."

"The former bounty of 248 million Berries."

"Such an opponent…"

He did not finish, but the meaning was clear.

A Warlord was an absolute heavyweight anywhere, even in the New World, ranking only below the Four Emperors.

Even Mshuru could not handle such an opponent.

Yet upon hearing this, Mshuru's face twisted into a cruel smile:

"Of course I cannot handle such an opponent—but…"

"Do you know why I've returned this time? Why, after that crushing defeat, I rose again so swiftly?"

Saying this,

Mshuru ripped off the pirate's gas mask and, amid the man's terrified gaze, pressed a small ball of purple spores he had condensed into his mouth.

He watched the pirate gradually lose his breath, the ferocity in his own eyes becoming increasingly difficult to suppress.

"Of course there is someone behind it!"

"It is the Beasts!"

The pirate's pupils contracted sharply; he stammered out pleas for mercy, yet his abdominal cavity was filled by mushrooms growing wildly, causing his entire body to swell like a balloon.

Boom!

His body exploded, spraying mushroom spores across the sky that drifted away with the wind, leaving only a human skin on the ground to mark the traces of his former existence.

All the surrounding pirates displayed expressions of sheer terror, fearing that they would be the next ones.

As they looked at Mushuru, their awe deepened; some even trembled in their legs, a warm stream flowing down their trouser legs and emitting a pungent stench of urine.

Seeing the expressions of the crowd, Mushuru nodded in satisfaction and murmured:

"Whether it is that old fellow or Wapol, both are excessively childish; only by making those commoners fearful can one keep one's power secure."

"This time, I will reclaim everything of mine right here!"

"Additionally, the matter of the Gao Wen Pirates must also be reported to my lord."

"After all, between them, there still exists a blood feud!"

(End of Chapter)