Chapter 198

"Chatter chatter~"

The owl sat aside, arms crossed, eyes closed in a posture of deep thought.

The zipper on his mouth had long been pulled open by him; what should be said and what should not, all poured out of his mouth in one rush.

Now that they were already captured, they did not even know if they would see tomorrow's sun.

Thus, this time, neither Jabra nor Kumadori made a move to physically silence him; after all, having held it in for so long, one had to let loose before dying.

"Moreover, it is not just Roubo Luqi; Miss Kalifa is also acting strangely."

"Her gaze has been fixed on Knight Gao Wen; that look in her eyes is like... like..."

Jabra sighed and finished the sentence for him:

"Like a girl lost in love."

"I think so too!"

Kumadori nodded repeatedly, though his heart held more confusion than agreement.

"Do you suspect Roubo Luqi has already betrayed the CP organization?!"

Jabra remained indifferent.

For him, this originally required no hesitation.

Before last night, even though Jabra and Roubo Luqi were at odds, he still had to admit that man's loyalty to the World Government and to justice.

After all, that was the monster who, at the age of thirteen, cold-bloodedly killed all pirates threatening World Government member nations, as well as all hostages present.

But when he saw Roubo Luqi again last night, he saw something in that man that had never existed before.

A feeling of being bathed in sunlight, something that should not appear in people of their kind.

Just like...

"That guy... seems to have truly come alive!"

"But what exactly happened to cause such a profound change in that kind of monster?!"

This question seemed to press the pause button on the entire cell.

Even the owl fell silent in that moment.

After a long while.

Jabra finally murmured:

"Judging by that guy's state, this change must be considered quite good, right?!"

"Tsk~"

Jabra pouted, speaking self-mockingly:

"We can barely save ourselves; where would we find the mind to worry about that annoying guy."

Though he said this, the worry in his eyes was impossible to hide even a little.

But at that very moment.

A crisp sound of footsteps came from the darkness, approaching from afar, accompanied by the dim yellow light in the cell turning on.

Hadory, a pure white dove wearing a tie, fluttered its wings and flew from the end of the corridor into the cell where Jabra was held.

"Coo coo~"

"Hadory?"

Jabra stared at the white dove before him, which looked so proud and even carried a hint of showiness, and was momentarily stunned.

When he raised his head, he saw Roubo Luqi, with a slight smile on his lips, standing outside the cell, looking at him with a mocking expression.

"Ho~"

"It is rare to see you in such a wretched state."

"Tsk!"

Jabra pouted, turned his head away directly, and spoke with a tone of reluctance:

"If it weren't for these handcuffs, I could knock you down right now!"

Roubo Luqi remained completely unmoved.

A few years ago, when he and Jabra acted separately, their strength was nearly equal, and within CP9 there was even a subtle trend of them standing in opposition to each other.

They had fought each other countless times.

But since he joined Gao Wen's pirate crew, his own strength had long become incomparable to what it was before.

"You no longer stir my interest now."

Roubo Luqi's voice was cold, as if stating a fact, but to Jabra's ears, it was exceptionally grating.

So much so that Jabra's face instantly turned red, yet his body, restricted by the Sea Prism Stone, could not muster a shred of strength.

"It has been several years; other skills have not improved, but your tongue has become sharper and sharper."

Jabra looked at the shackles on his hands; unwilling to admit weakness before his old rival, he simply closed his eyes, yet voiced the question in his heart:

"What exactly did you experience?"

"Or perhaps..."

"Have you already Betrayed the World Government?"

"No!"

Roubo Luqi shook his head:

"It was the World Government that abandoned me."

Jabra was stunned; even the owl and Kumadori, who had been silent all along, could not help but look at Roubo Luqi, their faces showing expressions of disbelief.

"How is that possible?"

The owl exclaimed in surprise:

"You are the man with the greatest talent CP9 has seen in eight hundred years!"

"A figure destined almost inevitably to enter CP0, even rising to the highest echelons."

"Are those people mad?"

Roubo Luqi recalled the words Gismonda had spoken that night himself; the mockery on his face was completely unmasked:

"To the World Government, we are merely tools after all."

"The so-called justice..."

"... is nothing more than shackles binding us, allowing us to become instruments of slaughter with a clear conscience."

"And once a tool loses its value, it is discarded."

"Kalifa and I are the first, but we will absolutely not be the last."

He looked at Jabra and could not help but advise:

"I cannot tell you to abandon everything you have and betray the World Government; after all, that would be like walking from one abyss into another."

"Jabra, although we have had many conflicts, although I also find you annoying, we are comrades after all."

Jabra froze, stiffening his neck and saying:

"Who said we are comrades?"

"Hmph."

Roubo Luqi shook his head, paying no attention at all to Jabra's denial.

After formally joining Gao Wen's Pirate Crew, he gradually began to try abandoning his original mindset, removing the shackles the World Government had forced upon him, to view this world, to view these former comrades.

Naturally, he gained a different realization.

He said lightly:

"You are still just as... what did Captain Gao Wen say?"

"Oh, right, 'mouth says no, body says yes'."

"Shut up!"

Jabra's old face turned red; the owl beside him nodded repeatedly:

"That's right, this guy was just worrying about your safety."

With his secret exposed, Jabra's expression stiffened; he raised his hand and directly zipped the owl's mouth shut:

"Shut up!"

Roubo Luqi laughed helplessly; the aura around him became even more peaceful; he shook his head helplessly:

"The owl hasn't changed one bit."

"However."

"Since you intend to stay within the CP organization, then climb as high as possible by all means, truly seizing power into your own hands."

"Instead of being a pawn that can be discarded at any time, just like now."

Jabra turned to look at Roubo Luqi before him, putting aside that shred of shame, and turned his gaze back to Roubo Luqi.

If before he had merely suspected that some change had occurred within Roubo Luqi, now he was certain.

This old rival who had competed with him for many years had truly made a decision to abandon his former justice and pursue a brand new life.

"Does Gao Wen's Pirate Crew really possess such great magic, making someone like you join it wholeheartedly?"

"What a joke!"

Roubo Luqi said lightly:

"When the target you are meant to assassinate fights to the death to block a monster from the New World to buy you time to escape,"

"And the justice you rely on decides to erase you merely because of suspicion, you too would make such a choice."

"Captain Gao Wen has no intention of making things difficult for the Princess of Alabasta and the three of you; afterwards, he will release you and Vivi."

"No need to worry about your lives."

Seeing that he had said what needed to be said, Roubo Luqi prepared to leave; he waved to the white dove Hadoli.

The latter cooed twice, pecked at Jabra's hand, then turned and flew back to Roubo Luqi's shoulder, raising one wing in a salute.

The three breathed a sigh of relief, yet grew even more curious about Roubo Luqi's experiences and this sudden change.

Those words Roubo Luqi spoke so lightly, when put into reality, were life-and-death struggles time and again.

As members of the CP organization, they knew even more clearly: once those people take action, once they decide to erase someone, how decisive and ruthless their strike will be.

"Roubo Luqi, you..."

Jabra opened his mouth, not knowing what to say for a moment.

That curiosity, that concern, that worry for Roubo Luqi's experiences over these years, when spoken, turned into a single sentence.

"How strong are you now?"

"My Ryou value broke through two thousand half a year ago."

"If you were still at your previous level, you would absolutely not be my opponent!"

Roubo Luqi's departing steps paused; he turned his head, but his gaze fell upon the owl, a look of interest appearing on his face:

"I haven't tested in a long time."

"Now it should... be over three thousand!"

"What a joke?!"

Jabra's face was full of shock.

He knew Roubo Luqi's talent was far above his own; even if he was unwilling to admit it, he understood in his heart that Roubo Luqi surpassing him was only a matter of time.

But for the gap to be this large far exceeded his expectations.

"Chababa~"

"No matter how you look at it, this growth rate is just too bizarre, isn't it?!"

"This is nothing yet~"

Roubo Luqi gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Recalling the monsters on the ship, even he could not help but feel shocked.

His gaze fell on the owl beside him, and he said:

"Speaking of which, what's the upper limit of the Dao Force value you can test right now."

The owl closed its eyes, its brow slightly furrowed, and sat cross-legged on the spot, falling into deep thought. After several breaths, it slowly opened its eyes toward him:

"For values within ten thousand, there probably shouldn't be much of a problem. Any higher than that, and my body probably wouldn't be able to handle it."

Roubo Luqi nodded, recalling the group of monsters on the ship who had plunged into frenzied cultivation, as well as the unfathomable Gao Wen, and his interest was immediately piqued:

"Interesting!"

"Do me a favor—test the Dao Force values of Xiang Keluo and the others."

"I'd like to see just how big the gap is between myself and those monsters."

The Weiqu beside him suddenly widened his eyes, because he had caught the subtext in Roubo Luqi's words:

"On this ship, shouldn't you be the monster second only to Knight Gao Wen? Besides him, is there anyone stronger than you?!"

"A Dao Force value of three thousand is already close to the level of a vice admiral. Even for a monster like you, that's… Was it the guy who attacked me yesterday? And that monster wielding claw blades?!"

"Impossible!"

Roubo Luqi neither affirmed nor denied, and said lightly:

"Who's stronger and who's weaker—that can only be known after a test."

(End of chapter)