Chapter 401: He Is Worth It!

Night grew deeper.

Roubo Luqi, having returned to Gao Wen's group, first fought a fierce battle with Zoro and then cultivated for most of the day, yet he felt only completely refreshed, as if every pore on his body was breathing.

"Hoo~!"

Roubo Luqi exhaled a long breath, and all the exhaustion throughout his body vanished without a trace.

Seeing this, Kaku, who was traveling with them, immediately shivered.

It wasn't that he hadn't witnessed individuals who cultivated with great diligence, but to be as diligent as Gao Wen's group was, to be honest, somewhat excessive.

That wasn't cultivation; that was simply torture!

Originally, he had no objection to following Roubo Luqi, or even betraying the World Government to join forces under Gao Wen.

After all, Gao Wen's reputation across the seas was undeniable, but now he felt his previous considerations had been somewhat impulsive.

While lost in thought,

Kaku turned his head and exchanged a glance with Jabura beside him; both saw the hesitation in each other's hearts.

There was no other meaning to it.

It was simply the feeling that if they continued cultivating at Roubo Luqi's current pace, their bodies would collapse within a month.

After hesitating for a moment, Kaku couldn't help but speak up to advise:

"Roubo Luqi..."

"No matter how you look at it, going to this extent is a bit too exaggerated!"

"This extent?!"

Roubo Luqi turned around, looking strangely at the companions behind him, and subconsciously curled his lips:

"This extent doesn't even count as a warm-up."

Clearly, the intensity of tonight's cultivation had failed to satisfy Roubo Luqi.

The corner of Kaku's mouth twitched, and Jabura was likewise unable to utter a single word.

Only now did they realize that no matter what they said, it held little significance for Roubo Luqi in his current state.

Roubo Luqi had gone mad!

Just like those cultivation maniacs in the Gao Wen Pirates!

Involution!

Too much involution!

The three of them traveled in silence.

Eventually, they parted ways at the three-way intersection near the port and the administrative building.

Kaku and Jabura were still Roubo Luqi's subordinates at this time and needed to return to the CP0 ship.

Roubo Luqi, however, headed toward the center of Camelot.

A few minutes later,

Roubo Luqi pushed open the door to the administrative building.

As expected,

Gao Wen and Keluo were already waiting there.

After Gao Wen roughly explained the context and consequences of the Five Elders' recent probe, he handed the choice over to Roubo Luqi.

"In other words, those five have already seen through my identity?"

Roubo Luqi's brows furrowed slightly; after pondering for a moment, he roughly pieced together the truth in his mind:

"Logically speaking, the guards in Impel Down share the same interests as I do; they would not, and could not, expose me."

"Then was it the prisoner who saw Keluo infiltrate?!"

A name immediately surfaced in Keluo's mind:

"Blackbeard?!"

Gao Wen nodded:

"It must be him."

"After the Summit War, that fellow was imprisoned in Impel Down again; furthermore, he originally intended to expose us but was stopped by Sengoku at the time, so it is highly probable he revealed us while in prison."

"Deducing from this, Roubo Luqi, who helped cover for us, cannot escape suspicion."

After pondering for a moment, Roubo Luqi raised his head to face Gao Wen, his gaze firm:

"Captain, let me go."

"To buy time, this is the best method."

Gao Wen asked again:

"Have you thought it through?!"

"This time is different from before; one careless move could cost you your life?!"

The corner of Roubo Luqi's mouth curled upward:

"As agents, we are already dancing on the tip of a blade."

"The moment I chose to return to the World Government and become your eyes, I had already prepared myself for this."

A thought stirred in Gao Wen's heart, and he reached out his hand toward Roubo Luqi:

"Where is that Number Three coin you had earlier?"

Roubo Luqi was stunned; although he didn't know Gao Wen's purpose, he instinctively removed the coin, which he had strung into a necklace, from his neck and handed it to Gao Wen.

The next instant,

Gulp—!

Wild Haki erupted from Gao Wen, yet he confined it within the room.

Roubo Luqi felt only as if he were submerged in an extremely viscous liquid, his very consciousness on the verge of dissipating!

Gao Wen's Conqueror's Haki almost surpassed everything Roubo Luqi had ever known; this was no longer something achievable through willpower alone!

This surge of Conqueror's Haki arrived swiftly and departed just as quickly.

It was not withdrawn back into Gao Wen's body, but rather compressed entirely into the Number Three Coin held in his hand.

When Gao Wen handed this coin back to Roubo Luqi, Roubo Luqi felt only that the coin seemed several degrees heavier.

Before Roubo Luqi could speak, Gao Wen took the initiative to explain:

"A small technique I mastered previously."

"It allows one to store one's own Haki within a certain medium; if the material is suitable, it can be preserved for hundreds of years without dissipating."

"Its strength is roughly equivalent to one of my full-power slashes."

"With this coin in hand, even if the Five Elders join forces to attack you, you can repel them briefly."

"But there is only one chance."

Roubo Luqi's pupils contracted.

He did not doubt Gao Wen's words in the slightest, yet he understood all too well what kind of existence the Five Elders truly were.

Each of those five possessed combat power no weaker than that of a Marine Admiral.

And if merely a residual strand of Conqueror's Haki left behind held such power, then just how strong must Gao Wen, its master, be?

The more Roubo Luqi pondered this, the more he felt a reverence arising from the depths of his heart.

Roubo Luqi lowered his head, gazing at the Number Three Coin; feeling its heavy weight, he was just about to say something when he saw Gao Wen take out another object and place it in his hand.

That object was unmistakably another coin, and thus, before the shocked gazes of everyone present, the process from just before was enacted once again.

Again and again.

By the time Gao Wen stopped, the number of coins in Roubo Luqi's hand had exceeded ten.

"This should be about enough."

Xiang Keluo, standing nearby, twitched the corner of his mouth:

"Are you preparing to let him throw these things like grenades?"

Gao Wen paid no heed to Xiang Keluo's sarcasm, reaching up to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

Then, as if still not entirely at ease, he fished a special coin from his person and handed it to Roubo Luqi, instructing:

"This is a special coin crafted by Beville; snapping it in half will open a gateway to Britannias."

"No matter what situation arises, prioritize your own survival."

"I..."

Roubo Luqi opened and closed his mouth; those words poised to escape reached his lips, yet in the end, only a single character remained:

"Good."

He had once regarded the justice of the World Government as his faith, yet to the latter, it was merely a tool to be discarded at any moment.

The education he had received taught that so long as the mission was completed, anything could be sacrificed.

But at this moment, Roubo Luqi also realized that for certain people, one's own life held greater value than any mission.

He possessed the qualification to choose his own path forward.

"I will definitely complete the mission and will not disappoint you."

Roubo Luqi bowed deeply to Gao Wen, solemn yet carrying a devotion akin to that of a believer.

Gao Wen shook his head and said:

"The best way for you not to disappoint me is to return alive!"

"I will."

Roubo Luqi clenched the coins in his palm tightly.

After Gao Wen gave him a few more instructions, Roubo Luqi departed under the cover of night, returning to the CP0 ship stationed within the harbor.

The next day.

The CP organization's ship sailed out of the port of Britannias, embarking on the return journey.

Meanwhile, everything that had transpired in Britannias, along with the answers Roubo Luqi had received from Gao Wen, had already been transmitted to Mary Geoise the previous night.

At this moment.

In Pangong Castle.

Within a luxurious office, the Five Elders gathered, looking at the report transmitted by the CP organization, momentarily falling into deep thought.

"Knight Gao Wen allowed Rob-Roubo Luqi to return?!"

Saint Warcury relaxed his brow, unable to help but exhale a long breath, and the other four did the same.