One Piece: The Archangel's Guide

Chapter 25: CP9 in the Storm

Sea Calendar 1509, East Blue.

In the training room of the Red Force, Louis wore the heaviest weights the Red Hair Pirates owned, with the largest-spec dumbbells resting on his legs. He was bare-chested and in a handstand, supporting his entire body on just two fingers. On the ship that swayed constantly in the wind and rain, he maintained his balance while continuously training his body. As he exercised, beads of sweat flowed down his body, dripping from his face onto the floorboards.

Beside him was Yelena, wearing a black sports vest, doing squats and frog jumps while carrying a smaller set of dumbbells. Under Hongo's excellent medical care, Yelena's body no longer felt pain and had recovered to the point where she could train again.

In the training room's rest area, Uta, with her white and red hair, leaned against the sofa, quietly watching the two train while enjoying tea and pastries.

Both of them were completely used to Uta's presence. Ever since they had chosen to temporarily stay on the Red Force, Uta had grown fond of following the two who were close to her in age. Shanks and the others were a bit disheartened at first, but they also thought it was good for Uta to interact more with people her own age. At the very least, it might help her forget that terrifying idea of hers faster.

Therefore, Shanks and the crew had recently started to get Uta into training, and she didn't object to this way of spending time with her peers, cooperating quite well. However, as Uta's talent for physical training was not high, her training intensity was worlds apart from Yelena's. Her training volume wasn't high and mainly consisted of slashes with a light, one-handed sword and stamina exercises designed for her by Beckman and the others.

Although her talent wasn't great, thanks to the companionship of Louis and the others and her own persistence, she had at least shown clear improvement. According to her, she could now sing three or five songs in a row without feeling tired.

To this, Louis gave an objective evaluation: "The power of a goose, level three!"

For over a year, this not-so-large training room had basically been occupied by these three. Occasionally, when someone else wanted to enter, Uta would ruthlessly chase them out. She claimed it was the girls' territory and adults weren't allowed.

To this, Louis could only say, "???" He reckoned that although his 11-year-old self could be described as beautiful, it was the kind of beauty that was the pinnacle of masculinity; anyone could tell his gender at a glance. Louis didn't think he was the type whose gender was ambiguous. Even the person who called him a succubus had never said such a thing.

"..."

After a long time, Louis stood up and gently put down the dumbbells. He looked thoughtfully toward the southeast. He had heard another interesting word.

"CP9?"

Louis's movement also caught the attention of the other two. Yelena stopped her training as well. Looking at Louis's face, which had transformed from round to having a sharp, masculine beauty, she tucked a strand of sweat-dampened white hair behind her ear. "What's wrong?" she asked softly.

"A ship's course has collided with the Red Force's," Louis replied in a low voice as he walked into the rest area and picked up a towel to wipe the sweat from his body.

"Pirates? Marines? Or a merchant ship?" Yelena pressed. She knew Louis's Observation Haki was terrifyingly powerful; a distance of several kilometers was no different from being right next door to him.

"They're CP agents..." Louis put down the towel, an inexplicable light flickering in his eyes.

Hearing this, Yelena's gaze instantly turned cold. She remembered that CP agents had also been involved in the incident targeting her.

"Here, a towel." After hearing the news, Uta was startled. She handed a towel she had already prepared to Yelena, who was approaching, then left the training room to inform Shanks.

Yelena wiped her skin, which had recovered its fair complexion, and an eager look flashed in her eyes. "How long until we meet them?"

"Soon. About two nautical miles. They're also sailing with the storm. It won't be long before we meet."

"Is that so?" Yelena's gentle demeanor returned.

On the other side of the ship, Uta pushed open Shanks's cabin door, panting as she looked at Shanks, who had just hung up a Den Den Mushi. "Shanks, Louis said a ship with CP agents is coming!"

Shanks was taken aback, then smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, we're very strong!"

The storm raged, whipping up layers of waves on the sea, causing the sailing ship to constantly sway and creak. On the deep, dark sea, a searchlight with extremely strong penetrating power lit up the dim sky, sweeping back and forth.

BOOM—

With a roar that seemed to herald the apocalypse, searing white lightning crawled across the dark clouds, briefly illuminating the sea's surface and revealing a massive warship almost right on top of a three-masted galleon.

"That's... Red-Hair's ship!" a cry of alarm rang out from the warship. "The vicious great pirate who destroyed the Jacob Kingdom a year ago!"

On the other side, on the deck of the Red Force, battered by wind and rain...

"It seems CP9 really is on board!"

"This is troublesome." Beckman had a cigarette in his mouth, letting the rain slide down his face. Behind him, Lucky Roux tore a large piece of meat from the bone in his hand, a wild smile on his face as he chewed.

At the very front of the group, Shanks, wearing his straw hat, had a mysterious smile. "It's fine. We're very strong. Get ready!"

Then, he looked at Louis, who was standing with a blank expression, exuding a bone-chilling cold, his hand already gripping his spear. "Louis," Shanks said with a smile, "let us handle it this time!"

Over the past year, Shanks and the others had learned Louis's style. No ship related to the World Government ever left a complete wreck. Among the Lunarians, he was one of the few relatively restrained individuals. But Shanks was worried that Louis might slip up and blow the ship—along with their target—out of the water.

"Alright!" After some thought, Louis agreed to Shanks's request.

Louis roughly knew what this incident was about. But he didn't care about any Nika Fruit. As long as all the CP9 members sank here, that was enough. The Nika Fruit would be useless in his hands; there was no need to obtain it. His opinion of the future king, Luffy, was similar. He didn't like him, but he didn't hate him either. Without any conflict, Louis wouldn't go out of his way to belittle or stomp on him.

Louis looked at Yelena beside him, whose figure was no longer as frail as before. "You go too. I'll clean up!"

"Okay!" Yelena nodded slowly and then took a deep breath. In an instant, her aura changed. The wind and rain began to freeze...

Meanwhile, aboard the warship.

The once-orderly posts were now in disarray due to the sudden incident, the deck a chaotic mess. A man with medium-length pink hair and oni horns on his head stood disheveled in the wind.

"What did you say?!"

"Red-Hair? What's their objective?"

"There's no treasure on this ship!"

"There's only one Devil Fruit!"

He then looked at the small treasure chest placed casually next to a wooden crate, his face full of disbelief.

"This is the fruit that can turn you into rubber..."

"Right?!"