PIRATES: I WORK IN NAVY FROM NINE TO FIVE

"These people… belong to CP0!"

With a flicker of motion, Spandine and Iga flashed across the battlefield, vanishing from sight and reappearing in the shattered ruins using Soru.

Behind them, Iher, who had just stirred with a hint of defiance, immediately felt his will falter.

And when Luo Yu's gaze turned toward him—sharp, cold, and indifferent—Iher's face went ghostly pale.

But with the arrow already nocked, he had no choice but to follow through. Even though he wanted to retreat, the name of CP0 was too heavy for him to simply back down.

So he grit his teeth and kept pace.

"Admiral Luo Yu… they're from CP0!"Ain, who had just arrived beside him with a Den Den Mushi in hand, suddenly tensed.

As Zephyr's protégé, Ain knew exactly what CP0 represented.

If CP9 was the most elite intelligence unit on Enies Lobby...

Then CP0 stood above even them—the personal agents of the Five Elders, the elite of elites.

Their authority was so great that even the Navy's top brass exercised caution around them.

For them to suddenly appear and demand custody of CP9… it was nothing short of ominous.

At that moment, the faces of Kalifa, Jabra, and the others instantly paled.

They had expected CP0 to arrive eventually.

But they never imagined that they'd been lurking here all along, waiting like wolves for the opportune moment.

Originally, even if captured by the Marines, CP9 expected to be taken back to Marineford—giving them time to negotiate, appeal, perhaps even earn reprieve.

But if CP0 took them?

There would be no bargaining.

Only a swift and brutal end.

As for running?

They had considered it… but after witnessing the scorched earth, and looking at Pica's ruined body...

Escape was not an option.

So now, they could only turn their eyes toward Luo Yu…

Hoping he might offer them a sliver of salvation.

"You want to take them?"Luo Yu lightly adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and spoke flatly.

"Heh… Admiral Luo Yu, you didn't mishear,"Spandine stepped forward with a smile."CP9 betrayed Enies Lobby and brought the World Government a disgrace unseen in eight hundred years. We, CP0, are here to investigate—and must escort them back to the Five Elders directly."

"Of course," Spandine continued, "credit where it's due. We wouldn't have apprehended CP9 without your efforts. To show our gratitude…"

"This little item should be worth dozens of times more than the meager bounty you're expecting."

"Why don't you take a look?"

From beneath his cloak, Spandine produced a metallic case, instantly drawing every gaze in the area.

As the case clicked open, many pupils dilated in shock.

Inside lay a Devil Fruit, its skin covered in arcane markings.

A relic of the sea… a treasure that countless powers would fight to the death for.

"There's an old saying on the Grand Line,""A mediocre man becomes a monster—all he needs is the right Devil Fruit."

Among the Four Emperors, three of them were Fruit users.

That alone made these mystical fruits objects of obsession.

Even the most common Zoan-type could fetch hundreds of millions at auction.

This… was no ordinary fruit.

"Admiral Luo Yu,"Ain quickly flipped through her compact Devil Fruit encyclopedia, the one passed down from Zephyr himself."I've seen this before—this is a Zoan-type Ancient Model... Neko Neko no Mi, Saber-Toothed Tiger form. On the black market, it's worth at least one billion Berries!"

Spandine let out a satisfied chuckle.

Good items were wasted on those who couldn't recognize them. Thankfully, Ain did.

The Devil Fruit had once been reserved—a priceless ancient model Spandine intended to give to his precious son Spandam, in hopes of redeeming his miserable combat power.

But with the fall of Enies Lobby, those plans had crumbled.

Now, in a desperate move to salvage the Spandine family's political capital, he was reluctantly offering it up.

He had planned to explain its value carefully—but with Ain doing the work for him, that was no longer necessary.

"Heh… as expected of Zephyr's disciple. Able to identify such a rare Devil Fruit with a glance."Suppressing his anguish, Spandine turned to Iga and Iher, giving them a subtle signal.

"This fruit, in the Auction Houses of Sabaody, would fetch at least a billion. That's far more than a few million in bonus pay."

"Admiral Luo Yu, let's not be strangers. We'll surely cooperate again in the future. So allow me to take these people off your hands."

With that, Spandine closed the box and offered it forward—forcing himself to push past the heartache of parting with such a treasure.

All the while, he silently vowed that once this was over, he would give Spandam a proper life lesson… one that wouldn't impact his ability to reproduce, but would leave a lasting memory.

Iga, meanwhile, stepped forward and discreetly pulled out a CP0-exclusive Den Den Mushi, preparing to request reinforcements.

But just then—

"Sorry,"Luo Yu took another swig of his rustic brew and said calmly,"Did I ever say you could take them?"

The entire battlefield froze.

Spandine's hand, still holding out the Devil Fruit, now hung awkwardly mid-air.

Was Luo Yu really rejecting the offer of a billion-Berry fruit?

"Admiral Luo Yu... this is a joke, right?"Spandine's face darkened.

His hands twitched—he didn't know whether to hold it out or pull it back.

But Luo Yu didn't move, didn't respond.

"Fine then," Spandine's expression twisted with rage."You refuse the wine and ask for the punishment instead?"

"Others may respect your rank as a Navy Admiral, but we are CP0, agents directly under the Five Elders!"

"Yes, you helped us catch CP9. That's a great merit. But don't forget—you're only assisting CP0. The operation is ours."

"I've already offered a one-billion-Berry Devil Fruit in exchange—that's more than generous. If you push this further, don't blame us for taking them by force!"

In the back, Iher froze.

He had tried to ignore the anxiety gnawing at his gut—but now, it exploded like a geyser.

Looking at Spandine, who had always relied on his CP0 badge to act without restraint...

He realized the man had lost his mind.

"Did you just say... you'd take them by force?"Luo Yu's brow lifted slightly.A faint smile played at his lips."Sounds to me like you're not really CP0 at all."