One Piece: The Arm of Fate

"Trash, trash…"

Nami's voice was like a devil's whisper, echoing endlessly in Bruno's ears.

But as a member of CP9 who had always been proud and aloof, Bruno found himself completely speechless.

Just a few minutes ago—

Kaku and Kalifa had been taken down, unable to fight.

Meanwhile, the two girls were completely unharmed.

There was no way he could take them both on alone…

Absolutely impossible!

He had to escape!

Enduring the searing pain in his chest, he struggled to his feet and activated Soru.

Swish!

In a blink, he flashed to Kaku and Kalifa's side and reached out to grab them.

But just then—

A figure appeared in front of him with a flash. The blue-haired girl was already smiling and standing there.

She used Soru too?!

Bruno's face darkened.

This girl also knows the Six Powers?!

"Hey."

Nojiko stood close, grinning. "Trying to save your teammates at this point? Aren't you a little too optimistic?"

Boom!

Another punch landed!

Bruno was blasted back and slammed into the wall. The injury from this strike was even worse—he collapsed to the ground, vision spinning, nearly blacking out.

No chance to save them.

If he took another hit, he'd die here.

Gritting his teeth, Bruno opened his right hand and pressed it to the ground, activating his Door-Door Fruit.

He opened a door in the air!

Buzz!

A square-shaped door suddenly appeared in the floor, revealing a green, shadowy void. Bruno's body dropped into it due to gravity and disappeared instantly.

The door closed immediately afterward, and the ground returned to normal.

"Eh?!" Nami, still sitting cross-legged on the wall, widened her eyes. "Where did he go?"

"He's gone."

Nojiko dashed over and looked around, frowning. "No trace left. How did he do that? A Devil Fruit ability?"

"It's the Paramecia-type Door-Door Fruit."

Robin frowned slightly. "The one who eats it can open doors on air, walls, floors, and create passages between different spaces—difficult to guard against. A very troublesome power."

"What? That kind of shameless fruit exists?"

Nami jumped down and gave Kaku's long nose a little kick in frustration. "Tch. I was planning to let him taste my fruit ability. Such a coward…"

"It's fine. These two are enough."

Nojiko glanced at the unconscious pair on the ground. "Let's take them and regroup with Kuina. These CP9 agents aren't too strong, but they're hiding in the shadows, and we're out in the open. We still need to be cautious and stick together. When they wake up, we'll see if we can get any info out of them—like whether they have more people on this island."

"Hey!"

A window upstairs suddenly flung open. A fat old lady stuck her head out and shouted angrily, "What are you doing down there? Do you have any sense of decency? Making such a ruckus in the middle of the night!"

Then she saw the cracked wall below and froze. "My wall…"

"Sorry, ma'am."

Nami immediately pulled a wad of bills from her wallet and tossed them up. "That's 200,000 Berries. More than enough to fix the wall. Consider the rest our apology."

The old lady caught the money, paused, and then her expression softened.

Counting the cash with a smile, she chirped, "Oh, kids these days sure are polite!"

"Go on, go on, make all the noise you want. Tear the whole wall down if you like!"

After the old lady shut her window and disappeared, Robin looked at Nami and shook her head helplessly. "You gave too much."

Even in an expensive city like Water Seven, repairing that wall would cost, at most, 60,000 or 70,000 Berries.

"That little money doesn't matter."

Nami waved it off with a grin. "We're the ones who caused the trouble, right? It's only fair we make up for it. Besides, once we sell those treasures, we'll make a few hundred million Berries more."

What belongs to her brother is hers too.

Money? There's always more to be made. Who cares about a few hundred thousand Berries?

…

At the same time—

Hundreds of meters away, deep in a dark alley—

Thud!

Bruno fell from the air in a messy heap, crashing hard onto the ground. The pain shot through his body, causing him to groan.

"Damn it…"

He clutched his chest, panting with cold sweat beading down his face. Looking around and confirming he hadn't been followed, he began assessing the situation.

He couldn't return to the tavern.

Even though he wore a mask, his voice and build may have given him away.

That left only one option.

He had to go to that place.

"I need to inform Lucci right away!"

Bruno staggered up, pressed against the alley wall, and limped forward.

"Nicole Robin… and those companions of hers… Who the hell are they?!"

…

Carrera Company, Dock No. 1

Across from the entrance was a small, dust-filled room that hadn't been cleaned in ages.

This was the secret meeting point that CP9 had set up when they first arrived in Water Seven.

Later, after Bruno began running the tavern, meetings moved there, and this place had fallen into disuse.

Now—

Wearing a mask, Bruno sat anxiously at the table, waiting.

Finally, the door opened.

Lucci stepped in. On his shoulder perched the white dove that had been with him for nearly twenty years.

He still wore the uniform of a shipwright, but his cold gaze and aura reeked of danger.

"Yo, Bruno."

Lucci said nothing, but the dove on his shoulder struck a pose and spoke, "You look awful."

Bruno smiled bitterly, took off his mask, and revealed his pale, battered face. "Sorry, Lucci… The mission failed."

"Where are Kaku and Kalifa?" the dove asked, narrowing its eyes at the wounds on Bruno's chest and abdomen.

"They were captured."

Bruno clenched his jaw. "Those two girls… They're strong. Way stronger than we expected. I barely escaped thanks to my fruit ability."

Lucci was silent for a while. He walked to the window and looked out over the bustling dock.

The dove crossed its wings in thought, frowning. "Tell us the whole story."

Bruno nodded, took a breath, and explained everything.

From Robin's unusual reaction, to Nojiko's punch that shattered Tekkai, and Kaku and Kalifa's bizarre injuries—

"A Logia user?!"

Lucci finally broke his silence. His expression shifted slightly. "Or were there two of them?"

"That's what they claimed. It's the only way to explain why physical attacks had no effect."

Bruno sighed bitterly. "And they know the Six Powers—even better than we do…"

Lucci drummed his fingers on the window frame, sinking into thought.

"Nicole Robin…" he muttered. "When did she acquire such allies?"

"Lucci."

Bruno hesitated, but still asked, "What should we do next? I think… we may have provoked someone we shouldn't have."

"Oh?"

Lucci shot him a glance. "You scared?"

"Not of them!"

Bruno shook his head. "But if those were just the crew members… what about their captain? When you think about it, it's chilling. There might be someone behind them we can't handle."

"Good intuition… You're right."

Lucci's voice was calm. He took out a thick stack of wanted posters and tossed them over.

"These are this year's bounty posters. Check the ones at the bottom—they match the people you mentioned."

Bruno quickly flipped through them.

A few pages in, he found the two girls burned into his memory.

"Fist of Winter" Nojiko — 130 million Berries.

Orange-haired Nami — 80,000 Berries.

"They're definitely not ordinary…"

Bruno's expression turned grim. "130 million… That's on par with supernova captains. And the other one is… 80,000?"

He blinked and double-checked. Only four zeros.

Someone who could defeat Kalifa so easily… only 80,000?

Bruno was stunned.

"This pirate crew also has a pet," Lucci said. "Said to have the Flame-Flame Fruit. Bounty is 100 million."

He shook his head. "Seems like the navy screwed up their intel."

Before Bruno could process that, Lucci calmly added:

"But forget that. You should look at who their captain is…"

He pulled one more poster from the bottom of the pile and laid it on top.

Bruno looked—and his pupils shrank.

"Sword Master Shano – Bounty: 1 billion Berries."

It was him.

Bruno's throat tightened. He stared at the picture of the black-haired boy, cold sweat trickling down.

"Nico Robin's new captain… is him?!"

"Now you understand why that devil's child was so fearless."

Lucci's eyes darkened. "With a man like that behind her, even CP0 would hesitate to act."

"Then what should we do?" Bruno was panicking. "We can't kidnap Robin from someone like that. But Kaku and Kalifa are still captured—we can't just abandon them…"

"Their lives are irrelevant."

Lucci's expression was cold. But the corner of his mouth curled into a wicked grin.

"Compared to that… don't you think…"

"A pirate worth 1 billion Berries is worth killing?"

The icy bloodlust in his voice made the whole room feel colder.

"Huh?"

Bruno blinked, stunned. He hadn't expected Lucci to say that.

"You mean… we're going to kill Shano?"

"Yes."

Lucci's eyes gleamed like blades. He stood up. The dove on his shoulder slipped on a pair of sunglasses, looking fierce and ready.

"Don't forget—CP9's job isn't just to capture Nico Robin or obtain blueprints."

His voice was low and commanding. "Anyone who threatens the World Government… Anyone who challenges justice… is our target."

Right.

But… wasn't this too ambitious?

Bruno gulped. "Lucci… that guy's worth a billion. Even the Warlords wouldn't want to mess with him. How can we—"

"Idiot."

Lucci cut him off coldly, eyes flashing with disdain.

"We're not like those pirates who rely on brute strength."

He tapped his temple. "We're CP9. We don't win by brawling."

Bruno froze. "You mean…"

"If you can find the weakness, even the strongest prey will fall."

Lucci's eyes glinted. "That swordsman—Shano—is feared around the world. For swordsmen, the blade is life. So…"

"What if we take his sword?"

Bruno looked again at the wanted poster.

That katana he always carried…

"That's your target," Lucci said. "Once we find him—if he's alone—I'll distract him. Then, you use your Door-Door Fruit to steal his sword from behind and take it to the other side of the door."

"After that… I'll go all out."

Lucci glanced at the bounty poster and twisted his neck—crack! crack! crack!

"A swordsman without a sword is a tiger without fangs. Even if he's strong, he won't be able to fight back."

"And I'll show him just how wide the gap is when it comes to pure martial arts!"

Bruno still hesitated.

Lucci had a point. Taking a swordsman's sword would greatly weaken him.

But… this was a billion Berry monster!

"But… what if we fail?" Bruno asked. "Isn't it too risky for just the two of us? Shouldn't we ask Spandam—"

"There's no 'if.'"

Lucci's expression darkened with disgust. "Don't compare me to fools like you."

A 1 billion bounty?

So what?

He was Rob Lucci.

The most ruthless weapon in CP9's history—strongest in Enies Lobby in 800 years!

If he could eliminate this threat…

His status would soar.

He might even be recalled from this dull blueprint mission—promoted to the elite ranks of the rumored CP0!

That thought made his eyes burn with determination.

The plan was set.

And once Lucci had a plan—

There was no turning back.

For the sake of justice—

Even if there were risks—

He'd crush them all.