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"Soru!"
Snap, snap…
The air crackled with explosive force as a massive jackal, its tattered clothes hanging in shreds and its body drenched in blood, surged forward using the Moon Step technique.
"Damn bastard, don't get too cocky…"
With eyes burning with anger and murderous intent, the giant jackal glared fiercely at Iji, who had somehow already appeared atop the city wall. Its legs kicked out repeatedly: "Rankyaku: Wolf Swarm Starfall!"
Shhhuu…
A series of powerful slashes transformed into wolf-like shapes.
"Roar—"
One by one, blazing gigantic wolves bared their fangs and lunged toward Iji, sending chills down everyone's spines!
Boom…
Dust and debris rose into the air from the city walls, obscuring the scene momentarily.
"What is that…?"
"He's flying in the air!"
"Is he a Devil Fruit user?"
The approaching royal army soldiers gawked in disbelief, their jaws dropping at the sight, their scalps tingling.
Bam!
"Cough, cough…"
Owl spat out blood as he struggled free, landing hard on the ground. "Atsu, how are you holding up?" Above them, a gaping humanoid hole marred the city wall.
His right hand was grotesquely twisted, exposing bloody white bone—clearly fractured beyond repair.
"Huff… At this level, I'm still… still alive!"
Lion Atsu was even worse off, his body covered in blood, ribs broken in countless places.
The long staff he once wielded had been shattered into two pieces, cleaved clean through by a single kick!
Thud!!
Before the two could stagger toward each other, another figure crashed down violently, landing before them.
"Iji-sama?!"
The commander of the royal army recognized Iji.
Glancing uneasily at the hotel building in the capital that had been sliced cleanly in half like it was cut by an invisible blade—and was now slowly collapsing—he steeled himself to approach cautiously.
"May I ask what just happened?" he inquired hesitantly.
"You may all withdraw…"
Iji swept his gaze over the commander, his piercing stare visible through his black goggles, exuding a dangerous aura. "'All rebels infiltrating the capital have been suppressed.' There's no need for me to explain further, is there?"
"Yes, I understand…"
The commander broke out in cold sweat, quickly turning to shout orders to the royal army behind him: "The remnants of the rebel forces who infiltrated the capital and attempted to assassinate the king have been suppressed by Lord Iji of Germa! Notify His Majesty and reassure everyone immediately—they need not worry!"
"…Yes!!!"
Ignoring the soldiers dispersing the panicked crowd and reporting back to the palace, Iji stepped forward.
"Gabura…"
Owl hurriedly moved to lift Gabura, who was deeply embedded in a crater, having reverted from his beast form. He was now a bloody mess, barely conscious but unable to move.
"Cough, cough… To think he's this strong…"
Lion Atsu gritted his teeth against the excruciating pain, straightening his towering frame to glare down at the approaching Iji, blood trickling from his mouth.
Looking at the three battered figures before him, Iji shook his head in disappointment. "You three… you've truly let me down."
Five years ago, after much persuasion, he had convinced Vinsmoke Judge to allow him, as the eldest son of the Vinsmoke family and future heir to the Kingdom of Germa, to establish connections with CP9 through the extensive network Germa 66 had accumulated over the years.
It hadn't come cheap, but eventually, the greedy and cunning Spandine—the then-director of CP9—had agreed to let him undergo CP9 training and learn the six techniques known as Rokushiki.
During that time, under the guise of fostering ties between Germa 66 and CP9, Iji spent some time on Enies Lobby, meeting elite members of the new generation of CP9, such as Rob Lucci.
The World Government was rife with factions and intricate political relationships. Climbing to the position of Chief of CP9—and aspiring for even higher ranks—Spandine wasn't someone who relied solely on his own abilities; naturally, he had plenty of political rivals.
In reality, Iji had essentially served as a "hostage," demonstrating Germa 66's sincerity in cooperating with Spandine until Germa resolved the issue of one particularly troublesome rival Spandine couldn't publicly eliminate—a man tied to CP7.
Though this rival held less power than Spandine, his family's influence was significant. Intent on securing the leadership of CP9 for his son, Spandam, Spandine couldn't tolerate any threats to his ambitions.
In turn, Spandine provided various forms of "goodwill," including classified intelligence that Germa 66 desperately needed.
Thanks to the sensitive information he shared about high-ranking government officials, Germa 66 gained considerable influence within the World Government—not limited to Spandine alone.
Thus, Iji's stay on Enies Lobby had been brief. He didn't master all six techniques before leaving; instead, once the deal between Spandine and Germa was finalized, he returned to the North Blue armed with the methods to train in Rokushiki.
"Five years… and you've hardly grown at all! Was it because you were constantly busy with missions, leaving no time to train? Or were your opponents so weak that you believed mastering the 'Rokushiki' made you strong enough?"
Dealing with these three hadn't required Haki—nor had he used even half his strength.
"…"
Whether it was Lion Atsu, Owl, or the incapacitated Gabura, all clenched their teeth in frustration and fell silent.
Five years ago, none of them would have doubted their ability to match Iji.
Even accounting for differences in talent, the gap shouldn't have been this vast.
Perhaps… perhaps Vinsmoke Iji was right.
"This incident was likely orchestrated by that fool Spandam…"
Iji knew Spandine well enough to understand that while he was greedy, he wasn't reckless. This scheme undoubtedly originated from Spandam without Spandine's knowledge.
Over the years, under Iji's careful orchestration, Germa 66 and Spandine had engaged in numerous shadowy transactions too dark to see the light of day. By now, they were bound together by mutual interests. Spandine, with his dirty secrets, understood Germa's power and wouldn't dare sever ties lightly.
Why did every spy sent by the World Government to infiltrate Germa always end up exposed?
Among the spies trained by the World Government, some Devil Fruit users posed serious challenges.
For instance, one infiltrator possessed the Moku Moku no Mi ability, capable of mimicking others. Without Spandine's intel, uncovering him would have been nearly impossible!
If Spandine weren't still useful to Germa, Iji wouldn't have let today's events slide so easily.
"Still, I'll need to send a warning to Spandine. Otherwise, he might start thinking Germa is soft clay that won't fight back."
With a cold laugh, Iji ignored the battered trio—Owl, Gabura, and Atsu—and sat down on a nearby chunk of rubble. Pulling out a Den Den Mushi, he contacted Germa Headquarters…
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[Note: For clarity, the Mimic-Mimic Fruit (Moku Moku no Mi) mentioned here previously belonged to a CP spy before being obtained by Mr. 2 due to certain circumstances. This is intentional and not an error.]