POV change.
In a jail cell, Robin could be seen. On top of her was a man who looked down at her coldly.
"Finally, we've caught you."
The man kicked her hard—hard enough for the ground behind her to crack.
"Twenty years. Twenty years of the government's precious resources wasted on a rat like you." He didn't seem too happy. If need be, he was going to wreck her shit.
His gaze turned toward the CP5 agent before he spoke again.
"What about the other Straw Hats?"
Kalifa, not trying to end up in trouble, tried to make herself useful by sharing what she knew.
"From what I could gather, the Straw Hats arrived earlier today. They went to the bank and cashed out 500 million Berry. Straw Hat Luffy was sighted near the market—he bought 50 million Belly worth of food. We were unable to track down Kairo."
"Of course you couldn't. As if you incompetent fools could ever track down one of them," the man said, annoyed. He felt like he needed to punch something.
And thus—
BAM!
Robin coughed up blood as the man kicked her again—hard.
He grabbed her by the face.
"You... will be used to draw him out," the man said with a cruel smile.
If they were going to have any chance at catching Kairo lacking, it would be now. Catching Kairo off guard was practically impossible.
Bluno entered the room and bowed his head.
"We searched the Straw Hats' room, but they weren't there. It seems like they managed to go somewhere unnoticed."
The man looked annoyed. Of course, they weren't there. If Kairo was who he was suspected to be, this guy could run circles around CP9—hell, even CP0—and he'd consider that a regular-ass Tuesday.
However, he was holy, and he refused to be looked down upon by a mere peasant.
"We found this seal in their room," Kaku said, showing an image of the Abyss Seal.
"Those filthy insects... how dare they use such divine techniques for their transportation!"
The Holy Knight was furious. How dare they use a technique meant for the Holy Knights. This was heresy beyond heresy.
He was pissed. This goddamn mongrel.
He took a deep breath and calmed himself down.
"Such heresy deserves to be punished," the man muttered coldly before grabbing Nico Robin by the throat, almost snuffing the life out of her.
"You are going to lead us to this Lunarien."
Robin spat blood in his face. He paused, rage boiling over.
Then—
The back of Robin's head hit the wall with a loud crack.
"Do you think you can disobey me?" He kicked her repeatedly, each kick strong enough to break a rib.
He wiped the blood off his face, disgusted, as if her very existence dirtied him.
"Fine. If you won't cooperate... I have my ways," he said coldly. He already had the perfect method to lure the Lunarien in.
POV change.
Kairo paused, turning his gaze toward Robin. She was clutching her chest, blood leaking from her mouth.
"Robin... you okay?" he asked, worry lacing his voice.
She gasped for air.
"They... are... in the biggest building at the top of Water 7, overlooking the whole city. They plan on using it to draw the Straw Hats out."
Kairo's gaze darkened as he noticed the bruises on her body.
While yes, the Robin that got captured was a clone, it was still made through her Devil Fruit. The pain was still transferred to her.
He was worried about her—but she was able to stomach it. Goddammit.
Chopper was already tending to her wounds while Sanji berated Kairo for having her do something so dangerous. Zoro, however, was the voice of reason.
"You dumb cook, you don't get it, do you?"
"Who the hell are you calling dumb?!" Sanji snapped, not wanting to be lectured by someone he saw as brain-dead.
"The government would've gone for her either way. Do you honestly believe you could've stopped them?" Zoro said, tone sharp.
Sanji gritted his teeth. Why was the mosshead making sense?
"It's better to have them go after a fake and use that to gather intel. Or is the only thing in your brain women?"
"Don't you dare mock me, stupid swordsman!"
And they were back at it again. Kairo swore they'd make the perfect battle anime protagonists—moody swordsman and emotional cook.
Now, who would be the bottom... probably Sanji.
Anyway.
"So... they're planning to launch a Buster Call on this island," Kairo said dryly.
"The hell? They can't do that! Water 7's a recognized government city—the idiot made sure of that!" Franky said, and Kairo had a good idea who that "idiot" was.
"They sent a Holy Knight—a Celestial Dragon. Plus, this island would be easy to frame."
Franky glared at him, demanding an explanation.
"They could always say the shipwrights of Water 7 were working with the 'devil child' to recreate the ancient weapon Pluton and destroy the world."
"Robin would never do that!" Luffy barked, his voice raw with conviction.
Kairo smiled slightly.
"I know... but this isn't about truth. It's about propaganda. They control the news, and whoever controls the news controls the narrative."
"Then I'll just knock them out! They can't control anything if they're passed out!"
Such a Luffy response.
Kairo chuckled.
Normally, Nami would've yelled at Luffy for being reckless, but she didn't this time. Kairo's plans had worked perfectly so far—he'd never entered a fight unprepared. She trusted him.
Usopp, while terrified, had gotten stronger recently. He wasn't about to sit back and watch people get hurt without doing anything.
And Zoro and Sanji? They were bred for this kind of fight.
"If that's what you want, Captain," Kairo said calmly.
He already had a plan for their matchups. And he could manipulate it perfectly.
A/N....every plan Kairo make take into effect that Luffy is more than likely to do something crazy so his part of it is left loose.
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