Even with Gawain's strength against endless waves of opponents, he would eventually fall.
Kalifa understood this all too well.
She also knew that this was Lucci's decision. A longtime comrade who had chosen to bear this burden alone for Gawain's sake. He had even prepared himself to die in Water 7.
For a World Government agent, sacrificing comrades was supposed to be second nature, yet at this moment, Kalifa found herself wavering.
But as she looked at Gawain and the crew behind him, her heart grew firm.
"He suddenly attacked me..."
"Tell me the truth!"
Gawain's voice grew even colder.
An unfamiliar sense of unease gnawed at him; he had no patience for wasting any more time.
"I... Really don't know."
Kalifa gritted her teeth.
After the initial panic, she had regained her composure. Though there was still some guilt in her gaze toward Gawain, as an elite agent trained by the World Government, the only female in CP9, her ability to control her emotions far surpassed the others.
"You won't talk?!"
Gawain's cold, emotionless gaze locked onto Kalifa.
"I see... That guy must have chosen to risk his life for something."
"And the only force in this world that could make him refuse to ask for my help and bear this burden alone…"
"Is the World Government."
"Tch!"
Gawain cursed inwardly: "This idiot didn't listen to a word I told him that night."
At this moment, Gawain finally understood how Kuro and others felt when he went to Baratie alone to face Hawk Eyes.
Watching a comrade walk to their death while knowing nothing about it, this feeling was maddening.
With the surge of his inner emotions, the Conqueror Haki around Gawain became more turbulent, sweeping around like a gust of wind.
Crack!
The deck under his feet could not withstand Gawain's Conqueror's Haki, and cracks appeared.
Red lightning snakes appeared in the void, and the strong pressure made everyone breathless…
"Gawain!"
Kuro couldn't help but speak up.
Gawain then noticed that many of his companions around him could not withstand his Conqueror's Haki and lost consciousness, and even Nami had fallen to the ground.
He retracted his own Conqueror Haki, and the invisible oppression around him dissipated instantly.
"Thank god!"
"The captain's anger is terrifying!"
"It's countless times scarier than before; his strength has become stronger again!"
The ordinary crew members were drenched in sweat and were gasping for breath.
Gin and others also looked horrified. Facing emperor-level pressure for the first time, they felt their brains go blank.
Gawain, who had calmed down, lowered his eyes and looked at Kalifa.
Seeing the innocent expression on the latter's face, he confirmed his suspicion.
He took a deep breath and began to connect the doubts of the matter, trying to find some clues from it.
Soon, Gawain's eyes gradually lit up.
The CP0 agents that Whisky Peak had dealt with before should not have been found out by the World Government; otherwise, the bounty orders for these two people would have been issued long ago.
The title of Warlord of the Sea cannot protect two high-level agents who know the secrets of the World Government.
In other words, from the perspective of the World Government, Lucci and Kalifa may not know that the organization had secretly dealt with them, and they can still be used as pawns.
From this perspective, these two people initially received the mission to lurk under his command, and now one of them was threatened or ordered to leave by the World Government, but the other was left behind…
In other words, the mission that was originally executed by two people is now handed over to Kalifa alone.
Where should Lucci go?!
If the original world trajectory is followed, then Lucci should be at this time…
While Gawain was thinking, he blurted out the name of a place: "Water 7!"
Kalifa's body suddenly stiffened, although she recovered as usual in just the next moment.
But how could such an obvious action be hidden from Gawain?
"Lucci's destination is the Water 7!"
Gawain said firmly, and then he turned to look at Kalifa: "You have been with Lucci for so many years; you should not want to see him die."
"I will give you two choices now."
"First, you tell us Lucci's purpose and whereabouts, and we will go together to bring him back."
"Second, I will destroy the Water 7, and by the way, the Enies Lobby next to it."
"I..."
Kalifa opened her mouth.
At this moment, her pale face became even paler.
She pursed her lips so tightly that her lips were bitten, and a layer of bright red blood oozed out. "Why?!"
"Why do you do this for Lucci?!"
This time, without Gawain's reminder, everyone gradually reacted, and a deafening roar erupted from the deck: "He is the instructor on this ship!"
"Without that guy, even if we have reached our destination, we would be missing a piece of our hearts!"
Kalifa looked up and saw a pair of red eyes.
This strong and unbearable emotion is something she has never felt before, and it also makes her mental defense line that she has built up with great effort completely collapses at this moment.
"Captain, please... Please save him!"
"Lucci received orders from the World Government. To avoid suspicion and protect Kaku and Blueno, who are missing, he chose to return to Water 7 alone!"
"And that place is very likely to become a battlefield!"
Kalifa seemed to have lost all her strength. She felt that her body was about to collapse due to exhaustion as she fell into Gawain's arms.
Gawain let out a long breath, and before he could continue to speak, the excited voices of the crowd behind him were heard.
"Isn't that a matter of course?!"
"Our instructor belongs to us in life, and in death, he'll be our honored fallen!"
"Too many companions have died under this flag; Lucci will not be the next one!"
Zoro rested his hand on his sword, Sanji had a cigarette burning between his lips, Kuro stood with his arms crossed, and Gin had a smirk on his face, though his eyes were terrifyingly sharp.
Each of them carried themselves differently, but their resolve was the same, unshakable.
"This is our answer!"
Gawain's gaze sharpened as he turned to face the vast ocean, which was gradually rising and swelling. His voice was calm yet resolute:
"Next stop—"
"Water 7!"
… … …
Sabaody Archipelago, the night had fallen.
The tourists wandering the streets and the slave hunters searching for prey had long since vanished.
The surroundings were eerily silent.
A series of hurried footsteps, accompanied by an oppressive atmosphere, rushed through the distant alleyways.
"Edwin went that way!"
(T/N: Former chief of CP9 before Spandine.)
"Damn it!"
"How much-classified information has this bastard leaked about the CP organization?!"
The man leading the chase was named Speed. He wore a pure white outfit and a monkey mask on his face.
Speed's voice was laced with barely contained fury, but more often than not, anger was born from fear.
Yes, Speed was afraid.
Afraid of the World Government's purge of the CP organization, triggered by Rob Lucci's suspected defection, a purge that could very well strip him of his CP0 uniform.
His hands weren't clean.
Or rather, who among those who had climbed this high in the CP organization could claim to be entirely innocent?
If someone wanted to find an excuse to eliminate him, they absolutely could.
He knew the ways of the World Government, or rather, the methods of the one who had issued this cleansing order.
And now, his only chance of survival was to complete this mission: capture former CP9 chief Edwin.
None of the CP agents said anything but just followed Speed silently, chasing Edwin, who was going away.
Soon, Edwin, who was running all the way in front, stopped.
He was surrounded, the routes around him that he could escape, and even the rooftops were full of CP agents with cold faces.