Chapter 483: CP6
"How could this be!?"
Sengoku stood up, clutching his forehead in pain, and said, "Is this a coincidence, or is it premeditated?"
The Four Emperors were the greatest adversaries of the entire Marines. Regardless of which Emperor it was, their movements warranted Marine attention. However, generally speaking, a meeting between an Emperor and a Warlord was nothing unusual. The Warlords appointed by the Marines were all notorious pirates with strong personalities—just like how Sea Knight Jinbe had ties with Whitebeard, or how Red-Haired Shanks and Hawk-Eye Mihawk were close friends. These were normal occurrences. The Marines had long known about such matters but had never interfered.
This was also why Ian, despite his connections with the Whitebeard Pirates, had still managed to become a Warlord.
To put it another way, even if there were relationships and friendships between the Warlords and the Emperors, the Marines couldn't stop them. They simply didn't have the power to intervene...
So, even knowing this, the Marines could only turn a blind eye and pretend not to see it. Moreover, the relationships between the Emperors and the Warlords could be seen as a form of checks and balances.
Following that logic, it wasn't really a big deal that Red-Haired Shanks and Ian had run into each other.
But for some reason, Sengoku couldn't shake a bad feeling.
Among the seven Warlords summoned, Sengoku considered two to be dangerous: one was Doflamingo, and the other was Ian.
Doflamingo went without saying—his evil nature and his ties to the Celestial Dragons were the source of his danger.
As for Ian, it was a different story. Unlike Doflamingo, Ian wasn't evil; in fact, he leaned toward being kind-hearted. Yet that was precisely what made him so dangerous. If not for his kindness, he wouldn't have killed a Celestial Dragon in Mary Geoise!
Ian hadn't become a Marine, which meant his sense of justice wasn't bound by Marine discipline.
And the most troublesome part was that Ian was also very clever.
That was why he had become the first person to kill a World Noble, a Celestial Dragon, and still become a Warlord!
Back when Sengoku had opposed Ian becoming a Warlord, this was the reason. As an old Marine with decades of experience, he had seen all kinds of people. His keen judgment allowed him to sense the danger hidden beneath Ian's calm exterior.
And Red-Haired Shanks wasn't just one of the Four Emperors; he had also been a crew member of Pirate King Roger. Roger's danger lay not in his strength, but in his ideology. Shanks' time on Roger's ship had influenced him as well.
Over the years, most of Roger's original crew had disbanded and faded into obscurity after his execution. But Shanks hadn't gone into hiding. Instead, he had boldly appeared before the world and grown to the level of an Emperor. In Sengoku's eyes, Shanks was the one who had inherited Roger's will.
Shanks knew many hidden secrets. Sengoku couldn't imagine what kind of influence Shanks might have on Ian if they met. That was the source of his bad feeling.
This wasn't an exaggeration. Sengoku's intuition had always been sharp, and he chose to trust it.
Even if the two fought, Sengoku wouldn't be too worried. What he feared most was that they wouldn't fight but would sit down and talk instead!
"No, I have to get Ian out of there immediately!" Sengoku thought. "Whether this is a coincidence or not, it's best to keep them from meeting!"
"Are there any CP agents on Saint Poplar Island?" Sengoku looked up and asked the Major communications officer.
The Major was taken aback for a moment, then thought and replied, "There seem to be CP6 members active on Saint Poplar Island, but Fleet Admiral, as you know, these intelligence agencies are under the World Government's jurisdiction. We don't have direct command over them."
"That's my concern!" Sengoku said. "I'll handle the World Government. Your task is to contact the CP6 agents on the island and tell them to find Ian and inform him to come to Marineford as soon as possible..."
He paused, thinking for a moment, then added, "Tell him to come quickly to receive the Pacifista."
In truth, Sengoku had been putting off the Pacifista matter for as long as possible. The Marine Science Unit wanted to trade technology with Germa, but Sengoku felt that giving the Pacifista to Ian might not be a good thing. So he had never proactively contacted Ian. In fact, he had hoped Ian wouldn't come to Marineford at all. But now, to prevent Ian from meeting Shanks, Sengoku had no choice but to act.
The Major quickly acknowledged, saluted, and left.
After the Major had gone, Sengoku slowly sat back down in his chair, patted the goat beside him that was chewing on paper documents, and sighed, "This is... an era of restless hearts..."
At that moment, Sengoku truly felt old and powerless...
..........................
Sengoku had instructed the CP6 agents on Saint Poplar Island to relay the Marines' message. But what he hadn't anticipated was that the CP6 agents would botch the job!
The message traveled quickly via Den Den Mushi waves. Just as Ian and his group had found a tavern on Saint Poplar Island and sat down to have a drink and inquire about the Sea Train schedule, the CP6 agents appeared before them.
Since they were only CP6, not a secret agency like CP9, which operated in the shadows, they didn't worry about being seen.
As World Government agents, they appeared in their standard attire: black suits, black hats, and ties—a typical image of World Government officials. Their appearance and distinctive aura immediately gave them away to the tavern's patrons. In an instant, more than half of the customers fled!
No one wanted to deal with World Government intelligence agents. Even the curious didn't want to linger, fearing trouble.
The only ones who stayed were pirates. While they weren't about to run at the sight of CP agents, they couldn't help but nervously fall silent.
Ian, Robin, and Reiju had been enjoying the local cuisine when the agents appeared. Robin's face instantly paled, and she nearly stood up to flee.
During her childhood years on the run, she had seen too many people dressed like this. She knew exactly who they were.
Ian noticed her panic but gently pressed her hand, keeping her seated, and shook his head slightly.
Robin then realized that she was no longer alone, fleeing for her life. Seeing Ian's encouraging gaze, she calmed down a bit and stayed seated.
Still, she trembled slightly, keeping her head down and avoiding the agents' eyes.
The leader of the agents was a very tall man, but his height was unusual—it came entirely from his absurdly long legs, making him look like two tall, skinny bamboo poles.
Strangely, his face appeared refined, with glasses and a neatly trimmed goatee.
With his hands in his pockets, he led a dozen CP6 agents into the tavern, glanced disdainfully at the remaining pirates, and walked straight toward Ian's table.
"Lord Ian!" the tall man said, bowing at a ninety-degree angle, which looked rather odd. He smiled and said, "I am CP6 agent Jerry. Learning that you've arrived on Saint Poplar, I've come to relay a message from the Marines."
But Ian didn't even look at him. He reached for a napkin, slowly wiped his mouth, and then said casually, "Get lost. Can't you see I'm eating?"
Ian had dealt with CP agents before. When he had blackmailed the Celestial Dragons for ten billion, the ones who contacted him were CP0 agents. Though they wore masks and never showed their faces, at least they were impeccable in their manners.
But these CP6 agents, despite addressing Ian as "Lord," couldn't hide their arrogance.
Ian knew why they spoke that way. Unlike CP0, they had shown their faces too often. People who knew their identity feared them, and over time, they had developed an arrogant attitude.
They thought they represented the World Government, that they were officials, and that commoners should kneel before them.
What Ian hated most was this bureaucratic attitude. And more importantly, these arrogant bastards had scared his companion Robin!
This island was Saint Poplar, not Water Seven. Ian had thought there wouldn't be any CP agents here, which was why he had brought Robin along. But he hadn't expected these persistent bastards to show up!
He couldn't even eat in peace. This feeling of being watched infuriated Ian.
So how could he possibly speak politely to them?
Jerry was stunned by Ian's words, as if hearing someone tell him to "get lost" for the first time. His face flushed red and pale, as if he was about to explode, but he held back, probably remembering Ian's status as a Warlord. He forced a smile and said, "Lord, we really are here to deliver a message from the Marines. Don't you want to..."
Before he could finish, a plate flew through the air and smashed into his face. The force shattered the plate, leaving his face bloody and mangled, and he fell backward.
"I told you to get lost! Are you deaf!?"
Ian stood up, his face dark, and pointed at Jerry as he cursed...