Chapter 30: Disappear Before My Eyes
"It's been confirmed. The blueprints are in Franky's hands. His physical reactions have already given a clear answer."
Kaku spoke, and the members of CP9 felt a slight relief. Their mission was complete.
Su Xiao was also in a good mood. Under his guidance, a process that would have taken two days was accomplished within an hour.
"Then, we..."
Lu Qi began, but suddenly sensed a surge of killing intent behind him. The four CP9 members immediately became alert. Robin instinctively stepped back. Iceberg's gaze shifted to a man in the room, the one with a dog by his side, and he swallowed hard. He had a feeling that the mastermind behind today's upheaval might not be Lu Qi, but that man.
Everyone's eyes turned to Su Xiao, wondering why his killing intent had suddenly flared.
"Someone's coming. Five of them."
Su Xiao's expression was grim. He vaguely sensed a familiar aura, one he had encountered before.
Focusing, he identified the aura. It belonged to the shipwright Barry, the one who used ropes as weapons.
"You didn't kill those three shipwrights?"
Su Xiao's cold gaze fixed on Lu Qi and Kaku. Lu Qi was startled; he had already killed two of them.
"Barry won't wake up anytime soon."
Five years of camaraderie had made Kaku's hand soft. Barry was supposed to be his target.
"Then tell me, who's coming now?"
Su Xiao's eyes locked onto Kaku.
With a crash, Barry burst through the door, stumbling into the room, his face covered in blood. He collapsed after a few staggering steps, severely injured.
"Speak. Who is this!"
Su Xiao slowly drew the Dragon-Slaying Flash from his waist, his gaze icy on Kaku. Kaku lowered his head.
Su Xiao walked slowly toward Barry. Just as Barry tried to rise and resist, he found his body immobilized. An extremely thin metal wire cut into his flesh.
"Ah!!"
Barry screamed as blood gushed from the wounds.
"Stop!"
"Cease!"
Iceberg shouted, and not just him—a voice from outside the room echoed the command.
Sizzle.
The Realm Severing Thread tightened. Barry's body stiffened, twitched a few times on the floor, and then fell silent.
[You have killed Barry.]
[Barry is a key plot character. Obtained 2.2% World Source. Total World Source obtained: 2.2%.]
[Your talent 'Soul Devourer' has activated. Permanently increased Mana by 12 points. Current Mana: 813 points.]
A blue treasure chest dropped to the ground. Su Xiao picked it up. This was the first chest he had obtained in the One Piece world.
The early phase of the derivative world had passed. For those who survived, the time for gains had begun.
Blood stained the floor of the room. Iceberg stared blankly at the scene. Not just him—the four people standing outside the door were also frozen in shock.
These four were:
Plot Protagonist: Monkey D. Luffy.
Swordsman: Roronoa Zoro.
Navigator: Nami.
Ship Doctor: Chopper.
The four members of the Straw Hat Pirates had gathered here. Their arrival was undoubtedly connected to Barry, who had just died.
Luffy saw Barry's death and was momentarily stunned. Zoro was cautious, while Nami covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes filled with fear.
Su Xiao closed his eyes and sensed his surroundings. Fortunately, no other contractors had appeared. The situation wasn't too severe. Kaku's soft-heartedness had caused a minor complication.
"This is Kaku's mistake. I apologize for it."
Lu Qi spoke, implying he would take responsibility for Kaku's actions.
"It doesn't matter. This is an internal issue. We can resolve it later. Dealing with the enemy in front of us is the priority."
Monkey D. Luffy was the plot protagonist of the One Piece world, famously a cheat. Every seemingly unbeatable enemy, he could defeat. Su Xiao even suspected that Luffy's Luck Attribute might be over 50 points.
This wasn't an exaggeration. Luffy, as a protagonist, was different from Kaneki Ken, Eren Yeager, or Akame. Luffy could be called a child of fate, the top-tier kind.
"That's best. Kaku, Kalifa, Blueno, prepare to engage."
Lu Qi breathed a sigh of relief. Su Xiao hadn't pressed the issue of Kaku's soft-heartedness. The current situation absolutely couldn't allow internal conflict.
Just as the four CP9 members were about to act, Robin, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.
"There's no need for a violent resolution. They came for me."
Robin stepped in front of the four CP9 members, facing the Straw Hat Pirates directly.
"Robin! We finally found you. Why did you suddenly disappear?"
Seeing Robin, Luffy's face lit up with a smile. His missing companion had made him anxious.
"Monkey D. Luffy, have you misunderstood something?"
"Huh?" Luffy was taken aback.
"First of all, I never said I was joining you. I was just temporarily staying on your ship. So, where I go has nothing to do with you."
Robin's somewhat heartless words stunned the four Straw Hat Pirates. Chopper, with his fragile heart, already had tears welling up in his eyes. He had always considered Robin a companion, but Robin...
"Impossible!"
Luffy shouted.
"You are my companion! We've been through so many adventures together!"
Robin gritted her teeth. She had to make them leave. The room wasn't just filled with CP9—there was an even more terrifying and brutal man inside. The bloody corpse on the floor was proof.
"Can't you understand plain words? I want to fulfill my wish. With you, I'll never achieve it."
Robin's current wish was to absolve the Straw Hat Pirates of blame. Water 7 was now swarming with CP9 agents. If the Straw Hats fought them, their chances of survival were slim, and they would offend the World Government. That was something Robin didn't want to see.
"So stop this pointless entanglement. I'm no longer on the same path as you. I've found a bigger backing—the World Government."
As she spoke, Robin stood beside Su Xiao.
"Staying with you poor pirates does nothing to help me explore history. So please disappear before my eyes. We were never... companions, or rather, we were never on the same path."
After Robin's speech, the four Straw Hat Pirates fell silent.
Su Xiao pondered whether to eliminate the Straw Hat Pirates now.
Though the idea was tempting, it was clearly impractical. The priority was escorting Robin. Once she arrived at Enies Lobby, both the Straw Hats and other contractors would converge there.
"That's impossible, Robin. You're lying."
Luffy lowered his head, pressing down on his straw hat.
Luffy's firm tone infuriated Robin.
"Believe what you want. Just disappear from my sight. I don't want to see you anymore."
Robin turned around, as if unwilling to look at Luffy and the others again. In reality, she was suppressing the urge to leave with the Straw Hats. She wanted to go, but she couldn't.
"Robin."
Chopper called out softly. Robin's shoulder twitched imperceptibly. The adorable Chopper—she really liked him.
"Three, two, one."
Su Xiao suddenly began a countdown. The CP9 members immediately understood.
"Jump."
Su Xiao grabbed Robin and leaped out the window.
With a crash, the glass shattered. Mid-air, Su Xiao detonated the alchemy bombs in the room—five of them.
Inside the room, just before the alchemy bombs exploded, two people sensed the danger: Luffy and Zoro.
"Luffy!"
Zoro roared. Luffy, not the sharpest tool in the shed, immediately understood Zoro's intent.