Spandine scrambled for cover amid the barrage of cannon fire.
The man was so stupid it was laughable. He had triggered a Buster Call but still hadn't left Ohara. Once those warships entered firing range, they wouldn't care whether you were important personnel or not.
"Damn it, those idiot Marines! I haven't even left yet — are they planning to blow me up too?" he cursed as he sprinted toward the boats on the shore.
Shells exploded around him again and again. The shockwaves and blasts of heat sent him sprawling to the ground more than once. Thick smoke blackened his "handsome" face.
Spandine absolutely despised the Marines who had made him look like a fool. And those two CP9 agents trailing behind him — they were supposed to be tools sent by the World Government to protect important personnel like himself, yet at a time like this they didn't even think to shield him from the blast waves!
Not a shred of situational awareness. No wonder they'd never get promoted in their lives!
Cursing under his breath, Spandine didn't dare slow his pace for even a moment, terrified of being swallowed by the Marines' firepower if he fell behind.
Looking back from here, all of Ohara seemed to have turned red. Flames devoured the town, devoured the mountains and fields, devoured that ancient tree which had witnessed five thousand years of history…
The heat warped the air. Thick smoke withered the branches of the Tree of Knowledge.
Spandine felt no particular sentiment. A man like him — aside from shirking work and flattering superiors — where would he find the mood for melancholy reflection?
At the very least, watching Ohara slowly march toward destruction, his heart was already filled with thoughts of promotion and a pay raise.
He had to admit, this had been an easy mission.
All he'd needed to do was put on a show of force in front of those scholars, then press the button on the Golden Den Den Mushi. The only thing he regretted was not getting to see the expressions of struggle, rage, and helplessness on those scholars' faces.
Lost in thought, Spandine suddenly felt a force grab his shoulder. He turned his head and realized the two agents who had been following him had both reached out and hoisted him into the air.
His legs dangled and kicked in midair, but he couldn't advance even half a step.
"What are you doing? Put me down! What if we're too late and get caught by the Marines' attack?" he immediately screamed.
He had already been annoyed with these two guys, and now they dared to block his escape? Unforgivable!
"Director Spandine, there's someone ahead."
The two agents showed no emotional reaction to Spandine's attitude. They stared forward with mechanical gazes, their bodies already poised for combat.
"Hmm, a woman?" Spandine quickly turned to look. Not far ahead stood a figure wearing a Noh mask.
Despite the mask, the figure's silhouette made it unmistakably a woman.
Her clothing style looked like it came from Inazuma, but that alone wasn't enough to assume she was from there. In truth, this kind of fashion could be found all across the seas.
"BOOM!"
Behind them, deafening cannon fire continued to explode. Before them, the solitary woman stood quietly in the middle of the road, as if dividing the world in two.
Spandine didn't let his guard down just because the other party was a woman. On the contrary, he grew even more cautious, his feet seemingly greased as he slid behind the two agents in an instant.
"You two, deal with this woman quickly!"
Dangers on the sea were countless. If you dismissed someone just because she was a woman, you'd end up dead in the most miserable way.
Spandine showed no desire to prove himself. He simply ordered the two agents to handle it.
Though the two agents didn't think much of Spandine as a waste of space, they were ultimately no different from machines that only followed orders. Hearing his command, they charged forward without hesitation.
A Soru — and their bodies vanished from the spot in an instant. Beneath their black gloves, their fingers were pressed together sharp as blades, slashing down toward Iris with a sharp whistle.
"CLANG!"
A ring of metal. A long blade with a white tsuba appeared before Iris, its black sheath blocking both agents' attacks.
"This is… Haki?"
The two agents exchanged glances and quickly retreated.
They were CP9 agents after all. They had long since been acquainted with Haki. Or rather, mastering Haki was one of the basic requirements for any CP agent.
Take Rob Lucci at Enies Lobby, for example. In the manga, the concept of Haki may have been nothing more than a rough sketch at that point, but in the real world, Lucci at that time would have already mastered it. Otherwise, techniques like the Rokuogan couldn't have harmed Luffy.
But mastering Haki themselves was one thing — facing an enemy who mastered it was another matter entirely.
Don't forget, Ohara was located in the West Blue. In a place like this, how could they encounter a master who used Haki?
"Who exactly are you?"
The World Government and the Marines' plan shouldn't be known to anyone else…
Even that traitor Vice Admiral who had temporarily defected from the Marines only knew the Marines were planning to move on Ohara — he didn't know they intended to use a Buster Call.
"Just a woman, that's all." Iris had no interest in conversation. She slowly raised Ame no Habakiri, pointing the blade at the two agents.
As for the other sword — Enma.
Iris didn't yet have the ability to control that cursed blade, so it would have to serve as a decoration for now.
Source Flow…
"Swallow Flight!"
Iris thrust her sword forward. The sword energy released by Ame no Habakiri swept across the sky like a soaring swallow, terrifying Spandine so badly he fell flat on his rear, scrambling backward on all fours.
"Damn it, where did this lunatic come from?!"
"No, I need to inform the World Government…" The man glanced back and saw the two agents temporarily holding the woman off, which relieved him somewhat. But afraid more assassins might appear, he quickly pulled out a Den Den Mushi to contact the Five Elders and report the situation.
Reporting was just an excuse, though. What he really wanted was backup.
However, just as his hand gripped the Den Den Mushi to dial, he felt an enormous force clamp down on his wrist, as if locked in a vise — he couldn't move it at all.
He was still wondering what had happened when the air in front of him suddenly twisted, and another woman appeared before him. His wrist was being gripped by this newcomer, completely immobilized.
"Were you trying to report what's happening here to the World Government? That won't do."
Jasmine blinked, a sweet smile on her face, speaking in a gentle tone.
That expression made Spandine feel this woman was truly quite gentle.
And then…
Then this "gentle" woman snapped Spandine's hand bones with a sharp crack!v
[
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