Redfield and Padong!

Just as the various factions in the Teigu World and the World Government were making great preparations for the talks between the two sides.

Sea Star Homeworld, Red Line, RL1999 District.

Under the bright sunshine.

One tall, one short; one large, one small.

Following the smooth, white path, we slowly walked towards the gate of CIPHER POL headquarters.

The two stopped walking.

The figure, whose height only reached the other person's calf, glanced over the exquisite wrought iron gate in front of him.

Looking at the rows of pristine white buildings with a Gothic style, I couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

"Wow, boss, is this where we'll be living from now on? It's so magnificent!"

This is a Mink Tribe wearing a pink hooded coat and dark blue shorts, with a golden tail resembling a bee's abdomen hook.

Judging from its appearance, it resembles a raccoon dog.

He was also holding a square wooden box that was not small for him.

"Yes, do you like it, Padong?"

Beside the raccoon was a very tall, silver-haired man, who appeared to be about 2.5 meters tall.

He leaned on a purple umbrella in his right hand, looked down at the other person, and smiled slightly.

The man was dressed in rather bright colors.

From top to bottom, she wore a crimson, floor-length cape, a large blue boutonniere, a burgundy outer garment with a purplish hue, scarlet trousers, and black leather boots with gold trim.

Every place highlights the individual's personality to an extreme degree, yet every detail is so meticulous, neat, and efficient.

He exuded a cool, noble, and Jami.

He.

It was none other than Patrick Redfield, the 'Red the Aloof' who had returned from the North Blue.

As for the little guy next to me...

Just as he called himself, Padong, he is a pen who accidentally ate Zoan Devil Fruit and gained a body and self-awareness.

Later, on a small island in the first half of the Grand Line, he was fortunate enough to meet Redfield, who was returning, and they had a series of interactions. In the end, Redfield decided to let him stay with him.

As for Padong's Devil Fruit ability, after Redfield inquired and learned about it, and also through the records in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, it became clear.

It has been confirmed to be Zoan Cat-Cat Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Tanuki form.

Its capabilities are quite interesting.

You can transform it into the tip of a golden pen and then draw the image of the target on a leaf you create yourself.

Then, by expending stamina, she activates the Devil Fruit's power, turning the leaf into a clone that has no capacity for independent thought but will obey her commands.

These clones possess a portion of the original's knowledge, memories, and Devil Fruit abilities.

The strength is mainly based on the strength that Padong has personally witnessed the original body display. The stronger the original body is, the greater the physical exertion will be during the transformation.

At the same time, these clones also have several weaknesses.

First, their bodies are very fragile; if they are subjected to a strong attack, they will explode into smoke and turn back into leaves.

Secondly, they cannot unleash their true form's Haki, nor can they unleash their Awakening abilities.

Furthermore, if the clone exhausts the stamina provided by the ability user Vice Admiral battle, it will automatically turn into a leaf.

Finally, if the user falls asleep or loses consciousness, all clones will disappear and turn into leaves.

Perhaps because Padong ate the Devil Fruit not long ago and lacked training and development, it now has many limitations.

Nevertheless, Redfield still felt that Padong's abilities had immense potential.

[Tap tap tap tap.]

At that moment, thirty men in black, with crisp footsteps, quickly walked out from inside and opened the wrought iron gate.

Then they walked to either side of the wide road and stood facing each other with expressionless faces.

"Welcome back. Congratulations on successfully finding the Op-Op Fruit that the World Government has been searching for for hundreds of years. We have officially received your commendation from above. Please come in and talk."

A man in a white suit, white gloves, and a white top hat, who was about two meters tall, walked up to Redfield and smiled.

"Yes, Captain Bowen."

Redfield had to take the unremarkable-looking, dark-haired man in front of him seriously.

Because the other party is not only the current highest-ranking officer of CIPHER POL - AIGIS 0, but also has combat strength that is no weaker than his own.

It is worth mentioning.

It was this Bowen Knohen who personally captured Crocodile in the Alabasta desert and imprisoned him in Impel Down. At the time, he wondered why Crocodile's Haki was so weak.

However, he wasn't an officer at that time.

The group arrived at a large conference room inside the CIPHER POL headquarters.

[Slap slap slap slap--]

When Redfield led Padong inside, enthusiastic applause immediately erupted.

These men and women, dressed in suits, are all senior executives from various departments of CP.

They gathered together specifically to welcome their new boss.

And everyone was genuinely happy.

Because Redfield found the Op-Op Fruit, the Five Elders above, under Imu's instructions,

The entire CIPHER POL team received a bonus equivalent to a year's salary.

How could this not be delightful?

"Thanks."

Redfield maintained his smile, unfazed by the situation, and said to Padong beside him, "Give the box to Captain Bowen."

"Yes, boss!"

Padong nodded obediently.

He nimbly leaped onto the conference table, gently placed the wooden box he had been holding onto the table in front of Bowen, and then bowed slightly to him.

"Please accept this. My name is Padong. I hope you will take good care of me in the future."

His obedient and polite demeanor brought gentle smiles to many people's faces.

Captain Bowen knew about the little guy's situation, and then rubbed Padong's head, which was covered by a pink hood.

"Okay, from now on you're a member of CIPHER POL. If anyone bullies you in the future, just call us, and we'll back you up!"

"Thank you, boss!"

Padong was overjoyed upon hearing this, his eyes shining with excitement as he quickly expressed his gratitude.

"Uh, the boss's boss, hahaha, that's an interesting way to put it. Okay, from now on I'll be your boss's boss!"

Captain Bowen was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter.

Then he pulled out a Den Den Mushi (a type of Den Den Mushi) dressed in a white suit from his pocket and handed it over.

"This is my Den Den Mushi (snail Den Den Mushi), contact me directly if you need anything!"

After a few minutes of laughter and conversation, Captain Bowen suddenly clapped his hands, abruptly silencing the laughter.

Immediately afterwards, a dozen or so low-ranking men in black walked in from outside.

Each of them was holding two black briefcases.

After they placed the boxes on the conference table one by one, they left in a line without saying a word.

The next second.

Under the envious gazes of the executives, Bowen pointed to the black boxes.

"Redfield, this is the first reward the Five Elders are giving you: 2.4 billion Beli in cash!"

"Oh?"

Redfield raised his snow-white, curly eyebrows and scanned them back and forth.

Although he was born into nobility and held the title of Earl, this was the first time he had ever received so much money.

However, given his current level of strength, the allure of money isn't as strong anymore.

"One billion Beli out of this 2.4 billion is the reward for finding the Op-Op Fruit, and the remaining 1.4 billion is the reward for the fourteen Devil Fruit you sent over in installments."

"Later, take those people outside and go to the World Bank headquarters." After saying that, Captain Bowen took out another document and handed it to Redfield.

"This is your appointment letter. Congratulations! From now on, you are the Deputy Commander of CIPHER POL - AIGIS 0."

"I hope that one day in the future you will succeed me in my position and safeguard all the interests of the World Government!"

Redfield simply stared at the appointment letter in his hand, lost in thought.

"Captain Bowen, this deputy commander position shouldn't affect my travel too much, right? I love traveling, and I promised Padong I'd go explore the Otherworld with her this time."

Captain Bowen frowned slightly, but immediately put on a kind smile.

"CIPHER POL doesn't have much work. How about this, I'll give you a long vacation this year. You can take Padong to visit those other Otherworld and come back to work next year."

After saying this, without waiting for Redfield's reply, he instructed the surrounding department executives, "You can all go back now."

"Yes, sir!"

The men and women in sharp suits answered in unison, then quickly pushed open the door and went out.

Soon.

Only three people remained in the conference room. At that moment, Redfield and Padong saw Bowen take a small white box out of his jacket pocket.

"This is your third reward, and also the most valuable one."

As soon as he finished speaking, Captain Bowen flicked his thumb to open the box, revealing a platinum ring set with Diamond in front of the two of them.

"."

The room fell silent instantly. Redfield's expression froze, and Padong covered her mouth with her little hand in shock, staring at Bowen in disbelief.

"Boss, boss, are you proposing to the boss?!"

"Um?"

Captain Bowen was taken aback by these words.

Then he looked down at the diamond ring in the box, then looked up at Redfield, and gradually realized that the scene might indeed be a bit easy to misunderstand.

"No, no, I have a wife. This diamond ring isn't an ordinary diamond ring, look!"

Captain Bowen quickly denied it.

Then, with a gentle touch of Diamond right hand, he saw the Diamond slowly separate to the sides.

In an instant, streaks of brilliant golden light poured out, bathing the entire conference room in a bright golden glow.

"This is."

Redfield squinted until the golden light softened before he could see the luminous object inside, which turned out to be a golden bead the size of a soybean.

"So beautiful, boss--"

Padong stared in disbelief at the shimmering golden bead, feeling that the Diamond on either side were merely supporting green leaves.

"This is Pure Gold. The light it emits has the power to drastically slow down the growth of all things, which means it can grant people almost eternal life."

"In addition, it can also help slow down illness or injury."

Captain Bowen paused for a few seconds to give Redfield time to process the information before continuing, "But it also affects physical growth, so during training, it's sealed with the special Diamond shell on top."

"There really is such a thing?"

Redfield could no longer remain calm, and a clear look of shock appeared on his face.

As someone who frequently drifted freely on the Grand Line, he had naturally heard of the legend of Pure Gold.

The idea of immortality, if derived from Devil Fruit ability, is understandable and acceptable.

Talking about gold is just ridiculous.

However, Redfield never expected that reality would be so absurd and surreal; Pure Gold actually appeared before him.

Now.

This "Red the Aloof" was once again shocked by the World Government's resources; they could use something as outrageous as Pure Gold as a reward?

Let's look at it from a different perspective.

This means the World Government has a lot of Pure Gold!

"Put it on, congratulations, you have gained the qualification for immortality."

Captain Bowen appeared quite natural, calmly watching Redfield put on the ring, seemingly unmoved by the allure of the Pure Gold.

Although he hasn't received a Pure Gold ring yet, he has been told that he will receive one when he turns seventy and retires.

Like his predecessor, who has retired behind the scenes wearing a Pure Gold ring.

As for where they'll be transferred to, we'll only know then, but we can guess a bit—it'll probably be moving into the Holy Land, Mary Geoise.

"Thank you, thank you very much. Patrick Redfield will do everything in his power to protect all the interests of the World Government!"

With a Pure Gold diamond ring on his right index finger, Redfield suppressed his excitement and solemnly looked at the Five-Circle Cross emblem behind Captain Bowen.

The immense value of immortality was enough to make him dedicate his loyalty to the World Government.

After all.

No matter how powerful or aloof one is, there is still a resistance to death.

"Oh, and I'll give you some more information. Your main task next year will be to find the other two Devil Fruits. Be prepared."

Captain Bowen patted the other person on the shoulder and said something meaningful.

"Can I know which two they are?"

Redfield and Padong exchanged a glance, and then the former asked curiously, thinking to himself, "There are actually Devil Fruit the World Government values so much."

He was very curious.

"The Paramecia Gum-Gum Fruit from the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia. By the way, given your fruit's ability, I think it's better to tell you its true information."

Captain Bowen chuckled, rubbing his wispy mustache, and said, "It should be the Zoan Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Nika."

That's why he revealed this secret.

Besides worrying that false information would affect the effectiveness of the Luck-Luck Fruit's power, it was also because the other party brought back the Op-Op Fruit, making them someone he could trust.

"Nika. What is this?"

Redfield racked his brains for the relevant information but found he had never heard of it before.

This is normal.

Unless one has studied a great deal of history, one might not be able to find any clues about Nika in various documents.

"Anyway, the basic ability of this Devil Fruit is to give the user a rubber-like body. You can go to the East Blue and look for it then."

"Okay, what about the second Devil Fruit?"

Redfield, sensing something sensitive in Bowen's tone and expression, immediately stopped asking questions and changed the subject.

"It's Logia Dark-Dark Fruit. Take a look at the encyclopedia later. I heard it's somewhere in the latter half of the Grand Line. Thanks for your hard work."

Captain Bowen sighed.

"It's nothing. I prefer being outside to sitting in the office."

As Redfield spoke, he memorized the information about the two Devil Fruits, while also thinking about getting a Pure Gold ring for Padong as well.

Ten minutes later.

He and Padong, accompanied by twelve men in black carrying suitcases, headed to the World Bank headquarters to deposit the Beli into their own accounts.

On the other side.

Led by Captain Bowen, three CP-0 members personally escorted the Op-Op Fruit) inside the box to the Star Gate Base leading to the 'Demon Slayer World'.

Because to reach the 'Giant World', one must pass through the 'Demon Slayer World'.

Although troublesome, this is a necessary measure.

A huge thank you to reader "True Love Blue" for the 100 book coins! Thank you so much for your support and encouragement!