Fierce Battle with CP9

Night fell, stars glittering across the sky. Ｗｗ Ｗ ＣＯＭ

In a dense forest beside the central district stood an antique yet exquisite villa, brightly lit within.

Inside the villa's hall.

Niveya lounged lazily in a chair. Several buttons of her shirt had been undone, exposing a stretch of snow-white skin from her neck to her chest, gleaming beneath the bright lights.

Across from her, on a luxurious sofa, sat a burly man in a suit. He was tall and rough-built, with powerful muscles and firm, resolute eyes. His entire presence carried an overwhelming sense of force.

"I never thought those above would send a dumb bear like you to assist me." Niveya gave him a lazy glance.

"Watch your words. This is not assistance. We are here to cooperate and watch each other's backs." The burly man's steady voice lightly shook the hall.

"Tch. Aren't all the operations still being arranged by me?" Niveya pouted.

"If your plans or actions do not comply with the Government's rules, I can object."

"You blockhead!"

Niveya shot him an irritated glare. Though they were both members of CP9, Dumb Bear Taigu ranked above her in strength, but his mind was simply too rigid and dull!

"Are we not being a little too conspicuous, openly occupying this villa?" Taigu looked around, unable to suppress his doubts.

"It's fine. Few people come to this forest in the first place. Besides, the villa's original owner was just a decrepit old scholar who barely left home a few times a year. His meals were all handled by a young maid."

"I killed them both and disguised myself as the maid. That way, no one will notice this place so quickly. Those scholars may be unmatched in academic knowledge, but they are utterly lacking in this regard."

Niveya was somewhat pleased with herself. As someone who had scored full marks in infiltration training, all of this had been far too easy.

Next, she only needed to find a way into the "Tree of Omniscience" and gather the relevant materials and evidence.

"Ding-dong, ding-dong..."

Just then, the villa's doorbell rang without warning.

Niveya's expression froze.

A moment ago, she had been boasting that no one would notice them. Now she had been slapped in the face instantly.

"An acquaintance or relative of that old man?" Niveya asked, looking doubtfully at Taigu.

Taigu calmly rose to his feet and headed for the door.

Their identities absolutely could not be exposed. Since someone had come, they could only kill them.

Taigu yanked the door open.

Outside stood a teenage boy. He had sharp brows and starry eyes, a well-proportioned build, and wore black from head to toe, as if he had arrived with the night.

What drew the eye most was the longsword slung diagonally across his back, several inches taller than he was.

"Who are you?" Taigu frowned, his thick black brows knitting together.

This boy before him was simply too strange.

"Me? Hmm... the one here to kill you!"

Ye Qiong grinned and attacked without warning, his right fist shooting forward.

Taigu was shocked. Completely unprepared, he was struck by Ye Qiong's punch and sent flying backward into the villa with his bear-like, muscular body.

Ye Qiong did not pursue him. He slowly walked into the villa and casually shut the door behind him.

Niveya's face changed when she saw Ye Qiong enter the villa. She immediately recognized him as the boy who had accidentally bumped into her on the street at noon.

Those eyes, bright as stars—how could she possibly mistake them?

What made her heart tighten was that this boy, who had suddenly appeared at the villa, had sent Taigu flying with a single punch.

"Niveya, this boy is no ordinary opponent."

Taigu rose from the shattered table scattered across the floor. His suit was torn, leaving him looking somewhat disheveled, but he did not appear injured.

As expected of CP9, the espionage elites cultivated by the Government. They probably possessed the strength of top-ranking commodores!

Ye Qiong secretly marveled.

The power system of the pirate world was extremely chaotic, but broadly speaking, it could be divided into fodder level—where anyone below commodore was an ant—commodore level, vice admiral level, Shichibukai level, admiral level, and Yonko level.

Power levels could not be generalized. For example, a top-tier vice admiral could contend with a Shichibukai, while a top-tier Shichibukai could rival an admiral.

Nor could strength be judged by Marine rank. For example, Garp, who was as strong as a Yonko, had remained a vice admiral for ages.

CP9. In the original story, they had mastered the Navy Six Powers, tapped into the human body's potential, and some had even been granted Zoan Devil Fruits.

They definitely possessed top-tier commodore-level strength! Some had even reached vice admiral level.

"Taigu, let's take him together!" Niveya said coldly.

This unexpected situation had to be dealt with quickly. Otherwise, if the mission failed or their identities were exposed, the World Government's methods would mean death for them.

"You support me. I'll attack head-on!" Taigu stepped forward.

"Soru." Taigu stomped off the ground. His huge body instantly blurred and vanished from sight. It was not teleportation—he was simply moving too fast for the naked eye to follow!

"So fast!"

Ye Qiong's gaze sharpened. Taigu's bear-like, powerful body could actually accelerate to such a degree in an instant. It was unbelievable.

"Shigan." Taigu moved at extreme speed to Ye Qiong's front, his finger shooting out as sharply as a bullet.

Ye Qiong did not dodge. He curled the fingers of his right hand into a claw and reached directly for the Shigan. He deliberately wanted to test whether this world's physical arts differed from the physical arts of his previous life.

Ancient Martial Arts—Eagle Claw Hand versus Navy Six Powers—Shigan!

In an instant, Taigu's and Ye Qiong's fingers collided violently!

Their fingers struck each other, and the clash of metal rang through the hall. They remained locked in midair, neither able to gain the upper hand.

Taigu's eyes widened. What shocked him was that his opponent possessed physical arts comparable to the Marine Seven Forms.

"Shigan!" At some point, Niveya had darted to the side of their stalemate. Her five fingers shot out, striking fiercely toward Ye Qiong.

Ye Qiong had no chance to evade. Her Shigan struck him squarely in the chest!

The corners of Niveya's lips slowly curved into a smile. Yet in the next instant, she felt that her Shigan, which could punch several holes even through stone, could not penetrate Ye Qiong's chest in the slightest.

That chest seemed even tougher than stone or Tekkai!

Ye Qiong swept out with his left leg, kicking Niveya in the cheek and sending her flying into the wall, where she smashed out a hole.

"Hey, hey, I'm not like Sanji. I won't go easy on you just because you're a woman."

Ye Qiong smiled faintly. Two holes had been torn in his upper clothing, revealing bronze skin marked only by two faint white imprints.

After more than a year of training, the Vajra Body of Ancient Martial Arts body tempering had already reached the advanced stage of the first level!

A body nearing first-level perfection was not merely impervious to blades and spears.

"Rankyaku!" Taigu suddenly raised his leg at extreme speed. A vacuum blade, bright as daylight, flew upward from his leg with a shriek that tore through the air, slicing toward Ye Qiong's body.

Danger!

Ye Qiong twisted aside and leaped backward, narrowly avoiding the terrifying attack.

The vacuum blade unleashed by Rankyaku did not stop. It cut straight into the wall behind Ye Qiong, splitting the entire villa in two!

This physical art, created purely through a high-speed kick... was simply too terrifying.

Ye Qiong retreated beyond Taigu's attack range, only for another vacuum blade kicked out by Rankyaku to slash at him from the side. Its tearing screech was as sharp as a bird's cry.

He was in midair with nowhere to dodge, so he directly drew the longsword from his back.

The unsheathed sword flashed with chilling light, and a milky-white sheen swiftly flowed across its blade.

Dimensional Sky Slash! Ye Qiong swung forcefully through the air, releasing a crescent blade of light toward the incoming vacuum blade.

Screech!

The air blade collided with the light blade, and the sound of tearing air rang without end. Yet the vacuum blade shattered into specks of light and dispersed, while the dimmed light blade continued flying toward Niveya.

Niveya's eyes widened in utter disbelief. She could not imagine that her Rankyaku had been broken through!

"Soru!" Taigu kicked off the ground, his enormous body closing in at terrifying speed. He knocked Niveya aside and crossed both arms in front of himself.

"Tekkai!"

The muscles in his arms bulged, veins standing out like coiling dragons as his flesh and bones hardened like iron.

The crescent-shaped light blade struck his arms and vanished without a sound. In the next instant, blood splattered from his hands, and a perfectly smooth gash appeared.

Blood dripped onto the ground. Niveya, lying on the floor, stared blankly at Taigu's wound, her eyes filled with horror.

The crescent light blade that had broken through Rankyaku still possessed enough power to injure Taigu even after he used Tekkai, the defensive technique of the Navy Six Powers.

"Niveya, don't be deceived by his appearance. He is extremely strong!" Taigu stared at Ye Qiong gravely.

That last strike had given him a powerful premonition. If Niveya's Rankyaku had not weakened it first, then taking it head-on would likely have cost him an arm!

"Use that! Go all out!" Niveya rose to her feet, her expression turning serious.

"Alright." Taigu nodded solemnly.

Ye Qiong, who had been watching as if enjoying a show, shrugged. "So you're finally going to reveal your true strength?"

"As elites of the World Government, if this is all you have, then I'm honestly a little bored."

Taigu and Niveya's expressions changed simultaneously upon hearing Ye Qiong's taunt.

It was bad enough that their opponent was powerful. He even knew their identities!

"Who exactly are you?!" Niveya demanded sharply.

"Didn't I say so? I'm here to kill you!"

Ye Qiong smiled, the tip of the sword in his hand pointing directly at them.

"Since you know our identities, we cannot let you live all the more. No matter what, you will not leave this villa tonight!" Taigu's voice was like a great bronze bell, steady and powerful.

He spread his arms wide. His muscles bulged grotesquely as his already massive body began swelling larger, bursting apart his shirt. White fur rapidly grew and covered his entire body as his face twisted savagely into that of a bear.

At last, Taigu transformed into a gigantic upright white-furred bear, fully three meters tall, bare-chested and immensely muscular.

"Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Taigu, a CP9 member and wielder of the Polar Bear Devil Fruit!" Taigu said with a grin in his bear form.

Niveya gave a sinister smile as well. Her face and body rapidly began to beastify. A black tail extended from behind her, black fur covered her body, and her nails transformed into sharp claws.

In the end, her frame did not grow much larger, but her appearance became that of a Black Cat. She crouched slightly on the ground, her tail swaying from side to side.

"I am Niveya, a CP9 member and wielder of the Black Cat Devil Fruit!"

Niveya's catlike eyes glimmered with a cold, ghostly light as she stared directly at Ye Qiong.

One black and one white, they radiated a fierce aura like two savage beasts, their cold gazes fixed steadily on him.

Two Zoan Devil Fruit users?

How interesting.

Ye Qiong smiled faintly. "I generally do not tell my name to people who are about to die."

"But since you are the first Devil Fruit users I have faced in my life, I'll tell you anyway."

"I am Ye Qiong, a native of this island. Whether I am a Devil Fruit user or not? You can guess!"