Borrowed Assignment

Two and a half years later, deep within the Tower of Justice, in CP9's dedicated training room.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Sharp metallic collisions erupted in rapid succession, making the walls tremble faintly.

Two figures crossed and collided at speeds nearly too fast for the naked eye to follow. Shockwaves burst from every clash of fists and feet, and the entire training room shook lightly.

One black, one white.

The black figure was Rob Lucci, now as tall and upright as a grown man.

Two years of tempering had stripped away his youthful immaturity. His frame had grown leaner and harder, and his black suit only made his calm, restrained aura more pronounced. He had long since mastered the Six Powers.

The changes in the white figure opposite him were even more terrifying.

In just two years, he had shot past two meters in height, broad-shouldered and straight-backed, with an imposing presence.

Over those two years, relying on his trait, he had cultivated Life Return and forcibly reached the threshold of its deeper mysteries, actively controlling his body to accelerate its growth.

Every inch of bone and every muscle had been strengthened madly. His physical abilities had skyrocketed exponentially, far beyond anything an ordinary person could imagine.

The two clashed head-on once more, and the shockwave exploded outward.

Beiyuan Heng swayed slightly, instantly catching an imperceptible opening in Lucci's movements.

"Your backhand lacks power, your lead hand lacks precision, your footwork is loose, and your reactions are slow. Not a single move of yours is worth looking at."

His voice was calm, yet it carried an undeniable sharpness.

"And you still want to compete with me on the same stage? Keep dreaming."

The instant his words fell—

Whoosh!

A Shigan shot through the air, piercing straight through Lucci's defense.

Before Lucci could recover, Beiyuan Heng stomped down and swept out a Rankyaku, smashing viciously into Lucci's chest.

Bang!

Lucci was slammed hard into the ground, shattering the stone tiles beneath him.

He braced himself against the floor and tried to rise, but his muscles trembled uncontrollably. In the end, he collapsed back down weakly, breathing heavily.

"After two years of training... why has the gap only gotten bigger?!"

Lucci stared at the ceiling, his voice carrying a trace of unwillingness, though he had no choice but to admit it.

"I've been training too, you know..."

Beiyuan Heng calmly withdrew his hand. His breathing was steady, and he had barely broken a sweat.

He raised his eyes and swept his gaze around.

At the edge of the training room stood every member of CP9.

Kaku, Jabra, Bruno, Kalifa, Kumadori, Owl... everyone watched him in silence.

That day, he had fought each of them one-on-one, pointing out every flaw, weakness, and habitual opening without mercy. Yet every word had struck at the heart of the matter.

"Beiyuan Heng, are you... really leaving?"

Kalifa spoke softly. A rare trace of worry and reluctance appeared on her usually cool, capable face.

The others said nothing, but the emotions in their eyes could not be hidden.

There was reluctance, regret, unwillingness, and a faint loneliness that was hard to detect.

Although Beiyuan Heng had not grown up training with them on the same island, he had still spent two and a half years with them—and he was their captain.

To say they felt nothing would have been a lie.

Even Lucci, still lying on the floor, silently lifted his eyes to look at Beiyuan Heng.

Beiyuan Heng suddenly laughed, his tone relaxed.

"What, it's not like I'm quitting CP9."

He paused, then explained.

"It's just a 'borrowed assignment.'"

"Besides, you all know my style. I'm really not suited for CP9."

"Being assigned to the Navy now might be a good opportunity."

"Just don't let me become your superior someday."

That test in the Karandi Kingdom had only been the beginning.

Over the past two and a half years, he had carried out missions while repeatedly testing the limits of the World Government and CP9. He had danced along the red line again and again, acting as brazenly as possible.

At last, he had driven his superior, Spandine, to the end of his patience.

Yet Spandine could not bear to lose such a top-tier fighting force, nor could he withstand the higher-ups' constant pressure to "make CP9 keep a lower profile."

In the end, Spandine simply slammed his hand on the desk.

With a single transfer order, Beiyuan Heng was directly assigned on loan to Marine Headquarters.

The Navy was desperately short on manpower right now. Since the World Government was officially sending them a terrifyingly powerful Genius, there was no reason for them to refuse.

Besides, Beiyuan Heng's flamboyant style happened to suit the Navy perfectly.

For Beiyuan Heng, this was an even more ideal arrangement.

It was only a borrowed assignment, not a departure.

``` [CP9's Strongest Genius]

He even felt that as long as no one stronger than him appeared within CP9, this trait would remain firmly attached to him whether or not he was stationed on Enies Lobby.

That was why today had happened.

Giving every member of CP9 a thorough round of special training counted as his farewell gift before leaving.

"The Navy must be busy as hell right now. Who knows what major incident happened..."

Beiyuan Heng rubbed his chin, grumbling inwardly.

Come to think of it, it was a little embarrassing. After working as an intelligence agent for so long, he had somehow failed to get his hands on much core intelligence.

Of course, it was also possible that... CP9's work mostly involved killing people, silencing witnesses, and cleaning up trouble. Intelligence work had never really been their responsibility.

"Alright."

Beiyuan Heng dusted off his sleeves. His white suit remained spotless.

"The ship for Marineford will be here soon."

"It's time for me to go."

With that, he did not look back. He turned and walked out of the training room.

The white figure vanished through the doorway, leaving behind a room full of silent CP9 members and a training room covered in cracks that still trembled faintly.

Marineford, Enies Lobby, Impel Down.

These three major locations were connected by special vortex currents formed by the Gates of Justice under the World Government's control.

The currents were swift and violent, far faster than those of ordinary seas. At full speed, one could travel from one location to another in less than a day.

At that moment, Marineford, the Marine Headquarters and symbol of the World Government's greatest military strength, was shrouded in an unprecedented atmosphere of tension and frantic activity.

Ships constantly entered and left the harbor, messengers raced about at full speed, and the entire base resembled an overloaded machine. Even the air carried a sense of agitation.

"Report! All patrol teams from the G-3 Branch have been transferred to search the East Blue! Their regular defenses can no longer hold! They request immediate reinforcements from headquarters!"

"Reply that headquarters cannot spare anyone either! Tell them to grit their teeth and hold on themselves for now!"

"An urgent order has arrived from Mary Geoise, demanding that we send more troops again. Preferably... they want an admiral-level force stationed there directly!"

"Didn't we already send ten thousand men?! What the hell are those Celestial Dragons causing now?!"

Inside the Fleet Admiral's office, documents were piled high as mountains, and telegrams arrived one after another.

Sengoku's brows were tightly furrowed, his face full of exhaustion. He gripped a pen as he continuously processed information from every direction, overwhelmed with work and without even a moment to drink tea.

On one side, branches across the Four Seas were constantly sending distress calls, desperately short on manpower;

On the other, Mary Geoise kept applying pressure, demanding endless reinforcements.

And there was only one cause behind all this chaos.

Sengoku took a deep breath and slowly turned toward the wanted poster that had just been delivered to the corner of his desk, still smelling faintly of fresh ink.

[Fish-Man Tiger]

[Bounty: 230,000,000 Berry]

[Dead or Alive]