Interrogation

Tower of Justice, front balcony.

Rain's upper body silently merged into a massive stone pillar at the side of the balcony. Thanks to the properties of [Assimilation: Subterranean Rock], his presence and body temperature had completely fused with the cold stone. Even the CP9 agents standing nearby had no idea that a pair of cold eyes was hidden within the pillar.

At that moment, this battlefield bathed in daylight was reaching its most breathtaking moment.

Separated by the enormous abyssal waterfall, the Straw Hat Pirates, who had turned Enies Lobby upside down, stood on the rooftop of the Courthouse across from the CP9 agents on the Tower of Justice balcony.

"Sogeking, shoot through that flag."

Following the order of that Straw Hat boy, a blazing firebird tore through the air and struck the flag at the highest point of the Tower of Justice with flawless precision—a flag representing the absolute authority of the World Government and its more than one hundred seventy allied nations.

The flames instantly devoured the flag. This was not merely a provocation; it was a declaration of war against the entire World Government.

Hidden within the stone pillar, Rain watched the scene, a faint ripple passing through his pitch-black eyes. Even as a transmigrator who knew the plot well, witnessing these people unhesitatingly set themselves against the entire world for the sake of one companion still sent a scalp-tingling shock through him—the sheer madness and resolve were overwhelming.

"Robin! I haven't heard you say it yourself yet! Say that you want to live!" Straw Hat's roar pierced through the thunder of the waterfall.

Bound by Seastone handcuffs and covered in wounds, Nico Robin wept as the heart she had kept sealed away for so many years finally shattered. "I want to live! Take me out to sea with you!"

Then Franky, the cyborg in the floral shirt, laughed as he pulled the blueprints for the Ancient Weapon Pluton—something the World Government had coveted for so long—from his chest. Before all of CP9, he spewed flames from his mouth and burned the world-destroying blueprints into ashes that scattered through the air.

"They've gone mad... They've all gone mad!"

Standing beside Robin, Spandam, the highest-ranking officer of CP9, clutched his hair and let out a despairing scream as he watched the blueprints turn to ash.

Boom—!

The out-of-control sea train roared like a steel beast and smashed through the outer wall of the Tower of Justice's lowest level, triggering a violent explosion. Taking advantage of the chaos, the Straw Hat Pirates began their full-scale advance into the Tower of Justice.

"Rob Lucci! Come with me! We have to escort this woman to the Gates of Justice immediately!" Terrified out of his wits, Spandam grabbed Robin by the hair and, under the protection of Lucci, CP9's strongest fighter, scrambled toward the underground passage deep within the Tower of Justice.

"The show's over. Time to work."

Rain withdrew his gaze and fully sank into the stone pillar. Like a shark swimming beneath the earth, he locked tightly onto Spandam's trail.

The underground passage leading to the Bridge of Hesitation was dark and damp.

Spandam gripped the rope around Robin's wrist and ran desperately under Lucci's escort. Yet before they had gone far, the passage door behind them was blasted apart by a violent force.

Luffy, steam rising from his entire body, chased after them like an enraged beast, killing intent rolling off him.

"Straw Hat?" Spandam shrieked in fright. "Lucci! Kill him! Don't let him get any closer!"

Rob Lucci, dressed in a black suit with a pigeon perched on his shoulder, stopped and turned around with an indifferent gaze, blocking Luffy's path. Two immensely powerful auras collided in an instant.

"Sir, go on ahead." Lucci's voice held no emotion.

"Fine! Make sure you kill him!" Spandam felt as if he had been pardoned. Dragging Robin along, he continued racing deeper into the passage.

With Lucci completely occupied by Luffy, Spandam no longer had any protection at his side. This was the perfect opportunity Rain had been waiting for.

Deep in the passage, Spandam ran while gasping for breath, reaching into his clothes. He intended to take out the baby Den Den Mushi used for broadcasts across the island, announce his victory to all the pirates, and incidentally urge the Marines on the island to do a better job stopping the enemy.

"I'll let those worthless fools hear the sound of despair! Once I reach the Gates of Justice, I'll have the Marine Admirals grind all of you into meat paste!" Spandam cursed through gritted teeth as his fat thumb habitually pressed hard toward the button.

However, the moment he looked down and saw what he was holding, his pupils contracted sharply, and it felt as though the blood in his body had frozen.

That was not an ordinary Den Den Mushi for broadcasts at all. It was an object forged entirely from Pure Gold, a symbol of absolute destruction—the Golden Den Den Mushi!

In his overwhelming panic and clumsiness while running, his fat thumb continued moving from inertia, heading directly toward the irreversible Buster Call button.

"Ah? I grabbed the wrong one—"

Spandam was scared out of his mind, cold sweat instantly soaking his clothes.

Just as his finger was about to touch the golden button.

Smack!

A huge hand covered in grayish-white stone skin shot out of the wall without warning like an iron clamp and tightly seized Spandam's wrist.

Accompanied by a bone-grinding crack of dislocation, Spandam screamed as his wrist instantly went limp. The Golden Den Den Mushi representing destruction slipped from his hand, only to be steadily caught by that hand that had appeared from nowhere.

"You shouldn't let an idiot like you press such a dangerous toy at random."

A dry, cold voice suddenly rang out in the dark passage.

Before Robin, walking ahead, could figure out what had happened, the hard stone tiles beneath their feet instantly turned into a grayish-white swamp. A heavy, irresistible pulling force suddenly surged up from underground.

"What—"

Splash! Splash!

Before either could even cry out for help, Spandam and Robin, still bound by Seastone handcuffs, were swallowed at once like prey devoured by a giant beast lurking beneath the ground, sinking instantly into the depths of the bedrock.

The rock above them quickly closed and hardened. The dark underground passage returned to dead silence, leaving behind only a trail of messy footprints, as if the two had evaporated from the world.

At the very bottom of the Tower of Justice was an abandoned dark chamber completely sealed by thick Granite.

Splash!

A bucket of freezing seawater was dumped over someone's head.

"Ah!"

Spandam jolted awake and let out a pig-like shriek. He panted heavily as icy seawater mixed with the cold sweat on his forehead ran into his eyes, stinging fiercely.

When he saw his surroundings clearly, terror once more swallowed him like a tide.

This was a completely sealed stone chamber, with no doors and no windows. The surrounding walls gave off a suffocating grayish-white sheen. Not far in front of him, the man in a dark gray cloak sat on a protruding rock, idly playing with Spandam's expensive Elephant Sword.

At the man's feet sat the Golden Den Den Mushi!

"Y-you... Who the hell are you? Do you know who I am?! I'm the commander of CP9! A special-grade official of the World Government!" Spandam shouted fiercely despite his inner fear, trying to intimidate the other man with the status he was so proud of. "If you dare lay a finger on me, not only CP9, but the entire Marine Headquarters will hunt you down without end!"

"Too noisy."

Rain did not even raise his head. His right arm lightly slapped the ground, and the rock beneath them instantly began to roll. The ground vanished beneath Spandam's feet, and he sank into the earth. The surrounding stone then tightened at once, leaving only his head exposed above the ground.

Spandam's words abruptly stopped. Feeling the rock tightly enclosing him, a suffocating sensation rose from within.

A Logia user! Why was a monster of this level here?

"Back in my homeland, there was a punishment specifically reserved for trash like you." Rain slowly raised his head, absolute rational cruelty glowing in his pure black eyes. "They would skin corrupt officials, stuff their hides with straw, then hang them from masts for public display. I think it suits you perfectly."

Looking into Rain's cold eyes, Spandam had no doubt that the other man could truly do such a thing. His powerful desire to survive instantly shattered his already pathetic mental defenses.

"I was wrong! I really know I was wrong! Please don't do it! I'm just a useless coward who throws his weight around because of others! I'm a worthless little bug! You're a great man, so please don't stoop to my level! Killing me would only dirty your hands! As long as you spare a nobody like me, I'll give you anything you want! Please, I'm begging you, spare my life!"

"I'll ask questions. You'll answer them. If your answers satisfy me, I'll consider giving you a quick death." Rain walked over to Spandam and spoke softly.

"U-understood! Ask away! I'll tell you everything I know! Don't kill me!" Spandam nodded frantically, tears and snot smearing his face.

"Good." Rain was satisfied with his obedience. "First, the password to the underground strategic supplies warehouse of the Tower of Justice, and the security layout of the Seastone area."

"The password is... six eights, then you enter my special voiceprint: 'Justice shall prevail'..." Spandam did not hesitate in the slightest before decisively selling out the World Government's secrets. "Th-there are no living guards in the Seastone area, only three infrared automatic machine-gun arrays. But as long as you enter the password at the main console and shut down the system, you can get in safely!"

Rain silently memorized the information. It was more or less what he had expected.

"The second matter." Rain stood and slowly walked up to Spandam. His tall body, together with the high temperature radiating from his right arm, brought devastating pressure down on Spandam.

"Hand over every cultivation method, exertion technique, and theoretical datum for the martial art passed down through your generations—the Naval Six Powers."

Rain had set his sights on the Naval Six Powers.

His physique was strong, and his development of the Rock-Rock Fruit had begun to take shape, but he had not yet awakened Haki. In the first half of the Grand Line, the elementalization of a Logia and the high-density defense of rock truly allowed him to run rampant. But once he entered the New World and faced monsters who had trained Armament Haki to its limits, surface-level defense and straightforward attacks would be nowhere near enough.

Soru from the Six Powers could greatly compensate for his lack of mobility; Paper Arts could strengthen his evasive ability; and if the muscle-hardening technique of Iron Body could be combined with his rock assimilation, his defense would undergo a qualitative leap. More importantly, training in the Six Powers could effectively help him comprehend Haki. It might even help him break through his bottleneck.

He had to obtain the cultivation blueprint for this martial art.

"Six... Six Powers?" Spandam froze, seemingly not expecting a monster with Logia powers to covet the Marines' martial arts.

"What? You don't want to give them to me?" Rain slightly raised his right hand, and the surrounding rock instantly tightened. Already feeling immense pressure, Spandam was suddenly gripped by a fierce suffocating sensation, his eyes rolling back as tears and snot streamed down his face.

Ten seconds later, Rain lightly waved his hand. The surrounding rock loosened slightly, giving Spandam a little room to breathe.

"Ha—ha—" Spandam gasped desperately, crying out in misery. "I'll give them to you! I will! Don't tighten it any more!"

"How could I possibly carry classified documents like that on me?! The materials... the materials are all in a private safe behind the bookcase in my office! This is the key!" Spandam sweated profusely as he spoke at breakneck speed. "It contains not only the complete paper training manuals for the Six Powers, but also notes on improved exertion methods from generations of CP0! Everything is there! The key is in my upper pocket!"

Rain lifted him out of the ground. Trembling, Spandam pulled a strangely shaped key from the inner pocket of his undershirt and handed it to Rain.

Rain accepted the key and inspected it carefully. After confirming that it was not some explosive trap, he put it away.

Both of the hunter's prey had now fallen securely into his hands.

"Y-you know everything you wanted to know now... You can let me go, right?" Spandam collapsed on the ground and looked up at Rain with a servile expression.

Rain looked down at the CP9 commander, whose face was covered in tears and snot, amusement flashing in his eyes.

"Let you go? I never agreed to that."

Rain suddenly raised his left hand and struck the back of Spandam's head with a precise chop. This fat pig did not even have time to grunt before passing out again. Then the underground rock began to roll once more, sealing him beneath the earth. The surrounding stone fitted tightly against his body, ensuring that even if he woke up, he could not move. Only two narrow cracks were left to ensure he would not die from lack of oxygen.

Rain took out the Golden Den Den Mushi he had just seized and tossed it lightly in his hand. Looking at the rock layers overhead, judging from the commotion, Luffy and Lucci's battle on the rooftop should have entered its climactic final stage.

Glancing at Robin, who sat beside him on the ground without saying a word, Rain smiled. "What, are you afraid I'll take advantage of the situation and collect the one hundred million Beli bounty on your captain's head?"