It's been a month, and it's finally here.
"Continue monitoring, but don't alert them."
"Let them think we haven't noticed."
"Understood." Crocodile nodded.
Three days later, the intelligence network finally picked up a more specific signal.
Near the outer perimeter of the " Gold Star " fortress, a patrolling soldier briefly lost contact during shift change.
He reappeared ten minutes later, but his behavior had become somewhat strange.
Hawk Eyes, who was in charge of the fortress's defenses, immediately noticed the anomaly. He personally used his Observation Haki to investigate.
They noticed a subtle difference in the soldier's aura compared to before.
He's too composed; it doesn't seem like the demeanor of an ordinary soldier.
"It's been switched." Hawk Eyes made the immediate judgment.
He didn't make a fuss, but secretly informed Roy.
Upon receiving the message, Roy immediately activated his Telekinesis Fruit, covering the entire fortress area.
With his keen perception using Telekinesis, the "soldier's" aura had nowhere to hide.
His appearance can be disguised, but the frequency of his soul's fluctuations cannot be changed.
It was a strange, murderous presence.
"A spy has infiltrated."
A cold glint flashed in Roy's eyes.
"And there's more than one."
Over the next two days, similar unusual events occurred one after another.
A logistics personnel has suddenly gone missing from the outer " Wood Star " fortress.
Three days later, the body was found in a crevice in the reef; the real spy had already taken his place and infiltrated the area.
In the port area of the main island, an elderly businessman suddenly sold his shop at a low price.
The shop changed hands the next day; the new owner was a taciturn middle-aged man.
But the goods in the warehouse were clearly espionage equipment.
Outside the scholars' area, a cleaning worker had been loitering near the laboratory for several days in a row.
Kalifa, the Devil Fruit User, noticed this.
In the surveillance footage she drew, the man's gaze was always fixed on the direction of the laboratory.
Every anomaly was quietly recorded by the intelligence network.
But Crocodile soon discovered that these exposed spies seemed far too easy to spot.
Something's not right.
Crocodile found Roy, his expression grave.
"These people are professional, but their flaws are too obvious."
It's like they deliberately let us discover it."
Roy immediately understood what he meant.
"Bait."
"That's right."
Crocodile nodded.
The real elite are still hidden in the shadows.
These exposed targets are nothing more than expendable pawns, used to attract our attention and deplete our tracking resources.
"So what is the real goal?"
Crocodile pointed to a location on the map— Trial Island, Dr. Gracia's laboratory.
"There."
What they wanted to steal was Bloodline Transplantation technology.
Roy fell silent.
Crocodile is right; the World Government's true goal was never to destroy Hachinosu.
That would be too costly and too risky.
What they want is the core technology of Bloodline Transplantation.
Capturing Dr. Gracia is tantamount to capturing the lifeline of the Roy Pirates ' future development.
"Let's play along." Roy finally made his decision.
"Don't touch those baits that have already been exposed. Let them continue to move."
Let them think we haven't noticed yet.
"At the same time, we'll trace back to find out where the real elite are hiding."
Crocodile sneered. "Just what I wanted."
Over the next few days, a silent battle quietly unfolded on Hachinosu.
On the surface, everything seemed normal. The patrolling soldiers continued their routines, the port remained busy, and the residents continued their peaceful lives.
But secretly, an invisible net is tightening.
Lucci and Kaku, two former top CP9 agents, became the main force in this counter-infiltration operation.
They were intimately familiar with the Cipher Pol's modus operandi, stealth techniques, and code language system.
He knew better than anyone how spies would hide and pass information.
"The footprints here are wrong."
Kaku crouched in a secluded alleyway, pointing to barely visible, minute marks on the ground.
"The footprints left when Geppo landed were very faint, but they couldn't hide them from me."
There's still a trace of life there.
Lucci blended into the shadows, peeking out from the darkness.
"It was faint, but carried the killing intent unique to CP0."
Like Hound, the two followed the faint clues, piecing together the intruder's movements bit by bit.
Three days later, they identified five suspicious locations—
They were all hidden corners of the island, far from patrol routes, yet close to key defensive nodes.
"Here, here, and here."
Lucci marked five red dots on the map.
"CP0 personnel stopped at each location, but for no more than five minutes."
"They exchange intelligence here, or await orders."
Crocodile looked at the map, a glint of cunning in his eyes.
Five points... that correspond exactly to five elite agents.
He turned to Roy,
"Captain, you can haul in the nets now."
Roy shook his head. "No rush."
These are just their activity points, not their hiding places.
The true elite are surely still deep within.
He looked at Lucci and Kaku.
"Continue the tracking and find their hideout."
"Also, capture one alive."
Two days later, the opportunity finally arrived.
A spy disguised as a businessman sneaks out of the port area late at night and enters a hidden underground drainage pipe.
Unbeknownst to him, an invisible shadow was silently following him.
Lucci transformed into his Shadow Leopard Form, disappearing completely into the shadows of the pipe wall.
They followed silently behind the person, completely holding back their breath.
The pipes went deeper and deeper, eventually leading to an abandoned underground warehouse on the edge of the main island.
Inside the warehouse, five figures were waiting quietly.
A spy disguised as a businessman entered the warehouse and knelt on one knee.
"Report: The outer perimeter deployment map has been confirmed, and the transmission nodes have been marked."
The leader—whose mask bore a silver cross emblem—nodded slightly.
"Thank you for your hard work. The next plan is to launch a surprise attack on both the laboratory and the palace three days from now, taking advantage of their shift change."
"Capture Dr. Gracia, seize the core technical data, and then immediately evacuate."
The ship will meet you at the designated location.
The other four responded in unison, "Understood!"
In the darkness, Lucci's eyes were as cold as iron.
All five elite troops are here.
He didn't take action, but quietly withdrew and relayed the message back.
On the top floor of the palace, Roy received the news and a cold smile curled at the corner of his lips.
"Found it."
He looked at the core members present.
"It's time to close the net."
Three in the morning, the darkest hour of the night.
Hachinosu was asleep, with only a few lights flickering in the harbor and on the watchtower.
The patrol team marched along the predetermined route, their footsteps gradually fading into the distance.
Inside an abandoned underground warehouse, five elite CP0 agents are making final preparations.
All equipment was carefully inspected: Seastone Handcuffs, tranquilizer darts, communicators, explosive devices...
Every tool has been carefully selected to ensure its complete functionality.
The lead agent, " Silver Fox " --
A top assassin within CP0, his codename derives from his cunning and unpredictable tactical style.
He glanced at the time and whispered,
Three hours left.
"The moment it gets light and the shift changes begin, that's the best time for us to make our move."
The other four nodded, their eyes showing no tension, only a chilling killing intent.
What they didn't know was that just tens of meters above their heads...
An invisible Telekinesis, like the perspective of God, took in everything inside the warehouse.