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Come to think of it, Robin's ability is really convenient, Carina thought. She can sprout arms anywhere within her line of sight. That's got to be amazing for massages. No wonder some of her works show her using that power to ease Arton's muscles. Also… that power should work great for wiping down Arton's 'weapon,' right? I didn't look closely before—maybe there are already scenes like that in Robin's works… The Flower-Flower Fruit really is enviable.
Good thing that when I enter Yae Miko mode, my tail can help polish Arton's 'equipment,' too.
At that point, Carina quietly exhaled, a bit relieved. If Arton had known what was turning over in her head, he could only sigh at that exasperating competitive streak.
…Wait, no! Her eyes sharpened and fixed on Robin again. Robin can sprout not just arms, but other body parts anywhere within her sight. If she were to, say, manifest just her bosom in front of Arton… or even conjure a throat, or—her most private place—right there before him…Hiss… She wouldn't go that far… would she? But if she had no other way to stay on this ship, maybe she really would.
Those images flashed through Carina's mind, and she once more marveled—warily—at the Flower-Flower Fruit. Fortunately, Robin's attention was on Arton's diary, so she didn't notice Carina's strange expression.
[Speaking of which, that Spandam guy really does have a nasty temper when it comes to Robin.]
[I'm amazed he could punch and kick a great beauty like Robin. Then again, even with his long-time subordinate Kalifa, he can toss her aside without a second thought. So beating on Robin isn't exactly surprising.]
Robin: "Lay hands on me? Looks like when I see this Spandam, I'll have to give him a proper lesson."
Kalifa: "Throw me away without a second thought? That must be a joke… No—Arton wouldn't write nonsense. So he really plans to cast me off?"
Gion: "Abandoning his own subordinate… Not exactly shocking for a World Government official."
Doll: "Huh… Will this Kalifa end up influenced like Tashigi and eventually leave the World Government?"
Stussy: "If Kalifa does leave because of this, she might be recruitable to my side…"
Belo Betty: "If we could bring a CP9 agent into the Revolutionary Army, we might pry out a lot of the Government's secrets. But Kalifa isn't necessarily trustworthy."
At that moment in Water 7, Kalifa stared out her window, brows knitted.
"Spandam is going to throw me away? For what reason? And after that, what will he do? And Rob Lucci and the others—how does he plan to handle them? Isn't he worried we'll kill him?"
She muttered to herself. Though CP9 were nominally Spandam's subordinates, none of them truly respected him. If not for rank and postings, they'd be the first to look down on such a useless boss.
Right now, the only reason they took his orders was because they still aimed to climb within the World Government's system. But if Spandam intended to abandon them—or even corner them—then Kalifa wouldn't mind eliminating him. And she was sure Rob Lucci and the rest would be willing to do the same.
Chapter 372 — Kalifa's Too Unlucky: Stripped Bare?!
"After Arton revealed the ancient-weapon intel about Water 7, this mission was already getting hard enough. And now he's gone and exposed a future like this… really puts me in a foul mood."
Kalifa frowned, irritation prickling under her skin. At this point, her enthusiasm for Spandam's assignment was circling the drain. All she wanted now was to figure out why Spandam would choose to throw her away—and what he would do to her afterward.
…
[Rattled as he was after accidentally triggering the Buster Call, Spandam quickly talked himself into calm. In his mind, so long as he's secured Robin, the World Government will reward him. Even if Enies Lobby gets obliterated, who cares.]
[Except—he never imagined the chaos caused by the Buster Call ends up giving Robin the opening to escape.]
[Result: Enies Lobby is destroyed, and Spandam has nothing he can claim as a real achievement. Report that honestly and even his father, Spandine, won't be able to save him.]
[Knowing that, Spandam chooses to dump all responsibility onto CP9—Rob Lucci's unit.]
[If not for Blueno's Door-Door Fruit—the space-walking, teleportation-style power—Rob Lucci, Kaku, Kalifa, and the rest would likely have been thrown in prison.]
[No, given how many World Government secrets they know, prison isn't even an option.]
[Being quietly eliminated by Marines or other Government agents would be their end. Because after Blueno spirited Kalifa, Rob Lucci, and the others away, Spandam teamed up with his father Spandine to issue a kill order on the CP9 crew.]
[The "reason": Lucci, Kalifa, and company know far too many of the Government's dirty little truths. Who would've thought—agents who once lorded over the underworld would be reduced to circus performers and janitors.]
[Then again, if they don't earn a living somehow, they can't even pay Rob Lucci's hospital bills. Maybe not just the hospital bills—they might not even be able to buy clothes.]
[Kalifa, when she was out working as a cleaner, was still wearing that coat Jabra lent her. Poor, fashion-loving Kalifa—after losing a fight she even got stripped bare, and had to make do in a teammate's hand-me-down for a long while afterward.]
[Image: Kalifa using the Bubble-Bubble Fruit to suds down a town street, wearing Jabra's coat!]
[Image: Former CP9 agents Kaku, Jabra, Blueno, Kumadori, and Fukuro doing circus acts!]
[Image: Rob Lucci grievously injured, on the brink, awaiting enough money for treatment!]
Robin: "So I really did get away… much like last time. Don't tell me—was it Aokiji again?"
Carina: "The Marine Admiral Kuzan?"
Smoothie: "What a remarkable woman—escaping under a double hammer of Enies Lobby and a Buster Call. I'm getting more and more interested in meeting this Robin."
Stussy: "Of course Spandam, as CP9's chief, would try to dump blame on his subordinates."
Koala: "Enies Lobby destroyed and Robin escaped—that kind of responsibility isn't one an ordinary person can shoulder. Rob Lucci, Kalifa, and the others Arton mentioned are bound to face a brutal manhunt."
Ulti: "Serves them right. That's what you get for working for the World Government."
Galette: "Stripped of her clothes? This woman named Kalifa is seriously down bad."
Ginrummy: "Most of those CP9 'circus performers' are Zoan-users, huh. If Captain Kaido saw them, he'd definitely want them."
Baccarat: "Why does that picture feel like I'm at a zoo?"
...
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