Monet: "Even CP9 agents who once lived in the shadows will swallow their pride and perform for pennies, huh."
Makino: "They may be operatives of the underworld, but their bonds are real. Otherwise Kalifa and the others wouldn't be taking odd jobs to pay Rob Lucci's medical bills."
Carrot: "Looks like those CP9 agents went through a brutal fight… being forced to busk for money is just too miserable."
Kozuki Hiyori: "Kalifa's condition… don't tell me she was violated?"
Belo Betty: "Arton's photos exposed every CP9 face. Their movements will definitely be affected; our fighters will find them more easily too. And not just the Revolutionary Army—any pirates aiming at CP9 will have an easier time spotting them. Arton said some CP9 agents are seeking the blueprints of the ancient weapon Pluton. I imagine plenty of pirates will be hunting them."
It wasn't only Belo Betty who thought so. Kalifa herself, of course, had realized as much.
…
Water 7. Kalifa's room.
Bang!
"Damn it!"
Kalifa glared at Arton's diary entry and the photos he'd uploaded. Agitated, she crushed the cup in her hand on the spot.
"That bastard Spandam—doing this to us? Even Lucci ended up this badly hurt?! How many troops did he send to hunt us down?"
"And Arton actually says I was stripped of everything! Could it be… my chastity was—"
Kalifa's fists tightened. The shards left between her fingers were ground into glittering sand by her strength.
Though a CP9 operative, Kalifa was no ordinary woman. With her exceptional qualities, she'd even undergone training in the arts of seduction. But in truth, she had never been intimate with a man. Those who taught such skills were seasoned women; they didn't use real targets.
As for contact with men, it happened only in battle—via fists and feet. She valued her purity highly.
In choosing a man, she wasn't so different from many ordinary women. If she married and had children someday, of course she wanted someone strong and handsome—worthy of her.
Having that stolen by another man was absolutely unacceptable.
Because of that, when Arton's diary described her being stripped and forced to wear Jabra's coat—complete with photos—Kalifa's heart filled with rage.
She spared less thought for analysis and more for emotion, never stopping to consider whether the injuries to herself and Rob Lucci's group had truly been caused by others.
She laid every blame squarely on Spandam.
"Spandam, you—after we worked so diligently for you," she hissed. "In the end you dump every charge on our heads."
"Fine. In that case, how I 'repay' you later—don't blame me." Kalifa drew a long breath, venom in her voice, then turned her eyes back to her diary copy.
Staring at the pictures and lines about herself, a flicker of doubt crossed her gaze.
"The Bubble-Bubble Fruit… In the future, do I eat a Devil Fruit like that?"
Kalifa murmured to herself.
Chapter 374 — Kalifa's Resolve to Join Arton Grows Firmer
"Heh… in the original timeline, the me who ate a Devil Fruit would never have imagined using it for… housekeeping. And that giraffe—that should be Kaku. Didn't expect he ate a Fruit too. That makes most of CP9 Devil Fruit users now. I wonder if Kaku and I can still end up with the Fruits that were 'meant' for us."
Kalifa shook her head, then a hard light flashed in her eyes. "Even if I can't get the Bubble-Bubble Fruit, it doesn't matter. As long as I can obtain a character template from Arton, I won't need a Devil Fruit at all."
As she spoke, her fists quietly clenched again. Before, she'd only been vaguely tempted by the power of his templates; now the thought of becoming Arton's crewmate had truly taken root—and once planted, it refused to fade.
"Working under a superior like Spandam… even if that whole 'Robin to Enies Lobby' mess never happens in this altered future, one day he'll still throw Rob Lucci and the rest of us away—and then hunt us."
"If that's the case, I might as well join Arton's pirate crew and obtain real power. With strength, neither the Marines nor the World Government can do anything to me." She paused, then muttered with a wry curl of her lips, "Aside from being lecherous and a bit of a flirt, Arton's a decent man—strong, handsome. Barely acceptable as a husband-and-father candidate."
At this moment, Arton would never guess it: his casual diary entries had made a blonde, glasses-wearing, black-stockings secretary decide to betray Spandam outright.
As for the task Spandam assigned—finding the blueprints of the Ancient Weapon, Pluton—Kalifa couldn't care less anymore. With Arton's abilities, he could find the blueprints without even trying; they'd worked the shadows in Water 7 for years and still failed.
Compared to Arton, their competitiveness was a joke. Might as well lie flat and wait. Once Arton arrives at Water 7—and he's already in the Grand Line—it may not be long.
Her brows knit as new worries threaded in. If Arton comes to Water 7, he'll definitely recognize me and the others from CP9. He holds clear hostility toward the Marines and the World Government. Our CP9 status… will that make him hostile to us on sight? If he moves first, we won't be able to resist at all. Maybe I should evacuate with Rob Lucci and the rest?
She immediately rebutted herself. No. Even if I want to, I have no pretext. They don't have Diary Copies and absolutely won't listen to me. Even if I share a few "safe" details from the diary, they'll just think I'm crazy. And if we leave Water 7, I might miss my only chance to get close to Arton. In the future, my odds of acquiring a character template would drop to near zero.
Torn between risk and opportunity, she thought for a long time—then a spark flashed in her eyes. Stay. I'll make contact with Arton first, before Rob Lucci and the others do. Since he couldn't bring himself to act against Ain, he shouldn't strike me down either. If I show enough goodwill and release enough charm, maybe I'll earn an invitation to join his crew.
So decided Kalifa. In that instant, her desire to join the Flameblade Pirates hardened into unshakable resolve.
...
For every 100 Power Stones → +1 extra chapter.
Read 50+ chapters ahead on Patreon! [patreon.com/METARLN]
Use code SANTA for 50% OFF!