CLANG!
A piercing metallic clash suddenly rang out from the alley.
Hyaku's katana struck Fukurō's shoulder. Sparks flew instantly.
THUD!
The heavy pressure from the blade unleashed onto Fukurō's body. With a thunderous sound, his feet drove deep into the ground, shattering the surface beneath.
SLASH!
At that moment, his iron defense could no longer withstand the katana's cutting force and instantly dispersed.
Hyaku, wielding Ryūka, delivered a diagonal slash from Fukurō's left shoulder.
A deep wound appeared across his front. Blood sprayed everywhere.
"How... could..." Severely wounded, Fukurō gave him an incredulous look.
Then, losing consciousness, he collapsed with a thud.
"I don't know your purpose, but I don't like being followed." Hyaku muttered softly as he sheathed his sword and turned around.
After a moment's thought, he crouched down and searched through Fukurō's clothes. Soon, he found the Den Den Mushi used for secret communications.
After dragging the unconscious man to hide him on one side, Hyaku casually walked out onto the main street.
A moment later.
Purupuru, Purupuru—
While gathering information, the Den Den Mushi in Hyaku's pocket suddenly rang. It was the one he had taken from Fukurō.
Seeing this, he found a quiet place with few people and answered the call.
[How's it going? Have you figured out Hyaku's purpose?] A deep male voice came from the other end of the line.
This voice was familiar to Hyaku. It was the voice of Blueno, the Doa Doa no Mi (Door-Door Fruit) user and CP9 member.
Hearing his words, Hyaku became more certain that CP9 was targeting him.
But he was confused. He had never met CP9 before, let alone had any grudges with them.
Moreover, CP9 was a secret intelligence organization directly under the World Government. In a way, they were on the same side. Why would they target him?
This question was soon answered by Blueno.
[Why aren't you speaking? Is it inconvenient? You need to hurry and find out Hyaku's purpose. Don't forget, the higher-ups are pressing for answers. No matter what, that item must not fall into anyone else's hands.]
After saying this, he hung up.
Hyaku's expression instantly became grave. He immediately guessed what item Blueno was referring to.
It was the Ancient Weapon Pluton!
From Blueno's words, it seemed the higher-ups had already begun to suspect Hyaku's motives for coming to Water 7.
'I was too hasty. I shouldn't have come directly to Water 7.' Hyaku thought, silently acknowledging his carelessness as he realized the Marines' higher-ups were suspicious of him.
The Marines' higher-ups had long coveted Pluton and had gathered countless intelligence reports. Those in the know could easily connect his movements to Pluton.
'But they're probably just guessing. I need to act quickly.' Upon reflection, Hyaku decided to speed up his actions to avoid complications from delay.
With that thought, he returned to the street, continuing to ask about the exact location of Franky's Dismantling Dock.
✣✣✣✣✣✣✣✣✣✣
Half an hour later.
Hyaku returned to the meeting point.
In the direction he had gone, he hadn't found any information about the dismantling dock.
Of course, this might have been due to his caution. Since discovering CP9's surveillance, Hyaku had stopped asking around openly, fearing he might draw attention to himself.
As a result, the investigation naturally yielded fewer results.
"Captain Hyaku!"
After waiting briefly, Coby and Helmeppo arrived in succession.
Hyaku looked at the two with a questioning gaze.
Seeing this, Coby shook his head helplessly. However, Helmeppo gave a little laugh, seeming to have found something.
"Did you find the location of the dismantling dock?" Hyaku immediately asked, noticing his confident expression.
"Mission accomplished. The dismantling dock Captain Hyaku mentioned is in a remote back street. I had to spend some money to get this information from a street vendor." As he spoke, Helmeppo handed him a white paper.
On the paper were routes drawn with black lines. It was clearly a rough map drawn in haste, but it was detailed enough. At the end of the map was a circle, indicating Franky House.
"Well done." Hyaku nodded with satisfaction.
Getting his praise, Helmeppo couldn't help but proudly lift his chin at Coby.
"Captain, what should we do now..."
Coby and Helmeppo asked him.
Though they didn't know why Hyaku was looking for the dismantling dock, both felt the matter wouldn't be simple.
"Now, we'll find a place to rest for the day. You shouldn't be involved in what comes next." Hyaku promptly stated.
With people coming and going during the day, it would be inconvenient to act. So he decided to wait patiently for nightfall before taking action.
As for Coby and Helmeppo, it was better they knew less.
Thus, following the instructions, the three found a nearby inn to stay. Hyaku took a single room, while Coby and Helmeppo shared another.
✣✣✣✣✣✣✣✣✣✣
Time flew, and night fell.
In his room, Hyaku, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them.
Because tonight's operation required absolute secrecy, he hadn't continued practicing his sword strikes. Instead, he had been maintaining his condition at its optimal state.
Seeing it was time, Hyaku rose from the floor.
✣ Kenbunshoku no Haki: Sonzai Kankaku ⭄ Observation Haki: Presence Sensing! ✣
Whoosh!
He slowly opened the window. In the next moment, the invisible Observation Haki rapidly spread out.
Under the coverage of Haki, everything around the inn fell within Hyaku's sensing range. Strangely, he detected no hidden presences in the surroundings.
Without hesitation, he stepped onto the windowsill.
Swoosh!
Then, lightly touching the edge of the windowsill with one foot, he jumped out with nimble movements.
✣✣✣✣✣✣✣✣✣✣
In the darkness, a figure moved gracefully, touching down on building rooftops in succession.
After a few leaps, he had left Water 7's central district, heading toward the back streets in the north.
It was Hyaku, who had left the inn.
After departing, he kept his Observation Haki active, constantly vigilant for followers. To be absolutely certain, he deliberately took several detours.
Fortunately, he sensed no one tailing him.
After confirming he wasn't being followed, Hyaku finally headed toward Franky House using the map he had received earlier that day.
✣✣✣
T/N: Favorite, comment and save to your library of best reads in the world, thank you for reading this far!
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