Chapter 574 - 754 – The CP9 Agents Awaken [BONUS]

"So you really spent so much time in the cabin because of what Uta said?"

Nami withdrew her gaze from Uta and looked suspiciously between Arton, Hina, and Tashigi.

"That's right." Hina nodded solemnly. "Sorry for keeping you waiting so long."

Standing to the side, Arton watched Hina's completely natural expression and secretly gave her a thumbs-up.

He had to admit, Hina really had something special.

Even when she lied, she did it without revealing the slightest flaw.

Had Arton not known that Hina used to be a female Marine, he might have assumed she was actually a specially trained agent from the World Government.

What Arton did not know was that although Hina had been a Marine, she had undergone training similar to that of an intelligence agent.

Even if she truly had to infiltrate somewhere, Hina would certainly have been capable of pulling it off.

Now that she was no longer a Marine, however, she had no need to go undercover.

Of course, that training could still come in handy when dealing with Nami's suspicions.

"Fine. I'll believe you for now."

"Everyone's ready, so let's start the banquet."

Nami spoke just as a pair of arms shot into the air.

"Great! The banquet can begin!"

Fukurou cheered with both hands raised.

The sudden unfamiliar voice made Arton, Hina, and Tashigi turn their heads.

"So it was you."

Tashigi frowned as she looked at Fukurou, the CP9 agent.

"You're already awake."

Arton smiled as he looked between Fukurou and Kumadori.

"So, have you decided whether you're going to save your superior, Spandam?"

At his question, Fukurou and Kumadori immediately shook their heads.

While Arton had been busy in the cabin earlier, the two CP9 agents had gradually regained consciousness.

At first, they had been bewildered to find themselves aboard what appeared to be a pirate ship.

Their instincts had urged them to attack immediately.

Fortunately, Jabra stopped them in time and explained why they were currently aboard Arton's ship.

Once Fukurou and Kumadori learned that they were on Arton's vessel, they were naturally stunned. At the same time, neither of them showed any desire to fight.

Arton's name resounded throughout the seas.

Like Jabra, both Fukurou and Kumadori knew they were no match for him.

Chapapa…

Under such circumstances, how could they possibly choose to attack?

If they did, they would probably be knocked down and killed in an instant.

No matter how loyal they were to the World Government, they would not choose to fight when death was guaranteed.

Later, even after hearing Jabra explain that Spandam had also been captured—and that Arton and the others bore considerable hostility toward him—Kumadori and Fukurou still said nothing.

Instead, they helped Jabra prepare for the upcoming banquet.

"Don't worry. Fukurou and Kumadori won't help Spandam get revenge."

After speaking, Jabra looked toward the two of them.

He repeatedly signaled with his eyes, urging them to hurry up and say something to Arton or at least make some kind of promise.

If possible, Jabra did not want to see Arton throw Fukurou and Kumadori into the sea.

Even though both were fully trained CP9 agents and had mastered a technique like Moonwalk, which allowed them to move through the air, continuously using it above the vast ocean would inevitably exhaust them and send them plummeting into the sea.

Although Fukurou and Kumadori were not Devil Fruit users, falling into the sea after exhausting their strength would not cause them to sink helplessly into the depths the way Devil Fruit users did.

Still, it was impossible for them to swim all the way to Enies Lobby across the boundless ocean.

In the end, they would still drown unless they happened to encounter a passing ship along the way.

Yet would such an extraordinarily lucky coincidence truly happen in this world?

At least Jabra did not believe so.

After finally convincing Fukurou and Kumadori to come this far, he did not want to see them offend Arton now and get thrown overboard.

Jabra's gaze and frantic gestures finally snapped the pair back to their senses.

They quickly assured Arton that they had not come looking for trouble and had no intention of avenging Spandam.

"Spandam really is your superior, though," Arton said.

"Although Spandam is technically our superior, I actually don't like him," Fukurou replied.

"Neither do I," Kumadori admitted sincerely.

Neither of them was lying.

Although they had spent a long time around Spandam, they absolutely could not claim to like him.

Had he not nominally been their superior, Fukurou and the others would have taught him a lesson long ago.

"All right. Since you're being so sincere, I'll allow you to join the banquet."

Arton smiled.

Hearing this, Kumadori and Fukurou finally released the breath they had been holding.

They had genuinely feared Arton might deal with them the same way he had dealt with Spandam.

"Although Captain has allowed you to attend the banquet, you can't just stand around enjoying yourselves."

"Come help prepare the food if you want something to eat."

Uta kicked Fukurou's enormous body and spoke firmly.

"Understood. No problem."

After Fukurou gave his assurance, he immediately got to work with Kumadori and Jabra.

With the rest of the crew helping prepare as well, a joyful atmosphere soon enveloped the pirate ship.

Jabra, Kumadori, and Fukurou had felt somewhat out of place at first, but once Uta's singing rang out, even they gradually began to enjoy themselves.

If even Fukurou and the others were affected, then Nami, Carina, and the rest were naturally even more delighted.

Everyone reveled in the rhythm of the music, completely failing to notice that Uta had already pulled Arton away by herself, as though stealing away a corner of a dream.

Only Hina, who had only recently joined Arton's crew, noticed Uta and Arton leaving.

After thinking for a moment, curiosity ultimately got the better of her, and she followed them.

When she reached a room Uta had created with her Devil Fruit powers, Hina's eyes widened in shock.

"No way…"

Hina rubbed her eyes in disbelief, yet the scene before her did not change.

Just as she had seen before, Uta was still dancing.

Naturally, Hina would not have found anything strange about that alone.

The astonishing part was that Uta was dancing extremely close to Arton.

The distance between them was nearly negative.

"She can actually move like that?"

"Uta really is an incredible woman."

Hina sighed in admiration.

At least if she were the one doing it, Hina did not believe she could dance while carrying out such complicated movements at the same time.

Even without personally trying it, she could roughly imagine how difficult such a sequence would be.