Lord of the Stars of the Grand Line

Finally, a miniature image suddenly appeared, flying out of the golden lion's body at a speed that was almost imperceptible to the naked eye, and flew upwards!

Although this place was extremely deep underground, the thick layers of rock and soil had no effect on the miniature figure at all. It ignored the obstruction and flew away, disappearing from people's sight almost instantly...

"not good!"

Upon seeing this, Cobra's expression changed drastically, and he shouted.

Seeing this, Luo Feng knew what had happened without needing an explanation: the fruit had escaped!

"Crocodile, it's your turn now, let's get started!" (Turn)

At the same time, Luo Feng directly issued an instruction to the Den Den Mushi.

"Understood, Guhaha, we won't let it escape, not on this land..."

Crocodile stopped abruptly at this point and then hung up the phone; he almost blurted out that he knew this land better than anyone else.

This was somewhat of a slap in the face to the royal family; it was very unkind. Fortunately, he realized it in time and ended the call.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Luo Feng, I didn't expect it to actually escape and not crawl into this pile of fruit."

Kobra, feeling apologetic, stepped forward and apologized to Luo Feng and the others.

Upon hearing this, Luo Feng waved his hand and said, "It's not your fault, Your Majesty. Don't worry, as long as it can't leave this land, it won't disappear."

"Of course, it will be 100% confined to the territory. This is recorded in the national annals. It has nothing to do with the strength of the fruit; it will not escape Alabasta!"

Kobra made a solemn promise, and then ordered several commanders to lead their soldiers to begin the search, determined to find it.

This time, Luo Feng didn't stop them. He really didn't believe that the two largest forces on this land, one openly and one covertly, would still not be able to find a single fruit.

"Let's go, there's no point in staying here. Let's go back and wait for news."

Luo Feng took one last look at the altar and said to Cobra, "Your Majesty, keep those fruits for now. I'll need to borrow them again later."

“Of course, no problem.” Cobra nodded, and then the group returned the way they came and headed towards the surface.

On this very day, the entire Alabasta was abuzz with activity...

The King's army, draped in white desert cloaks, could be seen everywhere, searching for something. Interspersed among them were many busy figures dressed as civilians—Baroque's employees.

The two major forces mobilized together, and their first target was various places where fruits were produced and sold.

The common people were shocked by the commotion and thought that some major battle had broken out.

Fortunately, Cobra has now consolidated the royal power, fully taking back control of the country and implementing benevolent governance. He has ordered his soldiers not to harm civilians, which has prevented any unrest.

While Alabasta was bustling with activity, an ordinary sailboat appeared in the port.

A group of people dressed in black suits, wearing black hats and sunglasses stepped off the ship, each exuding a menacing aura.

The leader, however, did not look so serious. His exaggerated attire, with a wisp of red fur even attached to the brim of his hat, gave him an effeminate appearance.

"Sha, this country is not peaceful. It seems I came to the right place?"

"If I can manage to pick up a loot here and take it back, that would be my first achievement since my debut! I'm really looking forward to it!"

The newcomers were actually from the World Government, belonging to the intelligence organization CP9! (Nine.)

Chapter 105 Old Sha: Thank God for this blessing!

Nero the Sea Weasel, a newly recruited CP9 agent, has just completed special training with the World Government and has been assigned to the CP9 organization!

The fact that CP9 members have appeared in Alabasta at this time makes their purpose quite clear!

They had been following orders from the World Government to track down Shiki the Golden Lion and the mysterious powerful figure who could summon meteors, and had searched all the way here!

To be fair, the World Government has a really keen sense of smell. Not long after Luo Feng returned, these guys caught wind of him and came to Alabasta, even though they hadn't found a single trace of him.

To put it bluntly, this guy just happened to stumble upon this country and wanted to come up and investigate.

I don't know whether to say he was lucky or unlucky...

Saying he was unlucky, he found Luo Feng's real location. If he could have reported it back, it would have been a huge achievement, a "003" level achievement, and he would have been promoted to the top position right away!

He was lucky; he found Luo Feng's true location...

This isn't just nonsense; it's that this guy's abilities are truly underwhelming. He hasn't even fully mastered the Six Styles of the Navy, only knowing the Fourth Style.

In the original One Piece, he was even defeated by Franky when he first started out, and Rob Lucci, finding him shameful, instantly killed him.

With such pathetic strength, he actually stumbled into Alabasta by accident; he really deserves some 'praise'.

"Sha! Let's go. Looking at this bustling country, I'm getting excited too. I hope I can find out something. Lucci and his gang are just a bit more senior, nothing special. I'll surpass them sooner or later. I should be in charge of CP9!"

"Yes!"

Under Nero's orders, the group of intelligence agents in black suits dispersed and infiltrated Alabasta.

To be honest, this guy is extremely arrogant and conceited. He hasn't even mastered the most basic Six Powers of the Navy, yet he still wants to replace Lucci and the others!

That's understandable. If it weren't for the Lucci quartet carrying out an infiltration mission in Water 7, the Jabra trio carrying out a mission to assassinate Revolutionary Army cadres, and Commander Spandam having to stay at Enies Lobby, there would be no way for a newcomer like him to lead the team.

BUT……

Alabasta is probably the most dangerous pirate base outside of the Four Emperors' strongholds.

Moreover, Nero was incredibly lucky; he was spotted immediately by Baroque's port surveillance team and the information was relayed back to Rainfield headquarters.

Normally, with people coming and going at the port every day, the people monitoring it wouldn't send out every message.

This is entirely thanks to his men, each of them dressed so conspicuously that it would be strange if they didn't attract attention!

Arubana, Luo Feng, and their group bid farewell to Cobra and headed towards the Rainlands.

The fruit's inheritance has ended, and the Golden Lion has completely lost its life force. It was secretly buried in this land by Cobra's people.

Next, all that's needed is to find the fruit and deliver it to the Rain Land. There's no need to linger any longer. Luo Feng also needs to go back and start arranging the final training for everyone.

This is the final sprint before setting sail. With their secluded training over and the pirate ship in place, it means that they will appear on this vast ocean and begin to truly make a name for themselves as a pirate crew!

Meanwhile, on the rainy side, Crocodile also received a message from the port.

"Hehehe... They've finally arrived? At a time like this, CP9's lackeys are hoping for some tough guys to take a beating. My hands have been itching for too long. If they're too weak, I'll get angry!"

"Keep an eye on them, I'll handle this myself!"

Crocodile hung up the phone, strode out of headquarters, and leisurely made his way in the direction his subordinate had reported.

Arriving in Alabasta is like coming right under his nose; they can't get lost or run away, so he's not in a hurry.

Since his full recovery, Crocodile's confidence has soared. Perhaps he felt that Luo Feng's challenge to spar with him made him look cool, so he has been looking for a strong opponent to practice against.

But clearly, Alabasta had no one who could satisfy him, and as for Luo Feng, he didn't even dare to dream of him...

Therefore, he set his sights on this group of intruders. Others might not know, but he was certain of their identities based on his subordinates' descriptions.

Moreover, he seemed to have forgotten his status as a Shichibukai, or perhaps he still harbored resentment from the insults he had received over the years, hence the use of the word "lackey" on his lips...

Meanwhile, Nero, completely unaware of what awaited him, infiltrated the city of Alabasta and, seeing the army making such a large-scale operation, seized the opportunity amidst the chaos to kidnap two royal soldiers.

Under torture, he learned that these soldiers were actually searching for Devil Fruits!

"A Devil Fruit has appeared in a place like this?!" Nero's eyes lit up with envy.

Although no further questions were asked—after all, these soldiers couldn't possibly know the specifics—this was enough.

It's important to know that even within CP9, Devil Fruits are extremely precious!

Even Kaku and Kalifa, two veteran CP9 members, were only rewarded with two Devil Fruits after completing their mission in Water 7 and when Luffy and his crew reached Enies Lobby!

He was only allowed to take it because of the urgency of the situation and the need to improve his strength in time. And this was a senior member. As a newcomer, without several years of experience and special merits, he shouldn't even think about it!

Unless… he can obtain it himself!

And right now, it seems that such an opportunity is right in front of us!

Nero became excited, and then he snapped the necks of two soldiers with his own hands and began to search in secret.

I don't know if this guy really got lucky or was completely blessed by CP9's incredible 'dog nose' ability, but he actually found it in just half an hour!

So many royal soldiers and Baroque members have searched for so long without success, and yet this guy actually found it!

Rapeseed flowers, in a sparsely populated area, where many loquat trees are planted.

Meanwhile, Neymar was standing there with two intelligence agents.

Nero looked up at the loquat tree above him and saw a very special fruit. He was immediately excited.

Among the many yellow loquat fruits, one fruit that is similar in shape but gray stands out.

Its surface is covered with some peculiar patterns, which is one of the characteristics of Devil Fruits!

"Ha! Found it! Hahaha, I really found it! Lucci, it seems even the heavens are letting me surpass you!"

Nero was so excited he was about to jump up and pluck the Devil Fruit that he coveted so much!

But just then, a cloud of sand rose up and snapped the loquat tree in half, causing Nero to miss his target!

"Hahaha... CP9 people, looks like I need to thank you!"

Chapter 106 The Float-Float Fruit is in hand, now it's Nojiko's turn!

"Who goes there?!"

Just as Nero was about to get his hands on the Devil Fruit, he was overjoyed, but he was suddenly interrupted, causing his mood to plummet from heaven to hell in an instant!

"Guhaha, those scumbags from the World Government also want to covet this land?"

As a mocking voice fell, Nero and the two intelligence agents were engulfed in a violent sandstorm, their vision instantly blurred.

When the group finally saw him clearly again, Crocodile was already there, holding the Devil Fruit in his hand, looking at them with disdain.

"With this little bit of strength... what a bunch of scum, what a waste of my time!"

Crocodile was extremely displeased. He had thought that the force sent by the World Government would at least be decent, but he hadn't expected it to be so weak that he didn't even have the desire to take action!

“Sand…Sand Crocodile!” As a member of the intelligence organization, Nero naturally recognized the other party's identity at first glance and was immediately shocked!

He never expected that the person who came would be a great pirate of the Shichibukai level 08!

"Give us that fruit, Crocodile. I'm leaving now, no more involvement here!"

Given the current situation, the only thing that can comfort Nero and the others is that the Seven Warlords of the Sea are an unofficial force under the World Government, so they can be considered as one of their own.

四所以，五再怎么样，群5中对转0方4三七应2该也苍不灵会对自己8出手6……吧一？

Coupled with the immense temptation of the Devil Fruit at this moment, Nero gritted his teeth and boldly said, "I am a member of CP9. You should know what this means. We are carrying out a government mission."