Chapter 114

(Doppol POV, Earlier)

Doppol suddenly sat up straighter in his seat after the memories of one of his Doubles aboard the Ashen Dragon returned to him. Doppol panicked for a split second before calming down. It was a brief moment, but Iceberg still noticed it.

"Something wrong?" Iceberg asked.

"No, it's nothing. Suddenly felt chills, Sir Iceberg," Doppol said to the man seated in front of him.

Doppol easily passed what the shipwrights of Galley-La Company called his entrance exam. After seeing his skill and humility to learn, the workers instantly took a liking to him. Now, he was seated in the CEO's Office of Galley-La Company sorting out his contract with Iceberg himself and his secretary Kalifa.

"I get it, you're excited," Iceberg said with a small smile on his face. "Your skill and character would fit in well with our company. We'd be glad to have you on board, isn't that right, Kalifa?"

"...you want me to agree with you?" Kalifa asked Iceberg as she adjusted her glasses. "What's next? You'll want me to agree on a date? That's sexual harassment."

"Oh for the love of-"

Iceberg just sighed, but a small smile was still on his face. Doppol still found it strange how so many individuals with each of their own unique quirk were all gathered in one company. Makes their crew seem… normal and boring by comparison.

"I'm thankful for the opportunity to work here with all of you, Iceberg-san," Doppol said. He was about to get up and bow in gratitude to Iceberg, but he stopped him with a motion of his hand.

"I didn't sign the contract yet, Doppol."

'Crap.'

Doppol's hurry to get back to the Ashen Dragon considering the current situation their crew was facing with Akainu nearing made him slip up. Indeed, Iceberg has not signed the contract yet. Hopefully, his rashness wouldn't make Iceberg not sign the contract…

"I just need you to answer one more question," Iceberg said, much to the relief of Doppol.

But not for long.

"Why hide the fact that you're a pirate?" Iceberg asked Doppol, his gaze steely and cold.

Doppol was stunned into silence. He didn't expect Iceberg to know who he was. Granted, he had a bounty on his head. But that was issued for when their crew was in East Blue. Doppol quickly calmed down. Panicking had no use here.

"I didn't hide it," Doppol said with a small smile on his face, his hands itching to reach for a cigarette in his pocket. "It's just that no one asked."

Iceberg stared at Doppol, unblinking and calm. Doppol stared back, not at all bothered or unnerved by Iceberg's cold stare. A minute later, Iceberg spoke.

"Since you're here, that must mean that boy is here as well."

"Boy?" Doppol asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Your captain. Leader of the Royal Flush crew or something like that," Iceberg said. "The one calling himself the son of Gold Roger."

"..."

Doppol said nothing and just stared at the man in front of him. Iceberg continued speaking.

"Frankly, I don't care if it's true or not. What matters is his actions," Iceberg said. "Your captain is a reckless idiot that stirs up trouble wherever he goes. Not a single day goes by without news of your captain's brutality towards marines being shown on the papers."

Doppol started tapping the armrest of the chair he was sitting on with his fingers.

"I am also the mayor of this city," Iceberg said. "I need to consider the safety of my people. If you're truly serious about wanting to work here, bring your captain here at the same time tomorrow. I need his word that while your crew is here, they won't cause any trouble. Otherwise, you and your crew will need to get out of this city."

Doppol said nothing. Instead, he stared at Iceberg. Doppol had a certain chill in his gaze that unnerved the two people in front of him. At that moment, Iceberg was tempted to take back what he said.

Much to Iceberg's relief, Doppol's next words weren't too hostile.

"I understand," Doppol said before standing up. "I see how it is now."

Doppol walked away without another word, much to the confusion of Iceberg and Kalifa. Just as Doppol reached the doors leading out of Iceberg's office, he stopped.

"You're right, you know. I agree with you," Doppol said with a small chuckle. "Our captain is a brutal and reckless idiot… but he's our brutal and reckless idiot."

Doppol turned around to talk to Iceberg face to face. His face was neutral and held no apparent emotion.

"I'll think about what you said, Iceberg-san," Doppol said before giving Iceberg a small bow. "I'll talk to my captain about this."

Doppol then walked out after saying those words. He took a deep breath before going off on a run. He needed to hurry, Akainu was coming.

Mastering the techniques he needed by working at Galley-La was not the only option Doppol had, if he was being honest. He could study it on his own by reading books… but hearing the insight of fellow shipwrights, masters of their craft, would bear much better fruit.

"Ohh! Doppol!" Paulie greeted Doppol with a wave. "How'd it go with Iceberg-san?"

"I'll tell you about it tomorrow, hopefully!" Doppol said, not stopping from his run. "Sorry, I gotta deal with something!"

"Okay! Goodluck!"

Doppol set aside the issue of learning how to upgrade the Ashen Dragon to the back of his mind. There were currently more pressing matters at hand. What use is studying when their very lives are currently at stake?

Still, Doppol hoped that he would be able to work here in the future. Getting that contract was what mattered. Doppol didn't need to personally work here, after all. He could always just leave it to a competent Double to work and learn in his stead.

With that in mind, Doppol kept running. He was outside of Galley-La, running towards the edge of the upper section of Water 7, when Augur appeared. They met up in the middle of a rather empty square. He already had an idea that their warping sniper would come fetch him.

"Augur!" Doppol greeted Augur with a nod. "Let's go!"

"Right aw-!"

Augur suddenly raised Senriku, his sniper rifle, and aimed it behind Doppol. As he did so, Doppol looked behind him to see the air itself seemingly open like a door. From behind that air door came a masked figure reaching out to Doppol.

Augur didn't let the masked man's hand even reach out to Doppol. With the masked man's head in his sight, Augur opened fire.

"Tekkai (Iron Body)!"

The masked man hurriedly retracted his arm and covered his face with it instead. Blood spurted out of the masked man's arm as Augur's high caliber bullet penetrated the man's forearm, but not too deeply.

In response, the masked man retreated and closed the air door. Doppol stepped back and stood beside Augur.

"Thanks for that," Doppol said to Augur. "I didn't even feel him…"

"You let your guard down again, Doppol-san," Augur said to Doppol, rather exasperatedly.

"Yeah, yeah, just don't tell Ace, okay?"

A second later, Doppol showed that he was indeed trying to remedy his bad habit of letting his guard down. Both him and Augur turned to their left to see another air door open. Another masked individual came out at a high speed, barrelling straight towards Doppol.

"Shigan (Finger Pistol)!"

Thanks to Observation Haki, Doppol was already moving to evade the attack directed towards him even before the masked man initiated it. Doppol easily avoided the extended finger and retaliated with a solid right hook on the masked man's side.

"Tekkai (Iron Body)!"

Just as Doppol's punch hit, the masked man shouted. When his punch made contact, Doppol felt as if he punched a solid wall. It was now apparent to Doppol that the people attacking him and Augur were at least well trained to be much stronger than an average marine.

'Would I have hurt him if I used haki on that punch?' Doppol wondered.

Before either Augur or Doppol could press the attack, the masked man retreated. A second later, an air door opened up beside him. Three masked individuals exited from the air door, one of them was the one Augur shot.

"Who the hell are you guys?" Doppol asked, not at all amused at this sudden interruption.

…

(Ace POV)

When Ace got down close enough to see what was happening, the fight between Augur, Doppol, and the four masked individuals he knew were CP9 agents came to a brief halt.

'Oh? They're evenly matched?'

Ace was surprised to see that the 2v4 battle was equal, with no side having a clear advantage over the other. 

In raw skill, Augur and Doppol were better because the idle time they spent aboard the Ashen Dragon was spent by training under Ace and Hepha. However, the CP9 agents had better teamwork, where each of the four was looking out for each other to cover their individual weaknesses and make it seem that they were stronger than they actually were.

The four CP9 agents Ace knew were Lucci, Kalifa, Kaku, and Blueno were successful in keeping their identities hidden, seeing how they still had the masks on their faces. Their clothes however, were torn and crumpled in some places. Ace was glad to see that there was no visible injury on Augur and Doppol.

"It's a good thing I came here," Ace said to Augur and Doppol. "Looks like you two are having a hard time shaking them off."

"Captain!/Ace!" Augur and Doppol were visibly glad and relieved at seeing Ace arrive.

Ace nodded at his two crewmates before turning his attention to the CP9 agents. He decided to mess with them a little.

"So… what's Cipher Pol doing all the way over here?" Ace asked, impressed at how the four CP9 agents showed no visible physical reaction to him revealing he knows who they are. "This island is in trouble, to think it's housing four large rats."

The four agents rearranged their formation with Blueno at the back, no doubt to be a useful support with his Devil Fruit either through making sneak attacks or providing a safe retreat.

Then, they removed their masks and their damaged articles of clothing, leaving them in their black suits. Seeing who they were surprised Doppol.

"You guys?" Doppol asked before smirking. "So, that's why you all felt so weird."

Ace then glanced at Doppol. He guessed that Doppol must have met them earlier at Galley-La and felt their presence. People's strengths are usually reflected in their auras, after all. Doppol was skilled enough in Observation Haki to realize it.

"You're a surprisingly tough one, Doppol-san," Kaku said.

"Gol D. Ace," Lucci said, directing the attention back on the matter at hand. "I suggest you come with us peacefully."

"Hmmm. Nah," Ace said before smirking at the four of them. "You think I'll surrender just like that? Don't make me laugh!"

Ace clenched his fists that turned into flames, roaring with power. The four CP9 agents readied as well like snakes coiling to strike.

"You attacked my friends," Ace said. "Don't think I'll let you go."

CP9 struck first. The four agents disappeared in a blur using Shave. Despite their speed, Ace could still follow them easily, not even needing to use haki.

"Shigan (Finger Pistol)!"

Lucci tried stabbing Ace's chest with his finger. Ace caught Lucci's hand easily and pulled. Ace then threw Lucci above him where Kaku was trying to attack Ace with Tempest Kick.

Seeing Lucci thrown towards him made Kaku hesitate and stop his attempted attack. Lucci crashed into Kaku, the latter barely catching him.

"Tekkai: Sai (Iron Body: Smash)!"

Next was Blueno who used Iron Body to harden his fist before using it to deliver a devastating punch aimed right at Ace's head. Ace decided to meet the attack head on with a normal punch of his own, only using his raw strength.

"Wh-?"

Blueno was shocked to see that he lost the exchange. Ace's punch negated the force behind Blueno's strike, pushing him back. Seeing his victory, Ace grinned. He then pressed the offensive, launching another attack at Blueno with his other fist that was now on fire.

"Fire Lord's Fist!"

Ace's flaming fist shot forward into a dense column of fire straight at Blueno's torso. Ace's attack was quick and merciless, fast enough to leave Blueno unable to react and carrying enough force to shoot through the man's body.

Blueno was lethally wounded. However, it seems the CP9 agents weren't trained assassins for nothing. They didn't miss a beat. Just as Ace attacked Blueno, Kalifa came close and tried cuffing Ace in what he recognized were seastone shackles.

Before she could, Augur stopped her. With his precision, Augur shot the seastone shackles from Kalifa's hand. Before she could move to pick it up, Doppol came from behind her and sucker punched her on the back of her head, knocking her down on the ground.

Seeing two of their agents down in an instant made Lucci and Kaku falter. They were glad that Kalifa was only unconscious. Their attention then turned to Blueno.

Lucci and Kaku said nothing. Kaku, however, had this grave look in his eyes at seeing Blueno stand motionlessly with a big hole gaping through his chest and stomach as a result of Ace's attack.

Two seconds later, Blueno lost strength in his legs. He fell down and knelt in front of Ace. He looked up defiantly at Ace who was looking down at him.

"D-Damn you," Blueno said between coughs of blood. "You'll… get yours, soon."

Ace put a hand on Blueno's head and gripped one of his horn-shaped hair. With his other hand, Ace unsheathed the cutlass on his hip and raised it to Blueno's neck. The blade of Ace's cutlass was then engulfed in flames before he slashed horizontally, cleanly lopping off Blueno's head from his shoulders.

"You fucking pirate." Ace heard Kaku whisper under his breath.

Ace turned around and walked to Kalifa's unconscious body, Blueno's head in his hands as he faced Lucci and Kaku. He then threw Blueno's head to the ground in front of Lucci and Kaku, angling the throw perfectly so that Blueno's lifeless eyes were looking at both of them.

"I did say I won't let you go, didn't I?" Ace asked Lucci and Kaku with a smirk. "But, I'm not so merciless as to kill all four of you."

Ace then pointed the end of his cutlass at the unconscious Kalifa's neck.

"Tell me about the mission you guys are assigned to," Ace said. "Besides Akainu, who else is gunning for my crew?"

Lucci and Kaku were visibly surprised at Ace's question. It was like they didn't expect Ace to know that Akainu was coming. Ace watched Lucci clench his fist before he transformed into a slim leopard. Ace expected Lucci to attack, but…

"Retreat."

That was all Lucci said. Without hesitation from him but a little hesitation from Kaku, they indeed retreated. Lucci and Kaku left behind the corpse of Blueno and the unconscious Kalifa, going off in different directions in an attempt to make catching them more difficult.

"Augur, catch him," Ace said, pointing in the direction of Kaku.

"As you command, Captain," Augur said before disappearing with a pop, chasing down Kaku with his Devil Fruit.

"Doppol, you know those agents?" Ace asked, to which Doppol nodded.

"Yeah. I guess they work as undercover shipwrights at Galley-La," Doppol said before pointing down at Kalifa. "This one is Iceberg's secretary. I don't recognize the one you killed."

"I see," Ace said, pretending not to know about the facts that Doppol shared with him. "In that case, take this woman and lock her up in Ash's brig."

"Alright," Doppol said before hauling Kalifa over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. "I'll see you later."

Ace sent off Doppol with a nod. He then combusted into flames before flying up to chase down Lucci. Ace's flames propelled him forward like a jet, fast enough to break the sound barrier.

With his speed coupled by Observation Haki, Ace easily caught up to Lucci who was visibly trying his best to get away.

"Come here, kitty cat!" Ace said before throwing fireballs at Lucci.

Ace took the opportunity to try and practice his control over flames that were no longer connected to his body. With his control over flames, Ace made it look like the fireballs he threw towards Lucci had a homing function.

No matter how much Lucci maneuvered, he couldn't shake off the fireballs chasing him. Eventually, one of the fireballs hit its mark, singing Lucci's leg.

However, Lucci was a tough one. He shook off the burn caused by Ace's attack and focused on getting away even with Ace flying right above him. Having had enough of the small game, Ace then personally went to take down Lucci.

With a quick burst of speed using a mixture of Flicker and Air Walk, Ace reached Lucci and kicked him down. Lucci crashed into the concrete ground of Water 7 hard enough to make a crater. He tried getting up, but Ace was there.

"Don't run away," Ace said, grinning at the way Lucci expressed hopelessness with his furrowed eyebrows. "I have a looooot of questions for you, kitty cat."