Chapter 258: CP-X’s Ace Squad!?

In the City of Water 7, Lucci and his team had been working for some time, finally cleaning up the traces left by Tom. From now on, any information about the Ancient Weapon Pluton would be considered a top secret known only to select members of CP-X.

During their time investigating rumors about the Ancient Weapon, Blueno had opened a bar in Water 7 as a cover. Now, the team had gathered there for a well-deserved break.

Originally, Lucci was the only one from CP-9 who had been transferred into CP-X alongside Spandine.

However, over time, perhaps due to their shared history in the same training camp, Lucci gradually pulled in some of his old comrades—Kalifa, Jabra, Kaku, and Blueno.

As for Kumadori and Fukurou, the two goofballs didn't seem to be part of Lucci's squad. They had likely never been close to Lucci in the first place, so they ended up staying behind.

Still, without Lucci and his crew, CP-9 would be missing its top talents. Maybe those two would rise to prominence over there instead?

At this stage, only Lucci, Jabra, and Blueno had Devil Fruit abilities—the same as before. The team had two Zoan users and one Paramecia user.

Meanwhile, Kaku and Kalifa remained ordinary humans without any Devil Fruit powers.

At the moment, the group was drinking together, enjoying the rare downtime.

Suddenly, Blueno pulled out two Devil Fruits from under the table, placed them down, and said, "These are the rewards for this mission, two Devil Fruits."

He looked at Kaku and Kalifa before continuing, "Since you two are the only ones without abilities, these are for you."

Before either of them could respond, Jabra immediately protested, "What about us? Are we not getting anything? That's not fair!"

Without missing a beat, Lucci tossed a small notebook onto the table and said, "This is written personally by His Highness Claudius. It contains detailed knowledge about Haki, something that might actually be useful to you."

Haki.

Normally, CP-X agents wouldn't have access to such advanced combat techniques at their level, but Lucci had been trained in Haki since childhood. What he lacked now was Devil Fruit Awakening, but that would take time.

Of course, Jabra and the others also had basic Haki abilities, but their mastery was far from impressive. The materials in this notebook were essentially equivalent to what Marine's elite officers learned.

This method of distributing rewards was part of Spandine's strategy.

Even though Claudius delegated a great deal of authority to his agents, it was Spandine who managed them on a day-to-day basis. And being an experienced schemer, Spandine knew better than to hand out everything at once.

If he gave his subordinates too much too soon, what would be left to motivate them later?

Thus, CP-X had multiple ranking tiers.

Top-tier talents—like Lucci—received the best training from the very beginning. Meanwhile, agents like Jabra and the others were a level below. None of them had even met Claudius in person yet.

Jabra eagerly grabbed the notebook, flipping through its pages. Seeing the detailed explanations inside, his eyes lit up. It felt as if many of his previous doubts had been answered.

"His Highness's personal notes?" Jabra asked in awe.

"That's right," Lucci replied matter-of-factly.

Meanwhile, Kalifa picked up one of the Devil Fruits, inspecting it curiously. "What abilities do these have?"

Blueno answered, "One is Paramecia – Bubble-Bubble Fruit, and the other is Zoan – Giraffe Fruit. Take your pick."

Kalifa immediately frowned. "I don't want to be a giraffe."

Kaku, his long nose twitching, said calmly, "Then I'll take it."

Jabra, still holding the notebook, suddenly asked excitedly, "Does this mean we've officially caught His Highness's attention? Are we CP-X's new ace unit now?"

Hearing this, Lucci rolled his eyes and scoffed, "You're thinking too much. CP-X's ace unit? Even I don't have the qualifications to say something like that."

Jabra blinked in surprise. "You don't? Then who does?"

Jabra wasn't weak. In fact, he had always been confident in his abilities.

He often challenged Lucci, though he always lost. Luckily, thanks to his Zoan-type Devil Fruit, his recovery speed was quick enough that the defeats never slowed him down.

While Jabra might not have been stronger than Lucci, he at least acknowledged Lucci's overwhelming power. In his eyes, Lucci was undoubtedly CP-X's strongest agent.

So if Lucci wasn't the ace of CP-X… then who was?

In truth, CP-X's internal hierarchy was largely unknown to most of its agents.

This was another one of Spandine's measures, keeping different squads compartmentalized to prevent leaks.

However, Lucci knew more than most.

He understood that many of the most powerful figures in the world were actually part of CP-X.

For example, Dressrosa's King, Donquixote Doflamingo, was not just Claudius's cousin, he was also a high-ranking member of CP-X.

Then there was Crocodile, one of the longest-serving Warlords of the Sea.

Compared to these monsters, Lucci was still far behind. He knew he would need to awaken his Devil Fruit abilities before he could even consider himself a true ace of CP-X.

After a brief moment of reflection, Lucci shook his head and said, "You'll find out when the time is right. Just know that CP-X is far more powerful than you realize. In terms of sheer numbers and strength, we're almost limitless."

Seeing that Lucci didn't want to say more, Jabra didn't push the issue.

As an agent, he understood the importance of confidentiality.

Still, he smacked his lips in annoyance and muttered, "Fine, fine. Just wait. Someday, I'll be one of CP-X's strongest agents too. Don't let me leave you in the dust, Lucci."

Lucci sneered. "Talk to me after you manage to beat me."

Kalifa, unfazed by their rivalry, casually bit into her Bubble-Bubble Fruit.

Since childhood, they had all been brainwashed—utterly devoted to Claudius. To them, serving him was an honor.

With the mission in Water 7 complete, Kalifa asked, "So what now? Do we return to HQ? Or take some time off?"

Though their team wasn't CP-X's top squad, they were among its strongest field agents. Minor tasks were beneath them.

And as Claudius had once told Lucci, their missions weren't meant to be grinding work, they were designed to hone their skills and make them stronger.

That meant downtime between assignments.

Sometimes, they'd go years without receiving a mission, during which they were free to train as they pleased. Of course, none of them wanted to fall behind, so they always used that time to grow stronger.

As a result, their current abilities far surpassed what they had in the original timeline especially with their improved Haki control.

Lucci responded, "No official assignments for now. But I have a small task to handle in Alabasta. There will be someone there to assist us. Consider it a covert vacation."

Kalifa tilted her head. "Do we all need to go?"

"No. You three get ready for Alabasta—I'll handle this alone."

Finishing his drink, Lucci stood up. "Shut this place down. We won't be using this stronghold again for a while."

With that, he walked out the door.

Meanwhile, Kalifa and the others began making preparations for their next move.