Chapter 58: Chapter 58 : Rob Lucci? Impel Down
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"Woohoo!
The sky above Enies Lobby is always daytime, with no night ever falling.
At several thousand meters above the ground, the massive eagle vulture, Finley, soared through the air, its wings flapping.
It flew so high that it didn't attract much attention.
"It's unbelievable. It should be night, but it looks like daytime here…" Smoothie said in surprise.
From high up, Enies Lobby—the island that never sleeps—looked truly shocking.
"Is that the Gate of Justice?"
Silver hair fluttering and robes waving, Wilhelm looked at the enormous gate, which was grand beyond measure. It stretched high into the clouds, standing majestically.
Wilhelm's eyes flickered. "It's even more impressive than I imagined!"
He couldn't even begin to fathom how such a massive project was completed.
Even with a powerful Devil Fruit ability, building something like this would still be no easy feat.
But soon, Finley passed right through the magnificent Gate of Justice.
They entered a powerful current vortex.
"Jee—"
They passed through the gate, with no risk of being detected anymore.
To conserve energy, Finley glided downward and gradually lowered its altitude.
Eventually, it carried Wilhelm and Smoothie and stabilized at a height of 50 to 60 meters above the rough sea.
"This way..." Wilhelm's nose twitched slightly.
With his sharp sense of smell, he could easily detect the changes in the wind and sea currents, guiding Finley forward.
"Huh? The chief executive at Enies Lobby is named Spandam..." Smoothie commented.
The monitoring network, covering a vast area, still picked up Enies Lobby's powerful mental network. Some intelligence came through that caught Smoothie's attention.
She spoke to Wilhelm, "Someone reported to him about a genius on Guanhao Island, the CP9 training base, named Rob Lucci. Apparently, he mastered all six of the Rokushiki techniques by the age of eleven… Tsk, amazing!"
These days, under Wilhelm's guidance, Smoothie had been practicing the Moonwalk and Tempest Kick from the Rokushiki techniques. She was fully aware of how difficult these high-level physical skills were—skills refined over generations of effort.
For an eleven-year-old to master all six techniques was truly impressive.
"Oh?" Wilhelm raised an eyebrow.
Looking out at the sea below, he spoke decisively to Smoothie: "Sister Smoothie, after you use your powerful mental network ability to gather information on Impel Down and help me sneak in, we'll head back to Enies Lobby. Investigate the exact location of the CP training base—Guanhao Island—and go there directly!"
Then it clicked.
He suddenly remembered that the hometown of those CP9 agents was called Guanhao Island.
It was also known as a CP agent training base under the World Government.
The incredibly talented Rob Lucci, who would become the strongest CP9 agent in 800 years, must be undergoing intense training in his hometown at this moment.
"What do you mean?" Smoothie asked, a bit surprised.
Without hesitation, Wilhelm replied, "Find that kid, Rob Lucci. Don't make a sound—take him back to the ship and lock him up for now!"
"Since we've already encountered him, I can't just ignore it. Even if I can't use such a genius myself, I can't let him stay with the World Government!"
Although it might be a bit late to take Rob Lucci now, since he's only eleven and likely already been brainwashed by the World Government, Wilhelm didn't care. Most likely, Lucci's worldview had already been shaped, making him harder to manipulate directly.
But it didn't matter if Rob Lucci had been brainwashed.
The goal was to bring him in.
If Wilhelm could find the Paramecia Memory-Memory Fruit he'd been searching for, perhaps the Big Mom Pirates would find it in the future.
With the Memory-Memory Fruit, Wilhelm could alter Lucci's memories, reprogram him, and control him over time.
In the worst case, Wilhelm could use a Phantom Beast Devil Fruit.
Phantom Beast Fruits, rarer than Logia, differed from regular Zoan abilities. Any entity that "eats" a Phantom Beast Fruit gains intelligence on par with humans, if not greater.
With Rob Lucci's immense potential, excellent physical capabilities, and the intelligence granted by a Phantom Beast Fruit, his future achievements could very well meet or exceed Wilhelm's expectations.
Of course, that was the worst-case scenario.
The ideal plan was still to find the Memory-Memory Fruit and brainwash Lucci directly.
As for finding a Phantom Beast Fruit rarer than Logia? Wilhelm wasn't worried.
None of the Devil Fruit users in Impel Down had ever possessed one. Wilhelm knew that in the New World, there was likely a place where he could find one.
Wano Country, which had been isolated for centuries and was now a stronghold of the Beasts Pirates, would be a key destination.
Besides, there was also the famous sword he had been searching for.
"Understood!" Smoothie nodded firmly.
As pirates, they were naturally opposed to the World Government—a massive and deeply rooted entity that controlled the seas.
Whenever an opportunity to weaken the World Government arose, they couldn't afford to hesitate.
Not long after, they left the special zone of Enies Lobby.
Ahead of them lay the pitch-black night, where not even a finger could be seen.
But for Wilhelm and Smoothie, it posed no problem.
Finley, the giant vulture, quickly carried them through the massive vortex current and reached the huge Gate of Justice again.
Finley flapped its wings, soaring through the gate.
Their destination was within reach—the infamous Impel Down!
In the dark night, Finley glided high in the sky, slowly approaching the heavily guarded island in the Calm Belt, surrounded by countless warships.
"Backed by the Calm Belt, the territory of the Sea Kings and filled with dangers, more than twenty large warships are firmly guarding the prison's core…
" Smoothie couldn't help but sigh, sensing the immense energy around them through her powerful heart network. "No wonder no one has been able to break through this island for hundreds of years. It really is the world's largest prison!"
"We can't ignore the Marines and World Government. After all, they're holding some of the most dangerous criminals here…"
"If anyone escapes, or if some reckless outlaw breaks through with overwhelming force, the consequences would be unimaginable!"