Approaching the start of the original storyline within a year, CP9 members' training was progressing quite well. Experiencing defeat had led to significant growth, and they were now at a level where they could be assigned missions in the New World to gain practical experience.
Lucci had already mastered both Armament Haki and Observation Haki, and his next focus would be improving his mastery of Haki. Lilith had made several wristbands that could adjust the wavelengths of Haki in his left and right arms, which he could use for his training.
Fizz had also mastered Armament Haki, and while he struggled a bit with Observation Haki, he would likely achieve it soon. Next, Jabra and Kaku had learned to use Armament Haki, but Observation Haki was still a mystery to them. Kalifa and Fukuro were on the verge of grasping Observation Haki before Armament Haki. Blueno and Kumadori were having a bit of a tough time and were slightly behind, but the speed of mastery wasn't necessarily linked to the talent for Haki.
Given the wide variance in learning speed, it was possible that after mastering one, they could quickly learn the other, so this wasn't a significant concern.
In particular, Lucci, who had been called a prodigy and had only experienced clear defeats from Pochi and me, seemed quite determined. With his existing madness and that state of mind, I felt that he might be able to withstand the muscular compression training that I used to make Pochi endure. I planned to try it at the right time.
Thinking about such things, I glanced at the clock and realized it was almost quitting time. Tomorrow was a day off, and I considered opening a bottle of good whiskey and enjoying a drink tonight...
No matter which world it was, the feeling of finishing work before a holiday was a good one. Just as I thought this, the communication device I had in my pocket alerted me to an incoming call.
"... It's Spandam."
"It's me."
"... You seem pretty eager to die, old man. If you want, should I come over in the next ten minutes and separate your head from your torso?"
"Why do you keep sounding homicidal every time you contact me!?"
The caller was my father. This guy was always bad at timing. Of all times, he chose right before quitting time to call. If he wasn't a relative, I'd have beaten him until he was physically flattened.
Well, it wasn't like my father's bad timing was something new. I sighed and, after reminding myself that his timing was always like this, I opened my mouth to respond.
"... So, what do you want?"
"Oh, um, yeah, I actually need your help with something..."
"It depends on the details... Whether you'll live to see tomorrow's sunrise."
"Details aside, you're more concerned about whether I'll survive?!"
Ignoring my father's interjection, I prompted him to get to the point.
To summarize, my father was currently in a department mainly dealing with diplomacy, negotiating with the World Government's member and non-member countries. During negotiations with a certain non-member country, an issue had arisen.
That country was struggling with a large-scale rebel army, and my father had offered the country membership in the World Government on the condition that the government would handle the rebel army. The negotiations resulted in the country agreeing to my father's proposal. However, when they attempted to suppress the rebel army, they realized that the rebel force was several times larger than my father had anticipated.
"... So, due to the unexpectedly large scale of the rebel army, even the Marines are hesitant, and they couldn't secure enough troops to quell it. In the first place, membership was only supposed to be discussed after the rebels were dealt with, so it's currently a non-member country. It's difficult to openly send a significant force, and we thought of asking CP9, who specializes in covert operations. Are you with me so far? Still as careless as ever, huh? You should have thoroughly assessed the scale of the rebel force in advance."
"Ugh, I can't even come up with a retort..."
"Alright, fine. Send the paperwork through the proper channels, and I'll take care of it in person."
"R-really?! Thank you so much!"
My father owed me quite a lot one way or another, so I couldn't really refuse. Besides, an increase in member countries would be a substantial benefit to the government, and the permission to cooperate would likely be granted swiftly.
The CP9 members were mainly focusing on training, so there wasn't much room in terms of personnel, but if I went, it would be a straightforward solution. Depending on the scale, I could finish it in a day.
"... However, I have one thing to say."
"What is it?"
"Next time you call me right before quitting time, I'll seriously kill you."
"... U-Understood. I'm sorry."
***
As Expected, I was granted permission to deal with the rebel army. It seemed that the government welcomed the increase in member countries.
However, aside from that, the formal instructions that came had an odd point: "Bring one companion as an assistant."
Though I couldn't quite fathom the intention behind this, there was no reason to refuse. I left Pochi in charge and used the Razor to teleport to the designated island of the target country.
I was to meet the assistant at the specified location.
When I arrived at the designated place, I found a woman dressed in a black suit. With light blue hair and golden eyes, her facial features were refined, and she had a slender figure. What stood out the most were her slender, pointed ears—quite unusual, like those of an elf.
Upon seeing me, the woman saluted gracefully and spoke.
"Good day, Commander! Nice to meet you, I will be assisting you on this mission. My codename is Blue Bird!"
"..."
"Um... Is something wrong?"
I responded to her introduction with a look of exasperation. What kind of joke was this, saying "Nice to meet you" now? Was she trying to mess with me, waiting for me to react?
"... The Director of CP0 doing something like this."
"On the contrary, how did you figure that out? Even though my appearance and voice are different..."
"Skeletal structure, spinal cord, and bone structure vary from person to person. With enough training, you can identify individuals based on these factors. Well, it's a technique that only works on people you're familiar with, so it's a minor skill."
"Spandam-san, with your already otherworldly combat strength, you should be a bit more cautious and humble... You're too flawless."
The woman who stood before me, the CP0 Director, wore an expression somewhere between exasperation and a wry smile. Nevertheless, quite an impressive disguise. Neither her face nor her voice resembled those of the usual Director—she was a completely different person. Her abilities were suited for espionage work.
"Anyway... well, first things first, what should I call you? Considering you've changed your appearance and tone, I suppose using your Director title wouldn't be appropriate?"
"Rather than saying I changed them, this is my natural appearance... But yes, you're right. Since my name changes with each job, I don't remember my real name. Calling me by my codename might be awkward... So, how about you give me a nickname, just like you did with Chelsea-chan?"
"I see. In that case... 'Tama.'"
"Hmm, it's odd. I introduced myself as Blue Bird, yet I ended up with a nickname that's unrelated to blue or birds and is more cat-like... Well, it's fine. So, when I'm in this form, you can call me Tama. Nice to meet you."
It was a rather arbitrary choice, but she seemed fine with it. Tama wore a somewhat absentminded smile.
While her demeanor when speaking as the Director was formal and rigid, her true nature seemed carefree. However, her eyes had a somewhat crazed look to them, so there seemed to be more to her...
"So, why are you here again? Why do you need to accompany me?"
"In simple terms, I'm here on orders from above to observe. You know, the way you fight in training and in actual combat is different, right? I know you have an otherworldly strength, Spandam-san, but I'd like to see firsthand just how strong you are from my perspective and report back."
"I see, so you're performing the duties of a spy."
"Haha... Well, you're right. I have at least the minimum skill to not get in the way, so feel free to do as you like, Spandam-san."
Well, as someone who serves as the Director of CP0, she was undoubtedly a first-rate agent. At first glance, she appeared quite different, but she was clearly highly trained. Depending on her mastery of Haki, she might even be able to defeat a Marine Admiral.
For now, Tama and I walked together towards our destination, engaging in casual conversation.
"By the way, you mentioned that you usually change your appearance and voice. Is that a skill, or some special ability?"
"It's very Spandam-like of you not to jump to the conclusion that it's a Devil Fruit ability. Well, as for me, it's the power of a Devil Fruit. The Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nymph. That's the name of the fruit I ate. Oh, please keep that a secret from your subordinates. I pass as a mysterious female boss, you see..."
"Nymph... Were they the young, female-looking fairies from mythology?"
"Yes, thanks to the Devil Fruit, I transformed after eating it, and I've remained like this ever since. Moreover, even when changing forms, the length of my ears is the only thing that changes."
"What can you do with that ability?"
A Zoan-type Mythical Zoan is considered rarer than a regular Logia. Apart from Senkoku, this was the first time I'd met someone who had actually consumed one.
"I can do various things... but it's rather mediocre, I suppose. For instance... I can do a Fairy Mischief Changeling."
Tama produced a small coin and muttered a word, and the coin switched places with a nearby stone. Changeling... while originally referring to a child swap, it seemed that Tama's power was simply to switch things.
"Oh, a swapping ability?"
"There are limitations like range and weight, so it's not like I can swap anything... I can also change my face and voice, as you figured out, but I can't alter my physique. I can make myself invisible, but if you look closely, you can still see an outline. There are various other things I can do, but they all have limitations... It's like having many small tricks but no major abilities."
"It seems quite versatile."
"Indeed, it's quite convenient."
Listening to Tama's explanation, I got the impression that her ability was a jack-of-all-trades type. She could perform tasks that are often associated with fairies in mythology, but they were all rather limited in scale or had certain restrictions that made them difficult to use.
While her abilities may not directly enhance her combat power, they seemed quite handy for a spy. Her versatility made up for the lack of direct combat abilities, and it felt like a very strong power in terms of adapting to various situations.
"... By the way, is it alright to talk so openly about your abilities?"
"If it's you, Spandam-san, I think it's fine. Besides, you're like my superior, aren't you?"
"Well, technically, our roles are reversed..."
Tama's carefree manner of speaking made her seem rather elusive, difficult to grasp, like a fleeting cloud. She was the type who wouldn't easily reveal her true feelings to others.
In that sense, the cat-like nickname she proposed might actually suit her quite well.
***
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