"Fish-Man Karate—Buraikan!"
Tiger gathered a water ball in his hand and unleashed it with immense force. The high-speed water cannon, packed with incredible power, blasted through Spandam's warship with a single shot, completely piercing through it.
Seeing the sheer power of Tiger's attack, Spandam was so frightened that even his snot started to drip. The water blast had narrowly missed his head, nearly scaring him to the point of wetting himself.
However, realizing that he still had hostages, and knowing that if Tiger attacked him, the CP9 agents by his side could kill Tom and the others, Spandam regained some of his composure.
In fact, when he saw his escape ship destroyed by Tiger's attack, Spandam angrily shouted at Tiger, trying to cover his fear with bravado, "You lunatic! Do you really think we won't fight back?"
With his warship blown apart by Tiger's "Buraikan," Spandam was both furious and desperate.
To prove he wasn't bluffing, he grabbed Ruth, who had already been incapacitated, from the ground and placed a long sword against his neck.
Among his captives, only Tom the Fish-Man was truly important to Spandam; the others were expendable in his eyes.
To intimidate Tiger, Spandam felt it necessary to make an example of someone, to show that he wasn't joking around.
"I advise you not to do that," Tiger said. "The person you're holding is Brother Wood's first mate. I seem to recall you being quite afraid of Brother Wood.
If you kill his first mate, aren't you afraid of his revenge afterward?
You should know that if he decides to kill you, even CP9 won't be able to protect you."
Hearing Tiger's words, Spandam suddenly recalled the terror that man had instilled in him at Tom's workshop, and his heart trembled with fear.
He briefly considered releasing Ruth and grabbing a softer target, like Franky or Iceburg, to maintain his leverage.
But Spandam quickly realized that doing so would make him look weak, so he nervously responded, "Don't forget, that traitor is currently facing both Garp and Momousagi. He's barely holding his own.
Even if he were here, what could he do to me? Unless he doesn't care about these people's lives…"
Before Spandam could finish his sentence, the expression on his face shifted from smug confidence to sheer terror.
He wasn't able to complete his sentence because, at some point, a long sword had appeared behind him, resting directly against his throat.
At almost the exact moment that Wood's presence registered in his mind, the two CP9 agents standing in front of Spandam turned around in shock and fear.
They noticed the strange silver glow emanating from the runes on Wood's chest, barely visible through his clothes. Before they could even begin to comprehend what kind of power this was or how Wood had appeared behind them without their knowledge, a fist the size of a sandbag filled their vision.
One of the CP9 agents, standing closest to Wood, didn't even have time to react before Wood's heavy punch connected squarely with his face, sending his body flying towards Tiger like a cannonball.
The other CP9 agent, seeing Wood make his move, instinctively extended a finger, attempting to use "Shigan" to finish off Franky and the others lying on the ground. But before he could act, a silver arc flashed through the air.
In the next moment, the CP9 agent felt a sharp pain in his right arm, followed by the sight of his own severed limb flying through the air.
"This… this is impossible! Even if you were holding back last time, there's no way you could have become this strong!"
Despite losing an arm, the CP9 agent, an elite of the World Government's intelligence division, managed to stifle any cries of pain. His mind, however, was fixated on what had happened to Wood to make him so much stronger.
During their previous encounter at Tom's workshop, these two CP9 agents had crossed paths with Wood. While they hadn't considered themselves his equal, they hadn't felt such a vast difference in strength.
But now, Wood had not only appeared behind them without their notice but had also effortlessly incapacitated both of them, leaving one severely injured with a single punch and a sword strike.
"Impossible? Who told you that I was serious the last time we met?" Wood replied.
In the World Government's intelligence division, CP9 was known for being exceptionally powerful. As masters of the "Rokushiki," they were considered the reserve team for CP0, the highest echelon of the World Government's intelligence forces.
But the two CP9 agents before Wood were nowhere near the level of Rob Lucci or Kaku.
A year or two ago, defeating opponents like these might have been a challenge for Wood, but now, they were hardly worth his effort.
As for why this CP9 agent felt Wood had grown so much stronger?
Of course, he would! During the encounter at Tom's workshop, Wood hadn't been serious at all—his only goal had been to escape.
Now, however, Wood had removed all his weighted gear and had even tapped into the power of the "Heart of God" to reach this location as quickly as possible.
At this point, even if the two CP0 agents Wood had fought in Mariejois were standing before him, they would likely fall after just a few more strikes.
The CP9 agent who had been sent flying towards Tiger didn't even have a chance to utter a word before Tiger's powerful Fish-Man Karate punch crushed his skull, killing him instantly.
The other CP9 agent, now missing an arm, realized he had no chance of survival against both Wood and Tiger. Letting out a furious roar, he charged straight at Wood.
It wasn't that the CP9 agent was particularly brave or unafraid of death—it was simply that he had no way to escape.
If he were only facing Tiger, his chances of survival would have been relatively high. After all, on land, a Fish-Man's mobility couldn't match that of someone who had mastered the "Rokushiki," a skillset akin to superhuman abilities.
Unfortunately for him, Wood was not just superhuman—he was a monster far beyond that.
This CP9 agent wasn't a protagonist; his roar wouldn't increase his strength, nor would he suddenly gain a last-minute power boost.
As brilliant arcs of sword light crisscrossed the air, the CP9 agent's body was riddled with wounds, and he collapsed into a pool of his own blood.
"I'm with the World Government! I'm the highest executive officer of Enies Lobby! You can't kill me, or the World Government will never let you go!"
Seeing the two CP9 agents, who had easily taken down Ruth and the others earlier, now lying dead with no chance to fight back against Wood and Tiger, Spandam finally felt the full weight of fear descend upon him.
*******
P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 340+ at pat_reon.com/Betek.