One Piece: Groudon the Beasts

Chapter 250: Giving CP9 a Little Shock
Two weeks later, at Hoenn Fortress.

The Groudon docks.

The magnificent Golden Route and the grand fortress stunned Lucci and his companions. They never dreamed they would see such a spectacular fortress outside the World Government's sphere of influence.

"Look over there!"

Kaku pointed to the coast, where he could see two women fighting from a distance, and the battle was quite intense.

"It's the Pirate Empress!"

"The other one is the Demon Princess!"

They're all legendary big shots!
After being stripped of her title as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Boa Hancock, the "Pirate Empress," now has a new bounty of 1.659 billion Berries!
"Oni-hime" Yamato, the only daughter of Kaido, one of the Four Emperors, has a bounty of 1.06 billion Berries!
The two were locked in a fierce battle, with the Empress kicking relentlessly and the Demon Princess wielding her spiked club. The mere shockwaves from their clashes made the CP9 members dizzy.

"What...what's going on?!"

Kalifa covered her forehead, gripping the ship's railing to keep herself from falling. Among the group, her spiritual power was the lowest, and she was the most affected.

"It's the domineering aura of Conqueror's Haki!"

Lu Qi explained with a serious expression.

As CP9 agents, they naturally knew about Haki; in fact, there are ways to apply Haki in the Six Powers.

Like finger pistols and iron blocks, in addition to physical skills such as accelerating blood flow, they also require the strengthening of domineering energy to reach their ultimate level.

"Hey, not bad!"

Goode also came to the deck and watched Hancock and Yamato fight fiercely. Surprisingly, the battle was not one-sided.

A few months ago, Hancock couldn't hold out for more than a few rounds and was warned by Thunderous Gossip every day.

Now, Hancock not only withstood Yamato's attack, but her long, relentless kicks were also imbued with Conqueror's Haki!

"Could the Thunderous Eight Trigrams really have special effects?"

Goode scratched his head.

Judging by the timeline, Hancock has probably been hit by Thunder Bagua at least 100 times, plus her daily battles with Yamato, so it's not surprising that she has mastered Conqueror's Haki.

Unfortunately, even Conqueror's Haki has varying strengths.

If his Conqueror's Haki strength is 100 points, then Hancock's Conqueror's Haki strength at this moment is at most 30 points.

After all, he was just the king of the Nine Serpents.

"Um?!"

The two combatants sensed Goode's presence and stopped simultaneously, looking towards the river with surprise.

It's Groudon!
The two raced towards the shore and leaped at the same time upon reaching it.

"Good!"

Two missiles collided head-on.

Goode's expression changed, and he quickly dodged to the side.

"boom!!!"

The ship's cabin was smashed, leaving two large holes!

Soon, Yamato and Hancock ran out of the cabin, neither of them angry, but rather laughing foolishly, while the other hid behind the mast to peek.

Yamato was overjoyed: "Good, you're finally back!"

"Yamato."

Goode gave a gentle smile.

He's been getting busier and busier lately and hasn't had much time to play with this girl, which makes him feel a bit guilty. Luckily, this silly girl has something to do so she won't be bored.

Goode looked at Hancock.

"Good good."

Hancock hid behind the mast, steam rising from her head like she was being boiled; all the courage she had shown when she charged forward was gone.

Goode greeted him with a smile.

"Yo, Hancock!"

"Eh?!"

Hancock was pleasantly surprised.

Good called her by her name; could this be a marriage proposal?
Seeing the woman crouching under the mast, seemingly lost in a whimsical fantasy, Goode was both amused and exasperated, and turned to leave.

"Let's go back to the fortress first."

The fortress's high-level conference room.

Goode stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the fortress square below, where many soldiers were doing physical training.

Their spirits were quite high. Goode looked at Lu Qi and the others.

What are your thoughts?

"superb!"

Apart from the taciturn Lucci, the others exclaimed in amazement; the fortress here truly broadened their horizons.

It's just as impressive as Judiciary Island.

If it were built by the World Government, they wouldn't be surprised, but the other party is a pirate. When have pirates ever been able to do something like this?

"The Hoenn government was established not long ago and currently has only 17 member states, which is only one-tenth of the world government. In addition, there are three large fortresses and more than a dozen medium and small fortresses under construction."

Goode took out a map and explained the general situation of the Hoenn government.

In the North Sea, there are ten member states, including the Kingdom of Rune. In the New World, there are seven member states, including the Kingdom of Laborers.

If he wanted, he could easily double that number, but more member states are not necessarily better.

What he needs is not a loose alliance like the World Government, which is only interested in collecting Celestial Gold, but a highly centralized, powerful nation that is truly under his control.

His will is the will of all member states of the Hoenn government!
Only in this way can countries avoid acting independently and attacking each other, and instead develop together through close cooperation until one country can rival ten countries in strength.

Although they are called countries, they are actually islands under the rule of the Hoenn government and are part of the Hoenn Empire.

However, this approach also has drawbacks, requiring substantial upfront investment to improve infrastructure in various countries, resulting in a relatively long payback period.

It certainly can't compare to the rule of a world government in the short term, but it will definitely be more effective in the long run.

In short, there are both advantages and disadvantages.

Normally speaking, his actions are actually asking for trouble, as it often takes countries twenty or thirty years to develop.

But this world is not normal.

Like a poor country of laborers, it rapidly grew by exploiting the New World and has now become the largest industrial base in the New World, creating astonishing wealth.

Violence is the best accelerator!

The same applies to the Ten Kingdoms of the North Sea.

Relying on war and trade, and even violent means such as land grabbing and rent collection, they plundered the wealth of the ten North Sea countries, greatly accelerating their development.

The primitive accumulation of capital is inherently bloody.

"It's amazing."

The CP9 members were sweating profusely, clearly shocked by the current size of the Hoenn government. As intelligence agents for the World Government, they were completely unaware of this.

This means that the world government has a very limited understanding of the Hoenn government and has not yet realized the seriousness of the problem!
"Wait a minute, how could something this large-scale be kept from the eyes of the World Government!"

The World Government's intelligence agents are not limited to CP9, but also include CP1-CP8, and even CP0 above them!

If CP9 is promoted again, it will be able to enter the strongest CP0!

Besides the CP department, there's also the Navy!
How did the Hoenn government develop to this extent so quietly?
Is it
Suddenly, a thought popped into everyone's head!
There is a traitor within the World Government!

And that person has a very high status!

"Confused?"

Goode looked at CP9 with a sly smile, which sent chills down their spines.

The answer is simple.

He has a capable wife who knows how to falsify accounts.

Stussy, the "Queen of Pleasure Street".

Stussy holds the same position in CP0 as Guernica, belonging to the highest-ranking agents, second only to the CP0 captain.

As the CEO of Groudon Corporation, Stussy has been passing intelligence to the World Government, but only he and Stussy know how much of it is unreliable.

On the surface, Groudon's house-selling business seems to be booming, but it doesn't pose a threat yet.

As for the development of various countries, it is more like poverty alleviation, and at present, it is in a state of serious loss, which does not pose a threat to the world government.

But this situation will soon reverse.

All they lack is time!

Lucci remained silent for a long time.

"Now that we know so many secrets, if we refuse your offer, we might not be able to leave this fortress, right?"

"Of course!"

Goode's gaze was dark.

"If you refuse, you won't even be able to leave this room!"

(End of this chapter)