Lao Fan headed to the Grand Line alone, where Alabasta's intelligence network arranged for him to infiltrate Cipher Pol 5 (CP5).
Cipher Pol Zero (CP0) and CP9 are highly selective organizations within the World Government's intelligence system. Members are often trained from childhood in secret facilities like those seen with Rob Lucci and Kalifa. For outsiders, entry is exceedingly rare. But no matter how tight a system is, it still depends on human execution. In recent years, those standards have loosened.
Currently, Spandam serves as commander of CP9, succeeding his role as head of CP5. Known for his incompetence and weak combat prowess—barely managing the base 9 "Douriki" threshold—Spandam lacks the authority to lead powerful agents like Lucci or Blueno. To stabilize his leadership, he recruits from his former CP5 circle, where morally flexible individuals like Lao Fan naturally fit into his plans. A person with no bottom line is exactly the kind of operative Spandam can manipulate.
Meanwhile, remnants of the Shandia and the Golden Lion's forces were handed over to the Navy. Vivi, still accompanied by her loyal pet duck Karoo and bounty hunters Johnny and Yosaku, quietly sailed off in a small dinghy. After a week at sea, they landed in a modest coastal settlement: Orange Town.
"Quack!" Karoo flapped his wings, signaling westward. His brother was that way.
"Go! Move quickly!" Vivi disembarked first, agile as always atop Karoo. Johnny and Yosaku, seeing the familiar territory, nodded in recognition. They had been here before during their bounty hunting travels—it was a safe place. With relief, they followed close behind.
Orange Town was much smaller than Loguetown. Vivi, perched on Karoo, didn't worry about getting lost. She scanned the surroundings—oddly, not a single townsfolk appeared.
"Johnny, doesn't this town seem strange? Why haven't we seen anyone?" Vivi asked, a trace of unease in her voice.
She was wary. The Golden Lion's location remained a mystery. Though he had clashed with the World Government decades ago, his legend still cast a long shadow. An ambush in such a quiet place wasn't impossible.
Johnny nodded. "We've been here before. Let's check the mayor's place."
"Alright," Vivi agreed, her tone sharp. "You two check on that. I'll go find my target."
Thanks to Karoo's uncanny directional sense—and the panel system acting as a guide—it didn't take long before Vivi spotted a scruffy white puppy sitting alone in front of a worn-out building. The sign above was faded, but still read "Pet Food".
"Haha! This should be the one, right? Can you confirm it, Karoo?" Vivi squinted, comparing the pup to her mental image. It looked like Huuuuuu, but she wasn't 100% sure. Fortunately, Karoo had better recognition software, so to speak. Besides, the 'panel' didn't list any formal objectives—this wasn't a mission.
Honestly, the panel plug-in felt more like Karoo's system than hers. The younger brother it mentioned naturally aligned with Karoo.
"Gah...gah, goo goo!"
Vivi flicked the duck's head. "Hey! Stop clucking like a chicken, Karoo! You're a duck!"
Karoo gave her a side-eye full of resentment. Vivi immediately felt guilty.
"Woof!" barked the puppy. It might have been small, but it had lungs. Seeing Vivi and Karoo bickering, it barked again to draw attention.
Vivi's ability to hear animals' voices through the "Listen to All Things" skill helped a little, but most of the time, Karoo acted as the translator.
The duck and the puppy exchanged noises: "Quack! Quack!" "Woof! Woof!" Meanwhile, Vivi crossed her arms and 'listened', trying to decode fragments.
"You're still suspicious of us? Did I read that wrong?"
"...Oh, you're on guard? Close to us? I didn't notice anything off."
"Geez, Karoo, you're so blunt! I think it means it wants to bite—HEY, LET GO!"
It took effort, but Vivi finally pried the puppy's jaws off Karoo's feathers.
Apparently, Karoo wasn't suited for diplomacy. Vivi had to do it herself.
She placed her weapon Huazhou at a distance and raised her hands to show she meant no harm. Then she crouched, trying to lock eyes with the little pup.
"You understand me, at least a little, right? I think I understand you. You probably already know... your master passed away. Not from battle, not illness—he simply reached the end of his life. It was peaceful."
"Woof!" the white puppy barked fiercely, mentally projecting, Don't want to hear it!
Vivi interpreted the sentiment clearly and pressed on. "You're still waiting for him? Watching the store? I get it… but he's not coming back. No one can resurrect the dead. Even in this world of Devil Fruits and miracles, that kind of miracle... doesn't exist. I think your master would want you to be happy, not stuck here."
Half an hour passed. Vivi, parched, pulled a milk bottle from Karoo's bag and drank half. Karoo stared, outraged—those were his rations!
"I was thirsty! Talking nonstop for thirty minutes!" Vivi protested.
But the puppy remained unbothered. It stayed firm, guarding the shop. Vivi could feel its wish: it hoped for a miracle. But how? This world—torn by pirates, Warlords, Yonko, and Marines—rarely had room for such wishes. Even in the face of power like the Rinnegan or the Will of D, bringing back the dead was a line seldom crossed.
"Karoo, it's your little brother. Think of something," Vivi pleaded.
Karoo rolled his eyes. I'm a duck, not a miracle worker.
So Vivi went with the dumbest, most basic strategy: bribery.
Dog food. Big bone treats. Cornmeal. She even raided Karoo's cookware and fried two eggs on the spot. She even tried teasing it with a cat wand, which earned her a furious bite attempt—dodged with a burst of Soru, one of the Six Powers.
The puppy was clearly starving. Its willpower was iron, but its body betrayed its hunger. It ate what she gave but offered nothing else. No tail wag. No affection. No change of heart.
"Come on, just come with me. Let's go to a place called Little Garden! Doesn't it sound fun? A garden! With two giant uncles! They've been fighting each other for a hundred years. You can watch them like a never-ending anime episode!"
Vivi rambled on, logic tossed to the wind. She just wanted the puppy to feel some warmth.