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***SEALED***

The enclosed is confidential information at the exclusive disposal of the Five Elders. Further contact with this document is in itself criminal conduct punishable by death, by order and law of the World Government.

Counter-intelligence Concerns: Straw Hat Pirates

Objective.

Overview.

Incident Record.

Personnel Losses.

Persons of Note.

Analysis.

Recommendations.

Objective

Recent developments on the surface have significantly altered our understanding of the state of general intelligence concerning the Straw Hat pirate organization. Under direct orders from the Five Elder Saints, I have begun attempting to account for certain intelligence lapses using new and archival resources to provide insight into problem areas with this group. In particular this report aims to open the discussion on heretofore unconsidered counter-intelligence resources at the disposal of the nascent Straw Hat empire.

Incident Record

1. Arabasta Civil War

While a largely bloodless revolution with respect to World Government resources, it nonetheless remains an open question: how were the Straw Hat Pirates, a band of rookies not even ten strong, capable of unraveling a conspiracy the Government was not aware of? Numerous reporting inconsistencies plagued this conflict. In particular, the whereabouts of Nico Robin (operating under alias “Miss All-Sunday”) and Princess Nefertari Vivi are a sticking point.

Marine reports from Chief Petty Officer Tashigi and her subordinates place Nico in Alubarna on the day of the conflict. However, prior to this, she appears to have last been spotted by World Government agents at Whiskey Peak, a known target of the Straw Hat crew. One agent placed within Baroque Works went AWOL around this time.

Following the defeat of Crocodile and restoration of the Nefertari family, Nico Robin disappears from public view until reappearing with the Straw Hat Pirates on Water 7, where she accepted a proposed exchange of herself for the crew. This unusual breaking of her typical pattern of laundering identities and evading capture at the expense of her benefactors suggests deeper ties to the Straw Hat crew at this time than previously assumed.

This may mean that reported inconsistencies in our intelligence are the result of cooperation between the Nefertari Family and the Straw Hat Pirates, facilitated by Nico Robin as a go-between. We will discuss later the potential implications of this alliance. For now it is sufficient to question how Baroque Works, a rebel army, and Arabasta’s own army were decommissioned in the field by less than ten pirates. It may well be that what occurred was a color revolution created to conceal a political purge in Arabasta for other purposes.

2. Enies Lobby Incident

Unlike other incidents involving this crew, the presence of CP9 and its head officer Spandam, renowned for their reliability, ensure relatively good intelligence. During this incident, a bizarre coalition of resources, organizations, and persons of interests converged on Enies Lobby simultaneously.

1. Prototype Sea Train “Rocket Man”, previously reported unsuitable for field use yet curiously capable of navigating a historic Agua Laguna
2. Ship dismantlers and bounty hunters collectively known as “the Franky Family”, headed by notorious pirate Cutty “Franky” Flam, now known as “Cyborg Franky” and a known associate of Tom, Gold Roger’s shipwright.
3. Giants previously commissioned as guards for Enies Lobby, turned against the Government by unknown means
4. The entire Straw Hat crew, pursuing Robin despite her explicit denials; and
5. Previously unknown criminal known only as “Sniper King”, suspected relative of “God” Usopp and “Chaser” Yasopp, who despite a lack of reputation was witnessed fearlessly firing on a government flag and accurately sniping Marine soldiers from unreachable distances.
6. A ship reported to be damaged beyond repair by CP9 agent Kaku appearing, apparently unmanned, to aid in the Straw Hat crew’s escape from the Buster Call ordered by Spandam.

Any one of these events would be cause for alarm in general, but taken together suggest sophisticated planning as well as an intelligence network spanning all of Water 7 from Galley-La to the underworld. Personnel losses at this time were extremely high, as was accounting for total losses, as Enies Lobby was completely destroyed before a comprehensive view of the damage and theft could be obtained. At minimum, it is likely that such an operation would be impossible without at least a year of planning and considerable information about Enies Lobby, and more than likely requiring contacts within the Government.

Due to the destruction of Enies Lobby, it is likely that Nico Robin’s complicance with the deal was always a sham intended to allow the Straw Hats inside Enies Lobby, acquire some resource within, and escape without their acts being noticed. This marks a considerable jump in the sophistication of the Straw Hat’s operations (compare to dismantling a mere fishman’s extortion ring), suggesting that Nico Robin’s experience was key to this and subsequent operations by the Straw Hats.

Additionally, despite multiple agents being assigned to assassinate Straw Hat Luffy, none succeeded, including Rob Lucci. In fact, none of the assigned agents were ever found (see: Personnel Losses). It appears at this time that the Straw Hats had already made significant progress in counter-intelligence.

3. Attempted murder of Saint Charloss

Prior to the assassination attempt, the Straw Hat crew made contact with at least one local gang organization before appearing at a Human Auction House owned by Donquixote Doflamingo. At least two Celestial Dragons were harmed in the ensuing debacle, after which two Worst Generation captains aided the Straw Hats in their escape. The fleeing pirates were then intercepted by Admiral Kizaru, who reports that the pirates were aided by the sudden appearance of “Dark King” Rayleigh and Bartholomew Kuma.  The former was known to appear in the Sabaody Archipelago, but Kuma’s presence is both inexplicable and key to subsequent incidents.

Kuma apparently used his power to “send flying” the members of the Straw Hats, a method of travel known to be possible using his Paw-Paw abilities. The subsequent whereabouts of the Straw Hats are unknown, ironically excepting Nico Robin, who was associated with the Revolutionary Army in the time following the crew’s disappearance.

This is the first confirmed known direct tie between the Revolutionary Army and the Straw Hat crew. Bartholomew Kuma, a founding member, seems to have not only delivered Nico Robin into the hands of Dragon, but safely transported the entire crew out of the public view. Soon after, Emporio Ivankov also assisted Monkey D. Luffy’s Impel Down breakout even before it was widely reported that Luffy and Dragon were blood relatives. Thus, it is obvious to see that the entire sequence of events, from assassination to jailbreak to Straw Hat’s failed attempt to free Ace, had the involvement of the Revolutionary Army.

4. Dressrosa Revolution

By this time, it became clear that the Straw Hat crew and Revolutionary Army were closely allied. They attacked Donquixote Family on both fronts, dismantling the outward operations and top officers as well as the valuable trade in weapons and artificial Devil Fruits out of the underground port.

The complexity of this operation bears further consideration. First, Doflamingo’s attempt to trap Luffy using his brother’s Flame-Flame fruit was directly used by their alliance to both increase the military power of the Revolutionary Army by granting their decorated Chief of Staff a powerful ability and gain access to the port. This was accomplished by entering Straw Hat and likely other “plants” into the Coliseum. Suspected plants include Bartolomeo (who won his block of the competition without fighting), Don Chinjao and the Happo Navy, and “White Horse” Cavendish, all of whom fought with and later became subordinates of Straw Hat Luffy, but who likely were previously in contact with him or his allies.

Notably, the defeat of Sugar, a high-ranking officer of the Donquixote Family, provided an additional boost to the troop numbers of the rebel army in the form of de-tranformed toys. In fact, government agents who had been imprisoned by Doflamingo largely joined the efforts to dethrone him, resulting in costly and ongoing attempts to hunt down and neutralize them. Several formerly loyal agents in our custody still proclaim unconditional loyalty to Straw Hat and to the cult of his sniper, God Usopp.

5. Tea Party Incident

Cipher Pol Aigis-0’s Agent Stussy reports: “I became aware during the progress of the Tea Party that I was witnessing a coup attempt masterminded by Straw Hat Luffy. His alliance of captains supposedly loyal to Big Mom, planting an explosive device in her tribute months in advance, defeat of multiple top officers, and successful retrieval of Vinsmoke Sanji from the heart of Big Mom’s territory suggest nothing short of the greatest tactical mind of our era.”

Personnel Losses

            While the loss of agents in the field is an unfortunate reality of the current era and its historical volume of piracy, agent loss in areas known or suspected to have been visited by the Straw Hat crew is up to fifteen times more common than average. Most of these losses are considered AWOL and unable to be further investigated due to lack of evidence; however, I have performed a review of our archives and compelled further investigation, revealing the stark reality.

            In the past two years, we have lost dozens of agents on the Grand Line routes the Straw Hats have traveled. Of these, 40% simply disappeared, 25% were killed via breaking the neck or spine, 15% had severe burns, and as many as 5% were buried in unmarked graves.

            In our pursuit of Nico Robin, we of Cipher Pol Aigis-0 have become accustomed to her calling cards. She prefers submission holds, chokes, and joint manipulation techniques, and so injuries from such techniques on the Straw Hats’ route are generally attributed to her. Nico Robin is considered extremely dangerous not only due to her combat capabilities, but her experience in detecting and dispatching government agents without arousing notice. What the casualty trends and rates suggest is that her efforts are no longer a one-woman show.

            To further illustrate the demonstrated efficacy of the group, these loss rates are also present for missions related to the Straw Hats. After the Five Elder Stars ordered the removal of the initial “D” from Straw Hat’s bounty poster, it was found that Straw Hat counterintelligence even extends to the operations of Morgans and the World Economic Journal, as our agents failed to compel obedience from Morgans and went AWOL.

            Even after their departure, high rates of agent loss persist for months or even years. The civilians of Water 7 and Arabasta have generally been stalwart, silent, or even openly uncooperative with investigations, with unreliable information being the norm rather than the exception. Such high levels of mistrust indicate high penetration of Revolutionary propaganda or, more likely, the presence of continued ties with the crew from afar.

Persons of Note

1. Nico Robin. Black ops veteran with unusual experience planning and evading Government capture and surveillance. Archaeologist for the Straw Hats.
2. Bartholomew Kuma. Known Revolutionary with unparalleled transportation abilities. Warlord of the Sea and pacified cyborg.
3. Nefertari Vivi. Potential go-between for revolutionary forces of Arabasta and the Revolutionary Army. Princess of Arabasta.
4. “God” Usopp. Religious figure connected to high profile snipers, Sniper King and Yasopp. Sniper for the Straw Hats.

Analysis

            Certain agents’ reports and the handful of recorded Transponder Snail conversations may suggest that Monkey D. Luffy is simple at best, but this could not be further from the truth. The Straw Hat Pirates may appear to be a crew of nine, but it is rather a shell, a front for a long-term operation. Using the flood of pirates of the era, the Revolutionary Army planted a small crew of powerful influential figures meant to conceal their operations and alliances across the Grand Line. This is the Straw Hat Pirates. Thus, our effort to neutralize Captain Monkey D. Luffy may have been backwards. His seeming untouchability by assassins, bounty hunters, and agents is the product of a core counter-intelligence team which has been operating under our nose for at least two years.

            At the head is likely Nico Robin. Not only is she a visible asset of Dragon’s organization, her experience is likely vital to their efforts against us. In my view, her deputies are probably “God” Usopp, “Cyborg” Franky, and Vinsmoke Sanji. Their respective connections to Sniper King and the God Usopp cult, the Roger Pirates via Tom’s Workers, and Germa 66 likely explains the recurrence of Roger affiliates, unexplained burn and shot wounds, and the presence of Silvers Rayleigh. Not only this, but the technical acumen of Germa and Tom’s workers likely explains phenomena such as self-steering ships and making supposedly failed machines functional.

            It is my current belief that Nico Robin was operating as a Revolutionary asset since at least before her time in Baroque Works. Her knowledge of the Poneglyphs makes her an obvious choice of partner, and her duplicitous relationship with Crocodile and loyalty to the Straw Hats only makes sense if her loyalties were already decided. She is the right hand of the family business, handling communications between father and son and delegating to her deputies.

            This counterintelligence team operates in the shadows of the main assault force of the Straw Hat Pirates and benefits both from their ability to take down otherwise intractable targets and the relative directness of confrontation, ensuring that the underlying purpose of the crew’s actions are rarely understood by the media or opposing factions.

            The goal of this alliance as of the present date is clear. The core Straw Hat crew and Revolutionary Army, allied with former Warlord Trafalgar Law, have already effectively disabled the World Government’s supply of weapons by targeting Doflamingo’s operations. Now it seems Straw Hat and Law are traveling to or already infiltrating the Land of Wano, likely to further disrupt the international weapons trade at the source now that supply chains have been destroyed.

            While a scenario in which Straw Hat topples Kaido is a military impossibility, even were Straw Hat, the Grand Fleet, and the Revolutionaries to attempt to attack Wano at once, we cannot rule out the closure of factories, color revolution, and other negative outcomes from his presence there. Current revolutionary uprisings around the world will require weapons to suppress, so even a victory for the Kaido-Kurozumi regime might be accompanied by relative losses in materiel in other conflicts, leaving the Government position vulnerable even in the best-case scenario.

Recommendations

            While thus far our efforts have focused on capturing or killing Straw Hat and his crew, these efforts have failed and wasted valuable resources; therefore, my recommendation based on the findings above is to target the Straw Hat crew’s operative goals rather than their members.

            First, we must directly confront the weapons supply. Doflamingo merely laundered weapons produced by Kaido, so the actual production should still be secure. We in Aigis-0 stand ready to directly negotiate with the Kurozumi Shogunate to secure pricing and shipping for key weapons to several kingdoms, Lulusia first among them due to proximity. Using government ships with unpublished itineraries should make it possible to securely transport weapons bought wholesale in Wano, assuming the full cooperation of the Shogun.

            Second, Bartholomew Kuma should be liquidated and his Paw-Paw powers given to a reliable agent. His abilities were key in preventing the Straw Hats’ capture and defeat, and though he is now a loyal slave to the Gods, his abilities are wasted in their employ. Using high speed international travel has been a calling card of the coordinated efforts between pirate and revolutionary, and employing similar tactics might also secure personnel and trade routes.

            Third, a purge of anti-establishment religious beliefs. Loyalty to figures such as God Usopp and Straw Hat himself is already reaching a fever pitch among Dressrosa veterans and has even reached into the annals of Government. Many recall the unfortunate contamination of “Who” with Nika cult material, and I fear the God Usopp situation may be heading in a similar direction, especially with de-toyed government agents directly espousing his holiness. In fact, “Who” is currently operating as a top officer under Kaido, and it would be highly favorable to eliminate him while we operate in Wano as well.

            Finally, our propaganda arm must remain active and Morgans must be brought under control, ideally in a static location more vulnerable to infiltration over time. Morgans reportage on Straw Hat not only continues to display “D”, it highlights more of the truth of his operations and capabilities than is ideal for public knowledge. The Straw Hats must be tarred as revolutionaries, terrorists, and murderers as much as possible in the coming weeks.

            I suggest that we leave military action against the crew to the Animal Kingdom Pirates. Nothing known of Straw Hat or Law’s capabilities suggest they have any power capable of defeating Kaido. Thus, by the end of this operation, if these recommendations are followed, we should once again have wholesale arms supplies to suppress revolution, a dead rookie Straw Hat defeated by the invincible Kaido, and the firm support of public opinion.

-Guernica