An Invisible Clash and a Philosophical Discussion

Cobra came because he heard that his daughter and that bastard Ma Qiao had shared a donut in the street... no, he heard that his daughter and Ma Qiao had been attacked by unknown assailants.

Although he really wanted to smash Ma Qiao's head with the big spatula in his hand, as an enlightened father, he had to admit that Ma Qiao was indeed qualified to be his son-in-law.

At least this way I might not have to pay back my Huabei...

Pshaw!

Cobra shook his head, dismissing such a superficial idea from his mind.

"Vivi!"

Cobra ran wildly towards his beloved daughter.

Nami was somewhat surprised.

I don't know why this old geezer calls his best friend so affectionately.

Vivi was also very surprised.

"Vivi, now that I have Crocodile as my bodyguard, I'm no longer afraid of Baroque Works' schemes..."

Cobra was speaking when he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck, and then his whole body went limp.

Unlike Cobra, Kogoro Mouri didn't have such excellent balance that he could still stagger to a chair and assume an elegant sitting posture even while under anesthesia.

Cobra immediately lay face down on the ground.

A ten-centimeter-long poisoned needle was clearly embedded in his neck!

Before Vivi and Nami could react, a tall figure leaped out, grabbed Cobra, and then tried to make a run for it.

"Tree spirit?"

Nami exclaimed in surprise.

As Ma Qiao's personal secretary, the Cat Burglar knew that many tree spirits lived in the forests on the outskirts of Shurima, and the figure that suddenly appeared before him perfectly matched the characteristics of a tree spirit.

The tree spirits all obey the security department of the Big Bird Consortium, so how did they suddenly appear at the food festival in the capital?

"Nami, look! That's not a tree spirit at all!"

Vivi was definitely a bit stronger than Nami in combat, and she quickly realized, "This is that big guy's other sister!"

Just then, Flampe used the balloons under her skirt to jump in front of them.

She launched into a tirade of insults at Brûlée: "You ugly piece of trash! If you hadn't suddenly patted me on the shoulder from behind, I wouldn't have made that mistake. But I shouldn't have had any expectations of an ugly monster like you. Not everyone can be like me, the best little sister in the brothers' eyes!"

Brûlée apologized sheepishly, "I'm sorry, what should we do next?"

"This man seems to be a chef too, let's take him with us."

Flampe jumped up and looked at Cobra's appearance.

He certainly looks like an experienced chef.

"I didn't expect the cuisine in Alabasta to be so good."

Flampe snatched the donut Katakuri had bought for Brûlée, stuffed it into her mouth, and then sucked on her finger as if no one else was around. "If that young pastry chef is this good, then this old chef with wrinkles and age spots must be even better."

"Mom's about to have a tea party, Katakuri's excuse for going out this time is to find a chef for Mom. This one should meet the requirements."

Flampe pulled a new pair of hypnotic needles from her pocket and, without blinking, plunged them into the back of Cobra's neck.

The dense array of hypnotic needles resembled the Backstab.

Old Cobra hummed in his sleep and then drifted into an even deeper sleep.

"Alright, that's enough for us to take this experienced chef back to Whole Cake Island."

Flampe clapped her hands and turned her gaze to Vivi and Nami. "But before that, we must capture these two women!"

As Flampe directed Brûlée to act, Vivi pulled the Peacock Chain from her sleeve, while Nami took a bag of bear-shaped cookies from her Four-Dimensional Pocket...

Vivi looked on enviously at Nami's "pocket" that could hold so many things.

But right now, his father is suffering, and that's what's important.

Vivi quickly threw off the peacock necklace, trying to stop Flampe from sticking more hypnotic needles into the back of her father's neck.

Unfortunately, Vivi isn't Ran Mouri; her fighting skills are really not up to par in the world of One Piece.

"Reflection!"

Brûlée casually created a giant mirror, Vivi's Peacock Chains struck the mirror, reflecting the attack back at her.

Faced with this sudden turn of events, Vivi had no time to avoid it.

The Peacock Chain lashed out at her, and then...

hp-1.

Unfortunately, Vivi's attacks were simply too weak. After being reflected, she lost even more energy, making her attacks even weaker and unable to penetrate the enemy's armor.

The equipment was very expensive for Ma Qiao.

Major didn't equip Vivi and the others with any offensive weapons, but he did equip them with a lot of defensive gear.

Various pieces of equipment can change form, even turning into a small pendant.

Otherwise, if Ma Qiao were constantly decked out in Warmog's Armor, Force of Nature, Thornmail, and Guardian Angel, he would have become a giant can of trash long ago.

Vivi is the same.

She possessed many family heirlooms from the "Ma family," which, according to Ma Qiao, were her payment for editing manuscripts.

Vivi knew how precious these treasures were.

However, considering that he had also given Ma Qiao the precious necklace that had been passed down through generations of the Nefertari Family, he happily accepted it.

Now, the defensive capabilities of these treasures are beyond Vivi's comprehension.

Aside from the somewhat embarrassing fact that his own attacks couldn't penetrate his defenses, he was also quite effective against Brûlée's scythe.

In the original Totto Land arc, Charlotte Brulee is a character who is easily defeated by everyone. Without the Homies Forest buff, her melee combat ability is so weak that she doesn't seem like a high-ranking member of a Four Emperors crew at all.

Vivi equipped herself with a lot of defensive gear and gave herself the [Primal Surge] buff, and surprisingly, she was able to hold her own against Brûlée for a while.

The two were locked in a fierce battle.

"What a useless piece of trash! He can't even beat a pretty but useless woman like that!"

Charlotte Flampe is also the worst fighter in the Charlotte Family.

And hand-to-hand combat is so brutal!

The thought of her beautiful little dress and sparkly shoes getting dirty after participating in a fight made Flampe hate hand-to-hand combat even more.

But she had also had enough of Brûlée's poor capture efficiency.

Flampe didn't care about any Jianghu.

She pulled out a blowgun, intending to use the same trick to ambush the already disheveled Vivi.

However, at that moment, with a faint "bang" in the distance, a bullet came flying through the air at high speed.

Then came the second, the third, and the fourth!

These are the Virtuoso's four bullets.

His four bullets were named: Brilliant, Exquisite, Outstanding, Extraordinary, and Engraved with His Own Unique Splendor.

As his line goes. "I bloom amidst the carnage, like a flower at dawn."

This time, however, his bullet did not pierce Flampe's head, preventing her from enjoying the blooming of blood.

Jhin's first bullet shattered her blowgun.

The second and third bullets struck her beloved, lovely face, leaving indelible scars on her left and right cheeks respectively.

The fourth bullet, however, grazed Miss Flampe's scalp, giving her a middle parting.

The high temperature generated by the bullet rubbing against the scalp killed the hair follicles there.

From this day forward, Miss Flampe will forever be able to wear her hair in a middle part.

In reality, Maggio certainly wouldn't relax his protection of Vivina.

The Virtuoso, the Virtuoso, is an inconspicuous subordinate who is actually protecting the mistresses' safety at all times.

However, his face did not show the genuine smile he usually wore when completing a work of art.

His face showed only deep regret.

His artwork was never completed.

In fact, Jhin had already aimed his sniper rifle at Brûlée a long time ago.

If a bullet pierces her head, then Madam Vivi won't have to be tossed around like this anymore.

However, the moment Jhin aimed his gun at Brûlée, he felt himself being locked onto by an extremely dangerous aura.

That was a lock-on effect from top-tier Observation Haki.

The last time something like this happened was when the Moby Dick Whitebeard Pirates.

Jhin, as a champion in League of Legends, does not possess Observation Haki.

But he has his own system.

A top assassin's perception is no less than that of Observation Haki.

Even Jhin can see his own future.

If he pulls the trigger.

He wasn't confident he could kill the tall, purple-haired woman.

Because the owner of that aura will act without regard for anything else.

When Jin pointed his gun at the head of another petite woman, the aura that had locked onto him was still there, but the sense of recklessness had weakened considerably.

However, Jhin still believed that if he fired the gun, Jhin would kill him.

In reality, Jhin is not afraid of death at all.

He would not hesitate to pull the trigger if necessary.

However, as a level 11 champion, Jhin's resurrection cost is nearly one billion Beli.

It's not worth it for this woman.

This is Ma Qiao's reply.

Therefore, Jhin had to settle for second best.

And the final result was exactly as Jhin had sensed: the owner of that aura was merely angry and slightly berserk (Crocodile, who was fighting someone one-on-one: slightly berserk? Ah, right!!), and did not recklessly charge forward.

Of course, this battle of mental strength, or rather, the interplay of Observation Haki, is unknown to outsiders.

Flampe didn't realize what was happening at first.

It wasn't until she felt a sharp pain in her cheeks and the top of her head that she ran to Brûlée's side in terror and looked at the mirror she used for fighting.

"Ah--"

She let out the loudest, most piercing cry she had ever uttered since birth, then her eyes rolled back and she fainted.

At this moment, Pudding, who was holding a pistol and exchanging fire with the King's Guard, also arrived.

It has to be said that the three sisters Katakuri brought this time are weaker than the last in terms of fighting power.

However, one is a tool for running away, one is the most beloved "good sister" who doesn't need to lift a finger, and one is a master of memory modification. One can't expect too much from their combat abilities.

Of course, the King's Guard of Alabasta couldn't have any expectations either.

Pudding shot down a guard with a single shot, as if she were a god of gunslingers incarnate.

The battle scenes just feel out of place in the world of One Piece.

Fortunately, none of the guards who were shot suffered fatal wounds. Aside from killing the brave Oden, the handguns in the pirate world haven't had a very good track record.

The wounded guards were quickly carried away on stretchers and will be taken to Shurima People's Hospital for emergency treatment.

According to the agreement signed between Ma Qiao and Cobra, soldiers of the King's Guard enjoy green channel access.

Suddenly, Vivi spotted a familiar figure among the guards.

Koza.

Vivi's childhood friend, who once formed a rebel army when the kingdom was in turmoil.

When Koza in his King's Guard uniform, Vivi first reaction wasn't a warm memory of playing together as children, but rather Uncle Ma Qiao's usual sarcastic remarks:

"Whether it's Marineford or the various kingdoms, their political vetting for conscription is utterly absurd; we must avoid such a situation..."

Yes, a former rebel leader has actually become a minor officer in the King's Guard?

Unbeknownst to her, Vivi was also influenced by Ma Qiao and became less naive and innocent.

Koza didn't think that much about it.

He stood out of Pudding's sight, raised his rifle, and intended to give her a righteous Backstab as well.

Bang!

With a gunshot, Pudding turned around in surprise.

This shot is likely going to hit him.

However, what came into her view was a man who had changed back into a black suit.

Pudding remembered this man.

It was the curly-browed man who had just cooked donuts and cookies for him and was showering him with attention.

Duang!

Sanji's left foot was raised high, and blue smoke rose from the sole of his shoe.

"I'm sorry, I can't bear to see the lady injured..."

"Thank you so much!"

Pudding scoffed at this kind of lewd man, but her acting skills were no less than Flampe's.

Although what I was thinking was:

Hmph, it doesn't matter who it is.

Once I lift my bangs and reveal my third eye, this sweet-talking, curly-browed guy in front of me will surely show an utterly disgusting face, just like everyone else, right?

Thinking this, Pudding took Sanji's arm and said gently and understandingly, "You should go quickly. We're caught in a conflict with the local police, and I can't let you get involved..."

With Pudding saying those words and looking so pitiful, how could Sanji possibly take a step?

Koza, the squad leader of the King's Guard, said speechlessly, "You didn't do anything serious, and your brother has already gone outside to talk with our commander-in-chief. It was you who shot and injured someone, wasn't it?"

"Well... Miss Pudding, right? Actually, you'd better cooperate with the Alabasta military's investigation."

Having been reported on by Sett for over half a year, Sanji has developed some muscle memory for it.

At least he toned down his mindless protection of women a little.

But it was just a tiny bit...

When Pudding squeezed out a few more tears, Sanji was moved once again, his eyes turning into hearts.

"You'll have to step over my dead body to hurt Miss Pudding!"

Sanji has completely lost his mind.

"Oh?"

Just then, Sanji heard a mocking female voice. Turning around, he saw a beautiful girl with short orange hair giving him a disdainful look. "You're Ten? You're a leopard that can't change its spots!"

Nami casually tossed out three bear-shaped cookies, which were actually Vision Wards.

At the same time, the red glow of the Teleport skill spun continuously on the three Vision Wards.

A moment later, three burly men—Hairy Graves, Philosopher Braum, and Valentine Varus —appeared before Sanji, inviting him to a philosophical discussion.