Danger Lurks, Executives Attack

The bright moon hung high in the sky over Whiskey Peak under the cover of night.

The small town was brightly lit, filled with laughter and merriment~~~

"At this moment, I stood up coolly and said, 'Damn Sea Kings, you won't dare touch my nakama!'"

Usopp was boasting about his 'Calm Belt Adventure' that took place in an unknown time and space, letting out a deliberately cool sigh.

"Even I trembled a little when facing giant Sea Kings..."

"Though it was trembling with excitement."

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Thump,

"Oh oh oh, this swordsman fellow has already taken down ten people!"

??

"Haya—"

"Oh oh oh oh oh! This young lady over here has won 12 rounds, she's practically a god of wine~~"

???

"More rice!!"

"Wow, the captain here has eaten enough food for twenty people, the cook can't handle it anymore..."

????

"Oh, this young man over here is charming 20 young ladies at once! Who in the world are these people!!"

?????

Of course, they're a bunch of freeloading idiots!

Within the paper crane that had silently landed on the windowsill, Roman's fiery rage burned.

Eating for free, drinking for free, and getting freebies too? Even a fool would know something was up, big brother! Even if you don't have 'street smarts', you should at least have some basic caution, right? Really...

Forget it, I won't even mention Luffy; Usopp is just an 'armchair adventurer'; even Sanji seems to have been too protected by the 'Baratie'.

"Sigh, forget it, let's just consider it a lesson for them."

On the empty Golden Merry, a sigh came from the shadows near the cabin door, belonging to Roman.

From any angle, it just looked like a normal 'corner'. But if you looked closely, you'd notice that the scenery in this spot didn't change its viewing distance with movement. That's because:

Paper Dance - Hanging Picture

As his Devil Fruit ability developed, Roman was already able to create this skill that combined defense and concealment. He believed that with continued development, 'paper invisibility' and 'paper castle' would be within his grasp.

"I'm tired of all the commotion,"

"Fell asleep,"

As Luffy and the others, full and satisfied, drifted off to sleep, the mayor of this town, a middle-aged man with a head of golden curly hair and holding a saxophone, emerged and chanted like a poet.

"Sweet dreams,"

"Adventurers,"

"Oh, Ball Cactus Rocks dancing under the moonlight, you are still so beautiful..."

The moonlight shone on the rolling hills behind the town, which resembled ball cacti. From afar, they appeared to be covered in a dense mass of 'thorns'. But if you looked closer: they were actually rows of gravestones!

Gravestones belonging to pirates.

"You really are quite the poet, Mr.8."

Leaping down easily from the rooftop were the man named Mr.9 and the girl named Miss Wednesday, who had previously been on the Golden Merry.

"Where are those pirates?"

Facing their questions, the man with the golden curly hair, Mr.8, replied calmly.

"They've fallen into a deep sleep, and are now sleeping in hell!"

"Whew, that little girl's alcohol tolerance is way too exaggerated, isn't it?"

A nun removed her disguise, revealing an impressively muscular physique.

"Mr.8, they were just a few brats, why didn't we just take care of them at the dock."

"Why waste so much food? After all, we didn't expect Mr.9 and Miss Wednesday to bring back the whale meat..."

"Hey, hey, hey, we tried our best!" x2

Ignoring the protests from the two, the man with the golden curly hair, who was the mayor on the surface but actually codenamed Mr.8, pulled out a Bounty Poster. On it was Luffy's signature goofy grin.

"Don't judge a person's strength by their appearance, Miss Monday. Look at this—"

"3... 30 Million Belly!"

The few of them gasped in unison, this kid is terrifyingly powerful! ...Well, a pirate with a 30 million bounty was definitely a 'big fish' at the entrance to the Grand Line.

After all, judging by bounties, their own executive cadres were only around the 5 million level.

"Understood? Better safe than sorry. If we had charged in, who knows how many casualties we would have suffered."

"But now, all we have to do is pay with some drinks and food to easily get a ship and..."

"I suggest you don't get any ideas about our ship."

A mocking voice interrupted the four people's conversation. On the rooftop behind them, Zoro drew his newly purchased saber, letting the cold moonlight shine on the blade.

"We still have a 'guard' left on our ship. If you disturb him, your 'Baroque Works' will likely be finished today."

"What—"

"Didn't you get drunk..."

"How is that possible?"

People emerged from the surrounding buildings. Unlike the 'commoners' who were laughing and talking earlier, they were now all radiating murderous intent!

Facing the astonished crowd below, Zoro chuckled.

"As a swordsman, how could I be controlled by alcohol—"

Facing the crowd below, who had collectively changed their expressions and drawn their swords and guns, Zoro stood up and smiled.

"I knew your names sounded familiar—your 'Baroque Works' once tried to recruit me, and of course, I refused. But this style of male members being referred to by Mr. plus a number, and female members by Miss. plus a holiday or date... it really is..."

"Everyone here is a 'Bounty Hunter,' specializing in ambushing rookies who have just entered the Grand Line."

As Zoro's words fell, the people below no longer held back. With a command from the leader with curly hair, "Take him down!", bullets flew towards Zoro, and the battle officially began!

These bounty hunters were all ruthless and agile! Their equipment was also quite good, but unfortunately, they ran into Zoro, and were destined to be mowed down like grass—and this was even while Zoro was testing his two new sabers, the 'Sandai Kitetsu' and 'Yuki'.

"Tsk, that Zoro, saying not to go near the ship..."

"Making me sound like some kind of man-eating monster..."

He probably wants to hog all the experience points?

However, Roman also had his own tasks—since the grunts weren't bothering him, he might as well go find some 'elites' worth paying attention to.

Paper cranes glided peacefully through the night, bringing the entire small town under surveillance. Under Roman's deliberate reconnaissance, several targets fell into his sight.

One of them was a man and a woman slowly approaching the town.

The man was wearing a brown trench coat and sunglasses, looking like a rock singer. The woman was fashionably dressed, wearing a smooth hat, and holding a parasol.

Mr.5, an Explosive Fruit ability user.

Miss Valentine, a Hop-Hop Fruit ability user.

Two... weaklings with around 10 million Bounty...

To be honest, their Devil Fruit abilities were very similar to Doflamingo's family's Gladius (Explosion-Explosion Fruit) and Mah Grahbs (Ton-Ton Fruit) abilities, but their strength was vastly different!

Don't even mention Haki or physical techniques; these two haven't even properly developed their Devil Fruit abilities, they just rely on their powers to stomp on weaklings. They're not even as good as a little girl without a Devil Fruit ability!

In Roman's estimation, if they didn't have their Devil Fruit abilities, they probably couldn't even beat the animal duo in the other group.

Above the town, vultures and sea otters were circling and coldly watching the battle. These were the 'animal duo' Roman mentioned.

They were the sea otter Mr.13, wearing spotted clothes and sunglasses.

And the vulture Miss. Friday, wearing a spotted hat and also sunglasses.

That's right, these two animals were also 'Baroque Works' executives. And compared to the other executives whose effectiveness was half comedy and half combat power, these two animals were actually the most reliable.

Ruthless and not talkative, they draw their weapons and fight!

As for the last remaining party:

On a giant turtle on the beach not far away, a tall, long-legged, black-haired, intellectual beauty in a cowboy leather jacket, short skirt, and cowboy hat stood with her arms crossed over her chest, appearing to be resting with her eyes closed.

However, Roman knew very well that she was doing the same thing he was!

Peeping... cough cough cough, no, observing the battle with her Devil Fruit ability.

Nico Robin.

An archaeologist from the West Blue's archaeological island 'Ohara,' and the last archaeologist from that place.

The reason for that was that those scholars courted death by digging into the World Government's secrets. It was as ridiculous as a group of defenseless scholars trying to break into a military base. The ending, of course, was being turned to ash by artillery fire.

And the sole survivor, Nico Robin, carried a bounty of 79 million Belly. If she hadn't eaten the 'Flower-Flower Fruit' since childhood and possessed her own intelligence and wit, she would have long ago had her head taken and sold for money.

Even so, she could only rely on those Great Pirates who despised the World Government to barely survive.

She is currently serving under 'Crocodile' Sand Crocodile, and is also the direct leader of 'Baroque Works.' Her codename is Miss All Sunday, the highest-ranking executive.

However, her relationship with Crocodile was purely one of mutual exploitation. As their goals drew closer, the day they would turn on each other was also approaching—meaning, they could completely use each other...

No, that's too dangerous!

Given Nico Robin's personality, if she sensed any external interference, she would definitely choose to escape... or first use Crocodile's power to eliminate the external force...

For safety's sake, it's best not to approach her yet. So:

Within the few minutes Roman was thinking, Zoro had already 'soloed' the entire Whiskey Peak small town. Although these bounty hunters had decent strength, and the four executives were 'little masters' who could perform feats like breaking stones on their chests and walking on walls, They were still no match for Zoro—if he hadn't been trying to get used to his new sabers, the battle could have ended even faster.

"Well then,"

Standing up, Roman felt it was time to stretch his muscles.

"Once Mr.5 and Miss Valentine reveal Vivi's true identity, who is currently Miss Wednesday, I can test whether the idea of 'Explosive Tags' is reliable or not."