The moon hung high over Whiskey Peak in the night.
The town was brightly lit, filled with laughter and cheers~~~
"At that moment, I stood up coolly and said, 'Damn Sea King, don't you dare touch my companions!'"
Usopp was bragging about his "Calm Belt Adventure" in some unknown time and space, then deliberately let out a dashing sigh.
"Even I trembled a little when facing a giant Sea King..."
"Though I was trembling with excitement."
?
Thud.
"Ooh! This swordsman has already drunk ten people under the table!"
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"Hah!"
"Ooooooh! This young lady has already won twelve times! She's practically a god of booze~~"
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"More food!!"
"Wow, this captain has already eaten enough for twenty people! Even the cooks can't keep up..."
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"Ooh, this young man is flirting with twenty ladies at once! Just who are these people?!"
?????
Of course, they were a bunch of drunken fools and idiots!
Inside the paper crane that had silently landed on the window burned Roman's raging anger.
They got free food, free drinks, and wanted to freeload too? Anyone with half a brain could tell something was wrong, brothers! Even if they had no "street experience," they should at least have the most basic vigilance, right? Seriously...
Forget it. Roman had already given up trying to save Luffy; Usopp was merely an "adventurer inside his own skull"; even Sanji seemed to have been protected too well by the Baratie.
"Ah, forget it. Let's just treat it as a lesson for them."
On the deserted Golden Merry, a sigh came from a patch of shadow near the cabin door.
No matter how one looked at it, it was merely an ordinary "corner." But upon closer inspection, one would notice that the view there did not change in perspective as one moved. That was naturally because:
Paper Dance—Hanging Painting
As his Devil Fruit ability developed, Roman was already capable of creating this skill that combined defense and concealment. If he kept developing it, "paper invisibility" and "paper castles" would be easy enough.
"After all that fun,"
"They've fallen asleep,"
As Luffy and the others ate and drank their fill before slipping into dreams one by one, the town mayor emerged. He was a middle-aged man with golden wavy hair, holding a saxophone, and he chanted like a poet.
"Have sweet dreams,"
"Adventurers,"
"Cactus rocks dancing beneath the moonlight, you are still so beautiful..."
Moonlight shone upon the undulating hills behind the town, shaped like cacti. From afar, they seemed densely covered in "spines." But upon closer inspection, those were clearly rows upon rows of gravestones!
Gravestones belonging to pirates.
"You really are like a poet, Mr. 8."
Leaping easily down from the rooftop were the man called Mr. 9 and the girl called Miss Wednesday, who had previously boarded the Golden Merry.
"Where are those pirates?"
Faced with their question, Mr. 8, the man with golden curls, answered calmly.
"They've sunk into dreams, and will sleep all the way to hell!"
"Phew, that little girl's drinking capacity was way too absurd, wasn't it?"
A nun removed her disguise, revealing an exaggeratedly muscular body.
"Mr. 8, they're only a few brats. Couldn't we have just killed them at the dock?"
"Why waste so much food? It wasn't like we expected Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday to bring back the whale meat anyway..."
"Hey, hey, hey, we worked really hard!" X2
Ignoring the protesting pair, the golden-haired man who appeared to be the mayor but was actually the operative codenamed Mr. 8 pulled out a Bounty Poster. It bore Luffy's trademark idiotic grin.
"Don't judge someone's strength by their appearance, Miss Monday. Look at this—"
"Th-Thirty million Beli!"
The group sucked in a sharp breath. This kid was terrifyingly strong! ...Well, a pirate with a thirty-million bounty was definitely a "big fish" at the entrance to the Grand Line.
After all, measured by bounty, even their officers were only worth around five million.
"Understand now? Better safe than sorry. If we fought them head-on, we have no idea how many casualties we'd suffer."
"But now, by spending only some alcohol and food, we can easily gain a ship and..."
"I'd advise you not to get any ideas about that ship."
A teasing voice interrupted the four people's conversation. On the rooftop behind them, Zoro drew the sword he had bought earlier, letting the cold moonlight shine across its icy blade.
"There's still a 'guard' on our ship. If you disturb him, I'm afraid your Baroque Works will be finished tonight."
"What—"
"Aren't you drunk..."
"How is that possible?"
People emerged from buildings all around them one after another. But unlike the "civilians" who had been laughing and cheering before, every one of them now radiated killing intent!
Facing the stunned crowd below, Zoro smiled.
"As a swordsman, how could I possibly be controlled by alcohol—"
As the people below collectively changed expression and drew their blades, guns, and weapons, Zoro rose to his feet and faced them with a smile.
"I knew your names sounded familiar. Your Baroque Works once tried to recruit me, and of course I refused. But this style where male members use Mr. plus a number, while female members use Miss plus a holiday or date... just as I thought..."
"The people here are all bounty hunters, specializing in ambushing rookies who have just entered the Grand Line."
The instant Zoro finished speaking, the people below stopped holding back. At the command of the curly-haired man leading them—"Kill him!"—a barrage of bullets flew toward Zoro, and the battle officially began!
These bounty hunters were all ruthless and agile, and their equipment was fairly decent. Unfortunately, they had encountered Zoro, so all they could do was become fodder for him to cut down—especially since he was testing the two new swords he had obtained, Sandai Kitetsu and Yuki.
"Tch, that Zoro... saying nobody should get near the ship..."
"He makes me sound like some kind of man-eating monster..."
Wasn't he just trying to keep all this experience for himself?
Still,
Roman had matters of his own to handle. Since those grunts were not coming to bother him, he could take the chance to look for some "elites" worth paying attention to.
Paper cranes glided silently through the night, bringing the entire town under surveillance. Under Roman's deliberate investigation, several targets soon entered his sight.
One group was a man and woman slowly approaching the town.
The man wore a brown trench coat and sunglasses, looking like some kind of rock singer. The woman was fashionably dressed, wore a smooth hat, and held a parasol.
Mr. 5, wielder of the Explosion-Explosion Fruit.
Miss Valentine, wielder of the Fluffy-Fluffy Fruit.
Two... weaklings... with strength around ten million.
To be honest, their Devil Fruits were very similar to the abilities of Gladius from Doflamingo's crew, with his Explosion-Explosion Fruit, and Mahal baz, with his Ton-Ton Fruit. But their strength was worlds apart!
Forget Haki and physical skills—these two had not even properly developed their Devil Fruits. They only knew how to rely on their abilities to crush weak opponents. They were not even as capable as a little girl without a Devil Fruit ability!
By Roman's estimate, without their Devil Fruit abilities, the two of them probably could not even defeat the animal duo from the other group.
Above the town, a vulture and a sea otter circled as they coldly observed the battle below. They were the "animal duo" Roman had mentioned.
The sea otter, Mr. 13, wore spotted clothes and sunglasses.
And the vulture, Miss Friday, wore a spotted cap and sunglasses as well.
That was right. These two animals were also officers of Baroque Works. And compared to the other officers, whose comedy factor and combat strength were split down the middle, these two animals were actually the most reliable.
Ruthless and quiet, they simply pulled out their weapons and got to work!
As for the remaining final party:
On a giant turtle by the nearby shore, a long-legged, black-haired, intellectual beauty in a cowboy leather jacket, short skirt, and cowboy hat stood with her arms crossed over her chest, seemingly resting with her eyes closed.
However, Roman knew very well that she was doing the same thing as him!
Peeping... ahem, no, observing the battlefield through her Devil Fruit ability.
Nico Robin.
An archaeologist from Ohara, the island of archaeology in the West Blue, and the last archaeologist from that place.
As for why, it could only be said that those scholars had courted death by digging into the World Government's secrets. It was as laughable as a group of powerless scholars trying to break into a military base. As for the outcome, naturally, they had been reduced to ashes by cannon fire.
And Nico Robin, the sole survivor, had been saddled with a bounty of seventy-nine million Beli. Had she not eaten the Flower-Flower Fruit as a child, and possessed her own intelligence and resourcefulness, someone would have long since taken her head for the reward.
Even so, she could only barely survive by relying on Great Pirates who defied the World Government.
She was currently serving under Crocodile, "Desert King" Crocodile, while also acting as the direct leader of Baroque Works. She was the highest-ranking officer, codenamed Miss All Sunday.
However, her relationship with Crocodile was entirely one of mutual exploitation. The closer they drew to their respective goals, the closer the day they would turn on each other came—which meant she could be used entirely...
No, that was too dangerous!
Given Nico Robin's personality, once she noticed outside interference, she would definitely choose to flee... or perhaps borrow Crocodile's power to eliminate the outside force first...
To be safe, he should not contact her yet. Then:
In the few minutes Roman spent thinking, Zoro had already soloed the entire town of Whiskey Peak. Though these bounty hunters were fairly skilled, and the four officers could perform feats like breaking boulders on their chests and running across rooftops and walls, they were still no match for Zoro—if he had not been breaking in his new swords, the battle would have ended even faster.
"Then,"
Roman stood up. It was time for him to stretch his limbs as well.
"Once Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine expose Vivi's true identity—that is, Miss Wednesday's—I can test whether my idea for Explosive Tags is reliable."
Before you continue