Baroque Works

The two undead seemed to receive an order and directly spread their arms to showcase. Blackness spread from their wrists to their fists, covering the round shields and long spears in their hands.

"Not bad." Seeing the dark aura flowing around the undead's bodies, Lina's smile deepened.

"Oh ho? Your ability is quite decent," Brogy praised with a laugh.

"Hey, Lina, let them fight me, hee hee."

Luffy's eyes lit up, eager to try. He could feel the powerful aura emanating from the two undead.

Lina immediately put them away. "Stop messing around, Luffy. These two could pin you down and rub you into the ground in your current state."

Coming to Little Garden this time was a huge success. Lina clenched his fist. The Azure Demon and the Crimson Demon could even serve him until the end of the first half of the Grand Line.

His strongest undead, the Mr. 1 and Wolverine undead, were completely outmatched before.

Before Luffy and Zoro grew strong enough to warrant an upgrade to his templates, the Azure Demon and Crimson Demon would be his trump cards.

Combined with Haki, Lina's... undead, had surpassed Luffy in strength for the first time, becoming the strongest on the ship.

Woohoo! Let's go!

"Nice!! Lina!"

Usopp excitedly pumped his fist. With two new powerful fighters on the ship, his Captain Usopp's Grand Adventure had gained an extra layer of security.

"Wait a minute, could that duo with a bounty of twenty-five million be..." Vivi looked at Lina in astonishment.

She had seen Lina summon undead these past few days but hadn't felt comfortable asking about his abilities.

Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen that twenty-five million bounty duo on the ship at all. Combined with the undead Lina had created, everything became clear!

"Ah, those are Lina's undead," Luffy told Vivi directly.

Lina didn't mind. He had told Luffy not to blab everywhere, and Luffy wouldn't casually reveal things he shouldn't.

"So that's how it is." Vivi's expression was strange, and her gaze towards Lina changed.

What happened to the undead being used for chores?

"That's just how Lina is,"

Nami said disdainfully. "He has no aura of a strong fighter at all."

"What are you talking about, questioning my Usopp-style gameplay?"

"Wait, Lina, are you complimenting me here?" Usopp was speechless.

Meanwhile, in the dense primeval forest.

Mr. 3, wearing a small yellow hat, was heading towards the Giants' stronghold, followed by Mr. 5 and the woman in the hip-hugging skirt.

Mr. 3, the candle man, adjusted his simple collar and glanced back with disdain.

"Why are you two following me? Don't slow me down later."

"Don't get cocky."

Mr. 5 replied dismissively, hands in his pockets. "You know the consequences of failing the mission. The boss never keeps useless people around."

"I know that better than you," Mr. 3 said with a serious expression. "This target is very important. If I'm not mistaken, there might be others coming after us."

"I wonder if it's Mr. 2 or Mr. 1."

"It should be that pervert. Mr. 1 rarely leaves the boss's side," the candle man said calmly.

He had been with Baroque Works for a long time. Although he hadn't met the boss, he understood his methods very well.

Someone else coming later might not necessarily be to help them. If it were Mr. 1...

"Forget it. Regardless, as long as the mission is completed, that's all that matters."

Rustle~ rustle~

A sound came from the bushes, but the group seemed unfazed and continued walking.

"This damned primeval forest!"

Miss. Valentine cursed. "It's so damp! And hot, with so many bugs. I can't stand it for another second!"

Only after they had walked far away...

A blue Fish-Man's head popped out of the bushes. His hollow eyes stared in the direction the four had left.

Then, he circled around, broke into a sprint, and a blue figure weaved through the forest towards Lina's location.

A short while later, on the spacious lawn in the center of the island, Lina saw a Fish-Man undead running towards him at full speed.

"Did you find prey?" The undead came before him, gesturing wildly.

"This way?"

"Four people? Two men, one child..."

"There's a '3'? What does that mean?"

Lina's expression grew increasingly strange, what kind of gesture was that?

Seeing this, Nami couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's wrong, Lina? Did something happen?"

"There are other people on the island."

Lina lit a cigarette and said slowly, "They're coming straight for us, and they're already very close."

"Coming for us?" Nami asked in confusion, "Have we offended anyone?"

"No, they might be coming for me."

Vivi suddenly stepped forward, crossing her arms over her chest, her face looking a little grim. She had a vague, bad premonition.

"No need to guess, they're here," Lina said calmly.

Upon hearing this, the group looked around. The clearing was surrounded only by a dark forest.

"I don't see anyone."

"Where are they?"

The undead, holding a spear, pointed in one direction. The two undead's Observation Haki had already sensed several presences approaching.

Following the direction of the spear, they soon saw a figure emerge from the woods.

"Tch, so I've been discovered?"

The person who appeared was Mr. 3. He frowned, immediately drawing the Straw Hats' attention as soon as he stepped out.

Yo, isn't this the future First Mate, Third Brother?

Lina looked at the '3' braided in the man's hair and immediately understood what the undead's gesture meant.

"Mr. 3!!!" Vivi's pupils dilated in a gasp. She covered her mouth with both hands, her body trembling slightly.

Seeing this, Nami stepped forward curiously, placing a hand on Vivi's back and asking with concern, "What's wrong, Vivi? Do you know him?"

"He's one of the top assassins in Baroque Works."

Vivi stared at Mr. 3, her expression flustered. She tightly gripped Nami's hand. "Baroque Works is an assassin organization. The members' codenames are ranked by strength.

"His number is 3! He's probably here to hunt me down."

"Hunt you down?" Nami was taken aback. "So that's why that curly-haired guy asked us to escort you to Alabasta."

"What about Igaram!" Vivi suddenly yelled at Mr. 3.

Since he appeared here, what about Igaram, who had set off ahead of them to draw fire for her...

"You mean the Alabasta Captain of the Guard?"

Mr. 3 looked at Vivi mockingly. "Who knows? Maybe he's already been eaten by the fish in the sea."

How could this be? Vivi's face fell, the unshed tears glistening in her eyes.

"So he's an enemy, right?"

Luffy suddenly spoke up. "Didn't we take on the mission? Since he's here to hunt Vivi, he's definitely an enemy, right?"

"The answer is obvious," Lina said. "There are three more hiding in the forest. I've sent the undead in the forest after them."

"Okay, I'll leave it to you," Luffy replied and immediately charged towards their opponent.

Lina didn't summon any more undead, merely controlling the Fish-Man undead scattered in the forest to surround them.

"I'm sorry, Nami..." Vivi knelt on the ground, Nami holding one of her hands. "I'm afraid I've gotten you all into trouble with a formidable enemy."

"Don't worry, Vivi, they're very strong," Nami said with a smile, trying to comfort her.

However, before she could smile for a few seconds, Vivi's next words caused Nami's attitude to do a complete 180-degree turn.

"The mastermind behind Baroque Works... is one of the Shichibukai—

—Crocodile!"

"What!!!" Nami and Usopp's faces turned green with fright.

"Hey, you idiot! You didn't say it was like this from the start!"

"Does that mean! We've already been targeted by a Shichibukai just as we entered the Grand Line?!"

"You idiot! Say something, Vivi!" Nami bared her teeth, shaking Vivi violently.

Vivi: "┭┮﹏┭┮, I'm sorry~~"