Baroque Works

The two undead seemed to have received an order. They immediately spread their arms, and a streak of black began spreading from their wrists toward their fists, eventually covering the round shields and spears in their hands.

"Not bad." Seeing the Haki flowing over the undead, Lina's smile grew even wider.

"Oh? Your ability is pretty decent." Brogy praised him with a laugh.

"Hey, Lina, let them fight me! Hee-hee."

Luffy's eyes lit up, and he looked eager to try. He could sense the powerful aura radiating from the two undead.

Lina immediately recalled them. "Stop fooling around, Luffy. The two of them could pin the current you to the ground and rub your face in it."

This trip to Little Garden had been incredibly profitable. Lina waved his fists. The Blue Oni and Red Oni could even serve him until the end of the first half of the Grand Line.

His strongest undead before this, Mr. 1 and the Wolverine undead, had been completely crushed.

Before Luffy and Zoro grew stronger and gave him another template update, the Blue Oni and Red Oni would be his trump cards.

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

Woohoo~ We're taking off!

"Nice!! Lina!"

Usopp excitedly waved his fist. With two more powerful fighters added to the ship, his great adventure as Captain Usopp had gained several more layers of security.

"Wait, that two-person team with a bounty of twenty-five million... Could they be..." Vivi stared at Lina in shock.

Over the past few days, she had seen Lina summon undead aboard the ship, but she had felt too embarrassed to ask about anyone else's abilities.

Now that she thought about it, she had never seen that duo with the twenty-five-million bounty aboard the ship. Combined with the undead Lina had created before her eyes...

Everything became clear!

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

Lina did not mind. He had told Luffy not to blab everywhere, and Luffy would not casually reveal things he was not supposed to say.

"So that's how it is." Vivi's expression turned strange, and the way she looked at Lina changed completely.

Weren't undead supposed to be used for odd jobs?

"That's just how Lina is."

Nami looked at him with disdain. "He doesn't have the bearing of a strong person at all."

"What are you talking about? Are you questioning the Usopp Style?"

"Wait a second, Lina. Are you complimenting me?" Usopp asked speechlessly.

At the same time, in the lush primeval forest.

Mr. 3 was heading toward the giants' base with a little girl in a yellow hat. Mr. 5 and the woman in the bodycon skirt were following behind them.

The candle man, Mr. 3, straightened his simple collar and glanced back in disdain.

"What are you two here for? Don't drag me down later."

"Don't get so full of yourself."

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

"Of course I know that better than you." Mr. 3's expression turned solemn. "The target is extremely important. If I'm not mistaken, there are probably others coming behind us."

"Mr. 2 or Mr. 1?"

"It should be that perverted freak. Mr. 1 generally doesn't leave the boss's side." The candle man spoke indifferently.

He had been with Baroque Works for a long time. Although he had never met the boss, he understood the boss's methods very well.

The people coming from behind might not necessarily be here to help them. If it was Mr. 1...

"Forget it. Whatever happens, as long as we complete the mission, it'll be fine."

Rustle~ Rustle-rustle~

Sounds suddenly came from the bushes, but the group seemed unconcerned and continued walking on their own.

"This damn primeval forest!"

Miss Valentine's Day cursed under her breath. "It's damp! It's hot, and there are bugs everywhere! I can't stay here another second!"

Only after the group had gone far away...

A blue fish-man's head emerged from the bushes, its empty eyes fixed on the direction in which the four had left.

Then it circled around, planted its feet, and burst into its fastest speed. A blue figure darted through the forest toward Lina's location.

Not long afterward, on the open grassland at the center of the island, Lina saw a fish-man undead rushing toward him.

"Did you find the prey?" The undead came before him and gestured frantically with its hands.

"Over there?"

"Four people? Two men and a child..."

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

Lina's expression gradually turned strange. What the hell was it gesturing?

Seeing this, Nami could not help asking curiously, "What's wrong, Lina? Did something happen?"

"There are other people on the island."

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

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

"No. They might be coming for me."

Vivi suddenly stepped forward, crossing her hands over her chest. Her expression was somewhat grim, and she had an ominous feeling in her heart.

"No need to guess. They're already here." Lina spoke calmly.

The group looked around at those words. Only a dark forest surrounded the clearing.

"I don't see anyone."

"Where are they?"

The Red Oni undead pointed its spear in one direction. The Observation Haki of the two undead had already sensed several auras approaching.

The group looked in the direction indicated by the spear. Before long, a figure indeed emerged from the forest.

"Tch, we were discovered?"

The newcomer was Mr. 3. He was frowning, and the moment he walked out, the Straw Hat Crew fixed their eyes on him.

Well, if it isn't the future emperor's right-hand man, Brother 3.

Looking at the braid with the number '3' on the other man's head, Lina immediately understood what the undead's gesture had meant.

"Mr. 3!!!" Vivi's pupils widened as she cried out. She covered her mouth with both hands, her body trembling slightly.

Seeing this, Nami stepped forward in confusion and placed a hand on Vivi's back. "What's wrong, Vivi? You know him?"

"He's one of the chief assassins of Baroque Works."

Vivi stared at Mr. 3 in panic, gripping Nami's hand tightly. "Baroque is an assassin organization. Its members' code numbers are ranked according to their strength."

"His number is 3! He must have come to hunt me down."

"Hunt you down?" Nami froze for a moment. "So that curly-haired guy wanted us to escort you to Alabasta because of this?"

"What happened to Igaram!" Vivi suddenly shouted at Mr. 3.

Since he had appeared here, then Igaram, who had set out ahead of them to draw fire for her, had not...

"You mean the captain of the Alabasta Royal Guard?"

Mr. 3 looked at Vivi with amusement. "Who knows? Maybe the fish in the sea have already eaten him clean."

How could this happen? Vivi's expression fell. Tears glimmered in her eyes, impossible to hide.

"So he's the enemy, right?"

Luffy suddenly spoke. "We already accepted the mission, didn't we? Since he came to hunt Vivi down, that means he's an enemy, right?"

"The answer is obvious." Lina spoke up. "There are three more of them hiding in the forest. I've sent the undead there."

"Okay, I'll leave it to you." Luffy answered and charged straight toward the other man.

Lina did not continue summoning undead. He merely controlled the fish-man undead scattered throughout the forest and had them surround the others.

"I'm sorry, Nami..." Vivi knelt on the ground, one hand held by Nami. "I'm afraid I've dragged you into trouble with some terrifying enemies."

"Don't worry, Vivi. They're very strong." Nami smiled and comforted her.

However, before her smile had even lasted a few seconds, Vivi's next words instantly caused Nami's attitude to reverse completely.

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

"—Crocodile!"

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

"Hey, damn it! You never said it was this serious!"

"Doesn't that mean we've been targeted by a Shichibukai the moment we entered the Grand Line?!"

"Damn it! Say something, Vivi!" Nami bared her teeth, grabbing Vivi and shaking her repeatedly.

Vivi: "Sob, I'm sorry~~"