"How did this guy recognize me?"
MR. 2, the okama named Feng Kley, couldn't understand how the person before him had seen through his identity.
His appearance and voice, transformed by his 'Imitation-Imitation Fruit,' were clearly flawless, and he had never failed in the past.
But obviously, that wasn't important.
Because even after his identity had been exposed,
his kicking techniques remained utterly decisive.
"The way of the okama is a path that remains unwavering despite knowing how difficult it is—the Okama Kenpo: Swan Ballet!"
The leg clad in ballet shoes tore through the air, shooting straight toward Dragon's head with a sharp whistle.
But Dragon was clearly not nervous at this moment.
He hadn't even risen from his deck chair, and his left hand still held his final cup of cola.
He casually raised his right hand and gently lifted his index finger.
"Vmmm!"
Feng Kley immediately noticed the temperature around him dropping in an instant.
Just as his toes came within less than half a foot of Dragon's mask,
a huge wall of ice suddenly condensed out of thin air between them.
"Boom!"
A dull, thunderous impact rang through the hall as Feng Kley's foot slammed viciously into the ice wall.
Then—
"So cold. No, no, no. So painful—no, no, no, that's not right either. Just how hard is this thing?!"
Feng Kley stared in disbelief as his proud, painstakingly trained kick—powerful enough to shatter a boulder in one blow—struck the ice wall, yet the wall didn't move an inch.
Let alone shattering, it hadn't even developed a single crack.
Instead, intense pain surged through Feng Kley's leg, brought on by the cold and freezing air.
At the same time, he could see chunks of ice beginning to spread up his leg toward his body.
"Ice? Hey, hey! Isn't your ability controlling rainfall?"
Feng Kley widened his eyes, then shouted without hesitation.
"Miss Christmas—the time is about right, isn't it? The intelligence was wrong. I'm no match for this guy. Let's attack together!"
As his voice fell,
"Rumble!"
A roar began to rise from beneath the ground, and the earth started to tremble faintly.
Then the stone flooring of the originally calm South Hall suddenly shattered.
Along with the broken floor, several deep tunnels could clearly be seen beneath the ground, though no one knew when they had appeared.
"Oh?"
Dragon raised an eyebrow, seemingly sensing something.
At that moment, a round figure had already crawled out of one of the tunnels.
It was a fat man holding a massive baseball bat. Beside him followed a strange creature that looked like a cross between a gun and a dachshund.
Baroque Works' MR. 4, Babe, and his pet—the gun Lassoo, who had eaten the Inu Inu Fruit, Dachshund Model.
"Lassoo."
At this moment, MR. 4 was speaking slowly.
"Prepare to fire."
The dachshund gun Lassoo beside him slowly raised its head.
Babe picked up the enormous bat and assumed a stance ready to swing.
"Four Hundred Pound Cannon!"
He quietly announced the name of his technique.
That's right—this was their passionate combination attack. Lassoo spat out the projectiles, and he was responsible for striking them in a long-range attack.
But—
Dragon: "..."
Feng Kley: "..."
Watching the master and pet move at a snail's pace, Feng Kley's expression became utterly absurd.
"Hey, hey, this isn't the time for a comedy act! With movements that slow, who are you supposed to hit? I'm already about to be frozen solid!"
He looked at the ice that had spread to his thighs and shouted.
"Of course we can hit him!"
"Because even your defeat, MR. 2, is part of my meticulous plan!"
A sinister voice rang out.
Then, from another tunnel, a lock of hair shaped like the number '3' poked out. More remarkably, there was a fuse at its tip, with flames flickering from it.
A thick-lipped man wearing glasses emerged with it.
Both his hands had already transformed into pure white wax.
MR. 3, the Ability User of the Candle-Candle Fruit—Gardino.
The clumps of wax connected to his arms on one end, while the other end—
"Hm?"
Dragon suddenly let out an interested hum.
He had already noticed that white wax had begun emerging from the ground beneath his feet, binding them tightly in place.
"When you were putting on such a miserable performance, I already asked Miss Christmas to dig holes beneath this guy's feet."
Gardino smugly explained to Feng Kley. "I also have you to thank for drawing his attention—MR. 4, attack!"
As his words fell, Babe and the dachshund Lassoo, who had spent so long preparing at a snail's pace, finally finished getting ready.
Lassoo opened its mouth and spat out four wooden boxes.
Babe finally swung the baseball bat.
"Bang!"
The immense strength contained in his huge body instantly smashed the four wooden boxes apart, sending the objects inside them flying toward Dragon.
In the blink of an eye, the four objects completely bound Dragon's hands and feet.
They were none other than four pairs of handcuffs and shackles.
"Specially acquired Navy craftsmanship, handcuffs and shackles embedded with Seastone, combined with my 'wax'—this guy can't escape now."
Gardino laughed wildly.
As he spoke, the white wax continued wrapping around Dragon more tightly.
Then—
"Hahahaha—I'll help too!"
Amid exaggerated laughter, a woman holding a parasol descended from above.
"Hey, wait, Miss Valentine! I'm still here!"
Feng Kley shouted in panic. The spreading ice was still connected to his leg, so even though Dragon had already been sealed in wax, he still couldn't break free.
But clearly, the woman who had eaten the Kilo-Kilo Fruit and gone by the code name Miss Valentine didn't pay him any attention.
"Boom!"
Her enormous weight instantly crushed Dragon, along with Feng Kley, into the floor while they were wrapped in wax.
Then, immediately afterward—
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
Three more figures suddenly shot out of the tunnels.
One was a black man with an afro and sunglasses—the Ability User of the Baku Baku no Mi, MR. 5, Gem.
One was a sexy blue-haired woman wearing leather—the Ability User of the Toge Toge no Mi, Miss Doublefinger, Sazare.
And the last was a heavily muscled, bald-headed man—the Ability User of the Supa Supa no Mi, MR. 1, Daz Bones.
At this moment, all three attacked at once.
Miss Doublefinger's hair instantly transformed into sharp thorns, and countless spikes pierced straight through Dragon.
MR. 1's arms transformed into razor-sharp blades, silently slicing Dragon's body apart.
"Hey! You stabbed me too! Aren't we colleagues? Aren't we friends?"
As the stabbing and slashing continued, Feng Kley twisted his body, shouting while constantly dodging.
Until, at one point, MR. 1's slash happened to sever the ice connecting his leg to Dragon.
Only then did he drop to the ground, letting out a pained cry of "Ouch!"
"You people—"
Before he could complain, he saw the two agents who had been frantically slashing and stabbing Dragon retreat. At the same time, MR. 5, the man with the afro, had pulled out one of his own hairs.
Feng Kley's expression instantly changed.
He immediately turned and leaped backward.
Then—
"Boom!"
The violent explosion triggered by MR. 5 descended with a bang.
The enormous blast instantly raised a massive cloud of dust and fire, shaking the entire South Hall.
"Bang!"
Feng Kley was sent flying and slammed into the ground again. At last, he couldn't take it anymore.
"You people are trying to kill me, aren't you? You're jealous of my beauty, aren't you?"
He angrily pointed at MR. 3, Gardino. "Especially you, Gardino—you're trying to kill me and become MR. 2 yourself, aren't you?"
"Tch, he's actually fine? Ah, I mean, how could such a thing happen?"
"I heard that first part! I heard it loud and clear!"
Feng Kley said unhappily, "But no matter what you do, it's useless. I'm the one who deserves the credit for taking this guy down, so I absolutely won't let you become MR. 2!"
"Huh?"
Gardino was clearly unconvinced.
"How could you be the one who deserves the credit?"
He smoothed his hair.
"Whether it was you carrying out the feint while we approached from underground, the Seastone handcuffs restraining his ability, or the attacks that followed, this artistic plan was entirely my idea. No matter how you look at it, shouldn't I get the credit?"
"No, no, I'm obviously the one who deserves the credit."
At that moment, a short, chubby woman emerged from beneath the ground. She wore enormous mole-claw gloves on both hands.
The Ability User of the Mogu Mogu no Mi, Miss Christmas.
"If I hadn't dug the tunnels, none of you could have approached him, much less killed him so easily."
"It was me."
"It was obviously me."
"It was me, me!"
"Woof, woof!"
While the other assassins of Baroque Works argued noisily,
"...What's wrong?"
Miss Doublefinger looked at her calm, cold partner, MR. 1, and asked softly.
MR. 1 didn't interrupt the others' argument. He was already one of the highest-ranking assassins, with nowhere higher to go, and he didn't care about who received the credit.
At this moment, he merely stared at the enormous smoke and flames caused by the explosion and said softly, "MR. 0's order is to kill him at any cost and ensure the plan proceeds smoothly."
"I'm waiting to confirm the target's death."
He knew exactly how much the mysterious president of Baroque Works, MR. 0, valued this mission. The number of people who had come was proof enough.
Aside from Miss Goldenweek, nearly all of Baroque Works' elite had come. The only reason Miss Goldenweek hadn't was that she was a little girl, unsuitable for a long-distance assassination mission.
"...Don't worry. He's definitely dead."
Miss Doublefinger thought her partner was being overly cautious. "I stabbed him at least a hundred times, and you practically chopped his body to pieces. Add in an explosion like that—no one could survive."
She spoke lazily, then looked toward the increasingly noisy entrance of the hall. "Still, after that explosion, the guards will probably return soon."
She had clearly decided it was time to leave.
"Once we confirm his death, we'll withdraw."
MR. 1 remained unmoved.
Miss Doublefinger was somewhat helpless. "You really are—"
She suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
In fact, all the other assassins of Baroque Works also froze at once.
Because at this moment, every assassin of Baroque Works felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar.
No—to be precise, the word 'as if' in 'as if they had fallen into an ice cellar' was inaccurate.
"So cold."
"What do you mean, so cold? Have you lost your mind? It's hot—no, it's scorching! So hot!"
The surrounding environment seemed to be constantly changing.
The air appeared to become freezing cold, while the ground turned red and burning hot.
Scorching heat and icy cold seemed to intertwine endlessly at this moment.
Then—
"Tap!" "Tap!" "Tap!"
Footsteps rang out.
Each step seemed to land directly on their hearts.
Then
"So there wasn't just one. There were, uh, eight in total."
"Not bad."
Every one of them heard that delighted voice.
As the voice rang out, someone emerged from the smoke and dust.
A moment later, they saw that Dragon Head Mask.
And Dragon of Chen, who had casually tossed aside the Seastone shackles around his body and walked out completely unharmed.
"How is that possible?"
Thus, those four words became the thought shared by nearly everyone present.
Their attacks had clearly struck him.
They had clearly put Seastone handcuffs on him.
Everything had clearly been perfect.
But evidently, Dragon of Chen had no interest in what they thought.
"I have to tell you—you destroyed my last cup of cola, so now..."
He looked toward the people from Baroque Works, and his words finally carried a dangerous edge.
"I'm a little angry."
"You'd better give it everything you've got. Otherwise... you'll die."