Diamond Barbie?

Rodney and Crocus walked into a tavern. The air was thick with the smell of alcohol. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either.

"Not bad, but it's a little weak." Crocus was truly an old hand. He could identify the alcohol's strength just by its smell. As for a rookie like Rodney, all he could do was follow behind and cheer him on.

"What would you two like to drink? We have some excellent wine, made from grapes harvested last year. It tastes wonderful." The bartender recommended it.

Crocus waved his hand. "Bring me the strongest alcohol you have. Wine is just fruit juice. What's so good about it?" The old man seemed to be the bold sort who ate huge chunks of meat and drank from big bowls. Drink the strongest alcohol and go to the most dangerous places.

"Coming right up!" The bartender smiled and turned to find the strongest alcohol.

The drunks who had come to drink exchanged glances. They knew these were the unlucky newcomers. They had asked for the strongest alcohol as soon as they arrived. Hehehe, they didn't even need to drug them. Drink yourselves to death!

The alcohol Crocus had ordered was brought over. Rodney said, "A cup of oolong tea."

"What's oolong tea?" The bartender was stunned. He clearly had no idea what Rodney meant by oolong tea.

"Sorry, I forgot something." Rodney smacked his forehead, then took a bottle of whiskey and another bottle of some unknown clear liquor from the rack. He mixed them together, condensed fire-element Chakra onto his finger, and lit the alcohol with the high temperature.

Well, as everyone knew, oolong tea could always be set on fire.

He blew out the flame and took a satisfied sip.

Rodney: "..."

He silently set down his glass, rolled his eyes back, and collapsed onto the table without getting up again.

Everyone: "..."

Crocus: "... Your alcohol tolerance is terrible. How are you going to survive on the sea?"

As he spoke, he picked up the bottle and drained it in one go. Pointing at Rodney, he said, "Bring ten more bottles. Put them on this kid's tab."

Rodney: "..."

After ten bottles, Crocus collapsed as well.

"Hmph! You two have pathetic alcohol tolerance. I can drink an entire barrel!" someone said disdainfully.

"Hmph! I can drink three barrels!"

"I can drink ten barrels."

"Twenty barrels!"

Before they knew it, the bounty hunters in the tavern had suddenly started arguing.

"Stop arguing." At that moment, two people walked in and put an end to the commotion.

The person who entered was a middle-aged man with long, curly hair. He wore a suit and spoke somewhat slowly. He looked rather amiable, but as soon as he arrived, the previously noisy tavern fell silent.

Following behind him was a tall, dark-skinned... Nun?

She was indeed wearing a nun's habit, but that face... Well, it was square. Without a beard, though. If she had one, people probably would have taken her for a man.

The newcomers were Igaram, the mayor of Whiskey Peak, and the Nun from the town. In truth, they were members of Baroque Works, Mr. 8 and Miss Monday.

Mr. 8 was not only a mid-level agent of Baroque Works but also the captain of the Alabasta Kingdom's guard. He had infiltrated Baroque Works to protect Princess Vivi and investigate its secrets, going undercover alongside Princess Vivi.

However, Crocodile had sent him here to manage the bounty hunters. They captured young pirates who had just entered the Grand Line and didn't know their own limits, then exchanged those unlucky fools for bounties. This was one of Baroque Works' sources of funding.

Mr. 8 glanced over the people who had fallen silent and said, "A pirate hunter from the East Blue, with a bounty of only three million Beli. Finish him off, then send him to the Marine branch to collect the reward."

"Three million Beli? That's a little low."

"A pirate hunter? From the weakest sea... How useless."

"Yeah. I don't think we even needed to get them drunk."

"What about the old geezer?"

"He's just an old geezer. He isn't worth anything. Throw him into the sea. Whether he survives is up to fate."

As they chatted, several people came over to carry Rodney away. Then the "drunken" Rodney waved his hand a few times, sending them crashing into the wall.

"Wh-what incredible strength!"

Seeing those people embedded in the wall so deeply that they couldn't even be pried out, everyone swallowed nervously. Mr. 8 frowned and said, "Miss Monday, you go."

"All right." Miss Monday walked over and extended a hand about the size of a bear's paw toward Rodney. Her wrist suddenly hurt. Looking closely, she saw that another hand had grabbed it. That hand was faster and smaller, yet much stronger than hers.

Rodney opened his eyes. His pitch-black gaze seemed almost capable of speech, brimming with mockery.

Just like this:

╭∩╮(￣▽￣)╭∩╮

Miss Monday twisted her wrist and broke free of Rodney's grip.

In a girlish voice completely at odds with her rugged appearance, she said, "You're a strong man, but you're not stronger than me."

Rodney: ??

Who was talking about that?

Besides, he hadn't even used his full strength, okay?

With the Super Strength skill, he covered his entire body in Chakra and unleashed a powerful current of air, easily shattering walls. It was a skill that amplified his strength.

The more Chakra he used, the greater his strength. As long as he allocated his Chakra properly, his destructive power would increase as well. Its Chakra consumption was fairly manageable.

He simply sat there as the Chakra in his body erupted, kicking up a violent current of air that sent everyone's clothes flapping loudly.

Nearby, Crocus couldn't help opening one eye and looking toward Rodney.

This kid still had hidden tricks?

No wonder he had dared to enter the Grand Line alone.

Miss Monday narrowed her eyes, grabbed the nun's habit she was wearing, and tore it. With a ripping sound, the clothing broke apart in her hands like paper, revealing safety shorts and a one-piece pink plaid skirt underneath.

Of course, the most shocking thing was still her muscular body, which looked as though it had been cast from bronze and forged from iron.

Rodney: "..."

This...

Diamond Barbie?!!

No, wasn't this already more like a muscle bro?

Miss Monday looked rather masculine, so...

It was somewhat painful to look at. It wasn't that he was discriminating against her, but he just felt that something was off...

Damn it, what kind of weird taste did the artist have?

"I've never encountered a man stronger than me, so can you really be stronger than I am?" Miss Monday spoke in a voice utterly mismatched with her physique.

With one hand, she grabbed a cabinet in the tavern and hurled it at Rodney.

Rodney caught it effortlessly and tossed it aside. In his Super Strength state, a cabinet packed with alcohol was no different from a feather to him. Of course, even in his normal state, catching it wouldn't have been difficult.

He grabbed Crocus with one hand, smashed through the wall with a punch, and ran into the street. A group of people surrounded them with knives and guns. They had clearly come prepared. Tsk.

"Old man, stop pretending. Go hide up there first." As he spoke, he threw Crocus onto the roof.

Crocus landed safely and sat down on the roof with a plop. "Hahaha, let this old man see what you can do."

Boom!

Miss Monday smashed through the wall as well. She didn't choose to use the door, either. She followed through the hole Rodney had made, but she was a head taller than him, so she had no choice but to break through it.

The muscles on her body trembled, displaying the aesthetics of strength. Rodney, however, couldn't appreciate it. Miss Monday raised her fist and slammed it down on top of his head.

"Fish-Man Karate · Super Strength · Upper Palm Blast!"

The Super Strength-enhanced Upper Palm Blast struck Miss Monday head-on. With a boom, the ground beneath Rodney's feet shattered as he released the force he had taken into the earth.

Miss Monday wasn't so lucky. The palm strike sent her staggering backward. Rodney pressed his advantage!

Soru!

"Super Strength · Konoha Whirlwind!"

Boom!

Miss Monday was kicked flying. Although he had used Super Strength, he hadn't applied enough force to kill her. He had merely injured her, leaving her unable to recover for a short time.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and finish him!" Mr. 8's words jolted the stunned bounty hunters awake from their shock at Miss Monday's defeat.

They raised their guns and opened fire at Rodney!