Baroque Works

Good Fast Sword Fifty Work Flower Continent, Mr. 11's sword, was precisely what had gotten him into the middle ranks of Baroque Works. Without this fine blade, his strength would have been no different from that of a Billion Berry underling below the middle-agent level.

The one leading this assassination attempt against Rodney was Baroque Works' strongest public-facing senior agent, Mr. 1, Daz Bones.

After eating the Paramecia Slice-Slice Fruit, the Blade Person could turn any part of his body into a sharp blade, while also making his skin as hard as steel.

The person beside him was Mr. 2, Mr. 2 Bon Kure, an okama. Mr. 3 and his partner had not appeared, while Mr. 4 and his partner Miss Merry Christmas, Mr. 1's partner Miss Doublefinger, and a group of weaker assassins—such as Mr. 9, Mr. 11, and that blue-haired young lady, Miss Wednesday, the princess of this country—were all undercover in Baroque Works, trying to uncover the truth about the Dancing Powder. Along with her subordinate Igaram, she had relied on her formidable strength to successfully work her way into the middle-agent ranks.

Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine's failure had directly alarmed Crocodile. He decided to send Mr. 1 and the others to find Rodney. If they could recruit him, all the better. If not, they would all attack together and defeat him. Crocodile had never let a threat remain alive.

Mr. 1 spoke. "Pirate hunter of the East Blue, Red-Eyed Rodney, I'm giving you a chance to join Baroque Works. If you agree, your past offenses will be forgiven, and you can become Mr. 5 or even take a higher position. If you refuse, then..." A layer of sharp blades formed over his arm, and even his five fingers turned into blades. There was no doubt that if Rodney refused, they would swarm him and kill him here.

"I see..." Rodney scratched his head, narrowed his eyes, and smiled. "Since that's the case, then I'll..." He opened his eyes, his killing intent surging. His blood-red Sharingan brimmed with murderous intent. "...strike first!"

He twisted his body and plunged straight into the sand. Mr. 1 immediately shouted, "Miss Merry Christmas!"

A fat old woman spoke at lightning speed. "I know, I know! Stop nagging, stop nagging!" She looked as if her mouth had been rented and she was in a hurry to return it.

Her mouth grew pointed, whiskers sprouted, and fine black hair emerged from her skin. Both her hands became claws, turning her into a full-fledged humanoid mole.

Miss Merry Christmas was the Mole Person who had eaten the Zoan Mole-Mole Fruit.

She burrowed into the sand at tremendous speed, searching for Rodney's whereabouts.

Mr. 11 suddenly felt a tight grip around his ankle. A hand seized his foot and dragged him straight down with tremendous force. Before he could even scream, he was buried in the sand.

"Idiot! Mr. 11, you idiot! Is he a pig?" Miss Merry Christmas brought up Mr. 11's corpse and cursed. Mr. 1 had sharp eyes and spotted the Explosive Tag on Mr. 11's chest. He shouted, "Everyone, run! Rodney's bomb paper!"

Mr. 1 and the others had gathered far more information on Rodney than anyone else, including information about the Explosive Tags. However, no one knew their real name. Since they exploded, they had temporarily dubbed them "bomb paper!" Their power was considerable.

Boom!

The Explosive Tag on Mr. 11's chest detonated. Everyone retreated and hurriedly threw themselves flat on the ground. As the explosion went off, sand and dust covered them, mixed with some strange things.

Princess Vivi had not yet gotten to her feet when her hand suddenly tightened. She saw a human face poking out of the sand and was badly startled. Just as she was about to scream, a large hand covered her mouth. "Shut up. In you go!"

With that, he dragged Princess Vivi into the sand and had his Shadow Clone take her to Yuba.

As for the rest... he would let them begin a battle.

He emerged from the sand and shook the dust from his body before drawing Flower Continent. Its straight blade was patterned like flames. It was a fine sword, considerably better than the standard longsword in his hand.

Holding Flower Continent across his chest, he stood upon the earth and pointed it straight at the agents before him. "Who wants to come forward and die first?"

"You took little Eleven's sword? Then let this lady have a go at you!" Mr. 2 Bon Kure's voice sounded like a drake's. Just hearing him speak made Rodney's expression change. When he had watched the anime, this man had been loyal, humorous, and—though a pervert—quite interesting.

But after becoming reality, the only answer was: goodbye!

Those movements, that tone...

Forget it. He would not use a sword after all.

He stuck the sword into the sand. Suddenly, a mole popped out and hurriedly said, "Are you an idiot, an idiot? You almost cut me! I would have died, died for sure!"

"Fall back!"

Someone gave a warning. Miss Merry Christmas looked up and saw the gleaming blade already raised. It swung down at blinding speed. She immediately burrowed into the sand, but the hole she emerged from was torn apart by terrifying sword energy, leaving a long fissure as the dry sand began converging toward the center.

"This guy is completely treating this as a game," Mr. 1 said grimly. "He doesn't care about Miss Merry Christmas at all. He sees her—or rather, most of us—as playthings."

Seeing through Rodney's intentions, Mr. 1 and Mr. 2 Bon Kure exchanged a glance. They attacked from two directions, one in front and one behind.

Mr. 1 curled his five fingers into tiger claws, blades sprouting from them as he lunged at Rodney. Rodney blocked him with Flower Continent, and sparks flew everywhere.

"Ballet Kenpo: Gorgeous Swan Dance!"

Mr. 2 Bon Kure used Ballet Kenpo to kick at Rodney, sending countless afterimages toward him.

"Shadow Clone!"

A figure appeared beside him, blocked Mr. 2 Bon Kure's kick with one foot, and then vanished.

"What was that?" Mr. 1 found Rodney even more troublesome. He was more troublesome than every enemy Mr. 1 had ever encountered. A savage glint burst from his eyes as he launched a fierce attack, moving as fast as a gale. His slashes came like a violent storm, yet Rodney caught every one without missing a beat.

Mr. 2 Bon Kure was shocked. "He's actually evenly matched with little One? What a terrifying opponent. But I'll have to use a technique worthy of the occasion!"

He took a deep breath, leaped into the air, and sent a spinning kick toward the two fighting below.

"Okama Kenpo: Memoirs of That Summer!"

"Ugh, disgusting!" Rodney knocked Mr. 1 back with one slash and spun his body. A ferocious dragon-shaped whirlwind formed, sweeping up a vast amount of yellow sand and transforming into a snarling, clawed yellow dragon.

"Leaf Dragon God!"

"What?"

When Mr. 2 Bon Kure's attack collided with the Leaf Dragon God, the yellow sand dragon immediately swallowed him whole. Sand battered his face, stinging painfully, and in some places it had already torn his skin open, drawing blood.

Mr. 2 Bon Kure managed to open his eyes in the wind and saw Rodney standing in the center of the wind dragon. He gritted his teeth and began spinning at tremendous speed as well, unleashing countless spinning kicks. Closing in on his target, he prepared to knock him down.

"Witness this lady's proudest technique—Okama Kenpo: 320,000 Circle Great Whirlwind Kick!"

"Why don't you take a break! Konoha Great Whirlwind!" A powerful kick flew toward Mr. 2 Bon Kure and collided with his thick leg, sending him flying. He hit the ground and did not get back up.

Rodney still felt a chill of disgust. The Sharingan could indeed copy all the Taijutsu here, but Mr. 2 Bon Kure's Okama Kenpo was the one thing he did not want to learn. He felt that if he learned it, he would lose something particularly important. His dignity, probably. More or less.

He turned his gaze toward the group of spectators and said, "All right, who's next?"

"Woof!"

A dog barked from somewhere. Immediately afterward, a large, fat man swung a baseball at him. It flew straight toward Rodney, who easily dodged it. The ball landed behind him.

"Heh, you think a baseball like that can attack me? In your dreams." Just as Rodney was feeling smug, the baseball behind him suddenly emitted a flash of light. He sensed it at once, activated Soru, and fled at top speed.

Boom!

"You've got to be kidding me! It was a bomb!" Rodney jumped out of the sand. His foot suddenly tightened as a pair of mole claws reached out from the sand and seized his ankle, preventing him from escaping.

Mr. 1 gave chase and swung his arm. The blade on it flashed coldly. He clearly intended to cut Rodney's head off with this strike.