Catwoman Nia

"One vodka!"

She tossed a few banknotes onto the counter, propped her chin up with one hand, and lazily half-lay across the bar.

"How about we have a couple of drinks together, beautiful lady?"

Drawn in by Nia's beauty, a man sat down beside her, striking what he thought was a dashing pose as he spoke in a deliberately lowered voice. Then, after Nia turned her gaze toward him, he casually pulled several large-denomination bills from his wallet and handed them to the bartender.

"Please open a bottle of Stein's Red Wine for me—but it has to be from Miglio Winery. The red wine produced there has a rich spiciness beneath its faint sweetness, just like the beautiful lady before me."

"I'm sorry, sir. We don't have that kind of wine here."

"Then what about Stofen's White Wine? Its taste is a little unripe, but it should barely be good enough."

"I'm sorry, we don't have that either."

"Vodka alone will do. What matters when drinking has never been the alcohol, but the person."

Nia watched the man before her with interest.

There were obvious calluses on his palms and between his thumb and forefinger. He seemed to have undergone considerable firearms and swordsmanship training, and judging from the way he walked, he had likely received systematic hand-to-hand combat training as well.

A Marine? Or an intelligence agent from a government agency? Probably not. Government intelligence agents should be more capable than this.

But it did not matter.

"It sounds like you've tasted quite a lot of wine. I've never even heard of the ones you mentioned."

"Not at all. It's only because I'm a major at Marine Headquarters, so I've seen a little more than most."

The man spoke with feigned casualness, putting slight emphasis on the words "Marine Headquarters."

"A major at Marine Headquarters? Then you must be quite impressive. I heard Marine Headquarters is located on the Grand Line. You must have experienced many wonderful journeys."

"Of course. The stories I've experienced are beyond what a girl like you could imagine. Especially on the Grand Line—there are countless things you wouldn't even dare to think about."

Seeing that the woman across from him had taken the bait, a barely noticeable glint of delight flashed through the marine major's eyes.

Sure enough, once he revealed his identity as a major at Marine Headquarters, few women could refuse him. Especially provincial women from the North Blue like this one. As long as he casually told them a few basic facts about the Grand Line, they would gasp in amazement, then deeply admire him for being able to roam the Grand Line. And after that...

Coming to the North Blue with the squad this time had really been the right choice.

With that thought, the marine major raised his glass and clinked it against the woman's, vividly recounting stories he had told who knew how many times before.

"Doesn't seem like anything special."

Watching Nia chatting and laughing with some nameless marine major, Rod felt slightly disappointed. He had thought she would be someone interesting.

But if all she did was use her looks to extract intelligence, that was far too ordinary.

"Then you may be mistaken, Rod."

Nerl calmly watched the farce at the bar, his expression still perfectly composed.

Since she was merely someone from the North Blue who might be worth paying a little attention to, Nerl had not described her much in his notes. But based on what he had learned before, Catwoman Nia was far from a simple character.

The reason this woman was called Catwoman was more because of her catlike, unpredictable temperament.

"Honestly, you keep repeating the same few lines. My ears are practically getting calluses. Tell me, is your head filled with seawater, or has it been filled up by those so-called fine wines you keep talking about?"

As she spoke, the situation at the bar seemed to take a new turn. Nia drained the alcohol in her glass, then waved her hand disinterestedly, cutting off the marine major.

"I thought I might hear something interesting from you, but all you've done is spout ridiculous nonsense. It's true that I've never been to the Grand Line, but someone like you can kill a Sea King capable of swallowing a warship with one slash?"

"How boring. I'm not interested in men who are full of lies. Get lost already. Don't ruin my mood for drinking. If you stay beside me any longer, I'm afraid I'll throw up everything I drank earlier."

"You...!"

The marine major's face instantly reddened. Although he had embellished his stories a little, placing many things he had seen and heard onto himself, this woman had gone too far. She actually said such things without showing him the slightest mercy.

"Forget it. I'll be the one leaving."

Seeing the marine major frozen where he stood, Nia took another drink handed over by the bartender, slapped several bills onto the counter, and rose to walk toward the corner.

Compared to this useless marine in front of her, the two redheaded guys over there seemed much more interesting.

"Bastard!"

The humiliated marine major grabbed Nia's wrist, his eyes blazing with fury.

"So, when sweet-talking doesn't work, you just resort to force? Aren't you a pathetic excuse for a man? Can someone like you really call yourself a Marine who bears [Justice]?"

"Damn it!"

The marine major was consumed by rage. The gazes of everyone in the tavern seemed to be mocking him. His hand clenched hard around Nia's wrist as he tried to drag her closer, while his other hand rose high and swung toward the face he had found so stunning moments ago.

Bang—!

Nia grabbed the marine major with her backhand and executed a beautiful shoulder throw. The marine major felt the world spin before his back slammed violently into the ground.

"What a pathetic man."

Nia looked down at the marine major sprawled on the floor, a mocking smile on her face. Then she stopped paying him any attention and continued toward Rod and Nerl's table.

But the instant she turned around, the marine major she had thrown to the ground scrambled to his feet. A vicious gleam flashed in his eyes as he drove a fist packed with all his strength toward Nia's head.

Since she had attacked him, a major at Marine Headquarters, there was no need for him to hold back anymore. He could treat this woman as a pirate!

The Navy major seemed to have already pictured Nia being knocked down by a single punch, begging him desperately for mercy.

The next instant, all he saw was a long, straight leg.

Boom!!

Nia spun around sharply, raised her long leg high, then brought it crashing down onto the Navy major's head. The immense force instantly crushed him, sending him face-first to the ground for an intimate encounter between his head and the floor.

"Tch, I already told you I wasn't interested in you. Men who keep pestering people are seriously disgusting!"

Glancing at the unconscious marine, Nia gave him a few kicks with her shoe, then bent down to pick up the fallen wallet. She pulled several bills from it and tucked them into her clothes before tossing the wallet to the owner.

"Use this to pay for the repairs, then bring me a few more drinks."