Baroque Works Emerges

Just as Gato was getting excited over his training progress, waves of wailing suddenly came from outside the cabin, irritating him beyond measure.

"Ah! We're done for! We're all going to die, aren't we?"

"Ah! Yeah, yeah! The Log Pose is gone... We can only keep drifting through these dangerous waters until we die here."

"W-Woohoo... I don't want to die."

Gato pushed open the cabin door and roared impatiently, "Shut up! What are you doing?"

The pirates looked at one another. This guy had clearly caused them to end up like this, yet he was turning around and questioning them. It was infuriating.

But they dared not voice their anger. Seeing that no one spoke, the captain could only grit his teeth and explain to Gato.

"Before coming here, we heard that a Log Pose was the only thing one could rely on to sail the Grand Line. We went through great trouble to find one, and our navigator was holding onto it, but it got smashed during the fight with you just now..."

Gato scratched his head awkwardly. So that was what happened. These pirates were unlike Luffy's bunch of reckless idiots, but it was no use—the precious Log Pose had still been smashed by him.

"It's fine. Wait here. I'll go find a Log Pose."

He remembered that Luffy's Log Pose had been given to him by old man Crocus. Going back to ask for one now would be pretty embarrassing, but there was no helping it. Without a Log Pose, who knew where they might drift off to?

"Wind Release—Divine Wind Control!"

Gato formed a hand seal with one hand, ignoring the pirates' horrified stares as he shot straight into the sky.

Whooo!

Violent gale-force winds continuously poured into the pirates' ears. Aside from the wind, they could no longer hear anything at all.

"Is this... the power of a god...?"

One pirate muttered. He could not even hear what he was saying; he only knew what he was thinking.

"What's going on, Mr. 9? There shouldn't be winds like this near Reverse Mountain, should there?"

The speaker was a beautiful woman. Of course, after being battered by the storm, she looked far too bedraggled for anyone to tell.

"Huh?! What did you say?" the man shouted.

They had sailed here aboard a boat, only to be unlucky enough to have it overturned by the hurricane. Now, they could only helplessly bob in the sea.

Gato kept a close watch on the sea below, wary of Laboon appearing at any moment. He did not find Laboon, but he did spot two people beneath him flailing desperately in the water.

"Huh, these two... look a little familiar."

Gato slowly descended, deciding to haul them up for a closer look.

"Y-You... who are you?!" Gato's method of arrival nearly made their eyes pop out of their sockets. Thankfully, they had not been scared unconscious.

After all, they were people of the Grand Line. Their ability to take things in stride was fairly strong.

Gato found speaking amid the hurricane far too troublesome. Without another word, he grabbed one person in each hand and flew into the air again, preparing to return to that ship.

If he had guessed correctly, these two were from Baroque Works. They should have a Log Pose on them, which meant he would not have to go embarrass himself before Crocus.

As Gato flew upward, he quickly spotted the group of pirates from before. Sure enough, they could only wait helplessly for him to return—what else could they do without a Log Pose?

Gato boarded his "temporary" pirate ship once more and dispelled the howling gale.

Before he could say anything, Mr. 9 asked Gato in terror, "Why did you attack us? I'm an officer of Baroque Works, Mr. 9!"

Gato thought to himself, Mr. 9, and he still has a codename at the entrance to the Grand Line. They really are from Baroque Works. That makes things easy.

"Cut the crap. Hand over your Log Pose."

"What? No! What are we supposed to do if we give it to you?"

"What you do is none of my business. But if they're willing, you can come along with us. Make no mistake—this is a blatant threat."

Gato gestured with his chin toward the ship's actual owners.

Cold sweat poured down the captain's forehead. Though he had never heard of Baroque Works, any organization that had established itself on the Grand Line was not one to be trifled with.

He desperately wanted to complain to Gato: I know you're strong, sir, but why can you say something like a threat so righteously? Think about how us minor characters feel too.

"No, we can't! Our mission isn't finished yet. If we go back like this, we'll die," the woman in the pair cried out.

"Gahaha! Don't worry! As long as I'm here, no one will die. But if you resist me, bear the consequences yourselves."

Mr. 9 hesitated only briefly before immediately nodding and handing the Log Pose to Gato.

Gato's displayed strength was simply too terrifying.

Mr. 9 had never seen anyone possess such an ability to control the wind over such a vast area. Not even Mr. 1, the strongest in the organization, could do it.

That was why he was willing to believe Gato's words. Of course, he had no choice but to believe them.

Fortunately, his rank was too low for him to have seen Mr. 0—Crocodile—in action. Otherwise, he would definitely have hesitated even more. If he angered Gato, he might suffer for it.

Seeing how tactful he was, Gato nodded in satisfaction. If everyone were this obedient, how great would that be? Then he would not need to draw his blade.

That was, of course, wishful thinking. If his blade had not been hard enough, why would others obediently listen to him?

Mr. 9's partner, the blue-haired beauty, was nowhere near as at ease as Mr. 9. Her unease was practically written all over her face.

Beautiful women always drew attention, and Gato immediately noticed that something was off about the blue-haired beauty. It was not that he was immune to women; he simply believed there were things more worth pursuing than beauty.

"Don't you believe me? What's your name?"

After handing the Log Pose to the captain, Gato asked her with great interest.

Afraid that she might anger Gato, Mr. 9 hurriedly introduced his partner.

"She's the partner the agency just assigned to me—Miss Wednesday. Since she's new, she may not know better. I hope you won't take offense.

We heard there was a giant whale here, so we were sent to investigate. Our boss seems to like these enormous creatures."

Mr. 9 practically wanted to spill every last detail about himself, hoping to dispel Gato's suspicions.

Looking at Miss Wednesday's sky-blue hair, Gato found her more and more familiar the longer he looked.

"Let your hair down."

Miss Wednesday had tied all her hair behind her head, revealing only her delicate cheeks and fully presenting the image of a strong career woman. Though she was beautiful, those meeting her for the first time might find her somewhat unapproachable.

Upon hearing Gato's order, Mr. 9 quickly helped her untie her hair.

Her smooth blue locks fell over her shoulders, and her entire demeanor immediately changed.

Before, Miss Wednesday had seemed cold and aloof, as though keeping everyone at arm's length. But now, she gained an added touch of sweetness and warmth that made people's eyes light up.