Princess Vivi

Gato found himself unable to look away. Only then did he remember that Miss Wednesday was Princess Vivi, who had infiltrated Baroque Works.

She was, after all, the legitimate princess of the Alabasta Kingdom. Though lively by nature, her proper royal education lent every gesture an air of elegance.

Thinking back on Princess Vivi's experiences, it seemed as though every beautiful word could be found in her—beautiful, kind, strong, brave... the list went on and on.

"Gahaha! You're Princess Vivi, aren't you?!"

Princess Vivi had been one of Gato's favorite female characters in his past life. Though she had appeared early and received almost no attention later on, she had still left an indelible impression on him.

With her true identity exposed, Vivi was horrified. She had concealed herself well enough to earn their trust and swiftly climb to the rank of senior officer.

Could this man be a Baroque Works spy planted in Alabasta? Had he seen me before? Vivi thought, immediately becoming wary.

Vivi was not especially worried about her own life. Otherwise, she would never have taken on something as dangerous as undercover work. What concerned her was the responsibility she bore.

She was investigating whether Alabasta's current misery and hardship had anything to do with the mysterious Baroque Works. She had finally managed to infiltrate the core ranks—was it all going to end in failure now?

Even more dangerously, Gato, who seemed to be a Baroque Works spy, had discovered her identity. If that was true, then her country had truly lost all hope.

"Hey, hey, relax. I'm not your enemy. I'm Gato, captain of the Six Paths Pirates. I can tell you clearly that you were right—Baroque Works is indeed behind what your country has become.

"Let me tell you another secret. The boss of your Baroque Works is your country's 'great hero,' Crocodile."

Gato dumped all these shocking secrets onto Vivi in one breath, without considering whether she could accept them.

"H-How could that be?!"

Vivi had not been in Baroque Works' upper ranks for long. The organization's mystery still hung over her like dark clouds. Many of her questions could only be answered through her own guesses and verification.

But no matter how boldly she speculated, she had never imagined that her country's great hero—Crocodile—might be the culprit behind it all.

Gato was a stranger, and he did not look particularly friendly. Naturally, Princess Vivi's first reaction was not to trust his words.

But that was fine. Gato did not need her to believe him yet. Planting a seed of doubt was enough.

"I know you don't believe me. That's fine. Go complete your own mission. No one will expose your identity, right, Mr. 9?"

Mr. 9 seemed to wake from a dream and gave a couple of vague responses. Only when he saw the murderous look in Gato's eyes did he fully come to his senses, hurriedly agreeing:

"Of course! I definitely won't reveal Vivi... no, Miss Wednesday's identity!"

Mr. 9 groaned inwardly. I seem to have gotten dragged into something unbelievable. I should've covered my ears the moment Gato started talking. Who would've thought that Baroque Works' boss was one of those imposing Seven Warlords of the Sea?

A conspiracy to seize an entire kingdom was simply too terrifying. He knew exactly what kind of destruction Baroque Works had inflicted upon Alabasta. Crocodile truly had enormous ambitions.

He could no longer return to Baroque Works. Never mind what the boss might do to him for failing the mission—if he accidentally let these secrets slip, not only Vivi but he himself would be in mortal danger.

After all, he had never truly earned the boss's trust. Knowing about Crocodile's plot under such circumstances was practically courting death.

"See? I was right. As for the others, they have nothing to do with Baroque Works and won't interfere with you. Once we reach our destination, we'll go our separate ways."

No matter how innocent Vivi was, she was not foolish enough to casually believe someone's words. But even if she did not trust Gato, what could she do? She could only say heavily, "Fine. I believe you."

Not because she truly believed him, but because she could only believe him—because she had to.

The days spent sailing across the sea passed quickly. Of course, different people felt differently about them. The Baroque Works pair remained uneasy the entire time, so time seemed to crawl for them.

Gato, meanwhile, remained immersed in training. To him, time passed like lightning, gone in an instant.

The pirates did not feel much either. At first, they had thought Gato was a vicious man, but they unexpectedly discovered that he was actually easy to talk to. They gradually stopped being as nervous as before.

As long as they brought Gato enough meat every day, he would treat them like brothers.

They had also witnessed Gato's strength firsthand. They simply considered it money spent on hiring a powerful bodyguard.

If Gato knew what they were thinking, he would surely fly into a rage and curse them out. I requisitioned your ship—I didn't come here to be your bodyguard! Could you hire the future King of the Pirates as a bodyguard?

While Gato lived his quiet days, he had no idea that news of him had already thrown Marine Headquarters into an uproar.

Garp had already sent his report on the failed mission back to Sengoku.

Vice Admiral Garp, the man who could do anything, had actually failed? No one doubted whether Garp's fists had become too weak. After all, unlike Zephyr, he had no serious illness. The current Garp was still in his prime.

Sengoku read through the entire account of the battle that Garp had sent over and knew that his old friend had not lost unfairly.

"Don't even think about taking that kid alive. Without the resolve to kill him, you won't be able to stop him from advancing."

Those were Garp's final words to Sengoku when he left the East Blue Marine base. Then he went off to find his grandson, Luffy.

Sengoku pondered for a long time before reluctantly agreeing with Garp's assessment.

"So this is the power of the Tailed Beast Fruit? Pirates truly are detestable."

According to Garp's intelligence, Gato possessed a miraculous ability to control hurricanes and could also cause groups of people to fall into a daze from a distance. Because of his own order not to kill, Garp had not gone all out, allowing Gato to find an opportunity to escape.

The next time they met, Gato might be even stronger. Perhaps even if Garp went all out, it would still be difficult to kill him. What grounds did the Marines have left to hold back and try to recruit him?

Sengoku quickly formulated a series of strategies.

One thing was certain: the next time Gato encountered the Marines, it would be a fight to the death.

Before Gato entered the New World, the Marines still had the ability to intercept and kill him in the first half of the Grand Line. Once he entered the New World, with his abilities, he would truly be like a fish leaping through the boundless sea, a bird soaring through the open sky.