The Grand Melee

The woman was tall and slender, with short blonde hair. She wore a yellow hat, lemon-slice earrings, a short yellow dress patterned with lemon slices, and white high heels.

She wore white gloves and carried a yellow-and-blue striped umbrella.

She was charming and always wore a smile.

Judging by her appearance, she looked like a sweet little girl. But once she fought, she was absolutely vicious.

Because Moke recognized the man and woman at a glance. They were the high-ranking Baroque Works agents Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine.

Behind them were Mr. 7, Miss Father's Day, Mr. 8, Miss Monday, and, of course, Mr. 11.

Moke's gaze fell directly on the sword in Mr. 11's hand.

If nothing unexpected happened, that sword was Kashu.

As for these people, he did not take a single one of them seriously.

Not just them—even Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine were the same. Two pieces of trash... what a waste of the quite decent Paramecia-type Bomb-Bomb Fruit and Paramecia-type Kilo-Kilo Fruit.

Vulture also wore a disdainful expression. "One of you has a bounty of ten million Beli, and the other seven and a half million Beli. You dare act arrogant in front of me? Who gave you the nerve? Baroque Works?"

"Whoosh..."

Moke had already turned into a beam of light. Before anyone could react, he had arrived beside Mr. 11 and snatched Kashu from his hand.

Then he began admiring it.

"Gah..."

Mr. 11 staggered back seven or eight steps in fright, then flew into a rage. "Give Kashu back to me..."

Mr. 7, Miss Father's Day, Mr. 8, and Miss Monday exchanged glances. Each saw fear in the other's eyes, and they tacitly took several steps back...

"Bastard..."

Mr. 5, Gem, and Miss Valentine, Mikita, were also enraged. In their eyes, Moke's disregard for them was an insult.

Especially Gem. If looks could kill, Moke would have died countless times already.

"Booger Mirage Cannon..."

Gem stuck his hand into his nose and dug around, pulling out an enormous booger. He then used the power of the Bomb-Bomb Fruit to flick it at Moke.

Once it hit, it would trigger a violent explosion with considerable power.

But it was damn disgusting. Such a powerful Devil Fruit had been dragged down several levels by him.

Moke did not even feel like swinging his sword.

He turned into a beam of light again and dodged the disgusting attack. At the same time, he appeared in front of Gem, placing his index finger against his forehead... Light elements rapidly gathered at his fingertip.

"Not good..."

Gem's expression changed drastically. He wanted to dodge... but there was no way he could make it in time!

"Hmm?"

At that moment, Moke sensed a fierce gust of wind rushing toward him. His expression shifted slightly... With a burst of force from his legs, he retreated seven or eight meters.

Then a tall, heavily muscled man appeared.

He had a monk's tonsure and wore martial monk attire. He stood where Moke had been moments ago.

"Mr. 1, Daz Bones?!!!"

Moke revealed a surprised expression. He had never expected Crocodile to send even him. This was Crocodile's number-one subordinate.

Daz Bones also looked at Moke with scrutiny in his eyes. "I thought you were merely a guy who got lucky and ate a powerful fruit. It seems you have some skill after all... You actually dodged my Dust Speed Slash~"

As Daz Bones spoke, a woman with an afro emerged, swaying with every step. She looked at Moke meaningfully. "The Navy's bounty wasn't baseless... hm!"

"Hey, hey... I'd say you've gone far enough, Baroque Works." At that moment, Vulture, who had arrived first, leaped down and landed between the two sides.

His face was full of arrogance, as though he did not regard anyone present as worthy of notice.

Daz Bones did not even spare him a glance. His eyes remained fixed on Moke. "Gem, Mikita, this guy is yours..."

Moke looked at these people before him. Every one of them acted as though they had him completely figured out. He immediately realized the issue: he had no achievements to show for himself. So, no matter how high his bounty was,

these people would not take him seriously.

Therefore, he needed a battle that would intimidate most people. Otherwise, every stray cat and dog would come looking for trouble!

Only now did he truly understand the power of being built up only to be torn down.

"Spiral Hollow Daisy Cutter..."

After transforming his palms and fingers into blades, Daz Bones pressed his hands together at the wrists and charged fiercely at Moke... Moke's eyelids twitched.

Only then did he realize it.

Daz Bones had not yet awakened Armament Haki, so no matter how strong he was, he could not harm Moke in the slightest.

So... why had Crocodile sent Daz Bones here?

He was not some ordinary lackey...

Suddenly, a guess formed in Moke's mind. Could Crocodile have come as well? Otherwise, there was no explanation!

Because no one understood the "invincibility" of nature better than him, a Logia user. So Moke did not even dodge and allowed Daz Bones's attack to hit him.

Just as he had expected, under Elementalization, Daz Bones could not inflict even the slightest damage on him.

Daz Bones's pupils contracted. "You really are a Logia user."

"Hey... are you all pretending I don't exist?" A pair of wings spread from Vulture's back. He was actually the user of a rare flying Zoan Devil Fruit.

Clearly, he was about to make his move as well. He would not allow someone else to steal his prey.

But at that moment, he caught sight of a figure from the corner of his eye, and his entire body trembled. He immediately turned his head, and once he clearly saw who had arrived,

terror appeared in his eyes.

Then, with a flap of his wings, he shot into the sky. Without a second thought, he chose to flee.

But a figure rapidly caught up to him, and an iron hook viciously pierced Vulture's abdomen. "Why are you running? Just now, you looked as though Baroque Works was beneath your notice!"

"Pfft..."

Vulture spat out a mouthful of blood. Utterly despairing, he cried out, "So you're the one behind Baroque Works."

The newcomer was naturally Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

At that, Crocodile grinned. "You know too much... so die!"