Senior Officers

Li Ziming arrived at Spider Cafe in a foul mood. A fashionably dressed woman was already sitting inside, reading a newspaper.

"Mr. 5?" She looked somewhat puzzled. "I never expected a traitor like you not to be killed by the boss, but to actually rejoin us."

"I never wanted to come back," Li Ziming said irritably. He sniffed, catching the rich aroma of coffee. "The coffee smells good." He poured himself a cup straight from the pot. Back when he had learned bartending, his interest had also led him to hand-ground coffee, and he had even bought himself a hand grinder, filter cone, dripper, and coffee pot.

"There are some pastries in that cabinet," Miss Doublefinger reminded him. "Oh, right, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Miss Doublefinger, Mr. 1's partner." Miss Doublefinger never left her seat, seemingly completely uninterested in Li Ziming.

"Ahahaha, Merry Christmas! That long trip really made my back ache. It's all your fault, Mr. 4! Why are you so heavy? My back is killing me, you idiot!" A mole-faced woman walked in, babbling nonstop.

"Ah... sorry..." The tall man beside her seemed not to have heard a word she said, replying at an extremely slow pace.

"Why is the shop so deserted? Is there only one customer today? Huh, isn't that traitorous Mr. 5? Why is this guy here? Don't tell me he's here to cause trouble!" Miss Merry Christmas was already preparing to attack Li Ziming.

"Wait, Miss Merry Christmas." Miss Doublefinger stopped her. "Mr. 5 is our companion now. By the way, we have Orange Pekoe tea. Mr. 4, how about some apple tea?"

"I don't want anything hot! I want something I can drink right away! Bring it out already! Hurry up and bring it out!" Miss Merry Christmas repeatedly slammed the table.

"So these are what the senior officers are like?" Li Ziming felt like complaining. These people were even more ridiculous in person than they had been in the manga.

"One, two! Ala, one, two! Ura!" A series of strange singing voices suddenly drifted over.

"It can't be that guy, can it?" Miss Doublefinger said helplessly.

"The way of the okama is the strongest!" Mr. 2 pushed open the door while performing a bizarre dance.

"Are you an idiot?" Miss Doublefinger complained helplessly. She was completely speechless toward this group of colleagues.

"I'm not an idiot! Why? Because I'm an okama, bon clay! Oh, right, I want an octopus parfait!" Mr. 2 slapped the table as well.

"An octopus parfait?" Miss Doublefinger looked at Mr. 2 in confusion.

"You mean an octopus parfait?" Li Ziming guessed.

"Ohoho! Brother, are you a kindred spirit? You can actually understand what I mean!" Mr. 2 rushed excitedly to Li Ziming's side. "Let's dance together!"

"No. Too much trouble," Li Ziming said with a look of disgust.

"Ah!" Mr. 2 looked utterly crushed.

"It's all right, boss! Don't be discouraged! We'll always follow you!" Mr. 2's underlings hurriedly comforted him.

"Yes!" Mr. 2 looked emotionally at his underlings. "The friendship of okama will never change!"

"That's right!" His underlings looked back at Mr. 2 just as emotionally.

"Make sure you train hard after you go back!" Mr. 2 shouted, waving enthusiastically at his underlings.

"Spin, spin, spin!" Mr. 2 spun around in circles while everyone else killed time in boredom.

Boom! Mr. 2's underlings were suddenly thrown in through the doorway, and someone who looked like a warrior monk stood at the entrance.

"What happened to you?" Mr. 2 asked anxiously.

"So, they're those damned okama's friends. I saw them acting suspiciously in the desert," Mr. 1 said coldly. "They're not dead, anyway. Seems like you care about them a lot. But useless companions will only make you die more miserably."

"What nonsense are you spouting? They're this one's subordinates!" Mr. 2 was furious beyond measure. "Okama Kenpo—Dancing White Swan!" Mr. 2 launched a powerful kick at Mr. 1.

"You bastard!" Mr. 1 flew straight out of Spider Cafe, though the hole in the wall was as smooth as if it had been cut by a blade.

"Are you looking to die?" A chilling blade-like gleam flashed over Mr. 1's body.

"Enough!" Miss Doublefinger stepped in front of Mr. 1. "This is no time for infighting. Next, we're heading for Rainbase, the city of our dreams, to meet our boss, whom we've never seen."

"Why is this guy here?" Mr. 1 glared at Li Ziming in displeasure.

"Hah, me? I'd also like to know why I have to listen to that idiot Sand Crocodile and stay here with all of you," Li Ziming said provocatively.

"A traitor should go straight to hell!" Mr. 1's right hand transformed into a blade and slashed at Li Ziming.

"Mr. 1! Mr. 5 is this one's friend! This one will never allow you to attack this one's friend!" Mr. 2 said, about to step in and help.

"You seem to have misunderstood something." Li Ziming vanished from where he stood. "I'm ranked fifth only because I couldn't be bothered to compete with you. Do you really think my strength is merely that of fifth place?" Li Ziming slammed Mr. 1 onto the ground. "Directional Blast!"

A crater immediately appeared in the floor beside Mr. 1. His expression turned grave. Having felt the power of that explosion, he knew it was absolutely strong enough to blow apart steel.

"Don't provoke me. I'm in a terrible mood right now." Li Ziming withdrew his hand irritably, then returned to his seat and continued drinking his coffee.

Miss Doublefinger glanced at Li Ziming in surprise. She had never expected him to possess such formidable strength. Judging from what she had just seen, she felt that aside from the boss they had yet to meet, no one here could be Li Ziming's match.

"Ooh! As expected of this one's dear friend! Your strength is truly formidable!" Mr. 2 shouted excitedly.

"If I were really that strong, I wouldn't have been threatened by someone," Li Ziming said helplessly.

"What? Someone dared to threaten you? Who was it? Who dared threaten this one's dear friend?" Mr. 2 looked ready to pick a fight.

"Sand Crocodile Crocodile, one of the Shichibukai. In other words, your Mr. 0." Li Ziming looked at Mr. 2 with a wicked grin.

"Huh?!" Just as Li Ziming expected, Mr. 2 froze. It was not just him; even the other officers were startled by Li Ziming's words.

"Just kidding. Why would someone that important care about someone like me?" Li Ziming waved his hand, signaling that he had only been joking.

"You nearly scared this one to death," Mr. 2 said with a frightened expression.

"All right, save the chatting for the road," Miss Doublefinger said. She then led everyone onto a giant turtle, and the group headed toward Rainbase.

"Welcome, everyone." Crocodile suddenly appeared at the head of the long table.

"I have no interest in you, Sand Crocodile." Li Ziming mocked him without the slightest politeness. "Everyone's here. When the operation begins, just tell me where I need to go and who I need to defeat. As for your manipulative nonsense, I'm not interested in it at all." With that, Li Ziming stood up and headed outside. "I'm going to gamble a few rounds. Call me if you need anything."

"Heh, I'm really curious about what you don't know." Crocodile seemed to understand Li Ziming's intentions from his words. "You really irritate me." The sand around Crocodile began to stir irregularly.

"There's a lot I don't know, but there's also a lot I do know." Li Ziming narrowed his eyes. "And what does it have to do with me if you're irritated?" After saying that, Li Ziming opened his eyes wide. In that instant, Crocodile seemed to see a shocking Big Explosion before Li Ziming turned and left.

The people remaining in the room had already been shocked to learn that Sand Crocodile was their leader, but they had never expected Li Ziming to truly dare challenge Sand Crocodile. Now, all of them began wondering whether Li Ziming's earlier claim that Sand Crocodile had threatened him might have been true.

"All right, that guy isn't important anyway." Crocodile's face darkened. He did not know why, but Li Ziming had truly made him feel a threat to his life just now. "I'll now tell you all about our greatest plan. The operation is called—Utopia!"