Senior Officers

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

"Mr. 5?" She looked puzzled. "I never thought a traitor like you would not only escape being killed by the boss, but actually rejoin us."

"I didn't want to come back," Li Ziming snapped. He sniffed, catching the rich aroma of coffee. "Nice coffee." He poured himself a cup straight from the pot. Back when he had learned bartending, his interests had also led him to hand-ground coffee. He had even bought a full set: a hand grinder, a filter pot, a dripper, and a coffee pot.

"There are snacks in that cabinet," Miss Doublefinger told him. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Miss Doublefinger. I'm Mr. 1's partner." She never left her seat as she spoke, apparently having no interest in Li Ziming whatsoever.

"Ahahaha, merry Christmas! All that traveling really hurt my back. It's all your fault, Mr. 4! Why are you so heavy? My back is killing me, you idiot!" A woman who looked like a mole walked in, jabbering nonstop.

"Ah... sorry..." The tall man beside her replied extremely slowly, seemingly oblivious to what she was saying.

"Why is the cafe so empty? Only one customer today? Huh, isn't that the traitor, Mr. 5? What's he doing here? Has he come to cause trouble?!" Miss Merry Christmas was already preparing to attack Li Ziming.

"Wait, Miss Merry Christmas," Miss Doublefinger stopped her. "Mr. 5 is one of us 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! Hurry up and bring it over! Hurry!" Miss Merry Christmas kept banging on the table.

"So this is what the senior officers are like." Li Ziming felt the urge to make a snarky comment. Seeing this bunch in real life rather than in a manga made them even harder not to mock.

"One, two! Ah-la! One, two! Woo-la!" A burst of strange singing suddenly drifted over.

"Don't tell me it's him," Miss Doublefinger said helplessly.

"The Okama Way is the strongest!" Mr. 2 pushed the door open while performing a bizarre dance.

"Are you an idiot?!" Miss Doublefinger retorted helplessly. She was utterly speechless at the behavior of her colleagues.

"I'm no idiot! Why? Because I'm an okama, Paula! Oh, and I want an octopus par!" Mr. 2 banged on the table as well.

"An octopus par?" Miss Doublefinger gave Mr. 2 a puzzled look.

"An octopus parfait, probably," Li Ziming guessed.

"Ohoho! Brother, are you a kindred spirit? You actually understand what's in my heart!" Mr. 2 rushed excitedly to Li Ziming's side, his face brimming with enthusiasm. "Let's dance together!"

"No. Too much trouble," Li Ziming said with open disdain.

"Oh!" Mr. 2 looked devastated.

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

"Yes!" Mr. 2 looked at his underlings excitedly. "Friendship between okamas never changes!"

"That's right!" His underlings looked back at him with equal excitement.

"Make sure you practice hard when you get back!" Mr. 2 waved enthusiastically at his underlings.

"Spin, spin, spin!" Mr. 2 danced in circles while everyone else idly killed time.

Bang! Suddenly, Mr. 2's underlings were hurled through the doorway. A man who looked like a warrior monk stood at the entrance.

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

"What, so they're that okama's lousy friends? I saw them acting suspiciously in the desert," Mr. 1 said coldly. "They're not dead, anyway. You certainly seem close, though. Useless companions will only make your death more miserable."

"What nonsense are you spouting?! They're my subordinates!" Mr. 2 was absolutely furious. "Okama Kenpo—Dancing White Swan!" He launched a powerful kick at Mr. 1.

"You bastard!" Mr. 1 flew straight out of the Spider Cafe, though the edges of the hole in the wall were as clean as if they had been sliced with a blade.

"Do you have a death wish?!" A chilling gleam of blades flashed across Mr. 1's body.

"Enough!" Miss Doublefinger stepped in front of Mr. 1. "This is no time for infighting. Next, we're heading to the city of our dreams, Rainbase, to meet the boss none of us has ever seen."

"What's this guy doing here?" Mr. 1 glared at Li Ziming.

"Ha, you mean me? I'd love to know why I have to listen to that idiot Sand Crocodile and sit here with you lot, too." Li Ziming's words were loaded with provocation.

"Go to hell, traitor!" Mr. 1's right hand turned into a blade and slashed toward Li Ziming.

"Mr. 1! Mr. 5 is my friend! I won't let you lay a hand on my friend!" Mr. 2 started forward to 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 fight you for your position. Did you really think my strength was only worthy of fifth place?" Li Ziming pinned Mr. 1 to the floor. "Directional Blast!"

A crater instantly appeared in the floor beside Mr. 1. His expression grew grave. Feeling the power of that explosion, he knew it was strong enough to blast steel apart.

"Don't mess with me. I'm in a terrible mood right now." Li Ziming withdrew his hand irritably, then sat back down and resumed drinking his coffee.

Miss Doublefinger gave Li Ziming an astonished look. She had never expected him to be so powerful. Judging by what he had just demonstrated, she doubted anyone other than their as-yet-unseen boss could be his match.

"Ooh! That's my best friend for you! So powerful!" Mr. 2 cried excitedly.

"If I were really that powerful, I wouldn't have been forced into this," Li Ziming said helplessly.

"What?! Someone actually dared to threaten you? Who was it? Who dared to threaten my best friend?!" Mr. 2 looked ready to pick a fight.

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

"Huh?!" Just as Li Ziming had expected, Mr. 2 froze. In fact, he was not the only one. The other officers were all startled by Li Ziming's words.

"Just kidding. Why would someone that important care about a nobody like me?" Li Ziming waved a hand, indicating that he had merely been joking.

"You scared me half to death!" Mr. 2 looked thoroughly frightened.

"All right, if you want to chat, do it on the road," Miss Doublefinger said. She then led everyone onto a giant turtle, and the group set off for Rainbase.

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

"I have no interest in you, Sand Crocodile," Li Ziming mocked without the slightest courtesy. "Everyone's here now. When the operation starts, just tell me where to go and who to beat. As for all that nonsense you use to fool people, I couldn't care less." As he spoke, Li Ziming stood up and headed outside. "I'm going out to gamble a little. Call me if you need something."

"Heh. I really am curious just what you don't know." From Li Ziming's words, Crocodile felt that he seemed to know his plans. "You really do get on my nerves." The sand around Crocodile began to stir erratically.

"There's plenty I don't know, but there's plenty I do know, too." Li Ziming narrowed his eyes. "Besides, what do I care if you're annoyed?" With that, Li Ziming opened his eyes wide. In that instant, Crocodile seemed to see a terrifying Big Explosion. Then Li Ziming left.

The people remaining in the room had already been shocked to learn that Sand Crocodile was their leader. They had never imagined Li Ziming would actually dare to challenge him. Now they all began to wonder whether Li Ziming's earlier claim about Sand Crocodile threatening him had been true.

"All right. That fellow doesn't matter anyway." Crocodile's expression was somewhat dark. Though he did not know why, in that brief moment, Li Ziming had genuinely made him feel that his life was in danger. "Now, I'll explain our greatest plan to you all. The operation is called—Utopia!"