Baroque Works

"These really are some interesting things..." Li Ziming closed the notes in his hands. After Zephyr left, he returned to his old routine, opening the bar every day to entertain customers. Perhaps the only difference was that he now set aside a little time each day to study the notes Zephyr had left behind.

"The Six Powers and Haki—I'd heard of them before, but I never expected to obtain them from Zephyr himself. Black Arm Zephyr, the Admiral Who Refused to Kill, the future Z of the Neo Marines... Looks like I won't be able to avoid calling him Teacher in the future." Li Ziming shook his head helplessly. He sympathized deeply with Zephyr's plight, but he would not do much about it. After all, the greatest tragedies of Zephyr's life—the loss of his wife and child, and the loss of his right arm—had already happened. All Li Ziming knew was that the pirate who severed Zephyr's arm later became one of the Shichibukai, prompting Zephyr to leave the Marines and establish the Neo Marines. After that came the Dyna Stone incident, where he sought to destroy the New World.

There was no way Li Ziming could solve those matters, just as there was no way he could solve Zephyr's psychological problems. Li Ziming was merely a bartender. Perhaps he could offer others some advice, but he was not a psychologist and had no solution for Zephyr's mental state. All he could do was intervene when those events occurred in the future and hope to save Zephyr's life.

But if he wanted to save Zephyr in the future, Li Ziming needed immense strength. With his current strength, he clearly lacked the ability to participate in such major events. Therefore, he needed to become stronger. Three paths lay before him. The first was to focus on developing his Devil Fruit ability, supplemented by Haki and the Six Powers. The second was to focus on the Six Powers, supplemented by his Devil Fruit ability, so that every attack would cause an explosion. The third was likewise to focus on the Six Powers, supplemented by Haki—the path of combining physical techniques with Haki, which was also the common method by which non-ability users grew stronger on the seas.

Each of the three methods differed, yet all were feasible for Li Ziming. But a person's energy was limited, and he needed to choose one of them to strengthen himself.

In the end, Li Ziming decided to focus on his Devil Fruit ability. After all, nearly every ability user could become powerful so long as they developed their abilities properly. Haki and the Six Powers, however, depended on talent. Li Ziming was unsure how talented he was, so training his Devil Fruit ability was far more reliable than training the Six Powers or Haki.

But that did not mean Li Ziming intended to abandon Haki and the Six Powers. He still planned to train them, merely not as his main focus. It was always good to be prepared, and having more means of self-defense was never a bad thing.

What Li Ziming lacked now was combat experience. Without experience fighting others, even the strongest ability was useless. Battle changed in an instant, and only by going through countless fights could one increase one's strength.

But combat experience was not something Li Ziming could gain simply because he wanted it. There were not that many battles in the village, and he had already begun considering whether to leave. Then a letter arrived, solidifying that resolve.

"An invitation from Baroque Works?" Li Ziming froze. If he remembered correctly, Baroque Works had been founded by Sand Crocodile Crocodile, one of the Shichibukai. Its purpose was to obtain the ancient weapon Pluton in the desert kingdom of Alabasta, though it was later destroyed by Luffy.

"But why would Baroque Works invite me?" Li Ziming was stunned. He could not recall when he had drawn Baroque Works' attention.

"But should I go?" Li Ziming hesitated. With Zephyr's notes, joining the Marines should not be a problem. But Li Ziming had always felt that the Marines were merely the World Government's dogs, and there was no shortage of darkness within them. He hated the very existence of governments from the bottom of his heart.

Although Baroque Works was a criminal organization, at least it offered freedom. If he saw something he could not stand, he could act. At worst, he could simply flee when those people came to arrest him. Besides, Li Ziming was quite interested in Robin from the original story.

"Decided!" Li Ziming snapped his fingers. "I'll join Baroque Works. But this is only an invitation letter. It doesn't seem to say where I'm supposed to report..." Li Ziming scratched his head. He was extremely curious about who had written this invitation. It mentioned only general matters and no specific details. He was truly speechless.

"Could it be that fate wants me to join the Marines?" Li Ziming shook his head and decided to wait a while longer. Compared to a criminal organization, he hated the Marines even more.

But reality did not make Li Ziming wait long.

"Seriously, he's just some nobody. I don't know why the boss sent us to pick him up," a voice said unhappily.

"Exactly. He only defeated someone worth a few million Beli. Baroque Works has as many people like that as we want!" another voice complained as well.

Bang! The doors of Edenhell were kicked open.

"Which one of you is this so-called Li Ziming?" A beautiful blue-haired girl entered Li Ziming's sight.

"Excuse me, are you looking for me?" Li Ziming smiled and revealed his identity.

"Miss Wednesday, this is your first mission after being promoted to a senior agent. Don't mess it up." At that moment, a man with the number nine written beneath his eyes and a crown on his head walked in.

"Miss Wednesday?" Li Ziming hesitated. If he remembered correctly, this person should be Princess Vivi of Alabasta. "Your Highness?" His voice was soft, but loud enough for Vivi to hear.

Vivi stared at Li Ziming in terror, her eyes filled with pleading.

"Sorry." Li Ziming's apology seemed inexplicable, at least to R9. But Vivi felt that Li Ziming was apologizing for startling her just now.

This guy is a good person, Vivi thought.

"Would you like something to drink?" Li Ziming seemed unaware of why they had come, treating them like two ordinary customers.

"Beer—no!" R9 sat down, then abruptly stood again. "We came to recruit you into Baroque Works! We didn't come here to drink!"

"That's right!" Having had her greatest secret exposed by Li Ziming, Vivi no longer had the same momentum she had when she first kicked in the door.

"Sure." Li Ziming nodded with a smile.

"Hmph, I knew a guy like you wouldn't agree, just like that damn pirate hunter..." R9's expression darkened.

Vivi tugged at her companion. "I think he agreed..."

"What?" R9 looked utterly bewildered. "That's not right! Shouldn't people invited by senior agents like us all be arrogant as hell, refusing no matter what?"

"I don't think I'm as proud as you say..." Li Ziming touched his nose awkwardly.

"You really agreed?" Vivi found it hard to believe. Out of personal curiosity, she hoped Li Ziming would join so she would have a chance to learn more about him. But for the safety of herself and the others, she did not want him joining Baroque Works.

"Yes, but can I take the bar equipment and alcohol from my bar with me? I've used them for so long, and if I have to replace them, I'm afraid it'll take too much time..." Li Ziming made his request.

"N-No problem." R9 hesitated slightly. He had thought this assignment would be troublesome. They had forgotten to write the address in the invitation, and they had sent him and Miss Wednesday out of respect because the other party was said to be an ability user. The fact that the organization had sent two rookies showed how little it cared about this matter. He and Miss Wednesday had only come to go through the motions, yet they had unexpectedly brought an ability user into the organization.

"Then I'll pack up, and we can leave?" Li Ziming found their conflicted expressions quite amusing.

"Oh, okay!" At that moment, R9 was like a lackey—or perhaps he had simply lost the ability to think. Vivi had countless questions she wanted to ask, but she had no idea where to begin.

"Then I'll trouble this young lady to check on the ship, while this gentleman helps me carry things." Li Ziming simply began giving orders. Judging from their state, they would need a while to recover. If he did not take the chance to exploit their labor now, he would feel as though he were losing out.

The two of them obediently followed Li Ziming's arrangements.

Once Li Ziming was alone, Alto came running over, his expression somewhat unpleasant. "You're leaving?"

"Yeah." There was not a trace of sadness on Li Ziming's face.

"Why? Isn't it good here?" Alto could not understand. "Everyone will accept you sooner or later."

"This has nothing to do with everyone." Li Ziming shook his head. "Just think of it as the spirit of adventure in my heart burning brightly."

"The spirit of adventure." Seeing that Alto seemed genuinely persuaded by that reason, Li Ziming could not help but sigh. People like him really are the best.

"So, are you going to become a Marine?" Alto asked again. He seemed to remember that Zephyr had once recommended the Marines to Li Ziming.

"No. It'll probably be something like a studio." Since Baroque Works was called a studio, Li Ziming simply used the term directly.

"Will we still be able to meet again in the future?" Alto seemed to realize he could not keep Li Ziming here. Now, he only hoped that this would not cause his relationship with Li Ziming to grow distant.

"Of course. As long as fate allows it, we'll naturally meet again." Li Ziming also liked being friends with Alto. Having seen so much scheming and deceit, meeting someone like Alto felt like a stroke of luck.

"All right. We'll always be friends, and we have to meet again someday!" Tears welled up in Alto's eyes, and the fist he extended showed the young man's determination.

"All right!" Li Ziming said firmly. Their fists collided, forging an unbreakable friendship.