"Boss... where are we going now?"
Of those who had left Crocodile's Baroque Works, Mr. 1 was arguably the most loyal to Barn. The others felt more fear and awe toward him, but Mr. 1, who had always followed the strong, had found exactly what he wanted.
"Koza has gone to gather the Rebel Army... they'll be attacking Alubarna soon."
"Then we..."
"We'll go to Alubarna."
"Yes!"
Mr. 1 and the others answered at once.
"What missions were you assigned besides the one in Nanohana?"
Barn suddenly asked.
"Stop Princess Vivi from entering the capital."
Mr. 1 answered immediately.
"Vivi, huh..."
The blue-haired girl from Barn's memories appeared in his mind, along with that idiot apprentice of his...
"Mr. 1..."
Barn called calmly.
"Vivi is aboard my apprentice's ship right now. They'll do everything they can to get her into the palace, so you'll have a chance to fight them."
"Boss, do you mean..."
Mr. 1 lowered his head as he asked, still unsure what Barn meant.
"You can let Vivi through, but the others... you should know that you're still too weak to follow me. Each of you should pick an opponent. It'll be good training for you."
Although Barn put it that way, they all understood that he meant for them to serve as whetstones for his apprentice's crewmates. They weren't happy about it, but it was Barn's order, so they had no choice but to agree.
"Understood."
They immediately answered respectfully.
"Mr. 1, there's a swordsman among them named Zoro. He'll be your opponent."
Already somewhat dissatisfied, Mr. 1 sounded almost dismissive when he heard Barn's words.
"A swordsman? Boss, swordsmen can't hurt me."
"Oh? Why is that?"
"Ever since I ate the Dice-Dice Fruit, not a single swordsman has managed to hurt me. I'm a man