After spending a year as Yang Cheng's partner, Miss Valentine couldn't claim she fully understood just how strong he was, but she believed she knew more than anyone else in Baroque Works.
Mr. 4, Mr. 3, and the others usually had to fight hard to defeat pirates with bounties over fifty million Beli.
Yet in all her time working with Yang Cheng, Miss Valentine had never once seen him struggle in a fight.
Forget pirates worth fifty million Beli-they had even defeated quite a few pirates with bounties over a hundred million, a rarity in the first half of the Grand Line. The others in Baroque Works simply didn't know about it.
Miss Valentine even thought Yang Cheng might be no weaker than their big boss, Crocodile.
But despite being so strong, Yang Cheng had no intention of climbing the ranks. Instead, he stayed in the middling position of Mr. 5.
"If I worked my way up to Mr. 1 through results, or even replaced Nico Robin as vice president, you wouldn't get any of the perks, would you?
"I'd be one of the top Frontier Agents, entitled to strike poses at the café, but you, Miss Valentine, would still be Mr. 5's partner, right?"
At Yang Cheng's words, Miss Valentine froze for a moment, then hurriedly floated down beside him and said with a fawning smile, "Yang Cheng, I was only joking just now.
"We're the best partners, aren't we?
"Look, I don't even mind when you sneak a feel now and then. You can't abandon me!
"Mr. 1 and the others don't have it that good anyway, do they? Sure, they work a little less, but every assignment they get is incredibly dangerous..."
Yang Cheng's reminder immediately brought Miss Valentine to her senses.
That's right. Even if Yang Cheng became Mr. 1, what the hell would that have to do with me?
The Frontier Agents and Officer Agents of Baroque Works were all arranged in male-female pairs.
But if Yang Cheng rose in rank, he couldn't take her up with him. They would both be assigned new partners.
Miss Valentine wasn't quite sure how Yang Cheng felt about her, but she couldn't have been happier with him as her current partner.
First, Yang Cheng was easy on the eyes. Since she had to spend every day with her partner, Miss Valentine naturally preferred a handsome man to some strange-looking weirdo.
Besides, Yang Cheng was strong. Every time she went on a mission with him, Miss Valentine felt completely safe.
There was another important point, too: Yang Cheng was extremely generous.
Whenever they captured wanted pirates, Yang Cheng was unquestionably the one doing the heavy lifting. But in the spirit of teamwork, they split the bounties equally, aside from special items such as Devil Fruits.
As mentioned before, without the others in Baroque Works knowing, they sometimes even went after pirates with bounties over a hundred million.
Naturally, those notorious pirates worth over a hundred million were usually defeated by Yang Cheng.
Most of the time, Miss Valentine merely cleared out a few small fry on the sidelines.
Even so, Yang Cheng always gave her her share of the bounty, letting Miss Valentine experience firsthand what it meant to truly earn money without lifting a finger!
What woman wouldn't like a man who was handsome, strong, and generous?
So the thought of Yang Cheng rising through the ranks and finding another female partner immediately sent Miss Valentine into a panic.
Mr. 4's partner was an old woman, and Mr. 3's partner was a little girl. Neither posed any threat.
Mr. 2 had no partner, but Mr. 1's partner, Mr. 2-that sultry bitch-gave Miss Valentine a sense of danger.
Pushing away Miss Valentine's face as she kept leaning closer, Yang Cheng snapped, "If I wanted a promotion, I'd have gotten one ages ago.
"Keep pestering me, and I really will ask the higher-ups for a new partner."
Whiskey Peak was a small island in the first half of the Grand Line. Many pirates who crossed the Red Line stopped there.
When rookie pirates who had just entered the Grand Line arrived, unaware of its dangers, the Baroque Works members based at Whiskey Peak lulled them into a false sense of security with friendly smiles before capturing them all.
Several Officer Agents from Baroque Works, along with members of the Millions, had gathered in the Whiskey tavern.
From top to bottom, Baroque Works' hierarchy consisted of the president, the Frontier Agents, the Officer Agents, the Billions, and the Millions.
There were ten Frontier Agents and fourteen Officer Agents in total.
The Billions served under the Frontier Agents and were also candidates for Officer Agent positions. They numbered roughly two hundred.
The Millions served under the Officer Agents and were essentially the rank-and-file members of Baroque Works. There were roughly eighteen hundred of them.
Yang Cheng and Miss Valentine had come to Whiskey Peak today because a big fish had reportedly arrived. The Officer Agents might not be strong enough to capture him, so the higher-ups had sent the two of them.
When Yang Cheng and Miss Valentine reached the town on Whiskey Peak, the Officer Agents were already leading a large force of Millions in battle against a pirate crew.
Against Destruction King Laboon, whose bounty was fifteen million Beli, the Officer Agents and their subordinates were clearly struggling.
"Oh, come on. I thought he'd be someone impressive, but he's just trash worth fifteen million Beli.
"They call someone like that a big fish? And they made us come all this way for him?"
Miss Valentine pulled a stack of wanted posters from her Great Rift Valley and glanced at Destruction King Laboon as he fought. After comparing him to the posters and discovering that he was worth only fifteen million Beli, her face filled with disdain.
To be fair, a rookie pirate entering the Grand Line with a bounty of fifteen million Beli already counted as somebody. People like Luffy, who started with a bounty of thirty million, were exceedingly rare.
And Miss Valentine's own bounty was only a mere seven million five hundred thousand Beli...
The main reason she could talk so big now was that she had spent so long with Yang Cheng and weathered so many storms that she had started looking down on small fry like this.
Moreover, as her partner, Yang Cheng had given Miss Valentine plenty of advice on developing her Devil Fruit powers, making her considerably stronger than before.
Hearing Miss Valentine's exaggerated laughter, Laboon, who had been locked in combat with the Officer Agents, immediately turned a vicious glare on her.
Any pirate who earned a bounty of fifteen million Beli before entering the Grand Line was bound to be brimming with arrogance.
Naturally, Laboon couldn't stand being mocked by some woman who had appeared out of nowhere.
But just as Laboon charged at Miss Valentine, she gripped her parasol, reduced her weight to one kilogram, and sprang high into the air.
(Slacker's diary: Yesterday, a guy in the group said he'd found a security guard job paying 4K a month. I was shocked when I heard it. Do security guards really have it this good now?
Four thousand a month, easy work every day, and even a chance to meet rich women. Maybe I should... Anyway, spare me a few monthly votes, please! (´▽｀)
Before you continue