63. Pulling the Island with a Cycle

"Spike, great job!"

Nami soared through the air.

Impressed by Spike's effortless handling of a seemingly formidable opponent, she praised him.

Spike removed his sunglasses and scanned the area, unable to locate Nami's voice. He scratched the back of his head, wearing a puzzled expression.

Nami: "..."

Vivi: "Captain Al, I've got it!"

Al lifted his head, let out a soft hum, and grinned, but didn't respond.

Witnessing this, the members of the Baroque Works immediately grew despondent.

How dare they disregard them?

Glancing at the unconscious Mr. 5, each of them muttered curses under their breath, labeling him the "king of rubbish." They then retrieved their respective weapons, and spoke coldly:

"The game's up, it's your time to meet your end!"

With those words spoken, Mr. 1 morphed his limbs into razor-sharp blades and charged towards Spike.

Spike, who was on the verge of resuming his dance, shook his head vigorously and shot Mr. 1 an angry glare.

Clearly, Mr. 1's disruption of its dance routine was irritating Spike.

Without a moment's hesitation, Spike retrieved a mace nearly ten meters in length from behind him and hurled it angrily at Mr. 1.

Upon witnessing the giant mace, everyone broke out in a cold sweat.

Those who harbored intentions of approaching Spike suddenly felt their legs turn to jelly, causing them to collapse to the ground trembling.

"Monster!"

This word escaped their lips repeatedly.

Despite having witnessed Spike's formidable strength before, the sight of the massive weapon left them in awe and fear.

However!

Just when they thought they had deciphered Spike's maneuvers and were prepared to act, Spike would unveil new abilities in the blink of an eye.

With each passing moment, they grew increasingly convinced that what they had witnessed thus far was merely the surface.

The fear of the unknown often proves to be the most intense!

Upon seeing the enormous mace wielded by Spike, Mr. 1's expression remained devoid of fear, replaced instead by an air of indifferent disdain.

He didn't even bother to conceal it!

It seemed as though he intended to confront Spike's terrifying strike head-on!

"Yahoo!"

Spike bellowed with laughter, and with ferocious strength, he brought the mace crashing down.

Boom—

A deafening explosion echoed, triggering the collapse of numerous sand walls that buried all the Baroque Works operatives in the surrounding area under a blanket of yellow sand.

"Is Mr. 1 dead? Hahaha, with him out of the way, the title of Mr. 1 is mine!"

Mr. 2, adorned in a 'graceful' white swan dance costume, emitted a shrill laugh, already envisioning himself triumphantly claiming the top position.

"Could it be? The mighty Mr. 1 couldn't withstand a single strike?"

"This is not real, someone pinch me and tell me it's not happening!"

"You fools, if you don't flee now, you'll meet your end here!"

Just as everyone assumed Mr. 1 was defeated, Al suddenly yelled, "Spike, watch out!"

Before anyone could react, cracks appeared at the center of the surface of the massive mace, spreading out like a spiderweb.

Observing this, Spike swiftly retrieved an even thicker mace from behind and brought it crashing down with determination.

Al: "Forget I even said anything."

Despite everything, Spike clapped his hands together and flashed a triumphant smile.

Witnessing this, the remaining members of the Baroque Works took a collective sigh of relief.

They assumed, "Those two must be finished!"

However, to everyone's astonishment, a bloodied and dazed figure slowly emerged from beneath the mace.

Spike wore a perplexed expression, acting on instinct as he brought the mace down once more without hesitation.

It appeared he was concerned that Mr. 1 might rise again, so Spike deliberately delivered a barrage of rapid strikes, producing a series of sonic booms.

Upon witnessing this spectacle, Al's mouth twitched involuntarily.

He mused, "Watching Tom and Spike in action all day, I'll end up with a permanent smirk on my face sooner or later!"

Vivi covered her mouth in shock, her eyes brimming with disbelief.

The individual who took Spike's strikes was none other than Mr. 1, the very figure they had feared for years?

Vivi wasn't the only one struggling to accept this reality.

Even the members of the Baroque Works, who had been focused on fleeing, halted in their tracks at this revelation, their breaths quickening.

"If even Mr. 1 can't withstand a few seconds against him, how are we supposed to stand a chance in a fight?"

"Are you an idiot? Quit babbling and start running!"

"Run!"

As Spike ceased his actions, everyone couldn't help but gasp, scrambling to flee in every direction.

At this moment, there was no trace of fighting spirit in their eyes, only an overwhelming sense of fear.

Even the officers and members of the Baroque Works regarded Spike with terror, as if he were a monstrous entity.

"Mr. 2, let's team up and take him down!"

The Mole Human, Miss Merry Christmas, revealed her sharp claws, exuding confidence in her tone.

"So what if that idiot managed to take down Mr. 1 in an instant? With several of us joining forces, even Mr. 1 wouldn't dare to challenge us!"

Before Mr. 2 could respond, all the officers and members of the Baroque Works beside her shouted in unison.

Even those Baroque Works members who were on the verge of escaping paused when they saw several officers preparing to attack simultaneously.

After pondering for a moment, he decided to observe the battle once more. Perhaps luck would be on their side, and the officers might end up defeating each other in their fight.

Maybe they can benefit from the situation, like a mantis stalking a cicada is unaware of an oriole behind? (T/N:While coveting gains ahead, one should be aware of the danger behind.)

Observing the officers preparing to attack together, Al couldn't simply stand idly by.

Regardless of whether Spike could handle these enemies, Al couldn't ignore the fact that he he didn't kill many people in this battle.

If Spike resolved everything on his own, wouldn't Al's plan of exercising be in vain?

Just as Al was about to take action, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind, interrupting his thoughts.

"[Congratulations on obtaining a Crew Ability Experience Card.]"

Al didn't bother to read the item introduction and promptly retrieved the Crew Ability Experience Card.

Examining the golden card in his hand closely, Al felt a sense of confusion.

Initially, he had assumed it was a crew summoning card, but it seemed to be something different altogether.

Feeling helpless, Al silently opened the item introduction.

"[Crew Ability Experience Card: Grants random access to all abilities of a crew member, with a time limit of half an hour.]"

After reading the introduction, Al's brow furrowed tightly, and his gaze upon the golden card in his hand took on a peculiar expression.

Random access to all crew abilities?

If he were to obtain Tom's ability, could he also achieve immortality and summon peculiar items from behind?

With a hesitant attitude, Al couldn't resist the temptation any longer and used the Crew Ability Experience Card as instructed by the system.

As a white light flashed before his eyes, Al's breathing quickened upon seeing the words displayed on the system screen.

"Acquired crew ability - Droopy ."

Instantly, a familiar background music began playing in his mind, causing Al's heart to race.

"F**k, it's Droopy!"

Al couldn't help but swear; he had hoped for abilities like Tom's or Spike's.

Who would have thought he'd end up with Mr. Droopy?!

After all, even in the cartoon of "Tom and Jerry," Tom and Jerry teamed up to challenge Droopy on equal terms!

But as the flash of light faded, Al's excitement was swiftly replaced by a chill running down his spine.

Apart from the recurring background music in his mind, he noticed no changes in his body whatsoever!

"System, what the hell is going on?!"

"Isn't it the usual routine for the body to undergo changes after acquiring any ability?"

Al felt extremely dejected. He knew scolding the system would be futile, but he couldn't help but vent his frustration.

"Damn system!"

Just as Al was wallowing in disappointment over his unchanged body, Nami's sudden shout snapped him back to reality.

"Captain Al, Tom is in danger!!!"

Upon hearing this, Al swiftly prepared to rush over to assist with a quick step.

However, as soon as the thought crossed Al's mind, he found himself beside Tom in the blink of an eye!

At that moment, Tom had reverted from Tom Bowling back to his original form.

But he was now drenched in sweat, clearly having faced a fierce battle!

Al blankly glanced at Crocodile, who was mocking Tom for overreaching himself, feeling surprised by the sudden turn of events.

"What just happened? Why did I suddenly appear here? Is this the space teleportation ability of Droopy?"

As Al pondered, Tom suddenly stood in front of him, motioning for Al not to intervene in the battle.

Hesitantly, Al looked at Tom, and upon seeing Tom's resolute gaze, he nodded slightly before disappearing in a teleport.

The sanctity and inviolability of a man's duel were clear to Al.

Since Tom hadn't finished playing with Crocodile yet, he would let him continue the fight.

"Little cat, I admire your courage, but..."

Crocodile paused, then suddenly erupted into laughter, seemingly mocking Tom's foolishness.

After chuckling for a moment, Crocodile's deep and hoarse voice resonated once more.

"However, the courage of the weak often leads to nothing but death."

Sables (Sandstorm)

A small tornado materialized in his palm, and with a sneer, he unleashed it, sending the whirlwind straight at Tom with the intent to kill.

Tom's limbs were torn apart from his body in terror, only to reassemble in an instant as he fled in all directions frantically.

However, when his head attempted to rejoin the rest of his body, it couldn't keep pace with the rapid escape, and ended up falling mid-air.

After running for a distance, Tom sensed something amiss. He abruptly halted and reached for his head.

Empty?

Instantly gripped by fear, Tom's hair stood on end all over his body!

However, as the tornado drew nearer, the head suspended in mid-air swiftly divided into several smaller fragments!

Crocodile's eyes widened in disbelief, and he muttered, "Devil fruit power?"

Impatiently, Tom lunged towards the fragmented head, but in doing so, he couldn't evade the tornado's attack.

He was swiftly swept up into the sky!

Fortunately, within the tornado, Tom managed to reassemble his body.

After examining his body and confirming there were no serious injuries, Tom released a long sigh of relief, shaking the sweat off his forehead.

But in the next moment, as Tom realized he was being sucked into the tornado, he let out a scream of terror.

Crocodile listened to Tom's anguish...

He shouted, laughing loudly, "Have you noticed the gap between us?"

"Pathetic weakling, this is what you..."

Before Crocodile could finish his sentence, a piece of cream cake smacked him in the face.

Observing Crocodile, now hit by his own attack, Tom reclined in the tornado, bursting into laughter.

Occasionally, he would mockingly cup his hands around his ears and make faces at Crocodile.

[Received 9999 EP from Crocodile]

[.....]

On an island not far from Arabasta, Al stared at the continuous stream of 9's flooding his mind, feeling startled. He muttered to himself, "What on earth did Tom do to rack up so many 9's?"

"Ah, forget it, it doesn't matter. As long as Tom is enjoying himself," he concluded, shaking his head.

With that, Al secured a rope to a tree and then produced a bicycle seemingly out of nowhere.

Immediately afterward, Al fastened the other end of the rope to the tail seat of the bicycle and gave it a hard kick.

The entire island began to tremble violently!

Meanwhile, Al hummed a tune cheerfully as he pedaled the bicycle across the sea, dragging the entire island along with him.

Simultaneously, the battlefield on Spike's side intensified, reaching a fever pitch.

The remaining members of the Baroque Works Club, as well as officer members, were deeply embroiled in the conflict.

As they caught their breath, Carina nearly regained her physical strength.

Several individuals exchanged glances before Carina intertwined her fingers, conjuring a ring-shaped barrier.

Meanwhile, Nami soared through the air, clutching a golf club tightly as she locked eyes with her opponents.

Spike, displaying arrogance, produced a mountain of cannonballs within the confines of Carina's barrier, dancing with swagger.

Observing the readiness of her companions, Vivi suddenly felt redundant, a sense of confusion creeping over her.

Sensing her unease, Spike quietly produced a shotgun from behind and handed it to Vivi.

"Thank you," Vivi replied graciously. With practiced ease, she loaded the weapon and positioned the muzzle within the small opening Carina had created for her.

The guns were then trained on the members of the Baroque Works.

However, the Baroque Works members were unaware of Carina's fruit ability.

Furthermore, the expanded barrier created by the Barrier-Barrier Fruit was transparent.

Therefore, from the perspective of the Baroque Works members, aside from Vivi's unusual shooting stance, there appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary.

This perception left the members of the Baroque Works feeling underestimated and undervalued.

They shouted and clamored to attack, but despite their fervor, none of them dared to take a step forward.

They were truly overwhelmed by Spike's terrifying aura, which had effectively deterred them.

"A bunch of cowards!" The officers and members of the Baroque Works Club yelled and cursed, yet not a single one dared to approach Spike.

Before this, they had engaged in a brief skirmish with Spike but failed to overpower him.

Now, a glimmer of hope sparked in the eyes of everyone present.

A massive tornado had suddenly erupted, hurtling towards Carina and the others at alarming speed.

In their eyes, this was a sign for Mr. 0 to eliminate Tom and Al.

With this threat looming, they felt a sense of relief, believing their troubles were about to be resolved.

All the members of the Baroque Works Club wielded their weapons and surged forward with heightened energy, as if fueled by stimulants.

Meanwhile, Nico Robin, observing the battle from a distance, wore an expression of anticipation, eagerly awaiting the unfolding spectacle. With a smile, she remarked, "Interesting, what a strange group of pirates~."

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