Baroque Works

Chapter 48: Baroque Works

Kashu, the sword that Mr. 11 cherished. It was this exceptional sword that allowed him to become a mid-level agent of Baroque Works. Without this renowned blade, his strength would be no different from that of the countless elders below mid-level agents.

The one leading the assassination team against Rodney was the publicly recognized strongest senior agent of Baroque Works, Mr. 1, known as Daz Bonez.

Having consumed the Dice- Dice Fruit, Mr. 1 could transform any part of his body into a sharp blade, even making his skin as hard as steel.

Beside him was Mr. 2, Bon Clay, a cross-dressing man. Mr. 3 and his partner were absent, but Mr. 4 and his partner, Miss Merry Christmas, and Mr. 1's partner, Miss Doublefinger, along with a group of relatively weak assassins, such as Mr. 9, Mr. 11, and a blue-haired girl named Miss Wednesday, who was the princess of this country. 

She had infiltrated Baroque Works to investigate the Dance Powder case. She relied on her formidable strength to reach the position of a mid-level agent.

The failure of Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine's Day directly alarmed Crocodile, who decided to send Mr. 1 and others to find Rodney. If they could recruit him, that would be ideal. If not, they would all attack him together. Crocodile never let any threat survive.

Mr. 1 spoke, "Red-Eyed Rodney, the pirate hunter of East Blue. I'm here to offer you a chance to join Baroque Works. If you're willing to join, you'll be forgiven for your past actions, and you'll be given the position of Mr. 5 or higher. If you refuse, then..." 

Blades formed on his arms, and even his fingers turned into blades. There was no doubt that if Rodney refused, they would attack him all at once and kill him.

"Oh, is that so..." Rodney scratched his head, narrowed his eyes, and smiled, "In that case, I'll..." He opened his eyes, revealing a murderous intent in his blood-red Sharingan. "...take the initiative!"

He swiftly dove into the sand. Mr. 1 immediately shouted, "Miss Merry Christmas!"

A plump old woman responded rapidly, "Got it, got it, enough with the nonsense!" Her words were hurried and felt like she had rented her mouth.

Her mouth became pointed, growing a beard, and her skin sprouted fine black hair. Her hands turned into claws, transforming her into a human-sized mole.

Miss Merry Christmas had eaten the Mole- Mole Devil Fruit, a Zoan-type Devil Fruit that turned her into a mole-human hybrid with incredible speed. She burrowed into the sand, searching for Rodney's location.

Mr. 11 felt a tightening around his ankle as a large hand grabbed him, exerting immense force that dragged him under the sand. He couldn't even let out a scream before he was buried beneath the sand.

"Idiot, Mr. 11, such an idiot! Is he a pig?" Miss Merry Christmas brought up Mr. 11's lifeless body, cursing angrily. Mr. 1's keen eyes caught sight of the detonation symbol on Mr. 11's chest. He shouted, "Everyone, run! Rodney's exploding paper!"

Mr. 1 and the others knew much more about the information Rodney had gathered, including details about the exploding papers, which they referred to as "exploding paper!" Its power was formidable.

Boom!

The detonation symbol on Mr. 11's chest exploded, and everyone retreated, hurriedly lying on the ground. The explosion left them covered in dust and strange debris.

Princess Vivi hadn't stood up yet when a face emerged from the sand. Startled, she was about to scream when a big hand covered her mouth. "Be quiet and come with me!"

With that, Vivi was dragged into the sand and taken to Yuba.

As for the rest, let the battle begin.

Emerging from the sand, Rodney shook off the dust, drew out one of the fifty Skillful Grade Blades,Kashu, which bore flame-like patterns along its straight edge. This was a fantastic sword, far superior to the standard longsword he had on his hand.

He held Kashu horizontally in front of his chest, he stood tall on the ground, facing the agents before him, asking, "Who wants to be the first to die?"

"Did you take Mr. 11's cherished blade? Let this girl meet you!" Bon Clay's voice was as grating as a duck's. When watching anime, this character seemed noble and just, and also had a sense of humor. Although he was a pervert, he was quite interesting.

But in reality, it was a different story! The actions and demeanor...

Rodney thought better of using his sword.

Plunging his sword into the sand, suddenly a mole popped out. The mole person spoke hurriedly, "Are you an idiot? You almost cut me! You would've killed me, definitely killed me!"

"Step back!"

Someone reminded, and Miss Merry Christmas looked up. The bright blade was already swinging down. She quickly burrowed into the sand, and as she emerged from another spot, the earth was torn apart by the terrible shockwave of the attack, and dry sand was gathering in the center.

"This guy treats everything like a game." Mr. 1 said solemnly, "He doesn't take Miss Merry Christmas seriously. To him, she, or many of us, is just a plaything."

Understanding Rodney's thoughts, Mr. 1 and Bon Clay exchanged a glance and attacked from two different directions.

Mr. 1's five fingers curved into tiger claws, with blades extending from his fingertips, aiming to catch Rodney. But Rodney used Hana Shu to parry, creating sparks.

"Pardon My Oh Come My Way Knuckle!"

Bon Clay used the Pardon My Oh Come My Way Knuckle technique to unleash numerous afterimages of kicks against Rodney.

"Shadow Clone!"

A figure appeared beside Rodney, blocking Bon Clay's kicks before disappearing.

"Isn't that?" 

Mr. 1 realized that Rodney was much more troublesome than he had anticipated, more difficult to deal with than any enemy he had encountered before. His eyes turned fierce, and he launched a fierce attack, as fast as the wind, raining down blows that Rodney flawlessly defended against.

Bon Clay thought, "His strength is on par with Mr. 1's. He's truly a formidable opponent. But, well, I must use a skill that's worthy of showcasing."

Taking a deep breath, he leaped into the air and sent a spinning kick downward towards the ongoing battle.

"Grand Fouetté: Memoirs of a Summer's Day!"

"Ugh, gross!" 

Rodney deflected Mr. 1's attack and spun his body, generating a fierce whirlwind dragon, which raised a cloud of yellow sand and took the form of a fierce dragon with gnashing teeth and sharp claws.

"Leaf Dragon God!"

"What?"

Mr. 1's attack collided with the Leaf Dragon God and was immediately swallowed up. The sand slapped his face, causing a stinging pain, and even some areas were cut open by the sand, drawing blood.

Struggling to keep his eyes open in the wind, Mr. 1 saw Rodney in the center of the wind dragon and bit his teeth, rotating his body at high speed, releasing countless spinning kicks to approach and take down Rodney.

"Behold my signature technique, Grand Fouetté: Memoirs of a Summer's Day!!"

"Forget it! Leaf Whirlwind!"

A powerful kick came toward Bon Clay, colliding with his big furry leg, sending him flying backward, crashing to the ground without getting up.

Still shivering with cold, Rodney realized that while his Sharingan could copy the physical techniques here, he didn't want to learn Bon Clay's Okama Kenpo. It felt like if he learned that, he'd lose something particularly important, probably his dignity.

Looking at the spectators, he asked, "So, who's next?"

"Woof!"

A dog's bark sounded, followed by a chubby man swinging a baseball bat toward Rodney. He easily dodged it, and the baseball flew past him and landed behind him.

"Heh, is a baseball like that supposed to attack me? Delusional." Just as Rodney felt smug, the baseball behind him suddenly emitted light, alerting him. He quickly sprinted away.

Boom!

"Damn, it's still a bomb!" 

Rodney jumped out of the sand, and at that moment, two mole claws emerged from the sand, grabbing his ankle, preventing him from escaping.

Mr. 1 chased after him, swinging his arm with sharp blades shining with cold light, evidently attempting to behead him with a single strike.