Chapter 45: Perilous Situation, Officers Attack.

Under the bright moon, Whiskey Peak at night.

The town was brightly lit, filled with laughter and joy~~~

"At that moment, I stood up coldly and said: 'Damn Sea King, don't you dare touch my companions!'"

Usopp was bragging about his 'Calm Belt adventure' that happened in some unknown time, sighing dramatically.

"Even I trembled a bit facing the giant Sea King..."

"Though it was from excitement."

?

Thud,

"Oh oh oh, this swordsman has already drunk ten people under the table!"

??

"Hah—"

"Oh oh oh oh! This lady has won 12 times already, she's a drinking goddess~~"

???

"More rice!!"

"Wow, the captain over here has eaten enough food for twenty people, the chef can't keep up..."

????

"Oh oh, this guy is flirting with 20 ladies at the same time! Who are these people?!"

?????

Of course, they're just a bunch of freeloaders and fools!

In the paper crane silently perched on the window, Roman's anger was burning fiercely.

Eating and drinking for free, and even flirting? Come on, guys, use your brains! Even if you don't have 'street smarts,' you should at least have some basic vigilance, right? Seriously...

Forget it, Luffy is a lost cause, Roman had given up on him; Usopp is just an 'adventurer in his mind'; and even Sanji seems to have been too well-protected by the 'Baratie.'

"Sigh, fine, let's just treat this as a lesson for them."

On the empty Going Merry, a sigh came from a shadow near the cabin door.

From any angle, it looked like a normal 'corner.' But if you observed closely, you'd notice that the scenery didn't change with the angle. That's because:

Paper Dance - Hanging Picture.

With the development of his Devil Fruit ability, Roman could now create skills that combined defense and concealment. He believed that with further development, 'paper invisibility' and 'paper castle' would be within reach.

"I'm tired,"

"Asleep,"

As Luffy and the others ate and drank their fill and fell asleep, the mayor of this small town, a middle-aged man with golden curly hair holding a saxophone, came out and sang like a poet.

"Sweet dreams,"

"Adventurers,"

"The cactus rocks dancing under the moonlight, you are still so beautiful..."

The moonlight shone on the cactus-like hills behind the town, which, from a distance, looked like a dense array of 'spines.' But if you looked closely, you'd see: they were actually tombstones!

Pirates' tombstones.

"You really do sound like a poet, Mr. 8."

Jumping down easily from the roof were the man named Mr. 9 and the girl named Miss Wednesday, who had previously boarded the Going Merry.

"What about those pirates?"

Facing their questions, the man with golden curly hair, Mr. 8, calmly replied.

"They've fallen asleep and will sleep until they reach hell!"

"Phew, that little girl can really hold her liquor, huh?"

A nun removed her disguise, revealing exaggerated muscles.

"Mr. 8, they're just a few kids, why not just take them out at the dock?"

"Why waste so much food? After all, we didn't expect Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday to bring back whale meat..."

"Hey, hey, hey, we've tried really hard!" x2

Ignoring the protests of the two, the man with golden curls, who appeared to be the mayor but was actually codenamed Mr. 8, took out a wanted poster with Luffy's signature goofy smile on it.

"Don't judge a person's strength by their appearance, Miss Monday. Look at this—"

"3... 30 million Berries!"

They all gasped. This kid was terrifying! ...Well, a pirate with a 30 million bounty was definitely a 'big fish' at the entrance of the Grand Line.

After all, in terms of bounty, the few of them as officers were only around 5 million each.

"Understand? Better safe than sorry. If we go head-on, we don't know how many casualties we'll suffer."

"But now, with just some drinks and food, we can easily get a ship and..."

"I advise you not to target the ship."

A mocking voice interrupted the four's conversation. On the roof behind them, Zoro drew his newly bought sword, letting the cold moonlight shine on the icy blade.

"We still have a 'guard' on our ship. If you disturb him, your 'Baroque Works' will be finished today."

"What—"

"Weren't you drunk..."

"How could I be?"

People emerged from the surrounding buildings, but unlike the cheerful 'civilians' before, they were now all murderous!

Facing the surprised crowd below, Zoro smiled.

"As a swordsman, how could I be controlled by alcohol—"

Facing the crowd below, who had collectively changed their expressions and drawn their weapons, Zoro stood up and smiled.

"I thought your names sounded familiar. — Your 'Baroque Works' once tried to recruit me, but I refused. This style of male members using Mr. plus a number, and female members using Miss plus a day or date. As expected..."

"Everyone here is a 'bounty hunter,' ambushing those rookies who just entered the Grand Line."

As Zoro finished speaking, the people below didn't hold back anymore. With the curly-haired man's order to "take him down!", bullets flew towards Zoro, and the battle officially began!

These bounty hunters were ruthless and agile! Their equipment was quite good, but unfortunately, they met Zoro, who was just mowing them down — and this was Zoro testing his two new swords, 'Sandai Kitetsu' and 'Yubashiri.'

"Tsk, that guy Zoro, saying not to approach the ship..."

"Making me sound like some man-eating monster..."

Isn't he just trying to hog all the experience?

However,

Roman had his own things to do — since those small fry weren't bothering him, he could go find some 'elites' worth his attention.

Paper cranes glided silently through the night, bringing the entire town under surveillance. Under Roman's deliberate search, a few targets caught his eye.

One was a pair of a man and a woman slowly approaching the town.

The man wore a brown trench coat, looking like a rock singer with sunglasses. The woman was stylishly dressed, wearing a sleek hat and holding a parasol.

Mr. 5, the Bomb-Bomb Fruit user.

Miss Valentine, the Kilo-Kilo Fruit user.

Two... weaklings with bounties around 10 million each.

Honestly, their fruits were very similar to the abilities of Gladius from the Donquixote Family, but their strength was worlds apart!

Forget about Haki or martial arts, these two hadn't even properly developed their fruits, relying solely on their abilities to bully the weak. They weren't even as good as a little girl without a Devil Fruit!

According to Roman's estimation, if they didn't have Devil Fruit abilities, they probably wouldn't even be able to beat the other animal duo.

Above the town, circling coldly and watching the battle, were the vulture and the otter, the 'animal duo' Roman mentioned.

The otter, Mr. 13, wore a spotted outfit and sunglasses.

The vulture, Miss Friday, wore a spotted hat and also had sunglasses.

Yes, these two animals were also officers of Baroque Works. Compared to the other officers who were half comedic and half combat-capable, these two animals were actually the most reliable.

They were ruthless and silent, pulling out weapons and getting straight to the point!

As for the last party:

On a giant turtle by the seaside not far away, a tall, intellectual beauty with long black hair, wearing a denim jacket, short skirt, and cowboy hat, stood with her arms crossed, seemingly resting with her eyes closed.

However, Roman knew she was doing the same thing as him!

Spying... ahem, no, using her Devil Fruit ability to observe the battle.

Nico Robin.

An archaeologist from the island of Ohara in the West Blue, and the last archaeologist from that place.

If you ask why, it's because those scholars courted death by digging into the secrets of the World Government. It was like a group of unarmed scholars trying to break into a military base, which was laughable. The result, of course, was being turned to ashes by cannon fire.

The only survivor, Nico Robin, ended up with a bounty of 79 million Berries. If she hadn't eaten the Flower-Flower Fruit as a child and been smart and resourceful, she would have been killed for the bounty long ago.

Even so, she could only survive by relying on pirates who defied the World Government.

She was currently serving under 'Crocodile,' one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and was also the direct leader of Baroque Works, code-named Miss All-Sunday, the highest-ranking officer.

However, her relationship with Crocodile was purely one of mutual exploitation. As their goals drew closer, the day they turned on each other would come — meaning she could be used...

No, that's too dangerous!

With Nico Robin's personality, if she sensed external interference, she would definitely choose to escape... or use Crocodile's power to eliminate the external force...

For safety's sake, it's best not to contact her. So:

In the few minutes Roman was thinking, Zoro had already 'soloed' the entire Whiskey Peak town. Although these bounty hunters were quite strong, and the four officers could perform feats like breaking stones on their chests and running on walls, they were still no match for Zoro — if he hadn't been breaking in his new swords, the battle would have ended even faster.

"Well then,"

Standing up, Roman decided it was time to stretch his muscles.

"Once Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine reveal Vivi's true identity, who is now Miss Wednesday, I can test whether the idea of 'Explosive Tags' is reliable."

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