Vivi shared what little she knew about Baroque Works. Though not much, it was everything she had gathered after years of undercover work.
The most important detail was about the mysterious boss no one had ever seen—Mr. 0.
His true identity: one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile.
By day, he ran the Rain Dinners casino while keeping pirates at bay to maintain his heroic façade. In truth, he was the mastermind behind the criminal organization.
"Why… why am I this unlucky…"
Nami collapsed to the ground, utterly distraught.
"I'm so stupid, really. I only thought of the fat paycheck when we took this job…"
Her long, pale legs sprawled out as she looked pitifully lost, forcing Vivi to comfort her instead.
"I don't care! We're raising the price! They'd better pay more!"
Rainer rubbed his temple at Nami's snarling demand.
Meanwhile, Luffy had already dashed after Mr. 3 into the forest. With his strength, fighting "Number Three" would be like playing around.
Rainer recalled the Blue and Red Ogres and walked off in the other direction.
"Giants, I'll trouble you to watch over them for now."
"Gahaha! Don't worry, Rainer!"
"We'd never let guests be harmed before our eyes."
"Thanks, uncles. I'll bring you two more barrels of booze later," Rainer said with a wave, heading deeper into the woods.
"Booger Bomb!!"
"Ten-Thousand Kilogram Press!!"
"Damn pests! You think you can take me on?!"
Though Mr. 5's words dripped with contempt, his eyes betrayed wariness as he glared at a towering fishman before him.
He had underestimated at first and taken a solid punch—his body still ached faintly.
This fishman was taller than the rest, his arms lined with massive blade-like fins, stance sharp in Fishman Karate form.
It was Rainer's undead of Kuroobi, capable of both Fishman Karate and Fishman Jujutsu.
"Why are there so many fishmen here?!"
Miss Valentine floated skyward with her Devil Fruit, narrowly dodging a water jet from another fishman. She scowled, her brows furrowed.
Mr. 5 nonchalantly flicked a booger, blowing up three charging fishmen in one blast.
"These fishmen are off. They're all mute, sure—but they get their arms and legs blown off without even a scream?!"
None of them noticed Rainer perched calmly atop a massive branch, watching.
"They're weak," Rainer muttered. "A pack of undead fishmen holding these two? No wonder Luffy and Zoro swat them like flies."
Nearby was also a little girl—Mr. 3's partner, who had gone to assist her ally once Luffy engaged him.
Seeing no one else around, Rainer raised his hand. Behind him, spatial rifts split open silently, revealing row after row of swords, spears, axes, and halberds.
"My own little King's Treasury," he chuckled, flicking his hand toward the battlefield.
A storm of weapons rained down like a torrential downpour, blades glinting as they fell.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Caught off guard, Miss Valentine shrieked as a longsword pierced her thigh.
"Ahhh!"
She whipped her head in panic, only to see a storm of blades descending. Before she could react, a spear skewered her torso with a sickening thunk.
Her ability deactivated, dropping her helplessly to the ground. More blades followed, pinning her body to the earth.
"Valentine!!"
Mr. 5 turned in shock just as his partner was brought down.
Drawing in a deep breath, he unleashed a blast, detonating the rain of weapons in a fiery explosion.
"Can't even block that, huh," Rainer murmured coolly.
The woman in the slit skirt lay lifeless on the ground. Even with a tougher body than normal humans, against cold steel, she had no chance.
That move was something Rainer had invented long ago just to look flashy. Weak overall—only good for mowing down fodder.
As for the mechanics?
Better left unsaid. It would ruin the mystique.
"You bastard!! A sneak attack?!"
Mr. 5 roared, finally spotting him. Rage twisted his features as his hand dug into his nostrils.
"What kind of disgusting trick is that?!"
Rainer scowled. He sent the Kuroobi undead surging forward, unleashing Fishman Karate: Thousand Tile True Punch!
Mr. 5 didn't stop, raising an arm to block. The impact sent him crashing into a tree, coughing blood.
"Cowardly bastard! Die!!"
His twisted arm dangled uselessly, but he stretched out his other hand, face contorted as he aimed at Rainer.
Determined to avenge his partner, huh?
Rainer's thought summoned another rift, a ghostly spear emerging from the void.
"This move might be for cleaning fodder… but with Blue and Red Ogre, it's something else entirely."
Whoosh!
The spear rocketed forth like a meteor, splitting the air with terrifying speed.
"Nose Fancy Cannon!!"
BOOM!!
The spear pierced Mr. 5's hand before he could launch his explosive booger, driving straight through his torso and nailing him into a tree.
The momentum didn't stop there—trees behind him were ripped apart, a gaping tunnel left in their wake, until the spear lodged deep into a trunk.
"Like using a cannon on a mosquito," Rainer muttered, leaping down from the branch.
He wasn't surprised. A spear hurled by Red Ogre packed absurd power.
If it were the Elbaf Spear that could pierce an island-eater goldfish… there'd be nothing left of Mr. 5 but dust.
Using Red Ogre on the likes of him was giving him far too much credit.
Khak… cough!
Bloodied, Mr. 5 dangled half-embedded in a tree, a gaping hole through his torso. His face twisted with agony.
"Still breathing, huh."
Rainer approached calmly, pulling a pack of cigarettes from the breast pocket of his deep-blue shirt.
"You… bastard…"
"Y-you killed… Valentine…"
With his remaining strength, Mr. 5 swung a feeble punch, his fist barely tapping Rainer's chest.
Pat.
"You should be begging for your life by now."
Glancing back at the lifeless woman on the ground, Rainer asked flatly,
"Is she your lover?"
"Heh…" Mr. 5 gave a faint, broken chuckle. His eyes drifted shut, head slumping forward.
Shhhk!
Rainer's bone-chain sword pierced clean through him. After collecting the template, he turned away.
Back at the clearing in the island's center—
"Nami, shouldn't we go help?" Vivi asked anxiously. After all, these were some of Baroque's strongest operatives.
Nami slapped her shoulder reassuringly.
"Relax, Luffy is ridiculously strong."
"Yeah! And don't forget Rainer. Never underestimate the monsters on our crew," Usopp boasted.
Though Rainer often played weak, they all knew the truth. His undead weren't to be taken lightly.
No sooner had Usopp finished speaking than a dinosaur lumbered out of the forest, carrying a blond man in a sea-blue shirt and khaki pants.
"Whoa!! A T. rex!" Usopp cheered.
"I'm done here."
Rainer hopped off the beast with a grin.
"Some Afro tried to attack me with boogers. Disgusting."
"Boogers?"
Usopp burst into laughter.
"Bwahaha! You didn't get hit, did you?"
Ew! Stay away from me if you did! Nami recoiled in disgust.