Deep in the jungle of Little Garden, a strange white cubic house had appeared.
Inside this house, three senior agents from Baroque Works were sipping tea while discussing their next mission.
"You revealed the mission to an outsider like that? Doesn't seem to fit Baroque's 'mysterious' creed, Mr. 3."
Mr. 5 rubbed the bruise on his face and glared at the sleazy man across from him.
This bomb-booger guy had been thoroughly thrashed by a furious Sherlock back at Whiskey Peak, and his whole body still ached faintly. But since he'd received orders from the organization, his only choices were death or obediently completing the task.
Mr. 3 elegantly sipped his black tea. Though a killer, he prided himself as an artist and always maintained refined manners.
Yet unlike Sherlock's effortless grace that delighted the eye with every gesture, this cunning and treacherous fellow gave off an overwhelmingly affected, discordant vibe. Even so, Mr. 3 remained tirelessly enamored with it. (The main reason was the vast gap in looks.)
"Hmph… Rest assured, dead men tell no tales." Mr. 3 grinned sinisterly, set down his teacup, pulled out several wanted posters, and slapped them onto the table.
"My motto is: Commit great sins through cunning! I have countless ways to win without fighting…"
He then smugly laid out his entire plan to Mr. 5.
It wasn't anything novel—just sitting back to watch tigers fight, then reaping the rewards. What bothered Mr. 5, though, was that this sneaky bastard had betrayed even his former friends to complete the mission. Such ruthless means for an end were hard for the bomb man to stomach.
"Straw Hat kid Monkey D. Luffy—30 million berries!"
"Sorcerer Sarsalian Sherlock—70 million berries!"
"Blood Wolf Kohler Haska—75 million berries!"
"Gale Swordsman Yasuo—47 million berries!"
"Blue Ogre Tory—100 million berries!"
"Red Ogre Brogy—100 million berries!"
"Oh, right, and Miss Valentine, who knows the boss's secrets."
"Not a single one will escape, hahaha…" Perhaps too pleased with his scheme, Mr. 3 threw his head back in triumphant laughter, failing to notice Mr. 5's face turn ugly the moment Miss Valentine was mentioned.
Crunch, crunch…
Clear chewing sounds.
On the floor beside them sat a girl of about ten, cross-legged. She wore a small pink hat, her hair in twin curly pigtails, her big eyes dark and lively, with two rosy blushes on her cheeks—utterly adorable.
Sketch artist Miss Goldenweek.
Mr. 3's partner was quietly drinking tea, munching rice crackers, and by her demeanor, seemed utterly unconcerned with the mission.
Elsewhere.
With the heavy thud of falling bodies, the two giants collapsed almost simultaneously—another draw in their duel.
After watching the thrilling clash, Sherlock and Vivi climbed down from the massive boulder. Having gathered plenty of fruits and vegetables, the idle pair decided to head back to the Going Merry.
Vivi walked beside Sherlock, nibbling daintily on some unidentifiable strange fruit while gazing at the bespectacled man's calm face with melancholy eyes. She seemed quite disappointed that he hadn't satisfied her curiosity earlier.
Sherlock took a deep breath; the pristine jungle air lifted his spirits immensely.
"Girls with too much curiosity won't be liked by men, you know~" Sherlock teased Princess Vivi with a smile.
"Tch." Vivi's pretty face flushed; she pouted. "Whether anyone likes me is none of your business…"
True enough—a beautiful girl and a princess at that. In the future, noble suitors would surely line up in droves.
Cleaving through the obstructing thorns ahead, Sherlock adjusted his glasses and turned to Vivi. "Tell me about your country. I'm very curious about this desert kingdom."
"To thrive in such harsh land—it must be a great nation, right?"
"Huh?" Princess Vivi blinked in surprise, then her expression turned nostalgic. In her mind rose the sea of sand she'd gazed down upon as a child—endless golden dunes, not a hint of life in sight, yet never monotonous or dull to her. It was the land of her birth, the country she loved.
"Yes." Vivi nodded. "It's a truly great nation…"
She then chattered on about Alabasta like a treasured family heirloom, casting her earlier grudge to the winds.
"Gabong bong bong bong!" Brogy roared with laughter at Usopp's words. Gotta admit, both giants had pretty distinctive laughs.
"So your dream is to become a giant!"
Usopp's forehead broke out in dark lines. He shouted, "No! I want to live with honor like the warriors of Elbaf."
"Gabong bong bong bong, is that so?" Finding this long-nosed little guy quite to his taste, Brogy was about to say more when the central volcano erupted again.
"The duel signal!! What a fine day! Gabong bong bong bong…" Brogy hoisted his battleaxe once more.
ROUND 2READY GO!!
A thunderous boom—a massive boulder crashed down, kicking up clouds of dust and startling flocks of birds into flight.
"Let me go, old man! Move your house off me!" Luffy pounded furiously on the boulder pinning him and bellowed at Tory:
"A rigged fight isn't a real duel!!!"
"Shut up!" Tory remained unmoved. At this moment, this great warrior of the giant clan had seen through many things.
"You who've lived only 10, 20 years—how could you understand what we pursue…"
"This is the judgment of the war god Elbaf!" Tory gripped his massive sword, wiped the blood from his mouth, and spoke gravely. The bomb in the sake had clearly injured his insides.
"In the end, he did not protect me… That is all." With that, the bearded giant uncle turned and walked slowly toward the sacred battlefield, leaving Luffy with a profoundly tragic silhouette.
"Damn it… To meet such a great warrior!" Tears welled in Luffy's eyes.
The Straw Hat kid was truly angry now. He slammed his head against the ground, then threw his head back and roared:
"Who the hell is behind this?!!"
"Weird, I thought I heard Luffy's voice. Is he out of meat…?" Lighting a cigarette, Sanji muttered in puzzlement.
He exhaled a puff of smoke and glanced around casually.
"My imagination…? Huh!" His pupils contracted sharply at the figure before him.
"Why is there a little girl here?" Sanji slowly approached the seemingly harmless, pigtail-sporting cute kid.
"What are you doing in such a dangerous place, little miss?"
(Idiot~)
Miss Goldenweek mixed her paints, thinking to herself.
At Brogy's house, the trio who'd finished their barbecue were discussing next steps.
"What do we do? The log pose needs another year on this island!" The navigator miss clutched her forehead in distress.
"It's all your idiot captain's fault!"
Miss Valentine spun her parasol and grumbled: "He had to go and break the eternal pose Miss All Sunday gave us. Now we're stuck watching two idiot giants fight!"
"Who're you calling idiots, you damn woman!" Usopp fumed.
"I've been wondering from the start—as a former enemy, you're being way too cooperative. Are you plotting something??"
At that, Nami eyed the killer miss warily too.
"Enemies? Heh." Miss Valentine gave a bitter laugh. "I'm being hunted by Baroque now too. We're in the same boat~"
"Besides, if I weren't cooperative, that bespectacled bastard would torment me until I wished I were dead." At the mention, the killer miss couldn't help shivering.
Nami and Usopp exchanged speechless glances, utterly baffled why Miss Valentine feared Sherlock so much.
Just then, a gang of vicious-looking pirates burst from the surrounding jungle, weapons drawn, encircling the three.
"That's them—those two women!" A tall pirate pulled out several portraits, compared them, and nodded firmly.
"What about the long-nose?"
"No idea—kill him too!"
"Huh… Wasn't this place supposed to be empty?!!" x2
The timid navigator and long-nose turned ashen in terror.
Facing the sudden foes, fine sweat beaded on Miss Valentine's smooth forehead. She stared at the wolf-head tattoos on the pirates' chests, her pupils shrinking.
"How? Isn't that the Hungry Wolf Pirates' mark? Don't tell me they've joined Baroque too?"
But just as the Hungry Wolf pirates were about to swarm, an uninvited guest appeared.
Hidden behind a large tree, Mr. 5 watched the encircled trio and silently drew a revolver from his coat.
Sherlock was an excellent listener—so good that anyone chatting with him grew unusually talkative. Princess Vivi was no exception.
After finishing her introduction to Alabasta, she couldn't help rambling about her father, his two guardian warriors, and childhood anecdotes.
"You're saying when you were little, you snuck out of the palace alone to brawl with a gang of boys in a sandpit?"
Sherlock pushed up his glasses in astonishment, paused, then silently quipped: "Really threw royal etiquette into the Grand Line…"
"Quack…" The big duck beside them nodded human-like, apparently agreeing its owner had been quite the tomboy back then.
"Ugh…" Princess Vivi, who'd just spilled her own embarrassing history, flushed crimson with regret.
Though she cherished her friendship with the Sand-Sand Clan, as an adult, Vivi was still shy about her "goofy" childhood antics.
Seeing the blue-haired girl's adorable embarrassment, a hint of amusement flickered in Sherlock's dark eyes behind his lenses. He reached out unconsciously, gently patting her head, and softly reassured:
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
"And don't dwell on childhood things. I believe you'll definitely become an outstanding princess!"
Feeling the warmth from the hand atop her head, Vivi's heart steadied. She looked up at Sherlock, who returned a flawless smile.
Dappled tree shadows fell across Sherlock's form. Beneath his clear lenses, deep black eyes reflected Vivi's slightly flushed face like a tranquil lake. The elegant curve of his lips seemed crafted by God solely for that smile, making Princess Vivi's heart race uncontrollably.
Realizing it was rude to stare, Vivi panicked and lowered her head like a startled bunny.
For a moment, the air between them turned ambiguously tender.
Then a shrill whistle shattered their brief peace.
Sherlock's eyes narrowed. He yanked Vivi into his arms, and with a thought, the space around them rippled like disturbed water.
—Mirror Reversal!
Since unexpectedly deflecting the bomb man's booger bomb from afar last time, Sherlock had spent these days developing the ability. Mirror Reversal was no longer limited to his skin but could now extend about a meter from his body.
Whoosh! With a teeth-gritting tear of air, a blood-red spear hurtled from afar, reaching Sherlock in a blink. Upon striking the rippling void, it reversed like a rewound video and shot back at the same speed.
"Hiss…" Sherlock sucked in a cold breath. That attack had slightly exceeded Mirror Reversal's limit!
Amid a geyser of blood, the two giants who'd fought for a century finally settled the score.
"73,467 battles… 1 victory!!"
Staring at Tory collapsed in a pool of blood, the scarred Brogy panted heavily, tears streaming from his wide eyes.
He wept not for his victory, but in sorrow for his dear friend's defeat.
From afar, Mr. 3 took in the scene, adjusted his blue-rimmed glasses, and flashed a deeply sinister grin.
"Everything is proceeding according to plan!"
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