It was pure chaos in Whiskey Peak as the Straw Hats easily ran roughshod over the bounty hunters. The Millions were looking around wondering where the Straw Hats went. Suddenly a group wound up somehow getting caught up in a whirlpool, courtesy of Merone.
"WHIRLPOOL!"
Several Millions fired at her, but the bullets passed through her body due to it being made of water.
"ROCK WRECKER!"
Lithos stood in an alley and blasted a few nearby Millions by combining his arms into a stone cannon and firing a ball of magma rock. One tried to slice him from behind with their sword, only for it to get stuck in his stone body.
Meanwhile, Zoro smirked as his new swords easily shattered the Millions's blades.
"Yubashiri and Sandai Kitetsu... You're really proving your skills in this first fight. Thanks for getting along with them, Wado Ichimonji."
Bella formed circular barriers of mana from her hands to reflect the bullets and blades coming her way before Bella jumped over and turned her arms into masses of wooden branches and vines to restrain the Millions attacking.
Miss Monday tossed a large wine barrel, only for Choi to easily slice it into quarters with his rake, the pieces hitting four grunts behind him.
"Waste of a good drink."
One grunt tried to attack with a large mallet, only for Luffy to easily tank it with his rubber body before retaliating with a Gum-Gum Pistol, the stretchy punch sending the grunt flying into a few more of his buddies.
"Naughty kids shouldn't run around with knives!" Ed said as he picked up a kid who had tried to run up to him with a knife.
"Seriously, are even the kids bounty hunters in this town?" Eddy commented as he saw this.
"Though whole town, from the looks of it," Usopp noted. "LEAD STAR!"
He fired off a pellet from his slingshot to knock out a bounty hunter dressed as a nun.
"I'm feeling very conflicted right now," Sanji said, having just finished using a spin kick to take a whole group, which as it turned out included some of the women who had earlier been fawning over him.
"You'll have to get used to it!" Nami called out as she and Double-D knocked a ladder off a roof while several of the hunters were on it.
"You seem a bit irate right now, Nami," Double-D noted.
"This damn bounty hunter town has so little treasure!"
"They were literally hunting Island Whales for food, Nami. How much money do you think they could have had?" Ariala pointed out.
Miss Monday was still trying to attack Choi, swinging a large ladder. Choi whistled as he turned into his Hybrid Form to match her size.
"I respect a woman who lifts! But I figured I'd change my size to make things even!"
"Don't you lay a hand on her you-!" Mr. 9 yelled as he jumped in, only to be struck from afar by N'Doul's cane.
"Don't think you stand a chance. There's no man alive who can best my strength." Miss Monday told Choi as she slipped on a pair of brass knuckles.
"I thought we already left the East Blue," Sonson quipped as she used her monkey agility to bounce off Miss Monday's head.
Angered, the Amazonian woman tried to chase after the monkey girl, only for Choi to hook his rake around her and send her into Ferros' path.
"GIGATON HAMMER!"
Forming his hands into a giant claw hammer, Ferros struck Miss Monday hard as she tried to put her guard up, sending the woman flying into one of the buildings, much to Igaram's shock.
"Yeah, forgot to mention; Lithos, Ferros, Merone, and Ariala apparently ate Devil Fruits since the last time we saw them."
Mr. 9 pulled out his metal bats to try and attack again, only for Hsiao to jump in and start dueling him with a pair of bladed tonfas she had on hand.
"I'll have you know I am an expert acrobat!"
"What's an acrobat to a DRAGON?!" Hsiao shot back, scales forming on her cheeks as her teeth sharpened and a large blue-scaled dragon tail came out of her backside. "DRAGON TAIL DANCE!"
Performing a powerful twirling tail strike, Hsiao sent Mr. 9 flying into Miss Monday.
"Should we get in there?" Igaram wondered.
"Well there's a problem with that; First, I saw their Captain fight an Island Whale and declare it a draw," Vivi said. "Second... I can't find Carue!"
"There's always your perfume dance. It never fails to cha-*cough* Ma-ma-ma... To charm men." Igaram suggested.
"I get the feeling only the cook, the pig, and the short kid would be affected in this case," Vivi argued. "What about your Igarappa?"
"Most of them can't even be harmed by shotguns, and one of them could bounce the bullets back. Still, with the Unluckies imprisoned, we should be good to just let things play out."
A sudden explosion was heard just outside the town.
"Oh, now what?!" Nami called out.
"Grahambel, check with Merry!" Luffy ordered.
"Ship's still in top shape, Captain! The explosion was on the other end of the harbor! The guards are reporting all clear! Hang on... It looks like we have two newcomers!"
The crew turned to see a woman in a sundress and a dark-skinned man in a long coat approaching.
"Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine?" Mr. 9 realized as he and Miss Monday recovered. "How did you know to come here?"
"The boss had to risk using a Transponder Snail since our normal communications network is somehow tied up." The man known as Mr. 5 explained.
"Literally! We actually tied them up!" Sonson said.
Mr. 5 then turned to Vivi and Igaram. "And it seems two of our number aren't even fighting."
"Very strange. Makes me curious what you're really doing." Miss Valentine taunted.
"If you're going to help us already then do it!" Miss Monday called out. "We've been getting slaughtered out here!"
"Oh, we're not here to help you. The boss wouldn't waste our talents so close to the end of the Grand Line." Mr. 5 clarified.
"We're actually here to pick up a couple criminals the boss really wants dealt with. The crime being finding out the boss's secrets." Miss Valentine said.
"Technically that's not a crime. Just something your boss doesn't like and is paranoid over." Lithos pointed out.
"Call it what you will, but orders are orders... Miss Wednesday and Mister 8. Our company's motto is 'mystery'. That reminds me..." Mr. 5 then pointed to the Straw Hats. "The boss recently amended that order for you as well. Apparently, your communications officer knows our company's name."
"That's more my fault than his. But then again, that whips it right around to being your fault for trying to recruit me and not respecting my refusal." Zoro said.
"Looks like the fight's just getting started, them. Vivi is a friend of my brothers and sisters, so anyone who tries to throw around excuses to kill her like 'sin' or 'crime' is a bad guy I won't hesitate to defeat." Luffy said firmly.
"And as much as I abhor violence, I will do all I can to help!" Double-D chimed in.
"Friends of the Captain are friends of Ed!" Ed declared.
"Interesting. So you know that these two are actually from the kingdom of Alabasta." Miss Valentine said. "That little tidbit caught the boss's eye, which is why we're here."
"Why should your boss care where his employees come from?" Ariala asked. "You're supposed to be a bounty-hunting company. It shouldn't matter to you if your boss hires a princess from a desert kingdom."
"VIVI'S A PRINCESS?!" Everyone else except Lithos, Merone, and Ferros called out in shock.
"Uh...yeah?" Ferros said as if it was no big surprise. "And Igaram is a member of the royal family's security team."
"Actually, I've since been pro-*cough* Ma-ma-ma... Been promoted to Head of Security." Igaram said.
"Huh, neat." Merone casually noted.
"Anyway, like I was saying... It shouldn't matter who Vivi is if she was hired by your company." Ariala said.
"I take it you're unaware of the current state of Alabasta. It's been embroiled in a civil war for the past two years." Mr. 5 said.
"So Vivi wanted backup. It still feels like your boss is blowing things out of proportion." Lithos said.
"Maybe I should make things clearer; Vivi didn't join our group to enlist our help... She infiltrated it because our boss is responsible for the civil war." Mr. 5 said.
"Don't go blurting out our secrets so casually!" Miss Valentine snapped. "In case you've forgotten...THEIR COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER IS STILL BROADCASTING THIS TO THE ENTIRE WORLD!"
Mr. 5's glasses slipped off his nose, showing his eyes blank with shock.
"Shit, I didn't think of that..."
Igaram quickly pulled out a saxophone and blew into it.
"IGARAPPA!"
The saxophone blasted out a group of bullets like a shotgun. The two agents quickly leaped out of the way, Mr. 5 digging into his nose and flicking the booger he pulled out right at Igaram.
"FORCIS NEBULI!" Bella shouted, creating a mana forcefield to protect Igaram from the explosion that came from the booger impacting it.
"He's got a Devil Fruit!" Eddy exclaimed.
"We're in the Grand Line now. We're going to be encountering quite a number of Devil Fruit users." Merone said.
Mr. 5 grunted and started to dig into his nose again. However, Igaram was faster on the draw and pulled on his tie, activating multiple gun barrels hidden in his hair curls, catching Mr. 5 off-guard and forcing him back.
"Damn, he's packing heat!" Hsiao whistled.
"Wait...where did the other one go?" Delphia wondered.
"Up there!" Grahambel called out, pointing his tiny limb skyward.
Sure enough, Miss Valentine was now hanging in the air, seemingly floating with her parasol.
"She must have a Devil Fruit too!" Double-D realized.
"What have we gotten ourselves into?" Usopp wondered aloud.
"A bizarre adventure indeed." N'Doul quipped. "Hmmm...why does that fill me with deja vu?"
Igaram turned to the crew. "I know this seems like a bad time, but we must get Vivi back to Alabasta. If you will help us, I'll see to it that you are immensely rewarded."
"And just how much is 'immense'?" Nami asked with Berri signs already in her eyes.
"Assuming Old Man Cobra is still alive? More than a king's ransom." Ferros said. "Alabasta is one of the richest countries on the Grand Line.
"Anyway, we can't speak for our navigator here, but we'd personally be willing to help for free. You two are old friends, after all." Lithos added.
Vivi smiled at that while Igaram teared up at the offer.
"Thank you so mu-*cough* Ma-ma-ma... So much!"
"Okay, then we'll talk reward once the job's done. For now, let's get rid of these two obstacles." Sonson said.
"Let us help as well!"
The crew was surprised to see Mr. 9 and Miss Monday joining them.
"Weren't you fighting with us not too long ago?" Usopp pointed out.
"We may not know everything that's going on, but Miss Wednesday and Mr. 8 have been our friends for the last two years. And even these recent revelations haven't changed that." Miss Monday said.
Both Vivi and Igaram were shocked. While they had indeed gotten to know and care for Mr. 9 and Miss Monday during their time as spies, they had fully expected the entire organization to turn on them once they were revealed.
Luffy grinned. "Shishishishi! Then you guys better keep up. Because this is going to be a serious fight."
Mr. 5 scoffed. "Such camaraderie is a disgrace to Baroque Works. All that's needed is the will to fulfill the mission."
"You only say that because you likely have such a high turnover rate. After all, it's harder to keep secrets when you don't trust each other." Zoro pointed out. "And when someone does learn a secret, they get executed. I'm willing to bet the higher-ranked agents have learned that it's better not to get too attached."
That actually struck a chord with Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine, the former shaking angrily.
"I... I've had enough of your words! Face the fury of my Bomb-Bomb Fruit!"
He started hawking loogies that created explosions around the group. Eddy acted quickly.
"One man's trash is another man's treasure!"
Using his Clank-Clank Fruit, Eddy telekinetically picked up all the rubble and junk from the previous fight and combined it all into a barrier dome of wood and stone around the crew. Meanwhile, Delphia rushed out to confront Mr. 5 directly.
"NOSE FANCY CANNON!" Mr. 5 shouted, flicking another exploding booger at Delphia, who turned her entire body into wood which seemed to harden.
"FIREBREAK FOREST!"
Resisting the explosions, Delphia enlarged her wooden fists, thorny vines forming around them for added offense.
"So the Bomb-Bomb Fruit can turn a user's body into a living bomb? Good to know."
As she got close, Mr. 5 quickly tried to punch her with an explosive fist. But to his shock, she came out unharmed.
"How in the world...?!"
"I can make the wood I create or turn my body into stronger than steel!" Delphia explained.
She slammed her giant wood fists into Mr. 5, sending him flying into a nearby building. Meanwhile, Miss Valentine had positioned herself right over the dome barrier Eddy had created.
"Let's see how much weight this dome can take. I'll crack it using my Kilo-Kilo Fruit!" She increased her weight to 10,000 kilos in order to smash through the dome. "10,000 KILOGRAM PRESS!"
She started to break through the dome, but then noticed it was empty. Except for a certain grinning Transponder Snail.
"Oh, ya done goofed, lass! SONIC RING!"
Miss Valentine wound up blasted out of the carbon dome by a powerful sonic ring burst. It turned out Ed had absorbed the ground in order to dig through it like a super-powered mole to let the group escape, leaving Grahambel behind to deal with the agent.
Miss Valentine managed to get up, intent on floating off again, only to be caught off-guard when Vivi snuck up on her from behind.
"PEACOCK SLASHERS!"
Miss Valentine found her parasol slashed to ribbons by daggers attached to spinning ropes.
"Now you can't properly float when your weight is low!" Vivi noted.
Miss Valentine freaked since she did indeed rely on her parasol to effectively maintain altitude when down to 1 kilo of weight. Zoro, Usopp, Choi, and Hsiao then came up behind her with their weapons drawn.
"Checkmate, Miss Valentine. Best to give up now." Zoro smirked.
Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine were left tied up using a special net Lithos had procured from Loguetown.
"This net is made from Seastone. The Marines use it to contain pirates who have Devil Fruits. The mineral has properties similar to standing water, so it can weaken any Devil Fruit user that comes into contact with it."
"I gotta say, Baroque Works doesn't really act like a proper bounty hunter guild," Nami said.
"It's not actually a bounty hunter guild, it's a criminal syndicate." Igaram clarified. "None of the members know who the boss is, but they obey him regardless out of a belief that he will found an ideal nation. Those who do well in the company will be guaranteed a high social standing within that nation. That is what keeps them loyal and together."
"Sounds way too good to be true. Not to mention a shortcut to whatever dreams they may have." Usopp said.
"Now you know why I decided to reject their invitation," Zoro said.
"Is there anything known about the boss?" N'Doul asked.
"His codename is Mr. 0. The closer a person's code name is to zero, the higher up they are," Vivi said.
"For the men, maybe. But what about the highest-ranking woman in the company?" Sanji asked.
"OF COURSE YOU'D SAY THAT!" Double-D groaned in exasperation.
"She's known as Miss All-Sunday and she's Mr. 0's right hand. The strength of the agents above Mister 5 and Miss Valentine is said to be especially incredible." Vivi said.
"Suppose we'll find out before long. They've already marked us." Merone said as she looked over to Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine. "And I'm pretty sure you're marked as well."
"What did I do?!" Miss Valentine asked incredulously.
"As I recall, any agent that's been captured is considered compromised and thus cut out of the company," Igaram said.
Miss Valentine's eyes went blank before she slumped in defeat.
"Anyway, I'm a little surprised Alabasta would suddenly break into civil war." Ariala said.
"It wasn't sudden. For years now the signs of revolution had begun to appear." Vivi clarified.
"How's that possible?" Ferros asked. "Your dad was always such a benevolent ruler. The people wanted for nothing under his reign when we visited."
"That was ten years ago, Ferros. But recently someone has been manipulating events to make it look like Father has become a despot." Vivi explained. "Now the kingdom is starting to fall into chaos. Just as I was starting to lose hope, I heard the name of an organization, Baroque Works, that was behind the manipulation. Unfortunately, I couldn't get any other information. Unable to do anything on my own, I asked Igaram for my help."
"Quite frankly I was shocked. Vivi was always annoyed with me med-*cough* Ma-ma-ma... With me meddling in her business ever since she was a child. But when she sincerely asked for my help in finding a way to infiltrate Baroque Works, I decided I had to agree." Igaram said. "Alabasta is my home too, after all. And I am deeply concerned about what might happen to my friends and family. Especially my wife."
"The boss may have said his goal was to create an ideal nation, but it's all a lie. His real goal is to take over the Alabasta Kingdom!" Vivi said. "That's why I need to hurry back and stop the fighting."
"It might not be that simple. If this guy has been manipulating people for that long, then he's got plants on both sides of the war-making sure to keep it going. So words alone won't cut it." Sanji pointed out.
"So did you find out who the boss is?" Luffy asked.
Vivi sighed. "He's after us anyway, so I might as well tell you. His name is Crocodile."
"Wait...as in Desert King Sir Crocodile?!" Ariala gawked, gobsmacked, "No wonder he's keeping his company secret. If the World Government found out he was trying to overthrow a nation under their jurisdiction they'd reinstate his bounty."
"What do you mean?" Eddy asked.
"Crocodile is one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and he's easily in Mihawk's league. He's one of the three Warlords we've personally met while staying with Father, the other two being Mihawk and Knight of the Sea Jinbei." Lithos explained.
"The other four are Heavenly Demon Donquixote Doflamingo, Tyrant Batholomew Kuma, Pirate Empress Boa Hancock, and the enigmatic Gecko Moria." Ferro continued. "One thing Iwe didn't mention is that when the World Government appoints a pirate captain as a Warlord, their bounty is effectively frozen and can't be collected. But if a Warlord makes an attack on the World Government, they'll reinstate the bounty and for all intents and purposes the Warlord is fired."
"Great...Hunted by a Warlord the moment we enter the Grand Line." Nami grumbled.
"To be fair it has been a few days since we entered," Bella said.
"You guys seem to know a lot about this Crocodile guy." Sonson said to the Children of Whitebeard. "Have you met him before?"
"He tried to challenge my dad to a fight once. Got his butt kicked right out of the New World." Ariala giggled. "I think there's still an imprint of him in the Red Line."
"Warlords may be powerful, but the Yonko are the top dogs among pirates for a reason." Merone said. "That said, Crocodile is not going to be a pushover. He's early New World level, so he will be a serious challenge. His bounty at the time he became a Warlord was 80,000,000 Berris."
"We do have some leeway. With the Unluckies locked up, Crocodile doesn't know what you look like yet. Mister 13 is amazingly good at sketch artistry." Mr. 9 pointed out.
"Not to mention I ended the broadcast after the fight was over. So he likely doesn't know we're trying to get to Alabasta." Grahambel added.
"No, but Crocodile's crafty, so he'd likely be able to guess it. We're not gonna be able to go directly there." Lithos said.
Igaram decided to set off with some of the ex-agents, including Mr. 9 and Miss Monday.
"Guess we'll be going separate ways," Luffy said.
Igaram nodded. "Indeed. Please take care of the princess."
"Hey, just in case we don't see each other again, you should know... My name's Jack King." Mr. 9 said.
"And mine's Clarabelle," Miss Monday added.
Vivi smiled and nodded. "Stay safe. And thank you."
The decoy ship disembarked and was soon out in the open sea.
"We should get going as well," Hsiao said.
"Hold on!" Vivi called out. "I just remembered! I'm still missing Carue! We can't leave without him!"
"Who's Carue?" Luffy asked.
"He's a supersonic duck. And he's been my friend and guardian for years now." Vivi explained.
"Grahambel, do a search for him."
"You got it," Grahambel said. "Listening... Ah, looks like he's on Merry. Causing confusion with Johnny, Yosaku, Kuishi, and Romaz. Looks like the Unluckies are still locked up as well."
Vivi ran as fast as she could to the ship, and sure enough, she was greeted by the sight of a man-sized duck wearing a wool cap and saddle. The duck looked over the moon to see Vivi and ran over to her. The rest of the crew showed up as well.
"Oh, Carue! I'm so glad to see you're alright."
"Qua-There's no way I'd ever leave you alone, Vivi. "You've always been my best friend."
Vivi yelped in surprise. "C-Carue! Y-You just talked!"
"Wait...you're right! I can talk?!"
"You can thank me for that," Grahambel said. "I can bring out another animal's inner voice with my Noise-Noise Fruit."
"Whoa, it's so weird to be able to talk. And I'm so articulate! And my voice is so squeaky and fun-sounding!"
Ariala then had a brainstorm. "Hey, Vivi, we can assume Carue is trustworthy, right?"
"Of course. He and his racing unit have been loyal guards of the Alabasta royal family for generations."
Lithos nodded. "And we are likely to need more firepower going up against Baroque Works..."
"What are you thinking?" N'Doul asked.
Sanji had a good idea and went into the storage, getting out the Sickle-Sickle Fruit.
"Is that a Devil Fruit?" Vivi asked.
"We wound up getting this by chance after I killed the previous user," Ferros explained as Sanji handed him the fruit. "None of us wanted to eat it, and we decided selling it would be too big a risk going forward. So we kept it on hand to give to someone we believed could be trustworthy."
"You mean me?" Carue asked. "I've never considered eating a Devil Fruit before. What does this one do?"
"It creates razor wind. The original user was a smug mercenary bastard who could only do so through his nails, but you might be able to use it more creatively." Zoro said.
Ferros handed the Devil Fruit to Care, who looked at it in confusion.
"So, what? Do I just swallow this or somethin'?"
"One bite's all it takes. My siblings and I only ate a small piece of our Devil Fruits. Some only need to eat the skin." Merone said.
"Well I've got no teeth," Carue pointed out. "So... Down the hatch!"
And with that, he swallowed the entire Sickle-Sickle Fruit. Naturally, he stuck his tongue out at how disgusting it was. But the effect was immediate, as the feathers at the edge of his wings seemed to sharpen into daggers and his talons grew sharper as well.
"Looks like it's working. We'll take the time to make sure you're able to train using this power." Ariala said. "Trust us, it's always difficult to handle at first."
Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine were locked in the brig alongside the Unluckies for the time being.
"Just to ask, how many do you think are gonna be coming after us?" Kuishi asked.
"With how strong you are? Mr. 0 won't waste his rank and file Billions or Millions. Most likely you'll only have to deal with whatever officer agents he can spare. Two, maybe four at most. We usually work in pairs." Mr. 5 replied.
"I actually know these two from the wanted posters," Yosaku noted. "Mr. 5 is Gem of the Border with a bounty of 10,000,000 Bweeia. And Miss Valentine is Courier Mikita, bounty of 7,500,000 Berris."
As the Merry left Cactus Island, they were observed by a certain woman. She was Miss All-Sunday, the vice president of Baroque Works. For a while, she had considered sneaking onto the ship, but it was clear Grahambel would pick her out quickly. And she was not confident she could handle multiple pirates with Logias.
"That said... They might be what I need to get out of this life. But first things first. There's something I need to confirm. I gotta thank those Straw Hats. I've gone this long in Baroque Works without actually killing anyone."
Miss All-Sunday had already figured out that Vivi and Igaram were trailing her to find Crocodile and had let them. She didn't think it would matter in the long term. Of course, she had to reveal this in order to keep her position. There was a very good reason she needed it, after all. She giggled as she got on her giant all-terrain turtle Banchi.
"Monkey D Luffy... And the Children of Whitebeard... I wonder if Crocodile can actually handle this one."
Happy New Year, everyone! Let's kick it off with a big banging chapter!
mtnetsurfer gave Carue the voice of Daffy Duck but I figured for my story, he'd have the voice of Woody Woodpecker.