🏴☠️️Ch. 60: All Out Battle Over a Misunderstanding! Luffy vs. Zoro!🏴☠️️
Despite being right within range of the gunfire, miraculously, our idiot, balloon of a captain is still snoring away probably the largest meal he's ever had in his life.
"Aw, damn it." Zoro grumbles, looking down from our rooftop adobe. A near front-row seat of all the carnage and drama.
"Looks like our captain seems to be trapped." Ghin remarks, smirking. "We'd better go save him, shouldn't we?"
"We should, even though it would teach him a lesson about falling asleep during a hostage situation, especially when he's the one being held hostage." I add.
The three of us climb off our rooftop before taking refuge behind the building, awaiting an opportunity for either of us to regain our captain from the startling situation.
"GO ON, PRINCESS VIVI!" Mr. 8, or now rather Igaram, urges the sky blue-haired Alabastian princess. "YOU HAVE TO ESCAPE!!"
"Igaram!" The female royal exclaims with great worry for her bodyguard.
From within the smoke and gunfire, Mr. 5 stands unaffected and cuts to the chase, firing some kind of projectile at the Alabastian Captain of the Guard with a flick of his fingers. The projectile explodes on contact with the curly-haired man's body.
Princess Vivi and Mr. 9 can only watch on in frozen terror as the smoke from the powerful explosion begins to clear and the Alabastian soldier crumbles to the ground unconscious.
"Igaram!"
"Don't bother." The screechy, obnoxious voice of Mr. 5's partner Ms. Valentine calls out from above. The pale blonde hovers in the air, weightlessly, with her lemon-themed parasol.
Drifting in lower, the blonde Baroque Works agent aims her leg to strike the princess' head, but the latter has just enough time to dodge. The attack only taking out the girl's hair accessory that's been keeping her hair held back in a ponytail. With her now flowing blue hair down around her face, it leaves her looking much younger.
Vivi retaliates with pulling out one of her Peacock Slashers. However, the screechy blonde proves to be resilient and dodges easily, floating away from the angered princess.
Ms. Valentine floats back to beside her partner, just beyond the singed form of Igaram.
"Dirty monsters..." The princess spits, glaring hatefully at the two higher-up Baroque Works agents.
"You mean you're really a princess, Ms. Wednesday? Oh, wow!" Mr. 9 coos, bowing on his hands and knees before his now to be ex-partner.
"A very busy Princess right now, Mr. 9!" Vivi snaps.
"Zoro, now!" I whisper-yell.
"Well I've had enough fun for one night. See ya." The swordman not so subtly runs between the fight, dragging the still sleeping Luffy behind him. But apparently, the Baroque Works agents could care less about us, as they seem to have a more pressing mission currently.
I stay behind, hidden away, watching the scene unfold, unclear on how to feel about the present situation.
"Princess V-Vivi..." Igaram's voice cracks against the brief silence in the fight.
"Oh, Igaram, you're hurt."
"Vivi, please...forget about me. You must get away from here! For our homeland."
The princess' eyes widen in horror.
"If you are to be harmed, Alabasta Kingdom would suffer...Please, Princess, you must hurry!
Mr. 5 begins to pick his nose, for some reason, still bearing a straight-faced expression. "If you think you can escape from us , you're mistaken."
Vivi pulls out two more of her Peacock Slashers from her top. "Let's see if you can take me!" She growls, spinning the jeweled blade with angry vigor.
The royal Nefetari readies to go on the offensive but is cut off by a silver bat blocking her path, taking her by surprise. She looks up to see it's none other than Mr. 9.
"This whole Princess thing is pretty confusing, but we've been fighting together for a long time, so get going!" He presses. He looks over his shoulder, giving her a comforting smirk. "I'm going to buy you some time for a head start."
"Thank you, Mr. 9."
'Huh, so I guess there is such a thing as honor among thieves.' I chuckle mentally. 'Maybe such people can form genuine bonds with one another.'
"Pretty manly of me, don't you think? Bye-bye, baby!" Before he can second guess himself and chicken out, the kingly-dressed red-head backflips into the fray. "I HOPE YOU'RE PREPARED FOR THIS!"
Unconcerned by the Baroque Work agent speedily backflipping right at him, Mr. 5 removes a noticeable-sized booger from his nostril. To which I mentally cringe at.
"All that is asked of us as agents is to do our jobs and to do them well. Forming such pathetic friendships is for the weak. it's time that you learned that. My Nose Fancy..."
"Bloody Bat...!"
"...Cannon!"
As 9 reaches 5, the latter flicks the ball of mucus he's been rolling between his thumb and forefinger before giving it a flick right at the lower level agent. When making contact, a sense of déjà vu occurs, strikingly similar to what occurred with Igaram. The snot ball is equivalent to a small bomb as it makes contact with Mr. 9's incoming form, leaving him to be sent flying with a trail of smoke following, splashing down into the town's canal.
Princess Vivi can only gape in horror as she witnesses her former partner be blown away by such an insignificant thing of gross origin. "Oh, no! Mr. 9!"
From within a nearby alley, Zoro and Ghin watch the fight with disbelief.
"I knew I was gonna see some strange stuff here on the Grand Line, but explosive snot? Even that's something I did not count on witnessing." Ghin eyes the event in subtle shock.
"Tell me about it. "Zoro agrees. "Did that really just come out of his nose?"
"I'll admit, this is a new one for me too." I add.
"What do you think? Devil Fruit user?" Ghin theorizes.
"Quite possibly." Our discussion is inexplicably cut off when something grabs ahold of my ankle. I look down to see it's the injured Igaram.
With pleading eyes and a bloodied face, he looks at me through the shadowed gaze of my hooded cloak.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" Zoro demands.
"Take your hands off her!" Ghin reaches for his tonfas.
I hold my hands out, stopping them from attacking the injured man. I kneel down to hear the man's pleas.
"Siren, please! I have a most unreasonable request, but I need someone with strength such as yours!"
"Yeah, right! You gotta be kidding! Would you let go of her!" Zoro growls. I respond by silently holding a hand up to quiet him. He begrudgingly agrees and I continue to hear the Alabasta Captain of the Guard out.
"Both of those villains possess Devil Fruit powers, and there's nothing I can do to stop them! That is why I'm begging you now: Protect Vivi of Alabasta in my place! Please!"
🏴☠️️☠🏴☠️️
The princess weighs her current options. She vouches for retreating on her duck partner, Carue, knowing full well that she can't take on two Devil Fruit users on her own. "Carue, run!"
With an acknowledging quack the duck takes off with rather surprising speed.
"And off she goes!" Ms. Valentine sniggers.
"She won't get very far. Let's go, Ms. Valentine!"
"Right behind you, Mr. 5."
☠🏴☠️️☠
"Surely you will be rewarded! If you can deliver the princess safely to our noble home: Alabasta Kingdom! I am just a humble servant, but I'm begging you to do this! Please protect the princess! I BEG YOU!"
"Forget it! We're not helping you! Until a few minutes ago, you were still trying to kill us! What do you think we are!? Fools?!"
Ignoring Zoro's shouts, I pull down my hood to be face to face with the Alabastan Captain of the Guard, leaving him stunned. "I see in your eyes that your conviction to the princess and your country is true. Consider her in my care." I pull my hood back over and take off in the young princess' direction, leaving behind a stunned Zoro and Ghin.
Silent tears run down the man's cheeks. "Thank the seas that there is still such a brave, heartfelt woman in this world."
"She might be doing this job for free, but I'll help myself to that reward."
Everyone turns to look up where to see Nami sitting atop and adobe, watching the whole thing, a sly smirk in mischievous gleam in her eye at the prospect of money.
"How does a billion beris sound?"
"Nami?" Zoro and Ghin gawk at their thought-to-be unconscious navigator.
"Huh? What did you say?" Igaram coughs up a bit of blood as his voice cracks. "Ma-Ma-Maaaa!"
"Weren't you passed out drunk earlier?" Ghin inquires. "Leave it to you to pop out of nowhere when money is the subject of discussion."
"Give us some credit." The orange-haired navigator hops down to ground level.
🌺Who in their right mind would sleep in a town that welcomes pirates, like Whiskey Peak?🌺 Carmela flies in, remaking.
🌀It was all an act, a charade, a pretense.🌀 Ahio adds.
💥Trust us, we've seen it before all the time.💥 Trigger snickers. 💥Why do you think bounty hunters can never catch us?💥
Zoro groans. "Whatever."
"Ma-Ma-Maaaaa!" Igaram is left shocked at the crafty navigator's skills of deduction and the talking animal's experience in situations like such.
"So why don't you go ahead and promise us the billion beri reward, huh captain? Cuz if we don't agree to help your precious princess, then she's probably gonna die." Nami grins a Cheshire grin, knowing full well that the pirates were the girls only hope of survival.
"I'm just a simple Soldier." Igaram admits. "I cannot promise such an immense reward."
Nami hums sneakily, kneeling down to Igaram's beaten form. "Surely you aren't suggesting that your princess' life is worth less than that. Right?"
The poor bodyguard sputters, at a loss for words.
"Doesn't really fight fair, does she?" Zoro remarks with his arms crossed.
"Extortionist, thy name is Nami." Ghin mutters.
"I can't promise anything! But if you're willing to deliver the princess to Alabasta, then you had best negotiate the terms of the reward directly with her!" Igaram states.
Nami's eyes narrow but don't lose the cheeky gleam, nor does her smile drop from her lips. "Which means I have to save her first, huh?"
"Please understand; Her life is in danger." Igaram urges.
"Oh, alright." Nami sighs, straightening back up from her squat, obviously unhappy with the arrangement. She comes to terms that with every second passing is a chance for the princess to die. And if the princess dies, she doesn't get paid. "We'll go ahead and save your darling princess, for now."
Igaram smiles through his pain in relief as the pirate navigator's promise.
Frowning deeply, Nami points out the direction the princess and their first mate had run off to. "Well Zoro, Ghin, go lend Siren a hand and go get her!" The navigator passes off the job to the swordsman and the quartermaster.
🌀Isn't (First Name) already on it?🌀 Ahio murmurs to his sister.
🌺You can't expect Nami to remember everything when money is involved.🌺
"Screw that! No!" Zoro and Ghin protest.
"If you want to make money, then fine! But you don't involve us in it!" The swordsman argues.
"And (Firs-- I mean, Siren has already gone after her, in case you forgot. Why do we need to go as well?" Ghin adds.
"Don't be stupid and stubborn. The money I make is certainly mine, but the contracts that I land benefit all of us. Why can you both not see that?"
"Do you seriously expect me to buy into that crap?!" Zoro snaps, using every ounce of will he's got to prevent from killing their greedy navigator.
"What? All you two really have to do here is beat up a few guys." Nami reasons.
"Is that all?" Ghin throws back sarcastically. "Again, I reiterate. Why send us when our perfectly capable first mate is already en route. You can't boss us around like you do with Sanji."
"Oh, I see. You're just afraid that you're going to end up losing to them."
"YOU WANT TO TRY SAYING THAT AGAIN, YOU GREEDY BRAT?!" The swordsman bellows.
Ghin inserts himself into the confrontation, holding back the green-haired male from offing the orange-haired thief.
In the midst of the, so far, verbal brawl, a bloated Luffy waltzes right by in search of a bathroom, still half asleep and completely oblivious to all that's happened. The humans of the crew too busy arguing to notice, unlike the Pack.
Despite the swordsman's threatening gaze, Nami still holds her ground. "Besides, did you forget? You still owe me some money from a while back."
Feeling that the swordsman is calmed enough, Ghin relinquishes his hold on him.
"What? I don't owe you anything."
"Yeah, I lent you 100,000 beris for some swords in Loguetown."
"And I gave you the 100,000 back almost right away." Zorro argues. "Someone gave me the swords, so I didn't even need your stupid beris."
"Maybe so, but you agreed to pay me 300%, bringing your total to 300,000 berries." Nami recalls their conversation down to the word. "And you agreed to it. You still owe interest."
"I gave you the hundred thousand back the same day! You can't really expect me to pay you interest."
"Sure can." Nami states stubbornly, not ready to drop the subject, causing Zoro to flinch. "Come on. Can't you even keep one little promise?"
Zoro looks ready to pop an ulcer at the navigator's sly ways.
Nami smirks, knowing she's won in the end. "Now just do what I say and I'll consider calling us even."
"Someday, you're gonna die a horrible death." Zoro grits past his clenched teeth.
"Oh, yes. And I'm sure I'll go straight to hell." She coos.
"Damn woman!"
With a final grumble, the swordsman takes off the direction of the runaway princess and their first mate, accompanied by the crew's quartermaster, who, despite being on the crew the least amount of time, had learned not to mess with their navigator when money is involved.
The navigator cackles to herself. "Thanks, Zoro! Ghin!" She calls out to their departing forms.
"Shut up!"
The swordsman could faintly be heard shouting back.
"I'm so ashamed." Igaram bemoans. "If I had been stronger, I could have protected princess Vivi like she deserves."
Carmela offers a warm smile. 🌺There's no need to worry; Your princess will be fine.🌺
"Yeah, our swordsman may look stupid but he's really strong. And teamed up with a quartermaster and our Siren, those Baroque Works agents don't stand a chance."
"If anything were to happen to Princess Vivi, the kingdom of Alabasta would be... it would be done for!"
Nami's smile from the sister of the macaw twin's words turns into a serious frown at Iggaram's statement.
"She must escape! She has to!" Iggaram's face morphs into an expression of utter distraught as he's reduced to tears.
At this time, Trigger steps up to the fallen man. 💥That won't happen. Not as long as the Siren is here. And when she says she's going to do something, she'll do it. No matter who it's for or what the objective is. That's just the kind of woman she is.💥
🏴☠️️☠🏴☠️️
Following alongside the princess in secret, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, I wait for the right moment to approach, knowing full well she'll be apprehensive about trusting a pirate like myself.
With the moment to myself, I'm half within my own thoughts 'Why would the princess of Alabasta infiltrate an organization of bounty hunters? What is her end goal in all this? It must be something truly serious if she's willing to leave the safety of her kingdom.'
Just when it seems as the princess is home free, explosion cuts off her escape route.
"Carue, stop!" She orders her duck, pulling back on his reins.
From the smoke of the explosion emerges Mr. 5, completely without a scratch.
"Oh no, it's Mr. 5. They found us." The princess tugs on the reins, urging her duck to turn onto another open street. "Hurry, Carue! Move!"
Again, the duck squawks in acknowledgement.
From above, Ms. Valentine descends ever so gently, watching their target's futile efforts at escape, giggling madly.
"It's kinda cute that she's trying." I hear Mr. 5 remark.
Luck doesn't seem to be going the princess' way, as once she's gotten away from two Baroque Works agents, she runs into another.
Ms. Monday currently stands in her path, armed with a giant wooden log.
"Ms. Monday?!"
Though it seems something is finally going the young sky-blue haired woman's way as she sees that the muscular, dark-skinned woman isn't here to capture her.
"Go on! You can reach the ships by going through here. I'll stay here and hold off the others."
"You sure?" Vivi asks meekly.
"After losing to the Siren and failing to bring her to the Boss, we're all going to be punished for failing our mission, anyway. At least if I do that, I can go down while helping to protect a friend." She throws a small smile at the younger girl.
Vivi holds back tears at the woman's kind words.
"What are you waiting around here for?!" Ms. Monday shouts. "If you get killed or captured Mr. 8 and Mr. 9 will have sacrificed themselves for nothing! Now get going!"
Vivi steels herself, offering a quiet 'thank you' before she could tear up and immediately takes off past her.
"First Mr. 9 defected and now you." Mr. 5 tsks, rolling up the long sleeve of his burgundy jacket. "Ms. Monday..."
"I am not going to let you pass! Because I made a promise to a friend." Ms. Monday replies sternly and with great conviction.
Ms. Valentine cackles. "That's adorable!"
"You are an utter disgrace...!" Mr. 5 sprints to meet his opponent, arm reeled back to throw a punch.
Ms. Monday twirls her log a few times around her form, then thrusts her makeshift weapon out to strike the higher-level agent.
Then man, however, dodges with ease, shocking Ms. Monday enough to clothesline her with his bare arm. "TO THE NAME OF BAROQUE WORKS!"
To add onto the attack, Mr. 5's ability creates a great explosion to the physical attack, setting the small area around them to go up in a contained blaze.
The explosion is enough for the princess to turn back to face where she left her friend. "No... Ms. Monday..." She utters in complete horror.
Mr. 5 chuckles, remorselessly, causing Vivi to growl and glare.
"That's why they call me the 'Bomb Man'. You see, I can make any part of my body explode. And thanks to my Bomb-Bomb Fruit powers, there hasn't been a single mission I have failed to complete."
From above, a familiar screechy voice cackles.
Vivi's eyes widen with terror as she sees Ms. Valentine hovering high in the air by her umbrella.
"And thanks to the Kilo-Kilo Fruit power that I possess, I can bury that traitor in Ms. Monday in the ground forever. I can change how much I weigh whenever I want. Right now, I'm light enough to be lifted by a slight breeze. but I think it's time I start gaining weight!" She suddenly begins to descend at a rapid pace. "5 kilograms...50 kilograms...100...500...1000...10,000 KILOGRAM PRESS!"
In the split second before the screechy, brightly colored bimbo is about to crush Ms. Monday, something comes in between the two women.
But it isn't until the smoke clears from the crater that the blond banshee made to reveal that she's in for a rude surprise.
As the air clears, Ms. Valentine's smug expression to horrified as she finds her foot not implanted in Ms. Monday's unconscious form, but my outstretched forearm, bent over to shield my head, my unbothered form standing over Ms. Monday protectively.
"Sorry to cut in..." I push back my arm to throw her off. But before she can get to a safe distance away, I grab her by her ankle. "But I can't have you laugh at this woman's convictions so callously." I leap out of the crater, throwing the still weighted Ms. Valentine at her partner, creating an even larger crater.
"Y-You're...!"
"Evening, Princess Vivi. I hope you don't mind the assist." I bow, smirking lightly underneath my hood.
"You...You know." Vivi starts almost unwittingly at my knowing her true identity as a princess.
"Your Captain of the Guard has enlisted the help of me and my friends to take over his role in your protection and safeguard to Alabasta."
"What?! Igaram did? But... Even after we tried to kill you all?"
"Be that as it may, I can't just stand by and let a princess with devotion to her kingdom fall to scum like Baroque Works." I grin, before I turn to glare in the direction of the newly recovered assassins.
"And just who the hell are you?" Mr. 5 demands, finger already in his nose, digging around for more ammunition.
The sight nearly made me hurl, but, regrettably, I've seen much, much worse.
"How dare you ruin my performance!" Ms. Valentine emerges from the rubble.
"Wasn't much of a show with that nails on a chalkboard you call a voice." I retort. "As for who I am. Just another pirate standing in between you and your mission."
"Pirate, huh?" He rolls the booger between his fingers before taking aim. "Nose Fancy Cannon!"
"SEA SHIELD!" From my open palm, I summon a barrier of water to shield us from the exploding projectile.
The snot bomb instead takes out the area in front of me, along with damaging the houses on both sides of the street.
Seeing my ability over water causes a look of recognition on the two Baroque Works assassins' faces. I relish in the subtle looks of fear in their expressions.
"Seems now you know full well who you're dealing with."
I look over to see Zoro and Ghin land before her.
"Mr. Bushido! Mr. Arnis!"
"And who are these clowns?" Mr. 5 questions.
☠🏴☠️️☠
Nami sits on a barrel, looking up at the clear sky of stars and the bright moon, while Carmela treats Iggaram's injuries.
"Tell me... Baroque Works. Exactly, what kind of company is it?"
"It's a secret crime syndicate. It specializes in assassinations, espionage and bounty hunting." Iggaram explains. "The company is so secretive that none of its members know the boss's name or face, but they will still do anything that the boss commands them to."
"I don't get it. Why would any rational person listen to some big boss whose identity they don't even know?"
Iggaram's frown deepens as he continues. "The ultimate objective of Baroque Works is the creation of an ideal nation. And everyone who does well within the company now will be guaranteed high social standing within this nation. This is the promise that drives them to blindly follow."
🌀Now that makes more sense.🌀 Ahio comments.
"The agents all have numbers as their code names. The boss' codename is Mr. 0. So the closer and agents number is to 0 the stronger and more skilled they are and the higher their standing will be. The agents from Mr. 5 and above are especially powerful. Incredibly so."
🏴☠️️☠🏴☠️️
"I take it that you two must be the other fighters who beat up all the lowly employees who were stationed out here." Ms. Valentine inquires.
"Why would you all want to protect the princess of Alabasta?" Mr. 5 queries.
"We have our reasons. Mine being that I can't stand being in the presence of such vile filth such as yourselves and those of your "company". And I'll just leave it at that." I reply.
"Well, one way or another we're going to have to eliminate ya. You see, you're in our way."
Ms. Valentine cackles screechily. "Aw, what a shame!" She coos sarcastically.
Mr. 5 smirks, picking around in his nose again.
Zoro flicks one of his katanas lose, while Ghin starts twirling his batons at an even pace.
"I FOUND YOU!!"
A familiar voice rings suddenly against the silence.
"ZORO!"
"What is it now?" Ms. Valentine complains, looking over her shoulder, along with her partner, to see a full-stomached Luffy barreling in their direction.
The green-haired swordsman grins at the extra back-up. "Luffy! Thanks for coming, but we got this one. Unless that greedy brat dragged you into this too."
The normally happy-go-lucky Straw Hat captain looks anything but happy right now, huffing like an angry bull.
"YOU ARE GONNA PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID! I'LL KILL YOU!" He snarls.
"WHAT?!" Zoro blinks, jaw hanging wide open, completely at a loss for Luffy's sudden declaration against him.
I begin to rub at my temples. "Tankou lannwit sa a pa te deja yon maltèt ase.[1]"
"What kind of nonsense have you gotten into your head this time?!" Zoro barks.
"SHUT UP AND GET READY! BECAUSE I'M ABOUT TO KICK YOUR UNGRATEFUL, LITTLE ASS!"
"'Ungrateful'?"
"Okay. I've heard enough. I'm gone." I grabbed ahold of Vivi's duck's reigns, pulling them along and away from the soon to be battlefield.
"Mind if I join you? I'm exhausted just watching this." Ghin moans.
"Hey! (First Name), don't go wandering off and leaving me to deal with this! You're the first mate, aren't you? Calm down and reel in the captain like you usually do!" Zoro complains, earning an 'even I have a limit to the stupidity that is Luffy' look as Ghin and myself calmly stroll off to a safe distance and merely sit back and watch the show.
"That's right! Everyone here was nothing but nice to us. They welcomed us and threw us a party and gave us food! And you repaid them by cutting them all up with those swords of yours!" Luffy's anger grows with every word.
"Leave it to Luffy to be mad without knowing the bigger picture that's a hand." Ghin remarks.
"Like I said, Luffy's not the brightest. Food and fighting are his livelihood, exclusively in that order." I reply.
Zoro begins to sweat nervously, knowing that everything Luffy said was true, but the latter has yet to come to the truth as to why. "Yeah, but...There's something you don't know!"
"Shut up and fight me!" Luffy roars.
"This guy is just a complete idiot." Vivi comments.
"And then some." I add, earning a nod from the princess' duck, who I pat affectionately.
Mr. 5 scoffs humorously at the odd turn of events. "And now they're fighting amongst themselves; How pathetic."
"If we wait long enough, maybe they'll kill each other, and we won't have to bother with them."
Zoro sighs angrily and begins trying to explain a key piece of the puzzle that has gone over Luffy's head. "Hold on, Luffy. Can you just listen to me for one second? They're actually..."
"NO EXCUSES!" Luffy cuts him off and launches himself at surprising top speed despite his bloated physique as is right in front of the poor swordsman in barely a few seconds.
"Wait, no!" Zoro tilts his head to the side quickly to avoid Luffy's rubbery fist from taking his head off. The ravenette's attack ends up destroying the rock behind him.
"YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!" Zoro barks, gawking at the damage that would have been done to his head.
"Uh-huh! Die!" Zoro's mouth hangs wide open at Luffy's blatant response, his head whipping around to my direction.
My only response is to boredly watch with my hand leaning against my palm, offering him only a shrug.
"Dammit, listen!" Zoro dodges Luffy's flying kick. Then he just narrowly misses the rubber boy's headbutt, which does massive damage to the rock wall.
"He's gone crazy. Luffy, stop this!" The swordsman continues to persist. But his words only seem to spur the young pirate captain on, forcing him to dodge more of the rubber boy's attacks.
"Well, Mr. 5? It looks like they're too busy beating each other out to cause us any trouble."
"Apparently. So why don't we just leave those two idiots to fight while we do the job that we were sent here to complete. Eliminating Princess Vivi of Alabasta Kingdom. Retrieving the 'Seafaring Siren' will be an added bonus with the Boss."
The two Baroque Works agents then shift their attention back to the blue-haired princess Ghin and I are guarding at present.
Meanwhile, the captain and swordsman of the Straw Hat Pirates are still going at it, taking out a few buildings as they go.
"Hey, tough guy, quit running away!"
"Luffy, listen to me!"
"Shall we, Ms. Valentine?"
"Yes, Mister 5!"
"Quit screwing around, damn it!" Zoro growls, kicking Luffy's stuffed form like a playground ball.
Ghin and I didn't even have to lift a finger as Luffy's bloated body goes crashing into the assassins and into a neighboring building.
The two's scuffle leaves the swordsman out of breath. "You dumbass..." He then points his katana at me in an accusing manner. "And you! What kind of first mate are you!? Why didn't you at least help me?!"
I merely shrug once more. "You may not have known Luffy as long as I have, but you know that when he's serious, there's no stopping him. Best chance of getting him to stop is to beat the truth into his head or just beat him. That's always been my solution."
From a distance, we can make out a multitude of explosions from where Luffy and the two assassins crashed into. At the same time, Ms. Valentine catches a breeze high into the air, gliding right for them.
"Now I'm really annoyed! I hope you're ready to experience my Kilo-Kilo Fruit power." The blonde cackles wildy. "Prepare to be smashed into a thousand tiny pieces and buried a hundred meters in the ground!"
"Mr. Bushido! Mr. Arnis! Ms. Siren! You have to get out of the way, she's--"
"Be quiet!" Zoro cuts off the princess' worried calls. "I have more important things to worry about, right now."
From out of the smoke, a now slimmed down Luffy drags a beaten and bloodied Mr. 5
"That was a good workout. I finally managed to digest some of that food." He says, patting his thinned midsection.
Vivi's eyes widen with disbelief. "He...He fought Mr. 5 and won?! He took out one of Baroque Works best agents!"
The brim of Luffy's hat shadow his face, but his eyes can be seen zeroing in on Zoro. "All right, now let's finish this."
"Okay, Luffy. Just calm down and hear me out for a second. Everyone who lives here in Whiskey Peak is really a bounty hunter, which makes all of them our enemies." Zoro explains over the shrill voice of the blonde banshee hovering above him.
"Here I come! I hope you're getting scared. I may look like right now but I can increase my weight to 10,000 kg, you know." Ms. Valentine's monologuing is ignored by the swordsman below, angering her further. "HEY! PAY ATTENTION TO ME, YOU JACKASS!"
But her shouts continue to be ignored as Luffy drops Mr. 5's unconscious body. "YOU'RE JUST LYING! ENEMIES WOULDN'T GIVE US TASTY FOOD, WOULD THEY!?"
My headache increases at Luffy stupidity, while Ghin facepalms for the same reason.
"Taste my 10,000 Kilogram Press!" Is Valentine's attempt at crushing Zoro is squandered by the swordsman taking a simple step to the side, dodging her attack and forcing her to crash herself into the ground just mere inches away.
"Fine, then." Zoro reaches for the black bandana tied across his bicep. "It doesn't look like there's any sense I'm trying to talk to you." He ties the fabric around his head. "You know, you're really a moron! It's a wonder how (First Name) has put up with all your crap and she's the sanest of us all. This time, I'm not gonna hold back. It'll be your own fault if you die."
"Sounds good to me!"
"Just a sec! What's going on here? I thought you guys were on the same side." Vivi's head snaps to me and Ghin. "And you two, shouldn't you stop them before they kill each other?"
"If you haven't noticed, our captain is a stubborn one." Ghin responds. "Words just go over his head; He only understands actions, or rather fighting. He won't stop unless someone makes him."
I nod in agreement. "It's best to just let this run its course."
"Ready for my Gum-Gum...!" Luffy throws his arms back, stretching them greatly as his body runs right for Zoro.
Zoro sprints to meet his captain, armed with his blades. "Oni..."
"...Bazooka!"
"...Giri!"
The two attacks clash has both opponents meet in the middle, neither willing to give the other an edge. Luffy blocks Zoro's swords with his sandaled foot while his arms grasp Zoro's shoulder and wrist holding him back from cutting him.
"Let's see which one stronger. Your rubber hands or my steel. What do you say?" Zoro grits through the sword in his clenched teeth.
"Yeah. Let's settle this once and for all!" Luffy growls.
"Tatsu..." Zoro flicks one of his katanas to a different position. "Maki!" With a single slash, he creates a tornado of wind, whisking Luffy into the air.
"Gum-Gum: Pistol!" In the midst of being swept away, Luffy reels back an arm and strikes Zoro perfectly square in the face from mid-air.
Both their attacks send them flying into opposing walls.
"Wǒ yào hé nàxiē nánhái zuò shénme?[2]" I shift my gaze back to the sky blue-haired royal. "Come along now, princess. We've got to get you someplace safer."
Vivi nods, still wary if our intentions are true. Ghin and I steadily trek through the battle-worn street now that Zoro and Luffy have knocked themselves out for the time being.
The eerie quietness is suddenly broken as the pirate captain and swordsman erupt from their respective piles of rubble, scaring the ever-living crap out of the princess and her duck, before charging at each other once again.
Fists clash, as the two meet at center for the second time. Zoro slashes with his katana but Luffy dodges, returning with a kick that also fails to meet its target.
A scratch on Luffy's cheek here. A punch to Zoro's stomach there. And then it's another full out brawl.
In the midst of trying to steer the princess out of range of the twos' fight, Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine recover from their injuries and rush headlong into the duel, intent on ending the pirates and salvage their reputation and pride.
"You can't beat us! Prepare to die at the hands of Baroque Works officer agents!"
"Shut up and go away."
Even the two tough-skinned assassins flinch away and halt in their tracks at the pirates' cold glares and
"You're interfering...WITH OUR FIGHT!"
Showing not a shred of mercy or even caring who they are, Zoro and Luffy bat the scared to tears Baroque Works agents away like the pesky flies they are.
☠TO BE CONTINUED . . . ☠
On the next One Piece. . .
"Whose bright idea was it to bring her?! Now, we'll have more people after us!"
"Says the girl who agreed to the terms, wanting to get paid."
"Well I'm excited!"
"Yeah, quit complaining."
"A real-life Princess!"
"You don't get it, do you? We're in trouble here!"
"Give it up, we've already decided that Vivi's coming."
"You better be prepared to pay up in full for this!"
🏴☠️️Ch.61: Delivering Princess Vivi of Alabasta! The Straw Hats Set Sail!🏴☠️️
☠🏴☠️️☠
☠Current Crew: Luffy | (First Name) | Zoro | Nami | Usopp | Ghin | Sanji☠
🐾The Pack: Carmela | Ahio | Tito | Umi | Trigger | Calder | Richie | ChouChou🐾
💙Pets: Nestor the Hermit Crab💙
💎Gems: Jimanekia the Yellow Pearl | Kylie the Emerald💎
🔮The Guild: Hanabi (Familiars: Akihiro | Xìngyùn) | Astro (Familiar: Hunter)🔮
🏴☠️☠🏴☠️
Translation(s):
[1] - Like this night was not already a headache enough. (Haitian Creole)
[2] - What am I ever going to do with those boys? (Chinese)