"Looks like I guessed right. There are indeed exploration achievements here… But where is this pet reward?" Vivi and Karoo stood there, one duck and one person, looking around for a long time. There was absolutely no sign of a pet dog appearing out of thin air—not even a single dog hair.
"Don't tell me we have to go and collect it ourselves?" she asked Karoo.
"Quack? Quack!" The duck seemed to think for a moment, then nodded. It could vaguely sense the location of his little brother.
"So troublesome…" Vivi covered her forehead, looking exasperated. This dog named Xiu Xiu seemed to be quite far from Loguetown.
Though the distance was considerable, she was happy to be gaining a new pet.
Though they had only traveled together for just over a month, Vivi and the duck Karoo had forged a close bond. At the beginning of her journey, she had been afraid, uncertain, but Karoo had always been by her side. This silly duck, though seemingly helpless, was still her companion. She didn't dare to leave Karoo in charge of long missions alone, fearing he'd be killed by pirates or Sea Kings. She'd once woken up crying in the middle of the night over such fears.
To be heartless—well, now that she was getting another pet, she wouldn't need to be quite as careful.
Places like Little Garden could be marked in her future travel plans. Even if the new pet died… well, she wouldn't grieve too much.
"Quack! Quack!" Karoo was excited, clearly encouraging her to head out on her own. Vivi thought carefully. With her current strength, it should be safe to enter those beginner regions, right?
"Alright, let's prepare some supplies and leave immediately."
There was no chaotic geomagnetic field in the East Blue like in the Grand Line. Here, normal compasses and nautical tools still worked. Vivi, with her Navigation Knowledge at Level 3 (55/100), relied on Karoo's instincts to track down the town where the puppy Xiu Xiu was located. Disaster prevention was in place.
Putting her thoughts into action, she informed Mr. 9 and took a merchant ship toward the Goa Kingdom to search for the puppy Xiu Xiu.
Before departing, she took a walk near the execution platform in Loguetown. Looking around, she noticed the square's security had increased significantly. Marines patrolled with sharp eyes and live ammunition. Anyone who came within ten meters of the platform was immediately detained and interrogated.
Through the bounty hunter network, she discovered that a new wanted poster had appeared in Loguetown.
Strangely, this wanted poster served more as a warning—it was for the pet duck Karoo.
Karoo had run very fast that day, but not at light speed. Several eyewitnesses, after piecing their memories together, gave a rough sketch of the creature they saw.
Vivi had already anticipated this. All the hats, goggles, clothes, and accessories she'd purchased for Karoo were intended as disguises. Under the pen of a Naval sketch artist, Karoo had transformed into a bizarre creature—sheep's head, antlers, shiny feathers, and a big fluffy tail.
The Marines didn't know what they were looking at. Some witnesses claimed it was a reindeer, others a civet cat. The Navy didn't bother investigating thoroughly. They simply slapped a charge for "disrupting public order" on the creature and issued a bounty—50 Berries. Not even enough to buy a newspaper!
As for the townspeople who collapsed during the earlier incident, the Navy's official explanation was "mass food poisoning." There was no mention of Haki or Conqueror's Haki. Even when Miss Goldenweek tried asking the Empress (Hancock) for clarification, the higher-ups ignored her. The issue was swept under the rug.
Vivi was very satisfied. She hadn't exposed herself and could continue her journey in peace.
All was well. Time to set sail!
Just as she was about to board her ship, two bounty hunters came running from afar to deliver "bad news."
"I'm Johnny."
"I'm Yosaku."
The two stood before Vivi like doormen, each with a large sword slung across their backs. From the way they stroked their chins, they clearly fancied themselves masters.
"We're really sorry. Mr. Lem from your organization unfortunately fell into the sea and was attacked by a Sea King. He died."
"Yeah, Mr. Lem was a big help to us. It's a pity he passed away."
The two spoke in perfect sync, then posed like seasoned warriors.
Lem dead? Eaten by a Sea King? Ridiculous! He was sliced up by Zoro because he got too arrogant!
Vivi's ability to "hear the voice of all things" was still developing and didn't work well on humans. Human minds were too complex—what she picked up was usually fragmented and chaotic. But even then, she could sense something off. These two were nervous. And nervousness meant guilt.
She pointed at the man with sunglasses who covered half his face with his left hand and asked, "You're Johnny?"
"Yes."
She then pointed at the man in a long trench coat and shorts, covering half his face with his right hand, and asked, "Then you must be Yosaku."
"Exactly."
Vivi clicked her tongue. Watching their ridiculous theatrics, she wondered if they thought they were "God of Blade and Saint of Sword."
Reflecting on the butterfly effect her actions had caused, and sensing the unease and hesitation in these two, she tried probing further: "So, Mr. Lem recruited you two to join Baroque Works?"
"That's right."
"Yeah."
So, you're here to help cover for Zoro? Spying on the enemy from the inside? Or is it that Zoro didn't care and you two came to be undercover agents out of loyalty?
Everyone's pretending. Why is it so hard to be a double agent openly?
She slowly drew Huazhou. The tip of the blade pointed at the ground. "Alright, come at me. Let's spar. Show me what you've got."
Heaven knows, she really didn't use any force. No Armament Haki, no Conqueror's Haki. She lightly pressured Joseph's blade with Huazhou, dodged Johnny's wild slash with a simple sidestep, then used his unbalanced stance against him. An elbow strike to the abdomen dropped Johnny, and the hilt of Huazhou knocked down Joseph.
As the two lay on the ground, gritting their teeth and struggling to get up for another round, Vivi was speechless. These two were even weaker than the pirate grunts she'd locked in the Whiskey Peak prison.
In terms of physical strength, reflexes, power, and skill—they were all average at best. Far worse than the original Vivi. The only thing she could commend was their courage. But bravery alone couldn't substitute for strength. Only someone like Luffy could cry "Gomu Gomu no…" in the face of overwhelming odds and still push forward.
Vivi offered some hollow praise: "Well, not bad. Your basics are solid, and your techniques are decent. What you need now… is experience."
She hesitated, then asked the question that had been on her mind: "By the way… was Roronoa Zoro also recruited by Mr. Lem? Who else joined?"