-----
-----
Whiskey Peak looked like a town that welcomed pirates with open arms—But in reality, it was a gathering spot for bounty hunters working under Baroque Works.
The mayor of the town? A curly-haired, big-wave, middle-aged man known by the codename Mr. 8.
Right now, he was leading the townspeople to give the Straw Hats a big, warm welcome.
"Wow! A town that actually welcomes pirates?!"
Usopp—always a sucker for attention—was thrilled.
"So many beautiful ladies! This place is paradise!"
Sanji was busy being blinded by heart-eyes at all the women batting lashes at him.
"Hahaha! I didn't think the Grand Line had towns this fun!"
Luffy, as usual, just went along with everything without thinking twice.
The other three Straw Hats though...
Bai Ye quietly eyed the blue-haired girl hiding off to the side.
Zoro stood with arms crossed, clearly deep in thought.
Nami suddenly broke into a bright smile and walked straight up to the mayor.
Then—BAM!
She whipped out a paper talisman from her chest and slapped it onto Mr. 8's forehead before anyone could react.
It was the same puppet charm Bai Ye had used back in Cocoyashi Village to control Ajian and Salt-Broil.
"Nami!" x2
Luffy and Usopp both shouted, completely lost as to what she was doing.
"You guys seriously that dumb?"
Nami snapped, "You really think a town like this actually welcomes pirates?"
She then turned to the now-controlled mayor with a pleasant smile:"Alright, spill everything. What's this place really about, and who are you, exactly?"
The man quickly confessed it all:
The welcoming vibe was fake. The real plan was to kill pirates and steal their loot.
Usopp and Luffy were completely stunned.
Sanji snapped back to reality too—and to cover his embarrassment, he dashed into the crowd and knocked out all the bounty hunters who were about to attack.
Just as everyone thought the secrets were all out... the man dropped an even bigger bomb:
"I'm not just the mayor of this town.""I'm also a senior officer of Baroque Works—codename Mr. 8!"
"And underneath those identities..."
"My real name is Igaram, Captain of the Royal Guard of the Kingdom of Alabasta!!"
"NANI?!" x100
Everyone's jaws hit the floor—including the bounty hunters Sanji had just KO'd.
"Hey, Igaram, what's going on with you?!"
The blue-haired girl—Mr. Wednesday—suddenly stepped out from hiding.
"Who's she?" Nami asked on instinct.
But Igaram answered right away:
"She's the one who infiltrated Baroque Works with me—Princess Vivi of the Kingdom of Alabasta!!"
"NANI?!" (Yeah, everyone was shocked again.)
In under ten minutes, the crew had uncovered a wild story:
The Kingdom of Alabasta had fallen into chaos, and Princess Vivi found out about the existence of Baroque Works.
She decided to go undercover, climbed the ranks, and eventually became a high-ranking agent.
And just recently, she and Igaram discovered the so-called "ideal country" their boss wanted to build...was just a cover for stealing Alabasta's throne.
Honestly, it was...
"Hahaha! This is crazy! What a story!"
Luffy was the first to laugh it off.
"A kingdom caught up in a conspiracy with a bounty hunter group?"
Sanji lit a cigarette and said,"Looks like we just got ourselves tangled in something big."
"Don't be ridiculous,"
Nami cut them off:"Anyone bold enough to try and steal an entire kingdom's power is way out of our league."
"So once we charge up our Log Pose, we should get out of here—fast."
She wasn't wrong. That really was the best idea.
But then...
"Hey, old man, who's that guy?"
Luffy casually asked, pointing at a nearby photo.
"NO!!"
Nami screamed and reached out to rip the charm off Igaram's forehead.
But it was too late.
"He's one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea—Bounty: 81 million berries—The Sand Crocodile: Crocodile!!!"
Igaram's voice rang out loud and clear across the whole town, like he was singing an opera.
And just like that, all the bounty hunters—who were still in shock—suddenly looked like they were about to drop dead.
"Wait, why do they all look like they've seen a ghost?"
Sanji asked, super confused.
"I think…"
"It's because of those two up there, right?"
A calm voice cut through the tension—Bai Ye's. He pointed to a nearby rooftop where two animals were sitting.
A sea otter and a vulture.
"The Unlucky Duo!"
Princess Vivi's face turned pale with despair.
"They're the ones who send intel directly to Crocodile."
No sooner had she said that than the sea otter held up a few sketches for everyone to see.
"Whoa, that's actually a pretty good drawing," Usopp commented without thinking as he looked at the portraits of the Straw Hat crew.
But then it hit him: "Wait, wait, wait—doesn't this mean they've marked us as enemies too?!"
"We gotta stop them—Zoro!!!"
Before Usopp could even draw his slingshot, both animals suddenly found themselves with swords at their throats, cold sweat pouring down their furry faces.
Zoro had appeared without a sound.
"Mind staying right where you are?" he said calmly.
The truth was, Zoro—now awakened to Observation Haki—had sensed them the second they appeared.
That's how he got there so fast.
"Zoro can be pretty reliable when it counts," Nami couldn't help but say with a little admiration.
Then she glanced over at Igaram. "Only 81 million bounty?"
"Bai Ye's at 100 million, Luffy's got 60 million… and this 'Crocodile' you're talking about, is he really that scary?"
Igaram was still recovering from being hypnotized earlier, but he answered seriously:
"It's not that simple."
"After Crocodile became one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the World Government stopped putting bounties on him. That's why it hasn't gone up in years."
"Plus, he's a Logia-type—he ate the Sand-Sand Fruit. He can whip up massive sandstorms, and attacks just go right through him."
Igaram expected his explanation to spark panic, but...
The Straw Hats didn't react like he thought they would.
"Tch, so he's just another Logia-type user, huh?"
Usopp had seen plenty by now—he didn't look worried.
"If that's all he's got, no wonder his bounty's stuck at 81 million."
Igaram, Vivi: "Eighty… ONLY 81 million?!"
"....."