A wave of horrified whispers rippled through the kneeling crowd.
"It's… It's Princess Vivi…"
"And that's Koza…"
"Shh! Be quiet, you fool! Do you want to die?"
The hushed chatter died as quickly as it began, smothered by the suffocating blanket of fear that had fallen over the street.
Ignoring the terrified onlookers, Koza scrambled to his feet and rushed to the little girl's side. He helped her up with a gentleness that defied the panic in his eyes. "Vivi, are you alright?"
"Ow… Koza, my arm hurts," she whimpered, rubbing at a rapidly forming bruise on her forearm.
He gently cradled her arm, his face etched with worry, then turned to their giant duck, Carue, who had shaken himself upright. "I'll get you back for treatment right away. Carue, can you still run?"
Seeing the duck nod, Koza comforted Vivi and carefully helped her onto Carue's back. He was about to leave when he remembered himself, slapping his forehead in dismay. He spun around, bent into a deep, desperate bow before the opulent carriage, and stammered, "I am so sorry! We ran into your vehicle! Please, forgive us!"
In the carriage, Saint Croft, who had been watching the scene with a chillingly blank expression, suddenly let out a sharp, piercing laugh. "Interesting. You bump into my carriage, and you think a simple apology means you can just walk away? How quaint." A cruel, predatory smile stretched across his face. "No. I think I'll give you a ride instead. Hahaha!"
Before the horrified boy could process the words, Croft's hand blurred. He pulled a golden-inlaid pistol from his waist and leveled its black muzzle directly at the back of Vivi's head.
"No!"
It was a conditioned reflex, an act of pure instinct. Koza threw himself over Vivi, shielding her small body with his own.
BANG!
The gunshot roared like thunder. Vivi screamed, her world shrinking to the sudden weight of her friend pressing her down against Carue's feathers. She felt a warm, wet slickness on her hands as she instinctively hugged Koza back, having no idea what had just happened.
Her heart hammered against her ribs. Just as she was about to speak, she heard Koza's strained voice from above her.
"Ahem… Carue, get Vivi out of here… quickly…" he coughed, patting the duck who was pinned beneath him.
He never got to finish.
BANG! BANG, BANG, BANG!
A series of gunshots rang out, punctuated by a crazed, gleeful laugh. "Ahahaha! Let's see how many bullets you can block, you little peasant!"
Amidst the wild laughter, Saint Croft kept pulling the trigger, the repeated recoil a satisfying release for all the boredom and frustration he'd accumulated in this sweltering desert kingdom. It was a perfect outlet for the brutal emotions that perpetually festered in the depths of his heart.
Under the protection of her friend, Vivi finally dared to turn her head. The sight that met her eyes would be burned into her memory forever: a stranger with a distorted, joyful face was firing a pistol madly in her direction.
Soon, the clip was empty. The gunshots and Croft's insane laughter ceased. He took two deep, shuddering breaths and stared at the strange scene before him, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"Huh? Why aren't you dead? Why… why did my bullets stop in the air?"
The bullets hung suspended, inches from Koza's back, shimmering faintly as if trapped in unseen amber.
The silence was broken by the soft thump-thump of approaching footsteps.
"Hey, hey, hey," a lazy voice drawled, cutting through the tense air. "Don't you think that's a bit much? There's a line between psychopathic cruelty and just being plain boring. And you, my friend, are getting awfully boring."
All eyes on the street turned. Jerry, wearing a simple black cloak over his usual attire, strode forward with his head held high. He sauntered calmly through the kneeling crowd, flip-flops slapping against the san, a large cigar clamped between his teeth.
He and his crew had been observing from a corner, with Carina desperately whispering for him to keep a low profile and stay out of trouble. When the first shot rang out, Jerry had complied—to a degree. He had secretly condensed the thin desert air's moisture into an ultra-thin, nearly invisible shield, absorbing most of the bullet's force. The wetness Vivi felt was a mixture of water and Koza's blood from the partial impact. He'd hoped a little bloodshed would satisfy the World Noble's sadistic whim.
He'd been wrong.
"Who are you?" Croft pointed a trembling finger at the hovering bullets. "Did you do this?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Me?" Jerry took a puff of his cigar, his expression utterly nonchalant. "I'm Crocodile. How about you do me a favor and let this go?"
Croft blinked in confusion, turning to his sister, who remained a silent, impassive spectator to the entire ordeal.
Jerry paid them no mind. He walked over to the children, and under their stunned gazes, he bent down and helped them to their feet. "You two," he said gently, "go home."
"Oh! O-Okay! Thank you, big brother!" Koza stammered, finally realizing that this stranger had just saved their lives.
"Your Excellency," the masked CP0 agent interjected, his voice cold and flat. "He is not Crocodile. He is 'Leviathan' Jerry."
Hearing this, Saint Croft's face contorted with renewed fury. He fumbled to reload his pistol, his hands shaking with rage. "I don't care who he is! Anyone who stands in my way dies!"
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Jerry remained where he was, watching as Koza, Vivi, and Carue scrambled into an alley and out of sight. He let the bullets fly toward him, only for them to stop dead a foot from his chest, clattering harmlessly to the ground.
When the gun clicked empty again, Jerry turned his full attention back to the Celestial Dragon. He grinned, revealing a row of sharp, white teeth. "See? Bad things happen when you point toys at people who can fight back."
"Tempest Kick: Razor Wind!"
The CP0 agent, recognizing the immediate danger, chose to strike first. He launched a sharp blade of compressed air at Jerry before blurring into motion, using his high-speed movement to close the distance for a direct attack.
"Oh? I suppose I should defend myself, then."
Jerry spoke calmly, leaning sideways to let the slash of wind whistle past him. As the white-suited agent appeared before him, a fishing rod materialized in Jerry's hand, and he swung it in a wide, swift arc to meet the incoming attack.
"Protect the masters!" the black-clad butler shouted, directing the slaves to steer the carriage away from the erupting battlefield.
"Oh no! The Marine is on its way!"
The sudden shout came from behind them. Cavendish, having galloped back from wherever he had been, spotted Carina and the others still hiding in the corner. Thanks to the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, his Observation Haki had awakened, granting him a considerable sensory range.
His warning drew everyone's attention. Sure enough, just as he finished speaking, a squadron of soldiers in Marine uniforms appeared at the far end of the street, sprinting toward the commotion.