A boat was sailing peacefully through the waves. The sky was extremely sunny and clear, the weather pleasant and cool, as if spring had just arrived.
At the bow of the boat, Rody lazily reclined on a deck chair with a beach umbrella blocking the sun's rays, enjoying the light sea breeze. A cup of black tea rested in Rody's hand, which he sipped occasionally. Nami peeled oranges next to him, feeding him occasionally.
How comfortable! Rody thought, his face extremely lazy, enjoying life.
Rody watched with interest the snowman Bumblebee had made, which showed signs of melting. The snow and the cold had long since disappeared. At that moment, Bumblebee, José, and Leo were shoveling the remaining snow on the bow of the boat while playing.
Watching the snow on the bow gradually melt, Nami understood more clearly how unpredictable the weather could be on the Grand Line. She clearly remembered a few hours ago, snowflakes still falling and the cold chilling her bones, but everything was different now, as if none of that had happened. The sun shone brightly in the sky, and a warm breeze could be felt.
"Rody, now I understand why it's said that sailing the Grand Line is extremely difficult, almost impossible. As you know, I've been learning to sail since I was a child and have navigated the East Blue with great ease for many years." Nami paused and sighed deeply. After a few seconds of silence, she finally continued.
"But it seems that all the knowledge and experience I've acquired throughout my life are completely useless here on the Grand Line. It seems that if I want to continue sailing like before, I need to learn more!"
"So now I'm going to the library to carefully review the Grand Line's manual and logbook, compiled by Steward Sebas throughout his life, and to write down all the relevant information."
"Hmm, that's a good idea," Rody replied, taking a bite of the orange Nami had just peeled for him.
Nami nodded, stood up, and tossed the only remaining orange to Rody. She slapped her thighs and said with a smile, "Well, Rody, no more oranges for today. I'm going to study right now."
Nami took a few steps before stopping and looking at Rody menacingly. "By the way, Rody, you're not allowed to steal the oranges from my orange tree and eat them, do you understand?"
Hearing Nami's threatening tone, Rody rolled his eyes, glared at her maliciously, and slapped her butt as he said, "Hey, are you trying to control me now? Haha."
"Humph, I already told you, you have to do it, otherwise we won't get anything done tonight!" Nami snorted coldly, rubbed her somewhat sore butt, and walked toward the library.
This boy, Rody, always ate his oranges as if they were endless. The tree she had brought from her village wasn't enough anymore due to Rody's voracious appetite, so she had no choice but to threaten him with what he enjoyed doing the most.
...
Hearing Nami's words, Rody didn't know what to say. In the end, he sighed, shook his head, continued enjoying the sea breeze, closed his eyes, and settled in for a nap.
"Captain, look, there's a strange bird in the sky!" Bumblebee exclaimed, pointing at the sky.
"What's wrong?" Rody asked in a dissatisfied tone. He was obviously about to take a nap, but being interrupted made him feel somewhat annoyed.
"Look, Captain, up there in the sky, there's a strange bird that's been flying above us for quite some time," Bumblebee said in a strange tone. Obviously, from his vantage point, this bird was quite suspicious; it didn't look like an ordinary bird.
"Oh," Rody calmed his inner annoyance and looked in the direction Bumblebee was pointing. At that moment, with his sharp eyesight, he noticed that what was flying in the sky wasn't a strange bird, but a vulture. The most curious thing was that, riding the vulture, was an otter wearing a peculiar outfit and sunglasses, which made it look quite cool.
Seeing this, Rody became interested and immediately exerted his Observation Haki to the fullest. He fixed the otter and the vulture in the sky and immediately launched a beam of killing intent mixed with cursed energy toward them.
Cursed energy is an accumulation of energy derived from a large amalgamation of negative emotions, such as sadness, fear, anger, and others.
When released, it will naturally make people feel uncomfortable, especially if the amount of cursed energy in the caster is extremely high. As someone with the King of Curses template, their cursed energy is not something an ordinary person can endure, especially now that their cursed energy has practically doubled due to the conditions of the One Piece world.
Furthermore, the accumulated killing intent can be used in conjunction with the cursed energy to generate a feeling of suffocation, much like the Reiastu in the World of Bleach.
Of course, this type of "attack," if it can be called that, is only effective for the physically and mentally weak.
The vulture and the sunglasses otter soaring in the sky suddenly felt a brutal killing intent, accompanied by other negative emotions. This accumulation of evil intentions made them tremble with fear for a few moments. They felt as if they were gasping for air, their bodies extremely tense, as if a powerful beast were watching them.
It was as if this predator was watching them with unbridled hunger, examining every part of their bodies, searching for which would be best to devour.
At that moment, the sunglasses-wearing otter, which was beating the two enormous shells in its hands, stopped and curled up in terror on the vulture's back, as if it would bring it some comfort. The vulture was no better; its flight became chaotic, as if at any moment it was about to crash into the ocean.
Sensing the two animals in the sky frightened by their murderous instinct, Rody smiled as he dissipated his murderous instinct and the cursed energy battering them in the sky. "Come here," Rody ordered nonchalantly, as if he didn't expect a "no" as an answer.
...
As soon as Rody finished speaking, the spectacled otter and the vulture realized that the killing intent that had been hitting them like a tidal surge had magically dissipated; their bodies were no longer trembling or stiff.
Perceiving this, the sunglasses otter and the vulture breathed a sigh of relief, as if they were human. They immediately flew in the direction of the command in an authoritative voice and landed on the deck, slightly nervous.
"Wow, Captain, look! There's an otter wearing sunglasses riding on that vulture who also wears glasses. How cool!" Bumblebee exclaimed in amazement.
"Wow! How cool, how cool! Captain, let's buy some sunglasses when we get to the next island! That way we can always wear them and walk around the streets. We'll definitely look handsome and cool if we do!" Leo said excitedly.
Looking at the vulture that landed on the deck, wearing sunglasses, a pilot's cap, and carrying a machine gun, and the otter, who was also wearing sunglasses, wearing mottled clothing, and carrying two huge shells, Rody also thought these two creatures were cool.
Their nervous expressions didn't seem like something animals could do at all; on the contrary, they seemed more human. This made these animals seem cooler, piquing Rody's interest even more.
Rody smiled happily, obviously very pleased with these creatures, and said, squinting his eyes, "Very good, very good. You two are really good and very suitable for my temperament. Judging by your appearance, you should have joined some organization, but it doesn't matter."
"I don't care what organization you joined before. From now on, you can only submit to me and become my subordinates."
"Do you have any opinions on this?"
The otter and the vulture looked at each other in bewilderment. Obviously, even though they were animals, they clearly understood what Rody meant. Seeing this, Rody smiled even wider, and his interest grew.
Seeing that the two animals didn't respond, Bumblebee said in a dissatisfied tone, "Hey, answer quickly. Why don't you accept quickly? Our captain rarely invites anyone aboard the ship. You should be grateful and accept without hesitation!"
"Right, right, answer quickly. Our captain is very strong. You're lucky he invited you aboard. Besides, my teacher Carmen is a chef with exceptional culinary skills. If you join Captain Rody's team, you'll be able to enjoy all the delicious food you want in the future," Leo said, puffing out his chest proudly. Obviously, he, too, was hoping these two ingenious creatures would come aboard.
Ignoring Bumblebee and Leo's temptation and persuasion, after Rody's invitation, although the sunglasses-wearing vulture and the sunglasses-wearing otter appeared serious and calm on the outside, they were extremely nervous and flustered, not knowing what to do.
Just as Rody had said, they both belonged to the same organization; it was called Baroque Works, and they were both partners.
The otter's codename in the organization was "Mr. 13," and the vulture's, "Miss Friday."
They are both intelligence agents for Baroque Works, responsible for collecting and reporting new information they gather, as well as supervising the work of other Baroque Works members. If any dereliction of duty is detected, Mr. 13, along with his partner, Miss Friday, will shoot down those members who failed to fulfill the big boss's orders from the air.
Naturally, as Baroque Works intelligence agents, they recognized Rody at a glance. After all, his features were quite obvious, not to mention his name has been making the rounds lately.
Rody is the most wanted criminal in East Blue and, not surprisingly, is expected to be one of this year's Supernovas, which is why Baroque Works knows about him.
With all this background, it was only natural that he would gather information on Rody.
Mr. 13 knew all the information he had gathered about Rody up to that point. At that moment, Mr. 13, in such an awkward situation, couldn't help but recall the report's description: "Rody the Killer, of unknown origin and age. So far, it is known that he first appeared in Watermelon Town, and upon his arrival, he mercilessly slaughtered all the Axe Pirates, leaving no one alive.
Later, because he recruited the petite cat burglar Nami as a navigator for the Arlong Pirates, he went to the location where the Arlong Pirates were entrenched and slaughtered all the fish-man pirates, leaving no one alive. During his stay in the East Blue, he encountered three naval warships led by Colonel Mouse of the East Blue 16th Branch and, disregarding the repercussions from the Marines, destroyed and annihilated all the warships, killing hundreds of Marines.
Finally, before entering the Grand Line, he encountered the largest pirate group in the East Blue, the Krieg Pirates. It is said that Krieg was easily decapitated, and afterward, Rody the Assassin took his head as a trophy.
Krieg's fifty pirate ships sank to the bottom of the sea, and at least thousands died. Of the few who survived, it is said that they were crippled and left to die at sea.
Personality traits: Arrogant, narcissistic, cruel, and ruthless, a person who kills on a whim. Thinking about what the report said, Mr. 13's small body trembled with fear. At that moment, a note marked in red on the report appeared in his mind.
If low-ranking members encounter this person despite being on a mission, they may abandon it immediately without any punishment!
"Looks like we can only pretend to submit to Rody for now, and then find a way to inform the Chief about Rody the Killer," Mr. 13 and Miss Friday thought simultaneously.
Naturally, Rody didn't know what these two animals were thinking. Seeing that they didn't react, he smiled and said, "Very well, I'll interpret your silence as no objection."
Hearing this, Mr. 13, the sunglasses-wearing otter, nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. Miss Friday saw that her companion had agreed, so she quickly nodded frantically. She was afraid of infuriating the psychopath Rody and that, being annoyed, he would kill them.
"It's good that you chose wisely. Since I see you have no objection, I don't mind your previous codenames. From now on, you will be called Alpha." Rody pointed his index finger at the sunglasses-wearing otter, causing it to nod frantically in complete agreement with her new name.
"As for you, from now on you'll be Beta," Rody pointed at the bespectacled vulture with the machine guns on its back. Upon learning his new name, Beta quickly nodded, completely accepting it.
Seeing the machine guns on Beta's back, Rody's eyes lit up.
Come to think of it, there's someone who, after eating a Devil Fruit, could transform their body into any weapon they wanted at will. If I'm not mistaken, her name was Baby 5—a very capable servant!
Thinking about Baby 5's slender figure, her interesting Devil Fruit, and remembering that she was a capable servant, Rody thought that once he found this woman, he'd definitely make her his. After all, who doesn't want a woman with a loving brain like Baby 5 by their side?