Vivi's answer was simple: "But I can't do that.I was the one who begged you to investigate Baroque Works. I can't let you take this risk alone, Igaram."
The princess's firm tone made Igaram give a bitter smile. Though Vivi was kind-hearted, her nature carried a quiet stubbornness.
It hadn't been so obvious before—she'd only seemed a bit tomboyish back then. Serious, responsible, broad-minded, unafraid of getting hurt. But after joining Baroque Works—after being forced by circumstance to stain her hands with blood—everything began to change.
And that was inevitable.
Killing and infiltration were never meant for a princess to bear. When subordinates failed to protect her, the burden inevitably left irreversible marks. At the very least, Igaram knew one thing: in their recent missions, Vivi hadn't shown mercy to a single pirate she'd struck down.
"Well, let's see how they handle this. If they can't even pass this test, talking about defeating Crocodile is nothing but an empty boast. After all, he's the kind of pirate who had an eighty-million-Beli bounty before becoming one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
With a deep frown, Igaram took Vivi and pushed the door open.
In the silent night, bounty hunters with ill intent began to move.
"Those guys are all down. Time to act?"
"Wasn't there some green-haired swordsman who could really hold his liquor?" someone asked skeptically.
"I told you already—no man can outdrink me."
The muscle-bound woman sneered, glaring down at the mustached man beside her. "If you don't believe me, we can settle it right now."
"Hmph, a real man doesn't fight women!"
"Hahaha! Mr. 9, you're just scared, aren't you?"
At some point, hundreds of bounty hunters had gathered in an open clearing. Men, women—even children. The adults reeked of alcohol; the kids hadn't drunk, but their faces shone with excitement.
Their eyes all turned toward a few buildings up ahead—their targets, where the so-called prey lay waiting inside.
Each of them had only one goal: the fortune hidden behind those doors.
As they chatted, they spoke of their "targets" as if they were nothing but meat beneath a butcher's knife.
"By the way, that Bonney girl sure can eat—she almost finished half our food stores!"
"And that one named Nami can really drink! Thirteen huge mugs! But in the end, I knocked her out!"
"Yeah, right! The first four were already down before you even got to her!"
"Doesn't matter—I was the last one standing!"
"All right, enough bickering. Seventy-two people in total—all of them down."
"So what now? Where's the town chief?"
"You mean commanding officer! Call me that!"
Igaram arrived just in time with Vivi at his side. After scanning the smug bounty hunters, he said coldly, "There are a lot of them, and they're strong. Don't bother capturing them alive—just kill them outright. Cannons, rifles, whatever works. Just make sure they're dead."
"Wow, commanding officer, you're being too cautious! Killing them means losing thirty percent of the bounty."
A mother-and-son pair of hunters protested.
"Then do whatever you want," Igaram said with an eye-roll, pulling Vivi away.
The bounty hunters had no idea their hideout had already been exposed. Those lying "unconscious" inside weren't helpless prey—they were wolves in disguise.
But Igaram didn't warn them. Even if children were among them—so what? Without these people, without Baroque Works' reckless schemes, Alabasta wouldn't be on the brink of civil war. So many had been manipulated—turned into blades aimed at their own country.
If they died here, it was nothing more than justice.
Especially since the Nefertari royal family—King Cobra in particular—was known for their compassion, placing their people above themselves. If not for the drought, the Dance Powder scandal, and the ensuing chaos, Alabasta wouldn't have fallen so far.
Igaram's heart burned with anger.
The moon hung high in the sky when a voice echoed from the tall, desert-styled watchtower.
"As expected… a swordsman can't allow himself to be killed by a bunch of tricksters like you, no matter where he is."
"Who's there?!"
"Up there—look!"
The bounty hunters stirred restlessly. Under the moonlight, they finally saw him.
A swordsman, waist wrapped in a sash, sat cross-legged atop the tower. He lifted Sandai Kitetsu toward the moon, admiring its deadly gleam.
Now then—it was time to test his blades.
Almost simultaneously, the wall of a nearby three-story building shattered.Bonney stepped out, dragging a bloodied bounty hunter by the collar.
"They're all exhausted. Tonight, I'll play with you instead. Since you didn't poison the food, I'll only beat you half to death."
Behind her lay Dery and the others, sleeping soundly, along with a few hunters who had tried to sneak away.
"Who cooked the food?! Weren't we supposed to spike it with sleeping pills?!"
"I did!"
"Damn it! A twenty-million-Beli pirate and a swordsman!"
"Doesn't matter! Kill them and claim the bounty!"
Chaos erupted as the bounty hunters reached a unanimous decision.Igaram merely watched coldly, making no move to intervene.
Baroque Works might claim to seek an "ideal nation", but everyone within knew it was nothing more than a crime syndicate. None of these people were innocent.
Meanwhile, in a dark alley, a slim figure darted between shadows.
"I'll leave the fighting to that muscle-brained idiot. The treasure's mine!"
Nami grinned, her Magical Clima-Tact in hand as she navigated the alleys toward a stash she'd scoped out during the banquet.
Since Ren hadn't given her any specific orders—or forbidden her from joining the feast—she knew he didn't have any complicated plan. He just wanted to destroy this place.
So, naturally, she went treasure hunting.
Sure, she couldn't keep all of it for herself…but sneaking away a little wouldn't hurt, right? After all, she still owed more than three hundred million Beli!
As for her sister—well, she was probably enjoying the fight far too much.
Boom!
Flames burst into the night, illuminating the sky.The woman wreathed in crimson fire no longer looked delicate or gentle.
Inside the building, bounty hunters who'd tried to capture her were blasted out through the windows by roaring jets of fire.
"So, it's our turn now?" she said calmly.
Nojiko stood in the firelight, clad in blazing armor, the red tail of her dress sweeping across the ground, leaving trails of scorched stone. From a distance, she looked like a queen of flames herself.
"M-Monster!"
"Fire?! She's a Devil Fruit user!"
"Damn it! Weren't they all drunk?!"
"Don't you get it? We've been found out!"
"Where's the commanding officer?! He's gone—help us!"
"Shut up and shoot!"
They were bounty hunters after all—veterans who'd dared to hunt pirates. Even without a leader, over a hundred of them quickly regrouped and opened fire.
Their flintlock muskets roared, shoulder-mounted rockets screamed through the air—a storm of bullets and explosions tore through the night.
Zoro leapt down from the tower first, his agile steps weaving through the hail of gunfire.
"Monster—he's too fast!"
"Shotguns—get the shotguns!"
The man giving orders didn't finish his sentence. His face twisted in terror as Zoro appeared before him, Sandai Kitetsu gleaming in his hands.
Without mercy, the blade came down.
Steel met flesh—and both were cleaved in two.
Blood splattered across the clearing as Zoro moved like a phantom,his sword harvesting lives with each swing.
None of them were strong enough to force him to use a real sword technique.They were nothing but whetstones for his blade.
As he fought, Zoro glanced toward Nojiko's side, ready to step in if needed—but what he saw surprised him.
Her performance was far beyond expectation.
The Dragon Talisman's power had evolved. The fiery armor she wore offered partial protection—not invincible, but resilient enough to absorb bullets and rockets until its energy ran out.
Still, with so many enemies, the pressure was immense.
Zoro took the center, Bonney handled the left, and Nojiko covered the right.Even so, at least thirty armed bounty hunters remained, all packing serious firepower.
But as Ren once said—Nojiko's instinct for battle was remarkable. Her time experimenting with the Dragon Talisman had paid off.
When enemies fired from range, she didn't rely on raw bursts of fire anymore. Instead, she emitted controlled bursts—short, rhythmic pulses of heat.
The concentrated flames superheated the air around her,creating small shockwaves—three per second. Bullets and shells were deflected midair,even shrapnel lost its aim, scattering harmlessly.
Some fragments even struck their own allies.
And then came the true terror: the fire woman's speed and strength.
When the flames roared, she blurred forward like a meteor. Her fiery fist sent any foe she struck flying, smashing them into walls.
So this is power…Nojiko's heart trembled with exhilaration—a power she had once longed for in her weakest days. She now stood as strong as Arlong once was—untouchable by gunfire or cannon.
Her strength came not from brute force,but from compressed bursts of fire and air pressure at her fists and feet—a dance of combustion and propulsion.
But that didn't matter. This—this was the strength she'd set sail to find.
Boom!
Nojiko dashed forward, her body wreathed in fire,closing ten meters in an instant. Her flaming fist collided with a woman wielding a massive broadsword. The woman tried to block, but the next instant—the blade exploded into hundreds of shards!
The swordswoman crashed through a wall and went limp.
"The feeling of power…"Nojiko slowly lowered her fist, surrounded by terrified bounty hunters.
Those who charged were skewered by flaming spears, those who kept their distance were burned by the heat.
What could they do? If they fled, Baroque Works would hunt them down. If they stayed, they'd burn alive.
But fate gave them no time to decide. Nojiko's gauntlets flared, claws of fire rising from her hands. She spread her palms wide.
Twin plumes of fire ignited in her hands—and then, as she twisted her waist, two roaring jets of flame spiraled outward.
She spun like a fiery tornado.The twin pillars swept across the clearing, turning everything into a sea of flames.
The dance of a fire spirit—beautiful,and utterly annihilating.
The open space became a blazing circle of death.Those still alive screamed, rolling on the ground in vain attempts to douse the flames.
Most never moved again.
"What terrifying power…"
"A Devil Fruit user, no doubt…"
From a nearby building, Igaram and Vivi watched, eyes wide. Vivi shivered, hugging herself tightly.
They both imagined what it would be like to face such monsters—and knew they wouldn't stand a chance.
At that moment, they shared the same thought:
How could pirates this powerful have no reputation whatsoever?! It makes no sense!
Moments later, they exchanged glances and nodded.
"It's clear now," Igaram said. "They're definitely not from Baroque Works. The company would never destroy its own assets. If there were trouble,they'd send senior agents—not some unknown crew traveling with Bonney."
"Yes… Baroque Works' employees aren't even fit to be dogs."
"Mm-hmm," Vivi nodded automatically—then realized something was wrong.
She turned to look—only to see Igaram staring at her in confusion.For a moment, the air froze.
"Why so quiet?"
Ren sat comfortably in a chair, chin propped on his hand,watching the two of them turn stiffly toward him.
"You—you!"
Vivi jolted, whipping out her Peacock Saw. Igaram narrowed his eyes, his hand subtly moving toward his necktie mechanism—an innocent-looking gesture, meant to deceive. He didn't plan to strike yet, merely to lull Ren into a false sense of security.
As long as the man didn't know the secret of his hair, Igaram was confident of victory in this small room.
So you're the one who interrogated Vivi… looks like the tables have turned.
He thought grimly, meeting Ren's amused gaze.
"How interesting," Ren said softly. "You want to fight me?"
(End of Chapter)