Location: Whiskey Peak, Grand Line Year: 1521
The moon over Whiskey Peak was obscured by smoke—not from a fire, but from the aftermath of a single, lazy flick of a finger.
Hiroki stood on the balcony of the inn, looking down at the street. The silence of the night had been shattered by a deafening BOOM. Half of the "Cactus Saloon" was gone, reduced to rubble and burning timber.
Vivi (Miss Wednesday) crouched behind him, trembling.
"It's them," she whispered. "The Officer Agents."
Down in the street, two figures walked through the dust. One was a man with sunglasses and a trench coat, sporting a tall afro that defied gravity. The other was a woman in a lemon-patterned dress, carrying a parasol, walking with a floaty, weightless gait.
Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine.
"Igaram," Mr. 5 droned, his voice bored. "We received a report that a single swordsman dismantled your town's defenses. Is Baroque Works running a charity for incompetents?"
Igaram, bleeding from a cut on his forehead caused by the debris, knelt in the rubble. "M-Mr. 5! He... he is a monster! A user of strange techniques!"
"A monster?" Miss Valentine giggled, floating a few inches off the ground. "Or are you just weak? Maybe we should just flatten you all and start over."
Mr. 5 picked his nose. "Where is he?"
Igaram hesitated. He glanced toward the inn.
Mr. 5 followed the gaze. He looked up, locking eyes with Hiroki on the balcony.
"Hoh," Mr. 5 grunted. "The samurai."
Hiroki didn't flinch. He adjusted his grip on Umitsubame.
[Tactical Insight Active]
Target A: Gem (Mr. 5). Fruit: Bomb-Bomb Fruit (Paramecia). Threat: High (Explosive Range).Target B: Mikita (Miss Valentine). Fruit: Kilo-Kilo Fruit (Paramecia). Threat: Moderate (Vertical crush attacks).Objective: Neutralize threats. Protect Client (Vivi).
"Stay here," Hiroki told Vivi.
He didn't jump down. That was theatrical. He simply stepped over the railing and let gravity take him, slowing his descent by grabbing a flagpole halfway down and flipping to the cobblestones.
He landed softly, ten meters from Mr. 5.
"You're loud," Hiroki said. "People are trying to sleep."
Mr. 5 sneered. "Sleep? You'll sleep forever."
He flicked his finger. A small, dried booger—a microscopic bomb—shot toward Hiroki like a bullet.
Nose Fancy Cannon.
It was fast. Invisible in the dark to the naked eye.
But Hiroki wasn't using naked eyes.
[Observation Haki: 1.7%][Sensing Threat Trajectory]
A concentrated point of intent. Volatile matter.
Hiroki side-stepped.
BOOM.
The air beside his ear detonated. The shockwave ruffled his hair, hot and sharp. The wall of the inn behind him exploded, showering the street with brick dust.
"You missed," Hiroki noted.
Mr. 5 frowned. "Luck."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a flintlock revolver. He breathed into the chamber. Breath Gun.
He fired. Invisible bullets of compressed explosive air.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Hiroki drew Umitsubame.
Acceleration Boost: Active.
He didn't dodge. He moved through the gaps.
To the onlookers—Igaram, the hiding bounty hunters, Vivi peering over the railing—Hiroki looked like a ghost flickering in a strobe light.
Left. Duck. Pivot.
Every explosion blossomed behind him.
"He's... he's dodging explosions?" Miss Valentine gasped. "That's annoying! 10,000 Kilo Press!"
She leaped into the air, floating high above, then suddenly shifted her weight. She became a falling anvil, dropping straight toward Hiroki's head.
Hiroki looked up.
Analysis: Mass x Acceleration = Pancake.
He couldn't block that. Not with a sword.
But she was slow. Falling objects had a predictable trajectory.
Hiroki waited until the last second.
Swoosh.
He slid forward, passing under her shadow.
CRASH.
Miss Valentine slammed into the street, creating a crater three meters deep. The impact shook the entire island.
Hiroki stopped right in front of Mr. 5.
Mr. 5 looked surprised. His long-range advantage was gone.
"You rat!" Mr. 5 shouted. He lunged, aiming a kick. The kick wasn't just physical; on impact, his foot would detonate. Kick Bomb.
Hiroki saw the stance. He saw the tension in the leg.
Don't block the impact. Cut the limb? No, the explosion triggers on contact.
Solution: Detonate it prematurely.
Hiroki reversed his grip on the scabbard of his sword. He swung the sheathed blade, slamming the end of the scabbard into Mr. 5's shin before the kick fully extended.
The impact jarred Mr. 5, but didn't trigger the explosion (which required the sole of the foot or specific intent).
Mr. 5 stumbled.
Hiroki drew.
Ittoryu: Haze.
A vertical slash.
Mr. 5 panicked. He instinctively raised his arm to block, his skin hardening with the explosive properties of his fruit.
Slash.
The blade connected.
BOOOOM.
A massive explosion engulfed them both. Smoke billowed out, thick and black.
"Ha!" Miss Valentine cheered from her crater. "He blew himself up! Idi—"
The smoke cleared.
Hiroki stood there, his coat singed, soot on his cheek. But he was standing.
Mr. 5 was on his knees, clutching his chest. There was a thin, bleeding line across his trench coat and skin.
Hiroki had cut through the explosion.
Or rather, he had used the air pressure of his swing to push the detonation wave backward, shielding himself while the blade continued its path.
"How..." Mr. 5 wheezed. "I am... a bomb man..."
Hiroki flicked his sword. Sparks, not blood, flew off the blade.
"You rely too much on the fruit," Hiroki said coldl. "You think being a bomb makes you invincible. But a bomb has a fuse. I just cut it."
He raised the sword, the tip pointing at Mr. 5's throat.
"Leave."
Mr. 5 grit his teeth. His pride was shattered, but his survival instinct kicked in. The cut on his chest was shallow, but the precision terrified him. This man could have taken his head.
"Valentine! We're leaving!" Mr. 5 barked.
Miss Valentine scrambled out of the hole, changing her weight to 1kg to float away quickly. Mr. 5 limped after her, glaring back at Hiroki.
"Baroque Works doesn't forget," Mr. 5 spat.
"Neither do I," Hiroki replied.
As they disappeared into the night, the adrenaline faded. Hiroki leaned against a wall, his hand shaking slightly.
[Combat Encounter Resolved][Victory against Devil Fruit Users]
[Status Window Update]
Strength: 21.5 → 22.1 / 100Reflex: 16.8 → 17.5 / 100Swordsmanship: 30.5 → 31.2 / 100Observation Haki: 1.7% → 2.0% (Milestone: Threat Prediction)New Insight: Elemental Resistance (Explosive Force)
Vivi ran out of the inn. "You... you beat them. The Officer Agents."
Hiroki sheathed Umitsubame. "I surprised them. Next time, they won't be so careless."
He looked at Vivi.
"My contract is done," Hiroki said. "You're safe for tonight."
Vivi looked at the retreating figures, then at Hiroki. "Where will you go?"
"Little Garden is a trap," Hiroki said, referencing the island Mr. 5 would likely flee to or set up at. "I'm heading toward Kyien instead. I need to sharpen my blade on something other than gunpowder."
"Kyien?" Vivi frowned. "That's off the standard route."
"Exactly."
Hiroki walked away. He had tested himself against the chaotic power of the Grand Line. He had won.
But deep down, he knew the truth. Mr. 5 was weak compared to what was waiting in Alabasta. Crocodile was a Logia. He couldn't just "push" sand away.
Armament Haki, Hiroki thought. I need Armament Haki. Or I die in the desert.
[Chapter 11 End]