The hundred-plus bounty hunters joined forces to surround and attack Zoro, only to be completely defeated by him.
They used every combat method imaginable: pistols, cannons, swords, throwing barrels, stone axes—fighting from inside houses to the streets, even leaping up and down on rooftops. None of the bounty hunters managed to harm Zoro.
There was even a child and a nun pretending to be victims, trying to use a cross on their chests to release smoke and catch Zoro off guard, but he easily saw through these tricks.
Aside from Miss Monday—a woman with a robust physique—landing a punch on Zoro's head with her exceptional strength, making him bleed slightly, Zoro didn't suffer any other injuries.
In the end, Zoro grabbed Miss Monday's head with one hand, making the tough woman scream loudly in pain until she passed out completely.
During the battle, Zoro also gradually understood the characteristics of the cursed sword Sandai Kitetsu. When he cut through an enemy's stone axe in one slash, he realized Sandai Kitetsu was sharp, but a so-called famous sword only exerted its true power when its master intended to cut. That was why it was a problem child.
Seeing Zoro's strength was so formidable, easily defeating even Miss Monday, who was universally acknowledged as the strongest among them, Igaram suddenly had an epiphany. He thought the Marines had made a mistake with the wanted posters.
If Zoro was the one worth thirty million and was the captain, then it made sense. Therefore, Miss Wednesday, Mr. 9, and Igaram all decided to use their true strength to deal seriously with Zoro. They unanimously believed a grinning idiot like Luffy couldn't possibly be worth thirty million Berries.
Thus, through a series of coincidences, Tom and Luffy—the actual wanted criminals—were left aside, while Usopp and Zoro took their place.
The responsibility for a large group losing to a single pirate swordsman would fall on Igaram and the others managing this town. They absolutely could not let Zoro go.
Igaram took the lead, using the shotgun hidden in his curly hair to attack Zoro on the rooftop. Just as Miss Wednesday whistled to call her steed, Karoo, over, she was just then seen by Tom emerging from the tavern.
Seeing Tom, Miss Wednesday's expression changed drastically. She had always believed Tom was already locked up. She anxiously asked, "Why is that guy here? Didn't you say you'd take care of him?"
"Isn't he just the coward who freezes when he hears a Sea King's roar? Why are you so concerned? Focus on the swordsman!"
Igaram said this to Miss Wednesday while firing at Zoro.
"Where did you hear such ridiculous information?!"
Hearing Igaram's assessment of Tom, Miss Wednesday was shocked. She had seen how Tom sent sea beasts flying in a violent storm. How could such a person be a small fry who freezes at a Sea King's roar?
Unfortunately, Miss Wednesday could never have imagined that the Straw Hats had a master braggart, Usopp, who successfully crafted Tom's weak image for Igaram, ruining her prior arrangements.
"If I'm not mistaken, he's the other person in this crew worth thirty million Berries you mentioned. Of course I'm anxious!"
Miss Wednesday was telling the truth. One Zoro had almost wiped them all out. Adding another thirty-million-Berry Tom meant they were certainly doomed.
"That's right! That guy's strength is absolutely not simple! We already warned you! What are you doing?!"
Mr. 9 said to Igaram with a darkened face. In the whale's stomach, it was Tom who saved him. He naturally knew how terrifying Tom was.
"What's he doing out here?"
Zoro, dodging Igaram's bullets, saw Tom standing below and said in confusion.
Miss Wednesday saw Tom walking unsteadily, looking completely drunk. She gritted her teeth, mounted the Supersonic Duck, and looked at Tom. "Karoo, let's go!"
"Quack!"
The yellow-feathered Supersonic Duck, hearing Miss Wednesday on its back, charged rapidly toward Tom.
Strike while he's weak!
That was Miss Wednesday's current plan. Seeing Tom was drunk, even if he was strong, becoming a drunken fool would surely greatly reduce his abilities. She wouldn't miss such a good opportunity.
"Wait!"
When Igaram learned Tom was the thirty-million-Berry man, he already felt very uneasy. Even if Tom was drunk and could only display half his strength, he didn't think Miss Wednesday could handle him. But when he tried to stop her, it was too late.
Why is a woman openly calling a duck? Why is that duck wearing a hat? Why does it have a wooden canteen with a straw on its chest? Why does that duck look a bit like Donald Duck? Is that an illusion?
Seeing the blue-haired woman riding the Supersonic Duck rushing over, Tom's head filled with all kinds of random thoughts. He supported himself with one hand against the wall, shook his head. His gaze gradually sharpened, the pupils in his eyes showing a tendency to turn blood-red. He glanced at the approaching duck, about to dodge, when the Supersonic Duck suddenly went limp in front of him and squatted down.
"Who told you to sit down?! Don't freeze just because he looked at you! Get up!"
Miss Wednesday, with Tom right in front of her, saw Karoo stop. She anxiously knocked hard on its head. The Supersonic Duck was hurt so badly its eyes almost popped out, letting out quacking cries.
"What are you doing?"
Tom looked at the squatting duck in front of him. A flash of inspiration crossed his mind. He leapt up and actually jumped onto Karoo's back, sitting behind Miss Wednesday. He grabbed the reins looped around the duck's beak and excitedly shouted, "You guys are really great! Not only throwing a banquet, but also letting this strange duck give us a night ride! I'm just dizzy, wanting some air. Thank you so much!"
"Alright! Run, Donald Duck! Let's tour the town first!"
As Tom shouted this, Karoo quacked and suddenly stood up, sprinting forward.
"I didn't tell you to run! You heard wrong! Stop!"
Miss Wednesday slapped Karoo's head, but it kept charging ahead. Her voice drifted into the dark night, but she was already out of sight.
Igaram and Mr. 9, seeing Miss Wednesday carried away by Tom in mere seconds and vanish from sight, were so shocked their jaws hit the ground.
"Is that guy okay?"
Zoro on the rooftop, a thick black line on his forehead, looked in the direction Tom disappeared. He hadn't expected things to turn out like this.
"You still have the mood to worry about others?!"
Mr. 9, seeing he couldn't catch up to Miss Wednesday, wanted to join forces with Igaram to deal with Zoro first. He circled behind Zoro while Zoro was distracted and swung his metal bat to attack.
But what Mr. 9 didn't expect was that Igaram actually used the opportunity to run away while he attacked Zoro, leaving him alone. He was instantly covered in cold sweat. Igaram was clearly going after Miss Wednesday.
Mr. 9 couldn't understand why Igaram would rather leave Zoro alone to find Miss Wednesday first.
Facing Zoro alone, Mr. 9 was brutally beaten by Zoro using just one hand with his sword against his two-handed metal bat. He had no power to fight back. Zoro didn't even use sword techniques, just thrust violently with his blade, leaving Mr. 9 flustered, completely unable to cope.
Meanwhile, after carrying Tom and Miss Wednesday a long distance, Karoo finally stopped. As it used its beak to sip from the wooden canteen on its chest, Tom, riding on its back, happily said, "You really run fast! So refreshing!"
Earlier, the head-on wind from Karoo's rapid sprinting had somewhat sobered Tom up.
"Get off here!"
Miss Wednesday threw an elbow strike at Tom sitting behind her, but he easily blocked it. Looking at the blue-haired woman turning her head to glare, he suddenly realized, "Right, I don't actually need a tour guide. You get down."
After saying this, Tom grabbed the blue-haired woman and casually tossed her off the Supersonic Duck. Then he pulled the reins. "Let's go back and get Nami. I want her to enjoy the ride too."
"Quack! Quack quack!"
Karoo, seeing the blue-haired woman thrown aside so casually, was so shocked its eyes nearly popped out, spitting out the water it had just drunk. It turned its head and angrily quacked at Tom, violently shaking its body trying to shake him off.
"Ah, why are you being so disobedient?"
Tom, riding on Karoo's back, was shaken very uncomfortably. Dizzy and muddled, he lost his balance and fell off. Landing on the ground, he said this when he heard Miss Wednesday's voice: "You can properly admire my dance and immerse yourself fully in my fragrance!"
"Seductive Perfume Femme!"
As the blue-haired woman shouted this, she slowly crossed her hands above her head, showing off her curvaceous figure. Both clenched hands concealed a bottle of strong-scented perfume that could temporarily paralyze.
"What? You want to dance for me? But I don't really like watching dances."
Hearing the blue-haired woman, Tom instinctively looked at her.
As if I want to dance for you! Soon you won't have the chance!
Thinking this, the blue-haired woman quietly opened the perfume bottle hidden in her hand and began slowly swaying left and right her slender waist. Her long blue ponytail swung, that soft, delicate waist swaying like a snake. Combined with unique dance steps and a slightly seductive expression, it truly had a distinct charm.
As the blue-haired woman's tempting body kept dancing, a thick fragrance spread through the air.
Initially thinking she was dancing for him, and out of courtesy, Tom was about to clap to show thanks when he smelled an overpoweringly strong perfume scent. It made him sneeze repeatedly, his stomach acid surging, nearly vomiting on the spot.
"What's wrong with you, woman?! Using such strong perfume! I didn't notice before. How bad must you smell to need this perfume to cover it up?"
Tom pointed at the still-dancing woman as he said this, then was forced into several coughing fits by the pungent scent. He sincerely felt Nami's faint, fresh citrus scent was much better.
Seeing Tom inhale the specially made fragrance meant to cause temporary paralysis not only have no effect but even call her smelly, the blue-haired woman's dancing came to an abrupt stop, shocked, her jaw dropping.
Why is he fine?
The blue-haired woman had no idea that as Tom inhaled the fragrance, several green stripes surged across his back, allowing Tom to automatically resist the weak poison in the scent.
The perfume's toxicity was already very low, at most paralyzing for a few seconds. For Tom, who could greatly increase his physical resistance in a short time, it was completely useless.
But after inhaling such an overpowering scent, Tom felt nauseous, his head spinning, and collapsed to the ground, appearing unconscious.
"Finally found you!"
Igaram, panting heavily, rushed over and saw Miss Wednesday standing there blankly, her neck tilted, as if she had suffered a major shock. Thinking Tom had done something to her, he immediately prepared to launch an attack.
Unfortunately, before Igaram could act, two unexpected visitors appeared.
"Even this late, people are still causing trouble in this town."
"Hmph, this job is so boring. We came all the way to the front lines."
A fashionable, beautiful woman wearing a bowler hat and holding an umbrella stood beside a man with an afro wearing sunglasses who looked like a rock singer. The two glanced at the unconscious Tom, occasionally hiccupping, then looked at Igaram and Miss Wednesday.
"Mr. 5?!"
"Miss Valentine?!"
Igaram and the blue-haired woman exclaimed simultaneously upon seeing the two approaching.
"You seem to be having a hard time."
"Did you run into some troublesome enemies?"
Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine, seeing Igaram and Miss Wednesday's somewhat disheveled appearance, thought they had a hard time taking down the drunk guy.
"That's right. We need your help."
Igaram, remembering the troublesome Zoro, said immediately.
"Help you? Are you joking? You think we came to this remote region of the Grand Line for such trivial nonsense? Looking at you, struggling even against a drunk… truly pathetic."
"Yahahahaha! No matter what, there's a huge difference between us. We are senior agents. Our rank is different."
Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine sneered, seemingly having no intention of helping.
"Then why are you here? To mock us?"
Igaram sensed their attitude was off and felt uneasy.
"Yahahahaha! We're here to carry out a mission, of course."
The beautiful woman with the umbrella seemed to enjoy laughing, habitually laughing before speaking.
Mr. 5 slowly walked toward Igaram. "Give up. We won't help you."
"The boss sent us to deal with you. The boss said his secret has been discovered by you. Of course, I don't know what secret he means."
"Our company's creed is 'mystery.' We must not pry into anyone's background. Attempting to uncover the boss's true face is punishable by death."
"After detailed investigation, we discovered a certain important figure of a kingdom has infiltrated our Baroque Works!"
At Miss Valentine's words, the blue-haired woman and Igaram both turned pale.
"The criminal's name is the currently missing person from the Alabasta Kingdom—"
Before Mr. 5 could finish, Igaram attacked. "Die!! Afro Cannon!"
Igaram shielded the blue-haired woman behind him while firing six shells from the cannon hidden in his curly hair. "I bet my name as Captain of the Alabasta Royal Guard! I won't let you get close to her!"
"That's right. She is the princess of Alabasta, Nefertari Vivi. And that guard captain is Igaram. You are both criminals we must execute!"
Mr. 5 faced the incoming shells without dodging, casually picking his nose. Miss Valentine chuckled lightly and floated into the air.
Booming explosions rang out. Mr. 5 stood in the flames, completely unaffected. Two small, round boogers flew from the burning fire, striking Igaram precisely and exploding, causing his limbs to spasm as he collapsed, unable to rise.
"Igaram!"
Vivi, seeing Igaram injured, rushed forward, but Miss Valentine descended from the air and kicked toward her head. "Yahahahaha! Useless!"
Crack! Vivi's hairband shattered as she dodged.
"You despicable monsters!"
Vivi pulled out her Peacock Slasher hidden in her sleeve, threading her little finger through the ring and spinning it rapidly. With her hair freed, her aqua-blue long hair flowed down to her waist. Her fair face, stained with scorch marks from the explosion, looked at Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine with unyielding resolve, gritting her teeth as she shouted, "Don't underestimate me!"
"Surrender. You cannot win."
"Let's finish this boring mission quickly."
Miss Valentine landed and, together with Mr. 5, charged toward Vivi. At that moment, someone appeared before her.
"Miss Wednesday… you're a princess?"
Mr. 9 emerged from the shadows, staring at Vivi in shock. After being knocked flying by Zoro, he had fled here. Seeing senior agents already shocked him, but hearing an even more shocking truth, he knelt and bowed deeply.
"Mr. 9, don't do something stupid!"
Vivi couldn't help but shout.
Seeing Mr. 5 closing in, Mr. 9 stood before Vivi. Already injured, he still stepped forward. "I still don't understand what's happening, but based on our long partnership, I'll buy you some time. Go!"
After saying this, the crowned Mr. 9 swung his metal bat, flipped forward several times using his hands, and charged at Mr. 5. Instantly, Mr. 5 flicked a booger, blasting Mr. 9 away.
"We only need the will to execute missions. Meaningless friendship only brings death. Experience it yourself."
Mr. 5 flicked another booger toward the fallen Mr. 9. Boom! This time, Mr. 9 was blasted blackened, completely unable to move.
"Mr. 9!"
Vivi whistled for Karoo while running, seeing Mr. 9 gravely injured. She clenched her teeth and kept running. This escape chance was bought with Mr. 9's life. Even filled with unwillingness, she had to continue, because dying here would render all prior efforts meaningless.
Mr. 9 happened to fall near Tom. Already uncomfortable from drinking and the constant noise—including nonstop laughter—Tom was completely unable to rest.
Smoke billowed everywhere from repeated explosions. Even breathing was difficult. Tom's anger flared. He frowned deeply and groggily opened his eyes.
Vivi was being pursued by the two senior agents. Karoo, hearing her whistle, waited ahead. She also saw the unconscious Tom lying in front of Karoo.
Calculating her timing, Vivi glanced back at the approaching Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine. Judging the moment, she leapt forward.
"Quack quack?"
Karoo tilted its head. Its back was empty.
Indeed, Vivi didn't land on Karoo—but on Tom, who had just sat up with his back turned.
More precisely, Vivi was now riding on Tom's shoulders.
Realizing she landed on a man, Vivi nearly petrified.
Tom stood up, feeling a fragrant breeze, swaying.
Instinctively, Vivi hugged his head.
"Huh? Strange. Who are you? Why are you on top?"
Tom hiccupped and looked up, meeting Vivi's gaze.
Moonlight bathed the pair. Vivi's hands rested on Tom's head, her long hair brushing his face, tickling him with faint fragrance.
Looking up, Tom saw a pure and beautiful face. Despite battle grime, her beauty was unadorned and resolute.
Their appearances were etched deeply into each other's minds.
"You look like someone I saw before. But she had broom hair and used strong perfume to cover a bad smell. Terrible."
Vivi felt extremely awkward. Without tied hair, the drunk didn't recognize her.
"Who is that man?"
"Don't know. Just kill him too!"
Miss Valentine and Mr. 5 accelerated.
"Die! Nose Fancy Cannon!"
Mr. 5 flicked a booger.
Vivi shouted, "Run!"
"Ridiculous! Why should I run?"
Tom hiccupped and turned to see a man throwing boogers. His face darkened.
From beauty to boogers—天堂到地狱.
"Dodge!" Vivi cried.
"That bastard dared to disgust me!"
Tom extended his fishing rod to deflect it—but it exploded.
Boom! Smoke engulfed them.
"He should be dead, right?"
"Of course. Just a drunk."
Tom coughed from the smoke. "Why do his boogers explode?"
"He's Mr. 5, a Devil Fruit user."
Vivi got down.
"I won't let you escape."
Miss Valentine floated behind Vivi.
"Your attack just stirred dust… No wonder you're a 'combat-power-five-trash.' Fits perfectly."
Tom slurred.
"If you want to die, I'll oblige you!"
Mr. 5 dug into his nose again.
"Let's fight together?" Vivi said.
"You go play elsewhere."
Tom charged Mr. 5 and beat him brutally.
The scene shocked everyone.
Vivi escaped on Karoo.
Tom finished and sighed. "Finally quiet."
Igaram begged Tom to protect Vivi.
Tom laughed drunkenly and collapsed.
Zoro arrived.
Nami arrived and negotiated.
Zoro was forced to go.
Tom was thrown after Vivi.
Meanwhile Vivi fled.
Zoro intercepted.
Luffy arrived furious.
Tom appeared yelling about a billion-Berry princess.
He hooked Vivi with his fishing rod.
The three Straw Hats formed a triangle in the moonlit chaos.
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T/N :
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