Taro scratched his hair, only then remembering that Miss. Golden Week's ability wasn't actually a physical ability. He had been quite looking forward to learning such a skill, but now learning that he couldn't, he felt a bit disappointed.
"Then why didn't I fall for it?" Taro asked again.
System: "External training for the body, internal training for the mind. As long as the Minor Formless Skill's Internal Energy is not broken, the host's mind will remain intact."
That means, before the Internal Energy is exhausted, I'm immune to mental attacks?
Nice, System!
Now, Taro felt relieved.
The three people opposite him also looked surprised. Miss. Golden Week, unwilling to give up, tried adjusting to various colors, but all failed without exception.
Taro laughed loudly and winked at her. "Little girl, stop messing around. Those tricks of yours are useless against me."
Seeing the other two about to step in, Taro said with a smile, "I came to find you because I want to make a bet with you."
The three looked at each other, and finally, the little girl, Golden Week, looked up and asked, "What kind of bet?"
"It's simple. Don't you want to save Crocodile? Let's bet on whether Crocodile will go with you or not, how about it?" Taro couldn't help but smile seeing this cute little girl.
Seeing the three hesitate, Taro added, "Don't worry, I won't interfere with your actions. In exchange, you must not harm any Marine Soldiers, nor damage any facilities."
"After all, I am a Marine. If there are heavy casualties or the Detention Center is severely damaged, it will be very troublesome for me to explain. And even if you escape, the Marines won't stop hunting you."
"How about it? Isn't this bet quite reasonable?"
After speaking, Taro looked at the little girl opposite him with a smile. Although she was the youngest and looked like a little girl not even ten years old, she was the mastermind behind this operation.
"What's the stake?" Miss. Valentine couldn't help but ask first.
"Ah, let me think." Taro looked up and pondered for a moment. "If Crocodile is willing to go with you, I guarantee that the Marines won't pursue you for 24 hours, and you can escape wherever you want."
"24 hours is the limit of what I can do, and it's enough for you to escape quite far."
"If he's unwilling to leave..." Taro lightly scratched his cheek with his finger.
"I really don't know what you could give me. Forget it, just behave yourselves from now on."
Miss. Golden Week pondered for a while. First, she assessed the combat power of both sides and estimated they couldn't win. Then she weighed the bet. "We'll take the bet."
Taro nodded with a smile. "Then it's a deal!"
Then he walked towards the cabin. As he passed the little girl, he rubbed her head before walking inside with a loud laugh.
The three were left looking at each other... Miss. Golden Week used "Colors Trap: Yellow-Green of Friendship" to turn a Marine Soldier into her friend, and the three of them pretended to be captured, easily sneaking into the Detention Center.
They first went to the female prison area to rescue Miss. Doublefinger and Miss. Merry Christmas, then headed to the male prisoner area to rescue Crocodile.
After unlocking the Sea Stone handcuffs, Crocodile only took out a lighter to light a cigar for himself. He took a puff, and facing the agents' request for him to escape with them, he simply said faintly,
"I'm not in the mood!"
No matter how much they tried to persuade him, he remained unmoved. Seeing this, Mr. 1 also took the initiative to stay behind. The others had no choice but to retreat helplessly.
"Yo-ho, looks like I won our bet." Taro sat on the ship's gunwale and winked at Miss. Golden Week.
The several people who had been rescued had already heard about Taro from Mr. 5, so they naturally didn't dare to act rashly.
"Now I have kept my promise. I hope you can keep yours as well, otherwise, I will personally catch you and bring you back."
Taro smiled and raised his fist in a threatening gesture.
"For the remaining time, you can enjoy the joy of seeing the light of day again. Farewell."
After speaking, Taro leaped high, extended his wings, and flew towards Rest Island.
By this time, Hina had already captured Bon Clay and even found Mr. 3 and his ship by the shore. Later, she learned that Mr. 3 was stopped by Bon Clay while preparing to escape from Rest Island. Bon Clay believed Mr. 3's act of abandoning his companions violated the Way of Friendship, so he defeated him.
"Taro!"
Seeing Taro descending from the sky, Hina seemed very happy. "You're back!"
Taro nodded. "Yes." Then he changed the subject, "However, the high-ranking agents of Baroque Works have been rescued."
Hina was stunned for a moment but then said, "It's okay, you were alone..."
"Crocodile and Mr. 1 are still here; the others escaped." Taro interrupted Hina.
"That's good then!" Hina breathed a sigh of relief. "I've captured Mr. 2 and Mr. 3 here, which should be enough to give an account to Marineford. However, in that case, the fact that you're still alive..."
Sighing helplessly, Taro could only nod. "Forget it, just report it that way."
"I'm sorry, Taro!" Hina looked at Taro apologetically, then turned back to the captain's cabin to contact Marineford... Marineford.
"I knew it! That kid Taro wouldn't die so easily. Look at that, hahaha!" Vice Admiral Garp immediately started shouting, doughnut crumbs flying from his mouth.
Vice Admiral Tsuru glared at Garp and moved aside in disgust. "Hina has always been the most obedient to orders. This time she actually helped that kid and kept it from me. Truly outrageous!"
Sengoku slammed the table hard. "What are you talking about? I'm asking about the prison break of the Baroque Works agents!"
"Hey, keep it down, we can all hear you." Garp picked his nose. "Weren't Crocodile and those few high-ranking agents captured? Only a few small fry escaped. Is it really worth making such a fuss?"
Garp said nonchalantly, then took out another doughnut and put it in his mouth. "Do you still want to hold Taro and Hina accountable?"
Vice Admiral Tsuru already had a good impression of Taro, and Hina was her favorite subordinate. Hearing this, she reached out with a calming gesture. "This time Taro saved the capital of Alabasta, and Hina also arrested a large number of pirates. Holding them accountable would be unreasonable!"
"Not only should they not be held accountable, but they should be rewarded instead!"
As soon as Vice Admiral Tsuru finished speaking, Akainu suddenly turned around and roared, "He intentionally let so many Baroque Works officers go, and you want to reward him?"
"Don't talk nonsense, you. What evidence do you have to prove Taro did it intentionally?" Garp countered.
"The Detention Center is intact, and not a single Marine was killed or injured. Isn't that evidence enough?"
Akainu questioned sharply.
This point was indeed hard to explain, and Garp was momentarily speechless.
Vice Admiral Tsuru stepped in to mediate. "This matter is indeed very strange. Let's wait until they return to talk about it. Arguing about this now is meaningless."
After speaking, she looked at Sengoku, waiting for the Fleet Admiral's decision.
Sengoku's expression changed several times, but in the end, he said nothing and simply sat back in his seat.
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