The moment Leo's hand touched his chest, the unconscious man dressed like swan coughed violently.
"GWAHH—!!"
A mouthful of seawater burst from his mouth and nose as he was jolted half-awake, gasping for air while the terrified pirate beside him nearly burst into tears from relief.
"BON-Kurei! You're alive!"
The Bon Clay in question blinked several times before suddenly striking an exaggerated pose.
"OHHHHH…!! Saved from the cruel embrace of the ocean by such a handsome man… what a dramatic twist of fate!" he cried theatrically while placing a hand over his chest. "My heart trembles with gratitude!"
Nojiko stared at the man silently for several seconds before slowly turning toward Leo.
"…He is a weird one." The swan-like man instantly pointed at himself proudly.
"WEIRD ME…?! How rude, I am elegance itself!"
Not long after, under the night sky, the group gathered around the small bonfire, while the rescued duo dried themselves beside the warm flames.
Bon Clay's underling, a nervous pirate named Jojo, quickly explained what had happened. Their ship had apparently been traveling peacefully toward the nearby Holiday Island when disaster struck out of nowhere.
"A giant tsunami wave appeared and swallowed our ship whole!" Jojo cried while shaking in fear. "Then the Sea Kings surrounded us and started tearing the ship apart and eating everyone! If you guys hadn't shown up we would've definitely died!"
At those words, Leo, Nojiko, and even Laboon collectively began sweating.
Not a single one of them spoke.
Laboon slowly looked away toward the dark sea illuminated by the deck lamps before letting out the most suspicious whistle imaginable.
"…Bwahhhhhh." (It must be a random Tsunami!)
"Truly tragic." Leo immediately coughed into his fist.
"Yes… the Grand Line is terrifying," Nojiko added while covering her mouth pretending as if the Tsunami had nothing to do with them.
"Well! Fate itself must have guided me here!" he suddenly declared, spreading his arms toward the night sky.
Unlike his companion, Bon Clay quickly adapted to the strange atmosphere aboard Laboon's back.
In fact, he became oddly fascinated by the giant whale.
"OHHHH~! Such smooth skin! Such majestic curves! Such overwhelming size!" Bon Clay exclaimed while admiring Laboon. "You are truly the king of all sea creatures!"
"Bwahhhhhh!" Laboon liked the strange man after being praised so enthusiastically.
Even Leo had to admit Bon Clay's personality was strangely infectious.
"So what is your Devil Fruit power?" Leo asked causally.
"Allow me to touch your face and introduce the fabulous power of the Mane Mane no Mi!" The next second, Bon Clay touched their faces and distanced away near the lamp light.
POOF—!!
Right before their eyes, his appearance instantly transformed into an exact copy of Nojiko.
"EH?!"
Bon Clay continued changing forms one after another, his companion Jojo, random pirates, even Leo himself while proudly explaining how his Devil Fruit allowed him to perfectly copy the appearance of anyone he touches, face, personality, voice and body alike.
"It's an entertaining ability," Leo admitted while watching the transformations. "But honestly… it can be terrifying if used for evil."
'What if he touched the faces of Giants or different races living on the grand line, there are infinite possibilities.' Leo thought but didn't inquire.
"Fufufufu~! Exactly!" Bon Clay spun proudly. "Espionage, infiltration, deception… my beauty excels at everything!" Then, without the slightest hesitation, Bon Clay casually revealed.
"After all, I am the great secret agent of Baroque Works… Mr. 2 Bon Clay!" The atmosphere froze instantly.
"BWAHHHHHHHH—!!!" Laboon let out an enraged roar that nearly shook the deck itself while Bon Clay jumped in shock.
"EH?! What happened, are we under attack?!"
Leo quickly calmed Laboon and explained how Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday had previously tried to kill Laboon for its meat so it disliked baroque works agents.
The moment Bon Clay heard the story, his Marry expression darkened.
"If I find those frauds…" Bon Clay cracked his knuckles, "I shall personally kick them into the afterlife for dreaming of harming my precious saviors!"
"Bwahhhhhh!" Laboon immediately approved of the declaration.
And just like that, with two incredibly strange new acquaintances added to their journey, the group finally arrived at the Holiday Island beneath the setting sun.
***
Unlike ordinary islands, the entire place was built around a gigantic tree rising from the middle of the mountain.
Massive wooden platforms, bridges, hotels, restaurants, pools, theaters, casinos, bathhouses and countless colorful buildings spiraled around the enormous trunk.
Bright lights illuminated the giant tree during the evening while music and laughter echoed across the island.
Ships from every ocean were docked around the island, turning the entire place into a luxurious tourist paradise for pirates, bounty hunters, merchants and travelers alike.
The deeper sections of the tree housed entertainment districts while the upper layers contained restaurants and open-air bathing areas overlooking the sea. Waterfalls flowed naturally around the giant trunk, feeding artificial rivers and pools that circled the island.
"It's like an entire city stuffed into one giant tree…" Nojiko muttered in amazement.
"FUFUFUFU! Welcome to paradise!" Bon Clay dancing while spinning.
Not carrying about terrifying the island population, Leo ordered the giant whale to do whatever it wanted around the island and not stray too far away from them.
Soon, Leo, Nojiko, Bon Clay, and Jojo stepped onto the bustling Holiday Island together.
The group rented rooms for the night before deciding to spend the next few days relaxing properly for once.
For the first time since entering the Grand Line, they simply enjoyed themselves without worrying about survival, battles or escaping Marines.
The next morning quickly turned chaotic.
Bon Clay dragged everyone into competitions, carnival games, dancing halls, restaurants and even beauty spas while Jojo somehow won an absurd amount of prizes despite looking terrified the entire time.
Later, the group visited one of the massive seaside pools built around the lower trunk of the giant tree.
Nojiko relaxed in the water wearing a black bikini while swimming freely beside Jojo, who looked seconds away from dying from nervousness.
Meanwhile, Leo and Bon Clay sat side by side on lounge chairs outside the pool area looking like abandoned souls.
"As Devil Fruit users…" Bon Clay sighed. "…why must fate deny us such happiness?"
Leo stared blankly at the water, "We can rule the seas but lose to waist-deep water."
Meanwhile, Nojiko leaned against the poolside with water glistening between her cleavage, noticing the two idiots staring in her direction teasing them even more.
"Like what you see, Captain?" she asked with a wink, only to receive the complete opposite reaction from what she had expected.
"I'm just jealous Jojo gets to swim, I miss those days." Leo spoke.
"Y-Yes! Me too!" Bon Clay immediately followed spoiling her mood.
That evening they relaxed beneath the sunset near the upper gardens of the giant tree before another peaceful night passed by.
By the third day, they had practically explored the entire island and were finally resting near the quieter shoreline of the island.
Then suddenly, an eagle appeared in the distant sky carrying a familiar sea otter with knives attached to its paws.
"The Unluckies…" Bon Clay muttered, his relaxed expression instantly disappeared.
Realizing the duo was approaching him specifically, Bon Clay calmly stepped toward the shore to receive the order they carried not disturbing his friends but they had already noticed the anomaly.
As the eagle and otter landed the earth suddenly rose upward immobilizing them.
Swippp—!!
Massive stone pillars instantly trapped both assassins inside a cage before they even realized what happened.
"Huh?" Bon Clay blinked in shock.
Then Leo casually walked out from behind a nearby rock wearing nothing but shorts while Nojiko followed behind him still dressed in her bikini and a see through cloth tied below waist.
Both calmly stared at the trapped assassins.
"…These are the idiots who threw a bomb at us back at Twin Cape," Leo said lazily.
The captured eagle and otter immediately began panicking inside the stone prison while Bon Clay understood and tried to defuse the situation.
It seemed their vacation and maybe alliance had just ended far earlier than expected.
According to the emergency orders carried by the Unluckies, Baroque Works had already declared Mr. 3 and Miss Goldenweek as failures for not eliminating the Straw Hat Pirates.
And now… Mr. 2 Bon Clay himself had been assigned to clean up both the mess.