Deep within the jungle of Little Garden, sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, dappling the ruins of the collapsed wax house.
"Tch..."
Sanji had a cigarette dangling from his lips, hands thrust deep into his pockets. He kicked a stray branch out of his way with a look of pure annoyance. "Damn it, where the hell did that Marimo-head run off to? There's a limit to how lost a person can get!"
He had been wandering the jungle for half a day. He hadn't bagged much prey, but he'd managed to get himself and Zoro completely turned around.
By chance, Sanji pushed through a thicket and stumbled upon the temporary base Mr. 3 had constructed earlier.
"Hm? What's this place?"
Sanji stepped into the clearing and immediately spotted the headless corpse lying on the ground, long since cold. The body wore a strange skin-tight suit emblazoned with the number "3," and the cut at the neck was smooth and precise.
"Ho? Such a clean cut..." Sanji exhaled a ring of smoke and knelt down to inspect the body. "Looks like Viktor's handiwork. That red-eyed bastard really doesn't pull his punches."
Buru-buru-buru... Buru-buru-buru...
Suddenly, the urgent ringing of a Den Den Mushi echoed through the silent ruins. Sanji followed the sound and saw a snail-shaped phone beside the corpse, chirping frantically.
"A call? For this corpse?" Driven by curiosity, Sanji walked over and picked up the receiver.
Clack.
The moment the connection was made, a raspy, deep male voice came through—Mr. 0 (Crocodile).
"Is that you, Mr. 3? Why did it take you so long to answer? How is the mission progressing? The Straw Hats and that Princess Vivi... have they been dealt with?"
Hearing this, a sharp light flashed in Sanji's eyes behind his bangs.
Mr. 3... Princess Vivi... I see. So this is the mastermind?
Faced with the boss's interrogation, Sanji didn't panic for a second. He took a deep drag of his cigarette and exhaled slowly.
"Ah, sorry, sorry. I just finished disposing of the bodies. My hands were a bit bloody and messy, so I was late to pick up."
On the other end, Crocodile didn't suspect a thing. He asked coldly, "Who are you? Put Mr. 3 on."
"Mr. 3 isn't here..." Sanji looked down at the headless body, a playful smirk tugging at his lips as he gave himself a name. "This is... 'Mr. Prince.'"
"Mr. Prince?" Crocodile hesitated for a moment but didn't press further. "Fine, whoever you are. Report the situation."
"Yes, BOSS." Sanji stared at the corpse, lying through his teeth with cold composure. "The Straw Hat crew has been completely annihilated.
From the rubber boy to the swordsman, their heads have been taken. As for Princess Vivi... her death is confirmed. The bodies have already been cleaned up. Mission accomplished, BOSS."
There was a few seconds of silence before Crocodile let out a delighted laugh. "Guh-hah-hah-hah! Excellent! It seems Mr. 3 is actually useful for something, even if he is a failure otherwise."
In a great mood, Crocodile continued, "In that case, stay where you are. I'm sending the 'Unluckies' immediately to deliver a Permanent Pose to Alabasta. Once you have it, return to headquarters to report."
"Understood, BOSS. I'll be waiting," Sanji said elegantly before hanging up.
A short while later, a fluttering sound came from the sky.
A bizarre-looking sea otter wearing sunglasses and a fierce-looking vulture landed in the ruins, carrying an exquisite package. The messengers of Baroque Works—the Unluckies.
The moment they landed, they realized the person standing there holding the receiver wasn't Mr. 3, but a blonde man in a suit.
"Squeak?!" The otter and vulture shared a look, immediately sensing something was wrong. The otter whipped out two machine guns from its shells, and the vulture bared its sharp talons, ready to silence the witness.
"Oh?" Sanji looked at the murderous animals and sneered, dropping his cigarette and crushing it under his heel. "I was going to thank you for the home delivery... but you want to fight? What rude brutes. I suppose you need a bit of discipline."
Before the words fully left his lips, Sanji vanished.
"Collier... STRIKE!!"
BAM!!
With just one kick, the two unfortunate messengers were sent spinning before they could even pull a trigger. They collided like two rubber balls, knocked unconscious instantly, and were neatly tied up together.
"Done." Sanji dusted off his trousers and picked up the fallen package. Inside lay the Permanent Pose, locked onto the route to Alabasta.
"The Permanent Pose to Alabasta..." Sanji tossed the pointer in the air and caught it, a smirk on his face. "Bingo! This will definitely make Vivi-san and Nami-san look at me in a new light! 'Mr. Prince'... that's a pretty good name. I'm almost starting to like myself."
Meanwhile, in the open grounds near the coast of Little Garden.
"Gah-hah-hah-hah!!" "Geg-gya-gya-gya!!"
Dorry the Blue Ogre and Brogy the Red Ogre, rivals for a century, were engaged in their 714,396th sacred duel.
Massive swords and heavy axes collided in the air, each impact sending tremors through the earth and ripples through the air as if two volcanoes were clashing.
"Give up, Dorry! The wind is in my favor today!!" Brogy roared, bringing his axe down. "You're the one who should give up, Brogy! Your axe is dull!!" Dorry blocked with his shield and countered with a sword thrust.
While the giants were in the heat of battle, two small figures peered out from behind a massive rock at the edge of the battlefield. It was Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine, who had failed to find the Straw Hats in the forest.
"Tch, those pirates are hiding somewhere. I can't find them at all," Mr. 5 muttered, pushing up his sunglasses in annoyance.
"Since we can't find the rubber brat..." Miss Valentine looked at the two gargantuan beings with greed in her eyes. "We'll just take these two big heads instead. They might be pirates from a century ago, but their combined bounty is still a fortune."
The two shared a sinister laugh. "As long as we take them down, it's a huge payday. One each! Let's go!"
Miss Valentine's Turn: Clutching her lemon umbrella, Miss Valentine used her Kilo-Kilo Fruit powers to drift silently above the straining Dorry. "Heh, such a huge target. I don't even need to aim." She giggled in mid-air before suddenly deactivating her light state and maximizing her weight.
"Ten Thousand Kilo Press—!!" "Die, you stupid giant!!"
She plummeted like a falling meteor, whistling through the air to stomp onto Dorry's hard Viking helmet.
Dorry, fully focused on his struggle with Brogy, felt a slight weight on his head. It felt like a pebble had landed on him.
Frowning, he didn't even stop his sword, merely muttering in confusion, "Hm? Where did this mosquito come from?"
He reached up with a free hand and swiped at his head like he was shooing a fly.
SLAP!!
A sharp, thunderous crack echoed.
"Eh?!" Miss Valentine, who had been expecting the thrill of crushing a giant, only saw a palm that blotted out the sun sweeping toward her. There was no room for resistance.
"AAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
Miss Valentine let out a shrill scream as she was sent flying like a baseball, becoming a shooting star that vanished beyond the clouds.
"Annoying mosquito," Dorry grumbled, turning back to swing at Brogy.
Mr. 5's Turn: Seeing his partner strike, Mr. 5 refused to be outdone. He used the opening in the giants' clash to dash like a flea beneath Brogy's feet. "Now's my chance! Such a huge foot is the perfect demolition site!"
Mr. 5 frantically picked his nose, gathering a handful of black booger bombs. "Taste my art!!"
"Nose Fancy Cannon... RAPID FIRE!!"
Shoom-shoom-shoom!
He pelted Brogy's massive instep with the explosives. "Art is an explosion!! DRINK!!"
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!!
A chain of explosions erupted at the giant's feet, sparks flying everywhere. However, Brogy was busy mocking Dorry.
"Gah-hah-hah! Dorry, if you want to give up, don't make excuses! What kind of mosquito makes you lower your head? I think you're just getting old and blind!"
Suddenly, Brogy felt an itch on the top of his foot. "Hm?" He looked down, but because his stomach was too large, he couldn't see his feet clearly. He shifted his weight in confusion. "Is there really a mosquito biting me? It's so itchy."
To stop the itch, Brogy instinctively lifted his massive foot, which spanned several meters like a small hill, and prepared to stomp down to adjust his stance. Mr. 5, standing right beneath it, was waiting to admire his masterpiece.
Suddenly, a massive shadow loomed over him. He looked up to see a gargantuan sole descending like a mountain. Mr. 5's eyes nearly bulged out, and cold sweat poured down his face. His arrogance instantly turned to absolute terror.
"Wait... wait—" "NOOOOOOOO!!!"
FROOOOM————!!!
There was no suspense. Brogy's foot, carrying tens of tons of weight, slammed heavily into the earth, even grinding a bit into the mud for good measure.
Splat.
Mr. 5 didn't even manage a scream. He was crushed like a burst tomato, embedded deep into the soil—a permanent "artistic decal" on the earth.
"Whew, much better." Brogy raised his axe with satisfaction. "Again, Dorry!!"
And so, beneath their feet, two high-ranking Baroque Works agents made their exit in the most pathetic and comical fashion imaginable.
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