"Recognized, huh?"
He pouted and lay back on the rattan chair, bored. "You've got a good eye. Looks like I can sleep well tonight without any fights."
"Captain, it seems there are still two people who haven't left," Smoker frowned beside him. "And they're heading straight toward us…"
Boom!
Before he could finish his sentence, the male figure raised his hand, and the sea surface dozens of meters away from the Sunset suddenly erupted in a burst of flames, sending a towering water column into the air!
"Hey, Pirates."
Mr.5 adjusted his sunglasses and spoke coldly, "Where's your Captain, Xiano? Tell him to come out. That was just a warning. Surrender and come ashore immediately, or the next explosion will be your ship!"
A sneak attack right off the bat?
And daring to threaten the Captain by name? How rude!
Everyone's tempers flared instantly, rolling up their sleeves and ready to fight. Xiano also let out a light hum, curiously sizing up the two figures.
So it's these two?
They're ranked fairly high in Baroque Works, so they're worth more than the average agents. As for their strength…
"Such small fries aren't worth the Captain's time."
Smoker stepped forward, a cigar in his mouth. "I'll take care of them."
"And me!" Nami raised her hand high. "I want to give it a try too!"
These days, seeing everyone on the ship training hard, she couldn't sit still either.
She started experimenting with her abilities on the sea, developing some moves she thought were cool and powerful.
Unfortunately, no one had time to spar with her, so she could only play with Agin. After getting burned a few times, Agin stopped paying attention to her, leaving her itching for a fight.
Now, isn't this the perfect opportunity to test her skills?
"Too slow."
Kuina, who had already drawn Wado Ichimonji, sheathed her sword and sat back down. "Then it's up to you, Nami. Show them what you've got."
Nojiko was also ready to step in, but seeing Nami taking the initiative for once, she smiled and stepped aside.
"Don't worry, that guy with the explosive hair is mine. As for the newbie, Smoker! You handle the girl!"
Nami clashed her fists together, eager to fight.
Hmph, hopefully, there's a reporter hiding somewhere on the island to secretly take photos, so the fools at Marine Headquarters can witness her strength.
Either don't put a bounty on me, or raise it higher! Eight thousand Berry is just too stingy!
"Let me give you a heads-up."
As the two were about to go ashore, Xiano flipped through the newspaper, lazily confirming news about the Alabasta royal family. "That man is a Bomb-Bomb Fruit user. Any part of his body can explode."
"So what?" Nami scoffed. "I can still burn…"
"You might not have seen it clearly, but that explosion earlier was caused by his snot acting as a bomb."
"…" Nami's expression froze instantly.
"Snot?!"
Her eyes widened, her voice cracking. "You're saying that explosion was… ugh—"
The thought of punching that explosive-haired guy with her fists made Nami's face turn pale. She suddenly turned around and grabbed Smoker's sleeve:
"Smoker, I suddenly feel that the woman floating in the air is more suited for me! We must switch!"
"..."
Smoker helplessly shrugged, "As you wish."
Using snot as bombs was indeed disgusting, but dealing with such a guy wouldn't take long. Compared to giving a girl a headache, it was better to handle it himself.
In the next instant, he transformed into a cloud of white smoke, darting straight towards Mr.5.
Nami followed closely behind. Taking advantage of the ship having docked, she leaped up and landed steadily on the shore—
Only to instantly change her expression, clutching her foot and hopping around, grimacing and howling, "Ouch, ouch, my ankle is about to break!"
"You're really looking down on people!!"
Miss Valentine was dumbfounded and couldn't hold back her anger, baring her teeth and roaring, "What kind of Pirate crew are you? Sending a little brat like you to face me!"
"Fine then!" She stomped over menacingly, raising her parasol high, "I'll just knock you into the sea first, then they'll have to send someone more decent..."
"Coming this close?"
Nami, who had been crouching and holding her foot, suddenly looked up, a sly smile curling her lips, "Then you're really being too naive..."
Before Miss Valentine could react, Nami abruptly straightened up, her legs in a bow stance, her hands pressing against each other at her waist, flames igniting in her palms:
"Flame—Haki—"
She had heard this name in a story her brother told her when she was a kid! The idea was to continuously compress the flames, and then compress them further, until the energy was concentrated to its limit, almost beyond her control, and then suddenly—
"——Blast!!!"
Boom!!!
A blazing fireball exploded between the two of them, the sound of the explosion echoing throughout Whiskey Peak!
Miss Valentine was sent flying several meters by the shockwave, crashing heavily into a building, shattering the wall. Her parasol fell to the side, instantly burned to a skeleton.
"Cough... you cunning brat!"
It took several seconds for Miss Valentine to struggle to her feet, her entire body blackened as if she had been picking cotton, she shouted in frustration:
"You're a Devil Fruit user too, yet you use such underhanded tactics!"
Nami smugly flicked her orange short hair, "That's called tactics~, hehe, who told you to fall for it so easily?"
"Damn it!" Miss Valentine stomped her foot in anger, "It's time for you to witness my ability, take this—"
She leaped high into the air, floating up to twenty or thirty meters, then suddenly her body became incredibly heavy, plummeting down at an astonishing speed.
"——「Ten Thousand Kilogram Press」!"
"...No Haki control?"
Nami glanced up, not moving an inch from her spot, letting Miss Valentine come crashing down towards her, her lips curling in disdain.
Tch, just ten thousand kilograms, that's ten tons, right?
That much weight? My brother could already swing a tree of that size like a bat many years ago.
Boom!
The ground cracked with a spiderweb of massive fissures, a perfect hit! Just as Miss Valentine was about to cover her mouth and laugh triumphantly, a ring of fiery walls suddenly surrounded her.
Within the Wall of Fire, Nami's face emerged, grinning as she said, "Sister Lemon, your little tricks don't seem to pose any threat to me at all."
What kind of bizarre ability is this?!
Miss Valentine took two steps back in terror, then suddenly noticed something, her expression drastically changing. She no longer cared to engage with Nami, her body becoming weightless as she floated into the sky—
"Hmph, trying to escape?"
Nami clapped her hands together, "I was prepared for this move... Fire Phoenix!"
Whoosh—!
All the flames that had been circling around her suddenly surged upward, swirling around her body.
First, the long tail feathers, then the magnificent wings, and finally the proudly raised phoenix head—
In just two seconds, a Fire Phoenix with a wingspan of over ten meters and an elegant form rapidly took shape and soared into the sky!
Screech!
The Fire Phoenix let out a clear cry, flapping its wings and quickly catching up to Miss Valentine.
The latter glanced back from time to time, her face turning pale as she frantically tried to dodge left and right.
But her speed was no match for Nami's controlled Fire Phoenix.
She only had time to scream, "Stay away!" before being completely engulfed by the roaring flames, screaming as she fell to the ground.
Clap! Clap!
Nami patted her hands, "Hehe, done! Hey, Smoker, how's it going on your end? I finished in less than three minutes. Don't tell me you're slower than— Huh?"
As she turned her head, she was stunned to see Smoker already sitting on top of Mr.5.
The latter was tied up like a dumpling, unable to move a finger, while two extinguished cigarette butts lay at Smoker's feet.
"Third cigarette."
Smoker flicked the ash off his cigarette and glanced at his watch, "Seems like I only took 20 seconds? Looks like I'm still faster."
Damn it!
He got to show off. Even though we're both Logia-type ability users, it seems my mastery of the fruit is still far from impressive!
"This is your first time facing an opponent head-on."
A familiar voice came from nearby, "And you were up against a High-Ranking Officer of Baroque Works. Finishing in under three minutes is pretty good."
It was Xiano and the others, who had watched the brief battle and followed ashore.
"Brother!" Nami grabbed Xiano's arm, looking up with a grin, "Hearing you praise me like that makes me feel much better. So, can I be a main combatant from now on?"
You want to compete for a main combatant role?
"If you're willing to start training in martial arts and Haki with everyone else, then sure," Xiano glanced at her.
"Never mind then."
Nami slumped in disappointment. Training in martial arts was exhausting, and she couldn't stand the torture. Plus, she had to draw sea charts and control the ship's course, so she didn't have much free time.
"Captain, what about those guys hiding in the shadows?" Smoker looked into the distance.
He was the only one on the ship with Observation Haki, able to sense people hiding in nearby cellars and behind walls.
"If they've wisely retreated, we don't need to bother with them."
Xiano shook his head slightly, his gaze shifting to Mr.5.
This guy hadn't passed out, but after realizing the gap in strength, he was trembling like a leaf.
"Don't you think this guy looks a bit like Aokiji? Even the hairstyle is similar." Xiano suddenly blurted out this seemingly random remark to Smoker.
Kuzan?
Smoker was taken aback. He scrutinized Mr.5 for a moment—thick lips, forehead wrinkles, an afro, and small round sunglasses… Hmm, he really did look quite similar.
"Hey."
Xiano had already crouched in front of Mr.5, patting his cheek with a smile as he asked, "Who sent you two to deal with me? Was it Crocodile?"
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