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Chapter 45 - "A Crew's Defense."

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Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine strolled toward Vivi like they were out for a walk in the park, completely ignoring Logan and the rest of the girls.

Their plan was simple: take care of Vivi first, then deal with the others.

"It's Mr. 5 and his partner, Miss Valentine!" Vivi instantly recognized them.

"Why are you two here?!"

Mr. 5, who looked like a moody rock singer, gave her a cold stare. "Obviously, we came for you… Miss Wednesday. Or should I say—Princess Vivi."

Crap—they've been exposed!

Ikaram's face turned pale. "Princess Vivi, I'll hold them off! Run! Get out of here!"

He quickly jumped in front of Vivi, golden hair flying as several gun barrels extended from it. Without a moment's hesitation, he opened fire.

Bang bang bang!

Flames roared from the barrels, bullets flying toward Mr. 5 like a raging storm.

"Go, Princess! Hurry!" Ikaram shouted without looking back.

But while his focus was locked on Mr. 5, Miss Valentine had quietly floated into the sky—then dropped like a meteor.

"Two thousand kilograms!" she called out.

She crashed down on Ikaram with bone-crushing force.

There was a loud boom as he was slammed into the ground, pinned down and unable to move. Blood sprayed from his mouth; it felt like every bone in his body had shattered.

"Ikaram! Are you okay?!" Vivi knelt beside him, panic written all over her face.

He coughed weakly. "Don't worry… Princess. I'm not dead yet… cough."

"Princess Vivi~," Miss Valentine sang mockingly as she floated in the air again, twirling her umbrella and smirking. "You've got guts—spying on the boss like that. Should I call you brave, or just plain stupid?"

"You witch!" Vivi glared up at her, trembling with anger.

"Your undercover mission ends here, Princess," Miss Valentine said smugly.

The smoke cleared, revealing Mr. 5 completely unscathed after the barrage.

"Booger Bomb!" he shouted, jamming a finger into his nose.

With a disgusting flick, he launched a piece of snot straight at Vivi.

He was a Bomb-Bomb Fruit user—anything from his body could explode. Even… his boogers.

"Nami!" Logan's calm voice rang out.

"Cloud Wall!"

With a boom, a wall of dense clouds shot up in front of Vivi. The flying booger hit it—and exploded in a fiery blast.

"Who the hell attacks with boogers?!" Nami grimaced, glaring at Mr. 5 in disgust.

Thank goodness her attacks were long-range, or she'd be throwing up by now.

"Huh? Another Devil Fruit user?" Mr. 5 narrowed his eyes, his face darkening. "This is Baroque Works business. I suggest you stay out of it."

Logan just smiled and shook his head. "Vivi's part of my crew now. Her problem is my problem. Nami—take him out."

"Captain…" Vivi froze for a moment, heart swelling with emotion.

Normally, she wouldn't think much of such words—but right now, they hit deep.That's… actually really touching!

"You're asking for it!" Mr. 5 growled. "Air Bomb!"

He spat out a compressed air blast toward Nami.

"Gross! First boogers, now spit? You're disgusting—get lost!"

"Thunderbolt!"

Nami's expression twisted in revulsion as she unleashed her attack.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Thick, silver-white lightning bolts crashed down from the sky, one after another. They formed a dense net of electric fury, sealing off every escape route.

Using Observation Haki, Nami locked onto Mr. 5's presence—no matter where he ran, the lightning followed.

The storm crackled and hissed, writhing like silver serpents across the air.

Mr. 5's pupils shrank. He tried to dodge—but without Haki, he was nothing more than a sitting duck.

Within seconds, dozens of bolts struck him, one after another.

He was charred black from head to toe before his eyes rolled back and he collapsed with a thud.

Still not satisfied, Nami sent another round of lightning into his twitching body until he was definitely out cold.

"Done. That'll teach you to gross people out again." She clapped her hands, satisfied.

"That was amazing, Nami!" Kaya looked at her with sparkling eyes, clapping excitedly.

Tashigi could only sigh enviously. "Her control over lightning just keeps getting better… I've got to step up my game."

"How… how is this possible?!"

Miss Valentine, who'd been full of arrogance just moments ago, froze at the sight of Mr. 5 being effortlessly obliterated. Her confident smirk vanished, replaced by pure terror.

Lightning—she could command lightning!

There's no way I can fight that! I need to get out of here!

"I'm done playing around! Princess Vivi, when I report back, the boss will know everything!" she shouted, desperately trying to sound composed. "And you idiots—prepare for his wrath!"

She turned to flee into the sky.

"Cloud Lock."

Nami's soft voice echoed.

Two white chains shot upward at lightning speed, wrapping tightly around Miss Valentine's arms.

"Wha—?! Let go!" she screamed, thrashing wildly. But the harder she struggled, the tighter the chains pulled, yanking her down fast.

Just before she hit the ground, the chains vanished—and she crashed with a painful thud.

Logan looked down at her from above, smirking. "I didn't say you could leave."

"....."

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