At the exact moment Luffy and Sanji's identities were exposed, inside a small private room in the cafeteria, the head of the G-8 Fortress was leisurely tucking into the food on his plate.
"Mmm... The flavor of these meatballs is absolutely superb."
Chewing thoroughly before swallowing the food, a blissful smile spread across Vice Admiral Jonathan's face. He murmured contentedly, "I truly didn't expect a pirate to possess such masterful culinary skills."
"Indeed, it really is a shame..." Standing to the side, Jessica sighed with a complex expression. "I honestly never expected those two to actually be pirates. Sigh..."
The beautiful head chef then looked at her husband and asked, "What do we do next? Should we alert the entire fortress to capture them?"
"No need to rush, Jessica."
Vice Admiral Jonathan wiped his mouth with a napkin. Judging by his leisurely attitude, he didn't seem to care much about the Straw Hat Pirates having infiltrated his fortress.
"My philosophy when fishing is always to cast a long line to catch a big fish. Rest assured, when it's finally time to reel in the net, not a single one of them will escape.
"Furthermore, according to Article Three of the Navarone Fortress Regulations, we shouldn't discuss work while eating."
(I bet you're just using that as an excuse to keep eating.)
Chef Jessica looked at the Vice Admiral's confident demeanor with a touch of exasperation. Shrugging, she picked up a plate of food from the serving cart and placed it right in front of Jonathan.
"Fine, fine, we won't talk about work." With that, the head chef lifted the lid, a radiant smile gracing her face. "In that case, dear, make sure you finish every last bite of the dish I made for you."
"This is..."
When he saw clearly what was on the plate, the Marine Vice Admiral—who could remain completely unfazed regardless of how vicious a pirate he faced—instantly suffered a drastic change of expression.
"Uh, well... Jessica, I'm not a huge fan of vegetables. Do you think you could..." Jonathan pleaded in a low, miserable voice, his face falling.
"No can do~"
Chef Jessica crossed her arms, flashing a sly smile. "According to Article Two of the Navarone Fortress Regulations, wasting food on your plate is strictly forbidden. Hehe, I wonder who came up with that rule in the first place?"
Jonathan was utterly speechless, feeling exactly as though he had shot himself in the foot.
Leaving this flirting old couple aside for a moment.
On the other side, inside a dark and damp cell within the Navarone Fortress prison, four "old acquaintances" who had accidentally crossed paths once again were currently "reminiscing."
Separated into pairs, they sat on opposite ends of the cell, staring blankly at each other in total silence. Judging by the bizarre atmosphere filling the room, this reunion was far from a pleasant one.
After a long while, a whispered voice broke the quiet of the cell.
"Hey... Zoro, how did you end up captured by the Marines too?" a tightly bound Usopp whispered to the green-haired swordsman beside him. Gulping, he cast a nervous glance at the two individuals across from them. "And why on earth did they lock the two of us up with these dangerous guys?!"
Zoro pondered for a moment before replying without turning his head, "I don't know exactly what happened either. Before I passed out, all I saw was a black-and-white blur."
Although Zoro's strength had grown significantly since his days in the East Blue, the green-haired swordsman's current power was still far from enough in the eyes of the "Natural Enemy"—after all, the latter was a powerhouse capable of holding his own against even a Warlord of the Sea like the Heavenly Yaksha.
"As for these two..."
Having said that, the green-haired swordsman expressionlessly questioned the muscular, bald man wearing Sea Prism Stone handcuffs across from him. "Hey, where's your crocodile boss? Wasn't he captured by the Marines as well?"
To the query of the swordsman who had defeated him back in Alubarna, Mr. 1 turned a completely deaf ear, acting entirely aloof and standoffish.
"The President is being held in the innermost cell," Mr. 4—the man who had once nearly shattered Usopp's skull with a baseball bat—answered innocently, much to the annoyance of Mr. 1, who turned his head away in irritation.
"Oh, so that's how it is. No wonder this fortress is guarded by someone so powerful." Zoro's face grew grim. Thanks to Crocodile being here, escaping this Marine fortress had just become significantly harder for them.
At that moment, Usopp suddenly recalled what Rear Admiral Black Crow had told him earlier. He opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated out of caution regarding the two Baroque Works agents across from them, keeping his mouth shut.
(Better leave this kind of problem to our strategist, Sherlock.)
The long-nosed sniper brooded silently for a moment before muttering to himself, "Man, I wonder how Luffy and the others are doing right now. When are they going to rescue us?"
"Relax, Usopp." Zoro leaned his head against the stone wall behind him, speaking with his usual cool demeanor. "Even though that idiot Luffy is usually completely unreliable, he always comes through when it counts. Besides, Sherlock is with them."
"Yeah, true enough." Usopp nodded in agreement.
"Why are you two so certain they'll come to save you?" Mr. 1 suddenly asked in sheer bewilderment. "They can barely protect themselves inside this fortress. Why would they risk their lives to infiltrate the most heavily guarded prison?"
"Why?"
Zoro and Usopp exchanged a glance, and then answered simultaneously with absolute seriousness: "Because we are comrades! Does anyone really need a reason to save their own crewmates?"
(Comrades?)
A wave of complex emotions washed over Mr. 1 and Mr. 4 as they lapsed into silence.
Within Baroque Works, the concept of companionship was practically nonexistent. Ironically enough, aside from partners assigned to execute a mission together, the only time "comrades" were ever brought up was when it came time to execute a comrade who had failed a mission...
Suddenly, a flurry of footsteps echoed from outside the cell, immediately putting the four on high alert.
"Is it Luffy and the others coming to save us?!" Usopp rejoiced.
"No, judging by the footsteps, there are too many people." Zoro shook his head, his expression souring. "Don't tell me someone else got caught?"
As the footsteps drew nearer, the group of uninvited guests finally arrived outside the cell. The four turned their heads to look, and everyone instantly froze.
"Robin! You're here to rescue— Huh?"
Seeing that familiar figure, Usopp nearly wept with joy, but his expression warped as he noticed the individuals standing alongside the manipulative woman. "Miss Valentine? And the bomb guy we met at Little Garden, what are you guys doing here? Uh, and that penguin lady from Alubarna is here too..."
"I keep telling you I'm a weasel, not a penguin!" Miss Merry Christmas bared her teeth and roared. "You long-nosed bastard, I really should have buried you alive back then!"
(This woman actually didn't run away on her own?) Zoro was deeply astonished. He had never expected this woman, who lived her life surrounded by betrayal and darkness, to risk her life for her comrades.
"How did you all escape, Miss Doublefinger?" Mr. 1 asked, staring at his former partner in sheer surprise.
"We were rescued by them, of course."
Sporting a deep blue afro and a smoking hot, sultry figure, the owner of the Spider Cafe pointed toward Miss Goldenweek and the others beside her. She then glanced at Zoro and Usopp, a look of confusion crossing her face. "Strange... Aren't these two from the Straw Hat Pirates? Why are they here?"
"Yes. Due to a minor accident, the Straw Hat Pirates accidentally stumbled into this G-8 Fortress," Robin replied nonchalantly.
(Holy crap, talk about a "minor" accident...) The Baroque Works members silently complained in their minds, though an inexplicable sense of schadenfreude washed over them.
"Wait, if that's the case..."
Still dressed like a rock star, Mr. 5 suddenly realized something, and his face instantly turned deathly pale. "Is that Sorcerer also in this fortress?!"
Miss Goldenweek and Miss Valentine visibly shuddered upon hearing this. Miss Valentine—who had personally experienced Sherlock's terrifying methods—felt an overwhelming urge to turn around and bolt at the mere mention of his name.
(What is wrong with these three? Is that Sorcerer really that terrifying?)
Miss Doublefinger looked in bewilderment at her three utterly grief-stricken colleagues before turning her attention back to Robin. She asked tentatively, "Miss All Sunday, hearing you say that, does it mean the reason you're here is also because of this 'minor accident'? Don't tell me..."
"Yes."
Robin nodded, her gaze sweeping calmly across her former associates. She stated frankly, "I have now joined the Straw Hat Pirates."
"WHAAAT?!" they shrieked in unison.
Upon hearing this bombshell of a revelation, everyone froze entirely. Faced with the stark reality that the second-in-command of their organization had jumped ship to the enemy side, they genuinely had no idea what kind of face to make.
The atmosphere instantly turned profoundly awkward.
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