(Can a painter actually have such a sharp ability?!) Usopp rubbed his chin, his mind beginning to race with ideas.
He prided himself on being the best artist in the Straw Hat Pirates, and back in Syrup Village, he had been the top graffiti artist as a kid. So, the long-nosed fellow naturally figured that if he practiced drawing a bit more, he shouldn't be much worse than Miss Goldenweek.
(Hmm, if I have some free time in the future, I can try practicing my drawing.) Usopp plotted silently to himself.
Crack... The sound of crumbling soil.
The ground in the middle of the group suddenly caved in, revealing a pit about one meter in diameter. A middle-aged woman who looked strikingly like a penguin crawled out from inside.
"The tunnel is already dug."
Returning to her human form, Miss Christmas wiped the sweat from her forehead. "But I'm not very familiar with the geology here, so I don't know how long this tunnel will hold up."
"Oh? It's dug already?"
Sherlock pulled out a silver pocket watch and checked the time. "Fifteen minutes earlier than my fastest estimate. As expected of the Mole-Mole Fruit. By the way, you didn't alert the Marines above ground while digging, did you?"
"Hahaha, of course not!" Hearing the Sorcerer's praise, Miss Christmas lifted her head proudly.
"Don't worry, who do you think I am? Let alone the Marines, back in the royal palace of Alubarna, I dug a tunnel and kidnapped their king without alerting a single soul! Hahaha, those fools were really..."
"Cough, cough..." Miss Doublefinger coughed lightly to hide the embarrassment on her face. She quietly glanced at the expression on a certain four-eyes' face and said in a low voice, "Um... Miss Christmas, it's best if you don't bring up that kind of thing again, okay?"
"Why, Paula? I'm just telling the truth. Ahhh... my back hurts so much. And that big dummy Mr. 4 isn't even here, talk about bad luck..." Miss Christmas began to mutter to herself in a low voice. Her voice was very shrill and her speech rate was fast; even though the people around her were standing close, they still couldn't make out what exactly she was rambling about.
It had to be said, for Crocodile to pair up an impatient chatterbox like her with a slow-moving, quiet blockhead like Mr. 4 to act together was truly quite something...
(Utterly foolish...)
Completely ignoring the middle-aged woman's grumbling, Sherlock gently pushed up his glasses, his gaze sweeping across everyone present one by one.
"I believe I've already made the plan very clear. So, whether all of us can escape smoothly next depends on your individual performances."
"Understood." x N
Everyone chorused in agreement, their expressions instantly turning serious. Then, one after another, they leaped into the tunnel Miss Christmas had just dug.
The central island and the outer island were connected by only a single iron bridge, but the Marines would never guess that after their attention was drawn away by the army of cannon fodder, the jailbreakers' true "main force" had already initiated a flanking maneuver.
Robin was the last one. She walked to the entrance of the tunnel but didn't jump in right away. Instead, she looked back at the Sorcerer, a trace of doubt flashing in her eyes.
"By the way, Sherlock, since we all have our own tasks..." The beautiful archaeologist's wonderful deep blue eyes quietly gazed at the bespectacled man. "...then what is your task?"
"My task? Why, are you curious about it?"
Hearing this, Sherlock let out a soft chuckle. "I'm going to prepare a 'little gift' in a moment. After all, the master of this place has been so passionately trying to keep us here. If we leave without leaving anything behind, it would be a bit impolite."
"A little gift?" Robin's elegant eyebrows knitted slightly. She was absolutely, definitely, and positively certain that the "little gift" the Sorcerer spoke of was nowhere near as simple as he casually made it sound.
(What has he prepared for the Marines this time? Hmm, I remember the 'big gift' he gave the Marines last time was...)
Robin's expression instantly became bizarre, completely different from her usual calm and collected demeanor. Because this scheming woman suddenly realized that the "big gift" the Sorcerer had prepared for the Marines last time—namely, back in Alabasta...
...seemed to be none other than her, the "Devil Child" with a bounty of 79 million Berries!
Robin took a deep breath as some rather embarrassing memories were subconsciously triggered. She then shot a deeply meaningful look at the four-eyes and slid into the tunnel without saying another word.
(What's going on? Her look just now was so strange.) Sherlock pushed up his glasses, feeling a bit bewildered.
A woman's heart is like the most precise instrument in the world. Even for a Sorcerer like him, who could use Observation Haki to perform "mind reading," it was impossible to completely analyze its mysteries. Or rather, this guy simply had absolutely zero interest in that department to begin with.
"But speaking of which, did she really make a deal with that strange Marine Rear Admiral?"
Recalling the intelligence he had gathered from the Navarone cafeteria back then, Sherlock's eyes narrowed slightly. After all, according to the Sorcerer's understanding at the time, there was no other "person" who possessed the capital to make a deal with the Marines besides her, the Devil Child.
(Let's not think too much about it for now. I'll ask her myself once we escape this fortress.)
Having made up his mind, Sherlock lightly concealed the hole dug by Miss Christmas. Then, activating his Mirror-Mirror Fruit ability, his entire body slowly vanished into the pitch-black night.
After everyone had left, a few moments passed.
Whoosh~ A cool night breeze swept through. Without any warning, a petite figure slowly emerged, as if condensing out of thin air.
"Puff-puff-puff, a little gift?"
Her mismatched black-and-white twintails draped smoothly behind her back, and her porcelain doll-like face wore a mischievous expression that far exceeded her apparent age.
"What is a dishonest guy like you trying to do this time? You're not thinking of blowing up this fortress too, are you?"
Unlike his low-profile performance in Alabasta, Sherlock had previously blown up a Marine base all by himself out of revenge. Therefore, in the eyes of most Marines and pirates, the Sorcerer wasn't a pirate, but a completely unhinged terrorist!
"What a joke! This place can't be compared to the East Blue, and he doesn't seem to share the same art style as his troublesome older sister."
Rear Admiral Alan tilted her small head, putting on a thinking face. As a user of the Fuse-Fuse Fruit, she had kept her body integrated into the surrounding air just now; given the strength of the Sorcerer and the others, it was absolutely impossible for them to notice her. However, because Sherlock habitually left his plans incomplete, this expired lolita hadn't managed to eavesdrop on any valuable intelligence just now.
On the other hand, Robin's final question had completely piqued the curiosity of this trouble-seeking lolita Rear Admiral.
"Alright, alright, I'd like to see what kind of tricks you're going to pull..."
Alan muttered to herself. Then, with a thought, her petite body instantly blended into the surrounding air, drifting away along with the constantly surging currents of wind.
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