"Special Attack: Stinky Egg Meteor!"
Splat!
The egg hit the vulture with perfect accuracy. It let out a pained shriek before flapping its wings awkwardly, now sticky with egg white, and fled in a wobbling escape.
"Hahaha! Now you've witnessed my greatness!" Usopp laughed triumphantly, hands on his hips.
But instead of receiving praise from everyone, he felt a piercing gaze fixed on his back.
He turned stiffly to find Igaram and Vivi staring at him wide-eyed, their expressions as if they'd seen a Demon.
"Now I understand why," Igaram stammered, pointing first at the fleeing vulture.
Vivi covered her mouth in disbelief. "That was... Baroque Works' specialized intelligence agent... Miss Friday and Mr. 13..."
As Igaram gradually rose from the ground, he seemed to piece everything together instantly. Pointing at Usopp like a detective, he declared, "So it was you... it was all because of you! No wonder the boss suddenly decided you were working together! It must have seen you attacking it multiple times and reported the wrong information!"
All the clues connected in that moment.
Nami's expression shifted from shock to sudden understanding, before finally transforming into overwhelming rage. She slowly turned around, her fists clenched with audible cracks, with what seemed like a dark flaming aura rising behind her.
"Usopp..." Nami's voice was terrifyingly gentle.
"W-wait! Nami! Let me explain! It's a misunderstanding!" Usopp broke out in a cold sweat and began backing away step by step.
"A misunderstanding??" Nami's smile was unnervingly bright.
"Because you couldn't keep your hands to yourself... because of your slingshot... we've inexplicably become targets of the Seven Warlords of the Sea...?"
"I! I didn't mean to!"
"Go die ten thousand times!!! You super idiot!!!"
Nami completely lost it, chasing Usopp around while swinging her fists like cannonballs against his sandbag-like body.
"AAAAAH! Help! Murder!!" Usopp's screams echoed throughout Whiskey Peak.
........
Usopp's screams gradually turned into whimpering pleas for mercy, and Nami finally exhausted herself from beating him.
Hands on her hips and panting heavily, the anger on her face had clearly subsided, replaced more by a sense of resigned helplessness.
"Alright, that's enough."
Zoro finally spoke up to stop the commotion, though he had clearly enjoyed the show. "Since trouble has already found us, there's no point hiding. The sooner we depart, the better we can avoid being surrounded by them."
"That's right!" Luffy adjusted his straw hat.
With a brilliant smile, he announced to everyone: "Then it's decided! We're going to Alabasta! To punch that Crocodile guy and send him flying!"
And so the matter was simply settled.
Everyone packed up their things and prepared to return to the Merry. Vivi and Igaram, whose injuries had somewhat improved, had a long, quiet conversation off to the side.
As everyone was about to board the familiar ship, Igaram bowed deeply to them all with great solemnity.
"I am eternally grateful for your tremendous kindness."
He straightened up, his expression resolute. "However, we cannot travel together like this."
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Sanji asked, blowing a smoke ring.
Igaram looked at Vivi, his eyes filled with loyalty: "I will play the role of Princess Vivi."
He then took out an outfit identical to what Vivi was currently wearing—a long coat, a blue-and-white striped tight-fitting short-sleeved shirt, and a pair of shorts:
"As long as I wear this outfit, pilot a ship, and use the Eternal Pose we just discussed to return to Alabasta, I can attract the pursuers from Baroque Works."
"And you, take the real princess and return to Alabasta via the normal route!"
"Splitting into two groups is the only way to increase our chances of success!"
"Whoa! Uncle, if you put on that outfit, you'll really look like her!!" Luffy laughed, pointing at the clothes in Igaram's hands.
Nami covered her forehead: "Like a Demon! But even though this plan is quite risky... it's indeed safer than going together."
Then Igaram shook hands with Vivi and said: "Princess, this journey will be extremely dangerous, please be careful!"
"Yes! We will definitely save Alabasta!"
And so it was decided.
Igaram didn't linger any longer. He changed into the clothes he had just been holding, took one last deep look at Vivi, and resolutely boarded a large backup ship from Whiskey Peak, setting sail in another direction.
Vivi stood by the railing of the Merry, watching the ship disappear over the horizon for a long time, lost in thought.
Night slowly fell.
After the intense battles and commotion of the day, everyone began to feel tired and decided to set sail the next day.
Giyu sat alone by the bow, quietly wiping his Nichirin Blade while watching Princess Vivi, who was still gazing into the distance.
"Are you... worried about him?"
Vivi turned around, surprised by Giyu's concern, and smiled: "Not at all! I've always believed in him! He can definitely do it!"
After saying this, she still raised her fist as if to cheer herself on, then nodded to herself.
Giyu hadn't expected that the exaggerated rogue from yesterday was actually a princess of a nation. Thinking about it, the burden she carried was quite heavy—if she didn't return quickly, her country would head toward ruin.
Unconsciously, he recalled how, many years ago, Oyakata-sama had also shouldered everything at such a young age, taking on the heavy responsibility of eliminating Muzan and guiding the Demon Slayer Corps forward.
Just then, a gentle and unfamiliar woman's voice, carrying a hint of lazy amusement, suddenly rang out on the ship without warning.
"My, my~ What a touching master-servant relationship..."
Everyone was instantly startled and began looking for the source of this unfamiliar voice!
There, in the shadows of the cabin roof, a woman was elegantly sitting on the second-floor railing, though no one knew when she had appeared.
She wore a cute white cowboy hat, beneath which was a beautiful face with a mysterious smile. She sat with her legs crossed, one hand supporting her chin, watching everyone on the ship with great interest, as if she had been observing for a long time.
"Who's there?!" Giyu immediately reacted, turning to look back, his left hand resting on his sword guard.
Luffy also stopped his antics, crossing his arms over his chest: "Hey! Why are you sitting on our ship? This is our ship!"
Vivi's face turned pale as she recognized the woman, her voice trembling: "Ms. All Sunday... the vice president of Baroque Works..."
"Vice president?!" everyone exclaimed in shock simultaneously.
"My, my, recognized already, little captain~ How embarrassing~ So this is your ship? It's quite a fine vessel indeed~"
Ms. All Sunday—Nico Robin—seemed quite pleased with their shocked reactions.
Then she turned her gaze toward Vivi, who was already dripping with cold sweat at the bow, and spoke softly with a hint of amusement:
"I just ran into Mr. 8 over there earlier~ It wasn't easy pretending to be you, you know."
"Trying to squeeze into those tight clothes~ But now, he's been taken away by the agency's people~ What shall we do, my little princess?"