Chapter 29: You Better Go All Out, Or You Will Die!
"How did this guy recognize Moi?"
Mr. 2, the okama known as Bon Kurei, couldn't understand how the man in front of him had seen through his disguise.
His Clone-Clone Fruit transformation had been perfect, down to the last detail. He had never failed before.
But clearly, that didn't matter now.
Even though his identity was exposed, his kick did not falter.
"The path of an okama is one of moving forward, even when the road is hard! Okama Kenpo: Grand Swan Arabesque!"
His leg, clad in a ballet slipper, tore through the air with a sharp whistle, aiming straight for Ryuji's head!
But Ryuji didn't seem nervous at all.
He didn't even get up from his deck chair. His left hand still cradled his last glass of cola.
He casually raised his right hand and flicked his index finger upward.
VMMM!
Bon Kurei immediately felt the temperature plummet!
Just as the tip of his toe was less than half a foot from Ryuji's mask...
A massive wall of ice materialized out of thin air, interposing itself between them.
THUD!
A dull, heavy impact echoed through the hall as Bon Kurei's foot slammed into the ice wall.
And then...
"So cold... No, no, no... So painful... No, wait... Why is it so hard!?"
Bon Kurei watched in disbelief. His kick, honed through countless battles and capable of shattering boulders, hadn't even scratched the ice wall.
Not a crack. Not a chip.
Instead, a sharp pain shot up his leg—the pain of extreme cold.
Ice began to creep up his limb, spreading toward his body.
"Ice... Hey! Wait! Isn't your ability controlling rain!?"
Bon Kurei's eyes widened, and he shouted without hesitation.
"Miss Merry Christmas! It's time! The intel was wrong! Moi can't beat this guy! Everyone, attack!"
As his voice rang out...
RUMBLE...
A low roar came from beneath the ground. The floor began to tremble.
Then, the pristine stone tiles of the South Hall shattered.
Beneath the broken floor, several dark, deep tunnels had appeared.
"Oh?"
Ryuji raised an eyebrow, sensing something.
From one of the tunnels, a round figure popped out.
It was a fat man wielding a giant baseball bat, accompanied by a strange creature that looked like a cross between a gun and a dachshund.
Baroque Works, Mr. 4 'Babe' and his pet gun, 'Lassoo,' who had eaten the Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Dachshund.
"Lassoo."
Mr. 4 spoke slowly.
"Prepare... to... fire."
The dachshund-gun, Lassoo, slowly raised its head.
Babe raised his giant bat, taking a battering stance.
"Four-Hundred-Run Homer!"
He whispered the name of his move. This was their signature combo: Lassoo fired the projectile, and Babe hit it for a devastating ranged attack.
But...
Ryuji: "..."
Bon Kurei: "..."
Watching the agonizingly slow movements of the pair, Bon Kurei's expression was incredulous.
"Hey! This isn't the time for a comedy routine! With moves that slow, who are you going to hit!? Moi is about to turn into a popsicle here!"
He shouted, watching the ice creeping up his thigh.
"Of course we'll hit him!"
"Because even your defeat, Mr. 2... was part of my meticulous plan!"
A sinister voice rang out.
From another tunnel, a tuft of hair shaped like the number '3' popped up—complete with a lit fuse on top.
Following it was a man with glasses and thick lips.
His hands had already turned into white wax.
Mr. 3, the Wax-Wax Fruit user—Galdino.
Globs of wax shot from his hands, connecting to...
"Hm?"
Ryuji made a sound of interest.
White wax had surged up from the ground beneath his feet, locking his legs in place.
"While you were failing miserably, I had Miss Merry Christmas dig a tunnel right under this guy's feet."
Galdino gloated to Bon Kurei. "Thanks for distracting him. Mr. 4, do it!"
As he spoke, the slow-moving Babe and Lassoo were finally ready.
Lassoo coughed up four wooden boxes.
Babe swung his bat.
CRACK!
The immense force of his swing shattered the boxes, sending the four objects inside flying toward Ryuji at incredible speed.
In an instant, the four objects clamped onto Ryuji's wrists and ankles.
They were four sets of shackles.
"Specially sourced Marine-issue shackles, inlaid with Seastone! Plus my 'Candle Lock'—he can't escape now!"
Galdino laughed maniacally.
As he spoke, white wax continued to pour over Ryuji, encasing him completely.
And then...
"Hahahaha! I'll help too!"
With a shrill laugh, a woman holding a parasol descended from the skylight.
"Wait! Miss Valentine! Moi is still stuck here!"
Bon Kurei screamed in panic—the ice on his leg was still connected to the wax block encasing Ryuji. He was trapped.
But Miss Valentine, the Kilo-Kilo Fruit user, ignored him completely.
BOOM!
Using her ability to increase her weight, she crashed down onto the wax-encased Ryuji, driving him—and the attached Bon Kurei—into the ground.
Immediately after...
SWISH!
SWISH!
SWISH!
Three more figures burst from the tunnels.
An afro-wearing man with sunglasses—Mr. 5 'Gem,' the Bomb-Bomb Fruit user.
A sexy, blue-haired woman in leather—Miss Doublefinger 'Zala,' the Spike-Spike Fruit user.
And finally, a muscular man with a shaved head—Mr. 1 'Daz Bonez,' the Dice-Dice Fruit user.
The three attacked simultaneously.
Miss Doublefinger's hair turned into sharp spikes, piercing Ryuji through repeatedly.
Mr. 1 turned his arms into blades, silently slicing through Ryuji's body.
"Hey! You're hitting Moi! Aren't we colleagues? Aren't we friends!?"
Bon Kurei twisted and dodged amidst the barrage of spikes and blades, screaming.
Finally, one of Mr. 1's slashes cut the ice connecting him to Ryuji. Bon Kurei fell to the ground with a yelp.
"You guys..."
Before he could complain, he saw the two attackers retreat. Mr. 5 had already plucked a booger from his nose.
Bon Kurei's face went pale.
He scrambled backward.
BOOM!
Mr. 5 flicked the booger, triggering a massive explosion.
Smoke and fire engulfed the South Hall, shaking the very foundations of the palace.
Thud!
Bon Kurei, blown away by the blast again, finally snapped.
"You guys just want to kill Moi, don't you!? You're jealous of Moi's beauty!"
He pointed an accusing finger at Mr. 3. "Especially you, Galdino! You just want to kill Moi so you can become Mr. 2, right!?"
"Tch. You survived? Ah... I mean, how could you think such a thing?"
"I heard the first part! I heard it!"
Bon Kurei fumed. "But it's useless! Moi gets the credit for taking this guy down... Zero-chan will never make you Mr. 2!"
"Hah?"
Galdino looked offended.
"How is it your credit?"
He smoothed his hair. "From using you as bait, to approaching from underground, to the Seastone shackles, to the coordinated attack... this artistic plan was all my idea! The credit should be mine!"
"No, no, no. Obviously, it's mine."
A stout woman wearing mole-claw gloves popped out of the ground. Miss Merry Christmas, the Mole-Mole Fruit user.
"If I hadn't dug the tunnels, none of you could have even gotten close, let alone killed him so easily."
"It's mine..."
"Clearly mine..."
"Mine..."
"Woof woof!"
While the other Baroque Works agents argued...
"...What's wrong?"
Miss Doublefinger looked at her partner, Mr. 1, who was staring silently at the smoke.
Mr. 1 ignored the bickering. As the highest-ranked agent under the boss, he didn't care about credit.
He just watched the fire and smoke. "Mr. 0's orders were to kill him at all costs to ensure the plan's success."
"I'm waiting to confirm the target's death."
He knew how seriously the mysterious Mr. 0 took this mission. The sheer number of agents sent was proof.
Except for Miss Goldenweek, almost every elite agent of Baroque Works was here.
"...Relax. He's definitely dead," Miss Doublefinger said lazily. "I pierced him at least a hundred times. You practically minced him. Plus that explosion... No one could survive that."
She looked toward the palace entrance. "The guards will be here soon because of the blast..."
She was ready to leave.
"We leave when I confirm the death," Mr. 1 said, unmoving.
"You're really..." Miss Doublefinger sighed.
But her words stopped in her throat.
In fact, every agent of Baroque Works froze.
A bone-deep chill swept through the room.
No... 'chill' wasn't the right word.
"So cold..."
"Cold? Are you crazy? It's hot! No... it's burning! Boiling!"
The environment began to shift.
The air turned freezing cold, but the ground began to glow red-hot.
Heat and cold, fire and ice, interweaving in a terrifying dance.
And then...
Tap... Tap... Tap...
Footsteps.
Each step felt like it was stomping on their hearts.
"So, not just one. There are... let's see... eight of you."
"Very nice."
They all heard the voice. It sounded... pleased.
From within the smoke, a figure emerged.
A moment later, they saw the Dragon Head Mask.
They saw Ryuji, casually tossing aside the broken Seastone shackles, walking out without a single scratch on him.
"Impossible..."
The word echoed in everyone's mind.
They had hit him. They had shackled him with Seastone.
It was supposed to be perfect.
But clearly, Ryuji didn't care about their confusion.
"I have to tell you... you ruined my last cup of cola. So now..."
He looked at the agents of Baroque Works, and his voice finally carried a hint of danger.
"I'm a little angry."
"You better go all out. Or... you will die."
☆☆☆
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