"That damned Straw Hat brat!"
Miss Valentine stamped her foot in anger, her high heel sinking deep into the soft soil. "Not only did we fail the mission, we're in this sorry state! How are we supposed to report back to the boss?"
"Shut up!"
Mr. 5 cut her off impatiently. "What's the use of saying that now? We need to contact the higher-ranking agents quickly. I remember Mr. 3 and his partner should be on this island on a long-term surveillance mission."
Following their memory of the contact method, the two struggled to find the secret hideout located beneath a massive fossil bone—an entrance cleverly disguised as a rock with wax.
Pushing open the wax door revealed a space quite different from the outside.
It was less a secret base and more an artistically inclined studio.
Various half-finished wax statues stood around, and the air carried the scent of wax and paint.
A man with his hair styled into the shape of the number '3', wearing glasses, sat elegantly on a wax sofa, sipping tea.
Beside him, a little girl focused intently on coloring a drawing board, completely indifferent to the intruders.
They were Baroque Works' Chief Agents, Mr. 3 and Miss Goldenweek.
Baroque Works operated on a two-person cell system from top to bottom.
All Chief Agents were almost exclusively Devil Fruit users.
The rarity of Devil Fruits aside, Baroque Works had risen to prominence as a criminal organization in recent years, thanks in large part to these Chief Agents.
But the two before them looked rather disheveled.
"Well, well, well?"
Mr. 3 set down his teacup, adjusting his glasses. The gaze behind the lenses held undisguised mockery. "Look who it is. If it isn't our Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine. How did you achieve this... rather post-modern artistic look?"
Miss Valentine, provoked by his sarcasm, wanted to retort, but Mr. 5 stopped her.
Mr. 5 spoke with a grim expression. "The mission failed. The Straw Hat crew is far more troublesome than anticipated."
"Troublesome is an understatement!"
Miss Valentine couldn't help adding, "Even the Unluckies were taken out by them, and our ship was destroyed!"
"Oh?"
Mr. 3 was genuinely surprised this time. He sat up straighter. "Even those two unlucky bastards, specialized in delivering bad news, were taken down? It seems this rookie crew is indeed interesting. They've caused our Baroque Works quite a loss."
He leisurely picked up two new bounty posters from the table, which clearly bore Luffy's likeness and a staggering figure.
"Straw Hat Luffy, Monkey D. Luffy. Bounty: 50 million Beri. A first bounty that high is indeed a tough opponent."
He changed his tone. "But right before us, we have an even bigger piece of business."
Mr. 3 produced two more, slightly yellowed bounty posters that seemed quite old. The amounts on them were both over 100 million Beri!
The targets were two giant warriors.
The captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates, Dorry and Brogy.
These two monsters had bounties exceeding 100 million a hundred years ago. The sheer weight of that was immense.
A bounty of 100 million Beri from a century ago was not something that could be compared to today's values.
Mr. 3's voice carried a sense of superiority, of being in control. "They are our targets."
These two giants have been dueling on this island for nearly a hundred years, fighting periodically.
Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine gasped.
100 million Beri. And a bounty from a hundred years ago.
How do you fight monsters like that?
"The important targets now are the Straw Hat brat and the traitorous Princess Vivi who infiltrated our organization," Mr. 5 said.
Monsters like those giants would be hard to kill even with bombs—too thick-skinned and tough. Picking a fight with them would be too troublesome.
"Hmph. Direct confrontation is for fools."
Mr. 3 seemed to see through their thoughts. He elegantly raised his teacup, a cold, intelligent gleam flashing on his glasses. "Small investment, big crime. The optimal solution is to defeat your enemy without fighting. Wisdom is the strongest weapon."
He took a small sip of tea. "You two, just follow my orders for now."
...
Meanwhile, at the riverbank where the Going Merry was moored.
Everyone was quite excited about the dinosaur meat and quickly set about clearing an area for a picnic.
A T-Rex this big couldn't really be cooked properly on the ship anyway.
As the crew grew larger, Merry had become acutely aware of the limitations of her small caravel. No matter how much she was reinforced or upgraded from her original construction, she could see the end of her potential.
She felt a bit downcast, wondering how much farther along the voyage she could carry her nakama.
"Merry?" Luffy was sensitive to this kind of emotion.
Merry whispered, "You should all get a chance to change to a bigger ship in the future..."
"...We'd still travel together," Luffy said, ruffling Merry's hair. "There's no rule that says we can only have one ship."
Luffy understood Merry's worry. Her situation was similar to Laboon's. Laboon was separated by the Red Line, trapped on one side of the sea. But there would be a chance. When the time came, he would bring Laboon into the Grand Line. He would never, ever give up on Merry either.
Take good care of the Going Merry.
Leave the fighting to them. They just needed to travel together.
If it really came to it, then they could do 'big carrying small'.
Build a ship big enough to carry the Merry.
Merry's face lit up with a happy smile.
The others had already brought out the grill and all sorts of pots, pans, and utensils. Luffy showed off his skills a bit; his cooking wasn't half bad either.
Robin seemed to be enjoying herself quite a bit. With her many hands, she could help out more, so much so that even Nami felt a bit bewildered. Does this woman not consider herself a prisoner at all?
When it came to food, Carue was no longer sleepy. It ran right up to Luffy, and Vivi couldn't hold it back.
A tantalizing aroma began to spread.
"Mmmph, sho gooood..." Luffy grabbed a piece of thigh meat, and it was gone in an instant. The meat was crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, seasoned with Sanji's special sauce. Once you started eating, you couldn't stop.
One T-Rex was quickly devoured, and Luffy wasn't even half-full.
For a chef, this was somewhat insulting. How could a guest leave hungry? Especially when he saw Nami and the others had only taken a few bites! Sanji volunteered to go find more ingredients. Zoro quipped, "Need any help?"
"You? Help me?" Sanji practically shoved his face into Zoro's.
"Number Five, got a problem with Number Two?" Zoro shot back, infuriating Sanji.
Was he talking about order of joining the crew?
This guy was so annoying.
Almost simultaneously, they both said, "Let's settle it then. No more talking."
They both charged into the forest at nearly the same time. Not long after, they returned to the riverbank at almost the same time, each carrying massive prey.
Zoro dragged a Stegosaurus-like creature, while Sanji carried a huge beast resembling a Triceratops.
"Hah! Looks like my catch is more delicious, you Marimo!" Sanji taunted.
"Shut up, you shitty cook. Mine is clearly bigger in size, enough to keep that idiot captain busy for a while!" Zoro retorted without backing down.
"What did you say? Want to fight?"
"I'd love to!"
Luffy was used to it. He'd find it strange if Zoro and Sanji went a whole day without arguing.
***
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