Chapter 150: I have high hopes for you, Galdino!
Little Garden was a "living prehistoric island," where time seemed to have stood still for hundreds of millions of years. Dinosaurs, archaeopteryxes, giant insects... all creatures that should have been extinct still thrived here.
The giant bird Ralph encountered had a wingspan of over ten meters.
Its body was covered in blue-green feathers, but the tips of its wings bore sharp claws.
Most terrifying was its beak, filled with sharp teeth that gleamed coldly in the sunlight.
An archaeopteryx.
Or rather, some kind of prehistoric raptor similar to an archaeopteryx.
It clearly saw Ralph as prey. With a flap of its massive wings, it suddenly accelerated, opening its mouth to bite!
As Ralph watched that gaping maw draw closer, he suddenly remembered the Sennenryu.
No wonder it had looked familiar back then...
Truly a species that had lived for millennia, it even "shared the same form" as the archaeopteryx.
Just as the bird's beak was about to snap shut—
Ralph moved.
Pushing off with his feet, he landed precisely on the archaeopteryx's back.
"Gah?!"
The archaeopteryx clearly hadn't encountered such a situation before.
It frantically twisted its body, trying to shake off this "foreign object" on its back.
But Ralph's feet were as if nailed to its back, unmoving.
At the same time, he reached out and placed a hand on the archaeopteryx's neck.
"Be good."
Ralph whispered softly.
[Animal Taming Skill • Activated]
[Hypnosis Skill • Activated]
Both skills took effect simultaneously.
The archaeopteryx's movements suddenly froze.
Its gaze shifted from ferocity to confusion, and then... to docility.
"Very good."
Ralph patted its neck:
"Now, take me for a flight. Low altitude, slow and steady."
The archaeopteryx let out a submissive low cry, then spread its wings and began to glide smoothly.
Standing on the bird's back, Ralph looked down over the entire island.
The bird's-eye view allowed him to take in everything.
Soon, he found his target—
Deep within the dense forest, there was an unnatural patch of "white."
It was a... small cabin built from white material.
The "Candle House" of Mr. 3, the user of the Doru Doru no Mi.
According to Mr. 3 himself, the candles he created hardened to a hardness comparable to steel.
The dinosaurs of Little Garden couldn't bite through it—otherwise, how could it serve as a "safe house"?
Ralph was curious.
He wondered if this hardness could withstand his current intermediate-level Armament Haki slash.
He guided the archaeopteryx to descend, preparing to approach the cabin.
But when they were still a few hundred meters away, he suddenly sensed someone approaching.
Ralph immediately steered the archaeopteryx to turn and hide within a dense canopy of trees.
Through the gaps in the leaves, he saw two figures walking toward the candle cabin.
A man and a woman.
Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine.
These two "old acquaintances" were also here.
Ralph mentally calculated the timeline of the plot.
He didn't know whether these members of Baroque Works had just gathered or had already planted explosives in the Going Merry's drinking water.
But it didn't matter.
The corners of Ralph's lips curled into a meaningful smile.
Now... it was perfect.
All the "prey" he wanted to "hunt" had gathered.
Just then—
"Boom—!!"
The volcano at the center of the island suddenly erupted.
Thick smoke billowed into the sky, and the crater glowed red.
Immediately after—
"Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!"
Heavy, earthquake-like footsteps echoed from two directions on the island simultaneously.
Each footstep shook the ground, causing leaves to rustle and fall, and even the archaeopteryx beside Ralph let out uneasy low cries.
Then—
"Hyah—!!"
"Roar—!!"
Two deafening roars echoed across the entire island.
Accompanying the roars was the thunderous clang of metal against metal.
"Clang—!!"
The sound was so loud, it was as if two mountains had collided.
The shockwave even stirred up a fierce gale, spreading outward from the island's center and shaking the entire forest.
Two giants.
Dorry and Brogy.
The duel that had lasted a hundred years had begun once again.
This sudden commotion clearly startled the people near the candle hut as well.
The hut's door opened, and two figures stepped out.
A man with a strange upward-pointing ponytail, wearing glasses and a floral shirt—Baroque Works, Mr. 3.
A little girl, looking only about ten years old, with rosy cheeks, two cute braids, and holding a palette and paintbrush—Baroque Works, Miss Goldenweek.
Once again, the four members of Baroque Works had gathered outside the hut.
They simultaneously looked up toward the island's center.
There, two giants over twenty meters tall were engaged in fierce combat.
Every clash of their weapons erupted with thunderous roars, and every step they took made the earth tremble.
"Th-that's the Giant Tribe..."
Miss Valentine murmured, "Such terrifying power..."
Mr. 5's expression was equally grave:
"With them here, Little Garden is practically a forbidden zone where no one returns alive!"
Only Mr. 3, after the initial shock, revealed a trace of... a smile on his face.
"So what if they're as powerful as the Giant Tribe?"
Mr. 3 adjusted his glasses, his tone disdainful:
"You must make good use of strategy. No matter how strong the enemy, they will fall at your feet."
His voice was full of confidence:
"A truly perfect crime relies on intelligence, not brute force."
After speaking, he turned to look at Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine, the mockery in his eyes unconcealed:
"And as elites of Baroque Works, we should ensure the perfect success of every crime."
He sized up the two of them:
"You two failures... are simply a disgrace to the company."
"You—!"
Mr. 5's face darkened.
"The enemies we faced were different!"
Miss Valentine also grew anxious,
"You have no idea what we went through!"
But Mr. 3 had no intention of listening.
He waved his hand as if shooing away flies:
"Only the weak make excuses for themselves."
He paused, adopting a "charitable" posture:
"This time, out of great mercy, I'm giving you two a chance to redeem yourselves. As long as you cooperate with my plan, perhaps you two failures... might even share in a portion of the credit."
Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine were so furious their faces turned pale, but... they couldn't refute it.
They couldn't even clearly explain the reason for their mission's failure.
They only said they encountered a very strong Pirate crew that protected Princess Vivi.
What else could they say?
Say that "nameless Ralph" might be the company's "former boss"?
What if that were true?
Now, having learned the "secrets" of Baroque Works, they might face even more brutal pursuit than Princess Vivi.
No one could understand what they had been through.
And now, they also had to endure Mr. 3's mockery and orders.
Frustrating.
So frustrating.
Seeing the two remain silent, Mr. 3 nodded in satisfaction.
He cleared his throat and began to explain his plan.
The more he spoke, the more excited he became, his eyes gleaming behind his glasses:
"I won't just eliminate the Straw Hat crew here and kill Princess Vivi..."
He paused, his voice filled with ambition:
"I'll also capture both of those giant Pirates from a hundred years ago, whose bounties total two hundred million... all at once!
"This way, my position in the company will be unmatched! I might even climb higher..."
He looked at the other three as if they were his future "meritorious subjects":
"And you... can also share in the glory."
A perfect crime plan.
A perfect ambition.
Just as Mr. 3 was lost in his "grand blueprint"—
"Clap, clap, clap."
Applause came from the shadows of the nearby jungle.
All four turned their heads simultaneously.
A young man with black hair emerged from the shadows.
Clapping and nodding, he said, "It truly is a crime plan worthy of being called perfect."
Ralph stopped walking, looked at Mr. 3, and spoke with admiration:
"Out of all the employees in Baroque Works, the one I have the highest hopes for... is you, Galdino."
Mr. 3's expression instantly changed.
Not because of the other's sudden appearance.
But because—
The other had called him by his real name.
In Baroque Works, everyone addressed each other by their codenames.
Real names were the greatest taboo.
"W-who are you?!"
Mr. 3's voice trembled.
Ralph didn't answer.
His gaze swept over the other three, one by one.
"Mr. 5, Gem."
His voice was calm, yet it struck everyone's ears like thunder.
"You dreamed of becoming a firefighter, yet you ended up as a Bomb-Bomb Fruit user... how ironic."
Mr. 5—Gem—his pupils contracted sharply.
"Miss Valentine, Mikita."
Ralph looked at the blonde woman.
"You dreamed of becoming a pastry chef... Those hands that should have brought sweetness are now creating death."
Mikita's face turned as pale as paper.
Finally, Ralph's gaze fell on the little girl.
"Miss Goldenweek, Marianne."
"You should have become a painter... creating works that move the world."
"Not here, using your talent... to help others commit crimes."
The four Baroque Works agents stood frozen, unmoving.
Their eyes were filled with shock, fear, and... disbelief.
Who... was this person?!
How... did he know everything about them?!
Even the dreams they kept hidden in their hearts!