Chapter 97: A Tough Fight with Mr. 5
"They recognized us?"
He pursed his lips and lay back down in his wicker chair, bored. "They've got good eyes, I'll give them that. Looks like I'll get a good night's sleep tonight. No fighting."
"Captain, it seems two of them haven't left," Smoker said, frowning. "And they're heading our way…"
BOOM!
Before he could finish his sentence, the male figure raised a hand, and the sea, dozens of meters from The Curtain Call, erupted in a fiery explosion, sending a column of water shooting into the sky!
"Hey, pirates," Mr. 5 said coldly, adjusting his sunglasses. "Where's your captain, Shane? Tell him to get his ass out here. That was a warning. Surrender and come ashore now, or the next thing to blow up will be your ship!"
A surprise attack? And he's calling out the captain by name? How rude!
The crew was instantly enraged, rolling up their sleeves and preparing for a fight. Shane let out a small "hmm," looking at the two with interest.
So it's these two, huh?
They were ranked pretty high in Baroque Works, which made them more valuable than the average agent. As for their strength…
"A small-fry like this isn't worth the captain's time," Smoker said, a cigar between his teeth, taking a step forward. "I'll take care of them."
"Me too!" Nami raised her hand high. "I want to give it a try!"
Lately, seeing everyone on the ship training so hard, she had gotten restless.
She had started experimenting with her own abilities on the open sea and had come up with a few moves that she thought were pretty cool and powerful.
Unfortunately, no one had time to spar with her. She could only practice with Gin, and after being burned a few times, he had lost interest. Now, her hands were itching for a real fight.
And this was the perfect opportunity to test her strength, wasn't it?
"Too slow," Kuina said, having already drawn the Wado Ichimonji. She sheathed it again and sat back down. "Alright, you two can have them. Nami, show us what you've got."
Nojiko had also been about to step in, but seeing Nami so eager, she smiled and stepped aside.
"Don't worry, I'll take the strong-looking guy with the afro! The new guy, Smoker, you can take care of the girl!" Nami said, bumping her fists together, eager to start.
Hmph, I hope there's a reporter or someone hiding somewhere, taking pictures. Then those idiots at Marine Headquarters will see how strong I really am.
Either don't give me a bounty at all, or if you're going to, at least make it a decent one! Eight thousand Berries is just insulting!
"Just a word of advice," Shane said, flipping through the newspaper as the two were about to go ashore. He was confirming some information about the Alabasta royal family. "That man is a Bomb-Bomb Fruit user. Any part of his body can explode."
"So what?" Nami said dismissively. "I'm a Fl—"
"You might not have seen it clearly, but the explosion in the sea just now… he used a booger as a bomb."
"…" Nami's expression froze.
"A… a booger?!" she shrieked, her voice an octave higher. "You're saying that explosion was… blech—"
The thought of punching the afro guy made Nami's face turn pale. She spun around and grabbed Smoker's sleeve. "Smoker, I've suddenly decided that the woman floating in the air is a better match for me! Switch! We have to switch!"
"…" Smoker shrugged helplessly. "As you wish."
The thought of booger bombs was disgusting to him too, but it wouldn't take long to deal with a guy like that. Better him than a young lady.
Swish. In the next instant, he transformed into a cloud of white smoke and shot toward Mr. 5.
Nami followed close behind. The ship had already docked, and she leaped ashore—
Her expression immediately changed. She hopped around, clutching her foot and howling, "Ow, ow, ow! My ankle is broken!"
"How dare you look down on me!!" Miss Valentine, who had been watching, was stunned. She couldn't take it anymore and roared, baring her teeth, "What is wrong with your pirate crew?! You're sending a little kid like you to fight me?!"
"Fine!" she said, striding forward and raising her parasol high. "I'll just knock you into the sea and have them send out someone decent…"
"Getting that close?"
Nami, who had been clutching her foot, suddenly looked up, a sly grin on her face. "You're a little too naive…"
Before Miss Valentine could react, Nami shot up, her legs in a deep lunge, her hands clasped at her waist, a roaring flame igniting in her palms.
"Flame—Style—"
She had gotten the name from a story her brother had told her when she was a kid! The idea was to compress the flames, again and again, until the energy was so concentrated that even she could barely control it, and then suddenly—
"—WAVE!!!"
BOOM!!!
A scorching fireball exploded between them, the sound echoing throughout Whiskey Peak!
Miss Valentine was sent flying several meters by the shockwave, crashing into a house and shattering the wall. Her parasol fell to the side, instantly burned to a crisp.
"Cough, cough… you cunning little brat!"
Miss Valentine struggled to her feet, her body as black as if she had been rolling in coal. She screamed in a rage, "You're a Devil Fruit user too, and you resort to such dirty tricks!"
Nami flicked her short orange hair and said proudly, "It's called tactics~. Nyah, nyah, it's your own fault for being so gullible."
"Dammit!" Miss Valentine stomped her foot in frustration. "It's time you saw what my ability can do! Take this—"
She leaped high into the air, and when she was twenty or thirty meters up, her body suddenly became incredibly heavy, and she plummeted downward at an astonishing speed.
"—'Ten-Thousand-Kilo Press'!"
"...She can't use Haki?"
Nami looked up, not even bothering to move. She let Miss Valentine come crashing down on her, a dismissive sneer on her face.
Tsk, only ten thousand kilograms? That's just ten tons.
My brother was swinging around a tree that weighed about that much as a club years ago.
BOOM!
A massive, spiderweb-like crack spread across the ground. A direct hit! Miss Valentine was about to cover her mouth and laugh in triumph when a wall of fire suddenly erupted around her.
And in the flames, Nami's face appeared, grinning. "Little Miss Lemon, it seems your little tricks are no threat to me at all, are they?"
W-What is this ability?!
Miss Valentine stumbled backward in terror. She suddenly seemed to notice something, and her face changed drastically. She no longer cared about fighting Nami and, making her body as light as a feather, she shot up into the sky—
"Hmph, trying to run away?"
Nami clapped her hands together. "I was ready for that… Fire Phoenix!"
WHOOSH—!
The flames that had been circling her suddenly shot up, swirling around her.
First, a long, elegant tail, then magnificent wings, and finally, a proud, upturned head—
In just two seconds, a fire phoenix with a wingspan of over ten meters, a graceful and majestic creature, had formed and taken flight!
SCREECH!
The fire phoenix let out a clear cry and shot up into the sky at incredible speed, instantly catching up to Miss Valentine.
The woman kept looking back, and when she saw the phoenix, her face went pale. She desperately tried to dodge, but her speed was no match for the creature Nami was controlling.
She only had time to let out a "Stay away!" before she was completely engulfed in the roaring flames, screaming as she fell to the ground.
Clap, clap!
Nami clapped her hands together. "Hehe, done! Hey, Smoker, how are you doing over there? It didn't even take me three minutes! Don't tell me you're not even as fast as… huh?"
She turned her head and was stunned to see Smoker already sitting on top of Mr. 5.
The man was tied up like a dumpling, unable to move a finger. And at Smoker's feet were two extinguished cigarette butts.
"Third cigarette," Smoker said, flicking the ash and looking at his watch. "I think it only took me 20 seconds. Looks like I'm a little faster."
Dammit!
He's showing off! We're both Logia users, but it seems my mastery of my Devil Fruit is still far from up to par!
"This is your first real fight," a familiar voice came from nearby. "And it was against a high-ranking agent from Baroque Works. To finish it in under three minutes is very good."
Shane and the others, having watched the brief fight, had all come ashore.
"Big Bro!" Nami grabbed Shane's arm and looked up at him with a grin. "Your praise makes me feel much better. So, can I be a main fighter from now on?"
You want to be a main fighter too?
"If you're willing to start learning physical arts and Haki with the others, then sure," Shane said, glancing at her.
"Then forget it," Nami said, dejected. Training was exhausting, and she couldn't stand the torture. And besides, she had to draw sea charts and navigate every day; she didn't have that much free time.
"Captain, what should we do with the ones who are hiding in the shadows?" Smoker asked, looking off into the distance.
He was the only one on the ship who could use Observation Haki, and he could sense the people hiding in the nearby cellars and behind the walls.
"They were smart enough to back off, so we can just leave them be," Shane said, shaking his head. His gaze fell on Mr. 5.
The man hadn't passed out, but after realizing the gap in their strength, he was shaking like a leaf.
"Don't you think this guy looks a bit like Aokiji? The hairstyle is similar too," Shane said to Smoker, seemingly out of the blue.
Kuzan?
Smoker was taken aback. He took a closer look. The thick lips, the forehead wrinkles, the afro, the small, round sunglasses… Hiss, he actually does look a lot like him.
"Hey," Shane said, crouching in front of Mr. 5 and patting his cheek. He smiled. "Who sent you two to deal with me? Was it Crocodile?"
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