Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine strolled forward with an infuriating, casual arrogance, their focus locked solely on Vivi. They completely ignored Leo and the rest of the crew as if they were mere scenery. Their plan was simple: eliminate the traitorous princess first, then deal with the interlopers.
"It's Mr. 5 and his partner, Miss Valentine," Vivi identified them instantly, her voice tight with apprehension.
"What are you doing here?!" she demanded.
The man who resembled a washed-up rock star, Mr. 5, stared at her with deadened eyes. "We're here for you, Miss Wednesday. Or should I say... Princess Vivi."
Oh no. They knew. They knew everything.
Igaram's face lost all color. "Your Highness, run! I'll hold them off!" he yelled, his voice thick with panic. He shoved himself in front of Vivi, and with a dramatic flourish, several gun barrels emerged from within his voluminous blonde afro. Without a second's hesitation, he opened fire.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A storm of lead erupted from his hair, a frenzied barrage aimed directly at Mr. 5.
"Your Highness, go! Now!" Igaram roared, not daring to look back.
But while his attention was wholly consumed by the explosive-man, Miss Valentine had quietly floated high into the air using her parasol. Now, she plummeted back down like a stone.
"2,000 Kilograms!" she chirped, her voice a stark contrast to the lethal intent.
She crashed down onto Igaram with the force of a small car. The immense pressure slammed him into the cobblestones, pinning him instantly. A sickening crunch echoed, followed by Igaram's choked cry as he spat out a mouthful of blood. He felt his ribs groan in protest, his entire body screaming in agony.
"Igaram! Are you okay?!" Vivi dropped to her knees beside him, her hands fluttering over his injured form, her medical training kicking in despite her terror.
"Cough... Don't worry... Your Highness... I'll live... cough..." he managed to gasp out, each word a struggle.
"Princess Vivi~" Miss Valentine sang, floating back up to a safe height, her parasol twirling. She looked down at them with a condescending pout. "To think you had the guts to be a spy right under the boss's nose! Should I call you brave, or just incredibly stupid?"
"You bitch!" Vivi snarled, glaring up at her with pure, unadulterated hatred.
"Your little charade ends here, Princess," Mr. 5's monotone voice cut through the tension. He stood completely unscathed amidst the settling dust from Igaram's futile attack. He then proceeded to do something utterly revolting. He shoved a finger deep into his nostril, dug around, and flicked a piece of detritus toward Vivi. "Booger Bullet!"
As a Paramecia-type Bomb-Bomb Fruit user, he could make any part of his body explode. Even his snot was a lethal weapon.
"Nami!" Leo's voice was calm, a command wrapped in nonchalance.
"Cloud Wall!"
With a sound like a thunderclap, a dense wall of compressed white cloud erupted from the ground, shielding Vivi completely. The booger-bomb hit the cloud barrier and detonated in a fiery, albeit small, explosion that dissipated harmlessly against the sturdy vapor.
"Ugh! Who uses their boogers to attack?!" Nami yelled, her face a mask of utter disgust. She thanked her lucky stars her Weather-Weather Fruit powers were long-range. The thought of getting up close and personal with this creep made her skin crawl.
"Hmph. So you have a Devil Fruit user among you as well," Mr. 5 muttered, his eyes narrowing. The situation had just gotten more complicated. "This is Baroque Works' internal affair. I suggest you stay out of it if you know what's good for you."
Leo just chuckled and shook his head. "Vivi is a member of the Leo Pirates now. Her business is our business. Nami, take out the trash."
"Captain..." Vivi whispered, her heart swelling with an emotion she couldn't quite name. When Leo said things like that in calm moments, it felt like a statement of fact. But here, in the heat of danger, with a powerful enemy threatening her life, his words felt like a shield. They were profoundly moving.
"You're looking for death!" Mr. 5 snarled, seeing his warning utterly ignored. He drew a deep breath, his chest puffing out.
"Air Bomb!" He exhaled violently, launching a blast of compressed, explosive air directly at Nami.
"First boogers, now bad breath?! Just get lost already!" Nami retorted, her disgust reaching its peak. She decided to skip the pleasantries.
"Lightning Strike!"
The world turned white and roared.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Bolts of lightning as thick as a man's arm lanced down from the clear sky without warning. They didn't just strike once; they formed a crackling, sizzling net of pure electrical fury, sealing off every possible escape route for Mr. 5. Nami's Observation Haki had him locked in; no matter where he dodged, the relentless silver snakes of lightning followed him.
Mr. 5's eyes widened in sheer terror. He tried to leap away, but without Haki to predict the strikes, he was just a living, breathing target. In the span of a single heartbeat, dozens of the devastating bolts found their mark, slamming into his body over and over.
ZAP! CRACKLE! BOOM!
When the blinding light and deafening noise subsided, a charred, blackened figure stood frozen for a second, smoke rising from his clothes and hair. Then, Mr. 5 tipped over like a felled tree, hitting the ground with a solid thud, completely unconscious.
Nami, not quite satisfied, summoned a few final, smaller bolts that diligently zapped his prone form for good measure. He wasn't getting up again. Ever.
"And stay down, you disgusting creep," Nami declared, dusting off her hands with finality.
"That was amazing, Nami!" Kaya cheered, clapping her hands together like an excited child, looking at the navigator with pure admiration.
Tashigi watched, a flicker of envy in her eyes, quickly replaced by determination. "Nami's control over her lightning is getting more and more precise. I have to work harder. I can't fall behind."
"How... how is this possible?!" Miss Valentine shrieked, her earlier smugness vaporized, replaced by abject horror. She had watched her partner, a powerful Devil Fruit user, be annihilated in seconds. Lightning! That woman commanded lightning itself! This wasn't a fight; this was a suicide mission. She had to get out of here. Now!
"Well, this has been fun, Princess," she stammered, forcing a shaky smile as she began to float higher. "I'll be sure to give the boss your regards. And as for the rest of you... prepare to face the full wrath of Baroque Works!"
She threw out the hollow threats, hoping to cover her retreat as she prepared to make a swift exit via parasol.
"Cloud Bindings." Leo's voice was quiet, but it cut through the air with the sharpness of a blade.
Two pristine white chains, woven from solid cloud, shot upward with impossible speed. They wrapped tightly around Miss Valentine's wrists before she could even process the movement. She gasped, struggling wildly, trying to tear the ethereal bonds apart, but they only constricted further, yanking her back down to earth. The cloud chains vanished just before she hit the ground, and she landed in an ungainly heap at Leo's feet.
Leo looked down at her, a predatory, amused smirk gracing his lips. "I didn't say you could leave."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
T/N :
Access 25 chapters in Advance on my P@treon: [email protected]/GodFic