"I really didn't expect something like this to happen while I was asleep."
The motto of Baroque Works was mystery—so mysterious that the agents didn't even know the boss's true identity. Officer Agents knew little about anyone other than their own partners, let alone that solitary figure, Mr. 2.
Sherlock could have racked his brain forever and never guessed that while he was sleeping, Mr. 2 would inexplicably board their ship and become fast friends with Luffy and Chopper.
Even more speechlessly, the guy had eventually strutted off as if nothing had happened. It was practically a farce.
Sherlock looked at the white bandage tied around his left arm, then at Nami, Zoro, and the others, who all wore strange expressions. He pushed up his glasses silently. "You let a very tricky enemy get away. Honestly, why didn't you wake me up?"
(If we had woken you up, you definitely would have freaked out and torn this ship apart...) Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Vivi, and Usopp all silently roasted him in their hearts.
Before Sherlock woke up, they had first devised a countermeasure against Mr. 2's ability. Then, they did extensive mental conditioning on Luffy and Chopper, repeatedly emphasizing that they absolutely could not let the Sorcerer know what kind of unhinged things Mr. 2 had done while wearing his face. At first, the dimwitted captain refused, but in the end, Sanji shut the troublemaker's mouth with a week's supply of secret roast meat.
"That guy revealed my father's face when he was demonstrating earlier..." Vivi held onto the railing nearby, her face gloomy. "He definitely impersonated my father to do many evil things."
After saying this, Princess Vivi stole a glance at Sherlock, who was deep in thought. Seeing the Sorcerer's calm and unruffled demeanor, the blue-haired girl couldn't help but recall that extremely traumatic scene from earlier.
(It's over. I can no longer look Mr. Glasses straight in the eye...)
Vivi turned her head away, pretending to be calm, though she was already weeping streams of tears in her heart.
"Mr. 2 touched all of our faces..." Sherlock stroked his chin, then looked at the crowd, whose expressions were a bit unnatural. "Which means my appearance was also copied by him, right?"
As he spoke, the Sorcerer gently pushed up his glasses. The clear lenses reflected two chilling glints of cold light, causing Usopp and the others to shudder inexplicably.
"He didn't use my appearance to do anything weird, did he?" Sherlock asked in a casual tone.
(Oh crap!) X7
Everyone's breath hitched. Talk about hitting the nail on the head!
Luffy thought to himself that for the sake of a week's worth of secret roast meat, he absolutely couldn't let Sherlock know the truth. (The idiot didn't realize the severity of the situation.) So, he waved his hand in an extremely exaggerated manner, twisted his mouth to the side, and let his eyes dart around wildly as he muttered softly, "Nothing weird happened just now. Nothing at all. I don't know anything..."
"Is that so?" Watching Luffy, who clearly had a guilty conscience, Sherlock narrowed his eyes slightly. It seemed the bad liar's forced explanation had only aroused the Sorcerer's suspicion.
"That idiot..." Nami put a hand to her forehead, looking heartbroken.
Seeing that Luffy was about to continue talking, the love-struck cook thought fast in the crisis. He launched a flying kick at the dimwitted captain, sending him flying, while shouting self-righteously, "You bastard! You dared to eat the last of the food on the ship! I'm going to kick you to death!"
"No, Chopper and Usopp stole that!" Luffy looked innocent, clearly not understanding why the curly-browed cook was bringing this up now.
However, just because Luffy the idiot didn't understand, didn't mean the others didn't.
"Luffy, you jerk! You actually dared to sell me out!" The long-nosed brother, picking up on the cue, let out a feigned shout of anger and lunged at the idiot captain.
"You want to fight?" Zoro unbuckled his three beloved swords and set them aside, then rolled up his wrists, revealing his customary smirk. "Count me in!"
And so, a baffling free-for-all broke out on the deck.
"Why have they started fighting again?"
"Quack, quack~"
Chopper and Karoo looked terrified.
Nami walked over to Sherlock's side gracefully and smiled. "These guys always love to mess around like this. Don't you agree, Sherlock?"
(How naive. To think they want to divert my attention with a fight. It seems they are definitely hiding something bad from me...)
(But since they don't want me to know, I won't bore myself by asking.)
Looking calmly at the four bumbling idiots engaged in a chaotic brawl, Sherlock sighed softly.
"Truly stupid..."
Another four days of sailing passed. The weather at sea stabilized. According to Nami's explanation, they were now very close to Alabasta.
Luffy lay on the deck, his tongue hanging out exaggeratedly, and said weakly, "Ah, I'm hungry..."
"Isn't this all your fault?!" Zoro sat on the deck nearby. Due to the lack of food, he hadn't been doing his usual intense physical training lately.
"Yeah. If you hadn't eaten all the bait, I could have caught some fish," Usopp said without turning his head, busy with his invention. He then lifted his goggles and looked at the blue long stick in his hand, revealing a satisfied expression.
(Finally finished. The Clima-Tact! I'm sure Nami will be very satisfied with it.)
"Ugh..." The dimwitted captain let out a wail, then looked toward Princess Vivi, who was reading the latest newspaper. "Hey, Vivi, just let me use Karoo as bait to catch some fish."
"Quack..." The feathers on the giant duck stood up in fear, and it quickly hid behind its owner, looking terrified.
The blue-haired girl sighed helplessly. "Luffy, you..."
BOOM!!!
A massive explosion interrupted Vivi. A column of water shot into the sky, then turned into a sky-filling rain. The originally calm sea instantly became turbulent, causing the Going Merry to rock violently.
"What happened?! Nami-san! Vivi-chan, are you two okay?!" Hearing the explosion, the love-struck cook immediately ran out of the kitchen, looking anxious. However, when he saw the giant creature slowly emerging on the sea surface, his visible right eye instantly gleamed!
(Food!)
It was a sea beast several times larger than the Going Merry. It had the head of a cat and the body of a fish, covered in green scales. However, this monster, usually arrogant in the ocean, seemed to have been knocked unconscious by the explosion. It floated on the surface, eyes rolled back, looking like a sitting duck.
"The power of the High-Explosive Shell Mirror Image is as impressive as ever." Sherlock stood on the railing, looking at his prey while calmly adjusting his glasses. "Finally, a full meal."
His usually calm and deep black eyes now flickered with a green, predatory light. It seemed the Sorcerer hadn't been having a great time lately either.
And it made sense. As the person who could eat the most after a certain Straw Hat glutton, Sherlock was already starving. It was just that, to maintain his composure, he didn't howl about his hunger like Luffy.
Luffy and the others quickly gathered around, their expressions varying.
"It's a sea beast!" the long-nosed brother exclaimed.
"Great job, Sherlo!" The gluttonous captain drooled profusely.
"So big! Are there really creatures this big in the ocean?!" The little reindeer looked amazed.
Nami explained to Chopper, "Yes, this ocean is very mysterious."
"I haven't eaten in four days! Finally..." The green-haired swordsman grinned.
The blonde cook spat out his cigarette butt. "With one this big, watch me make you a magnificent feast!"
"This is... a Sea Cat?" Vivi's expression changed abruptly.
"Quack."
"It's just passed out," Sherlock waved his hand gently. Immediately, a mirror image of a long sword appeared out of thin air above the Sea Cat. The sharp blade reflected a chilling light under the sun.
"Magic Mirror: Gigantification!"
The long sword instantly magnified more than tenfold. Under the control of Sherlock's mind, the giant blade slashed ruthlessly toward the Sea Cat's neck.
"I'll butcher it first..."
"No! Mr. Glasses, stop!!!" Princess Vivi screamed. Then, with a vigorous stride, she rushed forward and tackled Sherlock, who was standing on the railing controlling the giant mirror blade.
!!!
Sherlock was stunned. Then he felt a soft sensation and a massive force hit his lower back. His center of gravity shifted, and he toppled forward...
Splash! Water sprayed everywhere.
Under the astonished gazes of the Straw Hat crew, the two of them fell into the sea together. At the same time, the giant blade slowly vanished.
Silence...
The Straw Hat crew stared blankly for a moment, then exploded into chaos.
"Vivi-chan! Don't fear, your brave knight is coming to save you!" The love-struck cook dove into the sea without hesitation and scooped Vivi up in an instant.
Seeing this, Usopp looked shocked. "Hey, hey, hey! Compared to Vivi who can swim, the first one to be saved should be Sherlock! He's a hammer!"
Well, perhaps in Sanji's eyes, a lady's safety was the top priority.
"That's right! Sherlo can't swim!" Luffy, whose brain circuitry was a bit faulty, changed his expression. "Sherlo! I'm coming to save you!" After saying that, the idiot grabbed the railing, looking ready to jump, scaring Chopper—who had turned into his heavy point—into blocking him.
"Luffy, can't you have a little self-awareness as a Devil Fruit user, you idiot?" Nami held her forehead in utter helplessness.
"Honestly..." Zoro raised an eyebrow impatiently. Then he jumped into the sea and swam toward Sherlock, who was sinking.
(I feel like I've become a professional lifeguard...)
After a chaotic flurry of activity, the Sea Cat, which had woken up at some point, slipped away amidst the confusion. The dimwitted captain was so angry he bit the ship's railing, tears streaming down his face in frustration.
"Since I ate the Mirror-Mirror Fruit, this is the first time I've fallen into the water..."
Sherlock carefully wiped his precious glasses with a silk cloth, put them on, and adjusted them gently. Then he looked calmly at the blue-haired girl sitting in front of him. The eyes behind the lenses showed neither sadness nor joy, but everyone around him could sense that the Sorcerer was in a terrible mood.
"Do you have anything to say? Vivi."
Vivi swallowed gently. Her thin clothes, now soaked, outlined the young girl's budding curves, causing a certain love-struck cook nearby to exhale smoke in the shape of hearts.
"The Sea Cat is a sacred creature of Alabasta. It is a symbol of good omens. You absolutely cannot eat it..." Vivi said weakly. For some reason, even though she was the one in the right, under the pressure of the Sorcerer's invisible aura, she felt as if she had done something wrong.
"Is that so? I see." Sherlock revealed a look of realization. Then he bowed his head to Vivi and said sincerely, "It was my oversight. I apologize, Vivi."
"N-no, you don't have to do that. It's nothing..." Faced with Sherlock's apology, Vivi became somewhat flustered.
(This guy really is meticulous about etiquette...) Sanji and the others thought silently.
"Meat... my meat..." From a distance came the wailing of the dimwitted captain, sounding as if his mother had died. It was a sound to make listeners weep and hearers grieve.
"Seriously, just endure it a bit longer, Luffy!" Nami rubbed her orange short hair in irritation. Then she asked the blue-haired girl, "We're already very close to Alabasta, right? Vivi."
Princess Vivi nodded. "Sea Cats only appear in the waters near Alabasta. I estimate we'll arrive at our destination in less than half a day."
At this point, Vivi's expression looked a bit trance-like.
(Finally... I'm finally back. I absolutely will not let you do as you please in my country, Crocodile!) Princess Vivi swore silently in her heart, her delicate body beginning to tremble involuntarily.
Perhaps sensing that Vivi's emotions were unsettled, Sherlock gently reached out, held the blue-haired girl's shoulder, and said faintly, "Don't worry, Vivi. No matter what happens, we will stand by your side."
That tone was exactly the same as when Sherlock had held Vivi in his arms to comfort her at Whiskey Peak—just as flat, yet just as reassuring.
"Yeah, we're partners!" Luffy completely changed his attitude from his earlier 'about-to-die' state. "I will definitely send that bastard crocodile flying."
"To dare cause trouble in beautiful Vivi-chan's country..." Sanji lit a cigarette, took a drag, and blew a smoke ring. "Absolutely unforgivable!"
"Just remember that one billion Berries we agreed on~" Nami stuck out her tongue playfully at the blue-haired girl.
Chopper blinked and asked, "Then what can I do?" The little reindeer desperately wanted to contribute to the team.
"Do whatever you can. Don't force yourself. If you encounter an enemy you can't beat, run away." Usopp said solemnly to Chopper, "This is the precious experience Captain Usopp has summarized over many years!"
Zoro curled his lip upon hearing this. "You're saying that to yourself, right?"
"Quack, quack~" Karoo squawked a few times, seeming to agree with the green-haired swordsman.
"Mr. Glasses... Everyone..." Vivi's voice was choked with emotion. At this moment, she felt incredibly lucky to have met this group of people.
"Alright, anyway, once we reach our destination, the bandage on your left arm absolutely must not be removed!" Luffy said as he extended his left arm. Immediately, the others followed suit, extending their left arms wrapped in white bandages.
Nine arms of different shapes formed a circle, like the radiant sun.
"...This is the symbol of our fellowship!" Luffy grinned.
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