[If we hit 1000 PS before the end of this week, I will drop 5 extra bonus chapters.]
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"What a waste! I didn't expect that hundreds of you couldn't take down just three or four people."
"And Miss Wednesday and Mr. 8… there's clearly something wrong with you two."
"But it doesn't matter. We'll finish them all off today."
Miss Valentine and Mr. 5 entered the banquet hall, appearing arrogant and self-assured.
Outside the window, perched on a tree branch, a sea otter and a vulture held up a drawing board, casually observing the scene inside the hall.
"Great! Miss Valentine and Mr. 5 are here. We're saved!"
The hundreds of people kneeling on the floor of the banquet hall looked excited. Their saviors had arrived.
Miss Monday stretched out her arms and legs and slowly stood back up.
Her backup was here, so there was no need for her to kneel any longer.
"It's the senior officers of Baroque Works… we're in trouble!"
Igaram's expression turned serious as he moved to shield Vivi behind him.
The higher the codename in Baroque Works, the stronger the person. Especially cadres ranked above Mr. 5, each one possessed terrifying strength and could easily overpower the lower-level members of a branch like Whiskey Peak.
Igaram looked at Caelan, unsure how he would handle this situation.
"Why are you so tense?"
Nami was confused.
A fashionable blonde woman and a sloppy middle-aged man—were they really so dangerous?
"They're not ordinary agents. Both have dangerous Devil Fruit powers."
"One can create explosions at will. The other can freely adjust her body weight between 10 kilograms and 10,000 kilograms. They're quite troublesome opponents."
Igaram explained, though he still wasn't sure whether Caelan could defeat the two of them.
"Oh? Finally, two slightly more valuable ones."
Caelan showed mild interest.
But he didn't have much patience to play around. It was late, and he wanted to rest.
Mr. 5 couldn't stand Caelan's dismissive attitude.
"Let me show you what I can do with just my booger…"
Mr. 5 was ready to prove himself and had already stuck a finger into his nose.
Caelan sucked in a sharp breath. How could he have forgotten this disgusting move?
It wouldn't cause him much actual damage, but the sheer insult of it was unbearable!
Caelan immediately became alert. He burst out at full speed, determined not to be hit by something so humiliating.
"Hey, where did he go?"
Mr. 5 blinked in confusion. Caelan had vanished from his sight.
The next moment, everything went black as Mr. 5 lost consciousness.
Caelan stomped down hard on Mr. 5's back several times, his expression full of annoyance as he vented his frustration. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Miss Valentine, who had been standing beside Mr. 5, widened her eyes in disbelief. Caelan standing there felt more like a ghost than a person.
"Ah!"
"Ten-Thousand-Kilogram Sweep!"
Miss Valentine screamed and, in fear, unleashed her Devil Fruit power at full strength.
A whip kick carrying the force of 10,000 kilograms sliced through the air, aiming straight for Caelan's head.
Caelan casually raised his forearm and blocked Miss Valentine's strongest attack without even flinching.
To Miss Valentine, it felt like she had just kicked a steel wall rather than a human body.
Though she was the one attacking, her calf was the one aching intensely.
Before she could even cry out in pain, Caelan's counterattack came.
He grabbed her slender calf with one hand. Despite the smoothness of her leg and Miss Valentine's decent looks, Caelan had no intention of showing mercy.
Gripping her firmly, Caelan swung her down and slammed her into the ground.
Miss Valentine's world spun wildly. Her body hit the ground with a heavy thud, and she lost consciousness on the spot.
Outside the window, the sea otter's mouth dropped open, its face showing very human-like fear.
But committed to its mission of gathering intel, the sea otter continued trembling on the branch, sketching with its brush.
The banquet hall fell silent.
It had only been thirty seconds since the two senior agents had entered, yet both were already lying unconscious on the floor.
Miss Valentine fared slightly better, though her head was bloodied and her face bruised.
Mr. 5, however, had suffered miserably. His arms were twisted unnaturally, his body half-buried in the ground, twitching occasionally. The blood pooled around him. He was barely clinging to life.
Everyone present stared at the scene, gasping in shock, as if they had contributed to global warming with how much cold air they inhaled.
"Weren't they supposed to be strong opponents?"
Nami turned to look at Igaram, asking the question that echoed in everyone's minds.
They had been knocked down by Caelan in just two moves, no different from the others who had already surrendered.
"This… this is because Caelan is too strong!"
Igaram was deeply embarrassed.
He had just finished explaining how powerful these two senior agents were, practically calling them invincible.
Yet, the very next moment, they were both lying on the ground, completely defeated.
Aside from feeling awkward, Igaram was also shocked to his core.
These were senior cadres of Baroque Works, Devil Fruit users known for their strength. But in Caelan's hands, they were as fragile as the lowest grunts.
This level of strength was truly unbelievable.
Still, the stronger Caelan was, the greater Alabasta's hope for salvation.
…
Miss Monday, who had just stood up moments earlier, now bent over and knelt down again.
She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but the people kneeling around her seemed to be kneeling even more properly than before.
Two senior officers, defeated so easily?!
Miss Monday couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her last hope had completely vanished.
These two always seemed so strong when dealing with their own subordinates. Why couldn't they handle this?
Ah… things have come to this. Better to give up.
Miss Monday sighed. She no longer had any thoughts of resistance.
Perhaps being captured and turned in for bounty was the best outcome. At least in a Marine prison, they wouldn't have to fear Baroque Works' punishment.
"Tie them up. We'll collect the bounty on all of them."
At Caelan's command, the group began moving.
Vivi and Igaram, familiar with the area, brought ropes, and together they tied up the hands of the more than one hundred kneeling bounty hunters.
The members of Baroque Works, including Miss Monday, cooperated honestly, not daring to resist.
Afterward, Caelan, Nami, and the others returned to the Wind Rider to rest for the night before preparing to set sail again.
Igaram took charge of another ship to escort the captured Baroque Works agents, covering all of Whiskey Peak.
Of course, Caelan didn't forget about Miss Valentine and Mr. 5. Both were tied securely, laid on stretchers, and brought aboard Igaram's ship.
Caelan wasn't worried about them dying from their injuries.
This was the world of pirates. People here had absurdly tough bodies. Even serious injuries were nothing that a little water couldn't fix.
…
Atop a peak near the shore.
The sea otter, wearing sunglasses, sketched away on its drawing board. The vulture waited nearby.
These two animals, an unlucky duo from Baroque Works, were directly responsible for relaying intelligence to Crocodile.
Soon, the sea otter finished its sketch, depicting Caelan and the others.
After glancing back toward the banquet hall scene, the sea otter's eyes beneath its sunglasses filled with human-like fear.
The sea otter climbed onto the vulture's back. Together, the two flew high into the sky, returning to report directly to Crocodile.
(To be continued.)
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