Sandy glanced at the few bounty hunters fainted on the floor around him.
He wasn't the kind of guy who enjoyed killing for no reason.
They had their dirty little schemes, sure, but honestly, he couldn't even be bothered to finish them off.
So, he did the most logical thing—sat down, ate, drank, and then took a comfortable nap.
"A cigarette after a meal is better than being a living god," he muttered to himself, lighting up with satisfaction.
By the time he walked out, it was already late at night.
He hadn't expected time to fly by like that. Activating Observation Haki, Sandy scanned the area.
Oh? Zoro was already fighting the bounty hunters on the rooftop.
The fight wasn't over yet—but the scene looked too hilarious to miss. He decided to go take a look.
Mr. 9 was locked in combat with Zoro. His "technique" consisted of wildly flipping through the air while swinging a baseball bat.
"Hahaha!" Mr. 9 cackled between somersaults. "Are you scared? My fierce attack has you trembling, right?"
Zoro just stared blankly at him, katana resting on his shoulder.
"I say," Zoro sighed, "are you actually serious?"
Mr. 9 finished another dizzying flip and landed with a flourish.
He pointed his bat dramatically at Zoro. "Roronoa Zoro, you think I can only do a few somersaults? Watch this!"
He did another round of flips—completely forgetting he was standing on the roof.
"...Ah."
He vanished off the edge.
Zoro tilted his head and watched him crash. "Isn't there a decent opponent around here?"
Miss Wednesday stepped forward, striking a pose. "A decent opponent? Roronoa Zoro, your journey ends here!"
Zoro gave her a lazy grin. "Is that so?"
She leapt onto the back of her mount, the large duck, and pointed her finger. "Karoo! Let's go!"
"Ah ah—" Duck honked as it bolted forward.
Unfortunately, it bolted right past Zoro.
Zoro sweatdropped. "Are you guys fighting or not?"
Miss Wednesday froze. What the hell was wrong with this duck?
Sandy appeared behind her, laughing so hard he was nearly on the floor. "Hahaha! I'm dying! Did this duck drink expired milk powder?"
Zoro looked over. "Where's Luffy and the others?"
Sandy shrugged. "Still sleeping."
He crouched next to Miss Wednesday, pointing at duck. "This mount of yours is trash. How about we roast it?"
Miss Wednesday gasped. "What kind of joke is that? Karoo is my companion!"
"Ah ah ah—" Karoo panicked and started crying.
"Don't worry," Miss Wednesday hurried to calm him down, "I won't let him roast you."
Sandy poked the duck's head. "Strange duck. Shouldn't you be quacking? Why do you sound like a broken alarm clock?"
Miss Wednesday snapped, "Don't act like we're friends! We're enemies right now!"
Sandy yawned. "Yeah, sure. But you're not our opponent. If I were you, I'd run. I heard Baroque Works sends a cleaner after failed missions."
Miss Wednesday froze. She knew what that meant. If she died here, she'd never expose Crocodile's plot to save Alabasta.
She bit her lip. "...Thanks for the reminder."
She fled with Karoo without another word.
Sandy tossed Zoro a bottle of beer. The two of them sat on the rooftop, drinking like nothing in the world mattered.
But Sandy wasn't lying.
Not long after Vivi (Miss Wednesday) left, Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine arrived to hunt her down.
In the chaos, Vivi's identity as Princess of Alabasta was exposed. Igaram was revealed to be the captain of the Alabasta Royal Guard.
The bounty hunters trying to protect her fell one after another. Only Vivi and Karoo managed to escape down the dark streets.
Miss Valentine hovered above the ground with a smirk. "Ah hahaha, Mr. 5, if you don't hurry, she'll get away."
Mr. 5 lazily picked his nose. "She can't."
He flicked the booger.
"Booger Bomb."
Boom!
Instead of Vivi, the blast hit Miss Valentine square in the face.
Mr. 5 froze. "...Huh?"
Miss Valentine, covered in soot, twitched.
Mr. 5 roared, "WHO DID THAT?! COME OUT!"
Not far away, Sandy and Zoro were having a very serious conversation.
Sandy pointed at him. "So let me get this straight… you still owe Nami 200,000 Belly? How the hell are you broke over twenty Belly? You poor bastard."
Zoro clenched his jaw. "That damn woman! I borrowed 100,000 Belly and paid it back the same day. She's the one saying I owe her another 200,000!"
Sandy stared at him in disbelief. "You borrowed 100,000 and paid 300,000? Are you out of your mind?"
"Huh?" Zoro shot back. "Says the guy who owes her a million Belly. You're even worse!"
Sandy's smile twitched. Yeah… that part was true.
Igaram had offered a generous reward if the crew helped protect Princess Vivi. Nami agreed on the crew's behalf. Nami's rule was simple:
"My money is my money. Agreements I sign are your obligations too."
Zoro and Sandy had refused. So she reminded them of their debts.
That was how the two broke idiots ended up stuck with this job.
Miss Valentine, still smoldering from the explosion, finally snapped.
Hovering above them, she glared murderously. "You bastards… facing opponents like us, and you're still arguing?"
Her voice grew darker. "Don't regret it… when you're dead."
She activated her ability.
"One Kilogram… One Hundred Kilograms… One Thousand Kilograms… Ten Thousand Kilograms—Gravity Press!"
She dropped from the sky like a wrecking ball aimed straight at Sandy and Zoro.
On the sidelines, Nami's furious voice rang out: "I told you idiots to take this seriously!"
The rooftop trembled as Miss Valentine came crashing down.