Chapter 17 – Killer Zero
"The Assassination Alliance has no real headquarters and no nominal leader; the branch managers in each city are the Alliance's top brass."
Once the gloomy man made his decision he cooperated fully,
and spilled every scrap of intel he knew:
"Even among the higher-ups there are ranks, based on the combat strength of the branch they run and their seniority. The last voice you heard in the channel belonged to the one with the highest standing."
"This mission against the Hero Association was accepted by him from a client, then divvied up among us as individual targets."
"His branch is on a volcanic island within J-City's waters."
The gloomy man then gave up every other branch location he knew.
But he couldn't guarantee those branches were still at their original addresses.
Just like him,
he too had escape routes and a fallback base ready.
It was only that Aokiji and the others moved too fast, their strength far beyond what he'd expected—there hadn't been time to use any of those preparations.
Aokiji contacted Sitch again and had the Association send people to clean up.
Then he looked at Watchdog Man, who was scratching his neck with a hind leg, and asked:
"Coming with us to J-City?"
Watchdog Man's actions showed a clear territorial instinct.
In the original story he never fought outside Q-City.
Even when the Dark Matter space pirates led by Boros invaded, Watchdog Man was one of the few who attended the heroes' meeting but never lifted a finger.
He went straight back to Q-City to crush the criminals and Monsters who used the alien invasion as cover for their riots.
Later he explained it simply: "I only need to protect my own city."
Aokiji didn't think he'd join the trip to J-City.
So he was surprised when Watchdog Man nodded and said:
"I'll go too."
Watchdog Man's reasoning was simple.
If the Assassination Alliance wasn't wiped out, they'd only set up a new branch in Q-City later.
Better to eliminate threats to his city in advance.
Though Aokiji was a bit taken aback, he didn't refuse.
These past few days he'd tested it—when others joined in killing Monsters or criminals, the progress bar still grew.
As for Bang, there was no need to ask.
The dojo and Disciples he'd spent half his life building had been attacked.
He was one step away from using "Exploding Heart Release Fist" again.
Even his most promising pupil, Garou, had been beaten black-and-blue by Bang and driven off after thrashing the other Disciples.
Let alone outsiders who dared such a thing.
The Association is useless in many ways,
but at least its logistics aren't bad.
Another military transport was quickly arranged to fly them to J-City.
At the same time,
in a corner of another city, a certain man received the same intel.
Long golden hair, skin-tight bodysuit, stiletto heels, and a long sword at his hip—Flashy Flash wiped the blood from his hands.
A graduate of the ninja village, he'd been rigorously trained in interrogation techniques.
"Assassination Alliance… why do these dark outfits always come after me? Some grudge the ninja village left behind?"
"Doesn't matter," Flash said, smoothing his hair. "I'll just deal with them."
He exploded into speed; dust rose and his silhouette vanished.
All he left behind were ruined buildings and scattered assassins.
By a twist of fate,
the branch Flashy Flash was supposed to wipe out alone
now faced four Monsters… or perhaps more?
— — — —
J-City
A coastal tourist town,
also the place the Deep Sea Tribe had originally targeted.
I'll look around later. If I run into them I'll finish it early, Aokiji thought as he stood on the beach.
"Lord Aokiji! It's really him!!"
"The Hero Association's strongest hero?! Let me see too!!"
"Lord Aokiji, are you on vacation? Come play beach volleyball with us—lots of girls!"
"Probably not. He's the hardest-working hero; there must be a Monster here."
…Tourists swarmed around him in excitement.
Many asked for autographs or photos.
To guard against possible anti-air weapons, they hadn't had the Association's plane land at the target.
"Make way."
Aokiji stepped through the crowd and into the seawater.
As expected, no weakness—this world's seawater didn't contain Sea Stone factors.
He turned back to the still-gathering crowd and warned:
"Move farther back or you'll catch cold."
The tourists paid no heed,
too thrilled by their celebrity sighting.
They snapped photo after photo to post on social media.
He began to understand Sweet Mask's frustration when he'd exposed his Monster identity at the amusement park.
He'd warned them; that was enough.
Bang and Watchdog Man followed behind him.
After confirming no tourists were still in the water,
Aokiji activated his Devil-Fruit power toward the volcanic island.
"Ice Age—"
Though it was the height of summer, the temperature plunged to bitter cold.
Tourists in swimsuits and trunks shivered as one,
hugging themselves for warmth.
Excitement gave way to shock.
In the blink of an eye the rolling sea froze into a glacier.
Waves caught mid-crash turned into surreal ice sculptures.
The ice stretched farther than the eye could see.
Seabirds circling overhead flapped frantically away from the suddenly frigid sea.
Watchdog Man padded over and licked the ice.
Yep, still salty.
"Let's go. I froze the sea around that island too—they can't sail away."
They set off across the glacier.
After the initial shock—and wondering if they'd fallen asleep sunbathing and dreamed it—the tourists were lost.
They'd finally had a day off to swim and surf,
and now the ocean was frozen?!
Then again… this was an even better way to beat the heat.
Volcanic island
Inside the cave base.
A long-haired man with the air of "touch my dog and I'll kill your whole family" emerged from meditation.
"They're here—Hero Association."
The heavy meditation-room door swung open and an elderly man with the bearing of a top official walked in, voice hoarse:
"That hero called Aokiji's power is more outrageous than we thought. He froze not just the sea surface but the cavern we planned to escape through."
"Do you have what it takes to deal with him?"
The long-haired man rose slowly, not a trace of fear on his face, and answered calmly:
"No matter how strong a super-power is, he's still human. If he's human, I can kill him."
The old man stared at him for a long moment.
The Alliance's strongest assassin—Killer Zero—showed no sign of dread.
At last the elder nodded. "Go. I'll have the others follow your orders."
"No need. Those weaklings will only drag me down."
Killer Zero adjusted his gear with easy confidence and left.
The old man watched him go.
He placed his hopes on this supreme assassin.
The man had never failed a mission.
With only a pen he could slip through a fortress on full alert and leave unscathed, his target dead.
He was a legend within the Assassination Alliance.
The elder rubbed the wrinkled skin of his hand.
Besides, even if Killer Zero failed, he could at least wear the hero down.
By the time my backup plan— "Sir! Killer Zero was defeated!!!"
"..."
The old man's cloudy eyes bulged, veins standing out on his wrinkled skin.
N-no matter!
There's still the backup!
I still have preparations!!!
...
(Throw some stones)