"Arrogant little brat!!"
The moment Zoro's words fell, Igaram—who had been waiting in the rear—launched a sneak attack.
"Saxophone Hurricane!!"
Ka-ka-ka!
With a teeth-grinding mechanical clatter, Igaram's trademark rolled hair split apart like flower petals.
Six pitch-black machine-gun barrels were revealed inside.
"Ratatatatata—!!!"
Orange muzzle flashes tore through the night as a dense storm of bullets poured straight toward Zoro like a metallic typhoon.
"Tch! This trick again!"
Zoro stomped forward, his body sliding sideways like a ghost. He weaved through the gaps in the barrage, sword light forming an airtight defensive net as he closed in on Igaram.
On the other side of the battlefield, however, the tone was… completely different.
"Come here, Karoo!"
Vivi placed her pinky to her lips and blew a sharp whistle.
"Gaa—!"
With a lively quack, a massive duck wearing a blue-striped knit cap and wind goggles—Super Spot-Billed Duck—charged out from behind the rubble.
Its eyes were vacant yet brimming with inexplicable confidence as it ran up to Vivi and very cooperatively… stretched out a wing.
Smack!
Vivi slapped the wing away and shouted in frustration, "Not a handshake, you idiot duck!!"
Ronan and Sanji stood off to the side, three black lines sliding down their foreheads at the same time.
"This is… a single-digit agent's mount?" Ronan's mouth twitched. He nearly dropped the ebony staff in his hand.
Under their speechless stares, Vivi finally managed to climb onto the duck's back. Regaining her officer-like presence, she pointed straight at Ronan and shouted:
"Go, Karoo! Show them your speed—faster than a leopard! Charge!"
"Gaa?"
Karoo tilted his head… then plopped down on the ground and leisurely began preening his feathers.
"WHY ARE YOU SITTING DOWN?!!"
Vivi completely broke down, smashing her fist into Karoo's head with a dull thunk.
"…."
Ronan sighed and shook his head. "This is Baroque Works' elite? At this rate, the organization won't last long."
"Hey! Staff guy! Stop spacing out!"
At that moment, a voice full of "hot-blooded spirit" rang out from above.
Ronan looked up to see Mr.9 standing atop a nearby domed stone house.
Backlit by the moon, he struck an exaggerated bodybuilding pose at the roof's edge.
"Witness this—my gorgeous backflip!!"
"Whoosh—whoosh—"
Mr.9 leapt off the roof, performing three very unprofessional backflips in midair, approaching Ronan like a circus clown.
Ronan didn't even raise his eyelids. He lightly tapped the ebony staff against the ground and spoke with helpless exasperation:
"What is this… If you're fighting, then fight. Why are you doing acrobatics?"
"Take this! Passionate Mr.9!!"
The instant he landed, Mr.9 used his downward momentum to whip out two steel batons from behind his back.
"Perseverance Batons—Super Heavy Smash!!"
The two iron batons roared through the air like twin warhammers, crashing down toward Ronan's head!
The blow was heavy and vicious—any normal person would've had their skull shattered like a watermelon.
"Competing with me in strength?"
Ronan looked at the descending batons with a trace of disdain, not moving his feet an inch.
He gripped the end of the ebony staff with one hand and snapped his wrist. His spinal power surged instantly, a unified force flooding through the staff.
"Xingyi — Beng!"
No flourish. No excess. Just a brutally simple upward strike.
The black staff left an afterimage in the air, striking later yet arriving first, slamming precisely into the crossing batons.
CLANG—!!!
A deafening metallic explosion rang out.
Before Mr.9's horrified eyes, his prized steel batons were blasted away the instant they touched the staff, spinning through the air and embedding themselves deep into a distant wall.
"W-what?!" Mr.9's arms went numb, the skin between his thumbs split open.
Before he could even react, Ronan's staff continued forward like a venomous dragon lunging from its lair, ruthlessly tapping Mr.9 in the abdomen.
"PUWAA—!!"
That strike carried Xingyi's penetrating shock force.
Mr.9 felt as if his internal organs had shifted violently. Blood sprayed from his mouth as his entire body was launched backward like a fired cannonball—three times faster than he'd come in!
BOOM!!
Mr.9 smashed into a stone house, blasting a huge hole through its thick wall before being buried in the rubble, his fate unknown.
The battlefield fell silent for a second.
Ronan withdrew the staff and sighed. "Isn't there even one decent opponent? At this level… it doesn't even count as a warm-up."
"A decent opponent?"
A sweet yet dangerous voice drifted over. "That would be me. Prepare yourselves!"
Vivi stood atop Karoo, pulling a delicate little bottle from her clothes. Her eyes grew seductive and hazy.
"Come now… breathe in my fragrance…"
As she uncapped the bottle, an overpoweringly sweet, dizzying scent flooded the air.
"Seductive Dizziness Perfume Dance!"
Vivi began swaying her alluring body atop the duck's back.
Dressed in revealing dancer's attire, her pale long legs shimmered under the moonlight. Paired with the special perfume, it truly carried a mind-melting allure.
Ronan stared at the scene, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.
"What kind of act is this now?"
He pinched his nose, frowning deeply. "Cheap hallucinogenic perfume, plus… that kind of awkward, graceless wriggling—are you trying to be funny?"
To Ronan's eyes, Vivi's movements were full of openings.
If he wanted, one strike would knock her straight off.
"Don't embarrass yourself with tricks like this!" Ronan raised his staff, ready to end the farce.
And then—
"PSSSH—!!!"
A sound like a high-pressure fire hose erupted.
Ronan snapped his head around in shock.
Sanji—who had been standing nearby—was now leaning back, twin jets of bright red blood blasting from his nose straight into the sky!
"Ah…"
Sanji's eyes transformed into huge pink hearts, his entire body rippling unnaturally.
"What… what a beautiful dance!!"
Clutching his chest, he completely ignored Ronan's existence and slid forward on his knees in an utterly shameful glide—
All the way to Vivi's duck.
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