Chapter 97: What Bullshit Siano

"Prey?"

Billions instantly burst with joy, turning to his subordinates with arms spread wide and laughing uproariously:

"Listen up, lads! Put on a good show for the two my lords! Let those stinking rats of the sea see what a professional 'port welcome ceremony' looks like!"

"Ooooooh!!!!"

Amidst the earth-shaking response, the hunters scattered like a receding tide.

Some changed into civilian clothes to greet them at the port, while others lay in ambush along both banks.

This was their signature act; their usual style was to pretend this was a town that welcomed pirates.

Then, when these novices from the Four Seas believed it, lowered their guard, sailed their ships into the harbor, and disembarked laughing and chattering...

They would suddenly rush out from both sides, cannons roaring, catching the pirates completely off guard.

Due to the extremely limited information exchange between the Grand Line and the Four Seas, this trick rarely failed and worked every single time.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, it seems we've arrived at quite the opportune moment, able to witness a grand drama with our own eyes."

Mr. 5 spoke leisurely, "In that case, Miss Valentine, shall we find a good spot here, hold a cup of coffee, and watch quietly?"

"Who wants coffee? It's bitter and astringent!" Miss Valentine snorted, "Bring me a lemon soda, no lemon, no fizz!"

"We have both, we have both, please follow me."

Billions hurriedly ushered the two to seats on the restaurant's second-floor balcony, where the view was excellent, perfectly showcasing the scenery along the port.

Then he turned his head and shouted up to the lookout: "Hey, the prey should have entered the outer perimeter of the port by now! Can you make out their flag?"

"I can, but..."

The lookout high above spoke with a tone of shock and uncertainty, "It's just that their flag is a bit strange; it's white, and the pattern looks somewhat like the Marines'... Wait, I remember now!"

His eyes suddenly bulged wide as he screamed involuntarily, "It's the Curtain Fall Pirates! It's the Curtain Fall Pirates, the ones who single-handedly created the great massacre at Loguetown!!!"

The entire dock suddenly fell deathly silent.

The bounty hunters, who had just grabbed their flintlocks and prepared to aim, froze in place all at once.

Several veterans who were loading cannonballs even slipped, causing the lead balls to roll clattering into the sea.

The Curtain Fall... Pirates?

Mr. 5 and Valentine exchanged a glance, both seeing bewilderment in each other's eyes.

During this period, they had been busy handling the onboarding procedures for Baroque Works and indeed hadn't paid much attention to outside news...

What, is this pirate crew very famous?

"P-plan change! Honorable Senior Agents!"

Billions' voice already carried a tearful tremor, cold sweat pouring like a waterfall, "These monsters... we simply cannot provoke them! We must retreat, right now—"

Slap!

Before he could finish speaking, Mr. 5 expressionlessly reached out, grabbed him by the hair, and lifted him up like trash.

"Hey, idiot."

He leaned close to that face twisted by fear, his eyes behind the sunglasses piercingly cold.

"A pirate crew that has just entered the Grand Line scares you this much? Have you forgotten... what exactly those four words, 'Senior Agent,' mean?"

"Of course I know!!!"

Billions shrieked, "But what about you? Do you even know what kind of people the Curtain Fall Pirates are?"

"The captain of that Curtain Fall Pirates is a ruthless man who dared to actively attack a Marine Headquarters warship, 'Blade Master' Siano, with a bounty of 180 million Berries!!!"

"Not only that!"

"The officers under his command are all formidable figures; those with bounties of seventy or eighty million Berries are everywhere!"

"Added together, the crew's total bounty exceeds 500 million Berries!"

"Against such a group of monsters, even if we stake all our lives, how could we possibly, possibly be their match!!!"

He screamed hysterically.

And those bounty hunters who were still frozen in place seemed awakened by these words; the crowd exploded into chaos and began fleeing frantically.

Some scrambled on hands and knees into the tavern cellar, while others screamed, hoisted their flintlocks onto their backs, and sprinted toward the giant cactus mountains behind them.

The grabbed Billions also began twisting his body desperately, trying to break free from Mr. 5's grip.

"You bunch of useless trash!"

Mr. 5 kicked the trembling Billions over, two streams of black smoke erupting from his nostrils as he coldly smirked and cracked his neck back and forth.

"No matter what, in the end, they're just a rookie pirate crew that has barely stepped into the Grand Line! Since you can't help, get lost!"

"Hey, Valentine, today let's put on a wanton display, showing this trash exactly what kind of powerful strength a Devil Fruit user possesses!"

"Uh..."

Miss Valentine wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, smiling awkwardly:

"Actually, well, I think a guy with a 180 million Berry bounty really should be avoided; come to think of it, isn't the bounty of Crocodile, that Warlord active in these nearby waters, only 81 million Berries?"

"What do you know?"

Mr. 5 clasped his hands behind his back and snorted coldly, "That fellow Crocodile was invited to become a Warlord shortly after he first made a name for himself twenty years ago, so his bounty has remained stuck at that number!"

"What kind of bullshit Blade Master Siano? Do you really think a rookie's strength can compare to an old timer like that?!"

"So that's how it is..."

Miss Valentine suddenly realized; seeing her partner so full of confidence, she suddenly gained fighting spirit too, lifting her head and giggling:

"Yahahaha~ Since that's the case, then I'll stick with you to the end; you're right, for us who just joined the Works, this is a rare opportunity to achieve merit and make a name!"

On board the Curtain Fall.

Watching the crowds gathered at the harbor waving toward them, Nami let out a "Whoa!" and turned back to call out in delighted surprise, "Brother! Look! So many people are over there to welcome us!"

"It seems the truth about Loguetown has spread not just throughout the East Blue, but all the way here too!" she said happily, "Everyone knows now that we aren't those kind of pirate villains!"

"Silly Nami."

Sister Sister Guyina's helpless voice came from above; on the open-air dojo, she sat with eyes closed in deep meditation, exuding the bearing of a grandmaster, and now she shook her head slightly:

"It seems you didn't listen to a single word the captain said this morning. This Whiskey Peak is a den where bounty hunters gather; what they are best at is disguising themselves to deceive, then striking to kill when you are off guard."

"Eh???"

Nami's face fell in dejection. "How can this be..."

"Just be a little more cautious, that's all."

Sister Sister Guyina said softly, "This docking is to let the Log Pose record the magnetic field. Of course, if they truly intend to hunt us down as pirates, we won't hold back in fighting back either."

As if it were only for recording the magnetic field?

There was plenty of wool to shear at Whiskey Peak. Siano rose from his rattan chair, gazing at the approaching Whiskey Peak, his eyes narrowing slightly.

If he remembered correctly.

At present, the Baroque Works' "Utopia Plan" had not yet been fully launched; the Kingdom of Alabasta was still far from falling into civil war.

As for Vivi and Ikarugam, the captain of the royal guards, it would be at least two years later, after the unrest escalated step by step, before they learned of Baroque Works' existence; in order to investigate the truth behind the scenes, they would go undercover as agents and infiltrate the organization.

Therefore.

There was no hope of seeing Vivi here; she was still safely serving as the Princess in the royal capital of Alabasta.

But as for those other named and renowned agents, surely some could be met here; it was just a matter of how many they would encounter... Hmm?

Siano suddenly frowned. Why had the people who just gathered at the dock suddenly started scattering and fleeing in all directions the moment the Curtain Fall approached, as if they had seen a ghost?

(End of Chapter)