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"It's them!" Vivi and Valentine locked eyes, both startled.
But the realization came fast.
The Unlucky Duo must've reported their movements to Crocodile, and now the boss had sent higher-ranked agents to ambush them here.
Valentine glanced at Logan with a teasing look. "Captain, you know... Miss Goldenweek isn't half bad either. You interested?"
"Huh?!" Vivi froze. Wait, we can do that now?!
Logan gave Valentine a look and smirked. "Sounds good to me."
Inside the wax house, two bounty posters lay on a snow-white table.
Mr. 3 stared at the numbers printed on them, eyes gleaming.
"Add up their bounties and it's over three hundred million berries."
He licked his lips, greed flickering openly in his gaze.
"Brogy and Dorry are part of your plan too?!"
Miss Goldenweek asked in her usual flat tone, her face unreadable—as if nothing in the world could possibly excite her.
"Of course. The two of them together are worth two hundred million berries," Mr. 3 replied without hesitation.
But when he said that, his tone carried a trace of disdain.
Back when Brogy and Dorry first set sail, each already had a bounty of a hundred million.
It's been over a century since then. By now, it should've climbed to several hundred million at least.
Still, two hundred million was no small sum. Worth the risk.
As the saying goes: the bigger the storm, the pricier the fish.
"They're incredibly strong, though. We probably can't beat them," Goldenweek frowned, clearly not eager to take unnecessary risks.
If they pissed off Brogy and Dorry, those two giants would crush them like bugs.
"You're right…" Mr. 3 stroked his chin, thoughtful. "So we'll use our heads. Best case scenario, we get Brogy and Dorry to clash with Princess Vivi's group. Once both sides are half-dead, we swoop in and take everything."
He clenched a fist into his palm. "I'm a genius!"
"That mindless butcher Mr. 1 doesn't even come close. Boss really has no eye for talent." He sighed dramatically, shaking his head.
"Interesting plan. So how exactly are you going to pull it off?"
A light laugh floated in from the doorway.
The door to the wax house swung open. Logan stepped in—Vivi and Valentine right behind him.
"Princess Vivi?!"
"And Valentine?!"
"You're…" Mr. 3 squinted, eyes flicking toward the bounty posters. "Logan!!"
These idiots actually came looking for him?
There's a road to heaven and they ignore it, but no door to hell and they kick it down!
Mr. 3's heart leapt with joy.
He had wanted to make Vivi's crew fight the giants only because he feared Brogy and Dorry's strength—and needed someone else to soften them up first.
But these newcomers? He didn't even take them seriously.
"Heh-heh-heh… Valentine, you dare show your face here? You do know what happens to traitors who betray Baroque Works, right?" Mr. 3 sneered.
To his surprise, Valentine didn't even blink.
What the—?
Was she seriously that calm? Since when did joining Logan's crew make her fearless? Even of Crocodile?
Not just her—Princess Vivi, too, looked completely relaxed.
Mr. 3 looked Logan up and down, frowning. "What, is this thirty-million-berry rookie the one giving you all that confidence?"
Beside him, Miss Goldenweek quietly set down her sketchpad, ready to paint.
"Logan, I trust you!" Vivi said suddenly.
"Captain, go get him!" Valentine added.
The two women released Logan's arms, and their eyes softened with pity as they looked at Mr. 3.
They still remembered Mr. 9 and Mr. 5's fates vividly—one's body dumped into the sea, the other fried to a crisp.
"Unbelievable… Seems like everyone thinks they can look down on me these days!"
"Candle Fist Sculpt!"
Infuriated at being ignored, Mr. 3 attacked without hesitation.
Candle wax gushed from his hands, forming massive hardened gauntlets.
With a loud boom, he hurled them toward Logan like cannon fire.
"Pathetic trick."
Logan unsheathed his plain sword and swung lazily.
A golden arc of sword energy shot out, slicing through the air with crushing force.
The wax gauntlet split cleanly in half.
"What?!" Mr. 3's eyes practically popped out of his skull.
That wax was hard as steel! And it just got split in one swing?!
No way!
"Looks like your fists aren't the hardest thing about you—your mouth is."
Logan smirked and swung again.
Mr. 3's pupils shrank. A chill ran up his spine.
That sword slash could cut through steel, and this wasn't even a special move—just a regular swing?!
"Candle Wall!!"
Panicking, Mr. 3 spewed out even more wax, forming a thick, gleaming wall in front of him.
The golden slash hit, ripping through the wall in an instant, and continued straight into Mr. 3's chest.
Thud!
He slammed into the wall of his own wax house, coughing up blood that splattered across the floor.
"Cough—cough—"
Eyes rolling back, Mr. 3 tried to push himself up, trembling as he stared at Logan in horror.
Who the hell was this guy?!
A thirty-million bounty? More like three hundred million in disguise!
"Still alive? Tch… guess it's not as sharp as Wado Ichimonji."
Logan frowned, then swung again.
The golden slash pierced straight through Mr. 3's chest.
He could feel his life slipping away, mouth opening soundlessly as he collapsed into a pool of blood.
Mr. 3—dead.
"....."