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Chapter 78: Mr. 3
"As for how to train them... I don't know either."
Ganyu's reply was calm and candid.
She wasn't a native of this world, after all. She didn't have a single bit of Haki. But as her own power gradually recovered, the strength displayed by her adeptus body, which seemed to have no upper limit, would definitely not be weaker than the top-tier experts of this world.
However, not knowing Haki would ultimately leave her lacking a key countermeasure when facing certain special Devil Fruit users. She had already made a plan in her heart. When the ship reached the Sabaody Archipelago, she would have to find a way to ask the legendary "Dark King" Rayleigh for the specific training method for Haki.
"Is that so..." Zoro muttered thoughtfully. His gaze changed as he carefully sized up the young woman in front of him, something new in his eyes.
"In that case... you're not as strong as I originally imagined."
The gap between them wasn't an uncrossable chasm after all. Surpassing her... it didn't seem hopeless.
"I never said I was strong. You're the one who insisted on thinking so."
Ganyu sensed that his gaze was a bit brazen and fiery, almost provocative. She glared at him in annoyance, her tone emphasizing her words.
"But I need to remind you of one thing. The 'World's Greatest Swordsman' you're so obsessed with surpassing, Mihawk... he's not necessarily my match."
She had keenly sensed that after this guy learned she didn't know Haki, his way of looking at her had changed. It seemed less respectful. That wouldn't do. She had to put him in his place.
"Is that so."
Zoro's reaction to Ganyu's words was rather bland, even perfunctory.
He just nodded casually, then turned and kicked the corpse of the dinosaur he had just beheaded, pulling the topic back.
"What do you think of this one? Big enough? Will it beat that idiot Curly Brows?"
Ganyu lowered her eyes, her gaze sweeping over the massive dinosaur corpse.
A rough estimate put the dinosaur's length at over ten meters and its weight was staggering. It was probably enough to feed their entire crew for several days.
After a moment of deliberation, she said softly: "Judging by its appearance, this should be a carnivorous dinosaur. Although it's large enough, the muscle fiber of carnivores is usually coarse, so the meat will likely be tough and stringy. The taste... might not be very good."
Zoro and Sanji's competition wasn't just about the size of the prey. The "quality" and "taste" were also important judging criteria.
Zoro nodded in agreement. As expected, bringing this woman along saved a lot of unnecessary trouble and misjudgment.
"Then let's go deeper and find a dinosaur that's both big and plump?"
He raised his hand, pointing to the deeper, denser part of the forest, seeking her opinion. He didn't know when it started, but he, like everyone else on the crew, had gotten used to relying on this blue-haired young woman.
After all, she was always right.
Ganyu glanced over, her eyes shimmering. Her vision seemed to penetrate the trees and leaves, landing on an area tens, even hundreds of meters away.
There, she "saw" two figures, one tall and one short, acting suspiciously. They were hiding in the shadow of a giant tree, seemingly spying on something.
Ganyu's eyes lit up slightly. She immediately recognized them. The assassins sent by Baroque Works to intercept them: Mr. 3 and his assistant.
"Let's go. A decent opponent is waiting for you."
Ganyu smiled, looking forward to seeing Zoro, who had just grasped Observation Haki, fight Mr. 3.
"An opponent?" Hearing this, Zoro was naturally excited. He had been itching for a fight, and having an opponent delivered to his doorstep was more than he could ask for.
...
At the entrance of a huge cave.
A little girl with two golden pigtails and a wide-brimmed pink hat was nibbling on a delicate pastry, staring blankly at the dark, wide cave entrance that looked like a monster's mouth.
"It's so big..." she muttered, her face expressionless.
"Duh. This is a giant's lair. Of course it's big."
Beside her, a man in a casual shirt and an exaggerated "3" shaped hairstyle replied irritably.
The man's name was Galdino, codenamed "Mr. 3" in Baroque Works.
A day ago, he received a direct order from the boss to set an ambush on this island called "Little Garden" and eliminate a rookie pirate crew and the princess of Alabasta.
However, after landing on the island, he unexpectedly discovered an even bigger "treasure."
"Hehe. Those two big idiots fight each other to exhaustion every day for a ridiculous reason."
Galdino pushed up his glasses, a sinister grin spreading across his face. "They'll never guess that we've set up an inescapable trap in their lair! When they drag their exhausted bodies back... Hahaha! That will be the perfect time for us to strike!"
"Galdino..." The little girl, Marianu, (Ms. Goldenweek) seemed to want to say something.
"Don't slack off, Marianu!"
Galdino interrupted her. His hands hung down, and the parts below his elbows began to melt, turning into puddles of thick white wax that flowed onto the cave floor.
"Hurry up and use your paints to help me camouflage this wax! We have to hurry. After we deal with these two giants, we still have to take care of that overconfident pirate crew and the princess!"
He was a user of the Wax-Wax Fruit, able to freely create and control white wax. The melted wax could be molded into any shape, and once hardened, its strength was comparable to steel.
His current plan was to cover the entire floor of the giant's cave entrance with wax. When the giants returned, he would instantly melt it, trapping them in the wax.
As for his partner, Ms. Goldenweek. She was a young girl but extremely talented in painting. She could mix special pigments to perfectly camouflage his white wax, making it blend in with the surroundings.
After working for half a day, Galdino, sweating profusely, finally finished covering the entire cave entrance floor with a thick layer of wax. He straightened up, satisfied, only to find that his partner was still standing in the same spot, not moving, having not even begun the crucial painting step.
With such a large, obvious patch of white wax on the ground, unless the giants were blind, how could they not see it?
"Hey! Ms. Goldenweek! Why haven't you started painting?!"
He knew his partner was lazy and hated working, often slacking off. But for her to drop the ball at such a critical moment made him furious.