"Mr. 5!? Miss Valentine!? Why are you here!?"
Under the moonlight that radiated a chilling sense of danger, Vivi supported Igaram—who had taken a Booger Bomb head-on—and a look of pure terror suddenly appeared on her face.
Step!
A jet-black, round-toed leather shoe appeared out of nowhere, stamping down onto the dust-covered ground.
A man with dirty dreadlocks styled like an explosion walked slowly toward them, wearing sunglasses yet still clearly revealing an insidious, arrogant expression.
Floating beside him was a delicate-looking girl in an ultra-short dress, holding a parasol as if she weighed nothing at all.
"Why are we here?"
Mr. 5 calmly stuffed his pinky finger into his nose, dug around a bit, then pulled out a small clump of boogers and said flatly,
"Of course, we're here on our boss's orders—to eliminate the termites hiding inside Baroque Works.""Princess Vivi of the Alabasta Kingdom."
"Die! Booger Bomb!!!"
Whoosh!
With a flick of his finger, the clump of boogers shot forward at terrifying speed, flying straight toward Vivi and Igaram.
"It's over, traitor."
Mr. 5 let out a cold sigh.
But at that very moment—
"Special Move! Usopp Interception Shuriken!"
Whoosh—!Several sharp sounds tore through the air from a distant rooftop.
In the next instant, a spinning, razor-sharp shuriken traced an unusual arc through the sky and collided directly with the Booger Bomb midair!
BOOM!!!The tiny projectile erupted with horrifying power, blooming into a blazing fireball in the dark night.
"Hm!?"
Mr. 5 froze slightly and turned toward the source of the sound.
Then his pupils shrank.
Not far away, a figure was flying toward them—stepping on lightning itself!
"Who is that!?"
Seeing this, Miss Valentine—who had eaten the Kilo-Kilo Fruit and was likewise skilled in aerial combat—voiced her confusion.
Moments later, the figure descended lightly and landed in front of them.
"Mr. Red!"
Seeing the person who had appeared out of nowhere, Vivi cried out in surprise.
"Heh."
Red didn't say much. With a casual flick of his hand, he instantly produced a bottle of Potion and tossed it to Vivi.
"Give this to him. It's a miraculous medicine that heals injuries."
"Okay!"Without the slightest hesitation, Vivi immediately fed the Potion to Igaram.
The next second, a miracle unfolded.
The mangled flesh on Igaram's back—ravaged by Mr. 5's explosive ability—began healing at visible speed!
In just a few seconds, Igaram stood up straight from Vivi's arms.
"Th-This is…!?"
For a moment, everyone stared at Red in utter shock.
Casually handing over such a holy healing medicine—just who was this young man!?
Greed instantly flashed in the eyes of both Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine.
If they could get their hands on the formula for something like that, they'd never have to worry about money again.
"A Devil Fruit user? Interesting."Mr. 5 grinned coldly.
Paired with his punk-like getup, he almost had the bearing of a powerhouse.
Of course—that depended on who he was facing.
"Brat, are you trying to interfere with Baroque Works' operation?!"
He arrogantly challenged Red.
Even though he had no intention of letting Red live, his arrogance compelled him to mock his enemies before striking.
Miss Valentine let out a strange laugh as well.
"Yahaha~"
"I don't know who you are, but daring to interfere with Baroque Works…"
"Handsome boy, this time—you really kicked a steel plate!"
As she spoke, Miss Valentine burst into laughter and activated her Devil Fruit, reducing her weight to an extreme lightness.
A gentle breeze passed through, instantly lifting her into the air.
"Yahaha~ Handsome boy, you're not the only one who can fly!"
Despite her delicate face, her tone somehow made her sound oddly cute.
But at that moment, Red looked up at her in the sky and crooked his lip.
"Don't you know?""In front of a Ground-type Pokémon—there's one word you should never say."
"Take this—Precipice Blades warning!!!"
Red suddenly thrust both hands forward.
In an instant, an overwhelming aura of earth surged violently within his body.
Of course, Precipice Blades was just a joke.
That move belonged exclusively to a Legendary Pokémon that couldn't fly—Red hadn't exactly received the copyright license yet.
What he released instead was its Ground-type brother move:
Rock-type · Ancient Power!
Under Red's control, several massive rock fragments shot forward like cannonballs, blasting straight toward Miss Valentine in midair!
"What!?"
Miss Valentine screamed in shock.
Her Kilo-Kilo Fruit could only alter her weight—not grant true flight like the Float-Float Fruit!
Suspended in midair, she had become a living target.
Before she could adjust her weight to dodge, Ancient Power slammed into her body.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Without the slightest intention of holding back, Red unleashed every bit of Ancient Power onto Miss Valentine's slender form.
She was smashed straight into a distant building, instantly losing consciousness and all ability to fight.
"One down."
Red smiled faintly, then calmly turned his gaze to Mr. 5.
"Damn it—who the hell are you!?"
Seeing his partner defeated so easily, Mr. 5 immediately realized just how dangerous the boy before him was.
Without waiting for an answer, he suddenly charged forward, swinging his fist straight at Red's face.
At the same time, the power of the Bomb-Bomb Fruit rapidly gathered around his fist.
"Explosion Punch!!!"
RUMBLE—BOOM!!!!
The moment his fist landed, a violent explosion erupted in front of Red, completely engulfing him.
Staring into the thick black smoke, Mr. 5 grinned coldly, thrilled by his successful sneak attack.
"Hmph! You brat—you were too arrogant!"
He stood upright again, returning to his usual deadly calm.
But then—
A relaxed voice drifted out from the smoke.
"That's a really powerful Devil Fruit ability."
A breeze swept past, dispersing the smoke and revealing Red—completely uninjured.
The next moment, disappointment appeared on his face.
"Too bad…""Your execution is pretty weak."
"With that kind of explosion, you couldn't even kill Usopp."
"You bastard!"
Mr. 5, still stunned by Red's defense, flew into a rage at those words.
But in the very next second, terror completely overtook his eyes.
Red raised his arm once more.
This time, the heavy rock aura was gone.
In its place—
A dazzling, deep-blue energy surged violently outward!
In an instant, the roaring power erupted from Red's body and formed a towering wave tens of meters tall, crashing straight toward Mr. 5!
Having obtained both the Thunder Badge and the Rainbow Badge, the Pokémon energy within Red had grown tremendously.
Even the power of his techniques had multiplied several times over!
Where the colossal wave passed, all buildings were obliterated without exception.
"How… how is this possible!?"
At this moment, not only Mr. 5—who was about to be swallowed by the wave—but even Vivi and Igaram behind Red stared in utter disbelief.
Their eyes were fixed on Red as countless thoughts flashed through their minds.
"Why…""Why doesn't this man appear on the Marines' bounty lists!?"
"Are the Marines blind!?"
(End of Chapter)