Chapter 8.3

"Frankly speaking, you were very busy..." Miss Valentine smiled thoughtfully. -Isn't that right, Princess Nefertari Vivi of Alabasta?

Luffy blinked in confusion as he looked at the Officers. "Who are they?" Then he turned his head and looked at Vivi. -And you are a princess? Real?

All Vivi could squeeze out was a panicked sob and trembling.

Zoro snorted as he looked around at them, his right arm tightening around Wado Ichimonji. -Probably, the next agents of Baroque Works.

"Yeah..." I gritted my teeth gloomily. -Based on the appearance, I'll assume that... Mr. 5 and Miss... uh, April Full?

"Kyahaha!" the girl laughed. -Actually, Valentine, but nice try! I'm glad to see that my sunny personality is so impressive! Just for this, I will reward you with a painless death!

"Consider yourself lucky," Mr. 5 grumbled. "Usually she likes to have a good time."

"I'm flattered," I said sarcastically. Barely breathing, I hissed at Soundbite from the corner of my mouth. -Good job!

"I LISTENED!" the snail protested. -I HEARD them coming.

"Okay, you two, all jokes aside," Zoro growled, drawing Wado Ichimonji from his sheath. -What do you want?

"It doesn't matter what we want," Mr. 5 said contemptuously. "What matters is what our boss wants, and he needs Her Majesty's head, served to him on a silver platter along with the head of her guard..." He shook his head towards Mr. 8 -Igaram, commander of the Alabasta Royal Guard.

"Of course, considering how much you seem to know about our organization." Miss Valentine's grin stretched from ear to ear, showing off her psychopathy to the fullest. -We'll have to kill you all too! Nothing personal, kyahahaha!

"Yes, because that's exactly the kind of comfort a person will want to hear." I deadpanned before growling at Soundbite. -Then why the hell didn't you say anything!?

- I SAID!

Before I could ask what he meant, Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine prepared to attack.

"Well, now..." began the male half of the duo.

"Let's get started, kyahaha!" the girl finished.

They began to move... and then jerked simultaneously before falling face down on the ground.

I blinked in confusion, trying to comprehend what the hell had just happened. -Mm...?

"Kyahahaha!" Soundbite laughed. -I SAID, but not to you!

-What the hell are you talking about...!

- Hey guys! Are you okay there?

I stared at Soundbite for a second as he spoke in Usopp's voice before letting my jaw drop in shock. -That... was brilliant.

"Thank you!" he sang in response.

"Shh, you cocky little shit..." Zoro chuckled, putting his sword back in its sheath, not even bothering to hide the smirk that appeared on his face. -It's okay, Usopp. Well done.

"Yes, that was a great shot!" Luffy nodded in agreement.

- Ah... y-yes! Of course it's great! After all, what else can you expect from the Great...

"We know!" I groaned tiredly. -Listen, you can brag later, when we're out of danger. And now ? Soundbite, broadcast to the whole team.

Another electronic noise, and the snail announced: -You're on the air!

- Sanji, stop what you're doing and quickly run to Merry. Nami, if you're still on board, stay there. We need to meet as soon as possible.

I thoughtfully looked from Vivi to Igaram.

- We have something to talk about.

-o-

"Okay, you two." I crossed my arms over my chest in irritation and leaned against Merry's intact main mast. -Start saying: what the hell did we get ourselves into without knowing it?

After cutting the ropes to Vivi and Igarama, we all took a few minutes and moved to the Merry deck, where our crew surrounded the royal couple and watched them with curiosity.

Vivi, whose hair was now pulled back into a looser, more comfortable-looking ponytail, looked at us desperately for a minute before hanging her head with a heavy sigh. -What do you all know about the kingdom of Alabasta?

"Princess!" Igaram tried to protest.

- They just saved our lives, Igaram! Even after we tried to kill them!" Vivi cut him off decisively. -They have the right to know!

The Guard Captain hesitated for a second before relenting, shoulders slumped.

Vivi looked at him for a moment longer, and then turned her gaze back to us. -As I said...

"We haven't heard anything about her," Nami shrugged.

"Believe it or not, many residents of the East Blue would probably be surprised to learn that there are actually kingdoms on the Grand Line, much less ordinary people living in it, besides pirates," I added.

"I understand..." Vivi nodded slowly. -Well, you have to understand: our home, Alabasta, was once known as one of, if not the most peaceful nation on the Grand Line.

Sanji frowned, chewing on his cigarette thoughtfully. -When you say "was"...

"In recent years, the country has been gripped by an uprising," Vivi said plaintively, and pain and suffering could be heard in her voice. -Not revolutionaries, they never had quarrels with us, but quite natural. There were riots, riots, chaos... at first it seemed that my kingdom, my home was falling apart...

"Until I discovered... um, excuse me, ma, ma, MA!" Igaram hastily recited. "Until I discovered rumors of a criminal organization known as Baroque Works. They used their agents to secretly spread unrest among the population , turning the people against the crown. I tried to find a motive, but... nothing came of it.

"When I found out about Baroque Works, I turned to Igaram for help," Vivi explained. -I wanted to infiltrate the organization to investigate it from the inside and find out the identity of their leader, as well as his intentions.

"Damn..." Zoro whistled in surprise. - Damn daring for a princess.

"You will address Princess Vivi with respect, you..." Igaram began to rage, but Vivi slapped his hand.

"Igaram!" she hissed. -Apologize to Mr. Bushido now!

Most of the team, including me, hastily raised their hands to hide their grins and grins.

"Mr. Bushido?" I couldn't resist asking, lightly pushing him in the side with my elbow.

Zoro's eye twitched as he growled. -You...?

"I beg your pardon, Mister Bushido," Igaram spoke, nodding decisively to Zoro.

"THIS IS NOT MY NAME, DAMMIT!" the swordsman roared amid our renewed laughter.

- Oookay, anyway... - In the end we calmed down. -Did you manage to find out what they need?

The good mood quickly disappeared, and Vivi's expression became more serious. -Yes it is. The goal of Baroque Works, the main reason the organization was created, is to conquer Alabasta. They have created and are exploiting the rebellion, and I need to return home quickly to uncover the truth before my people unwittingly fall into the clutches of Baroque Works.

"I see..." Usopp said thoughtfully. -That's the story...

"So who's the boss?" Luffy asked impatiently.

"Yeah!" I nodded in agreement. -Who is this mysterious man? Or, so to speak, Mr. Zero?

"DON'T ASK US ABOUT THIS!" Vivi and Igaram shouted at the same time.

"You have to understand, Bavo - ahem, ma-ma-MA! - Baroque Works are proud of their secrecy!" Igaram hastily explained. -Mr. Zero is already trying to kill us because we know his identity! If we share with you, you will become its targets too!

"Ignorance suits us!" Nami hastily waved her hands with a trembling smile. -We're already in deep trouble, I don't want to go deeper!

"I'm for it!" I hastily blurted out. -Sounds fun!

"Spit it out!" Luffy grinned, clenching his fists.

- Spit it out! Spit it out!" Soundbite repeated impatiently.

"Anyone who would hurt a beauty like you deserves to taste the sole of my shoe," Sanji growled.

"Whatever, we can handle him," Zoro grumbled.

"NO, WE CAN'T CANDLE IT!" Usopp and Nami roared.

"Listen, you are all very strong, you have proven it," Vivi answered, raising her hands placatingly. -But I have to agree with these two. You are no match for Sir Crocodile, one of the seven Shichibukai.

Vivi immediately covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes widening in horror. But it's too late. We heard it all. Nami desperately wrapped her arms around herself as Usopp passed out.

"You just spilled the beans," Zoro deadpanned, his jaw and eyebrow twitching furiously.

A heavy silence fell over us all as we stared at Vivi in ​​shock.

Igaram stared at Vivi in ​​shock.

The rest of the team and I stared at Vivi in ​​shock.

Mr. 13 and Miss Friday stared at Vivi... well, to be honest, they were just staring while sitting on the railing of the upper deck, the sunglasses made it difficult to determine the emotions, but nevertheless, there is no doubt that they stared too.

Then they stared at the others, and we all turned our attention to them and looked up in surprise.

After a minute, they looked at each other for a second before Mr. 13 jumped onto Friday's back and she took off, soaring into the skies.

- Bird and otter! Who are they?!" Nami screamed, grabbing Vivi by the collar and shaking her back and forth. -Are they going to inform on us!? Is it true!?

"Forgive me, forgive me, forgive me..." Vivi sobbed as she allowed herself to hang in Nami's arms, tears streaming down her frozen, distressed face.

"Did you hear that?" I heard Luffy say excitedly behind me. -One of the seven Shichibukai!

"Yeah, it could be fun," Zoro replied. I could barely resist laughing at the arrogant smirk I heard in his voice.

- Hmm... Crocodile... it's usually best cooked frozen, but I think I can get by with raw.

I sent Igaram a grin and patted him on the back. -She needs to work on her impulsiveness a little, doesn't she?

"Princess Vivi..." the captain moaned pitifully, covering his face with his hands.

"I'm so sorry, it just came out…" Vivi continued to sob, apparently only half aware of what she was saying.

- Did it break out? Now these bastards will try to kill us too!" Nami yelled at her, before finally pushing the princess away and starting to sob pitifully, clutching her face in despair. -Not even a day has passed on the Grand Line, and already one of the Shichibukai wants us dead! This is too much, too much! What have I done to deserve this!?

"Should I list them in chronological or alphabetical order?" I asked.

- SHUT UP, THE DEVIL FUCK YOU!

- We are lucky, we will meet him soon.

- I wonder what he is like...?

- Uh, he can't be too strong.

"THIS APPLIES TO YOU!" Nami growled at the monstrous trio before turning on her heel and walking away in a huff. -Well, I feel your pain and sympathize with you both, but here our paths diverge! Get lost, both of you! Cross, help me raise the sails!

"Huh?" Luffy blinked in confusion. -Where are we going?

- Anywhere from here! These bastards don't know what we look like, so we still have a chance to escape! Now stop fooling around and hurry up...! - Nami cut herself off when she heard the sound of a pencil scratching on paper.

Glancing to the side, he saw Unlucky sitting on the rail of the ship, and Mr. 13 furiously drawing in a notebook. He then flipped it over to reveal a couple of pages, each with a surprisingly good sketch of each of us, even Soundbite.

"Wow, you're good!" Nami chirped and clapped her hands joyfully.

"Yeah." I couldn't help but grin. -Not a bad trick. Can you juggle balls?

The otter looked at me blankly for several seconds, then turned the notebook over and furiously drew on it for a minute, flipping through several dozen pages in a few seconds.

When he finished, he turned the notebook upside down and began to shed the pages. I blinked in shock at what I saw.

"Wow, a picture book with me in the lead role!" I whistled respectfully. -Damn, this is impressive... well, I'm walking in this one... and then I get shot in the leg... and now I'm being gutted... and now, your partner... - I fell silent, continuing to watch a terrible sight. -...Okay, that's just wrong.

Having done its job, the 13th jumped back onto Friday, and they took off again, soaring towards the horizon.

"GREAT, NOW WE HAVE NO WHERE TO RUN!" Nami howled furiously.

Oh, the hell with it, I'll admit this possibility!

"Not yet!" I growled, looking at Soundbite. -Wake him up now!

"BWAAAAAA!" Soundbite obeyed, blaring like a siren and causing Usopp to jump up screaming.

- Who... what... where?

I hastily grabbed Usopp's shoulder and pointed it at the retreating pair of assassins. -Targets for 12 hours, priority target, shoot them down, faster, faster!