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"What happened?"
"It was the Baroque Works who attacked! A man bombed our ship!" Vivi's crew exclaimed.
"It wasn't just a bomb—it was Miss Valentine's partner. That one is Mr. 5, and he possesses the Bomb-Bomb Fruit!" Pudding, who had already extracted Miss Valentine's memories, explained.
"Hehehe, Miss Valentine, it sounds like you leaked my information."
Following the voice, a man wearing sunglasses emerged, leaping vigorously from Princess Vivi's ship—which was now almost entirely submerged—attempting to land on the Azure Dragon.
"Run! This man is a notorious pirate with a billion-berry bounty!" Miss Valentine shouted as her partner made his approach.
"What?!" Mr. 5's expression twisted in shock. A bounty of one billion berries was beyond anything he had encountered before.
Unfortunately for him, the Baroque Works ship was still some distance from the Azure Dragon. Princess Vivi's ship—his only available springboard—was sinking into the sea. Even if Mr. 5 wanted to retreat, he had nowhere to go. He couldn't exactly jump into the ocean, could he?
Glancing at the people before him, he finally recognized Shin. "The Plunderer! Are you after my Bomb-Bomb Fruit? If you think you can steal my Devil Fruit, you're dreaming!"
As he spoke, he picked his nostrils and flicked a booger.
Shin had never liked arrogant opponents, and seeing such a disgusting act only fueled his irritation. A strange, glowing cube instantly formed in his palm.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World!"
The energy cube shot forward, enveloping Mr. 5's booger and his arm. The moment the light dissipated, his entire arm—and the booger—had turned to dust.
"Huh?!" Mr. 5 froze for a moment before pain erupted from his missing limb. Blood sprayed into the air as he screamed in agony.
"Please maintain proper hygiene. If you don't, I won't mind turning your nose—and head—into ashes next time," Shin said coldly.
With a swirl of black mist, he extracted the Devil Fruit from Mr. 5's body.
"M-my Devil Fruit..." Mr. 5 whimpered, his face pale.
Ignoring his defeated opponent, Shin examined the two Devil Fruits in his hands. "The Bomb-Bomb Fruit and the Kilo-Kilo Fruit… Neither seems all that useful. Oh well, I'll keep them for now."
"Pudding, Mr. 5 is yours. Extract his memories," Shin instructed. "And Princess Vivi, tell me more about Baroque Works."
Vivi was still in shock. Though she knew Shin was an incredibly strong pirate with a billion-berry bounty, witnessing his overwhelming power firsthand had completely shattered her expectations.
Hearing Shin's question, she nodded mechanically. However, as she tried to recall details, she realized that after all her time undercover, she barely knew anything concrete. It felt like all her secrecy had amounted to nothing.
In truth, Shin, whose memories of his past life had long since faded, didn't remember much about Vivi's espionage skills. But if he had, he would've recalled just how terrible she was at intelligence gathering.
For example, after Mr. 2 Bon Clay had fallen into the ocean and was rescued by the Straw Hats, he spent half a day partying with them. It was only when he rejoined his crew—who loudly greeted him as "Mr. 2"—that the Straw Hats realized he had been an enemy all along.
And only then did Vivi come to a dumbfounded realization: "I'm so stupid! All I knew was that Mr. 2 was a tall ballerina who called himself a woman… and that his ballet outfit had the name 'Bon Clay' written on it…"
Even Luffy, known for his rubbery brain and lack of awareness, had given her a look of pure disdain.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Shin gave up on extracting useful intelligence from Vivi.
Fortunately, while he didn't remember every detail, he still knew the most critical information—Baroque Works was led by the Warlord Crocodile, and his secretary was Nico Robin. That was all that mattered.
"Knowing the boss makes everything easier. As always, the solution is simple—go straight to the top. If we take down Crocodile, all the other problems will resolve themselves."
With Miss Valentine and Mr. 5 captured, the Baroque Works ship in the distance seemed to realize the situation had gone south. Rather than advancing, they quickly turned tail and fled.
Shin had no interest in chasing after them. After all, while Crocodile was undoubtedly a villain, most of Baroque Works' lower-ranked members were just bounty hunters. Many of them weren't truly evil—just opportunists making a living. Some even played a role in maintaining order on the seas.
The real threats were the high-ranking agents, those actively working to destroy Alabasta.
"Wait, aren't we supposed to be helping Alabasta?" Princess Vivi asked, visibly confused.
"Relax," Shin said, yawning. "Just take this Flying Thunder God transponder snail. When you need me, call, and I'll teleport straight to you."
Using the Float-Float Fruit, he raised Vivi's sunken ship from the sea and then used the Munch-Munch Fruit to restore it completely. After that, he simply sent Vivi and her crew on their way back to Alabasta.
With the Flying Thunder God transponder snail in her possession, Shin could wait until they arrived in Alabasta and then teleport there instantly. Meanwhile, the Azure Dragon could continue toward Drum Island without delay.
Despite her unease, Vivi had no choice but to trust Shin's word and pray he would keep his promise.
Additionally, Shin sent Miss Valentine and Mr. 5 onto Vivi's ship. With their Devil Fruits extracted, they had lost their greatest assets. Now, they were barely stronger than ordinary soldiers—so weak that even Vivi herself could probably handle them. There was no need to worry about them causing trouble.
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