"You... you're not drunk at all!" Mr. 8 exclaimed, shocked.
Kai replied calmly, "Same reason as the green algae head up there." He nodded toward Zoro, who was watching from above.
"Your town reeks of something fishy, wouldn't you agree? Baroque Works."
!!!
Everyone froze, their faces filled with terror upon hearing their true identity revealed.
Mr. 8, unable to hide his shock, demanded, "How do you know who we are?"
"You don't need to know that," Kai replied smoothly. Then, turning to Zoro, he added, "I'll leave these guys to you."
Zoro grinned, "You sure are lazy." He then glanced at the two swords on his waist. "Yubashiri and Sandai Kitetsu... Looks like it's time to give you two a real test."
With that, Zoro leapt into the crowd, cutting through them with ease.
Mr. 8 turned to Miss Monday, "You handle the swordsman. I'll get Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday out of here!"
He charged toward Kai, determined to save the princess. But as he got closer, Kai continued to sip his coffee, not bothering to move. Mr. 8 smirked, thinking he'd gained the upper hand.
Got him!
But suddenly—
Bang!
Mr. 8 slammed into an invisible golden barrier, sliding to the ground with a groan.
"Tsk, tsk. You ran too fast for your own good," Kai quipped from inside the shimmering barrier.
The golden shield around him was formed from the circular scratches he had etched into the ground earlier, a move he humorously called, "Master, Stay Safe Behind the Shield!" It was his first original technique, and while it was inspired by other abilities, he'd put his own twist on it.
Mr. 8 groaned as he picked himself up. His nose, already not too big, was now swollen to several times its size, and blood trickled from his nostrils. He tore strips of cloth from his shirt, stuffing them into his nose to stop the bleeding. His eyes burned with frustration as he glared at Kai.
"What kind of magic is this?"
"The kind that works."
"We'll see about that," Mr. 8 muttered through gritted teeth, marching behind Kai in an attempt to outflank him.
"What are you doing back there?" Kai asked, feigning ignorance.
"I'm going to defeat you from behind, you coward! Hiding behind two of my comrades as shields? If I break your barrier from back here, you'll be the one who gets hit!"
"Mr. 8 Shotgun!"
Several shotguns extended from Mr. 8's hair, aiming directly at Kai's back.
Kai, still unfazed, took another sip of coffee and calmly said, "Oh, you reminded me of something."
As Mr. 8's finger tightened on the trigger, Kai quickly grabbed Vivi and used her as a shield, smiling provocatively.
Mr. 8's eyes widened in horror as he realized Vivi was now in the line of fire. At the last possible second, he twisted his body to redirect his aim, sending the shotgun blasts flying in Zoro's direction instead!
Zoro, in the middle of a fight, heard the shots and instinctively turned his head.
Σ(ŎдŎ|||)ノノ!
With no time to dodge, Zoro grabbed a nearby enemy and used them as a human shield. The bullets hit their target, and the immediate danger passed.
"Phew... close one!" Zoro sighed in relief. Then, glaring at Kai , he shouted, "What the hell, Kai?! Isn't he your opponent?"
"Who said he was my opponent?" Kai replied coolly. "Didn't I just say I was leaving them to you?"
"And besides, he wanted to hit you! I'm just sitting here, minding my own business. What could I possibly do?"
Mr. 8, still stunned, thought to himself, Why didn't I just hit him? Don't I know better by now?
As more time passed, Mr. 8 grew increasingly desperate. The longer Vivi remained in Kai's grasp, the more panicked he became. He tried to circle around, hoping to find a side where Vivi wasn't in the way, but every time he moved, Kai was quicker, always placing Vivi in front of him like a human shield.
For ten long minutes, this absurd back-and-forth continued. Mr. 8, exhausted, had yet to fire a single shot, while Zoro had already dealt with most of the enemies.
"Huff... huff..." Mr. 8 gasped, out of breath. "Can you... please... stop using her... as a shield?"
Meanwhile, Vivi was feeling dizzy from being shifted back and forth so much. She smiled dazedly, the gag in her mouth slipping off as she babbled, "Mr. 8, why are you standing upside down? Look, look! The stars are on the ground!"
m9( `д ́ )!!!!
Mr. 8 fumed. How dare these pirates make the princess look like this?!
"Alright, alright," Kai finally said with a chuckle. "I won't mess with you anymore."
He set his coffee cup down. "I'm sitting right here. If you can break my shield, I'll release them without another word."
"Really?" Mr. 8's eyes lit up with hope.
"Of course," Kai said with a light smile.
What Mr. 8 didn't realize was that Kai was simply having fun. There was no way Mr. 8 would be able to break through the shield. Even if Kai himself wanted to break it, he'd need to use over 80% of his strength.
Dream on, Kai thought to himself. If Mr. 8 had that kind of power, he wouldn't be here undercover—he'd be hunting Crocodile himself.
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Power Stones would be appreciated if you like the story