Soon, the two new recruits, filled with excitement, signed the agreement and left.
The woman in the cowboy hat quietly watched their backs as they walked away, lost in thought.
Suddenly, the Den Den Mushi on the table began to buru buru ring.
She didn't respond right away and continued sitting there silently. Only when the Den Den Mushi was nearly hoarse from ringing did she gently pick up the receiver.
"…What is it, Boss?"
"Those two newbies—recruitment's done, right?"
On the other end came a deep, magnetic male voice. "Once you're done there, head straight to Rapeseed Port. Put everything else on hold."
"Something happen?"
"The girl escaped. Mr. 1 already left the capital to pursue her. You'll flank from Rapeseed Port and cut her off. The Hanafuda deal is coming up, and she's a key bargaining chip. We can't let her get out of Alabasta."
"Got it. But Boss, aren't you supposed to be near Rapeseed Port already? Why bother calling me back from so far away?"
"Because I have more important matters to deal with."
The deep voice let out a cold chuckle.
"Marine HQ just assigned me a rather tricky target. I need to cooperate with them and take care of this first. Otherwise, all the effort I've put into this long performance would've been for nothing."
Click!
The call ended.
The woman in the cowboy hat rested her cheek on her palm, elbow propped on the desk, head slightly tilted.
A tricky target?
Her boss had spent the past few years diligently playing the role of a national hero—
Constantly hunting pirates and delivering them in droves to Marine HQ, earning the title of their most trusted Shichibukai ally.
So this latest target must be another pirate.
But… ever since she joined Baroque Works, it was the first time she'd heard her proud boss describe any of Paradise's rookies as "tricky."
She raised an eyebrow.
Ara ara… Don't tell me—
The Marine's assigned target is that up-and-coming rookie making waves lately?
…
Under the lighthouse of Twin Cape.
Four to five hours passed in a flash. It was now afternoon—just enough time for the Log Pose to fully record the island's magnetic field.
Now that the Log Pose was set, it was time to depart.
The aftermath of the banquet had been completely cleaned up. As everyone came out of the cabin after a short rest and looked at the now-sparkling deck, they all wore expressions of surprise.
"Whoa! It's already spotless? So clean!"
"It looks newer than when we first set sail!"
"But of course."
Smoker tossed the broom and mop aside, chin raised proudly, exhaling a puff of smoke.
"With the help of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, this was nothing. Just a trivial task."
By using Soru for high-speed movement and combining it with his elementally transformed smoke form, he could scour every inch of the ship without missing a single corner.
Even those usually hard-to-reach nooks and crannies couldn't escape his cleaning spree.
Nami facepalmed.
Seriously now, they were all powerful Logia-type Devil Fruit users.
And this… this is what you're proud of?
"We're off! Thanks for the hospitality~!"
Crocus had already boarded his small boat, laughing heartily as he waved goodbye. Beside him, Laboon raised his head and let out a long, mournful cry.
Zeff went over and gave him a big bear hug. The two old men, who had had a minor falling-out last time, reconciled completely after the banquet.
Before turning away—
Crocus took a long, deep look at the Twin Cape lighthouse glowing golden under the sunlight.
Just when everyone thought the old man, who had spent decades guarding the lighthouse, was going to say some heartfelt parting words to his old buddies—
Crocus lamented dramatically:
"It's already the 29th today! Dammit, if I'd worked two more days, I'd have gotten this month's paycheck!"
That's what you care about?! Everyone fell over in disbelief.
…
After leaving Twin Cape, the Curtain Call sailed onward.
There are seven routes in the Grand Line. As the captain, Shano naturally chose the one that led to Whisky Peak and Little Garden.
After all, he was eager to meet those two legendary giants from a hundred years ago and—of course—cash in on that sweet loot.
[You sacrificed Crocus' single bed. Gained 1100 points.]
[You sacrificed Smoker's cigar box. Gained 900 points.]
[You sacrificed Zeff's cloak. Gained 3200 points.]
Freshly sheared loot, added to Laboon's previous 400, brought Shano's remaining points surging by 5600—
Total: 41,100 points.
Shano was very satisfied.
This was only the first stop in the Grand Line, and the gains had already far exceeded expectations.
With the ship sailing smoothly, he glanced over at Nami, who was hunched over the table drawing nautical charts, and quietly placed a cup of orange soda next to her before heading off to the training room.
Passing by the other two training rooms, he could hear thudding sounds coming from within.
Kuina was training at the open-air dojo on the second floor, so the ones inside must be Nojiko and—most likely—Smoker.
It seemed that ever since entering the Grand Line and with more crew joining up, those who considered themselves combat elites were starting to feel the pressure and had begun training competitively.
Shano chuckled.
Let them compete. The enemies they'd face from now on would only get tougher. A little competition now was a good thing.
You might not see results in a day or two, but given time, the crew would definitely come to appreciate just how powerful the buffs from the Falcon Statue truly were.
Once the positive feedback loop kicked in, and they saw more results, they'd invest even more energy into training.
With this kind of virtuous cycle, Shano was confident that it wouldn't be long before the Curtain Call Adventurer Crew's strength rose to a whole new level.
…
In the blink of an eye, five days had passed.
This island, dominated by desert-style architecture, had hundreds of houses scattered along both sides of the harbor.
It looked like a modestly sized town, but as one of the seven entry points to the Grand Line, how could it possibly be as simple as it seemed?
In truth, this was a den of bounty hunters.
Hundreds upon hundreds of hunters were entrenched here, treating rookie pirates who had just entered the Grand Line as their prey—sometimes operating solo, sometimes in teams.
In this seemingly calm harbor, an invisible web of slaughter had already been spun.
Clack.
Two unfamiliar figures stepped onto this land.
One was a man with an afro wearing a high-collared outfit, the other a girl with short golden hair holding an umbrella even at night.
Behind the windows of nearby houses, several sinister eyes immediately zeroed in on them. But when they saw a large group of bounty hunters gathering around the pair, they quickly withdrew their gazes in caution.
"So, this is Whiskey Peak?"
The afro-haired man, known as Mr. 5, strolled ahead with his hands behind his back and casually asked, "How many hunters are here in total, and how many of them are ours?"
"Senior Agent, sir."
A bowing Billion bounty hunter showed humble respect before grinning broadly.
"Although Baroque Works only started operations here a few months ago, progress has been remarkable. Out of the 1,200 bounty hunters currently stationed here, more than 500 are already with us. That's nearly half! And the number continues to grow steadily."
"Oh? Not bad at all."
Mr. 5 raised an eyebrow in approval. "I'll report your progress truthfully. If you're lucky, this contribution might be enough to promote you to Officer Agent."
"If I really get promoted, I'll owe it all to you!" the Billion Hunter exclaimed excitedly, showing proper reverence. That flattery made Mr. 5, who had just become a Senior Agent a few days ago, feel thoroughly pleased.
"Having the power of a Devil Fruit really is a blessing."
He sighed inwardly, thinking about his Bomb-Bomb Fruit and how overwhelmingly powerful it was—something normal people could never hope to match.
Otherwise, what would've earned him a direct promotion to Senior Agent upon joining?
After all, Baroque Works had a rigid, pyramid-like hierarchy.
At the top were the mysterious Boss and Vice-Boss.
In the middle were nine pairs of Senior Agents and a few Officer Agents.
The rank break began at the number 5—those ranked from Mr. 5 and up were Senior Agents, while those below were Officers.
Originally, there were supposed to be ten Senior Agents in five pairs, but Mr. 2—who was an okama (a man who cross-dresses as a woman)—worked solo and occupied two spots, bringing the number to nine.
And at the bottom were the numerous Billions and Millions—grunt-level members.
The Billion before Mr. 5 was a veteran, but he still stood several ranks below, his fate resting on Mr. 5's whim.
Ahem.
Mr. 5 raised a fist to his mouth and faked a cough to cover the red creeping up his face from all the excitement. Then, in a deeper voice, he asked:
"Speaking of which, your primary mission is to hunt pirates and gather funds for the organization. But this month's quota hasn't been delivered yet. That's why I was sent here with Miss Valentine—to investigate what's going on."
"Th-this… Head Office is already urging for it?"
The Billion Hunter panicked instantly, sweat pouring down his face as he rushed to explain:
"You can't blame us for this, sir! Please speak on our behalf!"
"The reason we haven't reached the quota is that, for some reason, the number of pirates crossing Reverse Mountain into the Grand Line has suddenly dropped significantly!"
"No matter how prepared we are, or how efficient our hunting squads become, if there aren't enough pirates showing up, there's nothing we can do but sit on our hands!"
"The number of rookie pirates has dropped all of a sudden?"
Mr. 5 frowned. He exchanged a glance with Miss Valentine before suddenly letting out a mocking snort.
"What kind of nonsense is that? You think pirates are like fish? You're saying there's a low season for catching them?"
"It might sound strange, but it's absolutely true…"
The Billion Hunter wiped the sweat from his brow and was just about to order someone to bring the month's hunting log when—
A cry of excitement rang out from the lookout:
"Hey! We've got a bite—there's a ship about to enter the port! All hands on alert! Take your positions! Get ready for the hunt!!"