Chapter 70 Baroque Commune (Birthday Bonus for Buffon)

Ten minutes later, the two ships were less than a hundred meters apart. The navy on the warship stood ready for battle, while the crew on the Juventus showed not a hint of tension, as if a great conflict wasn’t imminent at all.

Brook and Reiju sipped red tea and chatted on the aft deck, Baggio continued his workout atop the lookout, and only three giants stood behind Buffon, staring down the navy soldiers not far off.

At that moment, Hina gave a crisp order. The warship adjusted its course ever so slightly, and in moments, the two vessels ran parallel. The navy threw over mooring lines, set up a gangplank, and swarms of sailors began pouring onto the Juventus.

Yet, on the Juventus, everyone carried on as usual, as though they hadn’t even noticed the navy’s invasion.

Among the leading navy group, one shouted loudly, “These pirates must be terrified by Commander Hina’s reputation—they’ve given up resisting! Brothers, let’s go, capture them all!”

But Hina, faced with this strange scene, felt a vague sense of unease growing in her heart.

Before the soldiers could lay hands on anyone, she took the initiative, activating the power of her Cage-Cage Fruit, trapping every white-cloaked figure within her field of vision with black prison bars.

Yet the captives carried on as if nothing had happened. Those chatting over tea didn’t pause, the three giants at the bow didn’t even turn their heads.

“Stop! There’s something odd about this ship!” Hina called out sharply, halting the navy’s advance.

Some sailors sensed it too, and one, voice trembling, muttered, “Are they all ghosts, maybe?”

Hearing this, the others seemed infected by the fear—hands clutching weapons began to tremble.

But some were bolder. One raised his flintlock, aiming it at Buffon. “What’s there to be afraid of? Commander Hina has them trapped—no matter how many arms they have, they can’t escape.” He squeezed the trigger.

But the instant his finger touched the trigger, Buffon unleashed his Conqueror’s Haki, overwhelming all navy personnel except Hina, knocking them unconscious.

Saul, beneath his white cloak, reached out and tore open Hina’s black prison, and Buffon strode calmly out.

Reiju rose from the aft deck, set down her tea cup, and placed her hand on the prison’s rail.

“Yohohohoho, Miss Reiju, do you need my help?” Brook asked, one hand on his tea, the other resting on the hilt of his sheath sword.

Reiju turned and smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Brook!”

She bent the prison rail effortlessly.

Hina stared, dumbfounded, her cigarette falling to the deck.

“Is this the strength of someone with a seventy million berry bounty? Is the World Government playing games with us?”

Watching Buffon walk out unscathed, Hina felt a fear unlike any she’d ever known.

She realized she was in an isolated spot—no navy fortress nearby. Escape seemed impossible.

“I can only hope Smoker shows up, otherwise…”

But Buffon didn’t approach her. Instead, he went straight below deck.

Just as Hina moved to seek the Den Den Mushi, a white shadow flickered behind her, slender hands wrapped around her waist, and a sweet female voice whispered at her ear, “Miss Hina, don’t move. My poison is very dangerous, you know!”

Hina lost the courage even to turn her head. She was enveloped in a cloud of pink-violet poison mist.

Moments later, Buffon emerged from the hold, each hand gripping three agents. He tossed them lightly, and the six landed on Hina’s warship.

“Where do I collect the seventy million fifty thousand berry bounty?” Buffon asked concisely.

Hina’s eyes darted from the six men on the ground to the tall white shadow on the opposing ship, her mind a whirlwind.

“A pirate hunter flying a pirate flag? And aren’t these six members of Baroque Works? What does he want?”

When she didn’t answer, Buffon nodded to Reiju.

Reiju withdrew the poison mist and returned to Buffon’s side.

Feeling slightly safer, Hina spoke, “Are you the White Ghost?”

“Where’s the bounty?” Buffon ignored her question entirely.

Facing Buffon’s formidable presence and his crew’s terrifying strength, Hina was at a clear disadvantage, but still showed her navy colors.

“Pirate, I am a navy officer. There’s no way—”

She hadn’t finished when Buffon used Soru, instantly appearing behind her.

As his hand struck down, Hina felt a familiar sensation rise in her heart. “Could it be him?”

But before she could ask, Buffon knocked her out.

“What a naive woman,” Buffon thought to himself.

“Not gentle at all, are you!” Reiju laughed, removing her mask to reveal her lovely face.

“Yohohohoho, next time we meet a lady navy officer, I think Miss Reiju should handle it!” Brook commented sincerely.

Buffon took the insignia from Hina’s justice uniform and pocketed it, then jumped back onto the Juventus.

The crew tossed the unconscious navy men back onto their warship, then set sail for Alabasta.

Princess Vivi now put her social talents to full use. She judged that the cold Buffon was unlikely to be swayed, but Reiju, a fellow woman, was different.

Both were princesses, sharing habits and experiences, giving them much to discuss.

Thus, the two began chatting over tea.

In the course of gathering intelligence, Reiju asked Vivi about the specifics of Baroque Works.

Vivi held nothing back, telling Reiju all she knew.

Through Vivi, Reiju learned all about Baroque Works. Of the nine senior agents, all were paired male-female teams except for Mr. 2, the okama. Buffon had already dealt with four.

The remaining Mr. 4 was big and extremely slow to react, but possessed a gun that had eaten the Dog-Dog Fruit. His partner, Miss Merry Christmas, was a Weasel-Weasel Fruit user.

The last three—Mr. 1, Mr. 2, and Miss Doublefinger—Vivi only knew by name, never having met them.

As for Mr. 0, Vivi was sure he was Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords. His partner, Miss Allsunday, Nico Robin, seemed to be leaning toward Buffon's crew.

Vivi valued this greatly; if Robin could help from the shadows, the chances of saving Alabasta would be much greater.

Reiju quietly committed all this information to memory, hoping it would aid Buffon when the time came.

…

Meanwhile, at the shore of Drum Island, a single-masted ship flying the Straw Hat pirate flag was slowly leaving port.

Chopper leaned on the railing of the Going Merry, gazing at the pink “cherry blossom rain” filling the sky. He glanced at the altered eternal pose and happily murmured, “Doctor Buffon, just as the cherry blossoms filled the air, I found my companions—was this all your doing?”

Nami, the navigator, wore a devilish expression as she yelled at Sanji, “Sanji! Didn’t you say you saw Captain Buffon take the pointer from those two monsters? How did we end up in Drum Kingdom?”

Sanji, sporting two lumps on his head and a nosebleed, protested, “Miss Nami, I really saw it!”

Luffy, playing his chopstick-in-the-nose game, stopped and grinned at Nami, “Captain Buffon really is a good guy. Without his eternal pose, we wouldn’t have found such a great ship doctor like Chopper. Besides, didn’t we find a pointer to Alabasta in the castle?”

Chopper, delighted by Luffy’s praise, leapt from the rail and danced on the deck. “Are you complimenting me? I won’t get arrogant!”

Nami, seeing adorable Chopper, felt her anger melt away.

But she still grumbled, “And Vivi too, just left quietly aboard Captain Buffon’s ship—what about our promise as companions?”

Luffy shrugged. “Going with Captain Buffon gets to Alabasta faster, right? So we need to hurry and catch up to help them!”

Just as Luffy finished, Usopp, fishing nearby, called, “Luffy, look! I caught an okama!”

Everyone crowded around. They saw a man dressed in a swan suit, clown makeup on his face, gripping the fishhook tightly.

He turned, weakly facing the crew, and managed to say, “My dear…”