"Igaram, we can't wait any longer!" Bracing both hands on the table, a young woman leaned over the man seated behind it. "You know yourself that woman's behavior was far too strange. It's entirely possible that the Boss already knows our true identities. Every minute we delay could cost us not only our lives, but worse—the lives of the people of Alabasta are at stake. We have to act now, before it's too late!"
Despite the girl's obvious youth, it was impossible at first glance to say exactly how old she really was. One moment she could be taken for a thirty-year-old lady; the next, she seemed no older than twenty; and then one might suddenly get the impression that she had not yet turned eighteen. Her long, wavy blue hair was tied in a ponytail high on her head, leaving anyone free to admire her beautiful face and large, expressive brown eyes. She was tall, with slender arms, long legs, a graceful waist, and a large chest. The girl was unquestionably beautiful, but unlike most women, she could not be said to emphasize that beauty in any way. Her ponytail made her forehead seem too large. A light-green jacket with a fur collar concealed her arms and neck. A sort of fitted dress with shoulder straps, ending at waist level and patterned with wavy dark-blue and pale-blue lines, noticeably disguised the size of her breasts, making them appear much smaller than they truly were. Perhaps only the tiny white shorts exposing her long legs, which ended in white high-heeled boots, had no effect on the girl's natural beauty: they neither concealed it nor emphasized it.
"Vivi-sama, I understand your concerns, but we can't simply disappear!" the man objected. "That would only draw even more attention to us."
The man seated behind the table, Igaram, possessed an appearance just as remarkable as the girl's, though in his case it was not natural beauty that made him notable, but his hair. A blond with long hair, he curled it in such a fashion that it looked less like his own hair and more like one of the wigs nobles had preferred several centuries ago. In addition, he was dressed like a gentleman: coat, waistcoat, trousers, stockings, shoes, tie, and gold cufflinks. All of this strengthened the impression that he was a nobleman—or, considering his excessively respectful manner of addressing the girl, perhaps a majordomo serving at some aristocratic court. Only his build spoiled the effect: long, thin legs supporting a disproportionately massive torso.
"Then what do you suggest? That we simply wait? What if we've already been exposed? The mission involving the whale was strange enough. Why was I specifically sent on it? Assignments given to a named individual are extremely rare even for officers!"
"Perhaps because it was difficult? After all, even you and Mr. Nine were unable to complete it."
"If they knew the mission was difficult, why assign it at all? We didn't need to hunt the whale. We could have obtained provisions elsewhere. As far as I'm concerned, that assignment was given to me only to buy time... or to get rid of me. I don't know who that old man truly is, but he is certainly no ordinary lighthouse keeper. If he had not ultimately chosen to spare Mr. Nine and me, I wouldn't be speaking with you now!"
Had the Straw Hats and Heart Pirates been present for that conversation, many of them would have been extremely surprised, because the discussion was clearly about Laboon and Crocus, the harmless old grandfatherly fellow. Vivi, in turn, did not know that she and Mr. Nine had been fantastically lucky to arrive with their mission exactly one day later. Had they reached Twin Cape a day earlier, they would have fallen directly into the grasping hands of the Straw Hats and the Heart Pirates—especially the Straw Hats, of course. Yet as the saying went, one could not escape fate. Now the Straw Hats and Heart Pirates themselves were about to fall into their hands. Very fragile, slender hands, incapable of supporting such an enormous 'weight.'
"Vivi-sama, are you proposing that we simply run away?"
"Yes! Immediately. We have already completed our most important task. Now we must ensure that the information reaches my father, or everything will have been for nothing!"
"That is exactly why I'm afraid to make a hasty decision," Igaram said with a heavy sigh. "If the Boss still knows nothing about us, our sudden disappearance might cause him to discover the truth, which would greatly complicate our mission."
"But if he already knows, then every minute we delay only plays into his hands!" Vivi objected heatedly.
No one knew what conclusion the two might ultimately have reached had the frightened lookout not practically burst into the room with his report.
"The Pirate Slayers and the Heart Pirates?" Igaram's already aching head began to hurt even more. "Are you certain?"
"Without a doubt!"
"That's all we needed..."
Igaram would have preferred not to become involved with the Pirate Slayers even before, and after the sensational article two weeks earlier, he wanted absolutely nothing to do with them. Personal experience told him that people like that had to be avoided at all costs. Even before that incident, the chief Pirate Slayer had already proved that he was someone to be taken seriously, which meant that the ambitions he had so brazenly proclaimed to the whole world were hardly empty boasting.
"Mr. Eight, what should we do?" the man who had brought the report asked nervously when Igaram's contemplation stretched on too long.
"Are the ships traveling side by side?" Igaram asked unexpectedly.
"Uh... no, sir."
"One behind the other?"
"Yes, sir."
"Close together?"
"Very."
"I don't understand."
"They were still too far away when I spotted them for me to say with certainty, but I think they're fastened together... and the second vessel isn't a ship at all. It appears to be a submarine."
"I see. And the Pirate Slayers' ship is towing the submarine?"
"Yes, sir."
"...We'll arrange the usual reception and decide what to do based on the circumstances," Igaram ordered after a short pause, leaving the man thoroughly confused.
The 'usual reception' meant the previously mentioned town-wide celebration.
"Igaram, I have a bad feeling about this," the worried girl said immediately after the bewildered observer left the office. "The Pirate Slayers and the Heart Pirates are not ordinary crews. Something could easily go wrong... No. Something will definitely go wrong."
"Calm yourself, Vivi-sama. Things may not be as bad as you imagine."
"?"
"The arrangement of their vessels... It is entirely possible that the Heart Pirates no longer exist."
"You mean the Pirate Slayers may already have slaughtered the Heart Pirates and seized their submarine?"
Such was the power of reputation. Luffy would have been delighted to hear that conversation.
"Is that not logical?"
"It is, but they are pirates themselves now. What if you're wrong?"
"I never said I was unquestionably right."
"And what if you are completely wrong? I repeat, Igaram, I have a very bad feeling about this."
"What do you propose?"
"Let's run away. Right now!" The girl's expression became almost pleading.
"Vivi-sama, you yourself must understand that this is simply impossible." Igaram shook his head. "We would immediately have to deal with every Baroque Works agent here."
"..."
"Vivi-sama, I am not saying you are wrong to decide that we should escape, but you must understand how thin the ice beneath us is... Tonight. I promise, we will escape tonight."
An inner struggle appeared on the girl's face, but in the end she released a heavy sigh and gave a slight nod of agreement.
"Now we must prepare to receive our special guests."
"...I still have a very, very bad feeling."
The beauty of that conversation was that, in the future, neither Igaram nor Vivi would ever be able to say with certainty which of them had ultimately been right. As events would soon show, all of Vivi's fears were more than justified. If anything, the girl did not yet suspect how bad their situation truly was. Yet had Igaram not insisted on his position, who knew what path history might have taken? The point was that they would soon become far more closely acquainted with the Pirate Slayers than they could ever have imagined. And as had already been stated more than once, such contact had never left anyone unchanged. No, seriously. Anyone who spent enough time interacting closely with the Pirate Slayers could thereafter safely divide their life into two periods:" 'before meeting them' and 'after.'
"Call me crazy, but I think they're arranging a welcoming ceremony for us," Usopp declared from his seat on the Going Merry's figurehead as he peered at the gradually approaching town.
The town of Whisky Peak was divided into two halves by a broad channel running all the way through Cactus Island, and the Going Merry was now heading directly into it. Unlike the openly frightened bounty hunters—once again, such was the power of a fitting reputation—the Heart Pirates, as already mentioned, were all eagerly anticipating the moment they could finally step onto long-awaited land. The Straw Hats, meanwhile, collectively surrendered themselves to their eternal thoughts of "what should we eat?" and "what should we get up to?" and, in certain cases, "what should we get up to that will make everyone sick?" and "what should we drink?"
"A welcoming ceremony? Who arranges a welcome for pirates?" Despite the absurdity of Usopp's claim, Nami was the only Straw Hat interested in his words. "Are you serious?"
"At least, that's what it looks like."
"Why would the townspeople arrange a welcome for us?" the girl asked suspiciously, standing near Usopp and trying to make out whatever he had seen. Unsuccessfully, it should be noted. Usopp was a sniper for good reason.
"Maybe they like pirates here?"
"I'd sooner believe pigs can fly."
"You mean there aren't any that can?"
The brainwashing was proceeding in the proper direction. Even Usopp had begun losing sight of the boundaries of ordinary 'normality.'
"You're right about that, but I still seriously doubt they're arranging this out of any great love for pirates. If they really are preparing a welcome, it certainly isn't because they adore pirates."
"A trap?"
"A trap."
As the saying went, observe the difference. Not every pirate caught off guard in a trap-town was stupid, careless, or inexperienced. Mentality also played an important role. If the existence of a trap-town seemed impossible to someone, then seeing the truth became extraordinarily difficult. As history had repeatedly demonstrated, when a person believed something impossible, he sometimes remained unable to see the truth even when his nose was rubbed in it. It was like the argument over whether the world was round or flat. Many people were still convinced it rested on three elephants and a turtle, and no argument of reason could prove otherwise. The same was true of trap-towns. To some, the very idea was too incredible, utterly unthinkable, whereas to Nami and Usopp it belonged among the most self-evident possibilities imaginable.
"It seems fate is on our side!"
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