In the Grand Line, numeric superiority often fails to bridge the gap in sheer strength.
Just as it was now, for a Mirror-Mirror Fruit user like Sherlock, ordinary Marine soldiers were nothing but easy pickings as long as they couldn't break through his Mirror Reflection.
"It seems that bag of gold was indeed transferred away."
Standing inside the massive safe of the G-8 Fortress, Sherlock looked around and gently pushed up his glasses.
(I wonder how Nami will react when she finds out about this...)
Thinking of that greedy navigator, Sherlock shook his head helplessly. He then turned his gaze toward the group of Marine soldiers he had tied up securely and thrown into the safe.
The projection and mirroring abilities of the Mirror-Mirror Fruit were incredibly convenient. Otherwise, the Sorcerer wouldn't have been able to kidnap these hundreds of Marines so efficiently.
It was worth mentioning that this time, a certain glasses-wearer did not use the gentle and gentlemanly shibari method. Perhaps he felt these Marines were all rough men who didn't deserve a binding method with the lowest level of restraint.
Tick, tack, tick... The sound of the clock hands swinging was short and forceful.
"Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!" multiplied by many.
The Marine soldiers, whose mouths were sealed with duct tape, struggled violently, but to no avail. They stared at the massive spherical object behind the Sorcerer, which occupied most of the space in the safe. Their eyes were filled with the distinct terror and despair that comes when facing death.
"The current time is... exactly eight o'clock. One hour remains until nine."
"Plenty of time."
After confirming the time, Sherlock put away his pocket watch. From the Mirror Space, he pulled out a Sky Island Dial and a Den Den Mushi confiscated from the Marines. Judging by its appearance, that Dial was precisely the Tone Dial in which Usopp had inadvertently recorded the secret conversation between himself and Black Crow.
He dialed the Den Den Mushi, pressed the button on the Tone Dial, and placed it right next to the receiver. Having completed this sequence of actions, Sherlock turned back to look at the not-at-all-small "little gift" he had prepared.
"How utterly foolish..."
Gently pushing up his glasses, Sherlock walked out of the giant safe with a steady stride. Under the resentful and terrified gazes of the Marines, he slowly closed the massive safe door.
Just as a certain glasses-wearer was about to depart...
"So, is this your so-called little gift?" Accompanied by a soft, childish girl's voice, a figure with black-and-white mismatched twin-tails slowly materialized out of thin air.
"Yes. Do you have some doubts about it, Rear Admiral Alan?"
Looking at this delicate and cute, doll-like petite figure, Sherlock bowed elegantly in greeting. Judging by his calm demeanor, he didn't seem particularly surprised by the appearance of the Natural Enemy.
Alan blinked, her long eyelashes fluttering up and down, concealing the fleeting emotions in her eyes.
"Not doubts, exactly. I'm just a bit curious." The loli Rear Admiral narrowed her eyes, her soft pink lips curving into a smile, looking exactly like a cute little fox.
"If you can satisfy my curiosity, I can exchange a piece of highly confidential intelligence with you. Trust me, you will be very interested in it."
Sherlock's expression shifted slightly. Although he usually maintained an air of calm detachment, whenever things involved that person, it was difficult for the Sorcerer to remain composed.
"Who on earth are you?" Sherlock asked. He found this Marine with the appearance of a little girl increasingly mysterious.
Alan didn't reply. She crossed her arms, tilted her head, and quietly stared at the Sorcerer with her amber right eye, which wasn't covered by an eyepatch.
Sherlock hesitated for a moment, then sighed softly and said:
"Once Vice Admiral Jonathan learns that Rear Admiral Black Crow has his eyes on the Desert King, he will do two things immediately. First, he will contact you via phone, sending you, the Natural Enemy, to deal with Black Crow. Second, he will deploy more manpower to confirm Crocodile's current status."
"And given Crocodile's personality, even if he has given up on escaping, making him obediently accept being cuffed in Sea-Prism Stone won't be an easy task..."
"As long as these two locations draw away enough Marine soldiers, my companions will be relatively safe."
Utilizing anything and everything available to achieve his goals—this was the Sorcerer's favorite thing to do.
"Vice Admiral Jonathan is very fond of fishing, but he doesn't realize that sometimes, he, the fisherman, is actually the one trapped in the net."
Sherlock gently pushed up his glasses. "He also likes playing chess, which is why he always prefers to stay deep in the rear. Unfortunately, he doesn't understand one simple truth: if the King doesn't move, how can the soldiers follow?"
Purupurupurupuru...
Just then, a Den Den Mushi suddenly rang from Alan's person, snapping her out of Sherlock's explanation.
"Hehe, I didn't expect you to calculate me into your plans as well." Rear Admiral Alan hung up the Den Den Mushi with a look of displeasure, without even answering it.
If Alan hadn't known this was part of the Sorcerer's plan, she, as the Natural Enemy, would have been more than happy to teach a Logia weakling a lesson. But now, she completely lost interest.
(Is he really your biological younger brother, Lisanna? The gap in your IQs is way too obvious!)
This legal loli stared at the Sorcerer with a bizarre expression. After listening to his analysis, Rear Admiral Alan felt more than ever that the style and demeanor of these two siblings were worlds apart.
"Fine. Although being calculated makes me incredibly annoyed, I am always a woman of my word."
As Alan spoke, she walked right up to Sherlock. She sized him up with her unique gaze—one where she clearly had to look up, yet somehow gave off the impression that she was looking down on him.
Sherlock was tall and slender, standing a good head taller than even Nico Robin. One could well imagine the height of a certain legal loli.
Standing together, the height difference between the two was truly striking.
"Your sister, Lisanna of the Sarsalian lineage, she..."
Taking a deep breath, a flash of solemnity crossed Alan's amber right eye. Her display caused Sherlock's heart to leap into his throat.
"She... she's flat-chested!" Alan said in a heavy tone, though the expression on her face was full of pure schadenfreude.
"(⊙_⊙)" Sherlock felt a sharp pang in his chest, nearly coughing up a mouthful of blood.
Meanwhile, in the New World, on Paradise Island.
"Achoo—!"
(Strange, have I caught a cold? Or is some bastard talking bad about me behind my back?)
Her elegant brows furrowed slightly as a flash of suspicion darted through her eerie, crimson eyes.
"Um... did something happen?" a pink-haired woman with a curvaceous figure and curly eyebrows asked cautiously.
Although this was just an ordinary tea party, she was still extremely wary of the terrifyingly powerful woman sitting across the table.
"It's nothing. Let's continue our topic from earlier, Reiju." Tucking a strand of iconic silver hair behind her ear, she took a gentle sip of hot cocoa from her teacup.
"You mentioned earlier that you have three younger brothers?"
"Yes, they are all my father's right-hand men." Reiju nodded with a smile, though she silently added in her mind:
(Actually, there are supposed to be four of them...)
"Is that so? What a coincidence. Did you know? I also have a younger brother." Mentioning her younger brother, a touch of warmth softened the breathtakingly beautiful face of the silver-haired woman.
"A very uncute younger brother..."
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