The day after the party revelry, sunlight streamed across the deck of the Going Merry.
Tomioka walked to the side of the kitchen and saw Sanji clearing up the mess from last night while checking the kitchen's provisions.
Suddenly, he stared at the empty refrigerator, and the cigarette he was holding trembled.
"Hey!"
Sanji's voice suddenly rose, and he kicked an empty plate, making a clatter. "I specifically left ten servings of food... Which bastard stole it?!"
He then immediately ran out and saw Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper sitting in a row, uniformly patting their round bellies, their faces displaying expressions of 'it wasn't me' but unable to hide their guilt.
"The meat... it flew away by itself..." Luffy's gaze drifted towards the sky, but there were still a few bits of meat residue on his mouth.
"Chopper, did you see any meat?" Usopp even nudged the little reindeer with his elbow.
"Huh? I... I don't know..." Chopper was still a bit hazy from a hangover, his small face flushed, and he waved his hands in a panic.
"Stop playing dumb!" A vein pulsed on Sanji's forehead. "You three are responsible for tonight's dinner ingredients! Go fishing for me! If you don't catch three decent big fish, you'll be gnawing on fish bones tonight!"
Amidst a chorus of wails, the fishing team was forcibly escorted to the ship's rail by Sanji.
After sailing for a short while, the scene ahead became strange.
Dense, warm white steam, like a giant curtain, enveloped the entire sea area, greatly reducing visibility, and the air became humid and stuffy.
"Wow! Is it fog? Such thick fog!" Chopper looked at the sight; it was his first time leaving an island and seeing such a magical expanse of white.
Nami walked over, touched the already damp railing, and explained:
"It's not ordinary fog, Chopper, it's a hotspot phenomenon. It's because there's an active volcano on the seabed, heating the seawater and producing so much water vapor."
"After thousands, tens of thousands of years... a new island might be born here."
"A new island?!" Luffy's attention was instantly captured, his eyes sparkling. "A new island must have new adventures! And different kinds of meat!!!"
"Idiot, is this the time to be thinking about that! That's tens of thousands of years from now!" Usopp grumbled, but still resignedly cast his fishing line into the slightly hot seawater.
Just in this chaos, Usopp's fishing rod suddenly dipped!
"It's here! Such great strength! It must be a monster-level catch! Definitely a big fish!!" Usopp braced his feet against the ship's rail, pulling back desperately, and even called Luffy to help him.
However, the 'big fish' that was dragged out of the water left everyone stunned.
It was a man wearing a white swan coat, with exaggerated makeup and a peculiar headdress.
"How... is it a transvestite?"
He lay soaking wet on the deck, coughed a few times, then suddenly sprang up, striking a perfect ballet pose, his voice booming:
"How embarrassing!! You pirates, strangers to this humble one, have saved this humble one!!"
(This isn't a Chinese sentence; he really speaks like this.)
"This kindness!! This humble one will truly never forget it!!"
His gaze swept over the astonished crowd, finally landing on Luffy, a highly theatrical smile on his face: "To thank you all for saving my life, allow me to perform something to entertain you! This is my unique skill!"
No sooner had he spoken than he suddenly struck without warning, slapping Luffy, who had leaned in to watch, flying!
"Ouch! What are you doing?!" Luffy rubbed his face as he got up, bewildered.
Immediately, everyone became wary of this transvestite, but he just said with a grin:
"Don't rush!"
Mr.2 touched his left hand, and in the blink of an eye, another Luffy appeared on the deck, even his voice identical: "I told you, don't rush!"
"This humble one is a user of the Clone-Clone Fruit, able to imitate perfectly~"
"The voice... the physique... all identical..." Nami stared blankly at the transvestite before her, marveling at how exaggerated this ability was.
Then, Mr.2 successively touched Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper. Only Vivi and Tomioka, who were watching from the second deck, were not touched. Every person he touched was imitated vividly.
"Ah ah ah ah ah ah! So amazing!!"
Luffy instantly forgot that he had just been slapped flying, and cheered loudly with Usopp and Chopper, even pulling the transvestite into the cheering.
After performing for these few, Mr.2's enthusiasm seemed to grow even more.
"Let me show you a few more faces this humble one has imitated in the past!"
His face began to change rapidly, displaying several unfamiliar faces in succession, finally settling on the stern, bearded face of a middle-aged man.
"Hahahaha! Interesting, isn't it!"
He returned to his original form, laughing triumphantly, immediately followed by a large swan-shaped ship slowly approaching.
"My companions have arrived..."
A hint of sadness appeared on Mr.2's face. He walked to the ship's rail, then suddenly turned around, tears even welling in his eyes, "Wha-ho! There's no feast that doesn't end! Kind pirates, we part ways today! This joy of meeting, this humble one will never forget!"
"We'll never forget you!!!" Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper responded to him with tears.
He waved goodbye tearfully and jumped back onto his ship, and the two ships slowly separated in the thick fog.
"Alright, let's set sail!!"
"Yes!!! Bon Clay-sama!!"
It wasn't until the swan ship completely disappeared that Vivi suddenly snapped out of her shock. Her face instantly turned ashen, and her fingers trembled as she pointed in the direction Mr.2 had vanished, her voice carrying a slight tremor:
"That... that person... is a high-ranking agent of Baroque Works... Mr.2!!"
"The last face he turned into... was my father's face!!"
The air on the deck instantly froze. Luffy and the others' smiles stiffened on their faces, and they immediately asked: "Vivi! Didn't you know what he looked like?!"
"Hmm... I've never seen Mr.2..."
"But I've heard rumors about him, that he's a tall transvestite, speaks effeminately, likes to wear a swan coat, and has 'Okama Way' written on his back..."
Zoro immediately made a speechless expression. He covered his face and said, "You should have recognized him earlier."
Tomioka had come down from the second deck at some point. His gaze swept over Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper, whose faces had been touched by Mr.2, finally settling on Vivi's pale face.
He spoke calmly:
"If he later learns our identities, uses your faces, and attacks us when we're off guard..." Tomioka paused, seemingly imagining the scene.
He didn't continue, but he had already painted a sufficiently terrifying picture. Trust was the Straw Hat's strongest bond, and the opponent could precisely target that.
"Oh... that was close!" Usopp belatedly hugged his head. "But it's good! Tomioka and Sanji weren't touched! And Vivi wasn't either!"
Nami's expression also became serious. She continued Tomioka's words, her voice filled with worry: "What's even more troublesome is the situation in Alabasta... That guy is from Baroque Works."
"If he can turn into the king, I can't even imagine what kind of things would happen."
Just then, Zoro, who had been holding his sword, suddenly let out a slightly sinister laugh.
"Heh."
Everyone's gaze focused on him.
"We don't need to be that afraid of him, given this situation." Zoro raised his head, his eyes sharp, a smirk playing on his lips. "Shouldn't we be relieved?"
"Relieved?" Usopp listened, somewhat confused.
Zoro affirmed, "We should be relieved that we saw him just now, so we can have a countermeasure. It's much better than him stabbing us in Alabasta at a critical moment!"