"Uh…" Kaya and the others were stunned after hearing what Sora said.
It wasn't until Miss Golden Week—Marianne—nodded her head that they finally believed the tiny girl in front of them was actually an adult.
"Master, the mission is complete."
Anna and Shalria, their maid uniforms stained with blood, returned to Sora's side and reported respectfully.
Sora had already explained the weaknesses of the mole woman and the baseball guy, so it had been easy for the girls to handle them—and their dog.
Hearing this, Miss Golden Week turned pale again.
"Well done." Sora pinched Anna and Shalria's cheeks with a grin.
The two girls beamed at the praise.
"Let's go. One more Baroque member left to find."
With that, he tossed Miss Golden Week over to Anna, then led the group in the direction Marianne had pointed out earlier—to track down the Thorn Woman, Zala.
They arrived at a quiet little town, and in the bustling market, Sora soon spotted a woman with blue hair, wearing a colorful headscarf and black-rimmed glasses—Zala, better known as Miss Doublefinger.
He had to admit—
With the headscarf and glasses, Zala had a strong artistic aura, looking like a famous painter or sculptor. No one would suspect that this cultured-looking woman had a 35 million Beli bounty on her head.
Now that they'd found their target, it was time to take her down.
"I'll handle this," Reiju offered confidently, tossing the unconscious Mikita into Shalria's arms before walking toward Zala.
Zala had already seen Anna dragging Miss Golden Week and the unconscious Mikita. As soon as she saw Reiju approaching, she activated her Spike Mode and lunged forward.
But Reiju didn't flinch. She calmly raised her palm and blocked the attack with ease.
Zala's piercing spikes were sharp, but against Reiju's exoskeleton-enhanced combat suit, they were laughably ineffective. They couldn't even scratch the surface.
Zala was stunned that her signature move had been brushed aside so effortlessly.
From the sidelines, Miss Golden Week stared, mouth agape. It was the first time she had seen Zala's spike attack stopped with just a bare hand.
Reiju grabbed Zala's spike arm and effortlessly lifted her into the air—then slammed her into the ground. The impact made Zala cough up blood, and her spike arm snapped in the process.
Thanks to the genetic modifications in her lineage factor, Reiju had poisonous mist abilities, superhuman resilience, an armored exoskeleton, and monstrous strength.
After long-term training and a basic grasp of Armament Haki, plus her enhanced suit, she now wielded strength equivalent to a 7-star combatant—on par with a Vice Admiral of the Navy.
Truth be told, Reiju was currently even stronger than Sora.
She stood over the downed Zala, grabbed her wrists, and cuffed her with Seastone restraints before dragging her over to kneel in front of Sora.
"You're pretty good-looking," Sora said, lifting her chin with a finger and giving a sly grin.
Zala gritted her teeth and turned her head away, unwilling to provoke him further. She knew she was in no position to resist.
"Alright, let's go," Sora said. "Time to head to Alabasta's capital."
Now that all the Baroque targets had been captured, he didn't intend to waste any more time. Princess Vivi was still waiting for him in the royal palace.
They made their way to the nearest coast, and Sora flew out over the sea. With a wave of his hand, he pulled the Divine Slave from the void.
Miss Golden Week and Zala both stared in disbelief.
"This ability… it's way too convenient."
Anna glanced at them proudly. "Oh, that's nothing. It gets better."
As she spoke, the ship extended ropes from its deck, which latched onto the group and pulled everyone aboard.
"Lock them all up in the Seastone prison," Sora ordered. "Makino, I'm starving."
The sails unfurled, and the ship began moving as Sora picked up Makino in his arms and headed toward the kitchen.
He was genuinely hungry—so for now, breaking Mikita and the others could wait.
He had all the time in the world for that.
"Uhh…" Makino blushed when Sora suddenly swept her into his arms, thinking he meant something else by "hungry." But once she realized they were headed toward the galley, she muttered under her breath, "Oh… he really was just hungry."
Nojiko and the others quickly followed after them.
"I want some too!"
Anna, Shalria, and Reiju meanwhile dragged Mikita, Marianne, and Zala to the prison quarters of the Divine Slave.
The ship had been a vessel of cruelty in its previous life—outfitted by Shalria's Celestial Dragon family to entertain themselves by torturing slaves.
Now, it served a different purpose—an occasional place where Sora, Anna, and Shalria would "deepen their bonds."
Inside the dining room—
"Big Sis Makino, can you help me come up with a plan?"
As soon as Sora left after eating, Nojiko sat next to Makino and whispered her request.
Today, Sora had acquired three new Devil Fruits. Nojiko's mind had begun spinning—if she could eat one of them, she could finally show her true potential.
"I… I don't really know," Makino said, blushing. "You should probably ask Anna or Shalria."
Anna, hearing her name, put down her spoon and smirked. She tugged at the special necklace around her neck, then yanked on the one Shalria wore beside her.
The gesture made Nojiko, Kaya, and the others flush with embarrassment.
Unlike Anna, they weren't so shameless. She would do anything to win Sora's favor, no matter how degrading.
Shalria slapped Anna's hand away and continued eating.
She still wore the collar she had once intended to place on Sora when she thought she could make him her pet.
Now, even if Sora no longer made her wear it, she would continue to—because to her, that collar represented a special place in Sora's heart. Even if that place was humiliating, she didn't care.
As Reiju ate, she glanced at Nojiko.
"That little girl, Golden Week—her ability might be useful to you."
Reiju had heard Sora mention Marianne's paint-based powers before.
Nojiko's eyes lit up—then dimmed just as quickly. "But Sora locked her up. I wouldn't dare let her out without permission."
Reiju shook her head. "If he didn't kill her, that means he intends to use her eventually. Convince her to switch sides. Have her help you."
"Reiju's right," Kaya added with a nod.
To Kaya, Sora had always been ruthless to pirates, regardless of gender. If he spared them, it was definitely because he intended to turn them into allies—maybe even sisters-in-arms.
Then a troubling thought crossed her mind:
Is Big Brother Sora trying to become some kind of emperor, like the ones in Flower Country legends?
"I'm on it!" Nojiko said and darted off toward the ship's prison.
Before long, she came back beaming.
"She says she has a way."