Part 11 - Sanji 16/21

"The first item is crossed out," Nami announced in a scared voice, her face pale as she looked up from the notebook.

Zoro, Nami, Johnny, and Yosaku all stared at Usopp. However, the long-nosed guy seemed perfectly normal to them. Sure, Sanji's blow had frightened him quite a bit, but he didn't look like someone who had undergone something so horrific that it would awaken his Haki. Though, it must be admitted, Usopp didn't quite fit the profile of someone who had heard Luffy's story about the "little engine that could." In fact, that was one of the first things Johnny, Zoro, and Yosaku had noticed upon waking and seeing Usopp — the first thing being that the long-nosed guy was still alive.

"First item? What's this about the first item?" Sanji asked, naturally intrigued, as he had not been present when the "horrible truth" about Luffy's future plans was revealed.

"Luffy started a journal where he writes down all his ideas," Zoro explained to the blond as he sat back down at the table and picked up his half-empty bottle of wine.

Sanji's cigarette fell from his open mouth in horror as he stared at the notebook in Nami's hands, much like the other crew members had once done. Only Usopp remained blissfully unaware of the seriousness of the situation.

"Don't compare my notebook to a diary," Luffy said with annoyance to his first mate. "Diaries are for girls; real men use notebooks!"

"I thought real men didn't use anything like that at all," Yosaku commented… and only the lack of guns on Luffy's person saved him from another brain-battering… literally. "I'm silent, I'm silent!" the guy quickly raised his hands when he noticed Luffy's searching gaze, clearly looking for something to throw at him.

"So?" Sanji asked with trembling hands as he inserted a new cigarette into his mouth and struggled to light it, after several deep drags. "What's the next item in this devilish book?" he looked at Nami.

"Items two and three are missing," the girl replied, looking back down at the book. "The fourth item is to destroy some secret organization… it also says 'Baroque Works' will do… what's this 'Baroque Works'?"

"Did I really write "Baroque Works"?" Luffy looked puzzled, peering over Nami's shoulder at his own notebook. "Damn, I did! How did I make such a mistake? And nobody corrected me, shame on you!" This was directed at Zoro, Johnny, and Yosaku. "Nami, give me that book, I need to make some corrections."

"So what's this 'Baroque Works'?" Nami asked the guys as she handed the book back to Luffy, who immediately started scribbling in it with a pencil stub kept in the ribbon of his hat for such occasions. "I don't remember any 'Baroque Works.'"

"To start with, it's not 'Baroque Works,' but 'Broke Shwarks,'" Zoro said with a slight smirk, a smirk that was eagerly picked up not only by Johnny and Yosaku but even Sanji.

"I was with them that time," Sanji explained, catching Nami's questioning look.

"That day, we were just about to rob Buggy again," Johnny began to explain, "when this Mr. Number Seven showed up…"

"Unidentified corpse number seven" Yosaku added with a smile.

"…and started nagging about their organization, 'Baroque Works,'" Johnny continued nonchalantly. 

"Or rather, as Luffy put it, 'Broke Shwarks' "

"He went on about how incredibly powerful they were, how they were ridiculously numerous, and how all their bases were only on the Grand Line because such fantastically cool guys could only live in the most dangerous sea of all. "

"In short, the guy was just singing their praises. "

"Actually, he didn't say anything particularly interesting or offensive that would be worth killing him over. "

"At least, not initially, but then he had to die a bit. "

"I don't quite understand. What are they doing?" Nami asked, puzzled. "And why did they specifically need you guys?"

"That's exactly what I was about to say," Johnny nodded. " 'Broke Shwarks' is an organization packed with bounty hunters."

"Ah, now I see why they needed you," Nami nodded understandingly.

"They control several entire cities where they lure in pirates, then either capture or kill them," Yosaku continued as Johnny took a swig of beer. "They, of course, sell or keep all the remaining pirate loot."

"So, just like we used to until recently," Johnny interjected, putting his empty mug on the table.

"Our actions caught the attention of their Boss, the so-called Mister Zero. "

"Future unidentified corpse number zero."

"So, he sent us the seventh corpse to recruit us," at this point, Nami again nodded knowingly, finally understanding why the guys referred to numbers as corpses. Trying to subdue Luffy? 'Works' or 'Shwarks' clearly had no place in this world. Meanwhile, Yosaku continued: "Moreover, as recognition of our achievements in the bounty hunting field, if we agreed to join their organization, we were promised positions among the Millions, not the Billions."

"Millions? Billions?" Nami raised an eyebrow involuntarily.

"Yeah," Johnny smirked. "But as it turned out during the intense interrogation, there were only a few hundred Millions, and the number of Billions barely exceeded fifteen hundred. Consequently, any Million can give orders to any Billion."

"In other words, we were promised that if we joined their club, we'd immediately have over fifteen hundred people under our command. Additionally, we were promised that if we worked hard, we might eventually become numbered agents."

"There are only twelve of them, plus each numbered agent has a pair named after days of the week and various holidays."

"There's also a thirteenth pair, the cleaners, who eliminate agents who fail their missions or traitors."

"If a numbered agent dies, a replacement is found among the Millions."

"So, despite the fact that all Millions are supposed to obey the numbered agents, any of them would rather personally crack the skull of a numbered agent than follow their orders."

"And with the promise that we might become numbered agents in the future, they tried to lure us into their organization."

"After all, it's such an honor to be a numbered agent!"

"At least, it seemed so when he was talking about it himself. But when Luffy started scorching his heels, he immediately sang a different tune."

"As soon as things started heating up, he told us that half of the numbered agents don't die at the hands of pirates but from backstabs by their own people from the Millions."

"Important clarification," Yosaku raised a finger, "the dying agents belong to the so-called second half."

"Yeah, the second half," Johnny nodded in agreement, "meaning agents from number six to twelve," he clarified in response to Nami's silent question.

"I understand, if there's a second half, there must be a first one?" Nami raised an eyebrow questioningly. "And what's the difference between them?"

"I think you understand it yourself," Yosaku said, having lit his cigar from Johnny's finger and leaning back in his chair with his feet on the table. "It's all about strength," he took a deep drag and released a stream of smoke.

"Apparently, all numbered agents and their pairs, from Mister Zero to Mister Five, are the top guys in 'Broke Shwarks' " Johnny explained again.

"In other words, everyone in their organization is incredibly cool and flashy, but the first five are especially cool and flashy even among such fantastically incredible guys," Yosaku said sarcastically, puffing on his cigar, making it clear how he really felt about these 'cool and flashy' guys.

"So?" Nami asked after a brief pause, ensuring that Johnny and Yosaku had finished their verbal flood. "Are we going to track down this group to destroy it?" she directed the question specifically at Luffy.

"Why not?" the boy answered nonchalantly. "I decided to become a pirate simply because it allows me to make decisions freely… within reasonable limits, of course."

"What limits?" Johnny asked involuntarily, and the others' faces clearly showed they were also eager to hear the answer.

From the family's perspective, Luffy was quite the wild card. So it was strange for them to hear about any limits.

***********************************************************************

Enjoy the chapter, and please support with power stones.

Also, if possible, please write a review.

/ Just a reminder. A lot of power stones = a lot of new chapters /