In another alley leading towards the South Gate of Alabasta, Smoker, Vivi, and Tashigi were moving quickly.
Looking around at the unusually empty and silent surroundings, Smoker, cigar in mouth, said, "We haven't seen a single person along the way."
Vivi's face was filled with worry, her voice somewhat low: "Perhaps… everyone has fled. The Rebel Army is about to storm Alabasta, so no one dares to stay on the streets…"
No sooner had she finished speaking than a tall, graceful figure elegantly turned the corner ahead, blocking their path.
"What? Are we not people?"
Ms. Doublefinger, her objective was to capture Vivi and completely eliminate this princess who might stop the war.
Two other figures also appeared behind her: one was a corpulent man with short blonde hair, wearing green clothes, and a somewhat dull expression.
The other was a somewhat short old woman carrying a large basket.
"We finally caught you."
The short old woman—Ms. Christmas—scanned Smoker and Tashigi with her gaze, "But why does this guy have Marines with him? How troublesome."
"I'll go deal with the bespectacled Marine first; you two handle the man. I'll come help you after I'm done. Let's finish this quickly." Looking at the two Marines beside Vivi, Ms. Doublefinger decided to take them on separately.
The corpulent Mr.4, upon hearing this, pointed at Tashigi, then at the sturdy-looking Smoker, somewhat displeased: "Wouldn't that put us at a disadvantage? The opponent you picked is clearly much weaker."
"Well, Mr.1 ran off somewhere, so I can't help it if we're short a person."
Looking at this trio, Vivi immediately recognized them and urgently said to Smoker and Tashigi: "The taller one is Ms. Doublefinger! And there's Mr.4 and Ms. Christmas! They are high-ranking officers of Baroque Works!"
Smoker exhaled a thick puff of smoke, looking at Crocodile's subordinates, "So these are the guys causing trouble behind the scenes…"
Tashigi had already drawn her shigure, guarding Vivi, standing ready for battle.
"In that case, we'll have to split up first…" However, Mr.4 ultimately accepted Ms. Doublefinger's arrangement. He slowly gave an order to the oddly shaped dachshund at his feet, which resembled a gun barrel.
Then, the dachshund actually spat out a baseball-shaped cannonball. Mr.4 took out his giant baseball bat and swung his arm forcefully!
"Four Hundred Batting Strikes!"
The cannonball whistled through the air at an astonishing speed, flying directly towards the three of them!
"Watch out!!" Seeing the baseball, Tashigi grabbed Vivi and dodged to the side and back.
Smoker also immediately elementalized and dispersed. The cannonball grazed his smoke-transformed body, exploding violently on the wall behind him, sending debris flying.
Just as they dodged the explosion and hadn't yet processed how a dachshund could spit out bombs, Ms. Christmas let out a shrill laugh, her hands transforming into giant mole claws.
"Mole Mound Highway!" She instantly turned into a mole-person and burrowed into the ground, leaving a hole.
The next moment, sharp claws burst from the earth, grabbing Tashigi and Vivi's ankles!
A tremendous force pulled them. Before they could break free, they were forcibly dragged into another adjacent alley.
Ms. Christmas poked her head out of the hole and shouted to Ms. Doublefinger: "They're yours! Finish them quickly and come help!"
With that, she quickly burrowed back underground and disappeared.
Ms. Doublefinger strolled into the fork in the path with a smile, looking at Tashigi and Vivi, who had just regained their footing. She elegantly raised her hands, her fingers becoming sharp and elongated, and said with a smile:
"Well then, two little girls, let's have a fight, shall we? Don't make it too boring for me."
Tashigi remembered that Smoker's injuries hadn't fully recovered and shouted towards the other side: "Captain Smoker!!"
And from the main alley came Smoker's slightly hoarse reply, accompanied by Mr.4's heavy footsteps and the low growl of the dachshund: "Just take care of yours!"
"All that training you did… wasn't it for this very moment?"
Ms. Doublefinger swayed slightly. She looked at Tashigi adjusting her glasses, her tone tinged with disdain: "Still worrying about others? You really underestimate me, little girl."
Tashigi gripped shigure tightly, its tip steadily pointing at the ground, her gaze fixed on Ms. Doublefinger ahead.
She didn't look back, but said firmly to Vivi beside her: "Princess Vivi, not a second can be wasted now. Please go where you need to go, and stop this war!"
Then she slightly turned her head, her eyes behind her glasses filled with determination, "Leave this place to me."
Vivi looked at her figure, a hint of hesitation flashing in her eyes. Facing a high-ranking officer of Baroque Works, she wasn't sure if Tashigi could handle it alone.
"Can you do it?"
Tashigi simply nodded slightly, "Yes!"
"Good luck!"
Immediately after, Vivi turned and left, intending to reach the South Gate from another direction.
"Hmph! What a bold claim! A mere Marine, trying to stop me?!"
Ms. Doublefinger was enraged by what seemed like a disregard for her plans. She charged forward swiftly, her ten fingers already transformed into sharp, black thorns, aiming directly for Tashigi's chest!
"Thorn Fingers!"
Tashigi's eyes were calm. Facing the charging Ms. Doublefinger, she did not panic as she usually would.
She shifted her feet slightly, her wrist twisting. The shigure arced through the air, meeting the Thorn Fingers at an oblique angle!
Clang!
A crisp impact sound rang out. Ms. Doublefinger's sharp thorn-fingers were deflected by Tashigi, sliding along the blade without touching her at all.
A look of surprise flashed across Ms. Doublefinger's face as she looked at the seemingly delicate, bespectacled Marine before her, "She actually blocked it?"
Tashigi did not reply; her gaze grew even more focused.
It was as if the entire world consisted only of her opponent and the shigure in her hand. She twisted her wrist further upward, the blade gently pushing Ms. Doublefinger's arm aside, forcing her to retreat half a step and create a little distance.
Just as this lightning-fast offense and defense paused, a memory flooded Tashigi's mind.
In Loguetown, in a pouring rain, in a similar alley.
She had put in her full effort, all her sword techniques, all her thrusts, but they were all deflected by the black-haired samurai with seemingly casual angles.
No matter how much she increased her speed or strength, she couldn't budge him an inch. That feeling of powerlessness remained vivid in her memory.
Since then, she had been thinking and training.
No longer solely pursuing strength and speed, but beginning to ponder the techniques of exerting force, the choice of angles, and how to neutralize the strongest attacks with the least effort.
Day after day of swinging her sword, sweat drenched her clothes, her arms ached so much she couldn't lift them, and what repeatedly replayed in her mind was still that effortlessly defensive posture of her opponent in the heavy rain.
Now, it was finally time to test the results.