Inside the City of Spring Queen, the streets were as lively as ever.
Crowds moved endlessly through the bustling avenues, but one area in particular had gathered an unusually large audience.
At the center of the open plaza, a strange circus performance was underway.
Every member of the troupe possessed bizarre characteristics that made them impossible to ignore.
A massive giraffe stood near the center, allowing children to climb all over him without resistance. Even when the kids tugged at his horns and pulled on his face, he simply smiled helplessly with an expression far too human for an animal.
Beside him, a gray wolf continuously leaped through rings of fire with incredible agility, earning cheers and applause from the crowd after every successful jump.
Not far away stood a round faced giant with a zipper running across his mouth. Like the giraffe, he entertained children by allowing them to crawl and climb all over his oversized body.
Then there was a pale man with long pink hair and an exposed upper body. He continuously spun a Zen staff in his hands while making exaggerated noises, causing nearby children to burst into excited laughter.
Among the entire group, the most normal looking one was a tall man with black hair styled into two horn like shapes.
His task was simple.
He attracted passersby, hyped up the audience, and loudly encouraged people to leave tips while his companions performed.
No one present would have imagined that this bizarre circus troupe had once been members of CP5.
Under the blazing sunlight, the five men continued performing for hours until lunchtime finally arrived.
Only then did the crowd gradually begin to disperse.
Bruno, the man with the horn shaped hairstyle, immediately bowed repeatedly toward the departing audience while trying to squeeze out one final wave of donations.
At that moment, the gray wolf behind him leaped through six flaming hoops in succession, instantly pushing the performance into its final climax.
Excited spectators began reaching into their pockets and tossing Berries toward Bruno.
Bruno's face nearly split apart from smiling as he hurriedly thanked everyone while collecting the money.
Once the plaza completely emptied, he finally placed the Berries on the ground and carefully organized them by denomination.
At the same time, the others returned from the performance area and gathered around him.
Kaku and Jabra took advantage of the empty surroundings and simultaneously deactivated their Devil Fruit abilities, returning to human form.
The moment he transformed back, Jabra immediately started mocking Kaku.
"Oi! Did you slack off again today? I swear it makes no difference whether you're here or not! All you do is attract little kids. Why don't you just head to the docks and become a porter instead? You'd probably make more money!"
Kaku instantly exploded in anger.
"What nonsense are you barking about?! Did all those children's parents get eaten by you, you brainless wolf?!"
Jabra's eyes widened.
"Hah?! Square nose, who are you calling brainless?!"
"Who else could I be talking about besides you?!"
The two argued after nearly every performance, so the others had long since become used to it.
Meanwhile, Bruno remained kneeling on the ground counting the money.
A moment later, joy spread across his face.
"Great! Today's earnings were much better than usual! At this rate, Lucci's injuries should recover much faster!"
Fukurou and Kumadori immediately cheered.
Even Kaku and Jabra stopped arguing as relief appeared across their exhausted faces.
Bruno carefully stuffed the Berries into his pockets while speaking.
"Alright, let's go pick up Kalifa first. Then we'll buy something good for lunch. Lucci's probably starving by now too."
Just as he finished speaking, a pair of black boots suddenly stopped directly in front of him.
Bruno froze.
He slowly raised his head.
Standing before him was a tall man wearing a black high collared trench coat.
His hands rested casually inside his pockets, and beneath the shadow of his raised collar, only a pair of golden eyes could clearly be seen.
Under the sunlight, those eyes looked unnaturally dazzling.
The appearance of the mysterious man instantly made everyone tense.
They were fugitives now.
Combined with their former identities as government intelligence agents, there was always the possibility that someone from the World Government had tracked them down.
Fukurou quietly focused his senses on the man for a moment.
After confirming that he could not feel obvious hostility, he subtly nodded toward the others.
Only then did Jabra and the rest relax slightly.
Bruno forced a smile onto his face.
"Hello, sir. Is there something you need?"
The black clothed man chuckled softly.
"I heard the performances here are entertaining, so I came to take a look."
His voice sounded fairly young, which further lowered their guard.
The moment they realized he was simply a customer, everyone immediately switched to friendly smiles.
Jabra even stepped forward politely, bowing slightly with both hands resting at his waist.
"Sorry, sir, today's performance has already ended."
The man tilted his head slightly.
"Is that so? What a shame."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"Can't you perform one more show if I pay extra?"
Bruno hurriedly shook his head.
"Sir, it's not that we don't want to, it's just that..."
His voice suddenly stopped.
His eyes widened completely.
Everyone else behind him froze as well.
Slowly emerging from the man's pocket were three thick bundles of cash.
Ten thousand Berries notes.
The highest denomination.
Judging by the thickness alone, the amount was at least three million Berries.
Kaku, Jabra, and the others stared blankly at the money in disbelief.
Their financial situation had become so miserable that none of them even noticed how the man managed to pull such absurdly thick stacks of cash from pockets that looked far too tight to hold them.
Bruno swallowed hard.
"Sir... are you saying you want to use that money just to watch our performance?"
The man casually fanned the three bundles of money in his hand.
His movements were completely steady, showing no strain whatsoever.
"Yes."
He glanced toward the sky.
"But it's already lunchtime. You people should be going to eat by now."
A faint smile appeared beneath the shadows of his collar.
"Forget it."
As he spoke, he began placing the money back into his pocket.
Jabra's eyes instantly turned green.
"NO!!!"
His howl nearly echoed through the entire plaza.
The man paused.
At the same moment, Jabra viciously kicked Bruno from behind.
Bruno finally snapped out of his daze and hurriedly shouted,
"We'll perform! We'll absolutely perform! Sir, don't worry, we guarantee the highest quality performance possible!"
Afraid the customer might change his mind, Jabra and the others instantly rushed back into position and struck exaggerated performance poses.
Seeing their reaction, the black clothed man smiled faintly.
Then, under Bruno's stunned gaze, he casually stuffed the three million Berries into Bruno's arms.
"This is the deposit."
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