Chapter 28: What's in the Box?

Chapter 28: What's in the Box?



Cherry used her heightened senses to inspect the box. She looked at, listened to, and smelled it for any signs of a trap. One couldn't be too careful after all.

Satisfied that nothing seemed wrong about the box, she used her sword to cut the seal and lifted the lid slowly with the blade's tip.

Peering inside the box, there was a letter with a log pose sitting on top of it.

Cherry opened the letter and read:

[Miss Halloween,

Welcome to Baroque works. As a test of your capabilities, your first mission should be rather simple. Enclosed is an eternal log pose for Cactus Island. Use it to reach the town of Whiskey Peak and meet with Mr. 8, who is in charge there. He will give you on the details of your mission. You have three months, do not disappoint. Burn this letter once you have finished reading it.

Signed, Mr. o ]

There was also a bunch of other junk about not revealing your identity, blah blah blah, don't reveal the organization or your missions, blah blah blah.

There was also a bit about only taking orders directly from Mr. o and never from Miss All Sunday for some reason. So she thought there might be some inner conflict she could stir the pot with possibly.

Cherry considered whether or not to actually burn the letter, but elected to do so as keeping it brought only risks with no real benefits.

She picked up the log pose and saw the inscription around its base that read 'Cactus Island'. 'Three months, huh? Simultaneously longer than I'd expect and far too short. I need to obtain a proper log pose as well, shouldn't be too difficult. That way I can just run away if I want.' She thought.

Cherry set the letter aflame and placed the eternal log pose back into the box. She returned to the dojo where she would stay for another week or so before setting out into the world once

more.

...

After telling Grandma Angela that she would need to set sail again in a week and that she was going to the Grand Line, the older woman attacked her on the spot.

She kept screaming that she never agreed to let Cherry go to the Grand Line and that if she wanted to go, she would would need to defeat her first.

Cherry thought the fight wouldn't be that difficult, but she was wrong. Her technique, power, and speed were better than Grandma Angela's now, but somehow the older woman always got the upper hand.

Cherry ultimately had much greater stamina, though. Grandma Angela was wore down and couldn't keep up any longer and conceded.

"If you're going to that hellish sea, you need to know something Cherry." Grandma Angela spoke between deep breaths. "There are people there that have powers you've never known before. If you want to stand tall in that sea, you need to learn Haki as soon as possible."

"Oh, I see. I'm Mr. 8, you should be here to meet with me. Let's go somewhere more private." Igarappoi / Mr. 8 said, seeming slightly nervous now.

Cherry followed the man through and away from the crowd whom were returning to their day

to day activities.

They reached a two story building and went inside.

Cherry noticed that someone else was following in secret, but did not mention anything.

"*cough* Ma~ ma- ma~! Would you like some tea, Miss Halloween?" Mr. 8 offered.

"No." Cherry replied curtly.

"I-I see, straight to business then." Mr. 8 said. He left the room and came back with a letter sealed with wax. "I'm supposed to give this to you to read."

Cherry took the letter without a word and popped open the seal. She read the letter quickly,

then used a nearby candle to burn it immediately.

Mr. 8 looked at Cherry as if he expected something.

"It seems that you are curious about the contents of the letter?" Cherry asked.

"N-no, not at all..." Mr. 8 denied.

"It's only natural to be curious, but I won't tell you. Top secret, you understand." Cherry said,

smiling under her mask.

Confusion flashed across Mr. 8's face, but he quickly suppressed it. Not fast enough for Cherry

to miss it, however.

"What's wrong, Mr. 8? I suppose I could tell you, but you already know that my mission is to

rout out a spy and that I was meant to cooperate with you in that matter. Because you read the letter and resealed it, didn't you? Because YOU are the spy, aren't you?" Cherry watched as every word made the man more and more tense.

"And perhaps it isn't just you. Perhaps it is also the young blue haired woman eavesdropping on our conversation at this very moment." Cherry dropped a bombshell.