When Crocodile was seized by Pamela and thrown like a dead dog at Cobra's feet, the war in Alabasta ended.
With the primary culprit apprehended, all that remained was the screening and capture of the remaining Baroque Works members.
Hundreds of thousands of refugees, who had formed the rebel army, were given sufficient food and water based on head count and were temporarily relocated and housed within the royal capital.
Originally, Cobra had planned to arrange for the royal guards to escort them back to their hometowns.
However, hearing Rorschach mention the possibility of Gekko Moriah and the Flower Country's army coming to attack made him abandon that idea.
Atop Alubarna's towering city gate, Cobra had some fruits, vegetables, and food brought out to entertain Rorschach and his group.
There were no tables or chairs on the city wall, but no one minded the dirty ground. They sat cross-legged, quietly eating.
Cobra looked with complex emotions at Crocodile, whose chest was visibly caved in and whose mouth was still constantly bleeding.
"Crocodile, I heard that you always claim Alabasta is your hometown to outsiders. I wonder if that statement is true or false."
Rorschach and the others, who were eating, also turned their heads to look.
Crocodile leaned against the battlements, barely breathing, his eyelids lowered, as if lost in thought or caught in a memory.
He did not answer Cobra's question, but simply sat there quietly.
"Brother Rorschach, what are you going to do with him? Take him back for trial, then imprison him in Impel Down?"
Hibari sat beside Rorschach, holding a fruit knife, peeling an apple for Rorschach.
Rorschach didn't like apples, so he handed the apple Hibari had peeled to Enel, who was nearby.
That guy could eat apples all day until he puked.
"Trial? Do the crimes this guy committed even need to be tried at Enies Lobby? Even if he's imprisoned in Impel Down, it's only to prevent his Logia ability from entering the sea."
Rorschach glanced at Crocodile, his eyes cold.
Sensing his cold gaze, Crocodile lifted his lowered head and looked back indifferently.
"You want to kill me?"
"Why, can't I?" Rorschach was noncommittal.
"Nothing wrong with it. The victor is king, the loser is bandit. This world has always been about the strong surviving and the weak perishing," Crocodile's voice was hoarse.
"Looks like you see things quite clearly, don't you? As expected of a silver medalist who's traversed the New World. Although you failed in the competition against those old geezers, you're completely different from those pirates who cry and play make-believe when faced with death."
Rorschach bit into a chicken leg and pulled out the Den Den Mushi from his pocket, which had started ringing again.
As expected, it was from Sengoku again.
During the previous battle, the Den Den Mushi had rung intermittently.
Click.
Rorschach answered the Den Den Mushi and placed it on the ground in front of him.
As soon as it connected, Sengoku's exasperated voice came through.
"You brat, think you're tough now, eh? You dare hang up on me. I called you more than ten times and you didn't answer. Are you trying to rebel, huh?"
Rorschach's lips curved into a smile. "How could I dare, Fleet Admiral Sengoku? I was in a fierce battle just now. After all, my opponent was the famous Shichibukai. A new recruit like me, who hasn't even graduated from boot camp, if I were careless during a battle, I might not even know how I died."
"Stop talking nonsense!"
Sengoku cursed him in annoyance, speaking the thoughts of many present.
Enel looked at Rorschach with a sideways glance.
Fierce battle?
Could that kid ever speak a true word?
He clearly knocked that guy out with one punch, okay?
After reprimanding Rorschach a few more times, Sengoku finally remembered the reason he had called so many times.
"Where is Crocodile now? You didn't kill him, did you?"
"Not dead yet, but he's close," Rorschach stated honestly.
"What do you mean?! You brat, I'm not joking around. It's fine if you defeated him, even captured him, but if you kill him, you'll be slapping the faces of the higher-ups, understand? Don't be impulsive and ruin your future," Sengoku urgently said.
He was truly anxious.
Rorschach was unyielding. No matter how much Sengoku argued until his mouth was dry, Rorschach still intended to kill Crocodile.
Speaking of which, few pirates who had faced this kid were still alive.
He truly dared to kill, regardless of how strong the opponent's Devil Fruit ability was, not considering that imprisoning them in Impel Down could prevent those destructive abilities from rampaging the seas for decades.
For example, the Blood-Blood Fruit user he killed on Sabaody Archipelago.
If it were Kizaru or Aokiji, they would definitely capture that pirate and throw them into Impel Down.
That pirate's ability clearly possessed extreme destructive power.
Fortunately, Sengoku had heard that this special Paramecia ability had been acquired by a Marine admiral.
And the Logia Sand-Sand Fruit on Crocodile possessed even greater potential and destructive power than the Blood-Blood Fruit.
If Rorschach were allowed to kill the Sand Crocodile, letting this top-tier Logia ability re-enter the sea and fall into the hands of a powerful pirate, it could potentially create a pirate even more troublesome than Crocodile.
Furthermore, without the World Government's permission, the Marines could absolutely not casually act against the Shichibukai, let alone kill them.
Hearing this, Rorschach turned to Hibari, puzzled. "Hibari, haven't you sent the recorded footage to the old man yet?"
"Huh? I already sent it. Didn't Grandpa Sengoku receive it?" Hibari looked down at the Den Den Mushi.
"I received the footage you sent," Sengoku replied.
"Since you've received it, old man, you know that what Crocodile did to this country is no different from what Doflamingo did in Dressrosa. In fact, in some ways, Alabasta's suffering is even worse. At least, Dressrosa still appeared prosperous on the surface. But here... heh, making a desert kingdom that was already dry and short on water go without rain for several years, old man, do you know how many people died in this country because of that?"
Rorschach's somber words made Cobra, Vivi, and Kohza's eyes redden again.
Especially Kohza, the young leader of the rebel army, who tightly clenched his fists, his eyes filled with intense hatred, staring intently at Crocodile, who leaned against the wall.
If his gaze could kill, Crocodile would already be dead and buried without a trace.
Sengoku on the other end of the Den Den Mushi also fell silent.
After a long while, he said hoarsely, "We can't let his Devil Fruit ability re-enter the sea. The Sand-Sand Fruit is a top-tier Logia Devil Fruit. If a person with stronger basic abilities than Crocodile were to obtain it..."
"It's just a Logia Fruit ability," Rorschach interrupted him. "Old man, if that's your only concern, then how about this: I kill one Logia and return two Logia to you? How's that for a deal?"
Sengoku's old face, simulated by the Den Den Mushi, showed a bewildered expression. "What do you mean by that?"
Rorschach was about to answer.
Suddenly, a clear female voice rang out from the city gate tower, reaching Sengoku's ears as well.
"I'll kill him!"
Rorschach was startled, looking at the girl who had risen from beside Cobra.
"Vivi," Cobra stared blankly at his daughter.
At this moment, everyone's gaze converged on Vivi, who had spoken those words.
Among these gazes were surprise and shock.
Vivi walked to Crocodile's front, clutching her weapon, the green Peacock Slashers. She turned her head to Rorschach, then to the Den Den Mushi in front of him, and declared loudly: "Rear Admiral Rorschach, Fleet Admiral Sengoku! Please hand Crocodile over to me, I will kill him! I want justice for the tens of thousands of innocent people who have died in Alabasta over the years. If the World Government asks, Fleet Admiral Sengoku can say that the sovereignty of an affiliated nation cannot be interfered with by outsiders, even if that interfering person is their ally, a Shichibukai!"
"Vivi..." Kohza's body trembled violently. He stared blankly at the determined Vivi, shaken by the girl's resolve.
With that, Vivi, clutching the sharp Peacock Slashers, walked step by step towards Crocodile, who was leaning against the battlements.
Everyone rose, silently watching the scene.
But no one stopped her.
Crocodile looked up, watching the girl walking towards him step by step. His usually indifferent eyes suddenly became somewhat lost.
The girl before him was so beautiful and radiant.
Her blue wavy hair cascaded over her shoulders, like rolling waves on the sea.
Her determined, stubborn eyes shone brightly.
Just as she had shown over ten days ago when he saved her in Rainbase, she was fearless.
This fearlessness was not innate.
It was simply that the disasters this country had faced had made this inherently kind-hearted girl brave enough to stand up.
Who says women are inferior to men?
Once upon a time...
Crocodile's bleeding lips suddenly curved slowly upward, forming a smile utterly different from the cunning villain he had always portrayed.
Plunge!
The sharp Peacock Slashers cut across his raised neck. Dazzling crimson blood spurted from his neck, quickly staining the bricks and stones beneath him.
The breath of life rapidly drained from Crocodile's body.
He lay there quietly, head tilted back, not struggling, just gazing at the clear blue sky above. The light in his eyes slowly faded.
Leaving home to set sail.
Watching the Pirate King's execution in Loguetown.
Meeting Emporio Ivankov.
Fighting Douglas Bullet.
Challenging Whitebeard, failing in his bid for the Sea Emperor's throne, and, along with Moriah, being ridiculed by the world as a loser of the Great Pirate Era.
Lying low in Alabasta, plotting to use an ancient weapon to rise again.
Receiving news of Daz Bonez's death, and initiating his operation ahead of schedule.
Being ecstatic over a fake Pluton battleship.
He had thought he could return to the New World with the Pluton battleship, find Whitebeard, defeat him, and shatter the shadow he had cast upon him.
But he never expected to be defeated and killed by two teenagers.
It felt as if it had all been a long and hazy dream.
Blood spread beneath him, like a blooming Datura flower.
Crocodile was dead.
Watching Crocodile lying still, head tilted back, Vivi, tightly clutching the Peacock Slashers, her small body trembling uncontrollably. Countless complex and unfathomable emotions surged into her heart at that moment.
At this moment, she felt no joy of revenge, only a desire to cry loudly and release the suppressed emotions within her.
"Princess Vivi, you see, I told you earlier that only you could save this country. Now, you've done it. You did very well, wonderfully."
A gentle, soft voice sounded in her ear, followed by a strong hand pressing on her head.
Instantly, Vivi's trembling body stilled. She spun around abruptly and threw herself into the arms of the young man behind her, tears gushing from her eyes.
(End of Chapter)
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