Kaito held in his hand a green, pineapple-shaped fruit covered in leaf-like patterns. Just looking at it made one feel a surge of life—it was none other than Aramaki's Woods-Woods Fruit.
By now, Kaito no longer needed to touch someone directly to extract their abilities. He could do it from a distance with ease.
Tossing the Woods-Woods Fruit into the Door-Door Space, Kaito turned his gaze toward Aramaki's subordinates.
Under that sharp gaze, the group froze like frightened mice, barely daring to breathe.
Kaito spoke calmly.
"Where is Rocks now?"
They glanced at one another, not a single person daring to be the first to speak.
Buzz!
Golden beams shot out from Kaito's eyes, sweeping through the crowd like a scythe through wheat. In an instant, half of them were sliced apart.
The remaining survivors stood paralyzed, terror written across their faces—some even wetting their pants.
The stench of blood mixed with urine made Kaito frown. His eyes flashed gold again, and seeing that, one of the men could no longer hold it in. A small-time thug with a mohawk shouted desperately,
"Captain Rocks went to Wano to find Kaido!"
As soon as he spoke, the others hastily echoed his words.
Kaito nodded slightly, then turned around and started walking toward Crocodile.
As soon as Kaito's back disappeared from view, the survivors let out a collective sigh of relief—
Only for a series of bang, bang, bang! explosions to erupt a heartbeat later.
Their bodies burst apart like fireworks, and the resulting blood mist was instantly swept away by a sudden whirlwind, along with the dismembered corpses from before.
It was as if nothing had ever happened.
The members of Baroque Works swallowed hard, staring at Kaito's retreating back with awe and fear.
Crocodile's face still bore Aramaki's boot print. He raised a hand, wiped it away, then bent down low before Kaito.
The sight left everyone stunned—was this really that arrogant and prideful Crocodile?
In truth, his humility wasn't just out of fear of Kaito's terrifying power. More than anything, it was because Kaito had once saved his life.
Yes—during the time Ōtsutsuki Reishiki had cast Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Kaito looked at Crocodile's bowed figure and smiled faintly.
"You did well this time. Consider this your reward."
He reached out and tapped Crocodile lightly on the forehead. A stream of golden energy poured into him.
The moment the energy entered his body, Crocodile's eyes widened in shock. His body suddenly began to turn into sand uncontrollably, and violent, tornado-like sandstorms erupted all around him.
He forced himself to regain form, suppressing the expanding storm. A second slower, and Alabasta might have been wiped off the map—so much for being its protector.
Of course, with Kaito around, that kind of disaster would never actually happen.
Crocodile soon realized what had occurred.
His Sand-Sand Fruit had awakened!
Joy burst across his face. Awakening a Logia-type Devil Fruit was far more difficult than any other category, and he had worked toward it for years—without even reaching the threshold. That was why Aramaki, another Logia user, had been able to suppress him so easily.
Yet now, the very awakening he had dreamed of day and night came to him from nothing more than a light touch from Kaito.
It felt like a dream.
Seeing Crocodile standing there in stunned silence, Kaito prompted him,
"What's wrong? Still getting used to it?"
That snapped Crocodile out of his daze. He stared fixedly at Kaito—with an intensity that might've been mistaken for infatuation.
Kaito couldn't take it anymore. He stepped back slightly.
"You'd better take some time to get used to your new power. I'm going to check on the royal castle..."
"Thank you—thank you so much, my King!"
Before Kaito could even finish, Crocodile bowed deeply, nearly folding himself in half. His head was practically touching his thighs. One had to admit, the man was surprisingly flexible.
Kaito waved a hand dismissively.
"You earned it. Oh, and one more thing—you're free now. Go wherever you like."
With that, Kaito vanished in a flash.
Only after the Baroque Works members approached did Crocodile slowly straighten his back.
Daz hesitated for a moment before asking softly,
"Boss... are we leaving this place?"
Years of peace had dulled their fighting spirit. Their time in Alabasta had been one of comfort—they'd been treated like VIPs by the royal family, fed and housed like honored guests.
And since they'd stayed on as protectors of the kingdom, the citizens adored them. That sense of fulfillment was something none of them had ever felt before.
So the thought of leaving now... was hard to swallow.
Especially for Miss Doublefinger and Miss Goldenweek.
One ran a bar that had become immensely popular; the other was now a well-known painter across Alabasta. The rest of the crew had also found their own paths—they'd all perfectly blended into this new life.
Even Crocodile himself.
He was now the captain of Alabasta's Royal Guard. At first, he'd scoffed at the position—but over time, with every respectful "Captain" he heard, he'd begun to lose himself in it...
He pulled a cigar from his pocket, lit it, and took a slow drag. Through the smoke, he looked at his men.
"Do you still want to sail the seas?"
They exchanged uneasy glances. None of them realized their boss lost his ambition.
Finally, the young-looking Miss Goldenweek gathered her courage and said,
"Boss... I don't want to go. I like it here more than the sea."
Crocodile raised his head and gave her a glance. She shrank back immediately, not daring to meet his eyes.
Her partner, the man known as Mr. 3 stepped forward next.
"Boss, I want to stay too. I want to be here with Marianne!"
Like Goldenweek, he'd become something of an artist himself. After all, who could make better wax sculptures than him?
One by one, the others voiced their agreement.
Except for Mr. 1—everyone said they didn't want to leave.
When they finished, they all looked nervously at Crocodile, worried he'd fly into a rage.
After all, if he ordered them to go, they'd still follow him without question.
But to their surprise—Crocodile smiled.
That, more than anything, scared them.
They'd been with him long enough to know—Crocodile almost never smiled. You could count the times on one hand.
Just when they thought he'd finally snapped, he blew out a smoke ring and said coolly,
"Since you're all staying... then I'll stay too."