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If Crocodile was truly a man of ambition, and all his years of planning were just to obtain the weapon Pluton, then perhaps his ambition wasn't as refined as he thought.
A Warlord of the Sea who had spent years weaving an intricate web, only to have it ruined by some small fry with no remarkable traits by that measure, he was a failure.
In fact, many of the current Warlords were failures. They didn't understand how to truly leverage the privileges and protection that came with the title.
One of the few successes was Blackbeard. He captured Ace, secured a temporary Warlord seat, used it to enter the Paramount War, and immediately rose to take Whitebeard's place as one of the Four Emperors.
Aero wanted to be that kind of success story or better. The Warlord title was a shield, and behind it, he could build his strength in peace.
---
"Who are you?" Nico Robin didn't hand the Den Den Mushi to Crocodile immediately.
"I'm Aero. I imagine your Baroque Works organization knows my name," he replied. He was certain Robin, as vice president, had heard of the Hurricane Pirates.
"Hurricane's Aero, hm?" she said, mentally running through the intelligence reports.
"If my name's on a Marine bounty poster, and there's no other like it, then yeah that's me," Aero said confidently.
A moment of silence. "Wait," she said finally.
The line went quiet long enough that Aero assumed Crocodile wasn't interested in dealing with someone of his caliber. But then the deep, gravelly voice came through: "This is Baroque Works' Mr.0. Aero, is it? What do you want?"
---
"I'm from the East Blue. I know you're one of the Warlords, Crocodile… and I know exactly what you're working on," Aero said smoothly.
"You know who I am?" Crocodile's tone was more curious than suspicious an East Blue pirate knowing his identity was unusual.
"It's not exactly a secret." Aero chuckled.
"Many people know?" Crocodile asked evenly.
"Not many. Just me… and that's all you need to worry about," Aero said, hearing the shift in Crocodile's tone. He knew that meant anger.
"Oh? And who else?" Crocodile exhaled a puff of smoke, his voice calm but probing.
"Don't try to fish for names and don't bother thinking you can just eliminate me. I'm in Whiskey Peak. If I take a few people to Alabasta, you know what that means," Aero warned.
"Hah! So you're threatening me, kid?" Crocodile laughed, but there was a hard edge to it.
"Not exactly. I'm not here to meddle in your business," Aero replied, making his neutral stance clear.
"Fine. Out with it. Why go through all this trouble to reach me?" Crocodile asked, crushing out his cigar.
"Nothing much… except…"
"And what's in it for me?" Crocodile cut in after a pause.
"We form a temporary alliance. I can help you get what you want," Aero said with a grin.
"Fine. I accept. But you didn't rough up my men too badly, did you?" Crocodile asked.
"They're fine. Just knocked out," Aero said, glancing at the "unconscious" Mr.8.
After hanging up, Crocodile muttered, "Aero, huh… interesting."
"Crocodile's not an easy man to deal with," Eddie remarked to Aero.
"We're not exactly famous in the Grand Line yet. We're the underdogs, so it's normal for others to dismiss us. That's why we need to offer them something tempting," Aero said, tossing the Den Den Mushi to Eddie.
Still, Aero kept a few cards hidden especially about the matter of spies. Crocodile almost certainly knew who in his organization might be undercover, but his pride kept him from acting. Pride like that had been his downfall against Luffy.
"Too arrogant," Aero said simply.
---
He walked over to Mr.8, pulled out the earplugs, removed the rag from his mouth, and slapped him lightly.
"Drop the act. You're not convincing."
Mr.8 opened his eyes but said nothing.
Aero smirked. "I know exactly who you are, Mr. Undercover. Don't worry I didn't tell your boss. But while we're here for the next few days, don't cause trouble… or you'll end up like those Million-Berry agents over there."
With that, Aero and his crew left. Their goals here were simple:
1. Secure a mutual understanding with Crocodile.
2. Let the Log Pose record Whiskey Peak's magnetic field.
The first was done. Now, they would wait.
---
Buru-buru…
"Princess," a man's voice said in a shadowy room, speaking into a Den Den Mushi, "That pirate seems to have reached some sort of agreement with Mr.0… but we still can't confirm his identity."
"Can you capture him?" a youthful female voice asked after a pause.
The man stayed silent.
"…I was too naive," the voice sighed. "It's not that easy."
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