A little behind Crocodile, Robin was quietly studying Leo with interest.
She hadn't forgotten the pressure he had exerted on her that night—the strange aura, the unsettling confidence, and the cryptic words he'd spoken.
But now? It didn't matter anymore.
Inside a cage made of seastone, even the strongest individual couldn't stir up real trouble. Powerless and confined, he posed no threat—at least not in Crocodile's eyes.
Smoker, who had fallen in with them, scanned the cage, eyes sharp. Without warning, he pulled out his jitte and struck it toward Luffy.
Snap!
In the very next second, Smoker's lower body froze solid into a block of ice.
"What the—?!"
Smoker stared in disbelief at his own frozen legs, then shifted his stunned gaze toward Leo, whose hands were still emitting a faint chill.
What kind of ability is this…? he wondered. Is it stronger than Admiral Kuzan's?
"Hahaha! Interesting… very interesting," Crocodile said with mocking amusement. "Who would've thought the chain-smoking Marine colonel would get humiliated like this?"
He leaned back lazily in his chair, smirking as the scene unfolded before him.
Smoker glared at Crocodile, his eyes filled with pure hatred.
"Sand Crocodile," he growled.
"Oh, don't look at me like that," Crocodile replied smugly. "It's not like you ever saw me as a comrade in arms, right?"
He stood up, dusting himself off theatrically. "But I'll be generous. I'll report to the World Government that you died heroically in the line of duty—killed while valiantly trying to eliminate the Straw Hat Pirates."
"Hahahahahaha!"
Luffy, now certain it was Crocodile speaking, roared with anger and lunged forward.
"Sand Crocodile, you bastard!! I'm gonna beat you into the ground!"
But the moment his hand touched the seastone bars, he collapsed, strength draining from his body like a tide receding from shore.
"Luffy!"
Nami rushed over, forgetting the wallets and Baileys she had stuffed into her shirt. "Are you okay?!"
"He's fine," Leo said calmly. "It's just the effect of the seastone. It cancels out Devil Fruit powers."
He casually adjusted the cowboy hat on his head, then turned to Robin and gave her a wink, smiling playfully.
Robin's pupils contracted slightly.
She had no words for this man. He was locked in a cage, powerless and outnumbered—and still had the gall to flirt with her?
Was he mad?
She glared back, her gaze sharp and unreadable.
"You know him?" Crocodile asked, catching Robin's reaction. His tone was quiet, but his gaze turned probing.
Luffy didn't concern him much, but the man Robin seemed affected by—he was worth noting.
"We met once. Back at Whisky Peak," Robin replied smoothly.
Crocodile walked a few steps closer, squinting at Leo. "So, the impostor was your doing. That fake Straw Hat crew… That was the surprise you mentioned?"
"Hahahaha!" Crocodile laughed openly now, shaking his head. "This is your grand plan? Coming here just to be locked in a cage? You're nothing but a clown trying to find meaning on a stage."
"No," Leo said evenly, not rising to the bait. "The real surprise is coming soon. I hope you enjoy it."
His gaze briefly shifted back to Robin.
Will this woman do what I need her to?
As Crocodile tried to decipher the meaning behind Leo's words, a sudden voice interrupted the tension.
"Crocodile! I'm here to take your life!"
A figure stood at the top of the staircase—Vivi.
Her hair was disheveled, her clothes slightly torn from the chase, but her eyes burned with focused rage. In her hands, she held a weapon.
"Well, well… welcome, Princess Vivi of Alabasta. Or should I say, Miss Wednesday?"
Crocodile smiled lazily, clearly amused. "Impressive. So you managed to dodge the assassins I sent after you. You made it all the way here."
"I'll follow you to the ends of the earth if I have to," Vivi snapped. "Because I'm going to end you!"
Her eyes gleamed with determination as she tightened her grip on her weapon.
"That pitiful kingdom will fall soon… Miss Wednesday," Crocodile said dismissively.
"Peacock Chain Saw!"
Vivi lunged, swinging her weapon with all her might. It crashed into Crocodile's head, seemingly disintegrating it on impact.
But just as quickly—his head vanished into sand.
"It's useless," Smoker muttered from his place in the frozen corner of the cage.
Sure enough, Crocodile's entire body dissolved into grains of sand and reformed behind Vivi in the blink of an eye.
"Are you done throwing your tantrum?" he whispered menacingly into her ear, grabbing her face. "You do remember my Sand-Sand Fruit ability, don't you?"
With a chilling grin, he tightened his grip around her jaw.
"Would you like to become a dried-up mummy?"
Inside the cage, Usopp, Nami, and the others stared in stunned horror.
"He turned into sand…!"
"Let Vivi go, you bastard!" Luffy roared. "Or I'll knock you across the entire desert!!"
Nami looked toward Leo, eyes pleading.
"Relax," Leo said calmly, shaking his head. "Do you still not trust me?"
Crocodile didn't harm Vivi further. Instead, he shoved her into a chair beside him.
"Sit down. You arrived just in time… the party's about to begin."
Robin glanced at her watch. "Yes. Operation Utopia is about to commence."
"Operation Utopia?" Smoker echoed, narrowing his eyes. He looked from Robin to Crocodile. "What the hell are you planning…?"
Crocodile could no longer hide his glee. The plan he had spent years crafting was finally bearing fruit.
He had eliminated all opposition. Nothing could stop him now.
The scent of victory was intoxicating.
"What are you planning in Alabasta?" Vivi demanded, raising her head. "What is Operation Utopia? Tell me!"
"You're in no position to ask questions," Crocodile sneered. "But no matter. The operation has already begun. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to let the brave little princess hear how her kingdom falls."
He stepped forward with exaggerated flair.
"Do you think power comes from kindness? From people's love? Wrong. Power comes from control—and I've orchestrated every step of this revolution."
He began pacing in front of them like a professor about to reveal a brilliant theorem.
"First, I incited chaos in the drought-ridden cities. Then I had my agents disguise themselves as the royal guard and commit unspeakable crimes. Slowly, the people's hatred for the king grew."
"Bit by bit, I chipped away at their trust. I let their pain fester. Now, all that remains is for the rebel army, led by that fool Koza, to storm the royal capital."
"And when the dust settles, I will be the one standing in its ruins."
His gaze snapped back to Vivi.
"That is Operation Utopia—the plan to bring about a new paradise atop the ashes of your dying kingdom."
He watched her reaction with smug satisfaction. But Vivi wasn't crushed.
Instead, she began to laugh.
Crocodile's smile faltered for just a moment.
"You find something funny, princess?"
Vivi reached into her cloak and pulled out a revolver—the one Leo had left her.
She leveled it at Crocodile without hesitation.
"Your plan has already failed."
Crocodile's eyes narrowed.
"I sent someone to warn my father. Everything you've done has already been exposed."
"Your ambitions? Worthless."
"And now… you'll die with them."
BANG!
A single gunshot rang out through the Rain Banquet's VIP room.
---Ãdvåñçé çhàptêr àvàilàble óñ pàtreøn (Gk31)