Dragon snapped back to his senses, shook his head, and stood up, folding the newspaper.
"No... it's nothing."
He walked out, turning into a gust of wind that vanished into the distance.
The two men exchanged glances.
Lindbergh scratched his head.
"What's going on?"
...
Grand Line, Alabasta.
Rainbase, the underground level of the Rain Dinners casino.
Inside the office, Robin was reporting to Crocodile on the casino's finances and the operations of Baroque Works.
After listening for a while, Crocodile waved his hand dismissively.
"Forget the unnecessary details."
"How's the rainfall situation across Alabasta?"
Robin closed the notebook in her hands.
"Except for the capital, Alubarna, and a few nearby towns, rainfall has ceased everywhere else."
"The plan can begin now, Boss."
Crocodile's expression turned unreadable.
"Yeah... it can begin."
More than ten years of scheming—victory was right before his eyes.
But at this moment, Crocodile only grew calmer.
Until the final moment, no one could predict what might happen...
Leaning back in his chair, he tapped his armored finger rhythmically on the armrest.
"Send people to spread the word in secret."
"Make sure to point the blame toward the royal family."
"And also... make contact with the rebels."
"Don't expose your identity."
Robin nodded.
"Understood."
Crocodile waved his hand, and Robin respectfully left to carry out his orders.
Once she was gone, Crocodile's lips curled into a grin, as though something delightful had crossed his mind.
"Pluton..."
...
Devil's Triangle.
The territory of one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Gecko Moria.
Years ago, he had sailed his massive ship, Thriller Bark, into the fog-covered seas and, together with his recruited comrade—the genius surgeon Hogback—built an army of zombies.
His goal had been to make a comeback and take revenge on Kaido... though for the dispirited Moria, that ambition now seemed naive.
Still, it didn't change the fact that he was a powerful pirate. Each year, nearly a hundred ships that wandered into the Devil's Triangle vanished without a trace.
When they were found, only their battered hulls remained—no people in sight.
"Yoho~hoho~yohohoho~"
That eerie singing echoed through the fog-laden sea.
On a tattered ship, a skeleton with an afro stood at the railing and tilted forward.
"Ah! Forty-three degrees!!!"
Then he slid down onto the deck...
Swoosh—
A faint slicing sound cut through the air.
The skeleton suddenly sprang up and glanced around.
"Hmm? An illusion?"
...
Thriller Bark.
From the outside, it looked like an island—but it was actually Moria's ship.
Said to be the largest pirate ship in the world, the Thriller Bark roamed within the Devil's Triangle's thick mists, ensnaring countless ships that vanished mysteriously.
All of it was Moria's doing. Each year, this enormous vessel and its zombie army captured dozens of ships so Moria could steal their shadows to create new zombies.
The heavy fog served to shield those stripped of their shadows from sunlight, preventing them from dying and losing their shadows altogether.
Swoosh—
Karol's figure appeared.
What Brook had just heard wasn't an illusion...
Karol extended his Observation Haki, located the source, and instantly teleported there.
One of the three strange generals—
The commander of the zombie soldiers and user of the Clear-Clear Fruit, Absalom—
Was lounging idly on his bed, flipping through the latest issue of Miss World Beauty.
"Hmm, not bad."
"This one's pretty good too!"
"Oh~~~ this one's even better!!!"
A shameless pervert, Absalom often used his fruit powers to turn invisible and go out in search of his "ideal bride," which naturally led to...
Swoosh—
Karol suddenly appeared before him.
Both hands were clad in Armament Haki as he seized Absalom's mouth and neck.
Then his arms bulged with power—
A sickening crunch followed, and Absalom's throat was crushed before he could even make a sound.
Swoosh—
The two vanished from the castle inside Thriller Bark.
Far above the fog-shrouded seas, miles away from the ship—
Karol appeared, clutching Absalom's limp body.
Suddenly—
Energy surged at his sides. Absalom had used his fruit ability to conceal two rocket launchers in his hands, now firing them point-blank!
Karol's pupils contracted sharply.
Even with his Observation Haki, he hadn't sensed the hidden launchers—it was only when Absalom activated them that they revealed themselves.
Releasing his grip on the shattered jaw, Karol pulled out the Devil Fruit Recovery Device and plunged it into Absalom's body.
Then he vanished again.
Boom—!
Two rockets collided midair, erupting in a deafening explosion that echoed across the sky, loud enough to startle Moria inside Thriller Bark.
...
In Absalom's room—
Several small ghosts drifted in, followed by Perona.
"Harororororo..."
"Huh?"
"Where'd he go?"
...
Grand Line, a deserted island somewhere.
Karol tossed aside the mangled corpse in his hand and withdrew the Devil Fruit Recovery Device.
After a quick test, he confirmed it—the Clear-Clear Fruit could indeed block the perception of Observation Haki...
No wonder Admiral Sakazuki had ordered an instant kill.
Shaking his head, he didn't linger.
Swoosh—
...
New World, Egghead Island.
Inside a hidden laboratory, Karol's figure appeared.
Rows of massive incubation chambers lined the room, each engraved with serial numbers and marked with the word "Seraphim" at the top.
A small robot busied itself before a giant monitor.
Karol smiled.
"Where's Dr. Vegapunk, Edison?"
He knew that this little robot, Edison, was one of Vegapunk's satellites...
Odd, perhaps—but scientists all had their quirks.
The busy little robot suddenly looked up, startled.
"Ah! Karol-san!"
"The main body's in the underground smelting chamber, researching new alloys!"
Karol nodded.
"I see. Then I'll go find the doctor."
The robot quickly nodded back.
"Yes, Karol-san!"
Then turned back to his work.
"So many ideas... so many! Not enough hands!"
...
Underground smelting chamber.
A massive biomechanical bear stood there, its mouth wide open, devouring ores and metals fed into it—
Only to spit out newly synthesized alloys moments later.
This creature had been fed the Smelt-Smelt Fruit and modified into a living fusion furnace.
Vegapunk examined a sample of the alloy under an instrument, analyzing and recording data.
Swoosh—
Karol appeared suddenly and spoke.
"Dr. Vegapunk."
"I've retrieved the Clear-Clear Fruit."
Hearing Karol's voice, Vegapunk turned around, his face lighting up in surprise.
"Oh?"
"You've got it?"
"Excellent."
"Come with me!"
-----------
The fanfic is Finished on p@treon/tambeerg. 414 chapters in total