"That's right! Zoro's right! This guy has to be lying! That outfit… it's the same style as Shirogai's clothes!"
Usopp grunted, stretching his slingshot until it finally hooked the blood-stained garment draped nearby.
"Aha! Shirogai's clothes have a mark on them! Just watch—I'm gonna expose this fraud right now!"
With a triumphant yell, Usopp reeled the garment into the Sea Prism Stone cage.
"…This…"
He froze.
His eyes locked onto the collar of the bloodied clothing, where a small symbol stared back at him.
A long-nosed skull, stitched clumsily near the edge.
Usopp went completely silent.
"Usopp?" Nami's voice trembled. "Tell me this is fake. Please…"
Still silent.
He slowly raised his head, eyes filled with disbelief as he turned to the others.
Then, suddenly, he clutched the garment to his chest and broke into sobs.
"Waaaaah! These are really Shirogai's clothes!"
There was no doubt.
That stitched symbol on the collar—Usopp had mended it himself. It happened during one of his and Shirogai's chaotic experiment sessions while making explosives. A stray spark burned a hole in the fabric, and he'd patched it with that dumb-looking skull as a joke.
Outside the cage, Crocodile let out a mocking laugh.
"Hahahahaha! No one's coming to save you. You're on your own now."
"Bastard!! Gum-Gum Rocket!!!"
Luffy roared, slamming his fists against the Sea Prism bars. But the moment his skin touched the material, his strength vanished. His fists hung limp—yet he didn't stop.
Even weakened, even bleeding, Luffy kept punching.
"Three-Sword Style: Cage Cutter!"
Zoro was right beside him, blades slashing with relentless force. Sparks flew, metal screeched—but the cage didn't budge.
They didn't care about questions anymore.
Crocodile had crossed a line.
He stood between them and vengeance. That was all that mattered now.
Even Nami grit her teeth and started shaking the cage with all her strength.
"Explosive Star Barrage!!!"
Usopp, still crying, launched a flurry of flaming projectiles. These were the special Explosive Stars he had co-developed with Shirogai.
Being the only one unaffected by the Sea Prism Stone, Usopp could strike through the bars.
But Crocodile raised a wall of swirling sand. The sand absorbed the impact, snuffing out the explosions like firecrackers tossed into water.
From the nearby bench, Smoker exhaled a puff of smoke.
"You all might as well give up," he said coldly. "With your strength, breaking that cage is impossible."
Usopp turned, eyes swollen, speaking through sobs:
"…%￥,…#@@&￥&￥%?"
Translation:
(Just because I'm weak… I should give up on avenging him?)
Smoker stared, confused.
"Long-nose, I have no idea what you're saying."
Still, he sensed it—the grief in Usopp's voice wasn't fake. It hit harder than expected.
Was this really how much Shirogai meant to them?
Smoker had assumed Shirogai held some kind of dominating position on their crew—powerful, yes, but perhaps feared or revered like a god.
But this?
This was raw.
These pirates were hurting.
They truly loved him.
Even now, they were trying to avenge him.
But something didn't sit right with Smoker.
Did they even know Shirogai's real power?
He'd faced Shirogai himself. He knew what the man could do.
He didn't believe for a second that Crocodile had actually killed him.
Kill Shirogai?
You, Crocodile?
Could Crocodile kill a Navy Admiral? Or go toe-to-toe with a Yonko?
Because if he couldn't do either of those, then there was no way he was taking out Shirogai Yamikuro.
Crocodile was strong—sure. He had the Suna Suna no Mi and was nearly invincible in the desert.
But Shirogai wasn't just some average Devil Fruit user.
He possessed the Chop Chop Fruit, but even more dangerous was his ability to learn the abilities of others on sight.
He had mastered multiple fruits, wielded top-tier Observation, Armament, and Conqueror's Haki, and fought like a phantom on the battlefield.
Smoker had seen it.
He knew.
And that made Crocodile's claims laughable.
Smoker raised his voice over the chaos.
"Straw Hat! You seriously think Crocodile could kill Shirogai? You of all people should know his real strength!"
Luffy paused, breathing heavily, fists bloodied and raw.
He turned to Smoker, eyes hard.
"…We do know."
Zoro stepped forward, slicing again with both blades. "That's why we're asking… why does that bastard have Shirogai's clothes?"
Nami's voice was sharp. "It's not like Shirogai would hand them over."
She glared at Crocodile, her anger barely contained. "We trust Shirogai's strength. But we don't trust our enemies to fight fair."
Crocodile took a long sip of wine, watching them struggle.
"Gurarara… Trust?" he chuckled. "That's the most worthless thing in this world."
He raised his glass.
"To betrayal!"
Zoro had nailed it.
Crocodile smirked. "Not only did I take the clothes off him myself… I even poured some beast blood over them. From the kitchen."
The real Crocodile, it turned out, wasn't even present.
This was Shirogai himself, disguised using Crocodile's face.
He watched his crew, grief-stricken and fuming, and sipped wine with casual detachment.
Amusing, really.
But then—
"CROCODILE!!!"
A voice shouted from the stairs.
Shirogai turned lazily, eyes narrowing as Vivi stormed down, face flushed with fury.
Perfect timing.
He grinned, still wearing Crocodile's illusion.
"Welcome, Princess of Alabasta. Or should I say… Miss Wednesday? Gurararara!"
He gestured mockingly.
"Didn't expect you to make it here alive. Impressive."
Vivi clenched her jaw, her voice trembling with rage.
"If you hadn't come to Alabasta, none of this suffering would've happened!"
She reached into her robe, pulling out her Peacock Slashers.
Without warning, she rushed him.
"Peacock Chain!"
Shirogai sighed inwardly.
This girl…
She was brave, no doubt. But swinging a metal whip at a Logia-type without Armament Haki?
Reckless.
He calmly placed the cigar in his mouth and let the illusion take the hit.
The Crocodile face shattered into a swirl of sand.
"Whoa!!!"
Luffy and Usopp's eyes bulged.
"Nice one, Vivi!" Nami shouted. "You got him!"
But Zoro and Smoker didn't celebrate. They saw the truth.
"Useless," Smoker muttered.
The sand reformed behind Vivi.
Shirogai's arm slid around her waist in a flash, holding her gently but firmly.
He leaned in close, whispering coldly into her ear:
"Calmed down yet… Princess?"
---
Uploading daily isn't easy, especially while balancing work and studies.
Your support truly means a lot to me.
Patreon.com/Zphyr