President Morgans, I have big news!"
Upon hearing this excited voice, a voice full of interest immediately came from the other end of the den den mushi.
"Oh? What big news?"
The man was visibly agitated, panting heavily, and shouted excitedly.
"Hoo… hoo…"
"Th-that Worst Generation, Straw Hat… is going to challenge… the Shichibukai, Crocodile!!!"
Upon hearing this news, the voice on the other end of the den den mushi clearly became excited, asking with shock.
"What? Are you serious?!"
Just a Straw Hat might not be enough to shock the world, but the identity of a Shichibukai was different.
The man continued in an excited tone.
"It's… it's true!"
"I'm in a city in Alabasta right now, and… there's a live broadcast of the Straw Hat versus Crocodile's crew happening in the city square."
"It looks like… the battle is about to begin!"
Morgans immediately became even more excited upon hearing this, exclaiming in surprise.
"What?! You said it's being broadcast live?!"
"Quick! Quickly transfer the footage over!"
"I want to broadcast this battle to the whole world, let the whole world see this big news."
"The new pirate crew, Straw Hat, against the Shichibukai, Crocodile's crew…"
"Big news, this is big news!!!"
Morgans' surprised and excited cheers came from the other end of the phone, and the man here immediately nodded in agreement.
"Yes, President Morgans!"
With that, he took an image den den mushi from his bag and rushed back to the square.
…
Before the man's conversation with Morgans.
At the square, everyone's attention had now shifted to the first frame, showing Crocodile with the kidnapped King Cobra in a dimly lit room.
"247" And before that, the initial scene was…
A large door was pushed open.
Bright light streamed in, instantly illuminating the previously dim environment.
Three figures walked into the light, and as they approached, people recognized them as Crocodile, Cobra, and a woman most people didn't know.
Crocodile spread his hands, his gaze wandering over the grand and magnificent architecture around him, his eyes filled with excitement, and he laughed.
"What a hidden gem this place is!"
"To use your ancestors' royal tombs as a disguise, I can't believe you thought of it!"
"Guhahahahaha…"
Crocodile laughed heartily.
Cobra ignored Crocodile's taunt and said instead.
"The item is inside the door ahead…"
With that, Cobra suddenly sat down where he was.
He didn't seem to have any intention of following.
Crocodile looked at this scene with some confusion, stopped, and turned to look at Cobra, a scornful smile on his lips, and asked.
"What's wrong, Cobra?"
"Why did you stop?"
Cobra lowered his head, his eyes filled with doubt, as if talking to himself, and also as if asking, he whispered.
"Crocodile, I've always had a point of confusion."
"I can understand that the Dance Powder incident was intentional on your part."
"But what I've never understood is, why do sandstorms continuously sweep through the towns of this country?"
"The buried oasis, Erumalu, was completely destroyed by sandstorms, and Yuba is now constantly suffering from sandstorms, on the verge of destruction."
"But… before the Dance Powder incident, these two towns were the most famous oases in this country!"
"At that time, there were no such continuous sandstorms."
"Why did they start appearing after the Dance Powder incident?"
"Is it really just because this country's rain was taken away? Or… is it fate?"
Cobra's eyes were filled with great doubt; he still couldn't figure out this problem.
Even when he didn't know who was behind the Dance Powder incident, he was thinking about the sandstorm problem.
This sudden and strange natural phenomenon was truly perplexing.
So when he now knew that Crocodile was the mastermind, he wanted to ask if this was fate or if it was related to Crocodile.
After Cobra finished his question, Crocodile suddenly burst out laughing.
"Guhahahahaha…"
"Fate?!"
Crocodile stopped laughing, his expression immediately turning scornful, and he looked down at Cobra, who was sitting on the ground, and said coldly.
"Cobra, do you know why this country has become like this now?"
Cobra looked up at this, looking at Crocodile with confusion.
Then, he saw Crocodile with a scornful smile on his lips, saying word by word.
"It's all because of you… because the people of this country… are too foolish!"
"Guhahahahaha…"
Crocodile threw his head back and laughed heartily at this point.
Meanwhile, the citizens at Flower Shop Square who saw this scene all opened their mouths in disbelief, their eyes filled with shock, and their expressions extremely sad.
It was as if they had suddenly been betrayed by their most trusted friend; even though they heard the truth, they still couldn't believe it or accept it in such a short time.
"Mr. Crocodile… what are you saying?"
"This isn't real, is it? How could that national hero… say something like this? No, it can't be! It can't be!"
"Fake! This must be fake! This Mr. Crocodile must be fake! The real Mr. Crocodile wouldn't say such things about us… He's our hero who protects us!"
The square was filled with sounds of sorrow and unwillingness to accept this fact.
Smoker, seeing such a scene, snorted disdainfully.
"Hmph! Sure enough, pirates are just pirates…"
"The Shichibukai are no different!"
In the frame, Crocodile's laughter gradually stopped, and then he looked at Cobra with an expression like he was looking at an idiot, and said scornfully.
"Whether it's the Dance Powder incident, the sandstorms constantly sweeping through the city, or this incident that triggered the Rebel Army to launch a decisive battle."
"The people of this country are like thoughtless idiots; whatever you show them, they will believe."
"They see that only Alubarna, the city where you are, receives rain, and they will believe that you stole the rain."
"They see you causing destruction in the streets, and they will believe you are a scoundrel."
"And…"
As Crocodile spoke, he suddenly extended his right hand, and a small sandstorm quickly appeared in the center of his palm.
Then he continued to say.
"Look! This is what you call fate."
"Whether it's you, or that foolish old man who digs wells all day in Yuba."
"You always only believe what you see, treating the sandstorms sweeping through the city as natural phenomena, even calling them fate."
"Cobra…"
Crocodile suddenly called out to Cobra, then looked into Cobra's eyes and said word by word.
"You… and the people of this country, are truly… utterly foolish!!!"
"Guhahahahaha…"
"Gahahahaha…."
Only Crocodile's loud laughter remained in the air, while Cobra, at this moment, silently lowered his head, constantly replaying Crocodile's words in his mind, contemplating his own mistakes.
At the same time, he tightly clutched the ground with his hands, tears of regret welling up in his eyes.
Meanwhile, at Flower Shop Square in Nanohana.
The entire square was silent, with only Crocodile's arrogant and ruthless mockery audible.
The citizens, one by one, stared blankly at the laughing man on the screen, like sculptures.
They, like Cobra, were lost in past memories.
Recalling how Cobra had cared for this country, how he had cared for them, the citizens, and how much they had trusted and liked this king at that time.
They also recalled how, ever since the Dance Powder incident, they had begun to doubt this king, slowly lose trust in him, and eventually come to hate him deeply.
After a brief moment of stunned silence, tears welled up in the eyes of countless people in the square. One by one, they gritted their teeth, apologizing to the king they had misunderstood and cursing themselves.
"We're sorry… Your Majesty!"
"We're sorry… Lord Cobra!"
"I'm such an idiot. What have I been doing all this time?! To actually doubt that king… If he hadn't led people to rescue me from pirates back then, I would have been killed by pirates long ago…"
"I also received help from His Majesty. When I accidentally fell into the sea as a child, it was His Majesty himself who saved me…"
"I was also helped by that king…"
"Me too…"
The square was filled with the sounds of citizens' regret and self-blame. Some who had been helped by Cobra recounted their stories.
Just then, a loud shout suddenly rang out from the crowd.
"It's Crocodile! It's Crocodile who stole the rain from this country, and it's Crocodile who incited the war in this country. This country is in this state because of that Crocodile. Down with Crocodile! Drive him out of this country!"
With the first such voice, countless more soon followed.
"Down with Crocodile! Drive him out of this country!"
"Down with Crocodile! Save His Majesty the King!"
…"
As more and more such voices emerged, they eventually spontaneously evolved into a unified slogan.
At this moment, the people in Flower Shop Square were enraged, shouting this slogan repeatedly.
"Down with Crocodile!"
"Down with Crocodile!"
…"
Smoker's gaze swept over the people around him, and he muttered to himself.
"He's aroused public anger, that Crocodile!"
"It looks like this country is about to undergo a major change."
"Perhaps… the Shichibukai will also change!"
As Smoker said these words, a figure once again appeared in his mind, and he wondered inwardly…
"Straw Hat… are you planning to save this country?"
Exposing Crocodile's conspiracy, and with his crew members confronting Crocodile's subordinates, Smoker couldn't help but make this conjecture.
"Tashigi, how much longer until Marineford's reinforcements arrive?"
Smoker suddenly asked.
Tashigi was momentarily stunned by the sudden question, but after a brief thought, she quickly replied.
"Three more days, Captain Smoker!"
Smoker fell into thought upon hearing this, while Tashigi looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"What's wrong, Captain Smoker?"
"Do you think the Straw Hat might be subdued by Crocodile's crew? Do we not need reinforcements?"
Tashigi looked at Smoker innocently.
Then she saw Smoker suddenly turn his head, gritting his teeth, and scolding her fiercely.
"You idiot, that Crocodile is no match for Straw Hat at all."
"Although I haven't seen the strength of his crew members, have you forgotten how those one hundred bounty hunters at Whiskey Peak were taken down?"
"At that time, we found one person who was still conscious. What did that guy say? You idiot, think carefully!"
Tashigi cowered, trembling from Smoker's scolding, recalling the scene at the time.
They were shocked when they arrived at Whiskey Peak.
There were bodies everywhere.
After a thorough search, they found a person who still had a faint breath.
"What happened here? How did you all end up like this?"
"Th-three people!"
"What did you say? What three people?"
"Three people… solved all of us. Monsters… those guys are all monsters… terrifyingly strong monsters…"
"Who are they?"
"Th-their Captain is… is Straw Hat…"
After saying those last words, the person died.
Her thoughts returned to the present, and Tashigi couldn't help but look at the Straw Hat's subordinates on the screen, especially the man with three swords, and thought to herself.
"Roronoa Zoro, how strong are you exactly?"
…
Just as the crowd in the square cheered "Down with Crocodile," a live broadcast quietly spread throughout the world with lightning speed.
Marineford!
Inside a conference room.
Sengoku sat at the head of the table. On one side were Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru, and on the other side sat Garp, Tsuru, and other high-ranking Marine officials.
They were holding their regular daily Marine high-level meeting.
"Alright, this meeting ends here."
Sengoku said to the people below.
Everyone then stood up one after another, preparing to leave.
At this moment, a voice suddenly came from the doorway.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, something's happened!"
Everyone looked towards the door upon hearing this, and saw a Marine looking anxious and flustered.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
Sengoku asked 4.1.
The Marine glanced at the many Admirals present, unconsciously swallowed, and realized he had been too flustered just now.
Taking a deep breath, the Marine replied.
"It's that Straw Hat…"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's gaze turned to Garp.
Sengoku even shouted angrily.
"Garp…"
Garp, however, was picking his nose, looking up at the ceiling, pretending not to have heard anything.
The Marine continued.
"That Straw Hat's pirate crew is currently confronting Sand Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
"It looks like they're about to fight."
"I don't know who secretly planned this live broadcast of the confrontation, but now this broadcast has been relayed worldwide by Morgans, the president of that news agency."
After the Marine finished speaking, everyone present was startled.
A worldwide broadcast has a significant impact, especially when it concerns the World Government's fighting force, the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
"How terrifying! That Straw Hat has only just been given a bounty and he's already challenging a Shichibukai. What a terrifying rookie!"
"Hmph! Causing so much trouble as soon as he sets sail, he's bound to be a future problem. I think it's best to send people to eliminate him as soon as possible."
"In fact, I received a report yesterday that Smoker requested Marineford's support to go to Alabasta to capture Straw Hat. Now, the 30 warships closest to Alabasta are already heading there and should all arrive in 3 days."
The three Admirals spoke one after another.
Sengoku, at this moment, frowned and said to the Marine.
"Quickly prepare the live broadcast screen for me."
The Marine saluted upon hearing this and said.
"It's already prepared, Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"
Immediately, led by this Marine, a group of high-ranking Marineford officials collectively walked towards another room, and Garp quietly followed behind.