Rainbase Plaza was silent for a moment as the tension so thick with oppressive feeling.
Then, the silence shattered.
"Oh my god! Sir Crocodile... he's been defeated!" a voice exclaimed.
"H-how is this possible?!"
"I... I told you all!" an excited voice suddenly cut through the panic.
"I told you Captain Mike was strong!"
A wave of cheers erupted from one corner of the square.
"Wow, so cool!"
"Did you see that look in his eyes? So domineering!"
"I'm in love! That Dominant-filled gaze... just one look and my legs went weak! I need someone to hold me up~"
"Pfft, you little minx! I'll hold you!"
"Ew, get lost! I want Mike-sama to 'hold' me!"
"Drop the act, sisters—let's dance!"
Amidst the laughter, the chants of the newly-formed "Mike Alabasta Support Squad" echoed across the plaza, a bizarre soundtrack to the scene of a fallen Warlord.
At the center of the battlefield, Crocodile clenched his jaw, his heart filled with rage and frustration.
He struggled to even lift his head, fighting to stay conscious under the crushing pressure of Mike's Conqueror's Haki.
'This presence...' he knew it all too well.
This was the mark of a king.
He had felt it once before, when he had foolishly challenged Whitebeard.
The Conqueror's Haki unleashed by the old Emperor had been like a natural disaster, impossible for him to resist.
And now, the power radiating from the Marine Captain before him was no less formidable.
'Moreover...' Crocodile's mind reeled in turmoil.
'This is advanced Conqueror's Haki!'
The overwhelming pressure had been focused entirely on him.
The surrounding Marines, the people of Alabasta, even the dust in the air, remained completely unaffected.
This was the hallmark of a true conqueror, one who had mastered their will to an extraordinary degree.
'A Marine Captain... promoted from a branch in the East Blue... how could he possess Conquerors Haki?!'
Regret and frustration filled Crocodile's heart.
He had miscalculated.
This wasn't some lucky upstart; this was a monstrous powerhouse who had been lying dormant in the weakest sea, and now, he had finally emerged onto the world stage.
'Tap, tap, tap—'
Mike's footsteps drew closer, each one like a hammer striking Crocodile's heart.
He struggled to prop himself up, but his body felt as if it were weighed down by a thousand boulders.
Finally, he collapsed from his kneeling position, lying flat on the ground, his heavy breaths echoing in the suddenly silent air.
"Mike..." Crocodile gritted his teeth and muttered under his breath.
"You're terrifying... Since when did the Marines have a monster like you?"
Mike leaned down slightly, meeting his gaze.
"Relax, Croco boy. I don't plan to kill you."
'If you die', he thought, 'who's going to show me, the 'honored guest from Headquarters,' a good time?'
A wave of relief washed over Crocodile.
'Good. If he's not planning to kill me, then everything is fine.'
Once these Marines left, he could continue his plans for Alabasta.
Once he obtained the Ancient Weapon, Pluton, everything would start anew...
Mike glanced back lightly at the young women in his "cheer squad."
Though their clothes were tattered, nothing could hide their youthful, captivating faces.
'Under Crocodile's rule, these poor ladies must have been starved half to death,' he thought with a frown.
'They're not even plump anymore!'
'They need proper nourishment'.
'And exquisite new outfits.'
'This has nothing to do with my personal desires, of course. It's simply that I believe... they deserve a better life.'
He turned his gaze back to Crocodile, noticing the look of relief on his face.
'Still thinking of continuing your country-stealing plan, are we? That won't do.'
"Sir Crocodile," Mike's low voice slowly escaped his lips, each word a hammer blow.
"Leader of the criminal organization Baroque Works. Codename: 'Mr. 0'."
"!!!"
Crocodile's face instantly turned pale, his heart stopping for a beat.
He stared at Mike in utter shock as the Captain unveiled his most closely guarded secrets.
'How is this possible? How could he know?!'
"On the surface, your goal is to steal the kingdom of Alabasta," Mike continued slowly, his voice calm and even.
"But in truth, your real objective is to obtain information about the Ancient Weapon, 'Pluton'."
"!!!"
Crocodile's heart lurched violently.
His mind went blank.
The figure of Mike before him seemed like an inescapable nightmare, gradually backing him into a corner from which there was no escape.
"This can't be…"
Terror, cold and absolute, surged through him like a tidal wave.
Mike even knew his ultimate goal.
'What in the world is going on?!'
"It's over," Crocodile muttered, deep terror rising in his eyes.
All his meticulous planning, every delicate move—it had all crumbled before him like a sandcastle.
"If the World Government and the Marines learn the whole truth, I'm finished…"
He would be stripped of his title, his bounty reinstated, and hunted by monsters like the very man standing before him.
'I'll be thrown into Impel Down's Infinite Hell,' he wailed inwardly.
'A bottomless abyss where light will never reach again!'
He had to seize this last chance, to fight for a sliver of hope, even if it meant submitting completely.
"Captain… how do you know all this?" Crocodile's voice was low, carrying a barely perceptible tremor.
Mike lit a cigar leisurely.
"Crocodile, even if I leave you to your own devices, you'll still fail." He exhaled a slow puff of smoke.
"But right now... I can point you toward a path to the glory."
He leaned in, his voice a conspiratorial whisper.
"A way to become Alabasta's true guardian deity, not just some false hero hiding in the shadows."
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