The morning sun over Katorea brought no relief from the heat, but the atmosphere in the Rebel Camp had shifted entirely. The suffocating smog of suspicion and impending doom had lifted, replaced by the crisp, frantic energy of a purge.
Koza stood by the edge of the oasis, watching his loyal men strip the shirts off officers and soldiers alike, checking for the damning Baroque Works tattoo. Already, a pile of bound and gagged spies sat baking in the sun—nearly fifty of them.
"It makes me sick," Koza spat, adjusting his sunglasses. "To think I shared bread with these snakes."
"You found them," Vivi said softly, standing beside him. "That's what matters. You stopped the bleeding."
"Only because you came back," Koza turned to her. "We will hold here. I won't move a single soldier toward Alubarna until you send the signal. But Vivi... don't die. Crocodile is a monster."
"I have my own monsters," Vivi smiled, looking back at the Straw Hat crew.
Luffy was currently trying to teach a camel how to shake hands (the camel was spitting at him). Zoro was asleep standing up.
Ben checked his wristband. "Time's wasting. Crocodile isn't going to wait for us to walk across the desert."
"We're leaving?" Sabo asked, adjusting his disguised pack. "It's a two-day trek back to the coast, even at a forced march."
"Walking is for people who don't understand physics," Ben deadpanned. He cracked his neck. "Everyone, gather round. We're doing this the hard way."
"The hard way?" Nami asked suspiciously. "Does the hard way involve vomiting? Because last time you teleported us, I felt like my stomach was in my ear."
"It's faster than walking," Ben shrugged. "I'll have to do this in shifts. I can't Apparate two Giants, a duck, and a dozen people in one go without splinching someone's leg off."
The crew paled. "Splinching?!" Usopp shrieked.
"Relax. I'm a professional." Ben pointed his wand at the Giants. "Dorry, Brogy. You're first. Hold onto my arms. Do not let go, or you'll leave your butt in Katorea."
The two massive warriors grabbed Ben's arms. He looked like a doll between them.
CRACK!
The sound was like a cannon shot. Ben and the Giants vanished instantly, leaving a swirl of dust.
Koza jumped back. "Where did they go?!"
"To the coast," Vivi explained nonchalantly. "Ben is... efficient."
Ten seconds later.
CRACK!
Ben reappeared alone. He looked slightly winded. "Heavy. Very heavy. Okay, Group B. Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp. Grab on."
"Yay! Magic ride!" Luffy grabbed Ben's leg.
CRACK!
Gone.
Ten seconds later.
CRACK!
Ben was back. "Group C. Ladies and the Duck. Let's go."
Nami, Vivi, Robin, and Chopper (on Karoo) grabbed onto Ben.
"Hold your breath," Ben advised.
CRACK!
Koza stood alone on the dune, staring at the empty space where a small army had stood less than a minute ago. He rubbed his eyes.
"I need a drink," the Rebel Leader muttered. "A very strong drink."
---
Nanohana Coast.
CRACK!
Ben reappeared with the final group (Sabo and Koala).
Around him, the crew was recovering.
Usopp was on his hands and knees, retching into the sand.
Sanji was smoking furiously to settle his nerves.
The Giants were sitting in the shallow water, looking dazed. "GYAGYAGYA... I feel like I was squeezed through a keyhole!"
"That's exactly what it is," Ben said, straightening up. He walked over to the water's edge, where the sea met the mouth of the great Sandora River.
He placed his suitcase on a flat rock and opened it. He reached in and pulled out the miniature Going Merry.
"Alright, girl. Nap time is over."
He tossed the toy boat into the water. It bobbed helplessly in the gentle waves.
Ben raised his wand.
"Command T: Expand"
A pulse of blue light hit the ship.
With a groan of timber and the stretching of metal, the ship expanded. It grew rapidly, displacing water, rising up and out until it was the full-sized caravel once again. The sheep figurehead gleamed in the sunlight.
"I will never get used to that," Sabo shook his head, watching the physics-defying feat.
"We fight with style!" Luffy laughed, stretching his arms to grab the railing and rocketing himself on board. "EVERYONE ON BOARD! WE'RE GOING TO KICK CROCODILE'S ASS!"
The crew scrambled up the nets.
"Set course for Rainbase!" Nami commanded, taking the helm. "The Sandora River cuts straight through the continent. If the wind is with us, we'll be there by evening."
As the Going Merry caught the wind and began to sail up the massive river, cutting through the desert landscape, the mood on board was a mix of tension and excitement.
They were sailing directly into the lion's den. Or rather, the Crocodile's swamp.
---
Rainbase. The City of Dreams.
While the Straw Hats sailed upriver, the atmosphere in the VIP room of the Rain Dinners Casino was heavy enough to crush bone.
This was the heart of Crocodile's operation. A massive pyramid structure sitting in the middle of a lake, a symbol of excess in a starving country.
Inside the private conference room, beneath the golden chandeliers, the Officer Agents of Baroque Works were gathered.
They were a terrifying group of individuals.
Mr. 1 (Daz Bones) sat with his arms crossed, a stone-faced killer who radiated menace. beside him sat his partner, Miss Doublefinger, smoking a thin pipe with a languid, dangerous grace.
Mr. 2 (Bon Clay) was spinning in his chair, humming a song, seemingly oblivious to the tension, though his eyes were sharp.
Mr. 4, a massive, slow-witted man, sat hugging his gun-dog, Lassou.
Miss Merry Christmas was twitching nervously, tapping her fingers on the table.
The door at the far end of the room creaked open.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.
All moisture evaporated from the air.
A man walked in.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, wearing a burnt-orange vest and a massive fur coat draped over his shoulders like a king's mantle. A golden hook replaced his left hand. A scar ran horizontally across his face, bisecting his nose. He smoked a cigar that smelled of expensive tobacco and death.
Sir Crocodile. Warlord of the Sea. Mr. 0.
He didn't say a word. He walked to the head of the table and sat down. The leather chair creaked.
He looked at his agents. His eyes were shadowed, unreadable, and utterly terrifying.
"Mr. 0..." Miss Merry Christmas squeaked. "Why have you summoned us all here? Is the plan moving to the final phase? Are we attacking Alubarna?"
Crocodile took a long drag of his cigar. He exhaled a cloud of gray smoke that drifted over the table.
"The plan," Crocodile rasped, his voice deep and gravelly, "has hit a... snag."
"A snag?" Mr. 1 asked, his voice low.
"The Rebel Army," Crocodile said, looking at the ceiling. "They were supposed to be marching on Alubarna by now. My spies in the field reported that they had successfully incited the final rage. But as of this morning... they have stopped."
The agents looked at each other.
"Stopped?" Miss Doublefinger frowned. "Why? Did they lose their nerve?"
"They didn't just stop," Crocodile growled, his golden hook scratching the arm of his chair. "They began a purge. They are rooting out my Millions. Someone told them. Someone exposed the game."
The silence was deafening.
"But who?" Mr. 2 asked, stopping his spinning. "Who knows the plan besides us? Did a Billions agent talk?"
"Unlikely," Crocodile said. "They don't know enough to stop a war. No... this smells of outside interference. And I have a good idea who the flies in my soup are."
Crocodile threw a stack of Wanted Posters onto the table.
Monkey D. Luffy - 30 Million Berries.
"The Straw Hat," Crocodile said with disdain. "Rookie from the East Blue. I thought I had them killed at Little Garden. But it seems Mr. 3 was even more incompetent than I imagined."
He looked at Mr. 1.
"Daz. What is the latest intel of them."
Mr. 1 uncrossed his arms. "My spies in Nanohana reported seeing them land. They caused a scene at a restaurant—Smoker was involved. Fire Fist Ace was involved. But after that... they vanished."
"Vanished?" Crocodile's eye twitched.
"Yes. No ship leaving the harbor. No tracks in the desert. They were there, and then they were gone. It's as if they dissolved into the sand."
Crocodile ground his cigar into the ashtray.
"Magic," he muttered. "The 'Wizard'. I heard a rumour but assumed it was a nickname for a gadgeteer, but perhaps he has a Devil Fruit that facilitates movement. If they are the ones who stopped the rebellion in Katorea... they are dangerous. Not because of their strength, but because they are undoing my web."
He stood up, towering over the table.
"I don't like complications. If they are in Alabasta, they are coming here. They will come for me. And when they do... I want them buried."
He looked around the room.
"But there is another matter. A missing piece."
Crocodile's gaze hardened.
"Miss All Sunday."
The agents stayed silent. They knew Miss All Sunday (Nico Robin) was the Vice-President, the only one allowed to speak directly to the Boss.
"Where is she?" Crocodile asked Mr. 1.
Mr. 1 shook his head slowly. "No sightings. She hasn't checked in for weeks. Her personal transponder snail is dead."
Crocodile's face remained impassive, but the sand around his feet began to swirl, eroding the expensive carpet.
Inside, he was furious.
Nico Robin.
The Demon Child.
He knew her history. She had betrayed every organization she had ever been a part of since she was eight years old. Every partner she worked with ended up dead or arrested. He had thought he was different—that he had the power to keep her in line, that their goals aligned.
She needs the Poneglyph. I need Pluton. It was a perfect transaction.
But if she was gone... if she had ghosted him right at the climax of the operation...
It meant she had found a better offer. Or she had realized he planned to kill her once she read the stone.
She betrayed me, Crocodile thought, the conclusion settling in his mind with cold certainty. She ran. Or worse, she's working with the Straw Hats.
"Fine," Crocodile said aloud, his voice devoid of emotion. "If she isn't here, she is a liability. If you see Miss All Sunday... kill her on sight."
The agents gasped.
"Kill the Vice-President?" Miss Merry Christmas yelled. "Are you serious?!"
"I do not repeat myself," Crocodile snapped. The moisture was sucked out of a flower vase in the corner; the flowers turned to dust instantly.
He walked to the window, looking out at the artificial lake, at the bridge where the bananawani swam.
"We are moving the timetable up. We cannot rely on the Rebel Army to do our dirty work anymore. Operation Utopia begins tomorrow. We will detonate a bomb in the plaza. We will frame the King ourselves."
He turned back to them, his hook glinting.
"Be ready. The rats are coming to Rainbase. I want you to slaughter them."