"Crocodile, your conspiracy has been exposed!"
Seeing this scene, Vivi stepped forward furiously, pointing at Crocodile and loudly denouncing him:
"You used Dance Powder to incite rebellion and attempted to usurp Alabasta! The World Government will strip you of your title as a Warlord!"
The citizens around them, hearing Princess Vivi's words, were momentarily in an uproar, looking at each other in confusion, not understanding what was happening.
"A Warlord? That title is merely a convenient tool for my purposes."
Crocodile gave a sinister laugh, looking towards Vivi. He spread his arms as if embracing the entire city: "But girl of the Nefertari family, you have indeed caused me quite a bit of trouble."
Before his words faded, his figure suddenly transformed into a swirl of sand. Moving at a speed difficult for the eye to follow, he instantly appeared before Vivi, his golden right hand with its poison hook stabbing towards her throat like lightning.
"So, you die first!"
"Vivi!" Nami and the others cried out in alarm.
But one figure was faster than Crocodile!
"Gomu Gomu no—
Jet—Pistol!"
Luffy's fist, striking later, arrived first, smashing hard into Crocodile's golden hook with a dull thud.
Luffy stood shielding Vivi, his expression dark as he glared at Crocodile, his voice filled with rage: "What do you think you're doing to my nakama?"
Crocodile was forced back half a step by the punch, a flicker of surprise in his eyes, as if he hadn't expected Luffy's speed and strength to be this high.
Something's off... but it doesn't matter.
The battle erupted completely at that moment.
Almost the instant Luffy moved, Zoro, with animal-like intuition, locked onto the sharpest presence among the group of officers. Like a leopard, he charged forward, blocking the man's path.
"I'll be your opponent," Zoro said, sizing up the man before him.
He was a tall man with a cold, stern face.
He carried an aura somewhat similar to Zoro's own former self.
Robin said Bones was a former assassin; Zoro was a former bounty hunter.
On the sand-scattered ground, Bones stared at Zoro and said, "You look familiar too."
He had only learned recently that his boss was a Warlord of the Sea, but that didn't matter to him. He was a killer; whoever paid, he killed for them.
After learning of his boss's Utopia Plan, before Bones could say anything, Crocodile had said, "Pay increase." Naturally, he gave his full support.
He looked at Zoro, thinking for a moment: "The famous bounty hunter from the East Blue? I've heard of you."
"Oh, I'm honored."
"I am Mr. 1, Daz Bones..."
However, Zoro couldn't be bothered to let him finish. He already had Wado Ichimonji clenched in his teeth, gripping Yubashiri and Sandai Kitetsu in his hands, his fighting spirit boiling as he cut him off: "I already know all about you! Cut the chatter, let's fight."
Mr. 1 glanced thoughtfully at Robin not far away. It seemed that woman had truly betrayed them completely.
He looked back at Zoro and said coldly, "A man like you... I didn't expect you to follow a seemingly ordinary kid."
"Don't you dare underestimate the captain I've acknowledged. He's a monster who works harder than even me!" Zoro laughed.
"Let's see whose acknowledged man is superior?"
"Hah."
As the words fell, both men moved simultaneously.
The clash of sword light against bladed flesh rang out instantly.
"I felt a general sense of discomfort when I heard Robin-san talk about you."
Sanji had found Mr. 2, Bentham. "So there was a reason."
"Ohohoho, has dearie taken a fancy to me?"
Not far from Sanji stood a man with a muscular build... couldn't exactly be called a man, as he wore bizarre, heavy makeup, false eyelashes, and a straight-across fringe bangs, dressed in a swan ballet outfit.
"It's an okama!" Sanji charged forward, profoundly uncomfortable.
An instinctive revulsion.
Like a feeling carved into his bones.
The sand stung their eyes; this was a stage belonging to the sand.
But its master, Crocodile, was clearly enraged.
Because a mere rookie pirate dared to oppose him.
"Straw Hat boy."
Crocodile said coldly.
"This isn't some pirate make-believe game you kids play. Do you know how important this woman, Miss All Sunday, is to me? She is an indispensable key in my plan.
It's because of you people! That my plan has encountered these disruptions. Why do you think I came here personally, instead of waiting comfortably in Rainbase for you to walk into my trap?
You've gotten a bit too carried away."
Luffy put Vivi down. "What does your plan have to do with me? Vivi wants to stop this war. She doesn't want anyone else in her country to die. I'm her captain, I'm going to help her. It's that simple."
Crocodile's face was so dark it could drip water. "How dare you say that. You're all a bunch of naive fools who don't know the first thing about real fighting."
"And her? You want to offer that woman protection too? Do you even know who she is?"
Crocodile looked at Robin.
"Nico Robin... I don't know why you always insist on calling her by her alias, Miss All Sunday."
Luffy said, "It's pretty rude, isn't it?"
Crocodile blew out a thick puff of cigar smoke, the haze twisting in the scorching air:
"What a naive brat. You have no idea what the name Nico Robin signifies, or what kind of consequences come with it.
In this world, the only one who knows her identity and has the power to shelter her... is me!"
Nico Robin was already a Demon Child with a bounty of tens of millions at the age of seven.
The only woman in the world who can read the Poneglyphs.
Hunted by the World Government, having survived a Buster Call, she has nowhere to hide.
Crocodile swung his iron hook, the lower half of his body instantly elementizing into flowing sand, lifting him a few inches off the ground:
"A brat like you, who only plays pirate make-believe in the East Blue, understands nothing of this sea's true darkness and power plays.
You don't understand the value of the ancient language, the significance of the Poneglyphs, much less the world-upsetting power that Nico Robin can bring!"
[Warning, Punishment Countdown...]
His mind was being disturbed again.
Not only had he thrown Vivi's country into chaos, but he also treated Robin like a disposable tool to be used.
"So, Sand Crocodile, if the so-called Warlords of the Sea are really strong, you'd better show me."
Luffy's expression was dark, his knuckles cracking. "Otherwise, get ready to get punched."
"I've seen many pirates like you."
Crocodile took an hourglass from his person and tossed it beside Luffy, his voice dripping with condescending scorn: "I'll give you three minutes. If it takes longer, I won't have the patience to play with you."
Before the words finished, Luffy threw a punch.
***
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