Ivan did not immediately kill these agents. Instead, he created a wooden prison to temporarily imprison them.
Now, Ivan was no longer lacking in ways to enhance his combat power; what he needed was to increase his Template Approval Rating.
Having too many templates would distract him, and the higher the Template Approval Rating, the more power he could gain.
If he possessed a large number of templates, his progress might actually slow down instead of accelerating.
Rather than killing them and extracting their templates, it was more beneficial to temporarily recruit these people and treat them as expendable resources—this was the way to maximize gains.
Moreover, as long as they were there, if their templates were insufficient or they proved disobedient, he could always kill them later.
Now that Ivan had mastered some Sealing Techniques, he was absolutely confident in making them obey obediently!
Ivan used Wood Release to further expand the dune buggy. What he was riding now was less like a vehicle and more like a mobile fortress.
Using his abilities at such a high intensity would be an unbearable burden for an ordinary Devil Fruit Ability User, but for Ivan, the rate of consumption was still slower than his recovery speed!
Dune buggy, prison.
Facing the agents imprisoned in the wooden cells, Ivan smiled and said, "So, choose: do you want to survive and become my subordinates, or die here?"
Mr. 1 was the first to step forward, his voice low and resolute. "Kill me. I am absolutely loyal to the President and will never betray him!"
Ivan was not surprised by Mr. 1's reaction.
In the original story, even after his defeat in Alabasta, he remained loyal, and after escaping from Impel Down, he continued to follow Crocodile into the New World.
Ivan didn't waste time trying to persuade him. While Ability Users were rare, for the strong, finding them wasn't difficult.
If this batch didn't work out, he could simply replace them—he would never lack subordinates!
Ivan flicked his finger, and Mr. 1 instantly stiffened, his head flying into the air as he died on the spot.
After Mr. 1's death, Ivan turned to the other agents and asked gently, "What about you?"
The other agents were not particularly loyal to Crocodile. Hearing Ivan's question, they rushed to speak:
"I agree! I'll become your subordinate!"
"Me too!"
"I've heard of you. You seem like a much friendlier boss than the President, so I'll join too!"
After the agents agreed, Ivan nodded in satisfaction. "Good, you've made the right choice. From now on, Mr. 3 will be your captain, and you will temporarily be responsible for cleaning, handling miscellaneous tasks, and fighting on the front lines during battles."
Mr. 3 hesitantly raised his hand. "Vice Admiral Ivan, we don't mind fighting, but cleaning…"
"Do you have a problem with that?"
Although Ivan still wore a friendly smile on his face, Mr. 3 no longer had the courage to voice any objections.
Just moments ago, Ivan had smilingly killed a large number of his companions. He didn't dare test Ivan's patience.
Next, Ivan implanted timed explosive Sealing Techniques into their hearts, ensuring they couldn't escape. With that, they officially joined Ivan's ranks.
But aside from Mr. 3, who was the team leader, the status of the others under Ivan was even lower than that of a regular marine.
After all, Ivan saw them as nothing more than expendable resources!
...
"Wood Release: Sea of Trees Descent!"
Once again unleashing Forest Emergence, the dense forest dyed the desert green, breathing vibrant life into this nation.
Standing atop the dune buggy, Ivan gazed into the distance, where a city unlike any other in Alabasta stood before him—full of vitality and energy.
That place was Crocodile's stronghold, Rainbase!
Upon arriving in Rainbase, Ivan was met with cheers from the crowds, but he did not see the figure he had hoped to encounter.
This made Ivan shake his head in disappointment.
Since fleeing the New World, Crocodile had truly fallen far from his former self.
In the past, he had dared to challenge Whitebeard. Though he failed and lost an arm, it still reflected Crocodile's formidable strength.
After all, most people weren't even worthy of Whitebeard's attention, let alone capable of escaping from him.
Back then, Crocodile was at the peak of his power, undoubtedly comparable to Doflamingo, if not even stronger!
But now, Crocodile wouldn't even dare to directly confront and kill a mere rear admiral like him.
How much of his former strength did Crocodile still possess?
A sand crocodile without fighting spirit was nothing more than a salted fish.
Upon reaching Rainbase, Ivan headed straight for the Rain Dinners Casino. In the anime, Rain Dinners was the epitome of extravagance—he wondered how spectacular the real version would be.
As he entered Rain Dinners, the scent of cigar smoke and sweet perfume washed over him.
The first thing that caught his eye was the opulent hall, dozens of meters high, filled with numerous gambling tables. Lavishly dressed guests crowded around the tables, shouting with flushed faces.
This was a paradise, but also a hell.
Ivan and his group stopped at the simplest high-low betting table, exchanged one million Berries, and began gambling.
Seeing Ivan and the others arrive as unfamiliar faces, the dealer initially thought they were easy prey.
But after a few rounds of betting, they were stunned to realize that this was no easy prey—it was a shark!
Every time Ivan placed a bet, he would push all his chips forward, and every time, he won.
In just half an hour, his chips had grown from the initial one million to sixty-four million!
This number made the dealer constantly wipe sweat from her brow.
Her legs were trembling, and she no longer dared to oversee the game. If she lost any more, her boss would surely feed her to the crocodiles!
Just as Ivan was about to urge the dealer to continue, a voluptuous woman of stunning beauty descended from upstairs and approached Ivan.
She gave the dealer a meaningful glance, and the dealer immediately bowed repeatedly before retreating respectfully.
The woman stayed by Ivan's side, smiling at him and his companions. "Gentlemen, with the amount of chips you now have, it's no longer suitable for you to remain in the main hall. Please follow me upstairs, and I'll take you to the VIP area."
Ivan didn't refuse and followed the woman away.
As they made their way to the second floor, Ivan struck up a conversation with her. "Miss, what's your name?"
"You may call me Miss. All Sunday."
"Miss All Sunday, have you ever considered changing employers?"
The woman turned her head, giving Ivan a deep look. "It seems Major Ivan is quite confident about this operation, but changing bosses is out of the question. I don't like the Marines."
"Don't be so quick to refuse, Miss Robin. Trust me, I can protect you. I'm not too fond of those Cipher Pol bastards either!"
At these words, Robin's body stiffened for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure.
She turned back, looking at Ivan in disbelief.
This Marine Supernova actually knew her true identity. What surprised her even more was that this Marine Supernova seemed rather unconventional.
As a Marine, he actually wanted to shelter her—the "Demon Child" who was heavily wanted by the World Government!
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