'Damn it... Could this woman named Robin really be Nico Robin?'
Crocodile stared intently at Robin, his mind filled with doubt.
Robin's disguise was excellent. There wasn't a single obvious flaw that allowed him to identify her true identity.
However, now that the possibility had entered his mind, Crocodile found it increasingly difficult to dismiss.
The more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became.
He had spent a long time searching for Nico Robin without success.
And now, a woman named Robin had suddenly appeared at the side of the captain of the War Pirates.
Not only that, she could read the ancient text carved onto Poneglyphs.
There were simply too many coincidences.
'Could he really have found her?'
Crocodile's series of reactions naturally did not escape Kaito's notice.
Kaito narrowed his eyes slightly as he glanced at Crocodile, who continued staring at Robin.
However, there was no change in his expression.
Just as when he had gone to Sky Island earlier, Kaito had never worried that Crocodile would take advantage of his absence to escape.
After so many days, Crocodile still hadn't been completely subdued.
However, he was already very close.
In his current state, unless something major happened, Crocodile would not dare to openly defy Kaito.
'Still, to prevent any accidents, I need to finish subduing this guy as soon as possible.'
Kaito made his decision inwardly.
If the Marines truly intended to set an ambush in Water Seven, Kaito certainly wouldn't mind having a direct confrontation with them.
But before that happened, there could be no instability within the War Pirates.
Crocodile was one such potential problem.
Before arriving at Water Seven, Kaito needed to completely bring him under his control.
The Poneglyph recovered from Sky Island contained information regarding the Ancient Weapon Poseidon.
Just as she had done before, Robin deciphered the ancient writing on the stone and told Kaito everything recorded on it without reservation.
Kaito naturally already knew Poseidon's true identity.
Robin's interpretation simply gave him a clearer understanding of the information surrounding Poseidon.
"Captain, I've finished making arrangements for the Shandians and the people of Angel Island."
Kaito returned the Poneglyph to the Munch-Munch Fruit's storage space.
At that moment, Lafayette returned.
Regarding the Shandians and Angel Islanders, Kaito had no intention of keeping them separate from the rest of the crew.
Instead, he intended to fully integrate them into the War Pirates.
Of course, according to the new rules Kaito had implemented within the crew, new members were given the right to challenge existing members.
Simply put, aside from the official cadres, new members could replace existing personnel through challenges.
If someone could defeat a squad captain, they could directly replace that person and become the new squad captain.
Likewise, if they failed their challenge, they could only begin from the lowest ranks.
According to Lafayette's report, many people from Shandia and Angel Island had attempted challenges.
The most outstanding among them was Wyper.
He had boldly challenged one of the squad captains.
However, he had obviously underestimated the level of strength possessed by the War Pirates.
When challenging the squad captain, Wyper suffered a crushing defeat without any suspense.
Because he had failed the challenge, he could only begin from the lowest ranks.
As for everyone else—
Wyper's disastrous defeat had caused those who came after him to abandon the idea of challenging the squad captains.
Instead, they chose to challenge lower-ranking squadron leaders and team leaders.
Unfortunately, they failed as well.
There was no helping it.
Even the lowest-ranking team leaders had undergone the Beast Warrior transformation.
Their strength was far beyond what ordinary people could compare to.
Not to mention the other people from Sky Island, even Wyper, the most outstanding among them, would have had difficulty defeating one of the team leaders.
The fact that every challenge ended in failure undoubtedly allowed the people of Shandia and Angel Island to witness the true strength of the War Pirates.
At the same time, it made them clearly understand their own position.
Even the rebellious Wyper became considerably more restrained afterward.
After returning from Sky Island, Kaito did not remain in Magic Valley Town any longer.
The following day, he gave the order to set sail.
The War Pirates began heading toward Water Seven.
At the same time, Kaito intensified his efforts to completely subdue both Crocodile and Enel.
There wasn't much to say regarding Crocodile.
Kaito continued using the same method as before.
Under the excuse of sparring, he fought Crocodile regularly while secretly releasing his Conqueror's Haki during their battles.
As for Enel—
Ever since he had been knocked unconscious by Neferpitou's blow, Kaito had kept him imprisoned inside the Munch-Munch Fruit's internal space.
Every day, Kaito entered the Munch-Munch space at a fixed time and used his Conqueror's Haki to subdue Enel.
Moreover, Enel's mental will was considerably weaker than Crocodile's.
The progress of subduing him was exceptionally smooth.
Day after day passed.
Before anyone realized it, the agreed three-month period had finally arrived.
On this day, a figure approached Water Seven from the distance.
Soon, the figure landed silently on the rooftop of one of the city's buildings.
Talent Attribute Adjustment.
The person who had landed on the rooftop was none other than Kaito.
As his Talent Attributes shifted, his attention immediately focused.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
At the same time, his Observation Haki spread throughout the entire city with astonishing perception.
Hum—
In an instant, it was as though Kaito had opened an invisible map.
The entirety of Water Seven was laid bare before his senses.
Nothing within the city could escape his perception.
'The Marines really sent quite a lot of people...'
A sharp glint flashed through Kaito's eyes.
By concentrating ten Talent Attributes into his Observation Haki, he had pushed its abilities to an extraordinary level.
His Observation Haki now possessed perception comparable to both farsight and clairvoyance.
With this level of perception, he could easily detect countless situations throughout the surrounding area.
For example—
The Marines.
Kaito discovered numerous Marine personnel hiding throughout the various ports of Water Seven.
Among them was an old opponent.
Kuzan.
Kaito's gaze shifted again.
At the shipyards belonging to the Galley-La Company, he not only found the ships that matched the ones he had ordered.
He also discovered a large number of Marines stationed there.
And among those Marines was another Marine Admiral.
Borsalino.
Kizaru.
It was now obvious that the intelligence Stussy had provided was correct.
The Marines had not only established an ambush in Water Seven.
They had also deployed an exceptionally luxurious lineup.
Two Marine Admirals.
Along with thousands of elite Marines.
"It looks like this really is going to turn into a major battle."
Thousands of elite Marines.
Two Marine Admirals.
Such a powerful lineup would have terrified an ordinary person.
But Kaito wasn't afraid in the slightest.
Instead, a grin slowly appeared on his face.
His foot lightly touched the rooftop.
Whoosh!
In an instant, Kaito transformed into an afterimage.
He vanished from the rooftop and rapidly headed toward a certain location within the city.
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