Rainbase was bright, painfully so. Or more accurately, the massive pyramid casino squatting in the center of the city was bright. Gold and polished marble. Reflecting the desert sun like someone had decided blinding travelers was a feature, not a flaw. Who in their right mind thought a giant golden pyramid in the middle of a desert was a good idea was beyond Varin. Just thinking about it made his head throb, nearly as much as his eyes did.
He didn't get much time to dwell on it. Smoker was here, but not just Smoker, his second in command, whose name Varin didn't know and didn't care to learn, and an entire battalion of Marines spread through Rainbase. How did Varin know this?
Because Luffy and Usopp, in their infinite wisdom, had charged in without waiting for a plan and promptly ran face-first into the Marine captain.
Now everything was chaos.
The group had split up almost immediately. It was the only way to avoid getting boxed in. Draw attention, scatter, regroup later. Get into the casino and go after Crocodile and his agents directly.
Varin had long since lost his pursuers. Turns out four legs made running from Marine fodder embarrassingly easy. Rooftops blurred beneath him as he leapt from one to the next, claws scraping tile, momentum carrying him forward. He scanned constantly, searching for the crew, but more specifically for Chopper. If anyone was going to run into trouble, it would be the reindeer. Or Luffy. Or Usopp. Or all three at once.
And then there was Smoker.
If Smoker somehow lost Luffy and crossed paths with someone else, Varin was the only one who could realistically slow him down. Even then, it wasn't a comfortable thought. Smoker had a logia that alone was a nightmare matchup, and while Varin could use haki, he wasn't arrogant enough to think he could hold it indefinitely, not in a prolonged fight, and that's assuming he could use it during a fight.
That concern stayed in the back of his mind as he moved. What pulled his attention forward was… strange. Ahead, moving toward a particular building, was what Varin could only describe as a big bird. A stupidly large bird. Carrying a gun.
He paused mid-stride, ears flicking. There was no realm where that wasn't related to the crew. So he adjusted course, angling toward it while trying, somewhat unsuccessfully, to be discreet. Being a massive wolf made subtlety difficult. Being a massive wolf in a desert city made it worse. Wolves weren't exactly native to the climate, and he doubted anyone would mistake him for local wildlife.
As he got closer, he heard fighting. Sharp and brief, then silence.
Varin slowed, lowering his steps, keeping his weight light despite his size. If there was an enemy inside, an ambush might still be possible. He edged closer, ears angling toward the sound of voices drifting out. He recognized one immediately. Vivi. And the other….."All Sunday?"
His muscles went tight as Vivi screamed. He moved without thinking, padding to the edge of the rooftop and finally looking down. All Sunday stood below, annoyingly calm and untouched.
At her feet was a man in white robes, twisted at an angle that made Varin's stomach knot. Wrong. Like his spine had snapped and the rest of him just hadn't gotten the message yet.
"Pell…" Vivi sobbed. So the man was on their side. Great.
Varin's eyes flicked back to Vivi, and that's when he caught it. She wasn't bleeding, nothing obvious except for some minor scrapes and dirt. But her breathing was off, shallow and labored like every breath was work. Not exertion, or anything like that, she was hurt, somehow.
All Sunday loomed over her, voice smooth, polite in that way that wasn't polite at all. She told Vivi she had been invited to meet Crocodile. That was enough for Varin, so with a push, he jumped.
He cleared the rooftop and shifted midair, bones snapping and realigning as fur vanished. He hit the ground behind All Sunday on both feet, the impact cracking stone. "Mind if I join the dinner date, lass?" he said, voice low and easy, despite the situation. "Figure it evens the teams."
"Ah, the drunkard," All Sunday said. "I heard you had some bark to your bite after what you did on Little Garden."
Varin would give her that. She recovered fast and played it cool. But that didn't change anything. She was still his enemy. "Mmm, not sure that was a question, lass," Varin said, taking a step closer.
She crossed her arms in response, calm on the surface.
"VARIN, WATCH OUT!" Vivi shouted. "She has a Devil Fruit. She can grow limbs on people's bodies!"
He already knew that. Three arms burst into existence around his neck, one clamping his jaw, one his cheek, the last wrapping his throat, twisting hard, trying to snap his neck.
Nothing happened. Varin just stood there. He looked at All Sunday. Then at Vivi, then he laughed, "Impressive fruit there, lass," he said easily. "Too bad you ain't strong enough to do anything with it."
It was true. He could feel the pressure, sure, but it was weak. Either the strength didn't carry over, or she herself just didn't have much to give. Either way, it wasn't hard to hold still.
It was annoying, though, so he decided to fix it. He opened his jaw and bit down hard on the hand gripping his cheek. Wolf or not, his fangs were sharper than any normal man's. The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth immediately.
Across from him, a matching bite wound appeared on All Sunday's hand. Judging by the sharp intake of her breath, he'd say it worked.
Varin spat the blood onto the roof and grinned as he stepped closer. He would never admit it out loud, but he enjoyed the look on All Sunday's face. The flash of shock. The way she took a step back when he bared his bloody teeth.
More hands bloomed into existence, snapping toward his eyes, some darting lower, aiming for his jewels. She fought dirty. In a world like theirs, kill or be killed, he expected it. Respected it, even. More of the former than the latter.
He blocked them, catching wrists, shoving others aside. She kept them just out of range of his mouth, but she couldn't stop his hands. The onslaught ended the moment he grabbed one and snapped a finger with a sharp crack.
"Nough of that, lass," he growled. He closed the remaining distance, looming over her as she teetered at the edge of the rooftop. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Vivi. This close, he could fully tell she wasn't bleeding. That was good.
"If you come any closer, I'll kill her," All Sunday said. Her voice was steady, like she had the upper hand. And technically, she did. Varin could already feel it, the potential, the way she could sprout a hand anywhere she pleased, including above him.
He gave an amused huff.
"Nah. You won't," Varin said calmly, even as hands appeared around Vivi's neck. "You know that if I don't kill you, your boss will. And I'm willin' to bet he won't be too pleased if you ruin his plans." His eyes stayed on hers. "Plans that involve the second most important person in the kingdom he's tryin' to overthrow."
He watched her eyes widen. She recovered fast, but not fast enough. Her composure cracked, just a little. The arms around Vivi tensed. All Sunday opened her mouth to speak.
Varin leaned in, close enough to whisper. Cutting her off before she even began.
"And if it wasn't clear, Missy," he murmured, voice low and sharp, just quiet enough that Vivi couldn't hear him. "you do it, and I'll rip you apart, real slow like. I'll chew off your fingers first, one by one, take my time with it. I'll use my claws to open you up." His grin widened. "There's a fun little thing where I'm from called a blood eagle. I'll tear your ribs out of your spine, bend 'em back like wings, and string your lungs between 'em like decorations, and trust me, you'll feel every bit of it."
He pulled back just enough to meet her eyes. "So, unless you want that to be a promise instead of a threat, you're gonna pull those hands back. You'll still get to bring her to Crocodile." His smile sharpened. "Just with a plus one, alright, darlin'."
All Sunday's composure finally shattered. Not all at once in some dramatic display, but enough. Enough that Varin could see it in the way her shoulders trembled, in how her breath came just a little too fast. For a split second, he was almost rooting for her. Almost.
His eyes flicked to Vivi. The arms were gone. That was all the confirmation he needed.
Varin straightened slightly, easing just a fraction of the pressure he'd been putting on the space between them, though he didn't step away. He never took his eyes off All Sunday. "Good choice," he said quietly, more matter-of-fact than mocking. "Smartest one you've made tonight."
He shifted his stance, putting himself just enough between Vivi and the woman to make the message clear without saying it out loud. The threat hadn't vanished. It hadn't even faded. It was just… waiting.
"All's I wanted was cooperation," Varin went on, tone calm, almost casual again. "You gave it. Means we can all keep breathin'."
He wrapped an arm around All Sunday's shoulder like they were old friends, gave her a firm pat, the kind that was just friendly enough to be unsettling, then let go and turned away like the matter was settled.
He crossed the short distance to Vivi and scooped her up under the shoulders without warning, lifting her like she weighed nothing. She let out a small noise of surprise as her feet left the roof.
"Back on your feet, princess," Varin said, setting her down carefully. "Dirty roof ain't no place for a princess."
Vivi laughed, her face still wet from tears, the sound slipping out of her like she hadn't meant for it to happen. It was small, shaky, but real. She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, taking a breath that didn't hitch this time.
"Y-you're awful," she said, voice still unsteady, but there was something lighter in it now. "You know that?"
Varin snorted. "Aye. Been told worse."
She smiled despite herself, straightening her back, shoulders squaring like she was remembering who she was supposed to be. Not just a girl crying on a rooftop. Not just someone about to break. A princess. One who still had people standing with her.
"Well then, lead the way, All Sunday. We've got a Warlord to stop and a clock that doesn't care."
All Sunday muttered a curt "follow me" and turned on her heel. Her whole body was tight, coiled like a wire. Varin stayed close, close enough that if she tried to bolt, he could grab her before she took a second step.
Vivi clung to his arm, her legs still unsteady. She tried to explain what had happened, something about All Sunday's power hurting her from the inside, twisting things where hands couldn't reach. She wasn't clear. Varin didn't think she really understood it herself. What mattered was that it had worked, and it had hurt.
Together, they walked straight into Rain Dinners.
The casino rose out of the desert like a bad joke made real, gold and glass and excess sitting on top of a lake in a country that was dying of thirst. Varin couldn't help it; he was mildly impressed by that alone. Spiteful, but impressive.
Vivi kept her head down as they moved through the main floor, pressing closer into his side whenever someone lingered a little too long or stared up at him like he was something out of place. Varin felt it, the eyes, the whispers, the brief ripple of attention that followed a massive man walking in with a cloaked girl on his arm. It didn't last. All Sunday didn't give them time for it to.
She led them through a back corridor, away from the lights and noise, to a single door set apart from the rest. She stopped there. "Crocodile is waiting for you on the other side," she said flatly.
Varin glanced down at Vivi, then back at the door. His grip tightened just a little.
"Aye," he said. "Well then, princess… shall we end this? Or at least the hardest part of it."
Vivi straightened. Just like that, the shaking stopped. Her shoulders squared, her face cooled, and she nodded once. "Yes," she said. "Let's finish this. Please."
She smoothed her clothes, fixed her posture, and in that moment, Varin could see it clear as day. Not the girl who'd been running herself ragged. Not the one crying in the sand. The princess. Every bit of her.
Varin gestured to the door. Vivi opened it and immediately froze.
A staircase. A long one. Wide, descending into an office that screamed excess. And behind that office, glass. Thick panes looking out over the lake. The same lake he'd clocked earlier had no railings. Still full of massive alligators drifting just beneath the surface. He snorted under his breath. Half the casino's profits probably went straight into legal fees.
Someone sat behind the desk. The man looked like a villain in the most honest way possible. A scar cut straight across his nose. A hook where his left hand should've been. That grin… the kind that didn't belong to anyone decent.
Vivi spoke first. "Crocodile!"
"Miss Wednesday," Crocodile replied smoothly. "Or should I say Princess Nefertari Vivi. I'm so glad you could join us. Please, have a seat."
Before Varin could so much as swear, Vivi bolted. She sprinted down the stairs, fury snapping loose like a chain breaking. Varin moved instantly, but she was already there.
"Mister Zero," she snarled, voice sharp and venomous, "I want nothing more than to see you dead. I'd give everything I have, everything I ever will have, just to watch you rot in hell."
That was new. Varin blinked once. You think you know someone, then they surprise the hell out of you. The peacock-slash-disc things at her wrists spun fast. Vivi hurled one.
It cut clean through Crocodile's neck. His head burst into sand. Then his body. The chair behind him shredded apart as well, scattering grit across the office floor. No blood, just sand pouring back together around Vivi as she skidded to a stop before the desk.
Varin moved. The moment Crocodile reformed, his hands already reaching for her, Varin was there. He slashed down Crocodile's back in one clean, brutal motion.
Unlike Vivi's attack, his connected. Blood welled immediately, running from just below the neck down toward the waist. Deep. Not bone-deep like he would've liked, but deep enough to hurt. Deep enough to weaken.
"Sorry, lad," Varin said flatly, stepping back from Crocodile, "Can't have you touchin' her like that. I'd be a pretty shit bodyguard if I did." He shifted back to make space and nearly tripped as arms sprouted from the floor. All Sunday's doing. They grabbed at his legs, his torso, slowing him just enough.
Crocodile snarled and swung on instinct. The hook tore across Varin's arm before he could fully pull back. Blood sprayed. Varin hissed but didn't retreat, teeth bared, silver eyes locked on Crocodile like a promise.
"YOU KNAVE," Crocodile snarled, finally turning fully toward Varin. The easy smile was gone now, peeled back to show something sharp and mean underneath. "All Sunday, you neglected to inform me we had another… guest."
The way he said guest made Varin snort. Yeah. He definitely wasn't the welcome kind.
"I'm sorry, sir," All Sunday said quickly. Too quickly. Her voice was steady, but her body wasn't, shoulders tight, fingers twitching like she expected Varin to lunge again. "He was too strong for me. I wasn't given a choice. He was very… descriptive about what he would do if I didn't comply. I assumed he wouldn't be a threat to you."
Varin barked a short laugh. "That's generous of ya, lass."
Crocodile's eyes flicked to the blood running down his own back, then to Varin's arm where the hook had torn through flesh. Sand trickled from his shoulders as his body adjusted to Varins….Gift.
"You're not one of her guards," Crocodile said, voice low. "You don't move like one."
"Aye," Varin agreed easily, rolling his neck once. "I'm better."
That earned him a sharp look. Crocodile raised his hook slightly, sand beginning to spiral around it. The air dried, heat biting harder, like the room itself was being wrung out. "You think because you cut me once, you stand a chance?" Crocodile said. "This is my kingdom. My sand. My rules."
Varin shifted his stance, placing himself just a bit more in front of Vivi. Subtle. Intentional. "Funny thing about rules," he said. "They only matter if folk listen."
Crocodile lunged. Sand exploded outward as his body half dissolved, reforming mid-strike. The hook came in fast, faster than before, aimed straight for Varin's throat.
Varin dodged, stepping back and ducking under the hook as he kicked Crocodile, and just like before, it connected.
Crocodile hissed, boots skidding across the floor. "Haki," he spat, more irritated than surprised. "You're full of them, aren't you?"
Varin leaned in, teeth bared in a grin that promised nothing good. "Still learnin'. But I learn fast."
Crocodile yanked himself free, sand bursting between them as he slid back near the desk. His smile was gone completely now, replaced with something colder.
Varin wiped the blood from his arm with the back of his hand and let it drip onto the floor. "Nope." He tilted his head slightly. "Mind answerin' a question for me?" He didn't wait for permission. His arm flicked out, pointing toward the massive cage off to the side, iron bars standing between him and his crew.
"And this ain't just for you," Varin went on, voice carrying. "This is aimed at every single one of ya in there, too. Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Zoro… an' you, Smoker."
His eyes lingered on the cage for a beat before snapping back to Crocodile.
"Luffy, I get," Varin said flatly. "Idiot's got a talent for walkin' headfirst into trouble. But the rest of ya?" His jaw tightened. "How the hell did you end up in a cage like this?"
Crocodile's brow twitched, just barely, eyes sliding toward the cage before returning to Varin. "You talk too much for someone bleeding—"
"I said I had a question," Varin cut in, voice flat now. No grin. No humor. He hooked a thumb back toward the bars again. "And I don't much care who answers it. Luffy, I get. Loud. Annoyin'. Tends to punch himself in the face. But the rest of 'em?"
The cage rattled faintly. Luffy had pressed his face up to the bars, nose squished, eyes wide. "HEY VARIN. YOU OKAY?"
"Aye," Varin said without looking back. "You're the ones I'm curious about."
Nami bristled immediately. "Oi, what's that supposed to mean?"
Zoro said nothing, eyes sharp, already watching Crocodile, cataloging distance and angles like he always did. Smoker just exhaled smoke through his nose, jaw tight.
Crocodile chuckled low. "You see, this is what happens when you stick your nose where it doesn't belong. Collateral."
Varin's gaze snapped back to him. "That's a pretty word for cowardice."
The air dried further. Sand crept along the floor, grains whispering against stone. Crocodile's hook scraped lightly against the desk as he leaned back, utterly relaxed despite the blood still staining his coat.
"Your crew wandered into my operation," Crocodile said. "They learned things they shouldn't have. Asked questions they couldn't afford."
Usopp swallowed hard. "We literally fell through the floor."
Varin snorted despite himself. "Aye. That tracks."
Crocodile ignored it. "As for the marine," he added, glancing toward Smoker, "consider him a convenience. A hero to the public who died to the Strawhat menace."
Smoker's eyes flicked to Vivi, then to Varin. "Tch. Figures."
Varin nodded slowly, like he'd already expected the answer. His shoulders loosened, just a fraction. "So that's it then. Wrong place. Wrong time."
He stepped away from Vivi at last, just enough to roll his neck again, bones cracking softly. His eyes never left Crocodile.
"Well," Varin said, voice low, steady, "bad news for you, lad."
Crocodile raised a brow. "Oh?"
Varin's hand flicked once, dripping more blood onto the marbled floor. "That cage?" He nodded toward it again. "That's my family."
The sand stilled.
"And I don't take kindly to folk usin' my family as furniture."
From the cage, Luffy grinned, teeth flashing. "HEY. DOES THIS MEAN WE CAN BREAK OUT NOW?"
"Why haven't you already?" Varin shot back, exasperated that he ruined the moment, never once taking his eyes off Crocodile.
Nami answered before anyone else could, shoulders slumping like the weight of the world had finally settled on them. "Because the cage is seastone," she said flatly. "It cancels Devil Fruit powers. And before you ask, Zoro can't cut it."
Zoro clicked his tongue in irritation but didn't argue it. "Yet," he added.
Varin let out a slow breath through his nose. Seastone. Of course it was. Crocodile didn't half-ass his traps. He tilted his head slightly, finally sparing the cage a glance, eyes flicking over the bars, the locks, the way Smoker was keeping his hands very deliberately off the metal.
"Right," Varin muttered. "So punchin', burnin', stretchin', and cuttin' are off the table."
Crocodile smiled wider, clearly enjoying this. "You catch on quick."
Varin looked back at him, silver eyes sharp. "Aye. Comes with livin' long enough to hate clever bastards."
His claws flexed once at his side, scraping faintly against the stone floor. "Good thing," Varin added, voice steady, "I'm not the one in the cage."
Crocodile let out a low, humorless chuckle. "You got one good hit in, boy. That's all. You're far too cocky to have survived this long."
Before Varin could answer, heels clicked against stone.
"Sir," All Sunday said smoothly, having repositioned herself just off to Crocodile's side, eyes never leaving Varin. "Operation Utopia is beginning. I would suggest you stop playing with the pirates before your plans are… inconvenienced."
Crocodile sighed like a man interrupted mid-meal. "Ah. You're right. Pity."
He turned slightly, pulling a small key from inside his coat. It glinted under the lights as he held it up, deliberately slow, letting everyone see it. Vivi's breath caught beside Varin.
"Well then, Straw Hats," Crocodile said pleasantly, "thank you for delivering the princess to me. Unfortunately, your usefulness ends here."
Varin tensed, muscles coiling as he prepared to lunge.
"Have fun trying to save your friends." The key dropped.
The hatch snapped open beneath it, and Varin almost lunged on instinct, but sand exploded toward them in the same instant. It wasn't an attack meant to kill Varin, but it would likely kill VIivi if it hit.
Varin twisted, throwing himself in front of her, arms crossing as he braced. The impact felt like being hit by a collapsing building. Stone cracked under his boots as he was driven backward, pain screaming up his arms, his back slamming into Vivi as they skidded several feet across the floor.
He barely had time to register the ache before Crocodile turned his back on them.
A massive tunnel yawned open ahead of the warlord as he walked away, unhurried, coat fluttering behind him.
Then came the sound. A deep, wet scrape. Varin's head snapped toward the side of the tunnel just in time to see one of the massive alligators haul itself fully into the chamber from another hole underneath, jaws parting in a grin that was all teeth and hunger. He planted his feet, rolling his shoulders despite the pain, eyes locked onto the beast. "…Of course," he muttered. "Couldn't just leave us with one problem."
And somehow, impossibly, it got worse.
Water began pouring in through the same hatch the beast had dragged itself through, dark and fast, churning as it spilled across the floor. It wasn't a trickle. It was a deliberate flood.
"Rrrrr," Varin growled, irritation bleeding straight into anger. His eyes snapped around the chamber, cataloging space, height, angles, anything he could turn into leverage before the room became a lake.
"Smoker!" he barked at last. "How strong's that stick of yours?"
Smoker glanced down at the pole he held, then back at the cage. "If you're thinking of breaking seastone, forget it. And before you ask, one of those things swallowed the key. The one that came in first."
Varin's gaze slid back toward the hatch. Two more alligators were pulling themselves inside now, water surging around their bulk, tails thrashing, eyes locked on movement.
"One in the back, aye?" Varin asked.
Smoker answered with a grunt that meant yes and nothing else.
Varin clicked his tongue once. "Figures. Vi, stay here," Varin ordered, not sparing her a glance. He knew how predators worked: you turn your back, they pounce.
Not that it mattered, the first alligator lunged anyway. Its jaws opened wide enough to swallow a house, rows of teeth catching the light as it surged forward on sheer mass and hunger.
So Varin did what any normal person would do. He kicked it. His foot came up, slamming straight into the underside of its jaw. The impact cracked through the chamber, a brutal, bone-jarring sound, teeth snapping together with a wet crunch as the beast's mouth slammed shut mid-bite.
The force lifted the creature's head off the ground for a split second before it crashed back, stunned, water exploding outward around it.
Varin didn't stop. He planted a clawed hand against its snout and shoved, boots skidding as he forced the massive head aside, redirecting its bulk just enough that it smashed into the stone instead of them. "Right," he muttered, rolling his neck as the water climbed past his boots. "Big, stupid, and bitey. I can work with that."
Behind him, Luffy pressed his face to the bars. "HEY. THAT WAS AWESOME."
"Focus!" Nami snapped.
Varin didn't look back. His eyes were locked on the next two advancing shapes, water swirling higher around their legs, the sound of it echoing off the stone like a ticking clock that had learned how to drown people.
"Need some help, ya mangy mutt?" Sanji called out as he dropped in from above, landing square on the back of the alligator that had swallowed the key. His heel came down hard, snapping up and then crashing into the beast's skull with a sharp, ringing crack.
Varin snorted. "Aye. Even you can't be that useless. At least ya can swim."
Sanji shot him an offended look, but Varin was already moving.
He lunged for the nearest alligator, his claws sinking into its hide as he hit it head-on. The thing roared, thrashing, but Varin used the momentum instead of fighting it. He ran along its side, boots slipping on wet scales, his arm driving deeper with every step.
Claw after claw tore through flesh, the gash widening as he moved, blood blooming dark against the rising water. The beast convulsed beneath him, tail slamming wildly, but Varin didn't slow until he reached its shoulder.
He wrenched his arm free in one brutal pull and kicked off, landing hard in the water as the alligator collapsed with a heavy splash, going still.
Varin straightened, water up to his knee now, chest rising slow and steady as he turned toward Sanji and the last remaining threats.
"Oi," he called, baring his teeth in something close to a grin. "Don't get cocky. We still gotta pry a key outta somethin' that wants to eat us. This water gets much higher. I'm going to be out of commission aswell."
"Why pry?" Sanji replied, his voice carrying that easy confidence of someone who had done this exact thing far too many times to count.
He hopped off the alligator's back, rolled his shoulder once, then reared his leg back and drove his heel straight into the beast's stomach.
It worked. The alligator convulsed violently, gagging as it spewed the contents of its gut. The key clattered across the rising water, followed by a smooth, pale wax ball that bobbed once before drifting.
Varin glanced at it for half a second. "The hell is that?"
"Later," Sanji said, already moving.
The remaining alligator lunged. Varin met it head-on.
He jumped into the bite instead of away from it, landing on the thing's nose and jamming his hand straight into the creature's eye. The resistance was wet and horrible, the socket collapsing under the force as the beast screamed and thrashed. Varin snarled back at it, teeth bared, arm buried to the wrist as he twisted and yanked downward.
The alligator's head slammed into the stone floor, sending water splashing up the walls. It went limp almost immediately.
Varin ripped his hand free and shook it once, water and blood spraying. He turned just in time to see Sanji snatch the key from the surface of the water.
"Got it," Sanji said, flashing a grin. "You good?"
Varin flexed his fingers, ignoring the sting. "Aye. Let's get the idiots outta the cage before this place turns into a coffin."