Bardock had deliberately pulled his punch at the very last microsecond. If he hadn't, the golden-capped staff would have completely obliterated Crocodile's skull, turning him into a headless reptile. Even with the held-back blow, the sheer concussive force was enough to instantly knock the Warlord unconscious.
This was the fatal flaw of over-relying on a Devil Fruit.
Without the passive physical enhancement and defensive armor of Armament Haki, Crocodile's physical durability was appallingly fragile. Furthermore, because his fighting style relied entirely on his Sand-Sand Fruit, the moment an opponent figured out his weaknesses or possessed strong Haki, he was instantly placed at a massive tactical disadvantage.
Bardock had controlled the entire battle with absolute ease. Not only was his raw physical strength far superior, but he also possessed perfect, encyclopedic knowledge of Crocodile's entire moveset.
Take the final Desert Encierro for example. The technique required direct, physical contact with the victim's flesh to initiate the dehydration process. All Bardock had to do was project a dense, invisible barrier of Armament Haki a few millimeters above his skin. Since Crocodile was technically only touching the Haki armor and not Bardock's physical body, the dehydration effect was completely negated.
Even if Crocodile had resorted to his hidden, venomous scorpion hook, the outcome wouldn't have changed. Without Haki to pierce Bardock's armor, the poison would never enter his bloodstream.
While the battle had been a flawless victory, it had also highlighted a minor flaw in Bardock's current technique. The Jingu Bang was simply too heavy. When holding it, he couldn't generate enough explosive leg strength to execute Geppo (Moonwalk) and launch himself into the sky. He clearly needed more physical conditioning. He mentally set a new short-term goal: Master Geppo while wielding the Jingu Bang.
"Oh? Now that's a very dramatic pose," Bardock chuckled, pulling out a standard Camera Den Den Mushi.
He snapped several high-quality photos of the unconscious Warlord. Crocodile was currently lying sprawled out in a crater, his limbs splayed out awkwardly—looking suspiciously similar to the iconic 'Yamcha Death Pose' from Dragon Ball.
Sensing the battle was over, the Flying Nimbus descended, dropping Robin and the others safely onto the dunes. Seeing Bardock completely unharmed, they all let out massive sighs of relief.
Robin walked over to the crater and looked down at the unconscious Warlord. "Bardock... are you not going to eliminate him?"
"Nope! Killing Crocodile offers absolutely zero benefits for us," Bardock explained casually. "As a Warlord of the Sea, his sudden death would immediately trigger a massive World Government investigation. The Marines would swarm this island, and our identities would definitely be exposed. Leaving him alive is actually far more beneficial to our long-term goals."
Bardock leaned against his staff. "You see, Crocodile's ambitions are absolutely massive. He didn't become a Warlord to be a lapdog, and he certainly didn't come to Alabasta to play 'Desert Hero'. He's currently operating a massive, covert crime syndicate called Baroque Works, intending to orchestrate a bloody civil war to overthrow the Nefertari royal family. He wants to conquer Alabasta to establish a militarized utopia, all so he can uncover the location of the Ancient Weapon Pluton..."
Bardock briefly summarized Crocodile's entire canonical master plan, outlining the horrific droughts, the manipulation of the rebel army, and the impending civil war.
Hearing that the Warlord was planning to plunge an entire nation of millions into a violent, bloody civil war just to steal an ancient battleship, the crew fell into a stunned silence. 'Is this the true nature of a Great Pirate?' they wondered. To casually orchestrate the destruction of a kingdom and the deaths of countless innocents purely for personal ambition?
"Captain Bardock! You can't let him succeed! So many innocent people will die!" Mansherry cried out, tears welling up in her eyes as she imagined the horrific suffering of the Alabastian citizens.
"She's right, Captain! He's way too dangerous to be left alive!" Chopper agreed, equally horrified by the prospect of a manufactured famine.
"Relax, guys. Crocodile is a hyper-rational, goal-oriented pragmatist," Bardock reassured them. "Once he realizes the location of Pluton, he won't waste another second playing politics or organizing civil wars in Paradise. He'll immediately drop everything and head straight for his actual prize. By giving him what he wants, we're actually saving Alabasta from his scheme."
"Bardock... are you seriously going to tell him the location of Pluton?!" Robin asked, her eyes widening in alarm. "If a ruthless conspirator like him actually gets his hands on an Ancient Weapon, the entire world will be thrown into absolute chaos!"
"Pluton is known as the 'Worst Battleship in History', supposedly capable of vaporizing an entire island with a single shot. But honestly? A weapon of that magnitude is only truly useful in a massive, global war. Using it against anything smaller is just overkill," Bardock reasoned, recalling the fragmented lore surrounding the weapons.
"Besides," Bardock continued, "it's highly suspected that the World Government currently possesses the Ancient Weapon Uranus. Even if Crocodile somehow manages to steal Pluton, the World Government will be forced to mobilize their own Weapon to counter him, keeping the heat off us. But more importantly... retrieving Pluton from Wano Country means he absolutely has to go through Kaido of the Beasts. Frankly, I don't like Crocodile's chances."
"WHAT?! Uranus is in the hands of the World Government?!" Robin gasped, completely ignoring the massive spoiler about Wano. This was absolutely horrifying news!
"So Pluton is hidden in Wano Country..." Daz Bonez muttered, his eyes narrowing.
Before the crew could fully process the massive, world-shaking secrets Bardock had just casually dropped, Bardock turned his attention back to the crater.
"Hey, Croc. How long are you going to keep pretending to be asleep?"
Crocodile's eyes snapped open, blazing with a dark, intense fury. He slowly sat up, clutching his shattered shoulder. "Brat. You knew I was conscious? So... telling them Pluton is in Wano Country... was that just a trap to test my reaction?"
"First of all, don't call me brat. My name is Bardock," the captain corrected him firmly. "And second, I only noticed you were awake a few seconds ago. Pluton actually is buried deep beneath Wano Country. It's a secret so well-hidden that even Kaido himself doesn't know it's there."
Crocodile didn't immediately confirm whether he believed him or not. He just stared at Bardock with deep suspicion. "And how exactly do you know that? I distinctly heard you say that even Nico Robin—the only person alive who can read the Poneglyphs—didn't know its location until just now."
"Hmm... you can think of it as a highly restricted form of precognition," Bardock smiled mysteriously, tapping his chin. "Besides, according to the laws of piracy, the winner takes all. You're sitting in the dirt, and I'm standing. I have absolutely no reason to lie to a defeated opponent, do I?"
"What is your ultimate goal?" Crocodile demanded, refusing to let his guard down. "You defeated me, yet you refuse to kill me. Instead, you casually hand me the location of the world's most devastating weapon. I refuse to believe you have absolutely no interest in acquiring Pluton for yourself."
Crocodile was a man who trusted absolutely no one. He didn't even trust his own top-ranking subordinates. There was no way he was going to be completely convinced by a few casual words from a rookie.
"My ultimate goal? Let's just say I want you guys to cause massive headaches for the World Government and the Emperors, forcing them to divert their attention away from me," Bardock smirked. "Is that a good enough reason? Honestly, Ancient Weapons are only truly appealing to massive, megalomaniacal conspirators like you anyway."
While delivered jokingly, it was actually Bardock's genuine plan. He was about to pull off a massive stunt in the near future. If everything went according to plan, the top brass of the One Piece world would definitely start paying very close attention to him. He needed distractions.
"You guys? 'You guys'?" Crocodile latched onto the plural pronoun. "So I'm not the only Warlord you've approached. I see. From the very beginning... leaking Nico Robin's presence in Erumalu, the arrogant phone call... it was all a meticulously crafted trap to lure me out here, wasn't it?"
Bardock sighed internally. Smart people really did overthink everything. Crocodile was completely convinced this was a grand, multi-layered conspiracy, entirely unaware that Bardock had actually been trying to avoid him. Crocodile had literally brought this beating upon himself.
"Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night," Bardock shrugged dismissively. "I've given you the location of the Ancient Weapon you've been obsessing over for years. I'll even heal your injuries right now. In exchange, I strongly suggest you pack your bags, head to the New World, and focus entirely on getting Pluton. Stop wasting your time trying to overthrow this country. The Nefertari Royal Family is far more complicated than you realize."
Bardock wasn't going to waste his breath trying to prove his innocence. Crocodile could believe whatever elaborate conspiracy theory he wanted.
Walking over to the Warlord, Bardock pulled out a few Blood Dandelions and pressed them onto Crocodile's shattered shoulder and bruised chest. In seconds, the bone completely reset and the internal bleeding stopped.
Looking at the massive, horizontal scar running across Crocodile's face, Bardock figured he might as well go all the way. He pressed a final Dandelion directly onto the scar. As the glowing spores melted into the skin, the jagged, ugly scar completely vanished, revealing smooth, unblemished skin.
Without the scar making him look like a stereotypical mob boss, Crocodile was actually a surprisingly handsome man.
Crocodile touched his newly healed face, his eyes widening slightly before narrowing again. "What exactly is so 'complicated' about the Nefertari Family? I spent years thoroughly investigating Alabasta's political structure before initiating Operation Utopia. I confirmed there were no hidden variables."
"Of course you didn't find anything. It's a secret known only to the absolute highest echelons of the world," Bardock chuckled. "You know about the Celestial Dragons, right?"
Crocodile just glared at him, refusing to answer such a patronizingly obvious question.
"Everyone knows the Celestial Dragons are the descendants of the Twenty Kings who founded the World Government eight hundred years ago," Bardock continued, his tone turning serious. "But that's technically incorrect. They are the descendants of nineteen Kings. One of the original founding monarchs chose not to ascend to Mary Geoise. Instead, they returned to their homeland, choosing to protect their people for generations..."
"...The Nefertari Family. They are one of the original Twenty Royal Families. They possess the exact same bloodline as the Celestial Dragons," Crocodile finished the sentence himself, his eyes widening in sudden realization.
A deep, frustrated scowl marred his handsome face. This was a massive, completely unforeseen variable. If he actually succeeded in assassinating a family with Celestial Dragon heritage, the World Government wouldn't just send the Marines; they would likely deploy CP0 or even an Admiral to completely annihilate him. His entire master plan had been fundamentally flawed from the start.
"What?! The royal family of this country are actually Celestial Dragons?!"
The crew gasped in unison, completely overwhelmed by yet another massive, world-shaking secret.