Crocodile was a man who enjoyed gambling; this was evident from the casino he operated in Rainbase as a front.
Not only did he enjoy gambling, but he had a particular fondness for high stakes. Thanks to his exceptional daring, resourcefulness, and the favor of Lady Luck, he had always been a winner.
Yet this time, cornered by the Magician's open conspiracy, he had no choice but to bet everything on Pluton, hoping to turn the tables with this terrifyingly powerful Ancient Weapon.
Unfortunately, it seemed that this time, he had lost the bet...
Squelch... The sound of blood splattering.
Pulling out the golden hook on his left hand, Crocodile looked down at Miss All Sunday lying in a pool of blood. His gaze was so sinister it seemed to drop the surrounding temperature by several degrees.
"Actually, I'm not surprised by this outcome..."
Suppressing the urge to hack this treacherous beauty into pieces, Crocodile revealed a slightly morbid, eerie smile. Paired with the massive, centipede-like scar across his face, it looked exceptionally harrowing.
"...Because other than myself, I have never trusted anyone!!!"
"But don't worry, I won't let you die, Nico Robin."
"Because until you tell me the exact location of Pluton, I will show you what a fate worse than death looks like!"
Saying this, Crocodile reached out to grab Robin, who lay on the ground in agony.
However, just then, the entire Royal Tomb began to tremble violently. Accompanied by a thunderous rumbling, rubble and dust rained down, as if an earthquake had struck.
Crocodile's expression tightened, and he turned his head thoughtfully to look at the King lying nearby.
"I will not let you awaken that Ancient Weapon..." Throwing aside the stone brick in his hand, Cobra looked with steely determination at the culprit who had thrown his country into chaos, articulating every word:
"In the name of the twelfth King of Alabasta!"
"Tch, you really are a model king." Crocodile spat lightly and mocked, "Whatever. In a moment, I'll turn the rubble into sand and escape, while you can stay here and wait for death like a good boy!"
"Bastard Crocodile!!!!" A roar full of vitality rang out.
(This voice is... How is that possible? Isn't he dead?!)
Crocodile's expression changed abruptly. He turned in disbelief toward the source of the sound, only to see a figure wearing a straw hat nimbly dodging the falling debris from the Royal Tomb's ceiling, charging straight at him.
"I'm here to send you flying again! Bastard Crocodile." Coming to a stop in front of Crocodile, Luffy assumed a fighting stance, his eyes burning as if filled with raging fire!
"I won't lose this time!"
"It's... Straw Hat Boy..."
Robin raised her head with some difficulty, looking at the familiar figure confronting Crocodile, her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief. She really hadn't expected to meet this airheaded captain here again.
"Hmph! The Grand Line is full of guys like you who only talk big!" Sand and dust instantly swirled and churned around Crocodile as his cold eyes stared dead at the reckless Straw Hat kid before him.
The final battle in the Royal Tomb had begun!
The northern port of Alubarna, where the Marines had landed.
Wooden sword, dead-fish eyes, naturally wavy blonde hair, and a pristine white Marine uniform. Vice Admiral Hisoka looked the same as always, except he had shed his usual laziness and decadence. His back was straight, and he resembled an unsheathed sword, radiating an imposing sharpness!
"Long time no see, Hisoka." Vice Admiral Raiman stroked his beard and greeted his old comrade. Then, looking at the naturally wavy blonde's empty back, he asked in confusion, "Why aren't you wearing your Marine coat? I remember you used to love that thing."
The Marine coat, emblazoned with the word Justice, could be said to be the most representative symbol of a Marine officer. That coat flapping in the wind was the dream of countless young Marines.
And more importantly, the coat was super cool!
"I threw that coat away five years ago..." Hisoka said faintly. "Because I couldn't carry the word Justice on it. I wasn't worthy of carrying it."
Raiman was stunned for a moment by Hisoka's veiled words. Then, recalling something from the past, he sighed deeply.
"I know. You couldn't accept it after learning the truth five years ago, but..." The bearded Vice Admiral looked at the solemn Hisoka and continued, "But you must understand, Akainu-dono had no choice back then..."
"Enough!" Hisoka shouted, cutting off Raiman's next words. "In the name of Absolute Justice, right? You don't need to say anymore, Raiman."
"This isn't the time to discuss this!"
Having said that, Hisoka looked at the blue-haired girl standing not far away, who looked worried sick. A trace of guilt flashed in his dead-fish eyes. After all, Crocodile's ability to thrive in Alabasta all these years was partly due to his own laziness and inaction.
Taking a deep breath, Vice Admiral Hisoka tightened his grip on the wooden sword at his waist.
"Let's head to Alubarna first. No need to wait for that Rear Admiral Alan."
"Huh?" The bearded man's hand froze on his beard, his brow furrowing. "But without a 'natural enemy' present, even if we both know Armament Haki, we aren't guaranteed to take down Crocodile."
After all, Armament Haki only gave ordinary people a means to bypass elemental intangibility.
"We can't wait!" The expression on the naturally wavy blonde's face was unusually serious. "That guy's goal is an Ancient Weapon called Pluton. We must stop him immediately!"
"Also, he's holding the current King of Alabasta hostage!" This was intelligence Hisoka had just obtained from Princess Vivi.
"Pluton??!!" Vice Admiral Raiman's eyes widened in shock. Back at Enies Lobby recently, he had often heard that guy Spandam muttering about the "blueprints for Pluton." Although the bearded Marine didn't know exactly what it was, something that the chief of CP9 cared about so much was definitely important!
On the other side, Pell turned to look at Princess Vivi, who was still fraught with worry. He sighed and comforted her in a low voice:
"Princess Vivi, you don't need to worry. Sherlock told me that they would slip away in the chaos while the Marines engage Crocodile. They'll be fine."
But hearing Pell's words, the blue-haired girl remained silent, her mood becoming even more depressed.
Vivi now fully understood why Sherlock had sent her to the Marines. Aside from it being the safest place, the Magician intended to use this opportunity to completely sever ties between the Straw Hat Pirates and Vivi, the princess, before leaving without saying goodbye.
Theoretically, this was the perfect ending for both parties.
However, a certain blue-haired girl didn't feel that way in her heart...
(Mr. Glasses...)
Vivi sighed faintly, her eyes resembling shattered stars, evoking pity. Who could truly understand the feelings in her heart at this moment?
Under the dusky yellow sky, the battle in the plaza raged on.
(I never thought there would be a day when I'd fight side-by-side with pirates...)
With a flash of her blade, blood sprayed. After cutting her enemy down, Tashigi looked at the Straw Hat crew fighting alongside her, and at a certain strange creature treating Captain Smoker. Her somewhat dirty face was filled with confusion.
Although she was a bit of an airhead, the blue-haired female Marine quickly realized she had misunderstood these pirates who had saved her superior. Subsequently, she began helping the Royal Army alongside Zoro, Sanji, and the others.
(Why? Why are these pirates helping the Royal Army? Is it really as Captain Smoker deduced—that the Straw Hats are here to help Princess Vivi?)
(Aren't pirates just a bunch of trash who commit all kinds of evil?)
(Is this... the Justice I seek?)
As she pondered, Tashigi's gaze grew unfocused. Her hands gripping the sword trembled involuntarily, and she failed to notice an enemy suddenly springing up behind her.
Her heart was in turmoil.
Having finished off his own opponent, the green-haired swordsman breathed heavily. Even with his monstrous physique, he was finding it hard to cope with such high-intensity combat—especially since he had sustained serious injuries in his duel with Mr. 1 earlier.
Clamping Wado Ichimonji back between his teeth, Zoro instinctively looked in Tashigi's direction. What he saw was a giant machete about to strike the female Marine, who was standing there in a daze.
"Idiot! Watch your back!!!" the green-haired swordsman roared anxiously. He wanted to rush over to save her, but it was too late.
However, in that nick of time.
Whoosh! A black figure flashed by.
Bang!!! With a muffled thud accompanied by the crisp sound of cracking bones, the pirate attempting to ambush Tashigi was kicked away like a cannonball.
"!!!"
The airheaded glasses-girl finally snapped back to reality. She hurriedly turned around, and her eyes landed on a blond man with curly eyebrows.
"Are you alright, beautiful mademoiselle?" Retracting his leg, Sanji struck a pose he considered dashing, showing absolutely none of the wariness a pirate should have when facing a Marine.
Or perhaps, in the eyes of this lovesick cook, as long as it was a lady—Marine or pirate—she was someone he had to protect.
(I was... saved by a pirate?)
Blinking her large, bright eyes, Tashigi looked with a complex expression at the blond man showing off in front of her. For a moment, she didn't know what to say.
(These pirates... are really too strange...)
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