No matter how severe the injuries they suffer in intense battles, as long as they're still breathing and haven't perished, they can recover at an astonishing speed.
And before long, they can rejoin the fight, once again displaying formidable combat prowess.
It must be admitted that Zoan types have inherent advantages in sustained combat and recovery.
...
"Is anyone there? Is anyone there?"
Several more days passed, and they were nearly at the Devil's Triangle where Moria resided.
But a voice called out from the ship's cabin.
"Oh?"
Lancelot looked over in surprise, then a smile curled at the corners of his mouth.
"Has someone finally reached their limit?"
After all, Mr. 2, Mr. 3, Miss Goldenweek, Mr. 5, Miss Valentine, Mr. 8 [Igaram], and Miss Wednesday [Nefertari Vivi] were still locked in the ship's cages!
Aside from delivering food and water once a day, he hadn't paid them any attention.
Wasn't the point to make them speak up voluntarily?
So he turned to Gin, Lina, Zoro, and Nami and said, "You keep sailing, I'll go check inside."
Then he went down to the lowest level of the ship.
Two large iron cages appeared before Lancelot, with men on one side and women on the other.
Lancelot's gaze swept over everyone, finally settling on Vivi.
"Can you let us go?"
But to Lancelot's surprise, it was Miss Valentine, next to Vivi, who spoke.
He had thought it would be Vivi.
He hadn't expected it to be Miss Valentine, but he didn't dwell on it too much.
Instead, he asked with some amusement, "Let you go? Why should I?"
Miss Valentine replied, "I can join your crew, just like Gin under your command... Wasn't he a pirate before, too?"
"Oh?" Lancelot couldn't help showing a surprised expression. "You even know about his situation! It seems you did some research on me. Unfortunately, your investigation was far from sufficient, which is why you suffered such a crushing defeat at our hands."
Then, after glancing at the others, he added, "It's not impossible for you to join my crew, but what will you offer to earn my trust?"
"Uh..." Miss Valentine was immediately stumped by this question.
She froze in place.
These words successfully made everyone in both iron cages frown.
If possible, who would want to be sent to Impel Down? That's no place for humans.
Lancelot had already turned to leave.
"I can..."
At this moment, Vivi, beside Miss Valentine, could no longer hold back and finally spoke up.
Because she understood that if she didn't speak now, there might truly be no chance left.
Moreover, she absolutely couldn't be sent to Impel Down, for there was still a kingdom waiting for her to save.
In another iron cage, Igaram wanted to speak up to stop her, but his barely opened mouth immediately closed again.
Because he understood that in the current situation, there really were no other options left.
Lancelot turned to look at Vivi, his eyes becoming somewhat expectant.
"Oh? Then tell me, what method do you have to gain my trust?"
"Huff..." Vivi took a deep breath, trying hard to calm herself. "My original name is Nefertari Vivi, princess of the Alabasta Kingdom, and the only heir. If you release me, you will gain the friendship of the entire Alabasta Kingdom. With Alabasta's strength, we can help you advance further in your career."
"WHAT?" Before Lancelot could respond, Miss Valentine beside her widened her eyes in shock.
Not just her—everyone else reacted the same way.
As the intelligence pillar of Baroque Works, Mr. 2 immediately sensed something unusual.
"Then why did you join Baroque Works?"
Vivi glanced at him. Then she smiled bitterly. "Because I suspect that everything Alabasta is currently facing—the drought, the revolutionary army—are all orchestrated by one of the Shichibukai, Sir Crocodile. And I joined Baroque Works because I suspect it's an organization established by Crocodile."
"What?!!!"
The expressions on Mr. 2, Mr. 3, Miss Goldenweek, Mr. 5, and Miss Valentine's faces grew increasingly dramatic.
After all, they never knew that the true master behind their Baroque Works organization was actually the Shichibukai member Crocodile.
After recovering from their shock, they couldn't help but look at each other.
If they had learned this before, they would have cheered.
After all, the more powerful their leader, the more beneficial it would be for them.
But now... looking at Lancelot, their hearts sank.
The more significant their backgrounds as captives, the greater their crimes would be.
Hearing this, Lancelot instead laughed.
"What you said is quite easy to verify—we just need to investigate. So although what you said sounds outrageous, its credibility is quite high."
"I'll tentatively believe you, but... what's in it for me?"
"That's a Shichibukai, and a Logia Ability User at that. Going against him isn't a wise choice."
Upon hearing this, the light in Vivi's eyes immediately dimmed.
But Igaram, beside her, had his eyes light up.
While Vivi didn't catch the underlying meaning, this old man couldn't miss it.
"I am Igaram, captain of the Royal Guard of the Alabasta Kingdom. To protect Princess Vivi and investigate Baroque Works' secrets, I infiltrated Baroque Works with Princess Vivi as undercover agents. If you release us, you don't need to confront Crocodile directly..."
At this point, he extended two fingers.
"200 million Berries. Our Alabasta Kingdom, under my name, Igaram, will offer 200 million Berries as a reward."
Then he added, "Her Highness the Princess is the sole heir of our Alabasta Kingdom. So, you needn't worry about us going back on our word. Our princess is worth this price... Moreover, if you help us deal with Crocodile together, the reward from our Alabasta Kingdom will absolutely exceed your imagination."
"Oh..." Lancelot couldn't help but become interested. "Do tell!"
Igaram extended two fingers once more. "Within the treasury of our Alabasta Kingdom, there are two Devil Fruits. As long as you agree..."
Before he could finish, Lancelot interrupted directly, "Two Devil Fruits aren't worth me confronting Crocodile head-on. He's one of the Shichibukai."
Hearing this, Igaram gritted his teeth.
"There's more, but it's of utmost importance. I can only tell you."
"Oh?"
To be honest, being able to produce two Devil Fruits was already surprising enough for Lancelot.
He truly couldn't imagine what other tempting things the Alabasta Kingdom could offer.
Nevertheless, he leaned in closer.
The others tactfully moved away a considerable distance.
Finally, Igaram whispered a few sentences into Lancelot's ear.
As he spoke, Lancelot's eyes couldn't help but reveal wild joy.
"Are you telling the truth?"
This absolutely exceeded Lancelot's expectations.
For him, it was even more tempting than Princess Vivi herself.
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