"Heika, what are you talking about? I don't understand." Crocodile tried to play dumb, his mind racing for a way out.
Ronan didn't give him the chance to brush it off. His tone stayed flat—cold.
"Crocodile. You invaded the Alabasta Kingdom palace. For your own selfish desires, you completely shattered the peace of the Grand Line, first half."
Ronan took a small step forward. A sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.
"Your crimes don't get Ōka Shichibukai privileges with me. And don't forget—your status has already been stripped away."
Crocodile's face sank completely, vicious light rising in his eyes.
"So what?" he snarled. "What do you plan to do, Heika? Deliver justice for Alabasta? Or do you really think you can rule the entire Grand Line, first half? You think the World Government would agree?"
He was trying to sow discord—his only play right now. He didn't know what had happened between Ronan and the World Government. He believed those words could make Ronan hesitate.
Ronan laughed and shook his head.
"Looks like you don't know anything. Right now, the Grand Line is mine to command—and the World Government can't control it."
That single sentence crushed Crocodile's last hope. He hadn't expected Ronan to say it so openly—without the slightest attempt to hide it.
Had he really stopped caring about the World Government entirely?
What kind of deal had he made?
"Then what do you want?!" Crocodile roared, furious. "You're going to kill me? What do you gain from that?"
"Gain?" Ronan's lips curled. "Plenty."
"The Grand Line, first half needs peace right now. And even after the Lulusia Kingdom announcement a few days ago, you still attacked the Alabasta royals without a shred of restraint."
Ronan's voice wasn't loud, but every word carried killing intent as it drilled into Crocodile's ears.
"So now, your blood will bear Lulusia's wrath."
He looked at Crocodile again. Ronan's golden eyes held no emotion—only three sheets of ice-cold resolve.
"Your death—an ex-Ōka Shichibukai, the true culprit behind the Alabasta tragedy—will tell the world this: in the Grand Line, first half, no one who commits crimes can escape Lulusia's judgment."
"That is the gain I want."
Crocodile's expression turned ugly. He stood there like he'd been struck by lightning.
He finally understood Ronan's intent.
Ronan wanted to use his death to declare Lulusia's stance—to cement its authority over the Grand Line, first half.
An ex-Ōka Shichibukai carried enough weight. Enough to intimidate the entire region.
"Bastard! In your dreams!" Crocodile exploded, his last shred of reason swallowed by raw survival instinct. He spat his cigar out and his whole body turned to sand.
"Lone Crescent Sand Dune!!"
A gigantic sand blade—along with a sky of swirling yellow sand—came howling toward Ronan and the others around him!
Crocodile knew it. This was the only chance.
If Ronan was even slightly overconfident, a desperate gamble could create chaos… and maybe—just maybe—he could break through with Mr. 1.
But against a sandstorm terrifying enough to swallow an army in an instant—
Beth simply drew her sword from her back.
She slashed at the incoming sand blade.
A massive flying slash collided head-on with the raging sandstorm—then the sandstorm froze in place for a heartbeat… before collapsing.
Every grain lost its force and spilled to the ground in a helpless rustle.
Crocodile stared in shock.
His full-power strike had been stopped just like that—without causing them any trouble at all.
But losing focus on a battlefield comes with a price.
In the instant Crocodile blanked, he didn't even see the movement. His vision flickered—then a cold, stabbing pain bloomed at his neck.
Neferpitou had appeared at his side at some point. One black, razor-sharp claw rested lightly against his throat. With the slightest pressure, it could pierce straight through.
At this distance—against Conqueror's Haki and Observation Haki—even a Logia wouldn't have time to slip into intangibility.
"Don't move, big sand~ The King hasn't finished talking yet."
"Boss!" Mr. 1 panicked.
But there was nothing he could do. Facing monsters like Neferpitou and the others, Mr. 1 felt a crushing helplessness.
"…Damn it." Crocodile felt the edge of that claw against his throat and didn't doubt for a second that any twitch would open him up.
He'd been careless.
He'd been rattled by their lineup—otherwise he wouldn't have fallen this fast. Annoyance at his own lack of calm churned in his gut, but regret was useless now.
Ronan looked at Crocodile—now frozen in place. He also hadn't expected Neferpitou to pin him down so easily.
No matter what, Crocodile was a Logia user. If it were a direct one-on-one in close quarters, it should've taken real effort.
Ronan's gaze shifted to the two of them, and a new question surfaced.
Only Crocodile and Mr. 1 were here.
He'd thought Robin would be present too. It seemed he'd underestimated her caution.
But it didn't matter.
Ronan wasn't interested in Robin. She was a hot potato—because the World Government's obsession with burying history came before everything.
Anyone—any force—that tried to uncover that history would be met with the World Government's full power.
Ronan even suspected that if "destroy Lulusia" and "hide the true history" were placed side by side, the World Government would still choose the second one as the higher priority.
The news that Crocodile had been captured by the Lulusia Kingdom spread at an astonishing speed across the Grand Line, first half—and even farther seas beyond.
That single headline triggered huge, sharply divided reactions among the many small nations, islands, and towns of the region.
First were the weaker countries and autonomous islands that were constantly harassed by pirates.
When their kings and officials saw the newspaper report that Crocodile had been seized, many of them let out long breaths—faces filling with palpable relief.
"Crocodile… that sand croc… he actually got caught? And by Lulusia?"
"This is insane—how long has it even been? Alabasta's mess isn't even settled, and the culprit is already in chains?!"
"Lulusia's strength is terrifying…"
After the shock came deep lingering fear… and even deeper gratitude.
(End of Chapter)
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