War.
What is war?
Crocodile knows it all too well.
He's spent time in the underworld, and he's met many war sellers.
In Crocodile's mind, war is just a bunch of old guys sending young people to die for the coins in their pockets.
Everything is for profit!
But now Crocodile is thinking about what Rowan said.
There's not much history about 800 years ago, but from Rowan's story and how he acts, Crocodile can guess what kind of time it was.
Endless fighting!
To Rowan, who's been through countless wars, the word "war" seems to mean something very different than it does to people now.
War is the end, not the start.
What does that mean?
Only accept war when you have to? Isn't that wasting a chance to get ahead?
While Crocodile is thinking hard, Rowan suddenly disappears, then gets close to Crocodile and opens his eyes wide.
"Hiss..."
Rowan is so fast that Crocodile takes a step back without thinking. "What are you doing?"
"Little Crocodile."
Rowan stares into Crocodile's eyes and says slowly, "War is very scary, you know!"
Crocodile sneers, "Oh, how scary?"
"People will die."
Rowan answers seriously, "Many, many people will die, those involved and those not involved will all die."
"People die? Is that special?"
Crocodile shrugs. He's not a good person, and he's killed many pirates to keep his title as a "national hero."
But what Rowan says next makes Crocodile suddenly shiver.
"People dying isn't special."
Rowan's voice is calm, but he paints a chilling picture:
"But when a desert made of bones and ashes becomes not special, that's the scariest thing."
...
Rowan doesn't lower his voice when he says this, so Vivi nearby hears everything clearly.
A desert made of bones and ashes.
Those words echo in the little princess's mind, making her eyes narrow, and she can't come back to herself for a long time.
Crocodile takes a puff of an unlit cigar and raises his chin at Rowan.
"Hey, aren't you going to comfort her? Cobra will try to fight you!"
Rowan nods when he hears that.
He comes to Vivi and rubs the little princess's sky-blue hair.
"We're never afraid of war, but we shouldn't say we like war either."
"War is the end of everything, so remember to get ready before the end comes."
Vivi listens to Rowan's words, thinking hard, and nods.
Crocodile doesn't think much of Rowan's way of teaching.
"Tsk, showy."
Rowan shrugs and motions, "Your turn?"
"Why should I teach her?"
Crocodile turns his head and looks out the window, "You learn it when you've been through it enough, even if you don't want to!"
Rowan rubs Vivi's head and points at Crocodile,
"This is Little Crocodile. Little Crocodile just taught you a lesson. Say 'Thank you, Little Crocodile.'"
"Thank you, Little... Mr. Crocodile!"
Crocodile: "..."
...
Knock, knock, knock!
Cobra knocks on the study door, then opens it and comes in. He sees Crocodile with a frown, clearly in a bad mood.
He's a little surprised, "Did I come at the wrong time?"
Rowan's voice comes from behind the bookcase.
"No, you came at the right time."
He pushes the big bookcase aside with one hand, clearing a space in the study, and moves the papers on the desk to the side.
Then, he snaps his fingers lightly.
Sand gathers on the desk, forming a model map.
The Sand-Sand Fruit user's ability to make model maps is really top-notch. The location, shape, and details of each island are almost exactly like those on the world map.
Crocodile can do that.
But he can't do what comes next.
Rowan turns his finger, and the location shown on the model map also changes.
As the sand moves, the entire island of Alabasta is enlarged, then floats in the air, with dots of sand floating around it, imitating the nearby sea conditions.
Crocodile watches this scene, his brow furrowed, with a hint of surprise in the depths of his eyes.
As another Sand-Sand Fruit user, Crocodile knows very well how hard it is to control a Logia Devil Fruit.
When he first tried to use the power of becoming an element, he couldn't even keep his human form stable!
As for making model maps, Crocodile can do that, but he can only control the sand to stick together.
Whether it's a sandstorm or a sand blade, they're all big, sweeping moves.
Not just him, but every Logia Devil Fruit user Crocodile knows is like that!
There's a saying on the sea: Logia Devil Fruit users are "nature" itself.
When they attack, it's like the anger of nature, and ordinary people can't resist at all!
Every Logia Devil Fruit user is trying to make their attacks more powerful, but Rowan is clearly an exception.
He seems to have gone to the other extreme.
Just in terms of how carefully he uses his fruit ability, Rowan is perhaps the most extreme person Crocodile has ever seen.
Both the sand soldiers that look just like real people and the sand black gun with metal textures that are clearly visible all prove this.
Is this the exaggeration of a confident person? Or the useless pride of a strong person?
At first, Crocodile thought so, but when he sees the "living" model map in front of him, he suddenly feels that his previous thoughts were wrong.
Sand-Sand Fruit ability, Conqueror's Haki, Armament Haki, and even the Observation Haki that hasn't been fully shown...
The word "precise" runs through all the abilities Rowan has shown so far!
To find Pluton, Crocodile has almost memorized all of Alabasta's terrain, so he can be sure that the model map Rowan has created is shockingly accurate.
It even recreates a small corner sticking out from the edge of the coastline!
Is that useful?
Maybe not, because battles aren't art sculpture contests, and no one cares about that little corner.
But what if Rowan uses this "precise" power in battle?
Crocodile can easily imagine the scene:
Rowan's enemies will definitely feel a sense of despair that they can't breathe under!
Rowan notices Crocodile's gaze on the model map and says with a smile:
"The Sand-Sand Fruit is amazing, right?"
Crocodile glances at Rowan, but in his heart, he's thinking about something else:
Can I do that?
Crocodile has always been like this, he won't give in to anyone, not Whitebeard, and not Ryan Rowan in front of him.
Rowan shrugs and says to the surprised people in front of him:
"Now, let's talk about the first stop for building the Four Seas Alliance, shall we?"
...
About an hour later.
The meeting ends.
An island floats in the center of the model map, not Alabasta, but the destination they discussed.
"Speaking of which, it's been a long time since I went to sea, I really miss it!"
Rowan waves his hand and scatters the precise model map, his voice gradually becoming excited.
"Drum Island, the Medical Kingdom..."
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