Hiroto returned to the Captain's cabin and impatiently opened his panel.
Capturing Nico Robin, recruiting Chopper, heavily wounding two notable members of the Donquixote family, and catching Viola to make her work for him temporarily and killing the King of Drum Island and supporting Dalton's rise ahead of time... well, that last one didn't seem like much.
In short, what would these things add up to?
After opening the panel, what met his eyes was a brilliant orange light, like a gemstone.
'As expected, anything involving the main cast provides orange level Distortion energy.'
Hiroto rubbed his hands in satisfaction and then clicked [Extraction] without hesitation.
The dazzling orange light exploded before his eyes.
[Entry — Reflection (Orange) acquired!]
[Entry: Reflection]
[Quality: Orange]
[Type: Active]
[Effect: Consumes one-tenth of total stamina to create a 'Reflection' against any arbitrary attack.]
[Cost: Stamina]
[Note: Reflection, reflect your reflection, reflect your reflection's reflection...]
"What a high cost, a fixed ratio?"
Hiroto was somewhat surprised, but after reviewing the content, he showed an expression of realization.
This thing could probably even reflect Kaido's Bolo Breath, because there was no upper limit labeled for [Reflection].
This meant that when facing top-tier powerhouses, Hiroto had at least seven or eight chances to take and return an attack. The drawback was the fixed consumption.
In terms of level, it should belong to the lower-tier of the orange grade, which matched Chopper's weight in the plot.
No matter how likeable Chopper was, his role within the main cast was certainly not as central as the three main combatants or Nami. He held a status just a step above Usopp, though.
'Not bad. When facing those top powerhouses, I'll have some room to struggle.'
Hiroto closed the panel, got up, and began training. He didn't stop to rest and sleep until late at night.
...
The next day, Alabasta, Rainbase.
A dark-faced Crocodile sat in his executive chair, gazing at the water curtain outside the glass.
Massive crocodiles swam through it, their huge shadows occasionally blocking the light, making the room flicker between light and dark, much like his own expression.
Purururu...
The den den mushi suddenly rang, and Crocodile answered immediately.
"President, we have already dispatched people from nearby bases to track the Hiroto Pirates' whereabouts. They have moved out in full force, there will be feedback soon."
"Find them as quickly as possible."
Crocodile left a cold remark and then hung up the phone.
He looked at the water curtain outside the glass, his expression grim. "Robin, have you betrayed me again like before, or were you truly captured?"
The personnel dispatched to Drum Island to bring back the Devil fruits had sent no news for several days. Even Robin had lost contact.
Crocodile naturally understood that something had happened. It took him some effort to retake control of Baroque Works.
He also received the news from Whiskey Peak, as well as the report that Whiskey Peak was the first to react, searching everywhere to track the Hiroto Pirates' movements.
Finally, Crocodile mobilized almost all the power of Baroque Works to cast a wide net and search for the Hiroto Pirates' whereabouts.
As soon as the location was confirmed, he would take action.
Crocodile hadn't expected that the Sea-Cleaving Swordsman Hiroto, who had slain Moria, would clash with him so abruptly.
But it didn't matter, as long as Robin wasn't dead. If Robin wasn't dead, there was still hope for Pluton.
As long as he could get Pluton, Crocodile was confident he could take revenge on Whitebeard and use it to become the second Pirate King after Roger.
As for Hiroto...
This person had brought him trouble.
So, once I find you, I will definitely drain every drop of blood from your body while you're still alive.
Crocodile's eyes were dark, he was already dissatisfied with this rising star to the extreme.
As for the fact that the other party had killed Moria, a fellow Warlord...
What a joke, how could Moria be worthy of comparison with him?
Crocodile closed his eyes to rest, waiting for new information.
Meanwhile, far away in a certain sea area of the Grand Line, the Going Merry had just finished an extremely abrupt battle.
Encounter, discovery, and then launching an attack.
It was a pirate ship seized by the Baroque Works members at the Whiskey Peak base.
In the sixth second of the battle, it was split in two by Zoro's flying slash. Those who fell into the sea didn't even have time to struggle before being picked off by Van Augur. They had no room to perform at all before dying in the vast ocean.
However, not everyone died. Two people survived.
"Names."
"Igarappoi."
"Vivi."
On the Going Merry, besides a duck, two people—a man and a woman—who were tied up tightly answered.
Hiroto looked with some surprise at the woman.
She had light blue wavy hair reaching past her waist. Her looks were not inferior to Nami's, and her figure was very eye-catching, an hourglass shape.
But the point that attracted Hiroto was not that, but her identity.
The princess of the Alabasta Kingdom, Nefertari Vivi.
And the one next to her was Igaram.
"You—"
Hiroto was about to say something when he suddenly looked up.
Immediately after, Van Augur seemed to have discovered something and instantly raised his gun, firing several consecutive shots.
Above the Going Merry, a massive falcon fell miserably from the sky, transforming into human form in the blink of an eye and crashing onto the deck with a thud.
"Pell?!"
Vivi's exclamation revealed the identity of that figure.