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"SKY SOVEREIGN ROWEN!" Crocodile snarled, his face a mask of utter darkness as he stared at the image projected by the Transponder Snail.
Though he had never t the man in person, the snail's mimicry, combined with the user's voice, always bore a resemblance. That suprely confident smile—was identical to the one on the wanted poster.
Combined with the agent's earlier report that Straw Hat Luffy was also present... the identity of the person on the other end of the line was undeniable.
Crocodile's expression grew incredibly grim.
So—it was this man helping Nefertari Vivi!
If Crocodile had previously dismissed this super rookie as insignificant... now, a deep sense of foreboding settled in his heart.
Combat strength capable of overwhelming Vice Admiral Gion—even in the New World, that signified an absolute powerhouse.
With such an ally, no wonder Mr. 1 and the others were defeated swiftly.
Mr. 1 was strong, yes, but before soone of that caliber, he was like dust. Mr. 3 and the others wouldn't even register.
With such a force involved, and Gion still lurking in Alabasta... the situation had beco incredibly complicated.
Worse still—Nico Robin was in this man's hands!
Crocodile's mind raced, his dark thoughts churning.
What was this man's objective? Why interfere in Alabasta's affairs?
But the man's next words sent Crocodile into an imdiate, incandescent rage.
"You want Pluton? Want to know where it is?"
Seeing the mocking smile on the Transponder Snail's projected face, veins bulged on Crocodile's forehead.
"Did that woman, Nico Robin, betray ?!" Crocodile hissed, his voice dangerously low.
"Betrayal? Weren't you two just in a cooperative relationship? Besides, for sothing this simple, do I even need Robin to tell ? If you want Pluton's location, co to Alubarna. I'll give you two days. I have no patience to play your pathetic little 'build a military nation' gas. Understood, Crocodile?"
Click!
Before Crocodile could utter a single word, the call was disconnected.
"BASTARD!" Crocodile roared, smashing the Transponder Snail against the wall, his eyes bloodshot.
It had always been him threatening others, manipulating others, leading others by the nose! Now—to be so blatantly toyed with by so brat who had just entered the Grand Line!
Only giving him two days?!
The sheer arrogance!
Who did this brat think he was?!
What enraged Crocodile even more was that his opponent clearly knew about Operation Utopia—and had contemptuously dismissed it as a "PATHETIC LITTLE GA"!
The most infuriating part? He truly had no other choice! He had to reach Alubarna within two days!
Otherwise, if this man left Alabasta with Nico Robin... the sea was vast; where would he ever find her again?
If Pluton fell into this brat's hands... then all his years of planning and scheming would have been for nothing—rely paving the way for this upstart!
After running through all possibilities, the only course of action left was to do exactly as the brat dictated: Reach Alubarna within two days.
This feeling of being manipulated, forced to follow this brat's plan—for Crocodile, who was accustod to controlling everything—WAS MADDENING!
"Bastard! Since you want to help Nefertari Vivi—then just you wait!" Crocodile seethed, his eyes bloodshot. He began issuing orders.
Mr. 2 was to head imdiately to the Rebel Army's headquarters, use his Clone-Clone Fruit ability to impersonate their leader, Koza, and instigate imdiate, widespread conflict!
All Baroque Works agents infiltrated within Alabasta's Royal Army and the Rebel Army were to imdiately begin sowing discord and escalating hostilities between the two factions!
He would plunge Alabasta into the flas of total war!
"Buru-buru-buru!"
Just as a sliver of vengeful satisfaction began to course through Crocodile, the Transponder Snail rang again.
Seeing the snail he had smashed against the wall now lying on the floor, Crocodile's eye twitched, but he had no choice but to use his Sand-Sand Fruit powers to retrieve it.
Click!
"Oh, by the way—if you're thinking of using the Clone-Clone Fruit or your infiltrated agents to incite war... I'll be very displeased. And you should know what happens when I'm displeased, right, Crocodile?"
The snail projected an image of an intensely mocking smile, then imdiately disconnected again.
Crocodile's face contorted in a silent snarl.
BASTARD!
That bastard—he deliberately didn't say that earlier!
Crocodile knew that kind of smile all too well.
It was the smile of soone relishing complete control, toying with an insignificant ant.
Because when he was the one in control, toying with his own pawns—he wore the exact sa smile.
Only now—he was the one being toyed with.
But!
A cruel, predatory grin slowly spread across Crocodile's own face.
So what if this man knew about Operation Utopia through Nico Robin?
Crocodile still had one final, hidden trump card.
That super-bomb—with an explosion radius of five kiloters!
A bomb not even Nico Robin knew about.
Since this brat specifically forbade him from inciting rebellion in Alabasta, it proved one thing: the brat cared deeply about Alabasta, or perhaps about Nefertari Vivi.
Sotis—being arrogant, assuming you control everything—that was the most fatal mistake!
Through this conversation, the brat had inadvertently handed Crocodile a crucial piece of intel.
This bomb, capable of obliterating Alubarna—was Crocodile's ultimate bargaining chip!
'Little brat! Thinking you can control everything? You're still far too naive!'
Crocodile stared at the disconnected Transponder Snail, his smile growing even more savage.
Alubarna, Royal Palace of Alabasta.
"What an incredible bomb! And it's tid!" Usopp exclaid, cold sweat beading on his forehead as he examined the massive explosive device before them.
"Crocodile—that bastard!" Vivi's father, King Nefertari Cobra of Alabasta, stared at the bomb, his face pale with lingering fear.
If not for Rowen... if this bomb had detonated in the heart of Alubarna—Cobra shivered just imagining it.
"Even I didn't know about this bomb. But Crocodile... that man was always this insidious," Robin comnted, fine beads of sweat also appearing on her brow as she looked at the device.
"Rowen! Thank you... Thank you so much!" Vivi cried, tears welling in her eyes as she threw herself into Rowen's arms.
At this mont, Vivi could no longer hide her emotions—She clung tightly to Rowen, greedily inhaling his scent, which brought her an imnse sense of security. Vivi didn't dare imagine what would have beco of Alabasta under Crocodile's heinous plan if not for Rowen.
"I told you—I wouldn't let you wear that expression again," Rowen said gently, stroking Vivi's hair, feeling the warmth of her embrace, a soft smile on his face.
Nearby, King Cobra watched them, his eyes initially wide, then softening into a resigned, understanding smile. For Cobra, his daughter's happiness was paramount. And this man... had saved Alabasta.
"But Rowen, why didn't you just expose Crocodile's entire plot directly?" Usopp asked curiously.
"If I revealed everything... what if he got scared and didn't show up? You need leverage to bring soone to the bargaining table," Rowen replied with a smile.
After arriving in Alubarna, Vivi had told King Cobra everything.
Rowen, anwhile, used his Observation Haki to locate the bomb, finding it exactly where it was placed in the original story—the clock tower in Alubarna's main plaza.
Only after neutralizing all unstable factors did Rowen deliberately reveal their presence.
Otherwise, with Rowen's current Observation and Conqueror's Haki, the few spies Crocodile had stationed here would never have detected them and Vivi.
"Including my second call—forbidding Crocodile from inciting rebellion—the primary goal was, of course, to minimize casualties from war in Alabasta. The secondary goal was to convey to Crocodile that I value Alabasta, that I value Vivi. It also makes Crocodile think I'm an arrogant fool who believes he has everything under control. That way, this bomb becos Crocodile's biggest bargaining chip. And with a chip like that—of course he'll dare to co to the table," Rowen explained.
"SUGEEEEEEEEE! Everything is completely under your control, Rowen!" Usopp exclaid, looking at Rowen with awe.
The others also smiled.
Rowen's mind was always so sharp; following his strategy, they always held the absolute initiative.
Hearing Rowen say he valued her, Vivi blushed deeply, but this ti, she didn't look away, eting Rowen's gaze directly.
"Princess Vivi has really grown up,"
Chaka (user of the Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Jackal) and Pell (user of the Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Falcon)—hailed as Alabasta's two guardian deities—watched Vivi from nearby, their expressions fond. They had watched Vivi grow up; she was like a niece to them.
"And the partner she's found is outstanding. That Crocodile, known for his cunning sches, is being completely played by this young man," Pell added, awestruck.
"Princess Vivi's judgnt, of course, is never wrong," Chaka agreed with a smile.
"If Crocodile contacts you, you know how to respond, right?" Rowen asked, looking towards Mr. 7 and Miss Father's Day (the Baroque Works agents originally assigned to guard the bomb) with a calm smile.
"Y-Yes! UNDERSTOOD!" Mr. 7 and Miss Father's Day replied fearfully.
"Alright. Put this bomb back where you found it. I've already dealt with its contents using the Munch-Munch Fruit. It's just an empty shell now. That way, even if Crocodile sends soone to check, they won't find anything," Rowen explained, smiling at King Cobra.
"A flawless plan," Cobra praised, deeply impressed.
"Next, we just wait for Crocodile to walk right into our net," Rowen finished, a confident smile on his face.
After so much preparation—it was finally ti to close the net.
After ending the call with Rowen, Crocodile raced frantically towards Alubarna.
Finally, within the two-day deadline Rowen had set, he arrived. The tight schedule left even Crocodile looking sowhat fatigued, his eyes burning with suppressed fury. It had been a long ti since he had been led by the nose like this!
But... the biggest trump card was still in his hands.
Looking towards Alubarna's most prominent clock tower, Crocodile's lips twisted into a savage grin.
Then, Crocodile began to enter Alubarna.
"Mr. Crocodile!"
Crocodile made his entrance into Alubarna with great fanfare.
Using his Warlord status, Crocodile had propagated influence in Alabasta for years—By hunting down pirates causing trouble and leveraging newspaper propaganda, he had successfully crafted an image as Alabasta's hero.
This ostentatious entrance was designed to draw more attention, to use these foolish, manipulated citizens to further strengthen his hand.
Crocodile wore a false smile, attracting the gazes of more citizens as he headed towards the Royal Palace.
But he hadn't taken more than a few steps when—
WHOOSH! BANG!
A fist, gleaming with the dark, tallic sheen of Armant Haki, slamd heavily into Crocodile's face.
WHOOSH!
Under the imnse force, Crocodile's face contorted violently. He was sent flying like a cannonball.
At that mont, Crocodile was completely stunned.
It wasn't just the shock of being hit in the head by Haki; he was utterly bewildered by the situation!
Hadn't he just arrived in Alubarna, exactly as this brat demanded?!
Didn't this brat have sothing—using Pluton as leverage—to negotiate with him?!
Otherwise, why go through all this trouble to make him co to Alubarna?!
Before arriving, Crocodile had considered countless possibilities—but never this! He hadn't even seen the brat's face properly, hadn't exchanged a single word—and he was instantly sent flying by a Haki-infused punch!
"Took you long enough! I was getting impatient, Crocodile!" Rowen's voice, laced with laughter, called out as he transford into a stream of smoke, rocketing towards the airborne Crocodile.
FWOOSH! Crocodile dissolved into a swirl of sand, reforming on an empty patch of ground nearby, attempting to use his elental form to mitigate the secondary impact damage.
But the next mont—
WHOOSH! BANG!
Crocodile's remaining good hand was wrenched behind his back by Rowen.
Crocodile—was instantly captured by Rowen!
"Sky Sovereign Rowen!!" Crocodile twisted his head, glaring murderously at Rowen, his eyes bloodshot. His head was still spinning.
Being struck in the head by Haki so unexpectedly... Crocodile hadn't fully recovered his senses yet.
'Such Powerful Haki...' Crocodile looked at Rowen, veins bulging on his forehead.
"That's ," Rowen replied with a wide grin.
"What in the world... are you doing?!" Crocodile finally sensed sothing was terribly wrong.
This place was too quiet!
No one around... This empty space—felt like it had been deliberately prepared.
Almost as if—it were a specially designed battlefield.
"Figured it out? That's right. This place—is where you'll be buried," Rowen stated, smiling as he observed Crocodile's dawning horror.
The Sand-Sand Fruit, among Logias, was only T2 (Tier 2)—inferior to the Flare-Flare Fruit. Even awakened, based solely on its fruit power, it only reached the Deep Gold Trait tier.
Furthermore, the Sand-Sand Fruit had a fatal weakness: water. If the user was doused with water, they couldn't use their sand powers.
And its ability to absorb water was limited to the user's hands.
Crocodile, having only one hand, ant that ability was already halved—And now, Crocodile's remaining water-absorbing hand was pinned behind his back by Rowen.
As for why Rowen prepared this specific battlefield? Naturally, to ensure Crocodile's defeat with absolute certainty.
The Sand-Sand Fruit's power was greatly amplified in a desert environnt. Rowen certainly wouldn't allow Crocodile any ho-field advantage.
From the mont Crocodile stepped into Alubarna—his fate was sealed.
A terrifying killing intent enveloped Crocodile.
"My burial place?!" Crocodile's face turned ashen.
In that instant, Crocodile finally grasped the truth.
Rowen—had absolutely no intention of negotiating with him!
This brat—only wanted his life!
"ELENTIZE——!" With his main water-absorbing hand captured, Crocodile imdiately tried to dissolve into sand, hoping to create distance from Rowen.
While Haki could strike a Logia user's true body, if the user could negate the Haki on the captured part of their body with their Devil Fruit power, they could still elentize.
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