“The storybooks say that in this kind of situation, they’re supposed to double-cross us after the deal. Why did they just leave?”
Chloe and Yamato did not stop them from leaving. The money and goods had already been exchanged, and those people posed no threat according to their senses, so there was no need to obstruct them.
“You seem awfully eager for something unexpected to happen during this mission. The way you’re talking makes it sound like you’re an undercover agent sent by the other side…”
“How could that be?!”
“For an infiltrator, one flaw is a flaw, but if your entire body is full of flaws, then it’s the same as having no flaws at all. And you just happen to be full of flaws.”
They appeared to be bickering, but the two of them had already begun preparing their attacks in perfect coordination. A ball of lightning gathered in Chloe’s hand, while Yamato’s body was gradually covered in fur as she began entering her Beast Form.
For a Mythical Zoan user, using elemental abilities without transforming was a rather difficult advanced technique.
When one’s control over the ability was still insufficient, even after learning how to do it, it was easy to consume more stamina and achieve only half the result for twice the effort.
To be safe, it was better to transform first.
Thunderbolt and ice shot toward the sand dune almost simultaneously. The unknown creature continued to emit a dangerous presence, and it had secretly followed those people here. There was nothing wrong with striking first.
However, the two attacks only sent yellow sand billowing into the sky. In the next moment, the scattered sand seemed to condense into a human shape, and a gloomy-looking man with slicked-back hair appeared beside them.
Alabasta had undergone considerable changes over the past few years as well. It had gained a “National Hero”—Crocodile.
Some time after being defeated by Whitebeard, Crocodile had come to this desert kingdom. He had uncovered certain information suggesting that a powerful weapon might be hidden beneath the country.
However, the current Crocodile had not yet been joined by Nico Robin. With no understanding of the Poneglyphs, uncovering the truth had become far more difficult for him.
Still, that did not prevent Crocodile from carrying out the first step of his plan: become Alabasta’s hero, seize the country, and then slowly look into the weapon afterward.
At present, Crocodile was in the first phase of his plan. During this period, he had frequently attacked pirates arriving at Alabasta’s various ports.
While establishing his identity as a hero, he also plundered the pirates’ wealth to accumulate operating funds, plan a new organization, and recruit more subordinates.
Besides fighting pirates, he was also doing all sorts of things a “hero” ought to do.
Cracking down on Dance Powder smuggling was also part of Crocodile’s activities. After all, Dance Powder was openly classified as contraband here. However, Crocodile was not simply cracking down on smuggling—he had also set his sights on this shipment of Dance Powder.
Alabasta had banned the use of Dance Powder precisely because it could cause domestic unrest, intensify conflicts between different regions, and provoke clashes between the royal family and the common people.
But those were exactly what Crocodile wanted. His purpose in appearing here was to crack down on the smuggling operation while secretly taking the Dance Powder for himself.
Had he only wanted the Dance Powder, Crocodile could have acted long ago. But for the sake of his reputation, he had chosen to follow them, intending to capture both the buyers and sellers in one sweep.
The buyers this time, however, seemed somewhat unusual.
They had brought very few people, and the ones who came forward were even two children. Most importantly, those two children had actually discovered him.
Where had these two children come from?
That was one question Crocodile could not figure out.
Chloe was different from Nanamo. Nanamo had grown up on Fullalead Island and had even appeared on a bounty poster in the past. Coupled with her love of concerts, she was essentially someone who enjoyed being in the spotlight.
At most, people did not know her exact identity, but they were still aware that she was a princess of Ryugu Kingdom.
Chloe had been born in a relatively peaceful era. The former Fish-Men Pirates’ bounties had already been revoked, and Chloe herself had never caused any major incidents outside.
Although she often accompanied Nereus on his travels, she had never appeared at any particularly important occasions, so she was not especially famous.
As for Yamato…
Kaido was currently very famous, but even fewer people knew that she was Kaido’s daughter. Even within the Beasts Pirates, new members had no idea that their Governor-General actually has a child.
Crocodile had arrived in Alabasta not long after his defeat at Whitebeard’s hands. He was not sufficiently familiar with the situation in the New World, so naturally, he had no idea what sort of backgrounds these two possessed.
However…
“Black wings, white hair, brown skin, burning flames… a Lunarian?”
Crocodile felt that there were too many mysteries surrounding these two. Acting rashly might interfere with his plan.
After pondering for a moment, he shifted his gaze toward the people who had taken the payment and were already mounting their camels to leave.
First, he would capture the sellers, then “destroy” the Dance Powder. After seeing whether there was anyone else behind these two children, he would decide on the next step of his plan.
“Sandstorm.”
A whirlwind of yellow sand appeared in Crocodile’s palm. At first, it was merely a tiny vortex, but its momentum gradually increased.
By the time Crocodile threw it from his hand, the cup-sized whirlwind had already grown into a tornado that continuously devoured the surrounding yellow sand.
The sand-covered land of Alabasta was the most suitable battlefield for Crocodile. Logia users could already borrow the power of nature to a certain extent.
Compared to forcibly altering the environment with one’s ability, merging with and making use of nature was far easier.
The direction and force of the Sandstorm was both under Crocodile’s control. Under the influence of the tornado, even the bags containing the Dance Powder showed signs of being swept away.
“So there really is a part where they double-cross us after the deal?”
“This isn’t a double-cross! This is robbery! He’s obviously trying to steal our things!”
“Oh, right. It only counts as a double-cross when one of the parties to the transaction turns on the other. This guy is a third party…”
“Stop analyzing your storybooks! I’m going to tell Dad—”
“Namuji Glacier Fang!”
Before Chloe could finish speaking, Yamato exhaled a blast of frost toward the Dance Powder, freezing it together with a large stretch of sand beneath it.
Then she grabbed her kanabo and charged toward Crocodile with a sudden big stride.
“You b*stard! How dare you try to ruin my personal image! Thunder Bagua!”
Yamato’s words left Crocodile utterly baffled. He could not understand what she was talking about at all, and he even showed an expression of concern usually reserved for someone intellectually impaired.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He neither dodged nor raised a hand to block, instead saying with a hint of mockery:
“Useless. How could the attack of a mere iron club possibly—”
Bang!
Before he could finish, the kanabo struck Crocodile squarely on the head, blasting him directly into a nearby sand dune.
“Is this guy an idiot? Why didn’t he dodge when he saw a club swinging at him…?”
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