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Blub blub~
Crocodile picked up the Den Den Mushi. Robin's voice came through.
"Mr. 0, we've got some intel. There seems to be a fight going on near the Flower Fields."
She paused for a second.
"From the sound of it, it's a battle between the Navy and pirates."
"And judging by the level of destruction—it might be an admiral."
At that, Crocodile's eyes narrowed.
An admiral?
His heart tightened. He had always known exactly what kind of game he was playing.
Stealing a kingdom's power, and even daring to reach for an ancient weapon—Pluton.
Either one of those was more than enough to piss off the Navy.
If they found out, sending an admiral to capture him wouldn't be surprising at all.
But the problem was—the timing was off.
Crocodile was sure he hadn't slipped up.
The only ones who knew his real identity were Robin and Vivi.
Robin was the Navy's so-called Demon Child, and Vivi had already been killed by Mr. 3.
There was no way the info had leaked.
Even if the Navy suspected something, at most they'd send someone to investigate—
They wouldn't send a damn admiral right off the bat.
So what the hell went wrong?
Crocodile took a deep drag of his cigar, completely stumped.
BANG!!!
He punched the table hard, face twisted with fury.
In the end, it still came down to lack of strength!
Crocodile finally spoke:
"Forget it, Miss Robin."
"As soon as Mr. 1 and the others get to Rainbase, bring them to me."
"Three days. The plan goes forward in three days, no matter what!"
Even Crocodile himself didn't realize—
He was panicking now.
He'd waited in the shadows for years, and just when success was within reach, everything started falling apart.
He had no patience left—and no mood to play detective.
Bottom line?
All he cared about was Pluton. Everything else could burn.
"I understand, boss," Robin said as she nodded and hung up the Den Den Mushi.
She looked down at the intel in her hand—
Pirates: suspected to be the Straw Hat Crew.Navy: suspected Vice Admiral Kaji.
She held the note over a candle flame, and the flickering fire lit up her face.
"Straw Hat… Celestial Master Bai Ye…"
"Your enemy's even more dangerous than Crocodile."
"So you'd better not die."
Back in Alabasta, on the streets of Flower Fields—
Kaji, who had just been kicked dozens of meters away, was in a really, really bad mood.
His smug, pervy face was now completely wrecked.
He stared at the blood-red figure that had vanished again, and his mouth twitched nonstop.
"This old man… what the hell did I get myself into this time…"
"What kind of monster is this?!"
Bai Ye's sudden power burst hadn't been part of Kaji's plan.
But at first, he'd still felt confident he could handle it.
That was until his blade actually struck Bai Ye, sliced off a chunk of flesh—And the guy didn't even flinch. Still had that smug, arrogant grin and charged at him like nothing happened.
That's when Kaji started realizing… this wasn't going to be easy.
And as time went on, he could feel it—Bai Ye was getting stronger. Stronger than him.
BOOM!!!
Kaji was kicked clean across the street by a blood-red blur, smashing through who-knows-how-many buildings before finally coming to a stop.
He forced himself back up, gripping his prized sword tightly, coating it with Armament Haki.
Then, without hesitation, he swung behind him.
His Observation Haki had just warned him—someone was there!
CLANG!!!
"You've gotta be kidding me!!!"
Kaji's face twisted in pure disbelief.
Because standing right there, the man had caught his blade—with his bare hand.
And this wasn't just any sword—it was one of the 21 Great Grade Blades!
Plus, it was wrapped in advanced Armament Haki!
How the hell could anyone catch that with their bare hand?!
Kaido? Maybe Big Mom?
Kaji muttered to himself, unable to believe it.
"From the start, you've been seriously pissing me off."
The sword, pitch black from Haki, was now in Bai Ye's grasp. Blood trickled down the edge, but he didn't even blink.
He slowly raised his head and grinned across the hilt at Kaji.
His voice was low, demonic, like a ghost crawling up from hell:
"You cocky little bastard... think you're all that?!"
[Heavenly Furnace Technique – Refine All Things]
Bai Ye began channeling his energy. Blood-red spiritual qi wrapped itself around Kaji's sword.
"No way!!"
Kaji's face twisted again.
Because in that moment—he lost all connection to the Haki on his sword.
The same blade he'd used for ten years, the one that had slain countless pirates worth over 100 million berries…
Melted. Right before his eyes.
The liquified metal flowed over Bai Ye's right hand, slowly coating his entire arm—
Until a sleek, silver-white gauntlet formed around it.
"Hmm, not bad at all."
Bai Ye admired his new arm guard, clearly pleased.
Kaji stared at what was left of his sword—just the hilt—shaking his head in disbelief.
But like it or not, he had to face the truth.
And in the very next instant—A silver-white fist came crashing toward him, filling his entire vision.
[Iron Body!]
[Armament – Hardening!]
Too close for a Soru dodge, Kaji instinctively crossed his arms and hardened up with Haki.
BOOM!!!
Bai Ye sent him flying again with a punch, then looked down at his own fist.
He chuckled. "Really? You tried Iron Body on me? Who gave you the guts to pull that?"
But his smile quickly faded.
He could feel it—his body was reaching its limit.
By now, the Straw Hats should be aboard the Going Merry, sailing away.
With nothing left to worry about, Bai Ye turned toward the distant figure of Kaji, who was barely standing.
And muttered to himself:
"It's about time."
Just as Kaji got back to his feet, he heard Bai Ye's voice—like the Grim Reaper calling.
"Do me a favor and stay here for good."
By the end, Bai Ye's voice was thunderous—like a storm roaring through the sky.
He raised his right hand. The gauntlet began to melt again, reshaped by crimson qi.
At his wrist, a three-foot-long silver short sword took form.
[Thunder!]
With a roar, the sky twisted. Darkness fell like eternal night.
The only light left… was the sword in his hand.
Suddenly, lightning struck—crackling around the blade.
The silver glow danced like a war god had descended.
[Flame!]
BOOM—
Tiny sparks burst to life around the lightning.
In seconds, they swirled into a storm of fire, encasing the blade like a wrathful deity.
At that moment, Bai Ye's body cracked open again. Blood poured out like water.
Even biting down every pill he had couldn't stop the collapse.
Still, his eyes stayed calm.
"This sword… is for slaying evil."
His voice echoed like a death sentence in Kaji's ears.
"Today, you meet your end."
[SLASH!!!]
That day, in the Alabasta harbor, a single blade cut across the land for miles.
An entire city was sliced in two.
Bai Ye has a bunch of Taoist skills, sure. So he can go toe-to-toe with some of the early Grand Line fighters (especially ones without Haki).
But once you get to the New World where everyone has Haki, he's still way outclassed.
I've said before—qi and Haki come from the same source, but Haki's way more versatile.
For Bai Ye, qi is more like a foundation—it's not his ultimate weapon.
This fight with Kaji was meant to show where the crew stands now, and set the stage for upcoming growth—in both strength and mindset.
"....."