In the basement of the most luxurious casino in Rainbase, the Rain Dinners, Miss Doublefinger, Mr. 1, Mr. 2, Miss Merry Christmas, and Mr. 4 were all gathered. They stared in amazement at the man sitting in the middle of the long table, a man in a black fur coat and an orange plaid long-sleeved shirt. He had his hair slicked back, a long, cross-cut scar on his face, an earring in his right ear, a golden hook for a left hand, and a cigar in his mouth. And standing behind him... was Miss All Sunday. She was responsible for relaying all of Mr. 0's orders, so they all knew her. But it wasn't her that surprised them; it was the man in front of them. He was none other than one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, recognized by the World Government, the man known as "Sir Crocodile." He was the boss behind Baroque Works, Mr. 0.
The five of them were completely shocked. Even the usually flamboyant Mr. 2 was rarely serious at that moment. Perhaps it was the weight of the Warlord's name, or perhaps it was the sheer sense of oppression that radiated from Crocodile, but the five of them were all silent. The whole room was quiet and suffocating.
"Welcome, everyone," Crocodile said, his gaze sweeping over the five of them. "Let's begin the final phase of the plan." Hearing this, the five of them all nodded, not daring to be careless. The man in front of them was a Warlord; that was more powerful than anything else. Though they usually disliked each other, in front of this man, they were as tame as cats, not daring to be presumptuous. Even Mr. 2 was the same.
Soon, the plan was finalized, and the five of them, not daring to hesitate, immediately began to implement it. The work efficiency of Baroque Works was very high.
"The Straw Hat crew?" Crocodile said with a perfect smile, like a master who had just completed a work of art. "A self-reliant little pirate crew wants to stop me?" He stretched out his right hand and clenched it, as if the entire kingdom of Alabasta had fallen into his palm. "Robin, let the Millions kill them." The thought of a little-known pirate crew daring to stand in his way was almost laughable.
"They're already in," Robin said, a strange look on her face as she put down a phone snail.
"What?" Crocodile was taken aback. At that moment, the underground trap he had set was suddenly triggered, and Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Nami, Chopper, Vivi, and Smoker, as if they were soldiers from heaven, suddenly fell into a sea-stone cage.
"So this is the Straw Hat crew? And a Marine Captain?" Crocodile said, looking at them with a new interest.
"That's right," Robin nodded, but as her eyes swept across the group, she noticed that Moonlight was not among them. A strange, inexplicable feeling flickered in her heart. "Strange, isn't that swordsman here?" she thought. She couldn't forget the scene on the ship, the strong sense of oppression she had felt when he had appeared behind her like a ghost, his sword at her throat, and had pulled her onto his ship. But she was a person who had been through a lot; how could she get on someone else's ship so easily? She felt a slight disappointment, but also a strange sense of relief.
"You're Crocodile? Come here! I'm gonna send you flying!" Luffy roared, jumping up and immediately spotting Crocodile and Robin. He was about to charge out and punch him, but as soon as his hand touched the cage, he suddenly felt as if he had fallen into the sea. He lost all his strength at once, and his body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground.
"What's happening?"
"Luffy?" Zoro and the others were surprised.
"Sea-stone," Smoker said, exhaling a deep breath of smoke.
"Sea-stone? What's that?" Luffy asked weakly, and Zoro and the others also looked at Smoker.
"It's a stone that emits the same energy as the sea," Crocodile's cold, mocking voice rang out. He walked over, his eyes lightly sweeping over Luffy and the others with a playful expression, finally landing on Smoker. "Using this stone to create a cage can make a Devil Fruit user lose all their abilities."
"Hahahaha," he laughed. "I never expected to find a Marine Captain here. This is a good harvest indeed."
"Warlord of the Sea, Crocodile! So you're the one behind Baroque Works," Smoker said, smoking a cigarette, his face grim and his eyes gloomy. The Navy and the Warlords were supposed to be on the same side, but seeing Crocodile like this, it was clear he had no intention of letting him go.
"It's me. So what?" Crocodile said with a playful laugh. "Your hypocritical Navy wants to catch me? It's a pity you can't even protect yourself now." He looked at him like a big cat looking at a mouse under its claws.
"He's a Marine. As a Warlord, are you going to kill even a Marine?" Vivi shouted angrily.
"Princess Vivi? I think you should be more worried about yourself," Crocodile sneered, his tone cruel. "What is the Navy? Ants. Besides, even if I kill all of you, who will know? And then I will completely take over the entire Kingdom of Alabasta, and you won't be able to do anything but die here with them."
"You devil!" Vivi's body trembled, and she roared.
"You bastard! I'm gonna send you..." Luffy, furious, stretched out his hand to hit him, but as soon as his palm touched the cage, he lost all his strength and collapsed again.
"What a kid who doesn't learn his lesson," Crocodile said with a contemptuous smile. He then turned his attention to Vivi. "You are the devil! I won't let you succeed!" Vivi bit her lip angrily and began to frantically attack the cage. Even if she died, she would stop him.
"Give up the struggle," Crocodile chuckled, sitting down in a chair and comfortably exhaling a puff of smoke. "Ten minutes ago, this country, following my plan, was already on its way to destruction."
"Your plan? What is your plan?" Vivi's pupils shrank.
"It's alright to tell you. After all, you're all going to die soon," Crocodile laughed. "My Operation Utopia..." He looked at Vivi and the others as if he had already won, and he began to enjoy his victory, revealing all his plans and conspiracies. In this way, he could still see their faces twisted with fear. How wonderful.
Luffy and the others couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines. Vivi kept shouting, "You're not human! You're not human!"
"Alright," Crocodile said with a final chuckle. "In an hour, this place will be flooded. I don't know if you landlubbers can survive, but even if you're lucky enough to survive, I wonder if you can stop the Banana Gators? I've made sure they've been hungry for three days and three nights." He pointed to the yellow crocodiles that were being raised in the pool below, creatures even larger than a Sea King. Banana Gators, powerful and fierce beasts that even ate Sea Kings.
"Banana Gators?"
"They even eat Sea Kings?" Hearing this, everyone's faces turned green. And looking through the cage, seeing those yellow behemoths, the hair on their arms suddenly stood on end. These were fierce beasts. With them trapped and the Devil Fruit users powerless, they would surely be eaten.
"Hahahaha," seeing their terrified faces, Crocodile left with a big laugh. The Operation Utopia had already begun. Now, he would sit back and witness the final moment of history.
"You bastard! Stop! I'm gonna send you flying!" Luffy screamed, but under the influence of the sea-stone, he was as helpless as if he had fallen into the sea, unable to muster the slightest bit of strength. Crocodile ignored him completely and strode away. Robin also shook her head and left with a chuckle. Everyone couldn't help but gnash their teeth, but they could only watch as the sea water continued to pour in.
At this time, Moonlight finally crossed the desert and arrived at Rainbase. "Strange, where is everyone?" he said, puzzled. They had all agreed to meet here, but now, no one was to be seen. "Could it be... they're in danger?" A light flashed in his eyes. After all, this was the territory of a Warlord, and Luffy and the others were a magnet for trouble. "Observation Haki." He immediately extended his senses, spreading them out to search for them as quickly as possible.
A series of breath fluctuations, vitality fluctuations, and human images and sounds continued to flow into his mind, and soon, he found them. They were in a basement, trapped. "Is it the basement of the Rain Dinners?" He immediately locked onto the target and walked towards the casino. The casino was bustling with people, but he didn't even glance at them. He walked straight to the VIP box, which was empty, and then to a fork in the path. Without hesitation, he chose the first one. The floor beneath his feet suddenly cracked, and he fell.
"Oh no! The water is rising! If this continues, we're all going to drown!" Nami cried, her face a mask of grim despair. The sea water was already up to their knees, and Luffy, Chopper, Smoker, and the other Devil Fruit users had all lost their strength.
"This cage is too strong! I can't even scratch it!" Zoro said, his own face grim as he repeatedly slashed at the bars, but to no avail.
"This material is too hard. I'm afraid even Moonlight couldn't do anything about it," Sanji murmured, exhaling a puff of smoke.
"No matter what, I have to get out of here!" Vivi's eyes were firm. "My country, my people, my father... they're all still waiting for me."
"Moonlight..." Chopper was dizzy and beginning to lose consciousness. At this time, the water rushed in again, now up to their waists. The Devil Fruit users had completely lost their strength, and the others had to support them. To make matters worse, the Banana Gators jumped out, surrounding the cage and looking at them with cold, hungry eyes.
"Are we just going to die like this?" Usopp shivered.
"Moonlight! Come quickly!" Nami cried out in despair.
"Moonlight, save everyone!" Vivi also let out a final, hysterical roar.
"Sorry, I'm late," a voice suddenly came from above their heads. The next moment, Moonlight descended from the sky like a god and landed in the cage, a smile on his face.
"Moonlight!" Nami rubbed her eyes, not believing what she was seeing.
"Is it really you?" Vivi was equally surprised.
"Moonlight! Not good! Why did you fall in too?!" Usopp was happy at first, but then he was shocked. This was a cage made of sea-stone.
"Moonlight, this cage is stronger than diamond," Zoro said, his expression grim. "I'm afraid even you might not be able to cut it open."
"He's right. This sea-stone cage is really too strong," Sanji agreed, taking a deep breath.
"It's alright," Moonlight chuckled. "You all take care of Luffy, Chopper, and the others." A sea-stone cage? It was indeed extremely strong, and impossible for a Devil Fruit user to destroy. But... a person with Haki was a different story, especially with his advanced Armament Haki. And what's more, the Pheasant Sword in his hand was the supreme artifact, above all other weapons in this world.
He raised the Pheasant Sword, and his level 5 Armament Haki enveloped it. He spun his body, and with a mighty roar, he unleashed his Phantom Sword Dance.
BOOM!
The surrounding sea water suddenly churned violently, as if swept up by a whirlpool. A blazing, powerful crescent of sword energy, condensed in front of him, shot out, and the sea water was drained away, rushing forward. "Phantom Sword Dance!" he burst out. At that moment, he was at his full power, and he unleashed his strongest attack. He wanted to see if his current strength was enough to cut through a sea-stone cage.
Under the hopeful gaze of everyone present, the massive sword energy formed by his Phantom Sword Dance split the sea into a huge channel. The sea water boiled forward and instantly penetrated the sea-stone cage, cutting it open. The Banana Gators surrounding the cage were all beheaded, their blood staining the water red. And not only that, but the surrounding walls were also penetrated, and sunlight poured in from outside.
"He cut it!" everyone shouted wildly, and without hesitation, they all rushed outside. Vivi was in the lead. After learning about Crocodile's Operation Utopia, she was desperate to get to the royal capital and stop him. Nami and Sanji hurriedly dragged Luffy out. And Zoro pulled up Smoker and took the Marine Captain with him. Moonlight picked up Chopper and followed the others.
Outside, it was raining. After leaving the sea water, everyone recovered, especially the Devil Fruit users.
"Why did you save me?" Smoker asked, a complicated look on his face as he looked at Zoro.
"Don't mind it," Zoro shrugged, pointing to Luffy. "It was the captain's order."
Smoker couldn't help but look at Luffy with a complicated expression. This group of pirates was different from any he had ever encountered before. Luffy's actions were constantly challenging the justice in his heart. But Luffy didn't care about any of that right now. He just clenched his hands, gritted his teeth, and stared straight ahead. "Everyone, let's go and stop Crocodile," he said, his look unprecedentedly firm. "We can't let him ruin this country."
"Alright," everyone said, and they immediately set off without hesitation.
Hearing this, Smoker, who had a reason to continue chasing them, froze in place. Justice? Pirates? Warlords? Alabasta? Heaven and man fought in his heart.
"Under Crocodile's plan for an ideal village, everyone will eventually gather in the royal capital," Vivi said to everyone as they ran wildly. "As long as we get there, we can stop them."
"Okay," everyone nodded, and without further ado, they rushed to the capital. But at that moment, a chain of yellow sand shot out, instantly grabbing Vivi.