The morning incident quickly passed. Once Bell-mère fully entered work mode and took charge of the group of young Marines from around the world, Michael gathered everyone from the Secret Special Force—except the three Hancock sisters—and set out for Rainbase.
After all, the existence of a major pirate like Crocodile was an unbearable thorn in Cobra's side.
And as one of Michael's key sponsors, Cobra's problems were Michael's problems too!
He was a man of professional integrity, after all!
Besides...
Michael currently held a slot to recruit a new member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
And Crocodile—regardless of his personal ambitions—was the most suitable candidate.
After all, his ability spoke for itself. In fact, among all Logia-type Devil Fruit users, he was arguably the strongest, aside from the future three Admirals.
Green Bull?
Just a coward who pissed himself when confronted by Red-Haired.
...
"Is that Crocodile really hiding in Alabasta?"
"If it were just one piece of intel, it'd be questionable. But with multiple cross-verified sources, it's basically confirmed."
Michael gave a detailed reply to Smoker's question.
He actually had high hopes for Smoker.
In the original story, Smoker not only suffered from appearing too early, but also wasted too much time in the East Blue.
A genius who joined the Marines at such a young age—how could he still be only a Captain at Headquarters in his thirties?
And he even had a rare Logia-type Devil Fruit.
Sure enough, without Aokiji's laissez-faire training method, Smoker's combat ability had skyrocketed over the past two years. Though only seventeen, his strength now far surpassed his Loguetown-era self in the original story.
As for Hina, his golden partner, her progress was just as fast. In Michael's view, she too had surpassed her original debut strength.
Besides the two of them, Rosinante didn't eat the Calm-Calm Fruit like in the original, but instead chose the Gold-Gold Fruit.
The potential of that fruit was on a completely different level.
However, since Rosinante was still undercover, Michael wasn't sure how far he had developed it.
T Bone was the only one under Michael who hadn't eaten a Devil Fruit, but his growth in combat ability was just as impressive. Especially after obtaining the great-grade sword "Bamboo," his swordsmanship training had been so intense that Michael often had to urge him to rest.
And Shu, as T Bone's comedy partner, had turned out to be the biggest surprise for Michael.
After Michael taught the Devil Fruit users how to develop their abilities, it was as if Shu's mind had been illuminated—his brain had opened new pathways.
The development of his Paramecia-type "Rust-Rust Fruit" was astonishingly fast and took an unexpected direction. At this point, it even had a kind of "pseudo-Logia" feel to it.
Michael had a hunch...
Among all his subordinates, Shu might be the first to achieve Devil Fruit awakening. His combat ability could very well become the second strongest in the entire SWORD Secret Special Force—second only to Michael himself.
Yes, second strongest.
The strongest beneath him was, without a doubt, Stella.
As Garp's prized disciple and user of the bizarre Cloud-Cloud Fruit, Stella remained a Headquarters Lieutenant, only because she hadn't reported any of her military achievements from the past two years.
From a pure strength perspective, she could've easily been promoted straight to Vice Admiral without issue.
And now, with the still-growing Hancock sisters added to the mix...
It seemed that even without Michael, the SWORD Secret Special Force would one day be capable of standing against an Emperor's crew.
...
The SWORD Secret Special Force didn't rely on Alabasta's local transportation options.
No speedy ducks or river turtles.
Instead, each used their own methods—like the saying, "The Eight Immortals cross the sea, each showing their own abilities."
This kind of independent mobility was already second nature to the squad members.
It was also a method of stamina training.
Even T Bone, whose speed was comparatively slower, combined Soru and Geppo to travel just as fast as the speedy ducks.
So by the time they crossed the Sandora River and arrived at Rainbase, not even half a day had passed.
...
"Whoa, so a green miracle like this really exists in the desert?" Stella, flying in midair, glanced toward Rainbase in the distance.
"A city built on such a vast oasis... it's probably the most prosperous place aside from Alubarna, right?"
"That's right. If Alubarna is the political center, then Rainbase is the center of economics and entertainment." Michael nodded and smiled. "But unfortunately, we're just passing through. Our target isn't Rainbase—we're heading southwest."
...
"A living sandstorm? That sounds totally ridiculous." Smoker scoffed. "No doubt about it, that has to be Crocodile! Don't any of you try to steal him from me! Let this Smoke Devil teach that Desert King a lesson!"
"Tch!" Hina sneered at his bold declaration. "Hina suggests Smoker weigh his own strength properly—don't end up the one getting bitten instead."
"Wait, did Smoker actually get the nickname 'Smoke Devil'?" T Bone latched onto the key point in Smoker's words. "If I recall correctly, except for that black-blade wielder a few years ago, none of the enemies we've fought ever made it out alive, right? So who gave you that nickname?"
"Isn't it obvious? He gave it to himself!" Shu nudged T Bone with his elbow. "It's just that youthful chūnibyō phase. Understandable, right? Smoker's still a minor, after all."
"Hina disagrees with Shu's reasoning! Hina is two years younger than Smoker, and I never had any so-called 'chūnibyō' phase!"
"You jerks! Don't hit a guy in the face or expose his flaws!" Smoker's face turned beet red, then he just let his whole body shift into smoke. Only his voice came out of the mist:
"You're doing both at once!"
...
Michael watched his rowdy subordinates and didn't feel annoyed in the slightest.
It was a sign of vitality and life.
At that moment, Issho furrowed his brow and murmured:
"Michael... I've found him."
Ever since crossing the Sandora River, Issho had been using his exaggerated Observation Haki to scan the area like a radar, searching for Crocodile's presence.
And just now, he had confirmed Crocodile's location.
"You've found him? Then let's keep moving."
"However, there's something else."
"What is it?" Michael's expression tightened. "Don't tell me that Sand Crocodile is targeting the civilians of Rainbase?"
"No... there's someone else with Crocodile."
Issho "looked" in Michael's direction.
"That person is carrying a massive sword on their back."
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