"Oi."
Aus crouched down, looking at little Sand sprawled motionless on the lounge chair, poking her face.
"Move around. Eat something. You don't wanna starve to death on the Oro Jackson, do you?"
Aus snapped his fingers.
A plate of seafood fried rice materialized on the table.
Aus just stared at her. She stared back with a face that screamed 'fuck this world.'
Aus: "..."
Little Sand: "..."
Maybe she was starving, or maybe she couldn't take Aus's bullshit anymore. Fighting through the weakness, she finally spoke:
"You... bastard... I can't even lift my damn hands. How am I supposed to eat..."
Hearing that, Aus's eyes lit up.
Holy shit.
I forgot!
"So... can you promise me that if I let you go, you'll chill the hell out?"
Little Sand nodded like she'd given up on life.
Aus didn't buy it—not that he was scared, but mainly because if this psycho suddenly went berserk and trashed the Oro Jackson, he'd be heartbroken.
His eyes flashed red. After checking something with his Observation Haki, Aus nodded and snapped his fingers.
The Seastone bracelet around little Sand's ankle vanished instantly.
And sure enough, she didn't try anything crazy. Just silently grabbed a spoon and started eating.
Aus laced his fingers under his chin, watching little Sand chow down while he worked his magic:
"So? Wanna join us?"
"I know what you're thinking. After realizing your own power could never make you king, you got all depressed and decided to build some utopian paradise where no one could threaten you. So... you're hunting for that thing, right?"
Aus smiled warmly, chin propped on his hands, not even looking at little Sand's stunned expression.
"You know..."
"Ancient Weapon Pluton!!!"
"How the fuck do you know that?!"
Crocodile slammed down her spoon, glaring at him with murder in her eyes.
"Well... maybe because I've got prophetic Observation Haki."
"Prophecy?"
Crocodile repeated it like she couldn't believe her ears. Even Mihawk, walking over with a wine bottle, froze mid-step.
Both of them were sweating bullets, staring at Aus.
This monster...
Just how many hidden abilities does this freak have?!
"And I can tell you straight up—Alabasta definitely has big secrets, but..."
"You'll never find any Ancient Weapon there. Give up that pipe dream."
"..."
Hearing that, the last wall in little Sand's heart finally crumbled.
So that's it...
All her careful scheming, plans stretching decades into the future—all completely pointless?
Little Sand slowly lowered her head, shadows hiding her expression.
"Don't look so pathetic. Taking the long way around and betting everything on external power—is this all the great pirate Sand Crocodile amounts to?"
Aus's infuriating words instantly made little Sand snap.
She was about to lash out in fury when weakness hit her whole body again, collapsing back onto the chair.
Next thing she knew, Aus was behind her, looking down at her upside-down face.
Ambitious, capable—seemed as reliable as little Hawk.
Plus, seeing this sexy, razor-sharp boss lady completely powerless, face flushed red, totally at his mercy...
Honestly, Aus felt pretty damn accomplished.
Though thinking about her male form after the transformation, then looking at her current drop-dead gorgeous appearance, felt kinda weird.
"If you've got ambitions you wanna fulfill, this might be the perfect place."
"Just the name 'Black Gun' packs more punch than some mythical Pluton."
Still clueless that his crew had picked out a new title for him, Aus remained confident in his old nickname.
"When you get tired of sticking around, I promise I'll hook you up with a World Government member nation for retirement."
Hearing those incredibly tempting words, little Sand's face stayed neutral. She wasn't getting swept up in Aus's grand promises.
Just stared at him coldly and spoke quietly:
"You're saying you'll absolutely never lose? Doctor Aus.
Even against Whitebeard, the World Government, or whatever else... you'll absolutely never lose?"
"That's... obviously."
Seeing her suddenly get serious, Aus shifted back to his original seat.
"Is that right?"
Little Sand slowly blew out smoke. Maybe she really saw the possibility of reaching the world's peak in Aus, or maybe it was a woman's natural instinct to seek security.
Or maybe she knew she couldn't escape and was already drowning in debt.
"If you ever get your ass kicked, I'll be the first one to kill you."
"Sure~ sure~..."
How could Aus not hear that little Sand had just tsundere-agreed to join?
He snapped his fingers. The Seastone bracelet disappeared completely.
Crocodile stretched her body, watching Aus achieve his goal then flop on the lounge chair sipping juice, instantly showing his true colors.
Her eye twitched.
"Is this guy always like this?"
Little Sand glanced at little Hawk, who'd just drawn his sword to practice on some Sea Kings.
The answer came without any surprise:
"You get used to it."
Little Sand: "..."
Looking at these increasingly weird bastards, she wondered if she'd boarded the wrong ship.
Finally she just started exploring the Pirate King's ride—the Oro Jackson.
She carefully examined this ship that had sailed the entire world and reached the final island, Laugh Tale, her expression unreadable.
"Beautiful ship, right?"
Somehow Aus had appeared beside her. His height—several heads taller—forced little Sand to crane her neck up at him.
"We'll sail this ship to see the world."
Seeing Aus's nostalgic look, like he was possessed, Crocodile found herself asking:
"What's your dream, Aus?"
"Huh?"
Aus blinked at the question:
"Dream... I used to bullshit people and say it was turning the world upside down, but honestly that doesn't fit my personality."
Wanting to throw the world into chaos for no reason—Aus hated that kind of thankless work.
Even if he did flip the world upside down someday, Aus figured he'd definitely have a reason.
Like for shits and giggles.
"My dream is..."
"To become the freest and happiest person in this world!!!"
"Whether it's living like a king or stirring up trouble just because, none of that matters.
My life doesn't need commentary from insects, because this world runs on survival of the fittest anyway."
The freest and happiest...
Crocodile knew that while it sounded simple, for ordinary people it was harder than reaching heaven.
Without the world's strongest power and greatest authority, so-called happiness and freedom would shatter at the first touch.
"So you've got that kind of ambition... you bastard..."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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