Alabasta, Rain City Outskirts, Night Sand Road
The wind blew up the sand and the night was as dark as ink.
The dim streetlight barely illuminated the end of the alleyway, where a group of figures staggered, the three at the center unable to struggle anymore.
Luffy,Zoro,Sanji.
The three were roughly dragged forward by several members of the Baroque Works, like three defeated beasts with their skin and bones peeled off, their clothes torn, their bloodline Madara Madara, and their scars as sharp as knife cuts.
Their heads were lowered and their faces were buried in their chests, only the breath of unwillingness was still burning in the desolate sand.
"Luffy!!!"
"Sanji——!!"
Nami and Usopp cried out in surprise, rushing out from around the corner of the sand path, tears already welling up in their eyes.
"Let them go!"
"Hehehe, this is really interesting."
An enchanting figure swept over, and Mr. 2 Ben Sam landed with a spinning body, a sinister smile on his face, and his eyes behind the sunglasses locked onto them like a Lion Majesty.
"A touching farewell, but unfortunately, the show has to end early."
A sharp edge suddenly broke through the air!
Mr.1 Daz Bonis stepped out of the gravel with an expressionless face, his arm transformed into a blade, and he slashed straight at Chopper!
"Iron Slash, Welcome."
--boom!
Chopper suddenly grew into a beast form, roaring and charging forward, but was still knocked back several meters in the exchange of blows, crashing into a low wall, blood gushing out of his mouth and nose!
"Chopper!!!"
Usopp takes aim at Benzamu and fires a burst of special projectiles!
"Firebird Star—Continuous Bombs!!"
Bensam leaped gracefully, tapped the flagpole on the roadside with his toes, and dodged with an exaggerated somersault.
"It's so dangerous!" He took a feint, approached, and kicked across!
"Aa ...
Usopp flew into a pile of rags like a kite with a broken string, his nose was crooked and his eyes rolled back.
"You little brats are so naive!"
Lightning exploded!
Nami raised the weather stick and summoned lightning, striking Bensam accurately - but it landed on his "stand"!
"Illusion Dance: Shadow Substitute!"
The real Bensam popped his head out from behind Nami and grabbed her wrist with one hand.
"I won't show mercy to girls, don't blame me."
——Snap!
The wrist was twisted back and dislocated!
"ah--!!!"
Nami screamed and fell to her knees, sweat on her forehead and tears streaming down her face.
"Enough!!!"
Vivi gritted her teeth and rushed over, passing between Chopper and Usopp, raising her hand to block Daz's next horizontal slash!
"They are my friends! If you want to touch them, you have to get past me first!!"
"...You can't stop me." Daz's eyes were calm.
The metal fist swept across, and Vivi had no time to dodge. She was knocked several meters away and fell to the sand. She curled up and coughed up blood violently.
"Your Highness, we can't let you get too hurt." Bensam clasped his fists and bowed.
"It would be safer for you to return to the palace."
The low-level agents around carefully lifted Vivi up and handed her over to another team to escort her towards the palace.
The other three——
Nami clutched her wrist, Chopper collapsed from his transformation, Usopp's bones were broken, and he was taken away on the spot, like a useless soldier and a defeated dog, dragged to--
Alabasta, Rain City, Western Prison, Deep Detention Zone
The night wind seeped into the dungeon through the cracks in the stones, moving like a snake's tongue.
Cold water droplets dripped along the mossy walls, the dripping sound particularly harsh in the silence.
The figures of the Six Paths were bound one by one by shackles and hung on the damp and cold stone wall. Under the dim candlelight, they were covered with bloodstains and dirt.
Luffy lowered his head, the bloodline on his face had long dried up, but there was still a stubborn smile at the corner of his lips.
Zoro was covered in wounds, his three knives were taken away, and his right arm was drooping, obviously broken, but he still gritted his teeth and held on, his eyes refusing to fade.
Sanji's eyes were swollen like buns, and his suit was torn, but he still tried to maintain a bit of decency.
And beside them.
Usopp's long nose was twisted at an angle, and his face was covered in bruises;
Nami's face was pale, cold sweat was on her forehead, and her arms were still shaking slightly;
Chopper gritted his teeth, turned into his human form and sat on the ground, desperately trying to stop the bleeding, his eyes full of guilt and self-blame.
"We... lost just like that..."
Usopp's voice was hoarse, his eyes confused.
"It's not 'just like that'...it's 'completely'..."
Sanji replied in a low voice, the hatred in his tone barely concealed.
"The enemy was Shichibukai... I couldn't even touch him physically."
"And I didn't even kick my feet a few times."
She now understood completely - what they thought was a "smooth journey" was just the goddess of luck that had not yet stopped.
"We are still... too green." Nami added in a low voice.
A faint sound of sand and falling rocks could be heard from the dungeon. In the distance, Nico Robin stood quietly, his eyes gazing over the heavy iron bars at this group of "losers" who had already been cast into hell.
There was no will of victory on their faces.
But she saw that even though he was beaten beyond recognition, Luffy's eyes were still open.
"Actually, you still want to resist?"
She murmured.
A long-lost emotion was stirring in her chest.
It was as if a part of myself who once yearned for "sunshine" was awakened again for a moment.
Nico Robin stood quietly, holding a Straw Hat Pirates file stained red with Bloodline.
She did not flip through the pages as she did in the past, but just quietly looked at the group of young people in the prison whose dignity had been shattered.
This was not the first time she had seen the "flame of hope" extinguished by reality.
But this group of people is indeed different.
The boy named Luffy, knowing that his opponent was a Shichibukai, still grinned and said, "I'm here to fight you."
His voice was like the sea breeze blowing through a pile of dry bones. It should be laughed at, but it made people tremble in their hearts.
But now, he was nailed to the wall, motionless, like a joke hanged by fate.
"Is this... the extent of your abilities?" she whispered to herself.
She wasn't sure if it was disappointment or some kind of...heartache.
——You shouldn't feel sad.
She is a killer, a vice president, and Crocodile's most trusted executor.
From Crocodile's display of Haki's dominance over Luffy to the current defeat of all the Straw Hat Pirates, she seemed to have witnessed it all with her own eyes—
The process of fate being forcibly suppressed.
But there was no joy in her eyes.
"Are they too weak, or..."
"This sea...is it really not worth hoping for?"
She gently stretched out her hand and stroked the patterns on the iron bars of the cell, as if she was making a decision.
[Rain Banquet Crocodile Office]
Crocodile sat on the sofa, lazily smoking a cigar, the sand wall behind him kept flowing, as if whispering to him.
"Has the West Prison been sealed off?" he asked lazily.
Den Den Mushi responded, "Yes, President, all the Straw Hats are in custody. Princess Vivi has been escorted back to the palace, and the security of the West Prison has been doubled."
"Very good." He exhaled lightly.
He looked at the bounty posters on the wall, especially the one of Monkey D. Luffy with a non-threatening smile.
He laughed sarcastically.
"Defeated by 'unknown little pirates'?"
"I, Crocodile, don't intend to become that joke."
He pressed the button and ordered external contact:
"Notify the nearby Marine base."
"All members of the Straw Hat Pirates have been captured alive, and we are ready to receive the war criminals."
On the sofa, Crocodile rested his chin on one hand and slowly tapped the ashtray with the other metal hook.
Snap——
He put down the Den Den Mushi, a long-lost look of relief appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he looked up at the ceiling.
"How strange..." he muttered to himself, "They are clearly just a few new little thieves."
"But why do I have such a... particularly good feeling?"
"Could it be... because the 'future' was strangled in advance?"
He lay back on the sofa, the smile in his eyes growing deeper.
The next moment, the metal hook moved, and the Marine wanted poster on the table slowly slid down and landed at his feet.
On the paper, the boy smiled innocently.
Monkey D. Luffy—Bounty 30 Million
[Evaluation: Unknown Little Pirates]
Crocodile's eye twitched slightly.
His face was subtly distorted.
He closed his eyes, as if he had finally escaped from a nightmare that was not worth mentioning.
"prophecy?"
"future?"
"You don't even have the qualifications to resist."
"The jokes of the future are more suitable for you than the reputation of Shichibukai."
When his cigar burned out, he slowly stood up, walked to the window, and looked down at the brightly lit streets of the Rain City.
"Goodnight, Straw Hat."