Mr. 3 came rolling and crawling back into the royal palace of Alabasta, his appearance utterly miserable.
Inside the palace hall, Sir Crocodile was still interrogating King Cobra.
The instant Crocodile saw Mr. 3, his expression sank.
The senior officers of Baroque Works—including Nico Robin, Mr. 1, and Mr. 2—all felt a chill crawl up their spines when they noticed that look.
They knew all too well how cruel Crocodile was.
Once he was angered, the outcome was never anything but horrific.
Yet Mr. 3 himself had not realized it yet.
He swallowed hard, gasping for breath, and hurriedly reported,
"B-Boss! Blackbeard… Blackbeard's pirate crew is almost here!"
Crocodile rose slowly from his throne, his face dark as a storm.
Step by step, he walked toward Mr. 3, his voice cold enough to freeze bone.
"Didn't I tell you," he said slowly,
"to bring me their heads?"
Only then did Mr. 3 realize what had happened.
He had angered his unpredictable, merciless boss.
His body shook violently as terror surged from the depths of his heart.
"B-Boss… this isn't my fault," he stammered, his lips trembling.
"They… they were just too strong…"
"Shut up."
Crocodile's cold shout echoed through the hall.
"The only reason you failed," he said icily,
"is because you're too weak, Mr. 3."
The killing intent in that voice felt as though it had come straight from hell.
Mr. 3's legs went weak.
He knew it was over.
Blackbeard's crew hadn't killed him—but Crocodile absolutely would.
He wanted to run.
But under Crocodile's overwhelming presence, his body refused to move.
Suddenly, a massive hand seized him by the throat.
Mr. 3 was lifted into the air.
"My crew doesn't need weaklings," Crocodile said coldly.
"In this world, the weak have no right to live."
A terrifying suction erupted from Crocodile's palm.
In an instant, every drop of moisture inside Mr. 3's body was drained away.
His screams cut off abruptly.
In the blink of an eye, he had been reduced to a shriveled, dried corpse—a living mummy no more.
Crocodile casually tossed the mummified body aside, as if he had merely crushed an insect.
Then he turned his gaze to King Cobra, whose face had grown even paler.
"I'll deal with Blackbeard and those trash pirates first," Crocodile sneered.
"After that, I'll come back for you."
"If you still don't give me the answer I want—
"I'll turn your daughter and every last one of your citizens into mummies, just like him."
With that, Crocodile turned and strode out of the palace hall.
Mr. 1, Mr. 2, and the other senior members of Baroque Works glanced at Mr. 3's remains, fear gripping their hearts.
Working under a boss as temperamental as Crocodile meant death could come at any moment.
Yet they didn't dare betray him either—
that would only lead to an even faster death.
They hurried after Crocodile, terrified of meeting the same fate.
Only Miss All Sunday, Nico Robin, remained behind.
King Cobra looked at her in confusion.
"Are you staying to guard me?" he asked weakly.
"That won't be necessary. In my condition, I don't even have the strength to escape."
Robin slowly walked toward him and shook her head.
"No," she said calmly.
"I'm not here to guard you."
"I just want to know—do you know where the Poneglyph is?"
Cobra gave a bitter smile.
"Even when Crocodile tortured me like that, I never told him," he replied.
"Do you really think I'd tell you?"
"Then that means you do know."
Robin immediately caught the slip, causing Cobra's expression to change.
In the next moment, Robin crossed her arms.
"Dos Fleur: Grab."
Two arms suddenly sprouted from Cobra's back, clamping down brutally on his shoulder blades.
"Ahhh—!"
Cobra screamed in pain.
"Tell me!" Robin demanded urgently.
"Where is the Poneglyph?!"
Cobra clenched his teeth against the agony and looked at her.
"Crocodile isn't here right now," he said hoarsely.
"Aren't you afraid he'll kill you?"
Robin didn't hesitate.
"I don't care what price I have to pay," she said calmly.
"I only want the Poneglyph."
Cobra's eyes widened.
"Heh… as expected of the Devil Child of Ohara," he murmured.
"You seek history itself—not Pluton."
"But I'm sorry. I still can't tell you."
Anger, desperation, frustration, and pity flashed across Robin's face.
In the end, she withdrew her powers.
As she walked out of the palace hall, she said quietly,
"Even if you don't speak now, Crocodile will make you talk."
"Unless you truly don't care about your daughter… or your people."
Once Robin left, Cobra collapsed helplessly to the floor.
She was right.
Crocodile would never let him go.
But could he really ignore the lives of Vivi and his people?
…
…
Far behind the Blackbeard Pirates, Luo Xing, Jack, and Who's-Who followed from a distance.
Blackbeard's crew was arrogant to the extreme.
They believed that in the first half of the Grand Line, no one could threaten them.
Their guard was completely down.
They never noticed they were being tailed.
Soon, they entered the capital of Alabasta.
Inside the city, a massive civil war was underway—
the Royal Army clashing with the Rebel Army, tens of thousands locked in battle.
Seeing this, Blackbeard let out a savage laugh.
"Zehahahaha! The new era really is coming!"
"Even ants like these are scrambling for power!"
Jesus Burgess sneered.
"What could trash like them possibly seize?"
"The stage that truly changes the world belongs to you, Captain!"
Blackbeard laughed even harder, filled with pride.
They paid no attention to the war below.
To them, it was nothing more than children playing at battle.
The Blackbeard Pirates marched straight toward the royal palace.
Luo Xing had no intention of interfering in Alabasta's civil war.
Once Crocodile was dealt with, all the lies, misunderstandings, and drought would naturally unravel.
But then—
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a blue-clad girl crying in utter despair.
With a mindset of "if I can save one, I will," Luo Xing stopped.
"You two go ahead," he said calmly to Jack and Who's-Who.
"I'll catch up later."
They exchanged glances, slightly puzzled.
Did the young master intend to involve himself in a war between ants?
But they didn't dare question him.
"Yes, Young Master."
They followed behind Blackbeard's crew into the palace.
Luo Xing took a step forward—
and vanished.
When he reappeared, he was standing behind the blue-haired girl.
She knelt on the ground, legs folded beneath her, trembling.
Tears streamed down her delicate face.
Princess Nefertari Vivi of Alabasta screamed until her voice turned hoarse.
"Please—stop fighting! Please stop!"
"It wasn't my father who used Dance Powder!"
"It was Crocodile—that pirate!"
"We're all his pawns! We're all being used—don't you understand?!"
Her desperate cries stirred no response.
The fighting continued.
One rebel shouted back,
"Princess, you're lying! Sir Crocodile is a Shichibukai—he protects us!"
"It's your royal family that caused three years of drought!"
Crocodile understood perfectly how to put on a flawless performance.
He spread rumors about Cobra.
He sent pirates to raid towns—
then appeared as a savior to "rescue" them.
Step by step, he built overwhelming prestige in the hearts of Alabasta's ignorant citizens.
That was why Vivi said it—
Everyone in Alabasta was nothing more than Crocodile's toy.
Crueler even than Doflamingo turning people into literal toys.
Crocodile was a true master at manipulating hearts.
Hearing the rebels' reply, Vivi fell even deeper into despair.
Her face turned deathly pale.
The light vanished from her sapphire-blue eyes, leaving only emptiness and darkness.
She could do nothing.
She could only watch her people slaughter one another—
dancing to the tune of that devil.
"Why… why… why?!"
Her nails dug into her palms until they bled.
And just as she sank into endless darkness—
Just as she fell into the abyss of despair—
A gentle, warm voice suddenly spoke behind her.
"Do you want to change all of this?"
"I'll help you."
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