After fiercely cursing the bastard who had kidnapped Robin, Crocodile forced himself to calm down.
Annoyance aside, Nico Robin was, after all, the most crucial piece in his plan to obtain 'Pluton.' Her safety had to be ensured.
After careful consideration, Crocodile decided to deploy the current Baroque Works' senior agent and chief officer, the Mr. 1 pair, to guarantee the success of the operation.
Having made his decision, Crocodile immediately called Mr. 1, Daz Bonez, who was on a mission within the country.
In a city in the southern part of the kingdom, Mr. 1, who had just dealt with the highest-ranking military commander stationed in the city, soon heard the familiar sound of a Den Den Mushi ringing.
Mr. 1 pushed aside the corpse of the unknown general and sat down nonchalantly in the other's former seat.
He made a silencing gesture to his partner, who was rummaging around the office, and then answered the call.
"Who is this?"
Mr. 1 didn't know the caller's identity but answered only because it was a call from a Baroque Works' internal Den Den Mushi.
His tone was quite cold, displaying an attitude of not taking the other party seriously.
However, the words that came from the other end of the line soon caused his expression to change slightly.
"I am your boss, the President of Baroque Works, Mr. 0."
Crocodile's voice, altered by a voice changer, came through, finally making Mr. 1 take it a bit more seriously.
Even his partner, Miss Doublefinger, who walked with a sway in her hips and wore sexy clothing, stopped what she was doing and looked over curiously.
"Mr. 0? Come to think of it, this is the first time you've given me a mission directly, right?"
"Go on, since it's a task personally assigned by the Boss, I will complete it perfectly."
"Fuhuhuhu, I am satisfied with your attitude."
"The mission is simple. Our Vice President, Miss All Sunday, has been kidnapped and is currently on her way back to Alabasta."
"I want you to eliminate the bastard who kidnapped Miss All Sunday and bring our Vice President back safe and sound."
"The Vice President was kidnapped? Such a thing actually happened."
"Understood. Give me the precise time and location. I'll handle it."
"Hmm, a specialist will coordinate with you later. Do not disappoint me, Mr. 1."
Daz Bonez didn't reply and directly hung up the phone.
Looking at his partner standing across the table from him with a keenly interested expression, a touch of seriousness appeared on his usually impassive face.
"Let's go. It's time to leave this place."
"Fufufu, the mysterious President personally calls, tasking us with rescuing the kidnapped Vice President."
"This mission is much more interesting than assassinating some ordinary person."
Miss Doublefinger's voice could not conceal her excitement as she turned and followed her partner, silently leaving the crime scene.
........
From the uninhabited island where Bitz arrived to Baroque Works' headquarters in Alabasta, the journey took a total of 6 days by sailboat, including a one-day stop at a small island with a Marine base to exchange Himan's head and the spoils for Belly.
Over these 6 days, through Bitz's relentless efforts and nightly diligence, his combat power finally reached 40 points, an increase of a full 21 points, which was a huge improvement.
The only downside was that Robin was completely exhausted today. When Bitz got up at noon, no matter how he called her, Robin refused to get out of bed.
As a result, he had to wash up and eat alone before coming to the deck to enjoy the view.
'Sigh, if I had known it would be this boring, I should have stayed a couple more days at the previous island.'
'It's not like fighting Crocodile is urgent, so why rush back?'
Bitz leaned against the railing, sighing and regretting alone.
'But that foolish woman Robin probably really thinks she's hiding it well, right?'
'I wonder what expression she'll make when she sees me defeat Crocodile.'
Since he vaguely guessed that Robin had other schemes, Bitz naturally took precautions.
Thus, relying on his senses, which were sharper than an ordinary person's, Bitz discovered Robin's little actions.
It must be said that Robin was very discreet. She had been by Bitz's side almost constantly these days.
But in secret, she used her Flower-Flower Fruit ability to create arms and a mouth, using a Den Den Mushi to transmit information to Crocodile daily.
Having discovered this, he didn't stop her. Using Crocodile to test his own strength wasn't a bad idea.
Just as Bitz was secretly thinking about how to pummel the old Croc, a crew member cautiously approached.
"B-Bitz-sama, we will soon arrive at White Wave Port."
"Should we... call the Vice President?"
The crew member carefully sought Bitz's opinion. Regarding this man who had stolen their goddess and possessed overwhelmingly powerful strength, they felt both envy and fear, completely daring not to show their inner dissatisfaction in front of him.
Hearing the crew member's question, Bitz took out a golden pocket watch and looked at it as if realizing something.
"Is it already this late? Time flies so fast without noticing."
Muttering a low remark, Bitz pushed past the crew member in front of him, walking towards the upper deck while waving his hand behind him:
"No need to trouble you all with that. I'll go call her myself."
Watching Bitz's back as he went up the stairs, the crew member muttered under his breath, his heart sour:
"Dammit, if only I had such powerful strength, wouldn't the Vice President be mine?"
"This feeling of weakness is really unbearable!"
........
The sailboat had three decks in total. Apart from the lower two decks, which were mainly for storing supplies, food, cannonballs, ammunition, and the living quarters for the ordinary crew, the upper deck housed the captain's cabin, rest area, as well as a separate small kitchen, dining room, etc.
Robin's bedroom was located behind the captain's cabin. To enter, one had to pass through the captain's cabin and have the key to access Robin's private room.
But these were no issue for Bitz. He had long obtained the key and simply pushed the door open and entered the bedroom.
In the bedroom, the centerpiece was naturally the large bed where the two slept.
Then there was the wardrobe on the left and the bookshelf on the right.
Furthermore, there was a quite ordinary wooden desk and a dressing table.
Bitz didn't know if Robin simply disliked excessive decoration or if she didn't have a fixed flagship.
But in any case, the room's layout and decorations felt rather monotonous.