Downstream of the St. Dora River, in the northern sky, a large bird was soaring through the high altitude.
It was Pell, a user of the Zoan-type Devil Fruit, the 'Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Falcon'. He was on a mission to scout Rainbase, which lay directly west of the Capital City Alabasta.
At that moment, he noticed a Sandstorm rising near the riverbank upstream of the St. Dora River to his left. This piqued his curiosity, as normal Sandstorms rarely reached so close to the water.
Before long, however, another Sandstorm billowed up, quickly intertwining with the first and eventually triggering a violent energy explosion.
Something must have happened there!
Pell lowered his altitude, skimming the surface of the St. Dora River as he rapidly approached the target location.
Suddenly, with the sharp gaze of his Falcon eyes, he noticed something bobbing in the river water.
Focusing his vision, he saw it was actually a person. Getting closer, he gasped, "Taro?!"
Pell cried out in alarm.
He pulled Taro from the water and laid him on the riverbank, only then noticing a massive wound stretching from Taro's left waist to below his right ribs. The flesh around the wound still appeared somewhat withered and dead.
"This is... left by Crocodile!"
"Cough, cough." Taro coughed violently twice, spitting out a large mouthful of bloody water. "Hiss, it hurts."
Pell helped Taro up and asked urgently, "Taro, are you alright?"
Taro opened his eyes blearily. "Pell? What are you doing here?" Then, feeling a sharp pain in his wound, he sucked in a breath through his teeth and looked down at his abdomen.
As expected, this body of his didn't fit the Pirate King's settings!
When Luffy was drained dry by Crocodile, all he needed was some water to recover instantly. Even Mr. 3 recovered quickly.
As for himself, he had almost drowned in the river, and he could still see withered flesh at the edges of the wound. Although the injuries were healing rapidly, the recovery speed was clearly inferior to those original characters.
I really am still quite easy to kill!
"I was ordered to scout Rainbase. But what about you? How did you run into Crocodile?"
Taro shook his head gently. "It's hard to explain, but can we not talk about that for a second..."
"I feel like I can still be saved! Cough, cough!"
...Rainbase.
With Sanji's help, the Straw Hat crew quickly escaped, while the Marines under Captain Smoker were in hot pursuit.
"After them!"
"I see them!"
"..."
A Marine Soldier stopped beside Smoker. "Captain Smoker, aren't you going to chase them?"
"Hmph, I'm tired!" Smoker muttered, two cigars clenched in his teeth, his head hanging slightly.
In the casino's underground secret room, Crocodile had spoken of the 'Utopia' plan and his conspiracy to destroy the country. Despite this, and despite the Straw Hat crew's actions, when the lake water flooded the passage and the secret room collapsed—leaving Smoker submerged and powerless—it was the Straw Hat crew who saved him.
"Go tell the Marines currently in pursuit that they won't catch them. Stop the chase," Smoker ordered softly. "Notify Marineford, and then contact all warships in the waters near Alabasta. Have them all converge on this country."
The soldier was somewhat surprised. "Captain Smoker, will Marineford really send that many warships just for those few pirates in the Straw Hat crew?"
Smoker glared fiercely at the Marine Soldier. "When have I ever listened to the opinions of those above?"
The Marine Soldier trembled. "Yes, sir! I'll see to it immediately."
Luffy and the others ran out of the town and happened to encounter Chopper and the camel 'Matsuge' riding the Moving Crab. The group climbed onto the Moving Crab, preparing to head for the Capital City Alabasta.
Whoosh! A gold hook flew from a distance, snagging Vivi's body.
"Gum-Gum..."
Luffy stretched his arms to grab the gold hook, then retracted them, launching himself forward. He rescued Vivi, but followed the gold hook as it flew back.
"You guys go on ahead! Make sure Vivi gets home safely!" Luffy shouted to his companions.
The owner of the gold hook was none other than Crocodile, who had quickly returned to Rainbase after defeating Taro.
"Well, Straw Hat, you actually managed to escape! However, that companion of yours named Sanji has already been dealt with by me. Now, it's your turn!"
Crocodile spoke contemptuously as he looked at Luffy, who was stuck head-first in the sand.
Huh? What is this guy talking about? Wasn't Sanji just on the back of the Moving Crab with me?
Luffy's eyes widened in confusion.
"He was a Devil Fruit Ability user who fell into the water while heavily injured. Do you think he could survive?"
Seeing Luffy's surprised expression, Crocodile felt a surge of satisfaction, and his tone became even more arrogant.
Luffy was even more bewildered. Since when was Sanji a Devil Fruit Ability user? Who on earth was he talking about?
Just then, footsteps sounded behind Crocodile. He turned to see Robin. His eyes turned cold, and his lips curled into a smirk as he let out a light laugh. "You're back? I take it you didn't find the person I asked you to look for!"
Robin had just returned from Katerea. She had learned from local Baroque Works members that Taro had already left, so she had hurried back to Rainbase.
However, she hadn't expected to hear news of Taro's death from Crocodile. For a moment, she was struck with a strange sense of shock, so much so that she didn't catch the anomaly in Crocodile's tone.
"Yes, by the time I arrived, he had already left," Robin said calmly.
Crocodile's brow furrowed as killing intent rose in his eyes, but he forced himself to suppress the urge to kill Robin right then. She was still useful to him. "Go and notify the Advanced Agents to gather in Alabasta."
Then he looked back at Luffy. "People like you, who seek their own deaths for the sake of so-called companions, are nothing but fools!"
Luffy thought to himself: This nonsensical guy says he killed Sanji, but Sanji is clearly alive and well.
"No matter how you look at it, aren't you the one who's a hopeless fool?" Luffy roared.
"Heh!" Robin also thought of this and let out a light chuckle.
Crocodile's gaze turned cold. "Do you want to die too, Nico Robin?"
"If you wish, suit yourself," Robin said indifferently. "Besides, didn't we agree not to use names?"
Then she slowly turned to leave. "I'm heading to Alabasta first!"
Crocodile cursed under his breath, "Useless woman." Then he tossed out an hourglass and said contemptuously to Luffy, "I'll give you three minutes. Any more than that and I won't have the patience to keep playing with you, Straw Hat!"
..."Hiss, it hurts! Gentler, be gentler!" Taro hissed, twitching constantly.
Pell was somewhat speechless, but his hands didn't stop as he wrapped the bandages. "Stop moving around, it'll be done in a moment!"
"But it really hurts!" Taro cried out twice. "That bastard Sand Crocodile really plays dirty..."
Taro grunted in resentment, then looked at Pell again. "Pell, this won't leave a scar, will it? My handsome abs..."
Pell: "..."
"It won't. It's just some withered flesh; the wound itself isn't that severe!"
"Whew, that's good then!"
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