New World, an island.
A group of hippopotamus in black formal wear were singing in the river in the island. On a tree stump beside the river, a man wearing a black fur coat and combing his hair into a slicked-back hairstyle was sitting there with a cigar in his mouth and reading a newspaper in one hand.
"Ha, ha, ha, ha!"
After a while, he let out a strange and high-pitched laugh, making the hippopotamus in the river roar even louder. Vaguely, the voices of these hippopotamus seemed to overlap like Crocodile.
"Mr. 1, the world is beginning to fall into chaos."
Crocodile smiled and said, "After every World Conference, the world will be in turmoil for a while, but it's different this time. The sea is so turbulent now, and the World Government's sphere of influence is also in turmoil. It will only give those pirates time. Moreover, the Revolutionary Army seems to be moving."
As for the news that the Revolutionary Army Chief of Staff died in battle, Crocodile did not believe it. If he died, the World Government could not have promoted it so simply with such a simple passage.
"That Golden Lion has mastered Shichibukai, and there seems to be new movements from Yonkō (Four Emperors). This world is more chaotic than before," Crocodile said. "But this is also our chance."
Mr. 1, who had his arms crossed and a cold face, nodded and said, "But Boss, that Jinchuan once said that he invited you to be a Shichibukai. But now the rumor on the sea is that this Jinchuan is ready to abolish all Shichibukai and then re-recruit them."
Crocodile smirked. "It's just a rumor. He's not that stupid."
*Swish—*
Suddenly, a strong wind came from the side. Mr. 1, who was at the side, reached out and grabbed the object.
A black bat flapped on his hand.
"The government's messenger bat," Mr. 1 said.
The bat flapped its wings twice and a voice suddenly came from its mouth.
This kind of messenger bat is not in the form of a news bird, but directly transmitted by voice.
Inside was Kuro's voice recording.
"Hey, Crocodile, come to Fortress G-3 for a meeting."
Simple, direct.
"Has it begun…"
Crocodile glanced at the messenger bat, bit his cigar and blew out a mouthful of smoke. He slowly got up, touched his gold hook and smiled: "Let me see what you want to do, ha, ha, ha, ha!"
… .
A day later.
"Is this G-3?"
A small raft slowly approached the G-3 port. On the raft, a little girl holding an umbrella reached out in front of her forehead and looked at the huge fortress. "Didn't I hear that Barrett destroyed G-3? Why does it look intact?"
It's not just intact. Perona looked at the cannon facilities outside and her eyelids jumped. The firepower is too dense.
Mihawk looked up, revealing a pair of hawk-like eyes. "After all, it's Marine. It's normal to have this kind of mobility."
The raft approached. At this time, Marines were already waiting in the port, but before the raft docked, Mihawk got up and jumped up from the other side. He landed on the ground with a straight posture and walked with his windbreaker swaying.
The Marines on both sides saluted.
For Shichibukai, they also have to have etiquette.
At the end of the port passage, Crowe waited. When he saw who it was, he adjusted his glasses. "Hawkeye."
"Is it Crowe?"
Mihawk looked over and said: "Where is Kuro?"
"Mr. Kuro is waiting for you in the conference hall," said Crowe. "Please follow me."
"Hey, is there a room for me?" Perona called from the back.
"Yes, it's all arranged," said Crowe.
Fortress G-3 is very big. Whether it is Marines or Shichibukai and their subordinates who came for the meeting, they do not have to endure it.
When they arrived at the conference hall, Kuro was already sitting at the huge round table.
"Yours."
As soon as Mihawk saw him, he felt around in his arms and took out a box of cigars and threw it over.
The cigar box stopped in the air and slowly floated to Kuro's side.
"Yo, the box is good."
Just the box alone gave off a faint wood fragrance. There were exquisite carvings on the box, and there was gold on the carvings. Just the box looked very good, let alone the things inside.
He held the box and looked up and down. At the bottom of the box, he saw a double-bladed skull symbol. The skull head was lowered and there was a word similar to 'M' in the engraving of the Captain's hat.
"Pirate?" Kuro was stunned.
"Of course it's from the pirates."
Mihawk sat directly next to Kuro, picked up the wine in front of Kuro, took an empty glass and poured a glass.
"Not bad…"
He tasted it and nodded. "It tastes good."
"Of course, who am I?" Kuro opened the cigar box and said, "I mean, this thing seems to be produced by pirates."
Capture from pirates belongs to pirates, and pirate products belong to pirates. These two are not quite the same.
One is to rob others, and the other is to be produced and sold. It is not like there are no pirates in this world.
The cigar box was opened, revealing ten exquisite cigars. These cigars were different from ordinary cigars. They were full of gold and white lines.
Kuro picked one up and sniffed it.
"Oh? Edible gold? And there's a… how should I put it, it's a bit gushing, strange."
He's an old cigar freak. He has a deep understanding of this thing. He can tell whether it's good or bad with one sniff, just like Hawkeye's wine tasting skill.
Putting the cigar in his mouth, Kuro took out a lighter and lit it up with a flame.
Kuro took a breath and brewed it in his mouth for a while. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he spat out a direct gas like steam.
He quickly took out the cigar in his mouth and stared blankly at the smoke in front of him. "This thing…"
"What is it?" Mihawk asked.
"No… It tastes good."
Kuro smacked his lips. "It's sweet but not greasy, but the strange thing is that this thing stirs in my mouth like steam and shakes my mouth. It's a very strong taste."
He stared at the white lines on the cigar and touched it with his finger. "The key is this thing. It has this strength. This is a big good. Mihawk, you destroyed the Pirates? Where is their station?"
Mihawk took the cigar box, looked at the logo at the bottom, shook his head, and said, "It's not the same pirate group, it's probably snatched from someone else."
"That's strange, this kind of goods should belong to the special class, why have I never heard of it." Kuro said strangely.
He had smoked too many cigars. He had the high-end goods sold at sea, the Marine Special Offer edition, including the one Sakasugi smoked, but he had never heard of this one that was obviously more advanced than his Special Offer edition.