I'm back! I'm sorry I haven't posted any chapters in months, I was too busy with college to be able to post, I went on vacation today, so I plan to post chapters and leave caps saved, since I go back to school at the end of January.
Without further ado, enjoy the chapter.
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In the past, Robin handled all communications with the subordinates.
But now that Robin is gone, it is up to him to manage it personally.
Though it was troublesome, there wasn't another option at the moment.
"Yo, Crocodile, I'm in Alabasta. Where are you?" A playful voice came from the transponder snail.
"Evan, you bastard... what did you do?" Crocodile gritted the cigar in his mouth, feeling a sudden wave of unease.
It was over. Something bad was going to happen now.
He knew that guy had threatened him but he didn't take it seriously at first. Now he realized that the situation is worse than it seems.
Luckily he was able to hire Germa 66 to help him deal with the Straw Hats, even though it cost him a lot, it was worth it.
On the other end, Evan was busy with Robin.
He wasn't doing anything important, he was just flirting with her and wasting time while he waited to continue making fun of crocodile.
"I hope your strength is worth this price." After some negotiation, Crocodile angrily lit his cigar.
He'd been beaten down hard by Reiju.
Given the urgency of the situation, he had no choice. If the other side didn't act, he lacked the strength to take matters into his own hands.
In the end, if the price was something the other side demanded, he had no choice but to accept.
He would have to bear this loss, no doubt about it.
"Don't worry, Mr. Crocodile, you won't be disappointed."Reiju was naturally satisfied, confident she'd deliver a surprise in the next battle.
Crocodile's path of suffering wasn't over yet.
Just then, another voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
Not long ago, the Straw Hat Crew had laid out their plans.
Since Crocodile wasn't around, they had to find a way to weaken the Baroque Works organization.
This evil criminal syndicate was a major asset to the Sand Crocodile.
Although the combat abilities of its members were laughable, they were still a blight on the desert kingdom.
Dealing with them swiftly was the best course of action.
Thus, the team divided the tasks and set to work.
Vivi took Luffy and the others to gather evidence against the Sand Crocodile.
They planned to destroy his "Hero" image and expose his conspiracies.
In particular, Bentham, the Clone-Clone Fruit user, needed to be captured.
After all, much of the chaos in the desert kingdom was due to his manipulation of events.
His abilities were quite a challenge to handle.
Meanwhile, Evan followed Robin, attacking quickly and efficiently.
By now, he'd already defeated several high-ranking members in succession.
The last one, Miss Doublefinger, lay in front of him.
Using her Den Den Mushi, Evan got in direct contact with the Crocodile.
"Mr. 1 isn't here. Did you take him?" Evan asked, while casually poking Miss Doublefinger's face as she lay on the ground.
Her appearance was quite striking, and her figure was impressive.
Tight black pants, long legs, and curves in all the right places.
She felt humiliated to be defeated by a pirate who had nothing to his name. It hurt her pride as a member of Baroque Works. She would rather die than submit to a rookie pirate.
It was a pity Evan wasn't planning to finish her off.
After all, he'd already recruited Miss Valentine and Miss Goldenweek; adding another Miss wouldn't hurt.
He must complete his Combat Maid squadron, something similar to Overlord's Pleaides.
But that is still a long way off, he only has 2 official members, Mikita, Miss Valentine and Marianne, Miss Goldenweek, and now he will add Miss Double Finger, even though she doesn't want to.
As for Luffy not accepting? He simply has to bribe him with meat and that will calm him down, and they need a fairly large crew, not the 10 members that the captain wants.
He had already added Tashigi to the crew, someone who would never join a pirate crew in canon. However, after he told her about the atrocities committed by the navy under the orders of the world government, she finally joined.
Speaking of that girl, where is she? Is she still sleeping? He hasn't seen her since they left Little Garden.
What He didn't know was that Tashigi was dealing with a situation related to her swords.
...
Tashigi POV
Tashigi slowly opened her eyes, feeling the comfort of the bed. She sat up easily, not feeling tired at all, being able to sleep well. She rubbed her eyes and looked up to see a surprising scene: two girls, one with bright blue hair and the other with a reddish pink mane, were watching her with curiosity.
"Who are you?" Tashigi asked, still dazed.
The blue-haired girl stepped forward, her eyes shining with a mysterious light. "I am Krias," she said in a soft but firm voice. "And this is Cyrus," she added, pointing at the reddish pink-haired girl.
"And we are your Daughters from now on," Krias added.
Cyrus smiled and nodded without saying a single word.
"Whaaat!!!" Tashigi screamed, scared by what Krias had just said.
Tashigi frowned, trying to understand. "What do you mean I'm your mother now? I don't know you two and I'm too young to be a mom."
Cyrus and Krias exchanged a look before Krias spoke again. "We are your swords, only we've taken human form thanks to you, Mom."
Tashigi was speechless, looking at the girls in disbelief. "My swords? How is that possible?"
Krias walked over and took Tashigi's hand. "We are swords with Ego, which means we can acquire consciousness and therefore a physical body."
"Thanks to your hard work in training, we've managed to awaken rather quickly," Krias added.
Tashigi felt a surge of excitement and determination. "So it turns out that my swords, besides being powerful, have their own consciousness and now I'm a mom. Hahaha… Ha." Tashigi's head began to spin, overwhelmed by the revelation.
She felt her legs weaken and, before she could react, everything went black. She fainted, falling softly to the ground.
Cyrus and Krias knelt beside her, worried. "Mama, wake up," Krias whispered, while Cyrus patted her cheek.
POV END.
...
"Heh, have you really dealt with all those fools? You've worked hard." Crocodile replied through gritted teeth.
Though he maintained a calm exterior, his heart was bleeding.
Sure, Baroque Works' combat strength was lacking, but it had been his painstaking effort to build up this organization.
And now Evan had just steamrolled through them?
Their fighting capabilities were weak, but still, Crocodile couldn't help but feel a deep sense of loss.
"Crocodile, what are you trying to pull?"
"When you die, your whole body will rot, but I'm afraid only your mouth will remain."
"You people are far too stubborn." Evan mocked and sneered.
Hearing these words made the Sand Crocodile's blood boil.
"Seems like there's something wrong with you."
"If your forces are weakened, it means we'll have to take more risks on our side."
"That's not good. We might have to renegotiate the terms, and the price will increase." Crocodile didn't hide this conversation from Reiju, so she overheard everything.
When Reiju finally spoke up, Evan immediately caught on.
There was no way he wouldn't recognize Reiju's voice, and he was instantly overjoyed.
It all made sense now.
[So, Crocodile went to the Vinsmoke family to hire people.]
[Realizing he lacks strength, he's looking to bolster it.]
[But now, he can't find anyone except my wife, Reiju.]
[This is going to be interesting—I wonder what expression Crocodile will have later.]
Evan's diary entries were filling up as his imagination began to run wild.
The scenario played out in his mind: he'd beat Crocodile into the ground.
And Crocodile, stunned, would look at Reiju, who stood there watching indifferently.
"Why aren't you helping? Have the Vinsmokes betrayed me?"
Crocodile might say something along those lines.
The surprise that awaited him would certainly brighten his day.
"Evan, you'll regret this!" Crocodile spat out the words before hanging up the Den Den Mushi.
*Kachak*
He and Reiju needed to rewrite the contract terms.
Ultimately, Crocodile had to fork over a significant sum of money, which hurt.
"How did things get so messy?" He couldn't understand how it had come to this.
Rubbing his head, Crocodile realized how tense he was.
During his frantic scratching, a few hairs came loose.
Crocodile wasn't young anymore—he was in his forties.
And with the immense stress he'd been under recently, hair loss had become a real problem.
"Curse that Evan. My plan must continue no matter what."
"I have to capture the princess, and as for deciphering the ancient text..."
"There has to be a way. The sea is vast; there must be someone who can read it." There were still people out there who could decipher ancient texts.
But most were far out of Crocodile's reach.
Wano Country and Whole Cake Island were under the Four Emperors' control.
One of Big Mom's daughters, a member of the 3 Eyes tribe and remaining members of the Kozuki clan
The first is not feasible, that woman is crazy and even though he has heard rumors of a conflict in Whole Cake that could benefit him, he does not want to risk it and as for entering Wano? that would be suicide.
One of Big Mom's daughters, a member of the 3 Eyes tribe, and in Wano, the remaining members of the Kozuki clan.
The first option is not feasible. That woman is crazy, and even though he has heard rumors of a conflict in Whole Cake that could benefit him by allowing him to kidnap Big Mom's daughter, he does not want to risk attracting the attention of the Big Mom Pirates.
And what about Enter to Wano? It would be suicide. Wano is even more isolated than before and Kaido doesn't let anyone in unless it's for business.
And from what he's heard from some rumors, Wano has changed too much to the point that it's unrecognizable to the old Wano.
And if it is for good or bad? He doesn't care and he didn't bother to investigate.
"Bonez, you'll be in charge of capturing the princess during the battle."
"As for that guy's crew, the Vinsmoke family will handle them."
"I'll personally deal with Evan." Crocodile's face was deadly serious.
"I understand. I'll take care of it." Bonez responded with unwavering determination, his dark expression resolute.
When Crocodile gave an order, he followed it without question.
"Good. Now that everything's in place, it's time to launch the attack." Finally, a wicked grin spread across the Sand Crocodile's face.
The confidence of a seasoned pirate was starting to return.
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