Crocodile is not deaf.
Between the conversation, he listened attentively and understood every word.
Revealing his whereabouts to someone?
Crocodile's expression turned cold.
"Straw Hat Luffy?"
"Yes."
Robin didn't hide anything and had a faint smile on her face.
Having long since become indifferent to life and lacking much will to survive, she also wanted to see what kind of expression Crocodile would have.
As she expected.
Crocodile's face darkened.
In the past 20 years, as a woman who survived by betraying others, she was now betraying him again, and he didn't even have any unexpected emotions.
As a pirate who dared to seek national power, he never trusted anyone, including Nico Robin.
Betrayal?
No, not really.
They were just in a cooperative relationship.
He needed her knowledge, and she needed the protection of his Shichibukai title.
Crocodile didn't immediately turn hostile, but instead sneered.
"From Drum Island to Alabasta, even the fastest sailing ship would take four or five days. What can that kid do even if he knows? He's should still be drifting on the sea."
"That's true."
Robin nodded, thinking the same. "Back in Whisky Peak, the Straw Hat captain asked me to tell you something, but I forgot to mention it earlier."
After a pause, she lightly laughed. "Pluton is not in Alabasta, it's in Wano Country."
Wano Country, a large country in the New World, is a closed-off nation.
Robin didn't know, but Crocodile did.
That country is currently occupied by one of the Four Emperors, the Beasts Pirates!
Crocodile's expression became even more unpleasant.
He didn't believe this nonsense, but the other party actually knew about Pluton, and even knew his purpose for "such a shit".
In an instant, his murderous aura erupted.
Crocodile stared at Robin intently.
"Did you tell him?"
"No, I'm also curious about where he found out. Princess Vivi never knew about Pluton."
Robin crossed her arms and remained calm.
What's going on?
Crocodile furrowed his brow deeply. Judging from Robin's tone and expression, she wasn't lying, but of course, it could also be acting.
["If it wasn't this woman who leaked the information, then where did the Straw Hat find out?"]
["Is Pluton in Wano Country?"]
"Do you believe it?"
Robin's lips curled slightly, finding the current situation very interesting.
The captain of the Straw Hat Pirates is truly an interesting person.
Crocodile snorted disdainfully. "A low level thief, the answer will be revealed soon enough."
Just a few words almost disrupted his rhythm, truly ridiculous.
He shifted his gaze back to Cobra.
"Where is the historical text?"
"I've already told you, it's in this underground tomb."
Cobra's hands were nailed to the wall, blood flowing from his palms. His face was pale, and his voice weak. "As for Pluton, this country doesn't have such a thing. No matter how many times you ask, I will answer the same."
Crocodile grabbed his neck, the moisture in Cobra's body rapidly depleting. His skin became dry and wrinkled.
"I'll ask again, where is the historical text?"
He needed a specific location.
This underground tomb was extremely vast. As a burial place for the royal family throughout history, its structure was complex. It wouldn't be easy to find a stone tablet, and it would waste a lot of time.
Losing a significant amount of moisture, Cobra's voice became hoarse: "Pluton, what do you plan to do once you have it in your hands? You've taken this country, what else do you want?"
"At this point, what's the point of asking these questions?"
Crocodile, confident in his victory, laughed. "What I want is not money or status, but military power! The rumored Ancient Weapon, Pluton, is said to be a invincible warship capable of destroying an entire island with a single shot. With it, the World Government can't touch me. I will turn Alabasta into a military nation."
Most people have never even heard of them, and those who have heard of them can't be sure if they really exist.
But Crocodile can!
He believed the ancient weapon must be too powerful.
After the laughter, his tone instantly turned cold.
"Do you understand?"
"...Is your goal the World Government?"
Cobra felt shocked.
He had thought that pirates only wanted power, women, money, or maybe the secret treasure, One Piece.
But Crocodile's ambition clearly went beyond that.
"I have placed a bomb in the capital that is capable of destroying the entire city. With a killing range of five kilometers, it can instantly wipe out millions of people living in this city."
Crocodile's tone was icy. "Don't test my patience, Nefertari Cobra."
Upon hearing this, Cobra's expression changed drastically.
"I understand, I will take you there..."
Upon hearing this, Nico Robin crossed her hands in front of her chest.
In the next moment, two hands grew out of the wall and removed the nail that had been driven into Cobra's palm.
"Lead the way," Robin said with a smile.
"In the deepest part..."
Not long after, Cobra led the two of them to a secret room.
The spacious secret room had only one entrance.
In the center, there was a square stone tablet, covered with ancient characters that ordinary people couldn't understand, facing the entrance.
"Nico Robin," Crocodile called out.
"Don't call me by that name."
Robin's eyes trembled slightly as she walked slowly to the front of the historical text, reaching out to touch the ancient court official depicted on it.
"What does it say on there?"
"It tells an interesting story from history."
Without turning her head, Robin became engrossed in deciphering the text.
Crocodile clearly wasn't satisfied with this answer and coldly snorted, saying,
"That's not what I asked. Where is Pluton?"
After a moment of silence, Robin nodded slowly and said, "Yes, it contains information about Pluton. But I'm afraid it will disappoint you. Straw Hat Captain was right, Pluton is sleeping in Wano Country."
Because someone had informed her of this beforehand, Robin didn't hide the contents of the historical text at this moment.
She didn't intentionally say irrelevant things like in the original story to deceive Crocodile.
"What did you say?!"
Crocodile's face turned very ugly. "I'll give you another chance, Nico Robin. Where is Pluton?"
By this time, Robin had finished reading the contents of the stone tablet.
She turned around slowly, her expression remaining calm, and replied, "No matter how many times you ask, my answer remains unchanged. Pluton is located in Wano Country, as recorded here, Crocodile."
Crocodile inhaled deeply, and veins began to protrude on his forehead.
His murderous intent was no longer concealed.
"When?" he demanded.
Robin raised an eyebrow, unperturbed. "When did you join forces with the Straw Hat Crew?" Crocodile's right palm displayed quicksand flowing through it.
"I see. So that's how it is. Indeed, your reaction is as expected," Robin chuckled. "Do you think I'm deceiving you? That I've joined forces with the Straw Hat Crew with the intention of seizing Pluton for myself. It's rather amusing."
Robin had no regrets witnessing such an interesting turn of events before her death.
Next, everything would come to an end.
Crocodile, unable to secure Pluton, had descended into madness. He was destined to lose his title of Shichibukai.
Would he face imprisonment, attempt an escape, or meet his defeat at the hands of the Straw Hat captain who would arrive in two days? Regardless of the outcome, this country would find salvation.
In a fit of rage, Crocodile mercilessly attacked, bellowing, "Die, Nico Robin!"
His assault with the "Desert Spada," a sand blade formed by his right arm, possessed the power to cut through steel. Robin, however, made no attempt to resist. She closed her eyes, reminiscing about her childhood.
Having spent two decades living as a fugitive, the thought of meeting her end here seemed almost like a release. But suddenly, a hand reached out and yanked her away, causing the sand blade to miss its mark and slice through historical texts, leaving no trace.
"What?!" Crocodile's pupils shrink, slowly turning to look at the entrance.
A young man wearing a straw hat has just retracted his extended arm and saved Nico Robin, whom he wanted to kill.
"Impossible!" he says incredulously, "At least two more days, Straw Hat Luffy!"
Not only is he shocked, but Nico Robin herself is also surprised, her mouth wide open.
"Captain Luffy?"
Luffy takes off his straw hat and casually throws it to Robin, then walks towards Crocodile with a smile on his face.
"I've actually been here for quite a while, just wanted to see your reaction when you found out the result. It's really boring, Crocodile."
As he speaks, another woman rushes out from behind him and quickly runs to the side of King Cobra.
"Father!" Vivi anxiously looks at her father, who has almost turned into a mummy.
"Vivi⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯"
"Father!!" Vivi's face is filled with tears.
"He won't die, just give him some water."
Luffy glanced at her and continued to approach Crocodile: "So you're called Sand Bag Crocodile?"
As he spoke, he stepped forward and entered second gear.
Steam overflowed from his body, and in the next second, he fiercely attacked Crocodile.
"Although I don't know how you managed to get here in three days, what can you do...?!"
Crocodile lacked even the interest to dodge, with a mocking smile on his lips...
However, when his fist hit his face, it didn't go through his body as he had imagined.
Bang!!
A punch shattered his nose, and Crocodile hung like a sandbag, swaying behind the historical monument.
The back of his head hit the incredibly hard monument, and blood slid down the monument.
"I can beat you."
Luffy's tone was calm as he continued towards Crocodile: "Stop pretending to be dead, Shichibukai. Although it's easy to crush an ant, it's not fun that way. Get up!"
Boom!!!
Conqueror's Haki crushed towards Crocodile.
Iv4's Conqueror's Haki erupted with full force, to the extent that it could even have physical effects.
The entire secret room trembled, dust falling from the ceiling, and the ground slightly shaking.
Robin was stunned.
Holding the straw hat in her hand, she looked incredulously at everything happening before her.
Cobra struggled to widen his eyes, staring in astonishment at Luffy's back.
Who is that?
"Cough... cough... cough..."
Crocodile slid down from the monument, covering his injured face, and muttered through gritted teeth: "Haki!!"
In this sea area, in the first half of the Grand Line, in a place like Alabasta, he actually encountered a user of Haki!
Monkey D. Luffy!
This guy is different from ordinary rookie pirates!
This bastard comes from a prestigious family, his grandfather is even a Marine hero, so it's normal for him to master Haki!
"Don't get too arrogant, you newcomer!" Crocodile's eyes gleamed with sharpness, and in the blink of an eye, his body dispersed like flowing sand.
Upon reappearing, he had already positioned himself behind Luffy.
"Crescent Moon Sand Dune!"
With a swing of his single arm, an area swept by his arm generated a crescent-shaped sand blade.
"Is that all?" Luffy responded with a palm strike from a distance.
Empowering his attack with Armament Haki, the release of his Haki instantly shattered the sand blade and pierced through Crocodile's chest.
Puh!
Crocodile coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"You're too weak. Where's the aura you had when you faced the Demon Heir Bullet?"
As he spoke, Luffy delivered another kick.
Bang!
Crocodile flew out like a ball, flying hundreds of meters away from the secret room, passing by Robin, and breaking several stone pillars along the way.
Robin had a stunned expression on her face.
"Captain Luffy."
Seeing Luffy walk past her and continue towards Crocodile, Robin instinctively called out.
"If you want to die, why not come with me to find the complete history and die together?"
Luffy took the straw hat from Robin's hand and put it on her head.
"I'll mark you. You're already mine. Don't go looking for death so easily. If you die, it'll give me a headache."
["Without you, how am I supposed to find Laugh Tale?"]
["Should I go find Kozuki Oden's grave?"]
Without wasting any more words, Luffy continued to pursue Crocodile as if he were taking a leisurely stroll.
Robin touched the straw hat on her head, looking somewhat absent-minded.
Although they had only met once before, this was their second encounter.
But there was a strange sense of familiarity.
It was as if the other person had known her for a long time.
Coming back to her senses, Robin took out a can of water and walked up to Vivi.
"Here let him drink some water."
"Miss Robin, thank you!"
On the other side.
Crocodile, who had been beaten up, was in a critical condition.
After breaking several stone pillars in succession, he was lying on the ground in pain, his face contorted.
"How is this possible! It's actually such a powerful Armament Haki!"
He covered his chest, supporting his body with one hand, while spitting blood and angrily thinking.
At his age, how did he cultivate Armament Haki to an advanced level?
And this brat even has Conqueror's Haki!
Haki was not unfamiliar to him.
20 years ago, he had mastered this power.
However, over the years, he had been lurking in the Grand Line, without any enemies that required him to use Haki.
Just the Logia Sand-Sand Fruit alone was enough to crush anyone who opposed him.
Logia was synonymous with invincibility in front of those without Haki.
However, the more one relied on Devil Fruit powers, the more negligent they became in training Haki, like rowing against the current, falling behind instead of advancing.
Now, he had even forgotten how to use the most basic Observation Haki and Armament Haki.
He looked up and saw Luffy, wearing the straw hat, approaching step by step.
Crocodile endured the pain all over his body and staggered to his feet.
"Don't be too arrogant, you Lowly pirate!"