"What?!"
In the desert, a few hours away from Alubarna, a roar came from the carriage of the giant turtle 'Banchi' that traveled on both land and water.
"Say that again!"
Wearing a black fur coat, Crocodile stood up abruptly, completely losing his usual composed demeanor, and coldly questioned the Den Den Mushi in his hand.
"Y-yes..."
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi was a squad leader who had narrowly escaped. As a spy from Baroque Works embedded in the royal army, he had luckily avoided the purge and contacted the senior officers outside the city. However, the result was:
"Not only did the officers encounter enemies, but most of the rebels also..."
As a mid-level leader, the squad leader had the privilege of choosing his own attire and didn't have to tattoo the Baroque Works mark on himself, allowing him to escape temporarily. But:
With a large number of low-level members captured, these mid-level commanders would soon be identified! And their fate would be:
Being cut into a thousand pieces wouldn't be enough to vent the anger!
Thanks to the 'good deeds' of Baroque Works, the number of people who died in Alabasta due to the drought and civil war was not in the hundreds or thousands, but in the tens or hundreds of thousands!
Even if each person was executed multiple times, it wouldn't be enough...
"Is Miss All-Sunday there? What should we do next—"
Click,
Crocodile hung up the Den Den Mushi without caring about the fate of the poor informant. His entire demeanor darkened, and his dangerous gaze fell on Nico Robin beside him!
"Although I understand your feelings, boss."
Facing the imminent killing intent, Nico Robin casually spread her hands.
"But I still want to say, this wasn't my doing."
...
"I know,"
Crocodile took a deep drag on his cigar, forcing himself to calm down!
Although he couldn't see through Nico Robin, his 'Observation Haki' clearly sensed her intense desire for their shared goal! At this critical moment, she had no reason to use such self-destructive means.
Moreover, this woman was sitting right beside him. With Crocodile's strength, he could kill her with a single move! If she were truly behind this, there was no way she could hide it from Crocodile's senses.
But this doesn't make sense—
Only he and the woman beside him knew the details of the entire plan. The other Baroque Works officers were just following orders. Even if they leaked information, it shouldn't have led to this situation! It's like...
"It's like an invisible eye is watching our every move."
Calming down, Crocodile took a deep breath and looked towards Alubarna.
"Someone has seen through all my plans and destroyed them at the most critical moment—"
But to have an intelligence network capable of stopping everything just before he acted... could it be them? The World Government's intelligence agency, CP...
"Should we retreat, boss?"
Robin, wearing a white trench coat, noticed Crocodile's hesitation. If even he backed down, she could only watch the Poneglyph slip away...
"Hehehe, are you unwilling too, Nico Robin?"
Crocodile sneered. At this point, no matter what force was secretly sabotaging them, he was already committed, so—
"It seems I've been playing the 'hero' in this country for too long, long enough for people to forget my true nature!"
A pirate.
A ruthless pirate!
"Let's go see who's causing trouble."
Since the plan had been completely ruined, the peaceful takeover of Alabasta was now a pipe dream. Crocodile didn't mind taking a gamble! Using the entire Alubarna as a hostage, the 'merciful' Nefertari royal family would know what to choose, right?
With a flick of his coat, Crocodile grabbed Nico Robin beside him, and his lower body turned into a spinning whirlwind, flying off into the distance! Since the strategy had failed, he would break through with force.
Kill!
---
On the other side of the battlefield,
"Hahahaha~~"
Sanji was being stepped on by a laughing Vivi, looking like he was at a disadvantage.
"You're all talk, can't stand up, can you? Third-rate cook!" With Vivi's face, wearing a swan costume and a pink coat, Mr. 2 Bon Clay laughed... quite charmingly.
"Don't think I'll just take a beating! No matter how much you look like Vivi, you're still just an okama at heart!"
Sanji was angry!
"Don't get cocky—"
"Lost your cool~~?"
Sanji, defeated.
...Is this guy an idiot?
"Elegant Swan Dance!"
No matter what, he had to take down the opponent first! After taking a flying kick, Sanji finally got into a defensive stance, and Mr. 2 Bon Clay had already figured him out.
Written as 'gentleman,' read as old snake skin...
"Ah, the weather in this country is really hot~~"
Facing the old snake skin, Mr. 2 Bon Clay easily took control!
"Makes you want to take off all your clothes~~?"
As he spoke, he pulled open his collar, revealing...
"Need my help~~~?"
Facing the blushing Sanji, Mr. 2 Bon Clay's face was expressionless. —Is that it? If he had known it would be this easy... he instantly 'flipped.'
"Okama Chop!"
A close-range hand chop struck Sanji's neck hard, almost knocking out the blond chef in the suit. Then came:
"Toe Kick!"
Although the name was ridiculous, the power and speed of Mr. 2 Bon Clay's kick, honed through hard training, were no joke. He could kick through a concrete pillar as thick as an adult's embrace! Poor Sanji was instantly sent flying sideways, rolling dozens of times before stopping.
"Hahaha, too easy, too easy!"
"Unforgivable, using Miss Vivi's appearance to tempt me—"
Sanji got up and kicked out, his leg shadows intertwining! He instantly attacked the revealed Mr. 2 Bon Clay! However, the opponent calmly touched his face with his right hand.
"You won't kick me, will you?"
Facing Vivi's pitiful face, Sanji instinctively twisted his waist in mid-air to change the trajectory of his attack! But—
"Okama Chop!"
Sanji was sent flying again, spitting blood all over the yellow sand! The paper crane circling in the air almost fell.
What the heck?!
This is a life-and-death battle, and the opponent is a shape-shifting okama! You can't bring yourself to hit him???
You call this gentlemanly behavior?
It's more like foolish behavior—
On the other side, Roman, sitting in a spider wheelchair and leading Vivi and the rebel leaders back to Alubarna, covered his forehead and waved off Vivi's concern. Should he tell Vivi that an okama is beating up Sanji while wearing her face?
Forget it, the Straw Hat crew can't afford to lose face...
However:
"I've seen through your tricks!"
Sanji, heavily injured again, stood up and calmly lit a cigarette.
"You can transform into Vivi to make me unable to attack, but when you attack, you switch back to your okama form!"
"So, when you transform, you also change your physique, making it unsuitable for combat, right?"
Facing Sanji's reasoning, Mr. 2 Bon Clay's face stiffened.
He was right. The reason he frequently switched forms was that only his well-trained body could fully utilize his combat skills! Once he transformed into someone else...
"So what?"
"Even if you've seen through the flaw in my Clone-Clone Fruit, you still can't defeat—"
Whoosh!
In a flash, the raised black boot appeared in Mr. 2 Bon Clay's vision, making him quickly touch his right cheek, instantly transforming into Vivi! But—
"What's on your left cheek?"
"Huh?"
Instinctively touching his left cheek, Mr. 2 Bon Clay automatically reverted to his original form, his face stiffening!
Crap—
"Shoulder Roast!"
With a burst of power, the whistling kick landed hard on Mr. 2 Bon Clay's face, catching him off guard. But it wasn't over yet:
"Waist Roast!"
A sweeping kick hit Mr. 2 Bon Clay's waist, preventing him from changing forms and igniting his competitive spirit!
"I—"
"Don't rely solely on my Devil Fruit ability!"
"Swan Lake Ballet!"
"Full Course Meat Banquet!"
The two's legs shot out at high speed, clashing fiercely.
Leg shadows filled the sky, either kicking straight through the air, curving around, countering each other, or colliding head-on!
Smack, smack, smack!
The two legs, capable of breaking rocks and cracking metal, clashed repeatedly, causing explosions in the air, sounding like thunder, cracking the ground, and sending yellow sand flying like shrapnel! Until—
"Veal Shoot!"
In the end, Sanji's skill prevailed, and he kicked Mr. 2 Bon Clay flying several meters away! The spiraling force even made Mr. 2 Bon Clay spit blood in mid-air.
"...cough cough... impressive..."
Lying on the ground without the strength to even turn over, Mr. 2 Bon Clay sincerely praised, then said:
"Kill me!"
If one's skills are inferior, they should accept their fate! But:
A hand reached out to him, and looking up, it was Sanji's handsome face.
"This fight was enjoyable, the rest..."
"...doesn't need to be said."
...
Is this what they call not knowing each other until they fight?
This guy... is a true friend!
Moved to the point of almost shedding tears, Mr. 2 Bon Clay extended his hand, then:
Bam bam bam!
"After all that talk, you're still going to hit me?"
"Who told you to turn into Vivi—"
After giving him a beating, Sanji turned and waved his hand.
"Let's go."
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