Crocodile could no longer contain his anger. With a swing of his golden hook, he shattered the nearby desk.
"Damn that rookie! How dare he interfere with my plans! Robin became his partner? Does he also have his eyes on the ancient weapons?" , "What else did Tony say?"
Mr. 1 hesitated for a few seconds before relaying everything Tony had said, word for word.
"If you try to make trouble for him… he said he wouldn't mind taking you down too."
A threat! An outright threat! Crocodile's face twisted with rage, his hatred for Tony growing, and he wished he could tear him to pieces.
"Guahaha! Not bad, not bad, kid! Even I'm supposed to be taken down? Now that's someone worth killing!"
"I was thinking of recruiting him, but he's just a reckless fool!"
Who was Crocodile? He was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the Desert King! How could he endure such humiliation?
Even when facing the man known as the world's strongest—Edward Newgate, Whitebeard—he had never been afraid. But now, a rookie who had just set sail dared to threaten him?
Where could he show his face?
Crocodile's body, made of sand, erupted in fury, instantly corrupting the desks, chairs, and floor around him. The office turned into ruins in an instant.
The terrifying power of the Sand-Sand Fruit was on full display. The assassins in the Baroque Works base held their breath, not daring to make a sound.
Mr. 1 and Mikita stood frozen, too scared to move.
One could imagine just how furious the Sand Crocodile was right now.
Meanwhile, Tony and Robin were still leisurely enjoying their time together on the beach, completely unaware of the danger that was about to come their way.
Tony's words had completely enraged the crocodile, setting off a chain of events that he couldn't have predicted.
...
Elsewhere, in the Arabasta restaurant.
Nami couldn't find Tony in the dining area, and ran outside, searching frantically for him. For a young girl like her, without Tony by her side, she felt completely insecure.
Eventually, she walked along the street towards the beach near the port and found Tony happily enjoying the moment.
What shocked her more was the beautiful woman standing next to him, who was clearly much more stunning than she was.
Nami's heart immediately filled with unease. She walked toward them, a look of reproach on her face.
Here she was, worrying herself sick, and Tony was off on a romantic beach date with a gorgeous woman...
Nami's anger flared, and she muttered under her breath.
"Is it just because she has a better figure... I'll have that in the future too!"
When Tony saw Nami walking towards them, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty, losing some of his earlier cocky attitude. It felt as though he had been caught in the act. With an awkward smile and a nervous scratch of his head, he greeted Nami.
"Ah, Nami, you're still up? You wouldn't believe it, I had to fight four Devil Fruit users all by myself. It was a tough battle, but I managed to defeat them."
...
Robin, standing to the side, felt a bit confused.
"Tough battle? It was more like a one-sided slaughter. Why lie about it?"
Robin looked at Nami's expression and couldn't help but smirk slightly, clearly noticing something. Nami's cold demeanor and the subtle hint of hostility toward Tony was obvious to Robin.
As the saying goes, women understand each other best, and Robin was sure that the young girl in front of her harbored strong feelings for Tony. Her presence had clearly triggered a sense of rivalry.
Nami, however, didn't buy Tony's words. With a direct and pointed question, she went straight to the heart of the matter.
"Tony, who is this woman?"
...
The atmosphere was a bit tense, but as a man, Tony knew he had to handle the situation. For the sake of his grand dream, he put on an expression of righteous confidence, making sure his words didn't imply anything inappropriate.
"Her name is Robin. From now on, she'll be our crewmate! She's a scholar and also a Devil Fruit user."
"She's someone we can definitely rely on!"
"We'll all get along very well, like a family, I'm sure."
Pfft!
Robin couldn't help but burst into laughter at Tony's words, her stomach aching from the amusement. She couldn't hold it in, covering her stomach as she laughed uncontrollably, her face turned toward the sky at a 45-degree angle.
Seeing Robin's silly grin, Tony immediately broke into a cold sweat, realizing what he had said. He frantically waved his hands, desperately trying to fix his mistake.
"No, no! I mean, we'll get along like a family, very, very well!"
At this point, Nami was also amused by Tony's flustered behavior. She had never seen him so flustered before—he usually carried himself with such a cool demeanor. Her mood lightened considerably.
Robin, being quick-witted, saw the opportunity and politely stepped forward to greet Nami.
"Hello, my name is Nico Robin. From today, I'm officially joining your crew. Please take care of me."
"Hello, I'm Nami. I just joined recently as well. Please take care of me too."
The two shook hands, and the bond of friendship between the two women began to form.
Watching the two of them get along so well, Tony felt a weight lift off his chest, knowing that everything would be alright.
~----------------------------------------------------------
T/N:
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