A tall, luxurious hotel.
Roy lounged on the sofa, smoking contentedly as he felt the gentle sea breeze blowing in through the window. In Sage Mode, he slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke.
Summer really was a season when all things came back to life!
He listened to the explosions and cries outside the window, savoring the peace within the luxurious room.
Brrring, brrring!
The Den Den Mushi suddenly rang.
"Roy, are you awake? It's time for us to leave."
Spandam's somewhat drained voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
"Oh? Is something up again?"
He stubbed out the cigarette butt in his hand, pulled a match from beneath the stockings on the table, struck it with a flick of his hand, and continued puffing away.
Roy knew better than anyone what kind of person Spandam was. For him to let the Kingdom of Calotte go without squeezing it dry of every last drop of profit, there could only be one explanation.
Something had happened on the World Government's side.
"Yes, that's right. This is really terrible luck, Roy. The higher-ups want us to make a trip to Alabasta. That guy Crocodile seems to be doing something unbelievable there!" Spandam sounded somewhat panicked.
"Crocodile, huh."
Upon hearing that, Roy's first thought was that Crocodile's intention to search for Pluton had been exposed.
The World Government would never casually investigate someone with the combat strength of a Shichibukai.
And once the World Government's senior agents got involved, it meant they had obtained some important lead.
He turned to look at the distant scene of the chaos being suppressed.
Roy glanced at the somewhat feeble Den Den Mushi. "These times are getting harder and harder."
Spandam froze for a moment on the other end, then immediately felt the same way.
Indeed, ever