Conspiracy and Reinforcements

Crocodile, who was flipping through an Ancient Script dictionary, frowned slightly and gently raised his head.

Who is it? Who's there?

"Hmm? That really surprises me. I heard that after that battle with Whitebeard, the former supernova, Sand Crocodile who dared to fight anyone, has become a dead fish."

"I thought your strength had declined a lot, but I didn't expect your Observation Haki to remain unchanged..."

With a murmuring sound, a green sprout emerged from the ground and quickly grew into a tall tree. The Ryokugyu's body slowly emerged from the tree.

Upon hearing this, Crocodile's face immediately darkened, as if something sore spot had been touched, and he stretched out a hand:

"So it's Admiral Ryokugyu from the Navy! I wonder what brings you here to see me?"

Despite his polite words, Crocodile's hand emanated a strange power. Ryokugyu's eyes widened slightly, and he quickly retreated. The plants growing around him withered and cracked instantly, turning into ashes.

Perhaps in terms of strength, Ryokugyu is still above Crocodile. However, just as Luffy's original Gum-Gum Fruit and now Nika Fruit counter Enel's Rumble-Rumble Fruit, and Akainu's Magma-Magma Fruit counters Ace's Flame-Flame Fruit, Crocodile's Sand Fruit is also the nemesis of Green Bull Aramaki -Woods-Woods Fruit.

After all, Desert and forest degradation are normal natural phenomena. Fires only allow forests to grow again, but Desert are truly forbidden zones for forests.

Therefore, Ryokugyu doesn't dare to be too careless when facing his nemesis, since his strength mainly comes from his Devil Fruit ability. If he really faces Sand Crocodile, he can't guarantee a sure victory.

"Crocodile, what do you want to do? Do you want to start a war with the Navy and the World Government directly?"

Ryokugyu spoke with a look of apprehension. He had originally thought that Sand Crocodile was already in a state of decline and his strength had dropped, which was why he dared to show off in front of Crocodile and even provoke him a little.

Realizing that the opponent's strength didn't seem to have decreased much, Ryokugyu immediately changed its strategy and started raising its banner.

"Cut!"

Kuro snorted and withdrew his hand. In reality, this Shichibukai was only good at scaring Ryokugyu. Not to mention that he was not confident in fighting him, even if he could defeat this Marine Admiral, how to end the fight with Ryokugyu was also a problem.

Crocodile is not Doflamingo. He has connections in both the legitimate and criminal worlds, and has close ties with the World Government. He is confident that he can take down a Marine Admiral.

If he dared to fight Marine Admiral one-on-one, his position as Shichibukai would probably be in jeopardy, and he might even be ganged up on by the other Marine Admiral. Crocodile was only able to hold his own against Ryokugyu, one Marine Admiral. Any other high-ranking Marine officer of the same rank could easily beat him into a fool.

Especially against Marine Admiral like Kuzan, who has a natural advantage over him, the Hie Hie Fruit's effect on the Sand Fruit isn't very obvious, but it still has some effect. Moreover, Kuzan's strength is even greater than Crocodile's. If they really fought, Kuro wouldn't even be able to escape.

Seeing that Kuro had withdrawn his hand, Ryokugyu breathed a sigh of relief and then said:

"Kuro, the World Government has a mission for you this time."

Kuro narrowed his eyes and sneered:

"What could possibly be going on? We could have just used Den Den Mushi to communicate. Why did you, a Marine Admiral deliver the message?"

"I'm not here to deliver a message!"

Ryokugyu spoke up somewhat resentfully, saying coldly:

"I'll be working with you on this mission as well!"

Crocodile was stunned for a moment, an expression of disbelief on his face:

"You? With me! Don't tell me the Navy is planning to summon the Shichibukai to deal with the Four Emperors' crews!"

"Of course not, your opponent is merely this Straw Hat Pirates who have just entered the Grand Line!"

Ryokugyu slammed the photo on the table. Kuro picked it up with great interest. The photo Awakening Luffy with his Devil Fruit powers Luffy, wearing a happy smile.

"Interesting... A mere rookie pirate who has just entered the Grand Line already has a bounty of 600 million?"

"And he even wants me, Shichibukai, and you, a Marine Admiral, to work together... It seems this kid has quite a few secrets!"

Upon hearing Crocodile's reply, Ryokugyu's expression turned slightly serious:

"Crocodile, there are some things you can't investigate! I advise you to be more serious when dealing with this brat!"

"Otherwise, if you get beaten to death, don't blame me for not warning you in the first place!"

As a top-tier powerhouse cultivated by the World Government, Ryokugyu obviously knows a lot. Although he doesn't know much about the Nika Fruit, he knows that the World Government is extremely wary of it.

Devil Fruit that can make the World Government wary cannot possibly be weak!

"Hmph... I don't need you to remind me of this. You should be careful yourself, lest you get beaten to death by a rookie pirate!"

Ryokugyu raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at Crocodile's nonchalant expression. He knew very well that Crocodile would not truly go all out for the World Government without huge benefits.

Just like in the original timeline, the Shichibukai of the Sea were so incompetent during the Marineford War that they were practically doing nothing, and could even be said to have made things worse.

Even someone like Hawk Eyes, who simply held back, is already considered a very conscientious Shichibukai!

While killing pirates, Doflamingo also took care of the Marines; Blackbeard simply stormed Impel Down Impel Down, reaping the benefits; Boa Hancock consistently helped Luffy; Jinbe even betrayed them...

Although this hasn't happened yet on this timeline, both the Navy and the World Government clearly have some understanding of the Shichibukai. Expecting these Shichibukai to obediently follow orders is simply wishful thinking.

However, Ryokugyu was clearly well-prepared for this trip, or rather, the World Government was confident that it could definitely persuade Sand Crocodile!

"The World Government has issued an order that if we can capture Straw Hat this time, and if you, Crocodile, also show enough sincerity, then making you the King of Alabasta wouldn't be a problem!"

Upon hearing this, Crocodile's face showed obvious shock. Just who was that Straw Hat that the World Government would invest so much in him?

In fact, the World Government harbors a great deal of malice towards the Alabasta royal family, and this approach itself is somewhat like going with the flow.

"Alright! This time, I will definitely do my best to help you!"

Crocodile's mind raced, and he nodded immediately. He had no particular attachment to Alabasta, but becoming the king of Alabasta would make finding the hidden Poneglyph much easier!

Luffy and his crew's actions not only attracted the attention of the World Government, but also remained under Vegapunk's watchful eye.

Not to mention the numerous experiments Luffy underwent while under Vegapunk's control, the Straw Hat Pirates' current ship was a gift from Vegapunk to the Straw Hat.

In this situation, it would be truly strange if Vegapunk couldn't monitor Luffy's actions. It's safe to say that Vegapunk could easily see every move the entire Straw Hat Pirates made on the ship.

Vegapunk was well aware of Luffy's various actions, and even as early as when Luffy first fought Garp and revealed his Devil Fruit Awakening ability, he had already guessed that the World Government would never let this Straw Hat go.

At this moment, Vegapunk is in Wano Country, studying the Pluton Battleship beneath the Wano Country, and occasionally he will spare some time to check on Luffy's current situation.

After all, Luffy's real purpose is to test the World Government, so Vegapunk naturally needs to know his every move. Even if Luffy can't overthrow the World Government, he at least needs to find out the World Government's trump card.

"Looks like we need to give Luffy a push, otherwise he might really be surrounded and killed by the World Government... There's a price to pay for forcing him to mature."

As Vegapunk looked at the scene on the Luffy, he also glanced at the information Stussy had given him, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.

"Ryokugyu went to Alabasta... Crocodile should still be there... Heh, looks like the Navy is going to lose another Admiral!"

As he pondered this, Vegapunk drew a Lightsaber. This was the Lightsaber that Vegapunk had improved and created using the power of the Admiral Kizaru after he was sealed away with Truth-Seeking Orb.

"Now that we have a way to extract Devil Fruit, it seems that Kizaru is no longer necessary. Why not just kill him and extract the Pika Pika Fruit?"

"Hmm... If there were a compatible Devil Fruit User, the research on the Pika Pika Fruit could be further advanced..."

"Perhaps we can still get our hands on that Woods-Woods Fruit, but that would probably provoke the entire Navy and the World Government again!"

"Looks like I'll have to get more insurance..."

Alabasta, with a flash of light, two figures appeared here.

Kisame Hoshigaki Shark Face, and Kakuzu, whose attire didn't exactly scream "good guy, "Kakuzu there, glancing around with calm expressions.

"Is this Alabasta? It feels almost the same as the Wind Country! I don't really like Desert terrain. I wonder when the Straw Hat Pirates that the professor mentioned will arrive."

Kakuzu completely ignored Kisame's words. He casually took out a stack of wanted posters and began to slowly count them.

"Let me see... The bounty industry in this world is much more developed than in ours. I think I'm about to become rich!"

"I remember the Doctor already gave you an Artificial Gold-Gold Fruit! With that Devil Fruit, do you still need to take on bounties?"

Kisame Hoshigaki looked helpless and said to his companion, "Kakuzu simply put a stack of wanted posters into his pocket and said calmly:"

"Money is money, big or small. Just because I have the Gold-Gold Fruit and can easily become a billionaire doesn't mean I can look down on these bounties worth hundreds of millions. That would be such a waste!"

Rolling his eyes, Kisame showed no interest in Kakuzu's business acumen; he simply stated directly:

"I have no objection to you taking on side jobs, but don't forget what the consequences will be if this operation fails!"

"After all... Dr. Vegapunk can use as many cannon fodder as he wants!"

Kakuzu gave a cold snort, but did not refute it. He knew, of course, that Kisame was telling the truth. In fact, compared to Kisame, Kisame was at least a regular member of the organization, while he was just a pure experimental cannon fodder.

After all, Kisame was the first Kirigakure to join Vegapunk's ranks. What was Kakuzu compared Kakuzu him? Just Vegapunk's prisoner and experimental subject.

Kisame believed that Kakuzu had eaten an artificial version of the Gold-Gold Fruit, but in reality, Kakuzu had only absorbed the heart of the Gold-Gold Devil Fruit User.

Vegapunk was quite interested in the Earth Grudge Fear Technique and improved it by incorporating the Five Elements into his tentacles, allowing them to perform Five Elements Ninjutsu without relying on a heart.

Similarly, through the hearts of Devil Fruit User he stole, Kakuzu was able to use some Devil Fruit abilities. Although they were somewhat inferior to the originals and had little potential for further development, they still greatly increased Kakuzu's strength.

Even so, recalling everything that happened in Vegapunk's Laboratory still gave Kakuzu, a ninja who had lost his normal physiological functions, a chilling feeling that made his hair stand on end and cold sweat pour down his face.

Given Vegapunk's personality, he must have some backup plans. Kakuzu doesn't want to really court death and offend that terrifying mad scientist.

Although he has lived a long time, Kakuzu still wants to live for several more decades!

"Let's go! Let's explore this country first... According to the information provided by the doctor, the entire Pirate World is divided into four oceans, the two halves of the Grand Line, and six regions of the Red Line."

"Alabasta, where we are now, is located in the first half of the Grand Line. It is slightly stronger than the four major seas, but in reality, apart from Crocodile, who has the strength of a Kage Level powerhouse, there are basically no strong people here."

"Of course, according to that woman named Stussy, the World Government secretly sent a Marine Admiral to deal with the Straw Hat Pirates. It is said that the Marine Admiral also possesses power similar to Wood Style, and his strength is comparable to Hashirama Senju!"

"This world is really dangerous. Just one Marine Admiral is comparable to Hashirama Senju!"

Kakuzu snorted indignantly, his face somewhat unpleasant:

"Perfect timing! I'm also very interested in this heart that has the ability to control Wood Style!"