The Cage of Despair, the Key of Hope
"Damn crocodile!"
Luffy, who had just lunged at the cage Luffy, let out a roar.
"I'm going to beat you to a pulp... you... you..."
"Hey, hey, hey, I told you not to touch the cage."
Crocodile merely sneered as he watched Luffy down like a noodle.
That's it?
Such idiots actually killed the Baroque Works executives they themselves sent out and fought their way here. Then a simple trap wiped them all out!
He had prepared a series of interconnected "killing traps" and was on high alert, but before he could even make a move, his opponent fell down.
How boring.
"I'll kill you all, but wait a bit."
"I have already sent my partner to invite a 'VIP' to come."
With his years of planning about to succeed, and his hard work finally about to bear fruit, Crocodile wouldn't mind taking a moment to savor the miserable cries of his opponents. Otherwise:
Such a brilliant plan goes unappreciated; wouldn't that be like wearing fine clothes in the dark?
Finally, all the conditions have been met! 'Pluton' is about to fall into his grasp...
Crocodile, sitting in the hall, was momentarily dazed. How should he use that Ancient Weapon once he possessed it?
Is this an open challenge to World Government?
Or perhaps we should take that man's head...
"Crocodile!!"
A roar snapped the Crocodile back from his nostalgic recollections of his 'glorious past.' Vivi, the blue-haired princess of Alabasta, charged towards him, her weapon, the 'Peacock Chain,' spinning rapidly, accumulating considerable power and speed! Then:
"Peacock Chain Saw!"
Puff--
Like a long whip, peacock feathers, linked end to end, suddenly lashed out at Crocodile, who was sitting in the hall, instantly slicing his head off along with the chair behind him! But:
Shashasha~~
Crocodile, who was beheaded in one blow, instantly disintegrated into a pile of yellow sand, which then reassembled behind Vivi into a tall man covered in black fur.
Snap!
A large hand suddenly covered Vivi's face from behind, accompanied by Crocodile's domineering voice.
"As the princess of this country, you must know about my 'Suna Suna no Mi' ability, right?"
The tall man bent down, and his cold voice rang in Vivi's ear.
"—Want to become a mummy?"
Snap,
As Crocodile released her grip, Vivi collapsed to the ground. It wasn't fear she felt; the difference in power between them was simply too great, so great that only despair could describe it.
"Sit down, Vivi... no, Miss Wednesday."
"It's admirable that you managed to infiltrate my organization and uncover the truth bit by bit. Unfortunately, your strength is so limited that you couldn't even harm a hair on my head, let alone kill me..."
"Crocodile!"
Vivi, scrambling to her feet, stared intently at the tall man before her—the nation's 'hero,' the government's 'legitimate' pirate, the mastermind behind all the disasters, the man she wanted nothing more than to kill! But:
"Where's Roman? What did you do to Roman?"
·····
"That's strange,"
Crocodile pulled up a chair and sat down with an air of authority, tilting his head to look at the woman who had just entered. — It was his 'partner' whom he had sent to invite Vivi: codenamed Miss. All Sunday, Nico Robin.
"Have I taken down any of those 'Roman' henchmen recently, Miss. All Sunday?"
"No, boss."
Robin, wearing a white cowboy hat, shook his head, causing Vivi on the ground and the Straw Hat crew in the cage to subconsciously breathe a sigh of relief.
"However, if I'm not mistaken—"
Robin's tone suddenly changed, instantly putting everyone on edge.
"The young ability user you killed yesterday, boss, should be the 'Roman' they were talking about."
!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bang!
You're lying!
Luffy, who was slumped against the iron cage and suppressed by the Seastone as if suffering from Parkinson's disease Luffy his teeth tightly on the bars to prevent himself from falling! His indistinct words echoed in the hall.
"Roman... Roman is not the kind of man who would collapse in a place like this!"
Hahahaha~~~
Crocodile burst into laughter, stood up, and rubbed his forehead.
"So you're talking about that assassin from yesterday."
"Not bad, Princess Vivi."
"I'm really impressed that you were able to find such a talented young person to work so hard for you."
As he spoke, Crocodile opened his right hand, revealing a fresh scar on his palm.
"To be able to hurt me is certainly commendable. This is the first time I've been injured in the last five years... no, ten years."
"Impossible, Roman..."
Vivi bit her lip tightly, blood trickling down her cheeks, but she remained unresponsive. Because she was the one who least wanted this news!
Not only had she unknowingly come to regard the Straw Hat crew as her comrades, but more importantly, when Roman had been constantly emphasizing Crocodile's prowess, left alone, Vivi had already assumed he was prepared to distance himself. However, the reality was quite different:
Clang,
A broken Sailor's Knife lay on the floor; the distinctive paper weapon unmistakably revealed the identity of its former owner.
"I originally wanted to keep the spoils of war,"
Crocodile flicked his cigarette ash.
"Now I'll mercifully return it to you."
········
"That's impossible!"
Hehehe,
The sound of teeth rubbing against steel.
Clang!
The samurai sword struck the cage in vain, sending sparks flying.
No,
Vivi, who tried to stand up, collapsed to the ground, muttering to herself...
"I'm sorry, it's all because of me... I... I want to apologize to him in person—"
"That's a real shame,"
Crocodile tilted his head, a mocking look on his face.
"When you go down, if you run fast, you might still be able to catch up with that guy."
"You—"
Crocodile!
No, this is a monster!!
"Oh, right. And you—"
Crocodile didn't bother to look at Vivi on the ground, and turned to look at Luffy, who was biting the bars of the cage with his teeth, with a hint of displeasure in his eyes.
"You're the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates?"
"I thought he was someone important, but now it seems he's just an arrogant good-for-nothing!"
"I originally admired that kid named Roman; he planned such a clever assassination attempt and even managed to injure me. Even I would want to recruit such a talent... but:"
Crocodile looked down at Luffy, who was biting the railing with his teeth and refusing to Luffy, and became increasingly irritated.
"That guy actually rejected me, all because of an idiot like you, Captain?!"
"What exactly did you say about Roman...?"
When confronted with Luffy's questioning, Crocodile simply raised his chin in a cold manner.
"I beat him so badly he was crippled—"
Thump,
"I pierced him through with my sand spear—"
Thump!
"The corpses were all taken by vultures—"
Thump!
"Shut up!!!"
Luffy around the iron bars, glared at the man before him who bore the title of 'Shichibukai', his teeth clenched so hard they bled! With his heart pounding, the Straw Hat Youth moved his lips and let out a low growl.
"I want to kill—"
"Puff puff puff~~ puff puff puff,"
A strange sound broke the tense atmosphere in the hall, abruptly halting the slowly rising, unsettling aura emanating from Luffy. This was because the sophisticated beauty beside him, codenamed 'Miss All Sunday,' whose real name was Nico Robin, pulled out a...
Den Den Mushi (Little Den Den Mushi).
These Den Den Mushi) cannot make international calls, nor do they mimic the appearance of the person on the other end of the line. They also carry the risk of being eavesdropped on, but they don't reveal the caller's identity. As a clandestine organization, Baroque Works uses these Den Den Mushi extensively.
"Moshi Moshi~~"
"Ahem, does this count as a connection?"
In the quiet hall, a voice that was very familiar to the Straw Hat crew came from the Den Den Mushi: it was the voice of the Chef Sanji.
"Huh? What's going on...?"
Before Crocodile could finish speaking, a smug voice came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.
"This is... the Poop Restaurant."
?!
In an instant, Crocodile's face darkened.
Because he had already realized that the person on the other end of the Den Den Mushi was the same guy who had fooled him all over in the 'Little Garden' under the guise of Mr. 3! And moreover:
"Ah, thank you for the 'Alabasta' Eternal Pose, it's very useful."
!!
Crocodile's anger was visibly rising. He, a brilliant and powerful figure, who controlled the entire situation and manipulated an entire nation—what a ruthless and cunning leader! And yet, he was... [doing something] to the other side...
"Who are you?"
Despite Crocodile's words being filled with cold killing intent, the Den Den Mushi maintained its nonchalant and provocative tone.
"You can call me Mr. Prince."
"Mr. Prince," I'll remember that. Once I'm free, I'll kill your whole family.
I, Crocodile, said, "Even Admiral can't save you!"
"Where are you now?"
Crocodile's words elicited a lukewarm response from the Den Den Mushi.
"I can't tell you that, you'll come and kill me, right?"
"However, whether you can kill me is another matter. I'm not stupid enough to just blurt out information," Crocodile had carelessly leaked the plan to the Straw Hat crew back in Little Garden, mistaking the other person for Mr. 3. Although Roman had already given him a 'spoiler,' Kuro himself was unaware of it. Therefore:
"I am different from you, Mr. 0."
Anger--
Taking a deep breath, Crocodile's rage had reached the heavens!
"Here!"
?
Just then, another voice suddenly came through the Den Den Mushi, followed by the sounds of bullets and fighting. After a burst of chaotic noise:
"... Damn it... Huh? This Den Den Mushi is connected?"
"Hello, may I ask which officer this is?"
The Den Den Mushi switched to an exasperated voice, "This is Captain Bank! This guy is too strong, we need backup! Repeat, we need..."
Where are you?
Faced with Crocodile's unquestionable question, the other party gave an instinctive answer.
"We're waiting at the main entrance of the Rain Dinners Casino. Whose voice is that...?"
Snap,
Crocodile casually hung up the Den Den Mushi and headed straight for the gate.
"Let's go see what this guy who dared to provoke me is all about." After saying that, he Guotou and looked at the people in the hall, then took out a key.
"This is the key to that cage. Miss Wednesday, do you like gambling?"
?
Seeing Vivi's blank expression, Crocodile snapped his fingers, and a mechanism appeared on the floor of the hall, revealing a pool of water below and a giant beast swimming in it: the Banana Crocodile!
Each one is a ferocious Sea Beast weighing over ten tons.
Thump,
The key in his hand flew in an arc and fell into the pool, landing among a group of Banana Crocodile.
"Come on, while I go and bring that Mr. Prince here."
Crocodile, who had reached the door, Guotou and looked at Vivi was sitting on the ground, with a wicked grin.
"It's about jumping into a pool full of Banana Crocodile to retrieve the key and save your pirate friends,"
"We should leave immediately to stop the impending decisive battle between the Royal Army and the Rebel Army,"
"It's all up to you."
"Although the success rate of both options is less than one in ten thousand!" Crocodile, wearing a black fur coat, laughed and walked out, followed by Nico Robin, who was wearing a white trench coat.
That leaves only:
"Wait a minute, I'm coming to save them—"
"Etc!"
Faced with Vivi's resolute preparation to jump into the pool teeming with giant Sea Beast, Nami, who had remained silent, raised her hand to stop her. Then:
Clang!
Nami pulled out the Sandai Kitetsu from Zoro's waist and slashed her wrist, causing blood to splatter!
Zoro, who was about to say something, dared not utter a word of anger.
"Hey, hey, Nami, don't do anything rash!"
While Usopp was frantically pulling out various tools to find bandages, Nami calmly turned to the third page of "The Art of the Thief" and splattered her blood onto the huge, Iron Barrel- like mouth in the picture.
"I'm not thinking of doing anything drastic,"
Nami stared intently at the book in her hands, silently praying: Eat, eat...
It's done!
On screen, Wapol's Devour ability was activated, absorbing Nami's blood, Nami's delight! Without hesitation, she turned to look at the people in the cage.
"Come here, everyone, let the blood be drawn!"
??
Regardless, everyone dutifully made a cut on their wrists. After all, with their physical condition, a few pounds of blood was nothing to them. Even Smoker, with his sour face, joined in the wrist-cutting.
As her blood continued to be consumed by the 'swallowing ability' on the third page, Nami finally regained the feeling of activating her ability from this book, "The Art of the Thief".
Really.
Because Roman is currently in extremely poor condition, and furthermore, he is isolated by the Seastone cage. He no longer has the 'stamina' to activate any abilities, but:
If you use the 'Swallow Pages' to absorb blood to gain stamina, then you can use the three pages of abilities in this book normally, and:
"Paper Dance - Key!"
Bite,
A paper key fell into Nami's hand, and she inserted it into the keyhole with her other hand, adjusting and fiddling with it.
Click,
"Oh, oh, oh, I'm free!"
"Finally out—"
"You two, keep your voices down," Nami as she walked out of the cell under Vivi's delighted gaze. She picked up the broken Sailor's Knife and placed it on "The Art of the Thief."
"Paper Dance - Paper Crane".
As the paper warped and folded, a paper crane covered in scars appeared in Nami's hand.
"Take me to your master!"
P. S.: Ugh, I write the title, then I keep exceeding the word limit when I start writing the main text. Oh well, whatever. For the sake of 4000 words... taking advantage of the double monthly votes, I'm asking for a monthly vote or something!