The next day.
The place Crocodile had arranged to meet Garen was neither his office at Raindinners Casino nor the luxurious hotel where Garen was staying, but a scenic villa on the outskirts of the city.
The moment Garen arrived at the little villa as agreed, he immediately understood Crocodile's intentions:
The villa stood at the edge of Rainbase Oasis, far from the abundant water sources of the riverside city, yet close enough to embrace the magnificent sight of the boundless desert.
In other words, it was the most advantageous battlefield for Crocodile, a Sand-Sand Fruit user.
"Was that really necessary?"
Garen muttered with an amused smile. "Did he need to be this cautious even against me?"
Princess Vivi beside him looked worried and unconsciously edged a little closer to Garen.
"Garen, are we really going in? What if it's a trap?"
"Don't worry. I have a way to ensure our safety."
Garen answered seriously.
Although Garen showed no fear on his face, and his towering, tree-like frame looked reassuring enough, Vivi, who had gathered her courage to come here with him, still felt unsettled.
Before this, Vivi had only had a vague impression of the title "Shichibukai."
She only knew that the Shichibukai were powerful, but not exactly how powerful. Perhaps they were still opponents she could resist.
But after witnessing Hawkeye Mihawk's true strength at close range, Vivi immediately gained an extremely vivid and profound understanding of what the Shichibukai's level of power meant. Inevitably, she had also made the mistaken judgment that "Hawkeye = Shichibukai = Sand Crocodile."
Ever since Hawkeye had said yesterday that he had no interest in carrying low-level players through a dungeon, Princess Vivi had been living under the shadow of those three words: Shichibukai.
Not only had Vivi begun to deeply doubt