Crocodile's Ordeal!

Impel Down Impel Down, the world's Impel Down.

"Aaaaaaah!"

"No, no!"

[Thump, thump]

Baptism Room on the first floor of the building, long lines of naked men and women stood with expressions of terror and despair.

Every time I hear the sound of someone falling into the water and the shrill screams ahead, my body trembles involuntarily.

Around them, prison guards holding whips or guns watched their every move with expressionless faces.

The cold indifference in his eyes was completely out of place in this stuffy, steamy space.

The prisoners at the very front of the line were trembling and hesitant to take another step forward.

Because there is no road less than a meter away.

At the far end, below, is a black iron pot large enough to hold dozens of people.

It was filled with boiling water and a bunch of 'red shrimp' that were desperately screaming, writhing and struggling.

"Get down now."

At this moment, a burly prison guard who was standing to the side, standing at 2.5 meters tall Earth Flow.

With a bang, he kicked the terrified prisoners down.

Then he grabbed the next female prisoner by the neck with a large hand.

Completely disregarding her beautiful figure and frantic pleas for mercy, he casually tossed her into the boiling water.

"Aaaaaaah!!"

Below, at the other end of the huge iron pot, several prison guards were holding what looked like fishing nets.

They took turns scooping the steaming red shrimp, which had been boiled alive and rendered unconscious, out of the pot.

It was carelessly tossed onto the ground not far away.

There, someone will put clean zebra-print prison uniforms on them.

They were then handed over to another group of prison guards who dragged them to their respective floors and cells.

This is the entire baptismal process.

Surprisingly, these prisoners were 'disinfected' for up to five minutes in boiling water at 100 degrees Celsius.

Surprisingly, not a single person was burned to death.

In the most severe cases, the patient falls into a coma.

You can also see some powerful figures who, despite their constant screams, manage to Earth Flow step by step with trembling, steaming bodies!

However, as these guys walked, they kept glancing back at a certain figure inside the pot.

The same was true of many of the prison guards around them.

A multitude of gazes, filled with astonishment and even a touch of admiration, were fixed on the figure sitting cross-legged in the boiling water, eyes closed in meditation.

The other party not only did not make a sound, but also remained very calm.

It was as if he came here to soak in a comfortable hot spring.

"Tsk tsk tsk, impressive, impressive. How come so many strong people have come in lately? How many prisoners are there who don't take 'baptism' seriously now?"

"Let me think... Since last year, apart from the Pirate King Roger who received special treatment and wasn't baptized but instead changed into prison clothes, namely 'Golden Lion' Shiki, 'Devil's Descendant' Bullet, and... cough cough, Moria and Taklama, who are now our colleagues..."

The prison guards chatted and laughed among themselves.

They completely ignored the prisoners screaming in agony as they were repeatedly thrown into boiling water like dumplings.

"And who is this person?"

"Hmm, I heard it's Crocodile, the 'Sand Crocodile' with a bounty of 320 million Beli, Logia Sand-Sand Devil Fruit User. I heard he challenged 'Whitebeard' two years ago and lost. I wonder how he got captured."

"By the way, how much time does this person have left?"

"Two minutes and twenty seconds."

Meanwhile, Crocodile, trapped in boiling water, felt that the future was unpredictable.

Everything happened so fast, to be honest, he's still a little overwhelmed.

Two years ago, after becoming another silver medalist in the 'New World', he retired from that sea area with a body full of injuries.

Then they just wandered aimlessly along the various routes of 'Paradise'.

When he's hungry, he eats for Skull Knight; if someone challenges him, he simply finishes the meal. He truly lives up to his word, and no one can stop him.

He didn't even need to use his Haki; his abilities alone were enough to annihilate these weaklings.

But he was constantly tormented inside.

Because he began to doubt his own abilities, doubting that he might never become the strongest in his lifetime.

Because the overwhelming power displayed by 'Whitebeard' was simply too strong.

He gradually came to believe that there was no hope of relying on his own strength.

Until one day a month ago.

He overheard the legend of the Ancient Weapons 'Pluton' from an old conman who sold fake antiques in some kingdom.

The sheer power of that shot, said to be able to obliterate an entire island with a single blast, immediately made Crocodile think that if he could find it, he might be able to defeat 'Whitebeard'.

And military strength too!

Back in the day, wasn't Shiki the Golden Lion, the "Admiral" of the Flying Pirate Fleet, the one who surrounded the "One Piece" Roger with his massive fleet?

If it weren't for that world-shaking storm, Roger and his crew might have been wiped out long ago.

If I were to use the 'Pluton' as my flagship and command a million-strong army, I could form an unprecedented fleet far exceeding the size of the Flying Pirate Fleet.

Such an enticing image instantly reignited his ambition.

Next, because I found my goal again.

He began recruiting subordinates who were barely acceptable and somewhat useful, while simultaneously gathering information about Ancient Weapons.

Finally, a relatively clear intelligence report points directly to the Kingdom of Alabasta!

He also learned about the kingdom's past history.

When he learned that the country's royal family was one of the twenty royal families that founded the World Government eight hundred years ago.

Suddenly, I felt that I could get everything I wanted from it.

Seven days ago.

Crocodile led a group of henchmen who could barely be considered the worst of the worst.

We arrived at Nanohana, a port city in this desert kingdom, aboard an ordinary white-sailed ship.

After several hours of research, they bought a map of the kingdom, enough fresh water, food, and a dozen camels.

Because he decided to cross the desert to reach the capital, Alubarna.

"I'm starting to like this country, it's really nice."

Crocodile rode on a camel, with newly emerged Nanohana behind him.

Before him stretched an endless golden desert, while overhead, the blazing sun radiated boundless light and heat.

But he felt comfortable, and his mood improved considerably.

Behind him, his men, who looked like ugly gourds and cracked dates, heard their boss's words.

Feeling the unbearable heat on his body, he twitched his lips and silently complained to himself:

"How could you not like it? The Sandmen coming to the desert is like devils Hell. They should just go home!"

But as they get further and further away from the 'Nanohana'...

As we ventured deeper into the desert...

Just after we crossed a sand dune, we saw a white figure appear ahead.

"What is that?!"

"It looks like a white dot, completely still. Are there any white things in the desert?"

"It's a person!!"

As Crocodile and his group continued to approach, someone finally made out the white figure.

He was a man nearly two meters tall, dressed in a white suit, white gloves, a white top hat, and wearing a white mask that completely covered his face.

Although their faces were not visible, the direction they were facing clearly indicated that they were waiting for them.

This alerted everyone, and they quickly grabbed the camels beneath them.

"They look like they're here to cause trouble, what should we do?"

The slow pace is mainly due to my recent burst of inspiration; various plot ideas automatically pop into my head, and I feel it would be a waste not to write them down. Therefore, my outlines are becoming increasingly lengthy, to the point that even after typing for over an hour, I can still conjure up images of future plot developments. Can you understand this feeling?