I Want to Prove It

Sabaody Archipelago, the docks.

Whoosh—

Boom!

A booming sound came from offshore as a cannonball plunged into the sea.

People at the docks looked out and saw a small pirate ship firing at another small boat.

No one seemed particularly surprised.

It was the Great Pirate Era, and the Sabaody Archipelago was an essential stop on the route from the first half of the Grand Line to the New World. Naturally, pirates were always coming and going.

Although the fact that this was World Government territory, with plenty of Marines stationed there, meant many pirates chose to keep a low profile, there were always a few reckless fools who weren't afraid of dying.

To show off their so-called "guts," some even dared to plunder ships right offshore!

The outcome was usually one of two things.

In the less exciting version, the plunder succeeded, but the Marines lay in wait and captured them all.

In the more exciting version, they ran into what people called a "hard target"!

There were plenty of interesting people on the seas. Some powerful fighters liked to sail alone, sometimes with nothing but a raft beneath them.

If pirates crossed paths with someone like that, being captured would be the least of their worries.

Which kind would it be today?

A few tourists who were fishing pulled out their binoculars and watched closely.

There seemed to be a fight on the pirate ship's deck, and the sound of some unknown beast roaring faintly reached their ears.

Looked like the second, more interesting kind!

"Hey, just in case, shouldn't we go find the Marines first?"

"Sure, I'll go!"

"..."

Before long, the fighting on deck stopped, and a few Marines stationed nearby arrived.

They watched through their binoculars and saw the pirate ship slowly approaching the shore, so they loaded their rifles and prepared for a fight.

If the pirates had been the low-profile sort, they might have turned a blind eye. But a harbor wasn't an Illegal Zone, and pirates couldn't be allowed to do as they pleased.

The pirate ship continued to approach.

When it was two or three hundred meters from the docks, an inexplicable sandstorm suddenly sprang up around them.

Countless grains of sand churned through the air, then gathered on the docks into a human shape.

He wore a dark green fur coat and had a cigar in his mouth. His left hand was a golden hook, while his right gripped a pirate captain by the head.

The captain's skin was shriveled. He was barely alive and couldn't utter a word.

The man raised his brows and surveyed the crowd gathered on the docks, then couldn't help sighing.

"Tch. So many people watching."

He was Crocodile, the Sand Crocodile!

Ordinary pirates were no match for him, and he even had Aiven Lindsey beside him, eager to try his hand.

But the Sand Crocodile hadn't come to the Sabaody Archipelago to show off.

So he'd left Lindsey to steer the ship to shore while he came ashore early to assess the situation around the docks.

He glanced up and saw the Marines standing at the ready.

The Marines stationed in the Sabaody Archipelago had seen plenty. They immediately recognized Crocodile.

"A Shichibukai? Why are you here?"

"Sightseeing. Is that a problem?"

Crocodile couldn't be bothered to waste time chatting with the Marines. He just wanted to get this little interruption over with as soon as possible.

So he waved his hand and tossed the barely living pirate captain toward them.

Thud!

The pirate captain hit the ground, too weak even to speak.

"This is the pirate who attacked us. Consider him a welcome gift for your local branch."

Crocodile took a drag on his cigar, his tone growing increasingly impatient.

Seeing this, the Marine squad's commander signaled for the others to stand down.

He recognized the pirate captain. The man was a troublesome character with a bounty of twenty-nine million Berries, and wasn't easy to deal with.

Yet Crocodile had taken him down so casually. The Shichibukai's strength was certainly nothing to scoff at!

"Quick, take him away!"

The commander directed the other Marines, but stayed behind until the end.

He sized up Crocodile, but couldn't figure out what the man was thinking. In the end, he left him to his own devices.

A Shichibukai of Crocodile's stature knew how to follow the rules. He wouldn't cause trouble in the Sabaody Archipelago.

The Marines left, and the onlookers dispersed, too.

The Shichibukai were certainly a rare sight, but Crocodile was still a pirate. Ordinary people didn't want to get mixed up with him.

Crocodile leaned against the railing nearby, smoking his cigar as he silently watched the pirate ship draw closer.

Things had worked out pretty well.

There were shipwrights selling ships at the Red Line harbor, but their prices were exorbitant. No experienced sailor would buy a ship there.

So the little boat they'd bought earlier had only been a temporary way to get around.

Normally, anyone familiar with the local waters would buy a ship in the Sabaody Archipelago before continuing their journey.

But since some pirates had come all this way to "give" him a ship, refusing it now would seem rather impolite.

Crocodile needed money right now.

He planned to secretly establish an organization in Alabasta called "Baroque Works," to carry out his plans.

That was why he'd come to the Sabaody Archipelago to make a deal and obtain the substantial funds he needed to build the organization.

"If Aiven Lindsey can't decipher the Poneglyphs, then I'll have to find her."

Crocodile's gaze darkened as he considered his next move.

"Nico Robin, the only survivor of Ohara..."

"Come to think of it, Caesar salvaged that Primitive Man from the seabed near the ruins of Ohara. Has Nico Robin ever seen him?"

"Heh. A Primitive Man..."

Crocodile murmured, then suddenly sensed something was wrong.

He seemed to have been so focused on keeping a low profile that he'd forgotten the most basic question—

"Can that Primitive Man even sail?!"

Crocodile immediately looked up, but the scene he feared never appeared.

The pirate ship was approaching shore smoothly, even more steadily than many experienced sailors could manage!

Looking closer, he saw Aiven Lindsey gripping the helm with one hand and holding a beginner's sailing manual high in the other.

He laughed excitedly. "Great, I've learned how to steer!"

"..."

Crocodile watched, unsure whether he should be worried or simply speechless.

Aiven Lindsey's ability to learn was terrifying. Once he got the hang of something, he could probably master it in no time.

"I'll have to keep an eye on him."

His Devil Fruit Ability had certain similarities to Lindsey's, so if they ever became enemies, things could get exceptionally troublesome.

"Still, at least that Primitive Man has some common sense."

Meanwhile, Lindsey brought the pirate ship to a perfect stop in an empty spot at the harbor.

All they had to do now was replace the black flag, and they could sail straight to Alabasta without having to buy another ship.

Crocodile strode forward.

He wanted to remind Lindsey about a few things, but just as he was about to speak, Lindsey suddenly did something incomprehensible.

Aiven Lindsey leaped off the deck and landed on the dock.

Then his Devil Fruit Ability activated.

Earth Demon Form!

Lindsey's body began to swell and change, twisting into a grotesque shape.

He clenched his crimson fist and slammed it into the side of the pirate ship, punching a gaping hole through the hull.

Then he gave the ship a powerful shove, capsizing it and sending it beneath the waves to sink for good.

The sight was astonishing and drew everyone's attention.

The people at the harbor gathered around Lindsey and stared.

"Little Croc, all done!"

Lindsey slowly let his Zoan Transformation fade, revealing his perfectly defined muscles, which he brazenly flaunted for everyone to see.

He was like a sculpture carved by a master, without a single flaw in any movement!

Almost everyone was amazed, except for one person—

Crocodile: "..."

Crocodile: "What are you doing?"

He asked in confusion.

Lindsey answered frankly, "Great, I've got it!"

Crocodile watched as the pirate ship sank completely, his expression growing even more baffled.

"Got what?"

Lindsey grinned. "Earlier, at the Red Line docks in the New World, you destroyed the little boat and told me to come up with my own reason."

"Now I've thought of one!"

Lindsey rolled his shoulders and grinned. "So I tried it out."

Crocodile: "..."

Crocodile: "..."

Crocodile: "..."

Crocodile: "?"

Bullshit!

Aiven Lindsey was a Primitive Man, not an idiot!

He had to realize that Crocodile had destroyed the little boat earlier to keep Caesar from tracking them down.

So what Lindsey was saying now was just a flimsy excuse.

"Or I could put it another way."

Lindsey noticed Crocodile's expression and shrugged as he explained:

"Living things have an instinct to seek advantage and avoid danger, but they also follow their own nature."

"I slept for too long."

"So no matter where I am or when, I don't want to pass by unnoticed."

"Whether it's the 'monster' who lost control on the Red Line or the 'expert' who took out pirates at the harbor, none of that matters!"

Lindsey spread his arms and laughed excitedly.

"I just want to leave something behind on these seas that shows I was here!"

"I want to prove something—"

An unusual red light glimmered deep within Lindsey's eyes, and even the ground beneath his feet began to tremble slightly.

He spoke slowly:

"I want to prove that I lived!"

"..."

Crocodile was at a loss for words.

He didn't know how to handle Aiven Lindsey's personality, and he didn't seem particularly interested in arguing about why they'd set out to sea.

In the end, he simply turned around and walked off, frowning. "Don't get carried away!"

At that, Lindsey grinned even wider and followed after him, laughing.

"Then I'll get carried away all I want!"

I'd spent a long time thinking about what kind of person Aiven Lindsey was.

After turning it over in my mind—

He was probably someone like Gojo Satoru.

Not what people call a "psycho." I've always felt that's just a shallow internet-celebrity interpretation.

One part innocence, three parts humanity, five parts purity, and one part divinity.

That was the kind of person Aiven Lindsey was.