Looking for Fun

The instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm was shared by "all" living things.

But for an "individual," instinct had to obey "nature" to some extent.

What was Aiven Lindsey's nature like?

Crocodile had spent the whole journey thinking it over, and had finally come up with a reluctant answer.

Lindsey possessed a nature that blended "detachment" with "purity."

Something like "playing."

If Lindsey found something interesting, he had to do it.

Whether that meant posing as a giant monster on the Red Line to rescue slaves,

or refusing to let himself fade into obscurity after setting foot on a real "first island."

It seemed everything he did was for the sake of "fun."

Just like now—

"Hey, hey, look! It's Sand Crocodile Crocodile, one of the Shichibukai!"

"The World Government doesn't just pick anyone. There are still vacant seats among the Seven Warlords."

"Tch, a lapdog of the World Government..."

"Keep your voice down!"

"..."

"By the way, do you know who that guy next to him is? The one who smashed a ship with a single punch?"

"..."

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

Some were afraid, some curious, some disgusted, and some itching to test him...

Seeing this, Crocodile could only feel that it was a nuisance. He hadn't wanted to attract so much attention!

"Tch!"

Clicking his tongue, Crocodile grabbed Lindsey by the collar and turned into a sandstorm, quickly vanishing from the crowd's view at the docks.

As they left, Lindsey was still laughing and waving to everyone.

"See you around!"

"Don't come back! I never want to see you again!"

Crocodile felt a headache coming on.

He just wanted to finish his business on the Sabaody Archipelago as soon as possible, then take Lindsey to Alabasta and confirm whether he could uncover the secrets of the Poneglyphs.

If he couldn't, they'd go their separate ways and let this whole sea worry about this Primitive Man!

Honestly, Crocodile was still curious to see how much chaos someone from the era before the Void Century could stir up in this sea.

As he pondered,

Lindsey suddenly grabbed his shoulder.

"Grabbed" was exactly the right word.

After all, Crocodile was currently in a semi-elemental state. Ordinary people couldn't touch him; only Armament Haki could reach his physical form.

Yet Aiven Lindsey had directly "grabbed" the grains of sand that made up Crocodile's shoulder!

"Devil Fruit power?"

Crocodile's pupils contracted.

He remembered what Lindsey had said: "The essence of the power of Earth Demon Form is to destroy and devastate the earth."

Crocodile's body was "sand," which was also a kind of "earth."

In other words, even without using Devil Fruit powers, Lindsey could easily touch Crocodile's true body while in that "Earth Demon Form"!

What a nuisance...

Crocodile had no choice but to stop moving in his elemental state and return to solid form.

"What is it?"

Lindsey didn't answer. Instead, he pulled out the stack of Berries Crocodile had given him earlier, took out a few bills, and wandered off to the side.

Crocodile: "?"

Looking around, he had a pretty good idea what Lindsey was up to.

They were in one of the Sabaody Archipelago's commercial districts.

The Sabaody Archipelago was quite large, made up of the roots of seventy-nine trees. Each tree was an island.

The islands had all sorts of districts, including Navy and noble residences, as well as lawless areas belonging to pirates.

But most of all, the archipelago was known for its popular tourist areas, as well as the docks and shipyards essential to navigation.

And the island where Crocodile and Lindsey now stood, Grove One, was one such lively tourist district.

"Hey, young man! How about some of the Grand Line's specialty—Grand Line buns?"

"Freshly grilled meat, coming right up!"

"..."

This was the first time Lindsey had seen so many carefree little delights along the way, so naturally, he couldn't tear himself away.

He ran over to a street vendor and bought two enormous cotton candies, then came back.

He ate one himself and casually handed the other to Crocodile.

Lindsey smiled. "All right, let's go!"

Crocodile took it without thinking.

"..."

Damn it!

Who asked you to buy me candy?

You're asking a Shichibukai to eat cotton candy in the middle of the street on Sabaody?

Lindsey ignored Crocodile's murderous glare and looked down at the ground with a trace of regret, muttering,

"Who says strong guys can't eat candy?"

"..."

Crocodile felt his scalp tingle. He grabbed Lindsey and kept walking.

After thinking it over, he gave Lindsey a stern warning.

"Listen up, Primitive Man. If you want a ride on my ship to Alabasta, you'd better behave from now on. At the very least, don't ruin my deal."

Lindsey looked curious. "What deal?"

"I'm getting a sum of money from the underworld and having it flow legally into Alabasta," Crocodile explained.

He wasn't a patient man, but judging from what had happened so far, if he didn't explain things in advance, Aiven Lindsey was bound to cause even more trouble!

"I'm going to establish an organization in Alabasta. For now, I'm calling it Baroque Works."

This was one part of Crocodile's "conspiracy to seize the kingdom."

But Aiven Lindsey was a Primitive Man, so he probably wouldn't understand anyway. It didn't matter.

"Do you know?"

"On this sea, what people call 'military strength' is the most reliable thing of all."

"Even the Navy, mighty as it is, and the 'Four Emperors' I told you about earlier, don't dominate their territories through 'individual strength.' They do it through military might!"

"..."

Crocodile looked at Lindsey.

Lindsey was eating cotton candy.

Crocodile: "..."

Crocodile: "You didn't understand, did you?"

Lindsey shook his head and frankly replied, "I wasn't listening."

He knew the entire story, and even knew more than Crocodile did, so naturally, he couldn't be bothered to listen.

What was the point of rehashing old news when cotton candy was right there?

But to Crocodile, it simply looked like this Primitive Man wasn't very bright.

Fine!

Crocodile had a feeling that if he brought Lindsey to the deal and let him meet people from the underworld, someone would provoke him and they'd end up fighting again.

What should he do?

As Crocodile thought it over, he led Lindsey to the edge of the Illegal Zone.

While he was worrying, several pleasant voices caught his and Lindsey's attention.

"Hey, hey, you two handsome guys! Want to come have some fun at our place?"

He turned to look and saw several friendly dancing girls standing at the entrance to a bar, calling out to customers.

Being on the edge of the lawless district, the dancers here were naturally more enthusiastic and forward than those in the tourist area.

Seeing them, Crocodile already had a plan.

He pulled another stack of Berries from his coat, handed it to Lindsey, and said quietly, "The deal's boring. Go have a drink instead. I'll come find you later."

"...That works."

Lindsey looked at the seedy Illegal Zone, then at the dazzling dancers, and decided the latter seemed more interesting.

Life was always drawn to more beautiful things.

As for so-called "restraint" or "equality," that was just another kind of "oppression" directed at beautiful things.

The dancers' daily training and hard work were essential to maintaining such perfect figures. They deserved to be admired for their beauty.

So Lindsey smiled and went to meet the dancers.

"Let me try the booze from the Grand Line!"

"..."

Seeing that Lindsey had finally left, Crocodile couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He slipped away.

Meanwhile, over on Lindsey's side,

the dancers escorted him to the bar entrance.

Just as he was about to go in, someone else stopped him.

The newcomer was a short, skinny, middle-aged man with a mustache. He wore a suit, and two burly bodyguards stood beside him.

The Mustache man adjusted his hat and grinned. "You're in great shape, young man!"

"..."

Lindsey fell silent.

He pointed at the Mustache man and asked one of the dancers, "Is this part of your bar's special service?"

The dancers panicked and hurriedly shook their heads.

"Oh, I get it."

Lindsey understood.

The Mustache man explained as well. "You look like you work out. Interested in making a big pile of money?"

At that, Lindsey grinned at the ill-intentioned Mustache man and said,

"You're another source of entertainment for me."