The Initial Storm

Crocodile recognized that face.

And frankly, anyone who had spent any time on these seas would know "him"—tall, broad-chested, muscular, with gray-white short hair and a full beard, a standard Marine justice cloak draped over his back. It was none other than the legendary Marine Vice Admiral known as the "Navy Hero," Monkey D. Garp!

In an instant, a few cold sweat beads appeared on Crocodile's forehead.

He wasn't one to show weakness.

On the contrary, Crocodile was arrogant to the core—why else would he have challenged Edward Newgate, "Whitebeard," the man with the title of "Strongest"? But Crocodile's "arrogance" wasn't blind. Facing a "legend" from the previous era, even Crocodile wouldn't dare provoke him lightly without preparation!

After thinking it over, Crocodile decided to stabilize the situation first. As one of the Shichibukai, even Garp couldn't make a move against him without reason!

"Heh heh heh heh..."

Letting out a low laugh, Crocodile asked with slight confusion, "Why would the 'Navy Hero' be here?"

"Brat, you haven't answered my question yet."

Garp remained unmoved, his blue eyes fixed on Crocodile as he repeated, "Is the trouble on Sabaody Archipelago related to you?"

"Heh heh heh heh..."

Crocodile laughed again, partially elementalizing his body to wipe away the cold sweat on his forehead, his emotions gradually calming. He had enough time now to sort out his thoughts and bargain with Garp to extract more information.

"According to the agreement I signed with the World Government, you don't seem to have the authority to question my actions."

Crocodile had no intention of answering Garp's question directly unless the other party offered more valuable intel. But Garp just picked his ear at that, looking exasperated.

"Oh, that's a problem. Seems like a Celestial Dragon died..."

"It has nothing to do with me."

Before Garp could finish, Crocodile cut in, replying calmly, "What happened on the island has nothing to do with me." As he spoke, another layer of cold sweat formed on his forehead, refusing to fade.

What had he just heard!?

A Celestial Dragon... dead?!

He had sensed that Aiven Lindsey, that Primitive Man, might cause a commotion, but the scale of this "commotion" was absurd!

"I'm just waiting for someone here."

Crocodile spread his hands to show he meant no harm, grinning darkly. "And as one of the Shichibukai, I have no reason to attack a Celestial Dragon, right?"

"Maybe?"

Garp scratched his head, frowning. "I thought the source of the trouble was right in front of me, but I guess I still have to go ashore to find it."

"Hey, you sand-using brat, don't cause me any trouble, or you'll taste my iron fist."

With that, Garp ignored Crocodile, walked to the ship's bow, and started searching for a Den Den Mushi to contact the local garrison. His entire demeanor was unhurried.

In truth, regarding the "Celestial Dragon attack incident," most Marines treated it as routine business. For example, in the future, when Luffy beat up Saint Charlos, the Admiral dispatched, Kizaru Borsalino, had a similar attitude. Aside from Kizaru's own "ambiguous justice," it was more because the Celestial Dragons weren't the Marines' direct superiors. What the Marines had to do was deal with the criminals, not protect the Celestial Dragons.

Brrring brrring brrring...

Brrring brrring brrring...

Brrring...

The Den Den Mushi rang for a long time but never connected.

"Strange?"

Garp scratched his head, turning back to look at Crocodile, puzzled. "Hey, croc brat, do you know what's going on?"

"How should I know!"

Crocodile's temple twitched.

He understood now—this so-called [Navy Hero] was another personality he simply couldn't handle, even more troublesome than that Primitive Man!

The next second, something unexpected happened.

Whoosh—boom!

From the island far off in the harbor, a violent explosion suddenly rang out, clearly the sound of cannon fire.

Immediately after, gunfire echoed from all over Sabaody Archipelago, mixed with the terrified screams of civilians.

Civilians, slaves, gladiators, nobles—all were fleeing for their lives, chaos gradually spreading to this port dock. Everyone was desperately trying to find a ship to escape out to sea.

"Hurry, run!"

"I have money, I'll pay you, sell me the boat!"

"Don't go back for the money, saving your life is what matters..."

"..."

"Hmm."

Garp narrowed his eyes, his expression gradually turning serious. He spoke in a low voice to Crocodile behind him: "Little crocodile brat, you've noticed too, haven't you? Looks like the situation is pretty troublesome."

"Tch... no!"

Crocodile's mouth twitched violently as he snapped: "Why should I notice? This has nothing to do with me!"

But before the words faded, Garp had already leaped away, vanishing from Crocodile's sight.

"..."

Several veins bulged on Crocodile's forehead.

What kind of person was this!

Just then, a few people tried to seize Crocodile's large ship to escape out to sea.

He casually stirred up a sandstorm, dealing with those fools, then after thinking it over, chose to continue watching the situation unfold.

To be fair, Crocodile was also curious.

Facing that legendary [Navy Hero], could that Primitive Man Aiven Lindsey still manage to leave Sabaoby Archipelago?

Or... to what extent would the [Navy Hero] make that Primitive Man "evolve"?

Whoosh—

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom...

The shelling continued!

"Hey!"

The Navy Captain grabbed the CP Organization Guard by the collar and growled: "What right do you CP people have to use the Navy's artillery? Who gave you the order?"

"I did!"

From the side, the Celestial Dragon Saint Lolowim screeched: "I gave the order. Do you have a problem with that?"

"..."

The Navy Captain stared hard at Saint Lolowim.

Saint Lolowim bared his teeth and roared: "You useless Navy bastards—my big brother was killed, and you're still worrying about those lowlifes? Don't you know the consequences of letting that heavy criminal escape?!"

"Tch..."

Helpless, the Navy Captain could only release the CP member's collar, turned, and ordered the other Marines: "Full pursuit!"

"Yes, sir."

The Marine soldiers all acknowledged the order, and the Navy Captain set off with them.

But after they had gone some distance, the Navy Captain gave another command.

"Priority one is to shield civilians from the shelling. Chasing the fugitive comes second."

"..."

"Yes, sir!"

After a brief silence, the Marines acknowledged the order once more.

Their voices were slightly louder than before.

From then on—

More and more people were dragged into this "chaos."

Slaves, nobles, gladiators, civilians;

Navy soldiers, the CP Organization;

Celestial Dragons, the Navy Hero, Fish-Men, the Shichibukai;

And Aiven Lindsey.

In the far distant future, this "chaos" that erupted in the middle of the Grand Line would be given another name by the world—

The Beginning Storm.