[Devil]

On this sea, countless "lives" were born, and from them countless "wills" emerged.

These "wills" drove "lives" to act, and so-called "fate" was born.

It had always been this way.

It would always be this way.

"What determines our fate is our own will, not the 'side' we happen to be on."

Lindsay's eyes were deep as he gazed quietly at Tiger, smiling faintly as he said:

"Why do we always have to pick a side?"

"..."

Tiger fell silent.

Perhaps he was thinking about Lindsay's words. Or perhaps he was examining his own will, trying to glimpse the fate that lay ahead.

After a long while, Tiger lifted his head and let out a long breath. In a low voice, he murmured:

"I knew it. I can't hold back any longer..."

The future [Fish-Man Hero] had recognized his own will. In the end, he had said those words.

In the original future, he had actually said them to Queen Otohime.

Afterward, Tiger had climbed the Red Line all by himself, triggering the world-shaking "Attack on Mary Geoise."

Tiger's will had led him toward this inevitable fate!

What could Lindsay say about that?

He stood up, went to the galley, and fetched a bottle of liquor. He poured a glass each for Tiger, Crocodile, and himself.

They raised their glasses in celebration.

They were celebrating Fisher Tiger's newfound freedom, and celebrating their successful escape.

Crocodile: "?"

Even after downing the liquor, Crocodile still looked a little confused.

What did this have to do with him?

Still, Crocodile was good at seizing opportunities.

A chance to establish ties with the "Fish-Man race" was rare, and Crocodile certainly wasn't going to turn it down.

Before they parted ways, Tiger told the two of them everything he knew about the surrounding sea conditions.

Lindsay gulped down half the bottle with a loud "glug, glug," slung an arm around Tiger's shoulder, and grinned. "And one more thing—"

"Fate" was determined by "will," but it wasn't already "set in stone."

After triggering the Attack on Mary Geoise, Fisher Tiger had formed the Sun Pirates.

Before long, a little enslaved girl had joined his ship: Koala, who would later become an officer in the Revolutionary Army.

But after Tiger returned Koala to her hometown, other humans leaked his whereabouts. He was eventually ambushed by the Marines and gravely wounded.

Enraged, Tiger refused to use human blood to save his life, and ultimately died.

So Lindsay had one more thing to say to Tiger:

"I've seen humans more despicable, and fish-men more noble."

"What will you see?"

"..."

Tiger paused, thoughtful.

Then he gave Lindsay's shoulder a firm pat with his massive hand, leaped into the sea, and disappeared from sight.

Lindsay leaned against the railing and silently finished the liquor in his bottle.

Crocodile, a cigar between his teeth, came over, intending to discuss their plans for the journey ahead with Lindsay.

But just then, Crocodile noticed Lindsay's expression.

He had a smile on his face, his eyes narrowed to slits, and his mouth curved upward gently. He looked...

No—he looked far too friendly!

"Hmm?"

Crocodile paused. "Are you drunk?"

"Of course not."

Lindsay rubbed his face and smiled. "It's just that after I drink, I have a little trouble controlling my expression."

"..."

Crocodile's eye twitched.

From the way Lindsay spoke and acted, he clearly wasn't drunk—not even tipsy.

Still, losing control of one's expression after drinking was certainly unusual.

Maybe it was some kind of mysterious primitive-human constitution...

Crocodile looked at Evan Lindsay's friendly smile and found it more irritating by the second. It somehow annoyed him even more than Lindsay's usual brazen, unruly attitude!

With no other choice, he waved a hand and said, "We'll talk once you've had a rest. I can't take you seriously when you're making that face..."

They replaced the spare sail, and the voyage continued.

This was, in the truest sense, Lindsay's first "long voyage."

The next day.

Once the alcohol had completely left Lindsay's system and he could control his expression again, Crocodile explained their plans for the voyage.

They would make no stops and head straight for the desert kingdom—Alabasta!

Lindsay: "..."

He said nothing.

But his face twisted into a visibly disappointed expression, with a hint of disdain.

It was as if he were saying, "You're so boring!"

Crocodile felt a headache coming on. He even regretted not telling Lindsay yesterday.

Fortunately, just then a News Coo flew in from afar and delivered the latest newspaper to the ship.

"Hmph, right on time."

Crocodile took the newspaper and tossed the News Coo a few coins.

Leaning against the mast, he leisurely lit a cigar and glanced through the paper before tossing it to Lindsay.

Lindsay caught it and saw a large headline printed across the front page—

SHABAODY ARCHIPELAGO RIOT

There was no doubt about it: the newspaper had turned the events of the previous day on the Sabaody Archipelago into a world-class incident!

But soon Lindsay spotted something wrong. The paper stated plainly:

"The notorious criminal Evan Lindsay attacked a Celestial Dragon on the Sabaody Archipelago and orchestrated indiscriminate shelling across the entire island, leaving numerous casualties."

"..."

Lindsay read the report and found it amusing. He couldn't help laughing.

Seeing this, Crocodile gave a sinister chuckle. "It's one of the World Government's usual tricks. Pretty amusing, huh?"

Lindsay nodded.

The article concealed a great deal and altered plenty of details.

It hid the death of a Celestial Dragon, downplayed the slaves' massive uprising, and pinned the indiscriminate shelling on Lindsay.

"Cheer up. At least your 'notoriety' has already spread across the Grand Line."

Crocodile savored the taste of his cigar as he said:

"After causing an incident of this magnitude, it's best not to draw too much attention for now. Otherwise, the World Government will be watching your every move, and you can forget about going to Alabasta."

The trip from the waters near the Sabaody Archipelago to Alabasta would take a little over half a month. That would give the incident some time to cool down.

Lindsay nodded too, agreeing with Crocodile's plan.

Alabasta was, after all, an affiliated nation of the World Government. If they learned Evan Lindsay's whereabouts in advance, they would most likely report it to the World Government to be safe.

At that point, the World Government would certainly take action, and Lindsay would have a hard time moving freely around Alabasta.

"Oh, right. One more thing."

Crocodile pointed to the middle of the newspaper. "Welcome to the ranks of the 'wanted.'"

"..."

Lindsay wasn't surprised.

As the mastermind behind the Sabaody Archipelago riot, it was only natural that a bounty would be placed on his head.

After flipping through a few pages, he found a brand-new wanted poster tucked inside.

[Devil] Evan Lindsay;

Bounty: 650,000,000 Berries!

"..."

"Heh heh heh heh..."

Seeing Lindsay's bounty, Crocodile gave a sinister chuckle. "For a world-class criminal who killed a Celestial Dragon, that amount is a little low."

Clearly, the World Government had deliberately lowered Lindsay's bounty to prevent news of the Celestial Dragon's death from getting out.

Even so, 650 million Berries was an astonishing sum for someone receiving his first bounty. It showed just how much the World Government feared Evan Lindsay!

That was the truth, but Crocodile just didn't want to say it.

Given Evan Lindsay's utterly reckless nature, if he learned that his first bounty was so high, he would probably pester Crocodile for the rest of the voyage.

Fortunately, Lindsay didn't seem too excited.

Unfortunately, Lindsay knew far more than Crocodile imagined.

Even more unfortunately, Lindsay was especially excited about "this" matter.

"You make a good point, little Croc."

Lindsay studied his wanted poster, then looked up at Crocodile with an expression of sincere curiosity.

"So, as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea who's been sailing for so many years, your bounty must be pretty high, right?"

Crocodile: "..."

Everyone knew that the moment someone became a Seven Warlord of the Sea, their bounty stopped increasing.

So the bounty on the mighty [Sand Crocodile] Crocodile's head was still the one issued when he had first set out to sea.

A little low.

Lindsay turned around, grinning as he asked, "How much is it?"

Crocodile kept his cigar between his teeth and turned away to take the helm.

At the same time, in the lowest possible voice, he murmured:

"Eighty-one million Berries..."

"..."

"Pfft—"

"Bwahahahahaha!"

After a brief silence, Evan Lindsay burst into uninhibited laughter.

He even clutched his stomach and laughed until tears came to his eyes.

Crocodile could tell there was no mockery, contempt, disdain, or arrogance in that laughter.

It was simply that Evan Lindsay found it "very amusing."

That, too, was a kind of "purity." It wasn't an insult, so Crocodile couldn't even get angry.

But—

Crocodile still couldn't stop the corner of his eye from twitching.

This was so damn irritating!