Demon

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

These "wills" drove "lives" to action, creating what is called "destiny."

It has always been this way.

Always.

"What decides our destiny is our will, not our 'stance'."

Lindsey's pupils were deep as he quietly looked at Fisher Tiger, smiling faintly.

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

"..."

Fisher Tiger fell silent.

Perhaps he was contemplating Lindsey's words, or perhaps he was examining his own will to explore his future destiny.

After a long while, Fisher Tiger looked up, let out a long breath, and muttered in a low voice:

"As expected, I can't stand it anymore..."

This future "[Fish-Man Hero]" recognized his own will and finally uttered these words.

In the original future, these words were actually meant for Princess Otohime.

Afterward, Fisher Tiger climbed the Red Line alone, triggering the world-shaking "Mary Geoise Raid Incident."

Fisher Tiger's will led him to this destined fate!

What could Lindsey say to that?

He stood up, took a bottle of wine from the kitchen in the cabin, and poured a glass for Fisher Tiger, Crocodile, and himself.

They raised their glasses in celebration.

Celebrating Fisher Tiger's regained Freedom, and also celebrating everyone's successful escape.

Crocodile: "?"

Even after drinking the strong liquor, Crocodile's expression was still somewhat puzzled.

What does this have to do with me?

However, even so, Crocodile was very good at seizing opportunities.

It was a rare chance to be involved with the "Fish-Man Race," so Crocodile naturally wouldn't refuse.

As they parted, Fisher Tiger informed the two of the surrounding sea conditions.

Lindsey downed half a bottle of strong liquor with a gulp, slung an arm around Fisher Tiger's shoulder, and grinned, "One more thing—"

"Destiny" depends on "will," but it is not "predetermined."

After triggering the Mary Geoise Raid Incident, Fisher Tiger formed the Sun Pirates.

Not long after, a slave girl joined his crew – the later Revolutionary Army executive, Koala.

However, after sending Koala back to her hometown, Fisher Tiger's whereabouts were leaked by other humans, leading to a Navy ambush where he was gravely wounded.

Enraged, Fisher Tiger refused to be saved by human blood and ultimately died.

So Lindsey had one more thing to say to Fisher Tiger:

"I've seen more despicable humans, and I've seen nobler Fish-Men."

"What will you see?"

"..."

Fisher Tiger paused, lost in thought.

Then, he patted Lindsey's shoulder forcefully with his large hand, leaped into the sea, and disappeared without a trace.

Lindsey leaned against the ship's railing, silently finishing the strong liquor in his bottle.

Crocodile, with a cigar in his mouth, walked over, intending to discuss their future plans with Lindsey.

But at that moment, Crocodile noticed Lindsey's expression.

A smile on his face, eyes narrowed to slits, mouth curved gently upwards, appearing very...

No, it looked too kind!

"Huh?"

Crocodile blinked in surprise. "Are you drunk?"

"Of course not."

Lindsey touched his face and smiled. "My expression control gets a little out of hand after drinking."

"..."

Crocodile's eye twitched.

Judging by his speech and demeanor, Lindsey wasn't drunk, not even tipsy.

But this kind of loss of control over his facial expressions after drinking was truly rare.

Perhaps it was some kind of mysterious constitution of a Primitive Man...

Crocodile looked at Aiven Lindsey, who was smiling kindly, and found it increasingly awkward. It even made him angrier than his previous arrogant and unrestrained demeanor!

Helplessly, he waved his hand and said, "Let's talk after you've rested. I can't take that expression seriously at all..."

With the spare sail replaced, their voyage continued.

This journey was truly Lindsey's first "long voyage."

The next day.

After the alcohol in Lindsey's body completely dissipated and his facial expressions returned to normal, Crocodile explained the plan for their voyage.

No stops, straight to the desert country—Alabasta!

Lindsey: "..."

Speechless.

But his face was scrunched up, his disappointment visible, even with a hint of disdain.

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

Crocodile felt a headache coming on, regretting not having said this yesterday.

Fortunately, at this moment, a messenger seagull flew from afar, delivering the day's latest newspaper to the ship.

"Hmph, just in time."

Crocodile took the newspaper and tossed a few coins to the seagull.

He leaned against the mast, leisurely lit a cigar, glanced at the newspaper a few times, and then tossed it to Lindsey.

Lindsey took the newspaper and saw that on the front page, a large headline read—

Sabaody Archipelago Riot Incident.

Undoubtedly, through the newspaper's propaganda, what happened yesterday in the Sabaody Archipelago had escalated into a world-class major event!

But soon, Lindsey noticed something was wrong, because the newspaper clearly stated:

"A major criminal named Aiven Lindsey attacked a Celestial Dragon on Sabaody Archipelago and simultaneously orchestrated indiscriminate shelling that swept across the entire island, causing numerous casualties."

"..."

Lindsey silently read the related report, finding it amusing, and couldn't help but chuckle.

Seeing this, Crocodile, who was beside him, couldn't help but laugh sinisterly, "This is the World Government's usual trick, isn't it interesting?"

Lindsey nodded.

This report concealed a lot of information and altered much of it.

It concealed the death of a Celestial Dragon, downplayed the large-scale slave revolt, and forcefully placed the blame for the indiscriminate shelling on Lindsey.

"Cheer up, at least your 'infamy' has now spread throughout the Grand Line."

Crocodile savored the aftertaste of his cigar and said, "After causing such a major event, it's best not to be too flashy for now. Otherwise, every move you make will be under the World Government's watch, and you won't be able to go to Alabasta then."

Traveling directly from near Sabaody Archipelago to Alabasta would take about half a month, providing a perfect cooling-off period for the fervor of this major incident to subside slightly.

Lindsey also nodded, agreeing to Crocodile's plan.

Alabasta was, after all, a member nation of the World Government. If they learned of Aiven Lindsey's whereabouts in advance, they would likely report the matter to the World Government as a precaution.

At that time, the World Government would inevitably take action, making it difficult for Lindsey to move freely within Alabasta.

"Oh, right, one more thing."

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

"..."

Lindsey wasn't surprised by this.

As the mastermind behind the Sabaody Archipelago riot, being bountied was only natural.

After flipping through a few more pages of the newspaper, as expected, a brand-new wanted poster was tucked inside.

[Demon] Aiven Lindsey;

Bounty: Six Hundred and Fifty Million Beli!

"..."

"Hehehehe..."

Crocodile saw Lindsey's bounty and chuckled sinisterly, "As a world-class criminal who killed a Celestial Dragon, this amount is a bit low."

Clearly, to prevent the fact of the Celestial Dragon's death from leaking, the World Government had deliberately lowered Lindsey's bounty.

Even so, for someone being bountied for the first time, 650 million Beli was definitely a rare sky-high price, showing how much the World Government valued Aiven Lindsey!

--This was the truth, but Crocodile deliberately chose not to say it.

After all, with Aiven Lindsey's reckless personality, if he knew his initial bounty was so high, he'd probably pester him all the way.

Fortunately, Lindsey didn't seem too excited;

Unfortunately, Lindsey knew far more than Crocodile imagined;

Even more unfortunately, Lindsey was particularly excited about "this" matter.

"You make a lot of sense, little crocodile."

Lindsey examined his wanted poster, then looked up at Crocodile with a humble expression, as if seeking guidance.

"So, as one of the Shichibukai and having been at sea for so many years, your bounty must be very high, right?"

Crocodile: "..."

As everyone knew, the moment one became a Shichibukai, their bounty would stop increasing.

Thus, the bounty of the dignified [Sand Crocodile] Crocodile was still set when he first set out to sea.

A bit low.

Lindsey turned his head, grinned, and asked, "How much is it?"

Crocodile, holding a cigar, went to steer the ship without looking back.

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

"81 million Beli..."

"..."

"Pfft--"

"Hahahaha!"

After a brief silence, Aiven Lindsey's unrestrained laughter erupted.

He even started clutching his stomach, tears streaming from his eyes as he laughed.

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

All there was, was Aiven Lindsey finding it "very amusing."

This was also a form of "Pure," not offensive in the slightest, so Crocodile couldn't get angry at all.

But--

Crocodile couldn't help but twitch the corner of his eye.

He really felt annoyed!