Traditional Plot

At their first clash, Crocodile had called Aiven Lindsey a "primitive man."

That was perfectly reasonable.

The age of the ancient stone tablet was unknown, but it was inevitably similar to the other Poneglyphs.

In other words, the ancient stone tablet's existence might even predate the "Void Century," reaching back even further!

Thus, calling Aiven Lindsey, this awakened "humanoid creature," a primitive man was indeed a statement with no flaws.

Based on that point.

When the slave trader's whip fell, the youth wailed, and the onlooking crowd was either numb, accustomed to it, or even a few watching for entertainment.

Lindsey pointed at this scene and spoke those words—

"I thought I was already primitive enough..."

As his voice trailed off, Crocodile also looked toward the group of slave traders. After a few seconds of silence, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Heh heh heh heh..."

It was indeed quite amusing. Was this the high-level dry humor of a primitive man?

Crocodile didn't care about the slave trade.

But occasionally mocking those self-righteous people was still an entertaining pastime.

Looking at it this way, traveling with Aiven Lindsey wasn't as unpleasant as he had expected.

"There are still plenty of 'primitive' things on this sea."

Crocodile took a drag on his cigar and continued, "You still—"

Before he could finish, Crocodile suddenly felt an emptiness beside him.

He turned his head. Where was Lindsey?

Where had that primitive man gone?!

That unpleasant feeling surged up again. Crocodile sensed trouble.

He looked down, and sure enough—

Right beside him, on the ground where Lindsey had just been standing, a "cracked" trace had appeared.

No need to think twice; it was definitely Aiven Lindsey's doing!

When activating that so-called "Earth Demon Form," Lindsey could tear open the ground and move freely underground.

But the key question was, why was Lindsey activating his ability now?

What was he going to do?

Looking at the slave traders not far away, still lashing their slaves, Crocodile seemed to have guessed the answer.

Was that primitive man really planning to cause trouble right under the World Government's nose?!

Where were they now?

The Red Line!

This place could be called the World Government's home base. One misstep could stir up a massive storm!

Crocodile genuinely felt a headache coming on.

Right now, he only wanted to know how that primitive man was going to deal with those slave traders.

Surely he wouldn't just charge into a direct confrontation!

Crocodile's gaze shifted slightly.

After weighing his options, he chose to slow his pace and hide in a side path nearby, waiting to see how things played out.

Avoiding danger at the first sign of trouble wasn't his style. Confident as he was, he always wanted to find an opportunity.

Soon, Lindsey began to move underground.

Crocodile could feel a faint vibration through the sand beneath his feet.

That vibration spread all the way toward the slave traders' caravan.

The slave trader, tired from whipping, put the whip back at his waist and leaned back on his seat.

Seeing nothing more to watch, the others went about their own business.

Just then—

That faint "vibration" arrived directly beneath one of the slaves and then began to move upward.

Shh!

A large hole opened under that slave's feet. Before he could even make a sound, he vanished completely.

Quite interesting.

Crocodile savored his cigar, finding it quite amusing.

Aiven Lindsey always had some whimsical ideas when using his Devil Fruit ability.

Having the slaves quietly fall underground, then digging a tunnel for them to escape—it was indeed a rather clever concept.

Moreover, those slaves were all ordinary people, cheap in price, so they weren't bound by explosive collars, only ordinary shackles.

That way, there was no need to worry about explosive collars detonating underground.

And when a slave fell through, the ground would restore itself as if nothing had happened, leaving no trace behind.

Slave after slave vanished, silently and without a sound.

Soon, all those dozens of slaves were gone, and only then did the slave trader finally notice something amiss.

His eyes wide, he slapped awake a lackey dozing nearby and barked, "Where's our cargo?!"

The lackey, bleary-eyed, looked around and said in confusion:

"I don't know!"

The slave trader flew into a rage, his eyes darting everywhere, "Am I seeing ghosts?"

Crocodile leaned against the wall, chuckling softly.

Aiven Lindsey wasn't impulsive—that was a good thing.

Otherwise, just with the "ancient stone tablet sculptures coming to life" point alone, he wouldn't have a single peaceful day on this sea!

The World Government, the Navy, pirates, the underworld...

Every major force would be hunting him down, leaving him no room to breathe.

His Evolution Speed was certainly terrifying, but for now, he still couldn't contend with the entire sea.

So this little trick proved that Aiven Lindsey was relatively rational!

Still...

Crocodile couldn't help but feel curious.

The slaves were already taken care of, so why wasn't Lindsey coming back?

Heh, it couldn't be that he wanted to get even for that beaten young man...

Hmm...

Not good.

Realizing this, Crocodile immediately looked up.

Sure enough.

From beneath the slave caravan's cargo crates, two dark green Demon Horns suddenly emerged.

Then, a massive mound of earth swelled up, smashing the entire crate to pieces!

A huge "monster" burst out, tearing off the wooden planks and unleashing a deafening roar.

"ROAR!"

It was a six-meter-tall humanoid beast, with crimson skin and thick limbs, fangs in its mouth, and pupils glowing with a chilling red light.

Without a doubt, it was Aiven Lindsey's Mythical Zoan Animalization—the Earth Demon Form!

Lindsey already had a physique of perfect muscle.

Now, fully animalized, his strength was astonishing.

He grabbed the slave trader and the lackey, one in each hand, and slammed them heavily into the ground, embedding them into the dirt.

Before the two could even process what happened, they went still.

This sudden turn of events left Crocodile stunned; he couldn't imagine how Aiven Lindsey would escape now.

Could he only burrow into the Red Line and flee?

As he pondered, the surrounding World Government guards noticed the commotion and rushed over.

What they saw was a shattered cargo crate and a low-growling, alien beast!

"Did a rare beast from the New World break loose?"

Startled by Lindsey's appearance, the guards quickly shouted, "Open fire! Kill it!"

The incident was on the Red Line—no mistakes could be tolerated.

But ordinary firearms couldn't harm that "beast"; the lead bullets striking its skin only left faint scratches.

Bang! Bang!

After several volleys, the "beast" seemed provoked, erupting into an even fiercer roar.

"ROOOAR!"

It sent several guards flying with a single swipe, then charged forward in a mad rush.

"..."

Crocodile watched the scene with a hint of helplessness.

It seemed he could no longer continue traveling with Aiven Lindsey.

Having caused such a massive disturbance on the Red Line, even if he could escape now, Aiven Lindsey would inevitably be targeted by the World Government.

Crocodile had other plans in Alabasta and didn't want to draw the World Government's attention.

He was about to leave when he suddenly noticed something off.

Aiven Lindsey's charging direction was aimed straight at him!

What did he mean by this?

Crocodile's eye twitched.

What?

Before even being wanted by the World Government, this Primitive Man wanted to drag someone down with him?

Crocodile wanted to flee, but Lindsey's sprint was so fast that he was already in front of Crocodile in an instant.

The two locked eyes.

Lindsey didn't say a single word. Instead, he raised his fist and slammed it down at Crocodile.

Crocodile could only lift his hand to block.

But the moment he raised his hand, Lindsey suddenly looked up and let out an extremely piercing wail.

It felt like a beast imitating a human, growling out at the last moment of its life:

"No—!!!"

Crack!

The next second, "Lindsey's" massive body suddenly turned into a pile of rocks and then crumbled apart.

"?"

Crocodile stared at this in shock.

But as a clever man, he quickly figured out the intent behind Lindsey's actions.

He turned around, looking at the World Government guards rushing over, and let out a dark smile.

In the end, Crocodile was thoroughly thanked.

In the eyes of those guards, this was just a simple case of a beast running wild, and the Slave Traders had reaped what they sowed.

As one of the Shichibukai, Crocodile had killed the beast in time, effectively helping the World Government.

Compared to the other more carefree Shichibukai, this move would undoubtedly boost Crocodile's favor with the World Government.

After accepting the guards' thanks, Crocodile left.

He walked a bit further and turned into an empty alley.

Chewing on his cigar, Crocodile raised an eyebrow and sneered at the empty space beside him: "That acting was terrible!"

"Was it?"

Another voice rang out.

On the ground beside Crocodile, a mound of earth rose up.

Lindsey crawled out of it, dispelling his Earth Demon Form, then brushed the dirt off his clothes.

He shook his head with a smile, savoring the moment: "But I still kind of like that classic bit of drama."

"And..."

His fangs were still visible, and a faint trace of red light lingered in his pupils.

"That punch felt great."