Traditional Plot

At their first meeting, Crocodile called Aiven Lindsey a "Primitive Man."

It made sense.

The ancient Stone Tablet's age was unknown, but it must have been similar to that of the other Poneglyphs.

In other words, the Stone Tablet's age had to date back to before the "Void Century"—perhaps even further!

So calling Aiven Lindsey, this awakened "humanoid," a Primitive Man was perfectly reasonable.

With that in mind.

As a slave trader's whip came down, a young man wailed. The onlookers were either numb to it or used to seeing it, and a few were even enjoying the spectacle.

Pointing at the scene, Lindsey spoke those words—

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

When he finished, Crocodile turned to look at the slave traders, too. After a few seconds of silence, he couldn't help laughing aloud.

"Hehehehe..."

It really was pretty funny. Was this the Primitive Man's high-level deadpan humor?

Crocodile didn't care about the slave trade.

But occasionally mocking those who thought too highly of themselves made for an amusing diversion.

Seen that way, traveling with Aiven Lindsey wasn't as unpleasant as he'd expected.

"There are plenty of 'primitive' things in this ocean."

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

Before he could finish, Crocodile suddenly felt that the space beside him was empty.

He turned around. Lindsey was nowhere to be seen.

Where had that Primitive Man gone?!

That same feeling of unease welled up again, and Crocodile sensed trouble.

He looked down, and sure enough—

Right beside him, where Lindsey had just been standing, a "crack" had appeared in the ground.

There was no need to guess. It had to be Aiven Lindsey's doing!

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

But the crucial question was, why had Lindsey activated his ability now?

What was he planning to do?

Looking at the slave traders still whipping the slaves nearby, Crocodile could almost guess 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 practically be called the World Government's stronghold. The slightest mistake could cause a massive uproar!

Crocodile honestly felt a headache coming on.

All he wanted to know now was how that Primitive Man planned to deal with the slave traders.

He couldn't actually be planning to fight them head-on, could he?

Crocodile's gaze shifted.

After weighing it over, he decided to slow down, conceal himself in a nearby alley, and watch what happened.

Avoiding danger whenever trouble arose wasn't his style. Confident as he was, he always tried to find an opportunity.

Before long, Lindsey began to move underground.

Crocodile could feel a faint tremor in the gravel beneath his feet.

The vibration spread all the way to the slave traders' convoy.

The slave trader had grown tired of whipping the slaves. He put the whip back at his waist and leaned back in his seat.

Seeing there was nothing left to watch, the others went back to whatever they'd been doing.

Just then—

The faint "vibration" reached the ground beneath one of the slaves, then began moving upward.

Whoosh!

A large hole opened beneath the slave's feet. He didn't even have time to make a sound before he vanished.

Pretty interesting.

Crocodile savored his cigar, finding the whole thing amusing.

Whenever Aiven Lindsey used his Devil Fruit Ability, he always came up with some unexpected ideas.

Secretly sinking the slaves underground, then digging a passage to let them escape, was indeed a rather clever plan.

Besides, the slaves were ordinary people and cheap, so they weren't restrained by Explosion Collars, just regular shackles.

That meant there was no need to worry about the Explosion Collars going off underground.

After a slave disappeared, the ground returned to normal. Not a trace was left behind.

The slaves vanished one by one, without a sound.

Before long, all several dozen of them were gone. Only then did the slave trader finally notice something was wrong.

His eyes widened. He slapped awake the lackey dozing beside him and barked, "Where's our cargo?!"

The lackey blinked sleepily and looked around, utterly confused.

"I don't know!"

The slave trader immediately flew into a rage. He widened his eyes and looked around. "Am I seeing ghosts?"

Crocodile leaned against the wall, chuckling under his breath.

Aiven Lindsey wasn't impulsive, which was a good thing.

Otherwise, just the fact that he was a "sculpture on an ancient Stone Tablet come back to life" would make it impossible for him to enjoy even a single peaceful day on this ocean!

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

Every major power would do everything it could to find him. They wouldn't give him the slightest chance to catch his breath.

His Evolution Speed was certainly frightening, but for now, he still couldn't stand against the entire ocean.

So this little trick proved that Aiven Lindsey was reasonably levelheaded!

But...

Crocodile couldn't help wondering.

The slaves had already been taken away. Why hadn't Lindsey come back yet?

Hehehe. Surely he wasn't trying to avenge that young man who'd been beaten...

Hmm...

This was bad.

Crocodile realized what Lindsey might be up to and immediately looked up.

Sure enough.

Two dark green horns suddenly emerged beneath the slave caravan's cargo crate.

Then a huge mound of earth abruptly rose, smashing the entire crate to pieces!

A gigantic "monster" burst out, tearing the wooden boards off its body and letting out a deafening roar.

"Roar!"

It was a humanoid beast over six meters tall, with crimson skin and thick limbs. Fangs filled its mouth, and its pupils gave off a chilling red glow.

There was no doubt about it. It was Aiven Lindsey's Mythical Zoan Animalization—Earth Demon Form!

Lindsey already had a physique packed with perfectly sculpted muscles.

Now that he had fully transformed, his strength was even more astonishing.

He grabbed the slave trader and his lackey, one in each hand, and slammed them hard into the ground, burying them in the dirt.

The two men hadn't even realized what was happening before they fell completely still.

The sudden turn of events left Crocodile dumbfounded. He couldn't imagine how Aiven Lindsey was supposed to escape now.

Was he just going to burrow into the Red Line and run away?

As Crocodile pondered this, the World Government guards nearby had already noticed the commotion and hurried over.

What they saw was a wrecked cargo crate and a monstrous beast growling at them!

"Did a New World exotic beast escape?"

The guards were startled by Lindsey's appearance and immediately shouted, "Open fire! Kill it!"

The incident had taken place on the Red Line. They couldn't afford the slightest mistake.

But ordinary firearms were no match for the "beast." The bullets hit its skin and left nothing but faint scratches.

Bang! Bang!

After several volleys, the "beast" seemed to grow enraged and let out an even more ferocious roar.

"Roar!"

It sent several guards flying with a single sweep, then charged forward!

"..."

Crocodile watched the scene, feeling rather helpless.

It seemed he wouldn't be able to keep traveling with Aiven Lindsey.

After causing such a huge commotion on the Red Line, even if Aiven Lindsey managed to get away, the World Government would surely keep an eye on him.

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

He was just about to leave when he suddenly noticed something strange.

The direction Aiven Lindsey was charging in pointed straight at him!

What was he trying to do?

Crocodile's eye twitched.

What, before the World Government put out a bounty on him, did that Primitive Man want to drag someone else down with him?

Crocodile wanted to run, but Lindsey was moving so fast that he reached him in an instant.

Their eyes met.

Lindsey didn't say a word. He simply raised his fist and swung it hard at Crocodile.

Crocodile could only raise an arm to block.

But the moment he lifted his arm, Lindsey suddenly raised his head and let out an utterly heart-rending wail.

It sounded just like a beast imitating a human, growling out one last cry at the moment of its death:

"No—!!!"

Crack!

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

"?"

Crocodile stared at the scene in astonishment.

But a clever man like him quickly understood Lindsey's intention.

He turned toward the World Government guards rushing over and smiled grimly.

The result was that Crocodile received a great deal of thanks.

To the guards, this was just an ordinary incident involving a beast running amok, and the slave traders had brought it on themselves.

As one of the Shichibukai, Crocodile had killed the beast in time, which meant he'd helped the World Government.

Compared to the other Shichibukai, who did as they pleased, this would undoubtedly improve Crocodile's standing with the World Government.

After accepting the guards' thanks, Crocodile left.

He walked a little farther, then turned into an empty alley.

Savoring the cigar in his mouth, Crocodile raised an eyebrow and said with a grim smile to the empty space beside him, "That was a terrible performance!"

"Was it?"

Another voice answered.

A mound of earth rose from the ground beside Crocodile.

Lindsey climbed out, dropped his Earth Demon Form, then brushed the dirt off himself.

He shook his head with a grin, still relishing the moment. "But I really like this traditional plot."

"And besides..."

His fangs were still there, and a faint red glow lingered in his pupils.

"That felt great."