Perfect Instinct

They rested briefly and then continued onward.

Along the way, Crocodile kept turning one question over in his mind.

What, exactly, was Aiven Lindsey?

Human?

That didn't seem like an easy conclusion to draw.

Before awakening, Aiven Lindsey had been a "sculpture" on an ancient stone tablet.

The material of that ancient stone tablet was similar to the Poneglyphs scattered across the sea.

And the World Government's stance on Poneglyphs had always been strictly forbidden—mere contact was a capital offense!

Take the former archaeological holy land of Ohara, for example. They only wanted to decipher true history, yet the World Government unleashed a Buster Call upon them, and the entire island was erased by the cannon fire of Navy warships.

Even so, the Poneglyphs scattered across the sea had never been destroyed.

Was it because the World Government didn't want to?

No. It was because they couldn't.

Crocodile had studied a Poneglyph before. The forging technique of that special stone tablet was extremely unique; even with all his strength, he couldn't damage it in the slightest.

Faced with that level of hardness, simply carving text onto it was already difficult enough. So why would someone go to the trouble of creating a sculpture?

More and more questions surfaced.

Aiven Lindsey couldn't be an ordinary "human," because no "human" could endure such a long stretch of time.

But he also couldn't be a "stone" that had eaten a Devil Fruit.

Because Crocodile clearly remembered that during yesterday's battle, he had slightly cut Lindsey's waist, and a few drops of red "blood" had seeped out.

He had life.

And he was not human.

Putting these two points together, Crocodile ultimately defined Aiven Lindsey as some kind of unknown "humanoid creature."

This sea was far too vast after all. Though such "humanoid creatures" were rare, there were still some records of them existing.

And just now, having witnessed all of Aiven Lindsey's actions, Crocodile grew even more certain of his speculation.

The slave trader's beating of the slaves displeased Aiven Lindsey.

But his reaction was clearly different from those short-lived young hotheads. He didn't act rashly.

Instead, after secretly freeing the slaves, he smashed the cargo crates from below, disguising himself as a "beast that had broken free of control."

That way, everyone's attention was drawn to Lindsey, and no one went to pursue the slaves' whereabouts.

Lindsey himself remained in his Zoan Transformation, charging straight ahead toward Crocodile not far away, striking an attacking pose.

The moment Crocodile raised his hand, Lindsey dispelled his Zoan ability, burrowing back into the ground, leaving only a shattered empty shell behind.

Thus, to outsiders, it looked like Crocodile—one of the Shichibukai—had helped take care of the rampaging beast.

To Crocodile, a scheme of this level was simple, even a bit childish.

But he also understood that Aiven Lindsey had only just awakened, not even a full day ago!

In Crocodile's view, Lindsey didn't understand the structure of this world, let alone the terror of the World Government.

Yet Lindsey still knew he needed to keep a low profile on the Red Line, and even came up with a clever way to escape!

How had this Primitive Man managed that?

"..." Instinct.

After thinking it over, Crocodile could only give that answer.

As a "humanoid creature," Aiven Lindsey possessed the instinct to "seek benefit and avoid harm"!

He would follow his own thoughts to rescue slaves and kill slave traders...

And he would also avoid danger as much as possible, ensuring he had a way to escape.

Crocodile understood Aiven Lindsey's nature, and he also breathed a sigh of relief.

Though he still couldn't handle Lindsey's personality, at least Lindsey wouldn't drag him into any major trouble.

It was just that this "humanoid creature's" Evolution Speed was a bit too fast...

The two passed through the Red Line smoothly.

At the port on the Paradise side, Crocodile casually bought a small sailboat and took Lindsey out to sea.

This ship didn't need to be anything special, not even supplies.

Because after just half a day more of sailing, the two would reach the "final stop" of the first half of the Grand Line—

Sabaody Archipelago!

It was a peculiar island formed by the root systems of several massive trees, where special resin secreted into countless bubbles, creating a unique bubble culture.

This was an extremely prosperous commercial and tourist island, directly under the jurisdiction of the World Government, yet it also had some Illegal Zones.

"I've arranged a deal on this island."

On the deck, Crocodile gazed out at Sabaody Archipelago and lit himself a cigar.

He turned back to look at Lindsey beside him, only to find the other's eyes gleaming with intense excitement, which gave him a bit of a headache.

"Once we're done with things here, I'll take you to Alabasta. There's something I want you to see."

Alabasta?

Lindsey heard that familiar name and blinked.

Of course he knew that place.

It was a superpower located in the first half of the Grand Line, intricately connected to both the "Poneglyph" and the "Celestial Dragons."

If everything developed normally, the Sand Crocodile, Crocodile, would use his status as a Shichibukai to station himself in Alabasta, help wipe out pirates, and eventually earn the identity of a "national hero."

But in reality, all of this was merely preparation for seizing control of Alabasta and deciphering the Poneglyph there.

That was indeed what Crocodile was thinking.

His goal had always been only one—the Ancient Weapon—[Pluton]!

Once he had Pluton, Crocodile would gain unimaginable Military Strength, enough to intimidate the entire sea.

His spur-of-the-moment decision to go to Punk Hazard and find Caesar was also because he'd obtained relevant intel.

But the final result had been somewhat unexpected, because out of that massive ancient Stone Tablet had popped Aiven Lindsey...

Still, since he was already out, it would be unsatisfying not to investigate the clues.

Crocodile couldn't read ancient script and couldn't decipher Alabasta's Poneglyph, so he planned to take Lindsey there to take a look—maybe they could find some traces.

If that still didn't work, he'd have to try finding that "sole survivor" from Ohara...

"Alabasta."

Lindsey murmured the name.

The desert kingdom, and one of the very few superpowers on the Grand Line!

If he had the chance, Lindsey naturally wanted to go see it.

But for now, he was also very interested in the Sabaody Archipelago before him.

Turning back to Crocodile, Lindsey grinned and said:

"Little crocodile, lend me some Berry to spend?"

Little crocodile...

Hearing those three words, a few veins bulged on Crocodile's forehead.

But given Lindsey's terrifying Evolution Speed, Crocodile really didn't want to fight Lindsey again—it would only make him more passive.

Let him be.

Crocodile casually pulled out a stack of Berry and was about to toss it to Lindsey.

But unexpectedly, with a "bang," a lead bullet struck the deck where the two stood.

Not far off on the sea, a pirate ship raced toward them.

They were a group of pirates who had just made it through the first half of the Grand Line, about to make their mark in the New World, and were currently in a state of extreme excitement.

In their eyes, nothing could stop them now, let alone a measly little sailboat.

The pirate captain stood on his deck, swinging his blade toward the two on the small boat, laughing loudly:

"Yahahaha! We're entering the New World today, so I'll use you two unlucky bastards as a sacrifice!"

"..."

Lindsey looked up at the large ship.

His eyes gleamed.

He laughed heartily and slapped Crocodile on the shoulder, excitedly saying, "Little crocodile, look—live pirates!"

"Heh, live ones..."

Crocodile bit down on his cigar and muttered.

The nameless anger in his heart had been suppressed for too long, and now he needed an outlet.

So at the end of the previous sentence, he added:

"You'll die soon enough!"

Gravel churned.

But before the first grain of sand could touch the pirate captain's blade tip, a dark red-skinned hand seized the edge first.

The pirate captain looked up and saw a massive black shadow leaping toward him, along with a pair of eyes glowing red...