The Alabasta Incident would occur in Marineford Era 1520, six years from now. But before the three-year drought and the rise of the rebels, Baroque Works had already existed for quite some time.
From an omniscient perspective, every One Piece fan knew who was behind it.
More than twenty years ago, before Roger became the Pirate King, the Shichibukai system was established to curb the increasingly rampant pirate activity across the seas. One of the first Shichibukai was now Alabasta's national hero, the Logia Sand-Sand Fruit user known as "Desert Crocodile," "Sir Crocodile."
After failing to challenge Whitebeard, Crocodile had gone to Alabasta in search of Pluton, following scattered clues in hopes of finding the power to defeat Whitebeard. He had accepted the government's summons and become a Shichibukai, using that as cover to establish the secret Baroque society.
With a Shichibukai backing them, even though they could not operate openly, Baroque Works developed at a terrifying pace.
Previously, assassination and arms dealing had been their main activities. They had never deliberately aided pirates or interfered in a nation's internal affairs, obediently playing their role as a member of the Dark World and focusing on making money.
The Marines had pursued them several times without any notable results. Combined with pressure from corrupt government officials who had taken their cut, the files had long since been tossed into a corner to gather dust.
But today, in Marineford Era 1514, Baroque Works made a shocking move!
They had involved themselves in an internal conflict within Flower Capital West Island, one of the World Government's Affiliated Nations!
Because of the Flower Capital's unique circumstances, Sengoku had sent Garp over after receiving the request for aid... only for him to be rebuffed halfway there.
"Even the World Government does not interfere in an Affiliated Nation's internal affairs. The Marines would do well not to meddle..."
Those were the words of General Fred of the Flower Capital, the Queen of the Flower Capital's eldest nephew and a man who held military power in his hands. After much consideration, Garp restrained himself and returned the way he had come.
His mistake had been allowing his trail to be exposed, preventing him from contacting the Queen first.
As long as the Queen expressed her welcome, the mission would have been as good as secured, and Ron would never have been needed. Likewise, if anyone from the Flower Capital expressed their opposition, Garp had to bow to the World Government's rules.
Fortunately, the appearance of the Hero of the Marines carried great significance!
The other side feared the Marines' iron fist, halting their actions to watch how the situation unfolded. But that could not last forever; the longer it dragged on, the harder it became for anyone to predict the outcome. The Marines' only opportunity was the Queen's seventieth birthday four months from now, when they could enter the Flower Capital under a legitimate pretext.
Sengoku had already made his decision. When the time came, Garp would lead a team to pay a visit, with Ron accompanying the ship. Besides uncovering Baroque Works' true face, it would also serve as a test for Ron.
This was not a simple multiple-choice question!
How Ron chose to judge the situation would be extremely important to both the Marines and Sengoku!
Naturally, Ron knew none of this at the moment. The afternoon's test had exhausted him half to death, and under an instructor's guidance, he arrived at the New Recruit Camp dormitory where he would be living for who knew how long.
"301, this should be the room..."
Listening to the noise behind the door, Ron placed his hand on the handle and pushed it open.
Swish!
Hearing the movement, the recruits inside immediately fell silent and turned to look at him in unison.
This was the most basic recruit dormitory, with ten people to a room. The air was mixed with the stench of feet, sweat, and smoke. Dirty clothes lay everywhere, and the place was as chaotic as a pigsty.
Headquarters did not have enough spare space to give every rookie a private room. If they wanted to live alone in a clean and spacious room, they had to let their results speak for themselves! It also served to motivate the recruits and make them train harder.
As a newcomer, Ron was qualified to apply for a private room after defeating Shuzuo. But even if the news were announced, few recruits would accept it.
Almost everyone in the New Recruit Camp was a prodigy, a genius among geniuses. Even they had been left helpless by Shuzuo's unconventional testing methods. You said you defeated Instructor Shuzuo, but your physique was weaker than that of an ordinary recruit—why?!
There would be challengers without end, and he would never be able to handle them all.
The thought of wasting huge amounts of training time dealing with challengers in the future was such a headache that Ron immediately accepted Traine's suggestion and moved into a large dormitory. There was only a little over a month until the year-end assessment anyway. When the time came, he could "win people over with virtue" and peacefully move into a big room.
Thus...
Ignoring everyone else's gazes, Ron looked at the empty bunk nearest the door and tossed the luggage assigned to him by the instructor onto it.
Smack!
A hand swiftly reached over from the other side of the bed and knocked his luggage flying. The recruits then wore cold smiles as they whispered among themselves.
"Another newcomer? The instructors really refuse to give up!"
"Hey, what do you think he'll do?"
"Obviously, he won't accept it, then Zoro will beat him up!"
What Ron did not know was that Dormitory 301 had maintained a roster of nine people for a long time. Whenever a newcomer tried to move in, they would be bullied by Zoro. In the end, they could only run crying to the instructors and have their dorm reassigned.
They had seen this routine many times and were already thoroughly familiar with it.
Sure enough, seeing his luggage knocked off the bed, Ron raised his head and asked expressionlessly, "What do you mean by that?"
"It's started, it's started!"
"Quick! I'm taking bets, place your wagers!"
The others immediately became lively, excitedly gambling with one another. For them, this was one of the few remaining pleasures in their boring, grueling training lives.
Someone was lying on the inner side of the empty bed. He was not wearing a Marine uniform, only a white T-shirt. He had dark skin and looked to be in his twenties. Hearing the question, he raised the cigarette butt in his hand without even looking up and replied insincerely.
"Sorry, this is my ashtray. Find another spot, kid..."
There were already nine people living in this dormitory. Find another spot? Where was he supposed to find one? Ron quietly turned his head and looked at the others...
"What are you looking at?! Want to fight?"
"There's no place for you here. Get out!"
"Yeah! Get out!"
Since only a few hours had passed since Ron defeated Shuzuo, the recruits had no way of knowing about it. Relying on their status as seniors, they jeered loudly, wanting to see Ron at a loss.
But to their disappointment, Ron remained calm throughout, as still as an ancient well. Forget being flustered; he did not show the slightest hint of tension!
After jeering for a while, the others gradually sensed that something was wrong and slowly quieted down.
What was going on?
Was this guy born without emotions?
Someone was about to speak when Ron beat them to it.
"Hey. What a pain..."
He sighed, then turned back to look at the recruit named Zoro on the top bunk and said flatly, "I'll give you three seconds to get down here and apologize."
W-What?!
The recruits stared at Ron in shock, unable to believe their ears.
Was this guy an idiot?
That was Zoro, one of the hundred strongest recruits in the camp!
His Doriki Value was as high as 300!
And he actually dared to make him apologize?!
Immediately, everyone burst into loud laughter.
"Unbelievable, unbelievable! Zoro, someone wants you to get down there and apologize!"
"Hahahaha, this is too funny! This is the most interesting thing that's happened all year!"
"Who's going to get a doctor? Don't let anyone die later!"
Not just them—even Zoro himself was astonished. He propped himself up and looked at Ron suspiciously. "Hey, kid, you dare talk to me like that?! Do you even know who I am..."
"Time's up!"
Before he could finish, Ron rudely cut him off. The contempt contained in those three words, "Time's up," infuriated Zoro. He clenched his fists and sneered. "Looks like you won't behave unless I teach you a lesson!"
"Beat him up, Zoro! I bet 500 Berry on you!"
"Go for it, kid! I'm rooting for you!"
"Hahaha! You're about to lose even your underwear! And you're still betting?"
This was an unequal fight, at least in the recruits' eyes. Yet coincidentally, Ron saw it exactly the same way.
"Teach me a lesson? Are you sure?"
Crackle!
A massive Sky Blue Lightning python spread across his body, slowly coiling around him. Its head emerged from behind Ron's shoulder, glaring ferociously at the others. The air filled with the smell of ozone, and the numbing sensation brought by the blinding lightning so close at hand made the recruits fall silent like ducks with their throats gripped, staring fixedly at Ron.
Zoro, who had just climbed down from the bed, looked at him in shock, his lips trembling. "A... a Logia Devil Fruit?!"
"Bullshit! Do I look like I'm generating electricity with love?"
With a cold snort, Ron raised his right foot and stomped down hard! Under the terrified gazes of the recruits, the lightning python surged into the ground, transforming into countless arm-thick little snakes that scattered in every direction.
Lightning Python: Ground Walk!
Crackle, crackle, crackle, crackle!!!
In an instant, Dormitory 301 and the rooms around it were wreathed in electricity, blazing with blue light!
Yesterday, after finishing my writing, I played Warcraft. Then this line suddenly appeared in world chat: "Guys, I accidentally used my Hearthstone and went back to the starting village. How do I get back to the New World?" Warcraft players should know that there are level-boosting services now, so true newbies rarely understand the map. At level 110, they just follow the quests. When I saw that message, I somehow replied, "Go find Fish-Man Island in the sea. The New World is right past it."
Then something even more outrageous happened!!!
A Death Knight immediately added, "Go to Vashj'ir through the portal in the Valley of Wisdom in Orgrimmar. Head east through the Abyssal Depths, and you'll reach Fish-Man Island."
Then a Mage followed up, "Or go to Mount Hyjal. Cross Mary Geoise at the summit, and you'll be there."
I don't know what happened afterward, but I do know that if they really did that, the newbie would definitely start questioning their life.
You're all such terrible people!!!
Before you continue