A Terrifying Possibility!

The jungle still looked like a jungle, but deep within the dense forest, a cluster of houses had been built.

This was indeed strange... Why had Baroque Works not left after completing its mission, but instead stationed itself here for half a year?!

However, combined with the information Fred had provided that afternoon, Ron already had an answer.

The reason Garp could not act as he pleased was ultimately the attitude of the Five Elders. But unlike before, when the Five Elders alone had been dissatisfied, this time the source of the trouble came from the Affiliated Nations.

The day before they were set to depart, the king of an Affiliated Nation had somehow learned of the Marines' plan. In front of the Five Elders at Mary Geoise, he accused Garp of using Marine forces to interfere in another nation's internal affairs. He had even rallied other Affiliated Nations to file a complaint against the Marines!

That gave the Five Elders a massive headache!

Before Garp had even made a move, the Affiliated Nations were already unhappy. What were they supposed to do?

If they took back what they had said, where would the Five Elders' dignity go?

But if they did not take it back, the Affiliated Nations would cause trouble.

So Garp still could not act. The only one who could move was Ron, who had no record and fell outside their jurisdiction.

And the one stirring up trouble was Alabasta's king, Nefertari Cobra!

"Nefertari Cobra?"

The moment he heard that name, Ron's heart tightened.

His thoughts returned to the garden that afternoon. Surrounded by lightning and black coal dust, neither of them had to worry about their conversation leaking out.

"Yes, it is a powerful nation on par with our Flower Capital! King Cobra loves his people as dearly as my aunt does, and he is deeply loved by his citizens."

At that, Fred, who was usually brimming with confidence, showed a rare hint of puzzlement. "But it is strange. Why would Alabasta know about what happened in the Flower Capital? And why would King Cobra break from his usual behavior, going to Mary Geoise himself to speak up for me?"

Though both were descendants of the Twenty Royal Families that founded the world, the Nefertari Family had never been of one mind with the "Celestial Dragon" families of Mary Geoise. Cobra, the current king, was an especially typical outlier. His attitude toward the World Government could not be called respectful, much less obedient.

On the contrary, at the Reverie of 1514 that had just passed, when the Revolutionary Army was brought up, Cobra had accused the other Affiliated Nation kings of not caring about their citizens, which was why the Revolutionary Army had found openings to exploit. He had embarrassed an entire group of kings.

Why would such a good-natured man stand up for a rebel like him?

"Maybe... some high-ranking officials within the World Government that you bribed are helping you!"

Ron looked at Fred with an odd expression.

"Do they have that kind of ability?"

Fred did not believe that bunch of incompetents could pull off something so earth-shaking, but for now, it was the only explanation that made sense.

Once the storm had passed, Fred suddenly asked, "You have asked me so many questions. I want to ask you one too, Captain Ron."

Ron, who had been about to leave, turned back. "Please."

"Why did the Marines abandon you? Do you know that there has never been a precedent of someone leaving the Marines to serve in an Affiliated Nation and then returning?"

"That question... I will answer it when you become king."

Fred watched Ron's receding back and silently clenched his fist.

"Me... becoming king?"

Forget Fred. Even the Five Elders would likely find it strange: why did Alabasta know about what had happened in the Flower Capital thousands of miles away, and why had Nefertari Cobra, a descendant of the Twenty Royal Families, used the Flower Capital incident to advise them?

But in Ron's eyes, there were clues to follow.

Baroque Works had meddled in the Flower Capital's internal rebellion, and the boss behind it all was Alabasta's national hero, Crocodile!

Why would Cobra do something so utterly out of character? To someone familiar with the original story, it was no mystery at all... because Ron dared to say that was not Cobra at all!

It was Baroque Works' senior officer, the Mane Mane no Mi user, Mr. 2 Bon Clay!

Had Desert Crocodile grown bold enough to deceive the Five Elders?

Or had Mr. 2 Bon Clay grown bold enough to impersonate Cobra before the Five Elders?

Ron did not care about that.

What he cared about was what this revealed: Crocodile's determination to incite rebellion in the Flower Capital!

Having Mr. 2 Bon Clay impersonate Cobra and advise the Five Elders, accusing Garp of using Marine forces to interfere in an Affiliated Nation's internal affairs, making the Marines hesitate to act—committing such audacious and unforgivable acts—served only one purpose.

They had to succeed in this rebellion!

But why?

Crocodile had gone to Alabasta because he knew the whereabouts of the Ancient Weapon Pluton. What reason did he have to insist on interfering with the Flower Capital, thousands of miles away?

Ron had spent some time studying Desert Crocodile, one of the Pirate King's ten greatest injustices.

An extremely self-centered avenger with swelling ambitions—if someone claimed he acted without purpose, Ron would truly pity the Five Elders for five minutes, one minute each...

So...

"An Ancient Weapon...?"

Pluton's blueprints were in Water 7 in the New World, while the Poneglyph pointing to Water 7 lay beneath the royal mausoleum of Alabasta. Poseidon was a mermaid princess born once every few centuries on Fish-Man Island, and the clue was on the Poneglyph atop the giant beanstalk in Upper Yard. Neither had any connection to the Flower Capital, yet Crocodile had been determined to trigger civil unrest there, even leaving behind a large number of personnel hidden in the jungle...

Ron's expression turned grave.

It was only a possibility!

But it was a terrifying possibility!

Even if it was not an Ancient Weapon, there was a strong chance it was connected to a Poneglyph!

Three of Crocodile's top officers remained in the camp: Mr. 1 Daz Bones, Mr. 3 Gal Dino, and Mr. 3's partner, Miss. Golden Week.

The senior officers of Baroque Works shared one trait. Aside from the new okama Mr. 2 Bon Clay, who believed he was both a man and a woman and therefore needed no partner, the rest operated in male-female pairs.

Of course, whether this arrangement also had something to do with concealing his tracks due to the peculiar nature of his Devil Fruit was unknown for now. After all, Daz Bones did not know Mr. 2 Bon Clay's true appearance even by the start of the original story.

Miss Doublefinger was Daz Bones' partner, but unless there was special work to do, she usually stayed at Alabasta's Spider Cafe as an intelligence agent and part-time assassin, rather than appearing alongside Daz Bones.

But just looking at the current lineup showed that Baroque Works had truly spared no expense!

Daz Bones, Crocodile's number one assassin, with a bounty of 55 million Berry!

Gal Dino, the candle man whose combat strength was no weaker than Daz Bones', with a bounty of 45 million Berry!

The little girl, Miss. Golden Week... well...

And their true combat strength was certainly higher than their bounties!

The World Government and Marines set bounties according to the threat a person posed to them. As assassins, the two would not pick fights with the Marines for no reason. And as mentioned before, Baroque Works primarily dealt in arms trading, making money to buy powder... Dancing Powder.

For assassins from the Dark World, who usually kept themselves hidden, to receive bounties this high was already proof of their strength.

"Still haven't dug anything up today?"

Night had fallen, but the camp had only just finished a day of labor and begun preparing dinner. Bones stuffed the unpleasant food into his throat in a few bites, then looked up at the sky, sounding as though he was asking a question—or talking to himself.

"I bet the so-called treasure is something the BOSS got wrong. There is obviously nothing here!"

Gal Dino, the candle man, had a strange quirk: his mood was synchronized with the flame burning at the end of the "3"-shaped lock of hair on his head, practically like Charmander. After months of hiding in this jungle where they could neither eat nor live properly, that flame had become incredibly dim, nearly extinguished.

Since the candles produced by the Doru Doru no Mi were as hard as iron, all the tools needed to dig for treasure, the group's housing, and other miscellaneous items were made by him, so long as they did not need to withstand fire.

The BOSS had ordered them to reduce the possibility of being discovered as much as possible, so they used local materials whenever they could.

Fred had paid an enormous price to uncover this group's hiding place and eliminate future trouble!

"..."

Bones responded with silence. Normally, if Dino dared say something that questioned the BOSS, he would have given him a harsh lesson. But after persevering for half a year, even he could not help having doubts.

"Keep it up. There are only two days left..."

In the end, Bones could not bring himself to reprimand him. He shook his head, set his utensils aside, and headed toward his room.

Dino chewed his unappetizing meal and muttered, "Fine! Even if we cannot bring back the treasure, bringing back the payment means the BOSS will not get angry... Pah! What the hell is this? It is disgusting!"

A nearby underling looked painfully at the bowl that had been flung aside, swallowed, and said, "Sir, that is wild boar fat. It is very fragrant!"

"What is fragrant about it? Who can swallow such a huge chunk of fat... Hm?!!"

Suddenly, Dino noticed a blue crack appear across the gleaming piece of wild boar fat. At the same time, a deafening explosion erupted behind them.

Thirty Million Volts: Thunderstorm Rain!!