A quarter of an hour later,
Crocodile boarded the ship behind Sarutobi Hiruzen, sporting two black eyes and a cigar that had been cut in half.
"This guy..."
"How did he get so much stronger than me?!"
Crocodile felt a dull ache in his eyes and body. Earlier, Sarutobi Hiruzen's Armament Haki had struck his real body squarely.
"Is he a monster?!"
Crocodile felt that his own strength had improved rapidly. He was now hardly weaker than Sarutobi Hiruzen and Momousagi had been back then.
Even before coming here, Crocodile had been confident that even if he couldn't beat Sarutobi Hiruzen, he could hold out for quite a while—perhaps even match him.
Then he could go from being a subordinate to a partner. Wouldn't that be even better?
But reality had dealt Crocodile a heavy blow.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's strength had increased at a geometric rate, and Crocodile had suffered an even worse defeat than before.
Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't even used his ability to control seawater, which countered the Sand-Sand Fruit. He'd beaten Crocodile to a pulp with nothing but his bare fists and Light Release.
Crocodile's ambition slowly sank.
I still have to get stronger!
Crocodile's expression hardened.
What kind of Pirate King crawls at someone else's feet?!
Sarutobi Hiruzen brought Crocodile aboard. Ignoring whatever was going through the battered man's mind, he asked directly,
"You're setting out for the Grand Line again..."
"Do you have any crew members in mind?"
A Pirate King would naturally have to conquer the Grand Line. Sarutobi Hiruzen planned to support Crocodile as Pirate King and put an end to Monkey D. Luffy's dream once and for all.
Monkey D. Luffy's pursuit of becoming Pirate King was the main thread running through this world. If Sarutobi Hiruzen could change it in a conspicuous way,