Garp: What? He Killed Crocodile?

Bane had no intention of dealing with Crocodile's corpse and simply left him lying on the floor.

Just then, after receiving Nami's notification, Zoro and Issho came down to the office.

The moment they entered, they saw the deep crater in the floor, Crocodile's lifeless body, and Bane sitting in the boss's chair, enjoying Crocodile's cigar.

"You know, this cigar really packs more of a punch than mine," Bane said, exhaling a cloud of smoke.

He did not know whether other people inhaled cigar smoke, but he certainly did. That was the only way it had enough kick, and with his physical constitution, he did not need to worry about any consequences.

Issho looked at Crocodile's corpse with mild surprise, then said softly, "It seems Lord Bane is even stronger than I imagined."

Issho was a true top-tier expert. A single glance over Crocodile's body told him a great deal.

For instance, this Shichibukai had seemingly been beaten one-sidedly. In other words, he had posed almost no threat to Bane. Moreover, his injuries were concentrated entirely around his head, which meant Bane had beaten him with ease!

More importantly, it had happened very quickly. Issho had merely had tea with Zoro upstairs, felt a few tremors, and everything below was already over!

What did that mean? It meant fast, precise, and ruthless!

To kill Crocodile in such an utterly overwhelming fashion, regardless of the method, was enough for Issho to acknowledge Bane's strength.

"I just took advantage of the situation," Bane said modestly, waving a hand.

At that moment, Nico Robin entered from outside and looked at Bane. "I've already notified the executives to gather here. They'll arrive soon."

The reason Baroque Works' senior executives could assemble so quickly was that, before Bane had even arrived in Alabasta, Robin had already issued a summons in her capacity as Vice President. At the moment, those executives were all waiting in Rainbase.

"Got it." Bane nodded, then looked at Nami. "Nami, my Den Den Mushi."

"Here." Nami swiftly took the Den Den Mushi from her valley and handed it to Bane.

Come to think of it, aside from being a navigator, she had also taken on the part-time role of Bane's secretary, and so far, she had performed exceptionally well.

Because of that, she had strongly demanded that Bane pay her two salaries.

Taking the Den Den Mushi, Bane directly called Smoker.

But after it rang for a while, no one answered. That left Bane rather puzzled.

He did not give up and called several more times, but still no one answered. It was as if Smoker was busy with something.

"Strange. Why isn't this guy answering his Den Den Mushi?" Bane muttered in confusion.

The instant he finished speaking, Smoker returned the call.

"Bane? What is it?" Smoker's voice was somewhat breathless, as though he had just been doing something physically demanding.

"Why couldn't I get through? Did you run into some trouble?" Bane asked.

"We did run into trouble, but it's been dealt with." Smoker responded first, then explained, "We were supposed to leave for Headquarters a few days ago, but Mr. Garp found his other grandson."

"I saw it in the newspaper. Monkey D. Luffy? With that surname and a D. in there, he had to be Old Man Garp's family," Bane joked.

"Yeah. Anyway, that other grandson of his became a pirate too, and he caused a huge mess at one of our Marine bases in the East Blue. After Mr. Garp found out, he decided to wait for him in Loguetown for a while. If that kid wanted to leave the East Blue, there was a good chance he'd pass through here," Smoker said.

"And you caught him just now?" Bane asked curiously.

He really wanted to know what Luffy was like at this point.

"We caught him. I stepped in and took him down, but Dragon from the Revolutionary Army actually showed up and nearly snatched that brat away. Luckily, Mr. Garp was in Loguetown too. He and Dragon fought fiercely and tore apart half of Loguetown," Smoker said through gritted teeth.

His Marine base had not even finished being rebuilt, and now half of Loguetown had been destroyed again!

Good thing he did not have to pay for the repairs himself. Otherwise, even the two hundred million Belly Bane had given him would not have been enough.

"So Garp captured Dragon too!?" Bane asked, slightly excited.

"Not quite. Dragon got away, but we captured that Straw Hat brat. Mr. Garp plans to bring him back to Headquarters with us and straighten him out properly. How should I put it? We looked into the kid. Although he caused a scene at the Marine base, he didn't do anything too outrageous. The Marine Commander he took out was problematic himself; I failed to uncover it before. Though he calls himself a pirate, from what we can tell, he might not be beyond saving," Smoker said.

"Hahaha! If he weren't Garp's grandson, would he be getting such preferential treatment?" Bane laughed.

Smoker did not deny it. Changing the subject, he said, "All right, enough about this side of things. Why did you suddenly contact me? Are you at the Sabaody Archipelago? I can't make it over yet. Even going through Mary Geoise will take some time. How about I ask a friend to pick you up? You can wait for us at Headquarters."

Smoker's words happened to reach Issho's ears, further confirming his belief that Bane had connections within the Marines.

"Not yet. I'm in Alabasta. I contacted you to let you know that Crocodile, one of the Shichibukai, was just killed by me. The news hasn't spread yet, so if the Marines need to make arrangements, you can plan ahead and see whether you can gain anything from it," Bane said with a smile.

On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Smoker was sitting atop a pile of rubble in Loguetown. Hearing that, he froze.

At that moment, Garp came over, gripping Luffy by the back of his neck and carrying him over despite his struggles. "What's wrong? Why do you look so shocked?"

Only then did Smoker come back to his senses. He looked at Garp and said incredulously, "That guy Bane killed Crocodile in Alabasta!"

Garp???

"What?" Garp snatched the Den Den Mushi from Smoker's hand and spoke into it. "Bane, did you really take out Crocodile?"

"Garp?" Bane paused, then said, "Could I possibly be lying about that?"

"Why did you suddenly go looking for trouble with him?" Garp asked in confusion.

"Ahem, I can't conveniently explain that. You'll definitely understand later. Anyway, it's important—very important to the Marines too," Bane said mysteriously.

Listening from the side, Issho thought, So Marine veteran Zephyr secretly entrusted Bane with this task.

"Of course it's important to the Marines!" Garp said solemnly. "Were there many witnesses?"

"Hardly any. I can completely keep the news under wraps," Bane replied.

"That's good. Don't reveal this news yet. This time, we're planning to summon the Shichibukai to fight alongside us. Killing one of them at a time like this would be inconvenient if it got out. It would make the other Shichibukai wary," Garp said hurriedly.

"I see." Bane nodded in understanding. "Got it. I'll keep it secret. We can discuss what comes next after we reach Headquarters."

Garp responded, "All right, we'll talk when you get to Headquarters. I'm getting more and more impressed by you, brat. Ahahahaha, well done!"

"Don't just talk. Show me some real action. Crocodile's bounty should be eighty-one million Belly, right? That's really low," Bane said disdainfully.

In the original story, Crocodile had attained enlightenment in Impel Down, found his true self again, shone brilliantly in the Summit War, and two years later, his bounty had soared to one billion nine hundred sixty-five million Belly. Yet now, it was only a measly eighty-one million Belly, which made Bane's heart ache.

But on second thought, if Crocodile had possessed his strength from two years later already, Bane definitely would not have been able to beat him here in Alabasta. Forget it, forget it.

"You little brat, you've got money on the brain. The news can't be made public right now, so naturally we can't give you a bounty. Besides, you'll be joining the Marines later. We're all on the same side. How about I count it as military merit? I'll make sure you get promoted then!" Garp shamelessly said.

However, Bane was about to inherit Crocodile's vast fortune, so he truly did not care about such small change. After arguing with Garp for a few more lines, he hung up the Den Den Mushi.

But Bane's behavior, along with the familiarity in his conversation with Garp, completely dispelled Issho's doubts. Yes, this Bane truly had powerful connections within the Marines!

Hadn't Garp, the Hero of the Marines, said he would make sure Bane got promoted?

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