At Rain Dinners Casino, a lean, capable-looking man walked in.
He casually swept his gaze around after entering. Seemingly spotting his companions, he quickly headed their way.
This man was none other than Mr. 1, Daz Bonez.
His companions were, naturally, Baroque Works' high-ranking officers.
After walking over, Bonez glanced at the man sitting by the tea table and drinking tea. "Galdino, why did the boss call us here?"
Galdino, also known as Mr. 3, looked at Bonez with a slight hint of wariness before shaking his head. "No idea. It was the Vice President's order. Aren't you close with the boss? You don't know either?"
Bonez did not respond. Instead, he turned his gaze toward another figure. The man was dressed in a flamboyant, gaudy manner, looking like a drag queen—and in truth, he was one: Mr. 2, Bon Clay.
"Don't look at me with such fiery eyes!" Bon Clay flung out a hand dramatically. "I don't know why the boss gathered us either!"
Hearing that, Bonez withdrew his gaze. Though he was puzzled, he said nothing more.
Before long, the remaining high-ranking officers arrived one after another: the bomb man, the kilogram man, Miss Merry Christmas, as well as Cobra's chief retainer, Igaram, and Princess Vivi, who had infiltrated Baroque Works.
Clearly, no one knew the reason for this gathering. They were not particularly familiar with one another to begin with, and some of the lower-ranked senior officers had barely even met each other.
Once everyone had arrived, Nico Robin slowly emerged from the shadows around the stairwell corner. She swept her gaze across the group and said, "Now that everyone is here, come downstairs."
"The boss is meeting all of us at once?" Bonez asked in confusion.
He had followed Crocodile for a long time and knew him fairly well. This was the first time Crocodile had summoned every officer at once!
After all, not every high-ranking officer was qualified to meet Crocodile. Previously, only the top five had that privilege, and only those five knew Crocodile's identity. The other so-called high-ranking officers had practically never met Crocodile; at most, they had met Nico Robin!
Something big had happened.
That was Bonez's first thought.
Nico Robin fully assumed the bearing of the Vice President. She did not answer Bonez's question at all and turned, disappearing back into the shadows.
Galdino and the others did not waste words. They rose and followed her directly. After hesitating for a moment, Bonez followed as well.
Soon, the group reached the corridor on the second underground floor. Outside the office door, they saw three unfamiliar faces.
They were, naturally, Mosshead Zoro, Nami, and Issho.
The officers were not overly surprised. Galdino even muttered, "Are new members joining? Did they gather all of us to rearrange the rankings?"
No one answered him.
Nico Robin lightly knocked on the door and said, "Boss, everyone is here."
"Come in." Bane's voice came from inside.
The moment he spoke, the expressions of Galdino and the other top five officers who had met Crocodile changed slightly. Daz Bonez's reaction was the most obvious.
That voice was not Crocodile's at all!
The expressions of those who had never met Crocodile, however, remained perfectly normal.
Nico Robin paid no attention to their shifting thoughts. She naturally pushed open the door, made a welcoming gesture, and stepped aside.
Galdino, standing at the front, was panicking inside. He deeply regretted being the first one to walk in.
But there was no other choice now. He swallowed and stepped into the office. Then he saw a huge crater in the floor—and a corpse beside it.
The instant he saw the corpse, Galdino was seized by terror. It was Crocodile's body!
It was the body of Baroque Works' great boss, one of the Shichibukai, Sand Crocodile Crocodile!!!
At this point, anyone who was not an idiot should have known what was happening!
Forcibly steadying himself, Galdino hurriedly looked toward the figure behind the desk.
His first impression was that the man was very young. Then... there was nothing particularly special about him. He even seemed rather approachable?
He was nowhere near as imposing as Crocodile had been when Galdino first met him!
But Galdino did not dare underestimate the man before him in the slightest. After all, his former boss's corpse was still lying on the floor.
He did not dare speak, but someone else did. Fury and shock flashed through Daz Bonez's eyes as he demanded, "Who are you!?"
Naturally, he had seen Crocodile's corpse as well, which only made him angrier.
He deeply admired Crocodile and could be considered Crocodile's most trusted subordinate. Bonez had already decided to devote his loyalty to Crocodile until death, yet when he came here today, he found that the man he had sworn loyalty to had been killed?
How could he not be furious?
He was not the only one trembling in shock. Igaram and Princess Vivi were dumbfounded as well. What was going on?
They knew, of course, that the bastard Crocodile had plotted countless schemes in Alabasta, intending to seize power over the country. They had joined Baroque Works precisely to uncover the organization's plans and counter Crocodile.
Yet the first time they had come this close to Crocodile, they discovered that he had already been taken out. How could they not be shocked?
"My name is Bane." A faint smile appeared on Bane's lips. "As you can see, after Crocodile and I had a pleasant exchange, he decided to entrust Baroque Works and all of his inheritance to me."
Anger flashed through Daz Bonez's eyes. His ability activated instantly, his arms transforming into sharp blades as he prepared to chop off Bane's head.
Before he could make a move, however, an invisible force of gravity slammed down upon him. With a bang, Bonez dropped to his knees, and the ground around him shattered as though it were bearing incomparably immense weight!
Bonez could not move at all. He understood very clearly that he was only kneeling there because the other side wanted him to kneel. Otherwise, he would have been crushed to death already!
"Looks like someone has objections?" Bane rubbed his chin, looking mildly troubled.
Out of the corners of their eyes, Galdino and the others all looked toward the tall Blind Swordsman in the corridor behind them. Clearly, the gravity suppressing Bonez had erupted from that man.
He had suppressed Bonez, the highest-ranking officer, so effortlessly. His strength was obviously terrifying—and there were two more experts like him outside!
That was right. In an instant, everyone assumed Zoro and Nami were powerhouses on the same level as Issho.
More importantly, warriors like them obeyed the man before them, Bane. At the same time, Crocodile's corpse lay on the ground nearby. This was an irresistible, overwhelming force!
Thus, Galdino was the first to speak. "I would be delighted to serve you, Lord Bane."
Without even needing gravity to suppress him, he dropped to one knee and offered his loyalty.
With Galdino bowing his head, Mr. 2 was the second to react. Bon Clay had never held much loyalty toward Crocodile in the first place, so he knelt as well. "The same goes for me, Lord Bane!"
Once those two lowered their heads, everyone else followed suit, kneeling and swearing loyalty.
Bane nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Bonez again. "What about you, Daz Bonez? What is your answer?"
"You won't get even a shred of loyalty from me." With hatred in his eyes, Bonez gritted his teeth against the crushing gravity.
"That may be the only thing about Crocodile I envy," Bane said with a sigh, shaking his head. "Since that is the case, I will grant you permission to carry your loyalty through to the end."
The instant his words fell, a terrifying Darkness Power spread from beneath Bane's feet, instantly swallowing Bonez within its shadow.
Bane then rose, picked up a piece of fruit from the desk, and walked over to Bonez, who was enveloped in darkness.
Several minutes later, under the horrified gazes of the many Devil Fruit user officers, Bonez's corpse fell beside Crocodile's. In Bane's hand was an additional Devil Fruit.
Bane casually tossed the Dice-Dice Fruit to Nico Robin, who stood respectfully at his side awaiting orders. "Later, give it to whoever performs well enough."
Before you continue