Alabasta Kingdom, Rainy Oasis.
Inside a spacious, luxurious room at the casino, Rain Dinners.
Crocodile, a cigar clenched between his teeth, stood before a cage made of Sea Stone bars. His cold eyes stared at the three people locked inside, bound by thick iron chains: Cobra, Pell, and Jaka.
"Crocodile, why did you kidnap me?!"
Cobra glared furiously at the Shichibukai before him, his teeth clenched.
"Ha ha ha! You ask why?
Of course, it's so I can seize the Alabasta Kingdom from your hands!
To achieve that goal, I've put a great deal of effort into this!" Crocodile laughed.
"Could it be that you're the mastermind behind this country's series of unrests..." Cobra said in shock and fury.
"That's right! I've been plotting in the Alabasta Kingdom for more than ten years for this very day!
For that, I had Baroque Works, my organization, cause trouble throughout the country. I even orchestrated the Dance Powder incident..."
As Crocodile laughed and spoke of the plans he had laid over the years, he admired Cobra's furious glare.
Who could understand this utterly satisfying feeling?
He had painstakingly plotted for more than a decade for this day. If he did not tell others what he had done and savor the mixture of despair and helplessness on Cobra's face, he would feel no sense of accomplishment or satisfaction at all...
As if remembering something, Crocodile walked to a desk nearby and pressed the Den Den Mushi several times, switching its signal to a certain channel.
Immediately afterward, a projected image appeared on the room's wall. It was the live broadcast of Mr. 2 Bon Clay impersonating Cobra and giving a speech in Eruma.
"Crocodile, you actually...!"
Watching Bon Clay's deranged speech, Cobra was overwhelmed with shock and rage.
After this public speech, his