Robin, Be My Massage Therapist

What medicine was Ye Zhuo hiding in his gourd?

Cobra and the other two could not figure it out.

Not until they caught up with Ye Zhuo's camel caravan.

Yet he continued steadfastly toward Rainbase, showing no intention of explaining himself.

Vivi was protected between Cobra and Igaram.

Her gaze fixed on Ye Zhuo as she chased after the camels.

"Are you putting us under house arrest?"

"You're out now, aren't you? How am I putting you under house arrest?"

Ye Zhuo felt that Vivi was being unreasonable and illogical.

"I!"

Vivi blushed and pressed on. "Then where are you going? Is taking Alabasta from us part of your scheme?"

"A scheme? Didn't I rob it openly?

How did it become a scheme?

You're insulting my profession. I'm not a strategist—I'm a pirate!"

Ye Zhuo handed the map to the Empress.

"Move at full speed. Rainbase!"

The Empress shot the slow-walking camels a glare.

They immediately began running as swiftly as if they had wings.

"Rainbase? What are you going there for?"

"What are you to me? My ship's doctor?"

Ye Zhuo glanced at Vivi.

"We have no relationship whatsoever."

"Then you have no right to know what I'm doing."

Vivi froze at those words.

Seeing Ye Zhuo and his crew hasten onward, she could only follow.

Today, she had to see just what scheme Ye Zhuo was plotting.

The camels ran like the wind, far faster than usual, and reached Rainbase in less than half a day.

"This place is pretty nice. It's just too hot. It'd be better if there were a natural lake."

Ye Zhuo immediately realized that Water Demon Aura was a good thing.

Later, he would have to build a water park in Alabasta.

Rainbase.

Alabasta had already endured several years of severe drought.

When Ye Zhuo arrived, he truly had not expected a water park to have already been built here.

Life here was actually not bad.

"Didn't you say Alabasta had been suffering from drought for many years? Why are there signs of rain here?"

Ye Zhuo remembered that, aside from the capital, Alabasta had not received rain for three years.

Crocodile had driven out pirates in the guise of a hero.

He had also spread word that the reason only the capital received rain was because King Cobra had used Dance Powder.

"Most areas haven't had rain. Rainbase is rather special."

Vivi answered calmly.

Hiss—

Ye Zhuo paused.

He sorted out the timeline. There were still four years until Sea Circle Calendar 1520.

In other words, the three-year drought had not yet begun.

Alabasta was simply prone to drought in the first place.

Before Crocodile had fully succeeded in laying out his plans, the nationwide drought had not truly begun.

"I came too early. The Sand Crocodile is still a hero in name."

Crocodile had returned to the Grand Line a year ago and become Alabasta's hero.

He had only become one of the Shichibukai a few months ago.

Once he had sorted out the entire timeline, Ye Zhuo felt helpless.

The timing of his arrival was truly awkward.

"Never mind. I'm a Demon King to begin with."

Ye Zhuo waved a hand, and all his crew members struck, defeating every one of Crocodile's subordinates.

Crocodile was Alabasta's hero.

Yet Baroque Works had no idea who its boss really was.

Other than Robin, the Sand Crocodile had always concealed his identity.

"Crocodile!"

Ye Zhuo shouted his name.

He had already thrown all of Crocodile's plans into disarray.

From the moment Ye Zhuo landed in Alabasta and seized the capital until he arrived at Rainbase.

Crocodile, hidden here, had long since become enraged.

His plan had only just begun!

He had become a hero, one of the Shichibukai.

Next, he would use Dance Powder to seize Alabasta, then have Robin find the royal family's hidden location and uncover Pluton!

Every part of the plan had been perfect.

Yet Ye Zhuo had appeared out of nowhere and directly occupied Alabasta.

How was he supposed to continue with the rest of his plan now?

Sand and wind condensed into solid form.

Crocodile, looking utterly hopeless, stared at Ye Zhuo as though he were dead.

"Why do you know I'm here?"

"I have Observation Haki."

Ye Zhuo lied without even blushing.

"Your Observation Haki could detect me from the moment you stepped onto the harbor, all the way here to Rainbase, where I'm hidden in an underground secret chamber?"

The Sand Crocodile cursed loudly.

"Sorry, but Alabasta is mine."

Ye Zhuo also felt that the Sand Crocodile was pitiful.

But pirates had always preyed upon one another.

"You reckless brute! You don't use your brain at all! Taking Alabasta means becoming an enemy of the World Government!"

Crocodile wanted nothing more than to kill Ye Zhuo.

"I'm already their enemy."

Ye Zhuo answered honestly.

As he spoke, he used the Rooster Talisman to take control of every drop of water in Rainbase.

Seeing this, Crocodile could no longer endure it.

"I heard your Devil Fruit copies the abilities of various fruits?"

"No. I haven't eaten a Devil Fruit."

Ye Zhuo told the truth. He did not want to wound Crocodile's heart any further.

"Bullshit!"

Crocodile's arm turned into flying sand. He had had enough of Ye Zhuo's shameless lies.

"Desert Spada!"

"Desert Water Blade!"

Ye Zhuo was too lazy to come up with a name. He truly was not good at such things.

With all of Rainbase's water under his control, he flicked his hand. The water was coated in Armament Haki and slashed forward.

"You copied my move!"

Crocodile was so furious that his head spun.

"Oh, then I know another one."

Ye Zhuo imitated Kizaru's pose and hovered in the air.

All the water gathered around him and spun at high speed.

The water blades coated in Armament Haki were incomparably sharp.

"Yasakani Sacred Water!"

"I'll kill you!"

Crocodile could endure no more. This was Kizaru's signature ultimate move.

Ye Zhuo had copied it word for word and changed only one character.

Bang!

Ye Zhuo threw a punch, striking Crocodile squarely in the abdomen.

Two-Color Haki wrapped around it, its power terrifying beyond measure.

Cough!

Crocodile spat out a mouthful of black blood.

Had he become this weak?

He could not even withstand a single punch.

Not only was there Haki, flames also wrapped around the fist, forming the head of a flaming dog.

"Hell Hound!"

The moment Ye Zhuo spoke the final word.

A pillar of fire suddenly erupted from Crocodile's back.

He gave a dry cough, then collapsed completely powerless, sprawled out like a starfish.

"You really are a copy created by the Copy-Copy Fruit!"

"Sand Crocodile, you talk too much."

Ye Zhuo walked past him.

Crocodile transformed on the spot into an alligator with rolled-back eyes!

The Monkey Talisman never failed.

Splash!

Without Ye Zhuo's control, the water fell from the sky.

Cobra could not help but feel distressed at the sight.

Ye Zhuo strode forward through the rain.

At first, fair jade-like hands had tried to sprout from his body, but they failed because his Haki was too strong.

Then numerous hands began growing from beneath his feet, attempting to stop him.

Robin, the Child of the Devil, stepped out from a dark alley. She could hide no longer.

The instant Ye Zhuo dealt with Crocodile, he had locked onto her.

"I can cooperate with you and tell you secrets that any pirate would want to know."

Robin spoke. She absolutely could not die here.

"I have one condition."

Ye Zhuo looked at her, making Robin's heart pound uneasily.

"Go ahead."

For all these years, she had been fleeing from place to place. She was already used to it.

"Robin, be my massage therapist!"