Wanted

On the naval rear admiral's ship, Li Ziming and Miss Valentine found the key to the girl's Seastone handcuffs. After unlocking them, they let her go home on her own. Although she was a Devil Fruit user, the two of them tacitly agreed that they did not want the girl joining Baroque Works.

After the girl left, the two began their looting spree. They truly left nothing behind, finding plenty of Beli aboard the navy ship as well as quite a few Seastone handcuffs. Miss Valentine had originally wanted to take everything back along with the navy vessel and turn it in, but a few simple words from Li Ziming completely changed her mind.

"We've already dealt with all the marines. Aside from that girl, no one knows we killed a naval rear admiral. If you brazenly sail the navy ship back like this, wouldn't that be telling everyone we killed a rear admiral? Besides, if we go back and do as you said, we'll have to hand over most of the loot. So why report everything? We just need to pick out a few things and say we robbed a navy ship."

Miss Valentine found Li Ziming's words very reasonable. The two separately picked out the things they were interested in, then selected some less valuable items from the things neither of them wanted to turn in. With that, Li Ziming's first mission came to an end.

"The mission failed?" Robin seemed to come sit in Li Ziming's bar whenever she had free time, as though she had decided to drink free alcohol here until she died.

"Couldn't be helped. We ran into factors beyond our control." Li Ziming shrugged as he wiped down the barware in his hands.

"But I heard you killed a naval rear admiral?" Robin looked at Li Ziming with interest. She had originally thought he was with the navy, but she had not expected him to kill a marine.

"Uh." Li Ziming was clearly stunned. Looking at Robin, he did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Not many people know about that, right? I don't want to spend the rest of my life on the run."

"It's fine. Not many people know, and you don't need to worry about your spoils either. The boss might even like a criminal like you better." Robin casually placed a wanted poster in front of Li Ziming.

Li Ziming grimaced as he looked at the poster. The picture had probably been secretly taken while he was looting the warship. The bounty was an unexpected ten thousand Beli, dead or alive. The name on it was not Li Ziming, but the codename R5.

"Ten thousand?" Robin smiled. "That naval rear admiral really wasn't worth much."

"He was just someone who had learned the Six Powers." There was some frustration in Li Ziming's voice. "He wasn't particularly strong, and my abilities caught him off guard."

"But bounties are symbols of strength. You don't seem very happy about it, though." Robin looked at Li Ziming curiously, unable to understand why he was so depressed.

"I have an acquaintance in the navy. If he finds out I became a pirate and killed a rear admiral, he might come straight here to kill me." Li Ziming spoke gloomily.

"Oh, it sounds like this acquaintance of yours is very strong." Robin was somewhat puzzled, not knowing how Li Ziming had come to know such a formidable marine.

"Black Arm Zephyr, the Admiral Who Doesn't Kill. What do you think?" Li Ziming rolled his eyes irritably. "He's an old man as famous as Garp and Sengoku."

"I never thought you knew someone so famous." Robin looked at Li Ziming in surprise.

"He just drank at my bar back then and gave me some pointers." Li Ziming shrugged. "You can't really call that knowing him."

"But you seem to respect him deeply." Robin felt that she was becoming less and less able to see through the man before her.

"Well, Teacher was the one who introduced me to the Six Powers and Haki. It looked like he probably wanted me to join the navy." Li Ziming shrugged. "Right now, I just hope Teacher doesn't come looking to make trouble for me."

"Make trouble for you? Even if you're a pirate and enemies with the navy, there's no reason for Zephyr to specifically come after you, is there?" Robin asked in confusion.

"You don't know." Li Ziming shook his head. "Teacher's wife and child were killed by pirates, and his right arm was cut off by one too. Most of his students were killed or wounded in that incident, leaving only two behind. You could say that pirates are what Teacher hates most now."

"You really are unlucky." Robin expressed a bit of sympathy.

"Hey, I heard your mission failed and you got wanted!" Vivi pushed the door open and entered with a gleeful expression. The moment she saw Robin sitting at the bar, however, her smile vanished and she became extremely wary.

"It seems our Miss Wednesday doesn't welcome me very much." Robin finished the wine in her glass, then walked out.

"You're pretty close with that woman." Vivi spoke unhappily, glancing at the coat rack. "She didn't even take her hat with her."

"Jealous?" Li Ziming looked at Vivi with amusement, putting on a narcissistic expression. "It can't be helped. Outstanding men are just this popular."

"Tch, shameless!" Vivi spat at Li Ziming in annoyance. "Did you really kill a naval rear admiral?"

"What else?" Li Ziming shrugged helplessly. "Why else would I be wanted?"

"Why did you kill a marine?" Vivi had originally thought Li Ziming was a decent person, but after learning that he had killed a marine, she began to doubt him. She wondered whether everything he had shown her was merely an act.

"What if I said there was no reason?" Li Ziming looked at Vivi. "Even if there was a reason, why should I tell you?"

"I..." Vivi was left speechless. For a moment, she did not know why, but she seemed to hope that he was not someone evil at heart.

"So what gives you the right to meddle in my affairs?" Li Ziming's words were exceedingly impolite.

Vivi stared at Li Ziming in disbelief. She could hardly believe that this was the man who had once treated her so gently.

"That's no way to treat a lady." A hearty voice rang out. The man had medium-length black hair slicked back, a horizontal scar across his nose, a cigar clenched between his teeth, and a black fur-trimmed coat draped over his shoulders.

"Is that so? But a man's mouth is the least trustworthy thing in the world. One second he can spin flowery lies, and the next he might turn hostile and start throwing punches." Li Ziming took out a glass of chilled beer. "It's so hot out. Have some cold beer to beat the heat."

"Is this on the house, or are you forcing me to buy it?" The man sat at the bar and placed both hands on the counter. His left hand was a hook made of gold.

"I wouldn't dare force a sale on Crocodile, one of the Shichibukai." Li Ziming calmly revealed the man's identity.

"You know me?" Crocodile's eyes flickered as he looked at Li Ziming.

"Even if I wanted to ignore the name of a Shichibukai, I couldn't, could I? Besides, who in Alabasta doesn't know its hero?" Li Ziming said exaggeratedly, as though he greatly admired Crocodile.

"You're an interesting kid." Crocodile finished his beer, rose to his feet, and left.

Outside the door, Robin was waiting for him.

"That kid really is interesting." Crocodile narrowed his eyes. "I heard you and Miss Wednesday are quite close to him?"

"Yes." Robin nodded.

"A hero's grave lies in the arms of beauty. Since you two are close to him, he probably won't be on guard against you. Find an opportunity to get rid of him. I won't allow anyone who could interfere with my plans to exist," Crocodile said coldly.

"But I can't be sure he won't be on guard against us." Robin did not think Li Ziming was the sort of man who would lose his head at the sight of beauty.

"It doesn't matter. At the very least, make sure he has no chance to interfere with me." Crocodile frowned. "I still can't figure out who is backing that kid or how much he knows. To avoid exposing ourselves, it's best to have the two of you, who have already shown yourselves, deal with him. If you really can't get rid of him..." Crocodile pondered for a moment. "Then make sure he stays away from Alabasta."

"No problem." Robin nodded, agreeing with Crocodile.

Inside the shop, when Crocodile entered, Vivi had slumped in her chair without moving. Only after Crocodile left did she finally let out a long breath, as though she had come back to life.

"It's all right now." Li Ziming handed Vivi a glass of water.

Seeing Li Ziming's gentle smile, Vivi understood that he had been protecting her just now. "Thank you." She took a sip of water and gradually calmed herself down.

"You're afraid of Crocodile?" Li Ziming wanted to know whether she had already learned that Crocodile was the mastermind behind everything. That would let him use it to roughly judge when Luffy would arrive.

"I don't know." Vivi shook her head. "But ever since I met him, I've felt that he had bad intentions. He also always gives me a very fake feeling."

"Is this a woman's sixth sense?" Li Ziming secretly admired her.

"And I suspect he's the mastermind trying to overthrow my country, but I have no evidence." Vivi spoke bitterly.

"You don't need to suspect it. He is. Or rather, he's R. Am I right, Robin?" Li Ziming spoke toward the cowboy hat, and only then did Vivi notice an ear on it.

"Nothing really gets past you. But I'm honestly very curious where you learned all these things." Robin pushed the door open and walked in.

"Ha, men with secrets are more attractive, aren't they?" Although Robin did not know whether that was true, looking at Li Ziming's smile only made her want to punch him.