Wanted

Aboard the Marine rear admiral's ship, Li Ziming and Miss Valentine found the key to the girl's Seastone Cuffs. After unlocking them, they let her go home on her own. Although she was a Devil Fruit user, neither of them wanted to bring her into Baroque Works.

After the girl left, the two began their looting spree, stripping the ship of everything worth taking. They found plenty of Beli aboard the Marine vessel, along with quite a few pairs of Seastone Cuffs. Miss Valentine had originally wanted to take everything back, ship and all, and hand it over, but a few simple words from Li Ziming put an end to that idea.

"We've already dealt with all the Marines. Aside from that girl, nobody knows we killed a Marine rear admiral. If you sail their ship back in plain sight, wouldn't that be telling everyone what we did? Besides, if we go back and do what you suggested, we'll have to hand over most of this stuff. So why report it? We can just pick out a few things and say we robbed a Marine ship."

Miss Valentine thought his words made sense. The two each picked out what interested them, then selected a few less valuable items from the things neither wanted to hand over. With that, Li Ziming's first mission came to an end.

"The mission failed?" Robin seemed to stop by Li Ziming's bar whenever she had time, as though she had made up her mind to drink free booze here until the day she died.

"Nothing I could do. Circumstances beyond my control." Li Ziming shrugged as he polished a glass.

"But I heard you killed a Marine rear admiral?" Robin gave him an interested look. She had thought Li Ziming was with the Marines, but she had never expected him to kill one.

"Uh." Li Ziming visibly froze, then looked at Robin with a helpless expression. "Not many people know about that, right? I'd rather not spend the rest of my life on the run."

"It's fine. Not that many people know. And you don't have to worry about your spoils, either. The boss might like criminals like you even more." Robin casually laid a wanted poster in front of him.

Li Ziming's mouth twitched as he studied the poster. The picture seemed to have been taken secretly while he was looting the warship. To his surprise, the bounty was ten thousand, dead or alive. Instead of Li Ziming, the name listed was his code name, Mr. 5.

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

"He was just someone who'd learned the Six Powers." Li Ziming sounded rather glum. "He wasn't particularly strong, and my ability caught him off guard."

"But a bounty is a symbol of strength. You don't seem very happy about it, though." Robin watched him curiously, unsure why he was so troubled.

"I have an acquaintance in the Marines, you could say. If he finds out I've become a pirate and killed a rear admiral, he might come straight here after me," Li Ziming said gloomily.

"Oh? Sounds like this acquaintance of yours is pretty strong." Robin wondered how he had come to know such a powerful Marine.

"The Admiral who never kills, Black Arm Zephyr. What do you think?" Li Ziming rolled his eyes. "He's an old fellow whose name carries as much weight as Garp's or Sengoku's."

"I never imagined you knew someone that famous." Robin looked at him in surprise.

"He just had a drink at my bar once and gave me a few pointers." Li Ziming shrugged. "I wouldn't say we really know each other."

"But you seem to respect him a great deal." Robin felt she understood the man before her less and less.

"Well, he did introduce me to the Six Powers and Haki, after all. He probably wanted me to join the Marines." Li Ziming shrugged. "Now I just hope my teacher doesn't come looking for trouble."

"Looking for trouble? Even if you're a pirate and an enemy of the Marines, surely Zephyr wouldn't need to come after you personally?" Robin asked in confusion.

"You don't understand." Li Ziming shook his head. "Pirates killed his wife and child, and a pirate cut off his right arm. Nearly all the students under him were killed or wounded that time, too. Only two survived. You could say pirates are what he hates most now."

"Then you really are in trouble." Robin offered him a little sympathy.

"Hey, I heard your mission failed, and now you're wanted!" Vivi pushed the door open, gloating. The moment she spotted Robin at the counter, the smug look vanished from her face, replaced by intense wariness.

"It seems our Miss Wednesday doesn't particularly welcome me." Robin finished her drink and walked out.

"You're pretty close to that woman." Vivi sounded displeased, her eyes drifting toward the coat rack. "She even left her hat behind."

"Jealous?" Li Ziming looked at her with amusement and put on a conceited expression. "It can't be helped. An outstanding man is bound to be popular."

"Ugh, shameless!" Vivi scoffed at him. "Did you really kill a Marine rear admiral?"

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

"Why did you kill a Marine?" Vivi had thought Li Ziming was a decent man, but learning that he had killed a Marine made her doubt him. She wondered whether everything he had shown her had merely been an act.

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

"I..." Vivi was at a loss for words. For a moment, she did not know why she cared. It seemed that, deep down, she did not want him to be an evil man.

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

Vivi stared at him in disbelief, unable to believe this was the same man who had once treated her so gently.

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

"Really? Still, a man's words are probably the least trustworthy thing in the world. One moment he's sweet-talking you, and the next he might turn on you and throw a punch." Li Ziming brought out a glass of chilled beer. "In this heat, why not cool off with a cold beer?"

"Is that on the house, or are you forcing a sale on me?" The man sat at the counter and rested both hands on it, his left hand a hook made of gold.

"I wouldn't dare force a sale on Crocodile of the Shichibukai." Li Ziming casually revealed that he knew the man's identity.

"You know me?" Crocodile studied Li Ziming, his eyes glinting.

"Even if I wanted to ignore the famous Shichibukai, I couldn't. Besides, who doesn't know the hero of Alabasta?" Li Ziming spoke with exaggerated enthusiasm, seemingly full of admiration for Crocodile.

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

Outside, Robin was waiting for him.

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

"Yes." Robin nodded.

"A woman's embrace can be a hero's grave. Since you're both close to him, he probably won't be on guard against either of 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 guarantee he won't be on guard against us." Robin did not think Li Ziming was the sort of man who lost his head at the sight of a beautiful woman.

"It doesn't matter. At the very least, make sure he won't interfere with my plans." Crocodile frowned. "I still can't figure out who's behind that kid, or how much he knows. To avoid exposing ourselves, it's best to have those of you who've already shown yourselves handle it. If you really can't get rid of him..." Crocodile considered for a moment. "Then keep him away from Alabasta."

"No problem." Robin nodded in agreement with Crocodile's proposal.

Inside the bar, Vivi had slumped motionless in her chair the moment Crocodile entered. Only after he left did she seem to come back to life, letting out a long breath.

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

Seeing his warm smile, Vivi realized he must have been protecting her earlier. "Thank you." She took a sip of water and calmed herself a little.

"You're afraid of Crocodile?" Li Ziming wanted to know whether she had already discovered that Crocodile was the mastermind. He could use that to get a rough idea of when Luffy would arrive.

"I don't know." Vivi shook her head. "But ever since I met him, I've felt like he had bad intentions. And there's always something so fake about him."

"Is that a woman's sixth sense?" Li Ziming was secretly impressed.

"I also suspect he's the mastermind trying to overthrow my country, but I don't have any evidence," Vivi said in distress.

"There's no need to suspect him. He is. Or rather, he's Mr. 2. Am I right, Robin?" Li Ziming addressed the cowboy hat. Only then did Vivi notice an ear on it.

"Nothing really gets past you. But now I'm truly curious where you learned all of this." Robin pushed the door open and walked in.

"Ha, a man with secrets is more attractive, isn't he?"

Robin did not know whether that was true, but looking at Li Ziming's smile, she knew that right now she very much wanted to give him a beating.