Rain Dinners

"Crocodile, get out here!" Li Ziming was idly fiddling with his chips when a shout interrupted him.

"Straw Hat?" Li Ziming looked toward the entrance and saw Luffy, Usopp, Nami, and Zoro.

"Straw Hats!" Smoker chased them inside right on their heels.

"Boss, the Straw Hat Pirates are here," a man in a black suit reported to Crocodile.

"Take them to the VIP room." Crocodile looked at his pet Banana Crocodile. "And bring Mr. 5 over too."

"Yes, sir." The man in black nodded, then left Crocodile's office.

"You wanted me?" Li Ziming arrived at Crocodile's office.

"Yes. I'm going to pay our adorable princess a visit. I'll leave this place to you." Crocodile stood up.

"To think an insignificant little princess could make you this nervous." Li Ziming walked up to Crocodile with a contemptuous look. "Still, I suppose it makes sense. If you slipped up, your reputation as a Shichibukai would be ruined."

"Hmph. Say what you like." With that, Crocodile turned into a swirl of sand and vanished from the room.

"What a pain." Li Ziming resignedly found a bottle of liquor in the room and poured himself a glass, then sat on the sofa and drank one glass after another.

"Crocodile!" Luffy's voice suddenly rang out. "Are you Crocodile?!" Then Li Ziming saw several people appear inside a cage.

"Take this... I've got no strength..." Luffy slumped against the bars, looking utterly drained.

"Where's Sand Crocodile?" Smoker had met Li Ziming before, so he knew he wasn't Crocodile.

"He left." Li Ziming poured himself another glass and walked over to the cage. "Don't waste your strength. This cage is made of Seastone. Devil Fruit users can't muster any strength around this stuff."

"What are you planning?!" Zoro gripped his swords tightly, ready to defend against an attack from Li Ziming at any moment.

"Now, I'll have you know I have..." Usopp's legs were trembling.

"Shut up!" Li Ziming snapped at Usopp. "Stand back!"

"What?" Nami froze for a moment.

"You..." Smoker could tell what Li Ziming was about to do, but that only puzzled him more. As far as he knew, wasn't Li Ziming on Crocodile's side?

"Directional..."

"Peacock String Slasher!" A chain made of interlinked rings came flying toward him.

"Vivi? Where's Crocodile?" Li Ziming frowned. Apparently, Crocodile hadn't gone to find Vivi as he had claimed.

"Ming, what are you doing?! Why are you still helping Crocodile?! Didn't you already betray him?!" Vivi glared furiously at Li Ziming.

"I had no choice." Li Ziming shrugged. "Robin was captured, so they're blackmailing me."

"Robin was captured?" Vivi asked in surprise. "Then are you here to stop me?"

"More or less." Li Ziming spread his hands. "Though I don't think you can save your country anyway."

"Ming!" Vivi glared at Li Ziming. "You're not stopping me!"

"Then come on. Show me your resolve." Li Ziming appeared behind Vivi in an instant. "Art is an explosion."

"Anti-Manner Kick Course!" A devastating kick came hurtling toward Li Ziming.

"Not bad, but you're underestimating me a little." Li Ziming sidestepped it. "Explosion!" He placed his hand against the black-clad figure before him. A violent explosion erupted, blasting his opponent away.

"Sanji!" everyone shouted in alarm.

"I'm fine." Sanji stared grimly at Li Ziming. "Bombs, huh? Is that another Devil Fruit power?"

"That's right. I'm a Bomb Man who ate the Bomb-Bomb Fruit, so you'd better watch out for my attacks." Li Ziming suddenly appeared behind Sanji, his hand already aimed at him. "Explosion Shockwave!"

An explosion formed in Li Ziming's palm, and its shockwave surged toward Sanji.

"Damn it!" Sanji ran forward with the shockwave for a short distance, then turned to face Li Ziming and lit a cigarette. "Bad customers aren't welcome in a restaurant either. Looks like I'll have to teach you some table manners."

"Honestly, I don't think a chef who smokes could be much of a chef either," Li Ziming shot back without hesitation.

Sanji suddenly accelerated, reached Li Ziming, and lashed out with a kick. "Shoulder Shot!"

Li Ziming didn't dodge, but Sanji felt as though his kick had struck an iron plate.

"You're still nowhere near strong enough." Li Ziming grabbed Sanji's foot. "Exploding Kick!" Using the force of an explosion to boost his strength, he kicked Sanji in the abdomen, unleashing another powerful blast.

"Tch. I really don't have much talent for kicks." Li Ziming's kick had been fast, but Sanji had blocked it with his hands just before it landed. Yet Li Ziming wasn't confident he could block Sanji's kicks.

"You bastard." Sanji's face was covered in injuries, all burns caused by Li Ziming's explosions.

"Why not just stay down?" Li Ziming sighed. "You can't beat me."

"Can't beat you?" Sanji said coldly. "I'm not losing to a bastard who's rude to a beautiful lady!" His speed suddenly increased, and he appeared before Li Ziming in an instant. "Mouton Shot!"

"I told you it's useless! As you are now, you don't stand a chance against Sand Crocodile!" Half of Li Ziming's face took on a metallic hue.

"That..." Smoker stared at Li Ziming in stunned uncertainty.

"Don't you understand what I'm saying?" Li Ziming seized Sanji with one hand. "Big Explosion!" The powerful blast knocked Sanji unconscious.

"Sanji!" Luffy shouted furiously. "You bastard! I'm going to send you flying!"

"Sanji..." Vivi sank helplessly to the floor.

"You think you can save this country like this? Are you trying to make me laugh?" Li Ziming picked up his liquor again and resumed pouring and drinking by himself.

"Mr. 5, you already took care of them? Nice work!" Mr. 2 walked in and stood smugly before the cage. "Now we've got you, you bastards! Ahahaha!"

Boom! A violent explosion suddenly erupted, leaving everyone stunned.

"Mr. 5, what are you doing?!" Mr. 2 glared angrily at Li Ziming.

"That wasn't me." Li Ziming shrugged and looked around.

"Damn it, let's get out of here!" Mr. 2 cried in panic. Water was already pouring in from all around.

Li Ziming looked at Vivi, confusion and disappointment in his eyes.

"I won't give up!" Vivi suddenly shouted. "They're all my friends! They'll all help me! We'll stop Crocodile, no matter what!"

"Is that so? Then give it your best." Li Ziming suddenly appeared in front of the cage.

"Hey, let me out! I'm going to send you flying!" Luffy glared furiously at Li Ziming.

The others also stared at Li Ziming with determination.

"I'm jealous." Li Ziming scratched his head, then aimed his palm at the cage.

"Ha! Mr. 5, are you going to blow them up?!" Mr. 2 watched Li Ziming excitedly.

Nami and Usopp were frightened, but neither said a word.

"Directional Blast!" Li Ziming activated his power, then turned to leave.

"Huh?" Mr. 2 stared at Li Ziming in surprise. "Mr. 5, you let them out!" A sense of foreboding rose in his heart.

"When did I ever say I was going to kill them?" Li Ziming shrugged indifferently, then picked up his liquor and prepared to leave.

"What are you even trying to do?!" Luffy stared at Li Ziming in disbelief. "Are you one of our friends too?"

"Not at the moment, at least." Li Ziming shrugged. "Who knows about later? So if we run into each other during this war to put down the rebellion, you'd better not hold back."

"Damn it! For what you've done to this country, and to Sanji, I'm definitely going to send you flying!" Luffy declared angrily.

"I'm not dead yet!" Sanji suddenly stood up. "That guy didn't aim his explosion directly at me. The shockwave just knocked me out."

"You... you're still betraying the boss!" Mr. 2 suddenly exclaimed in shock. "Aren't you worried about that friend of yours?!"

"Took you long enough to notice. I never said I was going to work for Crocodile." Li Ziming shrugged. "And rather than worrying about my friend, I think you'd better worry about yourself first." With that, he left.

"Can we trust that guy, Vivi?" Nami asked doubtfully. Li Ziming didn't seem quite like the people they had met at Whiskey Peak.

"I don't know. At first, all I knew was that he was a senior officer in Baroque Works. Then he apparently betrayed them, and later he seemed to rejoin for some reason. But from what he just said, it sounds like it was because Robin was captured?"

"So that guy's actually our friend too?" Luffy's brain really wasn't suited to such complicated questions. He simply asked whether Li Ziming would become their friend.

"I don't know, but if we can rescue Robin, Ming should help us," Vivi said.

"I'm going with you." Smoker's sudden announcement caught the Straw Hat Pirates off guard.

"Is it really okay for a Marine to work with pirates?" Zoro asked Smoker mockingly.

"I'll catch you criminals sooner or later. But right now, I have a few things to ask that bastard." Smoker was very curious about the Six Powers and Haki Li Ziming had used. Haki was one thing, but the Six Powers weren't something just anyone could learn so easily. He intended to get some answers.

And so, they set off for the capital of Alabasta.