Recruitment, Baroque Works

The first half of the Grand Line, Paradise.

Of the seven sea routes, the most dangerous is Alabasta, the country with the longest history, the largest land area, and the largest population.

On this day, the whole country celebrated, because the Cobra royal family, which they deeply loved and admired, welcomed another new member, Princess Vivi.

Amidst this jubilant atmosphere, somewhere within the Alabasta Kingdom, Shah Crocodile, who had been silent for some time in the Paradise, appeared unusually calm.

"Alabasta's trust in the royal family is deeper than expected. This won't do. To find the Ancient Weapon, we need to rely on the entire national strength of Alabasta."

With a thousand thoughts swirling in his mind, he realized that although he alone had the ability to destroy the country, he would ultimately find it difficult to gain control over it.

"Then, let's start with the basics. My strengths and areas of expertise are..."

Meanwhile, on the distant coast, ships with black flags bearing skulls and crossbones sailed toward the shore.

"My men, go all out and grab as much as you can! Let's set sail for the Grand Line!"

The pirate captain, standing on the ram, laughed loudly, and his hundreds of pirate underlings went ashore and began to burn, kill, and plunder the people on the shore.

"Let go! This is a month's worth of fresh water for us. Alabasta already has very little rainfall; you can't steal it!"

"Daddy, Mommy, where are you? Waaaaaah..."

"You damned pirates, you'll get your comeuppance sooner or later, old man, wake up!"

"Go find the Kingdom Army quickly and drive these hateful pirates out!"

Chaos reigned on the coastline, a mixture of the cries of countless people and the cruel smiles of pirates.

However, no matter how much they hoped, the royal army never arrived, and the warriors who had fought bravely to protect the people had also disappeared.

Nearly twenty minutes passed, and the people could only watch helplessly as their possessions and food became the pirates' spoils.

Suddenly, a sandstorm raged along the coastline, and the pirates were swept into the air by the gale, completely losing their ability to fight.

"W-what's going on with this sandstorm?"

"Damn it, I'm not Ability User! Someone save me! Help!"

"Hey, hey, hey, what happened? What's going on?"

On the edge of the shore, the pirate captain, standing on the ramming horn, stared wide-eyed, stunned by the sudden sight.

"Desert Blade!"

The rampage was like the whisper of Shinigami; a terrifying sandstorm coalesced into blades hundreds of meters long, instantly shredding pirate ships to shreds.

The next moment, the captain on the rammed end jumped off the ship, beads of sweat the size of peas dripping onto the ground.

"The King... the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile!"

"This is the country I live in. If I honestly give up resistance, I might still have a chance to survive."

Upon hearing this, the pirate captain glared at him angrily and instantly transformed into a pitch-black wild boar.

"Stop looking down on me, you bastard! We're both Ability User, I don't believe the gap between us is that big! Charge forward like a pig!"

Faced with an entity that couldn't understand human speech, Crocodile smiled coldly, a ferocious glint in his eyes.

"Sand Dune."

In an instant, a crescent moon of sand swept across the scene, and the boar-man in front of him visibly dried up and shrank, collapsing to the ground as if all the moisture in his body had been drained.

The next second, Crocodile picked up the captain in front of him and flew into the sky.

"The pirates have been dealt with, let's celebrate!"

The people, caught in the chaos, looked up at the sky in confusion.

The hundreds of pirates were swept away by the sandstorm, hovering and floating in the sky, completely losing consciousness.

"Really, that's great! The pirates have been completely defeated!"

"Who is that guy? I've never seen him before."

"This is the ability to manipulate sand. It belongs to Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea Crocodile, the great pirate pardoned by the World Government!"

"Pirates? Why would pirates save people? There's probably some kind of conspiracy..."

Just as the crowd was discussing the matter, the Alabasta Kingdom rushed over, immediately arousing the people's dissatisfaction.

"Hey, what exactly happened? Why did the Kingdom's army only arrive after the battle was over?"

"Excuse me, there was a landslide on the section of road we were on. Is the battle over? Who was behind it?"

As the Alabasta Kingdom's guard lieutenant looked in the direction of the crowd, his pupils involuntarily Pell the Falcon.

Crocodile, the Ability User of the Suna Suna no Mi, possesses Logia powers and has recently settled in the Alabasta Kingdom.

Why would Seven Warlords of the Sea intervene?

At that moment, Perug looked around and a sense of dread inexplicably arose, as if some kind of conspiracy was gradually pressing down on this poor but hopeful country.

A few months later, a mysterious job posting appeared all over the world, seeking capable individuals from all sides. The company recruiting was known as Baroque Works.

Meanwhile, in the North Blue, the Donquixote Family...

"Fufufufufu, I never expected to run into you there. Is this the unbreakable bond of blood? Welcome back to the family, my little brother!"

Dressed in a suit and wearing sunglasses that concealed his eyes, Donquixote Doflamingo laughed heartily, feeling more comfortable than ever before.

His mother died of illness, and his father was killed by his own hands. Apart from those high and mighty Celestial Dragons, his only blood relative, his own younger brother who had been driven insane by trauma and lost his ability to speak, appeared before him.

At this moment, everyone in the Donquixote Family applauded in welcome, Vergo had a sandwich on his face, and Trebol's snot was swaying back and forth.

Rosinante remained silent, but instead looked at the hundreds of children gathered around him and lit a cigarette.

A moment later, his jet-black feather cloak was ignited by a lighter, billowing black smoke filled the air, which actually reassured Doflamingo even more.

"Fufufufu, let's be as reckless as before and come and see the hard work of the Donquixote Family. These children who dare to struggle will surely become the backbone of the family in the future."

Beside Doflamingo, Rosinante took a deep look at the children who were struggling desperately, willing to do anything to stay with the Donquixote Family, and a different thought crossed his mind.

"At least, it would be better if he committed fewer sins..."

After that day, rumors that Rosinante disliked children spread throughout the Donquixote Family.