Dragon came back to his senses, shook his head, and stood up, putting away the newspaper.
"No... nothing."
He walked outside, turned into a gentle breeze, and vanished.
The two exchanged a glance.
Lindbergh scratched his head.
"What's going on?"
Grand Line, Alabasta.
Rainbase, the basement of Rain Dinners.
Robin was in the office, reporting to Crocodile on the casino's finances and the operations of Baroque Works.
After listening for a while, Crocodile waved a hand.
"Enough of that useless stuff."
"What's the rainfall situation across Alabasta now?"
Robin closed the notebook in her hands.
"Other than the capital, Alubarna, and the nearby towns, rain has stopped falling everywhere."
"We can begin the plan now, Boss."
Crocodile's expression was unreadable.
"Yes... we can begin."
After more than a decade of plotting, victory was within reach.
Yet the closer he came to this moment, the calmer Crocodile became.
Until the very last moment, no one knew what might happen...
Crocodile leaned back in his executive chair, his right index finger tapping repeatedly against the armrest...
"Send people to spread rumors and steer public opinion in secret."
"Direct their anger at the royal family."
"And make contact with those rebels, too."
"Don't reveal your identities."
Robin nodded.
"Yes."
Crocodile waved a hand, and Robin respectfully left to carry out his orders.
After Robin left, the corners of Crocodile's mouth kept rising, as though he had thought of something delightful.
"Pluton..."
The Florian Triangle.
The base of Gecko Moria, one of the Shichibukai.
Several years earlier, he had sailed Thriller Bark into these fog-shrouded waters and established the Zombie Army with a companion he had recruited, the genius surgeon Hogback.
He intended to make a comeback and take revenge on Kaido... but for Moria, who had lost his fighting spirit, that