Crocodile prepared to take action himself!

Alabasta, Rainbase.

A man with slicked-back black hair, a long scar running across his face, a Golden Hook for his left hand, and a cigar between his teeth was frowning at the portrait delivered by the Unluckies.

The man with slicked-back black hair was none other than Crocodile, one of the Shichibukai, whose bounty stood at 81 million Beli.

"You were the one who recruited this bounty hunter called 'Orange Slayer' into Baroque Works, weren't you?

Don't you have anything to explain about this, Nico Robin?"

The Unluckies had already reported the situation involving Yang Cheng and Princess Vivi to him.

Honestly, Crocodile had never thought much of Yang Cheng, even though the bounty hunter had made something of a name for himself in the first half of the Grand Line.

What made Crocodile take notice of Yang Cheng was how much he knew.

"You suspect I betrayed you? And that I gave him information about you?

Don't forget, you were the one who told me to seek out famous bounty hunters at sea and recruit them into Baroque Works.

I merely followed your orders. Besides, he clearly knows more than I do."

That was true. Even if the man had infiltrated Baroque Works and worked his way into its upper ranks, he should never have known so many secrets.

Forget Mr. 1 and the others-even Nico Robin, who knew his plans, had no idea what he was ultimately after.

Which raised the question: this bounty hunter called "Orange Killer" had never met him, so why did he know him so well? How could he even know his plans inside out?

With the possibility of a mole ruled out, there was only one explanation: this "Orange Killer" knew where that thing was!

After all, few people could learn its location without being tempted.

It would hardly be surprising if the man had guessed his objective.

Presenting himself as a hero and indirectly controlling all of Alabasta were merely Crocodile's secondary objectives.

His primary goal had always been to discover the whereabouts of the ancient weapon-Pluton.

He had originally believed that a secret like this had to be in the hands of Alabasta's royal family. That was why he had refrained from secretly eliminating its king, Cobra, and its princess, Vivi.

But now that he realized Yang Cheng might know his objectives and secrets because he knew where Pluton was, Crocodile was suddenly overjoyed.

The reason was simple. If that fellow Yang Cheng knew Pluton's whereabouts, wouldn't that save him a great deal of trouble?

At that thought, Crocodile could no longer sit still. He threw on his fur coat and, with his large cigar between his teeth, prepared to deal with Yang Cheng and the others himself.

Beside him, Nico Robin froze briefly at the sight of his preparations. "You're going to take action yourself?

Aren't you going to send Mr. 1 and the others after them first? The only traitors are Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine, right?

They should be at the very bottom of Baroque Works' upper ranks, shouldn't they?"

Nico Robin was puzzled by Crocodile's decision to take action himself.

According to the usual formula, shouldn't a villainous boss send a few underlings first to test the enemy's strength?

Only after those underlings were defeated would he personally step in. Wasn't that how a boss showed off his badass credentials?

Yet Crocodile was preparing to go himself right away, and he was making her come along. Wouldn't that leave her without even a chance to warn Yang Cheng and tell them to flee?

What Nico Robin didn't know was that Crocodile had indeed considered sending Mr. 1 and his other underlings just moments earlier.

After all, Yang Cheng and Miss Valentine were nothing more than small fry in his eyes.

But Yang Cheng might know Pluton's whereabouts, and Crocodile trusted no one but himself.

What if Mr. 1 and the others defeated Yang Cheng's group, learned Pluton's location from him, and became greedy themselves?

Pluton was far too important, carrying all his ambitions and dreams. Crocodile therefore felt it necessary to make the trip himself.

Meanwhile, back at Whiskey Peak, after bombarding Yang Cheng with complaints, Miss Valentine grabbed his arm, ready to drag him along as she fled.

Miss Valentine had confidence in Yang Cheng's strength and believed none of Baroque Works' Frontier Agents could match him.

But what if their boss came after them himself?

He was Crocodile, one of the Shichibukai!

The Shichibukai weren't just important figures in the first half of the Grand Line. Even in its latter half, the New World, they were formidable names!

Now that they knew such a powerful man's secrets, they had clearly become the top man and woman on his kill list. If they didn't flee soon, they might not even get another chance to escape.

Miss Valentine had already made up her mind. Once they escaped Baroque Works' pursuit, they would find a secluded little island and open a chocolate shop. Unless they had absolutely no choice, they would never work as bounty hunters again.

Opening a chocolate shop had always been Miss Valentine's dream. Over the past year, she had collected plenty of bounty money alongside Yang Cheng, leaving her with more than enough to open a shop and go straight.

As for the mess in Alabasta... honestly, what the hell did that have to do with either of them?

They weren't saviors. They weren't even Marines, who were always proclaiming their commitment to justice.

By sharing so much information with Princess Vivi, Yang Cheng had already repaid her earlier kindness.

Vivi herself knew that the small favor she had done for them back then was nowhere near enough to ask them to save all of Alabasta.

Besides, she also believed that Yang Cheng, as Mr. 5, couldn't possibly be a match for Crocodile of the Shichibukai.

So, after thanking Yang Cheng, she prepared to return to Alabasta with Igaram.

Although Yang Cheng had said seeking the Marines' help might not work, Alabasta currently seemed to have no other

option but to seek assistance from the World Government.

"Mikita, you should leave first. Crocodile's main target should be me, so I'm going to wait for him here."

Yang Cheng had actually wanted to challenge Crocodile of the Shichibukai for quite some time.

Previously, though, he hadn't mastered Armament Haki, so he had lacked the confidence.

Besides, in a desert kingdom like Alabasta, Crocodile's Devil Fruit ability was practically invincible. Had the plot not demanded his defeat, Yang Cheng would never have imagined him losing to a rubber kid who had only recently set out to sea.

Yang Cheng had fully expected the Unluckies to report what had happened here to Crocodile.

He could also more or less guess that, with Pluton's whereabouts at stake, Crocodile might choose to take action himself.