"Princess Vivi Nefertari, of course I know who you are."
At those words, Vivi's body stiffened abruptly. Her azure eyes widened, her face filled with incredulous shock and wariness!
"You... how do you know my identity?! Who exactly are you?!"
She instinctively took a defensive stance, her voice trembling slightly with tension.
Aside from Igaram, who had infiltrated alongside her, no outsider could possibly know her true identity!
Yet this mysterious black-haired boy had exposed her secret outright, sending a bone-deep chill through her!
Looking at Vivi as she braced herself for a formidable enemy, Ye Chuan's lips curved into a faint smile.
"My goal is simple."
He extended a hand, pointing into the distance along the Grand Line.
"Find a way to take me to Alabasta."
"And then..."
His smile grew somewhat meaningful.
"I can... help you bring down Mr. 0... Crocodile of the Shichibukai."
Vivi's azure eyes widened as far as they could, her pupils contracting violently in shock!
He... he even knows Mr. 0's true identity?!
"Help me... bring down Mr. 0?"
Vivi's voice carried a tremor:
"What makes you think you can say that? Do you know who Crocodile is?"
"He's one of the Shichibukai! He's Alabasta's hero! And you..."
Her gaze swept over Ye Chuan's rather slender frame, which looked no older than sixteen or seventeen, and her distrust deepened:
"You're so young. How could you possibly be a match for Crocodile? You must be bluffing!"
To Vivi, Crocodile was a nightmare of a powerful being, single-handedly toying with an entire country in the palm of his hand.
Although the boy before her was mysterious and had even seen through her identity at a glance, she found it truly hard to believe he could defeat Crocodile.
"Words alone prove nothing."
Vivi took a deep breath,