When the dust that obscured all vision finally dispersed, Vivi hurriedly opened her eyes, only to discover with shock that she had already appeared on the lawn of the palace's front courtyard.
"Vivi? What are you doing here? Get away from here, quickly!" A familiar and anxious voice rang out.
"Father?" The blue-haired girl looked at her father, who was pinned to the wall by two steel spikes, and at Miss All Sunday, who stood expressionlessly to the side. Her pretty face instantly drained of all color.
"Now, now, don't be like that, Mr. Cobra." Crocodile patted Vivi on the shoulder, chuckling at the somewhat bedraggled King. "I specially brought your daughter over here. For the sake of me reuniting you father and daughter...
"...Shouldn't you tell me the location of the Poneglyph inscribed with [Pluton]?"
When the Sand Crocodile mentioned the Poneglyph, the enchanting woman, who hadn't changed her expression even when facing the slaughter of thousands, suddenly paled. Her body, wrapped in a moon-white coat, began to tremble slightly with excitement.
"You... how do you know about that?" Cobra looked at the tall man with the massive scar across his face in extreme shock, a storm of turmoil raging in his heart.
"That isn't something you should be worrying about right now, Mr. Cobra."
The Sand Crocodile lit a cigar, took a deeply satisfied puff, and then silently rested the golden hook on his left hand against Princess Vivi's slender neck.
"Vivi! What are you planning to do? Crocodile!" Cobra cried out, his voice cracking.
Fixing his cold eyes on the King who was struggling fiercely yet unable to move, the Sand Crocodile spoke unhurriedly, "If you don't want anything unpleasant to happen to your beautiful princess, I advise you to answer my question quickly.
"Besides, because of that Sorcerer, I'm no longer interested in your country. As long as you tell me the news regarding Pluton, I can guarantee the safety of you and your daughter..."
Mixing intimidation with inducement—Crocodile was certainly quite skilled at negotiation.
Cobra stopped struggling. He took a deep look at the Sand Crocodile. Although he didn't naively believe the latter's lies, it seemed he had no other choice right now.
"Fine." Cobra lowered his head and sighed helplessly. "I will take you there..."
"Father, you mustn't..." Vivi tried to say something, but her mouth was suddenly covered by two arms sprouting from her shoulders.
"Not another word!" Robin enunciated clearly.
Just then, the Sand Crocodile suddenly frowned slightly, muttering to himself, "Oh? Another guest has arrived? Fine then, I'll play with you..."
As he spoke, Crocodile pushed the now-useless Princess Vivi aside and used several clumps of sand to bind her limbs. He then looked toward Nico Robin, who was standing gracefully to the side.
"Miss All Sunday, you take him and go ahead. I'll follow shortly."
Hearing this, Robin didn't hesitate to use her ability to pull the spikes from Cobra's arms. Two lines of blood sprayed out, and the pain caused the latter to let out a miserable shriek...
Once Robin had led Vivi's father, Cobra, far away, the Sand Crocodile smiled and lit another cigar. Although his plan had been almost completely destroyed, and he was about to face a crusade from the Marines, his ultimate goal was nearing completion.
Pluton! As long as he possessed the mighty military force of Pluton, what of Marine Headquarters? What of the World Government? What could they possibly do to him?
Thinking of this, Crocodile felt his mood improve significantly. He then inexplicably asked Princess Vivi, who had collapsed to the side with a pale face:
"Where did that Sorcerer go? Before I leave this country, I still want to meet that guy."
"..." Watching helplessly as her father was taken away by the enemy, Princess Vivi naturally would not answer this question.
"Hahaha, did you know, Miss Wednesday? Originally, I had prepared a bomb in this city—a massive bomb capable of completely destroying everything within a five-kilometer radius."
Perhaps feeling that victory was already in his grasp, the Sand Crocodile revealed a rare talkative side, beginning to explain his plan to this blue-haired girl who posed no threat whatsoever. (After all, villains always die from talking too much...)
"My original plan was that when the Royal Army and the Rebel Army had fought each other enough in Alubarna, I would detonate the bomb and blow them all to kingdom come."
"After all, that is the best way to terminate a rebellion, isn't it? Hahahaha..." Having finished, Crocodile began to laugh arrogantly.
Vivi bit her lip so hard it nearly bled. She was furiously indignant at Crocodile's disregard for human life, treating millions of people like grass. At the same time, she secretly rejoiced that Sherlock, the strategist, was there; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
(Mr. Glasses, everyone...) Vivi rested her head on the grass, sobbing silently.
"It's a pity. Now, this bomb..." Before the Sand Crocodile could finish his sentence, a whistling sound was heard. A large mass of white smoke, gathering and scattering, drifted rapidly from mid-air, landing on the grass not far from the two. It slowly coalesced into a tall, familiar figure.
"Crocodile! Marine Headquarters has revoked your title as a Warlord of the Sea."
Smoker bit down on his cigar with a serious expression, pointing the Jitte in his hand directly at the Sand Crocodile, who was also smoking a cigar.
"Surrender now!" The White Hunter declared with a stern, righteous face.
"...I'll just have to leave it for these Marines who are seeking their own death." Crocodile stared calmly at Smoker, seemingly unsurprised that the White Hunter had appeared here.
Meanwhile, the battle between Mr. 1 and Zoro.
By this time, the battlefield for these two had moved from the plaza to the nearby streets. Perhaps both felt that only in a relatively open setting could they truly let loose and fight.
—Three Sword Style: Bull Needles!
The green-haired swordsman, rushing forward with immense speed, looked like a mad bull, and his three sharp swords were like the bull's piercing horns. Clang! Clang! Clang! The blades struck Mr. 1's skin, making the resounding sound of metal clashing against metal.
(So hard! It's just like steel!)
Zoro's expression hardened. As his body twisted in mid-air, his three swords slashed simultaneously at Mr. 1's neck. Immediately after, the green-haired swordsman ducked to dodge a whip-kick from the latter that had turned into a blade, using the recoil from his previous strike to put some distance between himself and this uncuttable lump of iron.
Zoro didn't know how many times he had launched such attacks, but this tall, muscular man didn't have a single scratch on him.
Mr. 1, who had eaten the Paramecia-type Dice-Dice Fruit, could not only turn any part of his body into a blade but also possessed a defense like steel. Ordinary strikes and slashes were nothing more than a tickle to him.
"It's useless..." Mr. 1 lowered his raised right leg with an indifferent expression. Looking at the green-haired swordsman panting heavily before him, his emotionless eyes were like those looking at a corpse.
"...You are absolutely not my match. Your sword cannot wound me."
Mr. 1's tone was extremely serious, as if he were stating a truth cast in steel.
"Can't wound you? Hehehe." Zoro gently adjusted his dark green bandana and casually tossed aside the desert-style clothes that were getting in his way.
"Do you know? When I learned from Sherlock that a guy like you existed here, I was excited for quite a while..."
Zoro radiated an intense fighting spirit, as if a raging fire were burning within him. His slightly narrowed eyes revealed a sharp, chilling light, like a blade being unsheathed.
"I have always been looking forward to such a grueling battle, because only by fighting endlessly can I become even stronger!"
"It is true. I, who cannot cut steel, am indeed helpless against you right now."
Saying this, Zoro clamped Wado Ichimonji in his mouth, revealing a trademark smirk.
"But when I defeat you, I will become a man who can cut even steel!"
"Tch, that sounds nice, but it's meaningless." Mr. 1 lowered his eyes, his heart utterly dismissive of Zoro's bold words. In his view, these were merely the dying words of a reckless swordsman.
With that, Mr. 1 leaned his body slightly forward, turning both his arms into sharp blades. "Since I obtained the Dice-Dice Fruit, no swordsman has ever been able to wound me!"
"I already knew all that. But I advise you to lock those old stories away in a photo album..."
Zoro crossed the hands holding his dual swords in front of his chest, and then his entire body lunged toward Mr. 1 like a cannonball.
—Three Sword Style: Oni Giri!
"...Because this time, your opponent is me!"
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