Hearing Crocodile's words, Orochimaru was slightly stunned, his eyes dimming. His gaze inadvertently swept over Robin beside him, only to find her looking at him with a gossipy expression, as if saying, 'Oh? So that's how it is...'
Orochimaru's mouth twitched uncontrollably, and he quickly denied, 'I'm not! I didn't, don't talk nonsense!' His voice rose slightly.
Oh no, what nonsense are you spouting? Robin will be our Companion later, and he knows she's a tricky one.
Crocodile felt a sense of relief. Since it wasn't his body, it wasn't a big deal.
"So, what are the conditions?" He looked at the other party, a hint of anticipation in his eyes. "As long as you tell me the whereabouts of Pluton..."
Orochimaru thought hard for a moment. Conditions? He'd worry about that later; he didn't need anything for now.
He pulled out a blank scroll and faced Crocodile.
"Sign it first. You owe me a favor. Theoretically, it shouldn't be too excessive... right? But let me tell you upfront, I'll only tell you the information about one person who knows Pluton's whereabouts. Her location is fixed. Whether you can get Pluton's whereabouts from her is your problem."
Crocodile was much more relieved to hear this. If Orochimaru could suddenly reveal Pluton's location, he would suspect a trick. That was an ancient weapon, capable of easily destroying a small island with a normal attack. It wouldn't be so easy to find. The whereabouts of an informed person, however, was much more plausible.
"Alright!" Without another word, Crocodile signed his name and pressed his handprint.
Orochimaru's lips curved slightly upward, revealing a playful smile. He chuckled, "As for the information, I can tell you now, but you might not be able to go for a long time."
"What??" Crocodile was a bit confused.
Orochimaru pointed at Luffy, who had just come down.
"My Captain will defeat you... You will be imprisoned in Impel Down by the Marine for usurping a country, so Kuro-chan, good luck."
"Hahahaha... That loser who just lost to my subordinate? You think too highly of him. Such a pathetic Captain doesn't deserve you, Orochimaru... join us! Once I get Pluton, the world will be ours!" Crocodile laughed wildly.
The light of gossip in Robin's eyes shone even brighter.
Luffy was fuming. Trying to poach my younger brother right in front of me, what kind of joke is this?
"Crocodile! I'm going to punch you out!"
Orochimaru spread his hands.
"You can talk after you defeat Luffy. But I didn't expect your love for Pluton to be so deep. The person who knows about it is in the Sabaody Archipelago."
"There's a Rip-Off Bar in Grove 13... The proprietress, Shakky, knows the whereabouts of Pluton."
He tried hard to suppress the upward curve of his lips, hoping Crocodile would like this news when he eventually went. Then he pointed at Robin.
"Luffy... aren't you going to punch out Crocodile? This woman is his subordinate. If you punch out her boss, she'll be out of a job. How about we let her join us as compensation?"
Luffy blinked, then looked at Robin. He stared for a while, then suddenly grinned.
"Alright... Then for our new Companion, I'll quickly deal with Crocodile!"
"You little brat!!! Desert Spada!!" Crocodile was so angry he laughed. He hadn't even fought yet, and his subordinate had already been arranged for.
"Since you say so, once I deal with this brat, Orochimaru, you'll be mine." He always felt there was something strange about that sentence, but it seemed fine.
"Huh??????? What are you going to do to my younger brother! You pervert!!" Luffy, who had been casually dodging attacks, heard this and landed a bloody punch directly on Crocodile's face.
He remembered Makino-nee-san saying when he was little that Orochimaru was very beautiful, so... if any man tried to steal Orochimaru and claim Orochimaru was his, that man was a pervert, and Luffy had to protect Orochimaru. But if Orochimaru also agreed... Makino's expression at the time was very subtle, making Luffy unable to understand.
Luffy didn't understand the meaning of that sentence, but he remembered one thing: whoever tried to steal someone and claimed Orochimaru was theirs, just punch them out.
Crocodile was unexpectedly sent flying, still a bit dazed on his face... Seeing the blood on Luffy's hand, he sneered, "Is this your little trick, using blood instead of water? A very good idea, but how much blood do you have?"
Crocodile wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"It seems you are determined to defeat me, even though you've already been to hell once. Then I'll acknowledge you as a thorn in my side."
Crocodile extended his right hand and firmly gripped the handle of his hook. He pulled hard, and the golden hook on top was easily removed. With the golden hook removed, the true face of the hook was finally revealed to everyone. It was a chilling silver hook, covered in dense, tiny holes, as if it had been eaten away by countless small insects. These holes emitted a purple smoke, sending shivers down one's spine.
"What is that?" Luffy's expression remained unchanged.
Crocodile threw away the golden hook in his hand.
"It's a poison needle. As a pirate who stands on his own, you must have understood by now that battles between pirates are life-or-death struggles. There's no such thing as being honorable or dishonorable."
"I had bombs placed outside. If they explode up there, this place will collapse too, right?"
"This is the last time. Let's finish this."
Crocodile and Luffy didn't know that the bomb problem had already been solved by Usopp on the ground. The building was constantly collapsing with their fight; even without Cobra's self-destruct device, it wouldn't last much longer.
Luffy got up clumsily.
"Orochimaru, take our new Companion and that old man out first. I'll deal with Crocodile."
Crocodile spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm, looking at Orochimaru, who was eating senbei and watching the show, with a sense of misplaced trust.
"What an arrogant brat. Orochimaru, I really don't understand why you stay on such a brat's ship. In the end, I will be the one who wins."
Orochimaru spread his hands.
"Then you two take your time fighting. We're leaving... Luffy, hurry up... If you get buried alive, I won't dig you out."
"Okay," Luffy said with a smile, full of fighting spirit. He knew that Orochimaru had always believed in him.
As Orochimaru and the others left, only Luffy and Crocodile remained on the battlefield. The two faced each other, the atmosphere tense to the extreme.
Luffy took a deep breath, adjusted his state, and stared intently into Crocodile's eyes. Crocodile was also ready for battle, a fierce glint in his eyes.
Luffy charged forward. Crocodile turned to sand. Seeing the sandified Crocodile, a hoarse male voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Remember, Luffy, Armament Haki can counter the elementalization of Logia users. Don't ever forget it. Although you're just a beginner, you can use it."
Black Haki enveloped half of his fist, directly hitting Crocodile's abdomen, sending him flying.
Before losing consciousness, he saw the black on Luffy's hand, and only one thought remained in his mind.
"This thing doesn't play fair!!! Who said no one would use Haki right now?!"
Orochimaru indicated, 'Who made a deal with you? That's what you get for showing off without using it.'
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