Chapter 43: Primal Dread
Huff… huff…
The sea breeze swept across the small boat, now carrying only a single figure.
Crocodile, wrapped in his fur coat, lit a cigar and took a slow, deliberate drag.
Alvin Vergil was long gone. Only a few lingering wisps of Ancient Armament Haki, drifting like seaweed in the wind, remained.
"Phew…" Crocodile exhaled a plume of smoke. "What a thrill-seeker."
When the attack erupted, someone from the Donquixote Family had made directly for the negotiation tent. Vergil had laughed, activated his power, and leapt into action.
Seeing this, Crocodile had dispersed his sand form. Cobra was his public ally; Alabasta, his hard-won base. He couldn't afford losses.
But with Vergil taking the lead, he could afford to wait. The primitive's combat prowess was undeniable. Cobra was safe. This gave Crocodile time to investigate matters closer to his heart…
He turned his gaze toward the ring of fire.
"What, exactly, attacked those patrol boats?"
He raised his telescope, Den Den Mushi in hand, observing the distant sea while monitoring Alabasta's internal comms.
"The wall is fire!"
"It's meant to encircle us! Swim toward the center, now!"
"Is Drum Kingdom insane? Do they want a real war?"
"Wait… I think I saw Drum ships being attacked too!"
"…"
"Oh?" Crocodile's eyes sharpened. Drum ships attacked too. That pointed squarely to the elusive "fourth party."
"Heh heh heh… Intriguing…" A dark grin spread across his face. He raised the sail, steering his craft toward the fiery perimeter. "Let's see who dares interfere."
...
The Uninhabited Island.
BOOM—!
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!…
The massive negotiation tent exploded. Canvas and metal frame shredded, flying in all directions. The shockwave hurled everyone inside backward.
"Agh!"
Chess and Kuromarimo, farthest from the epicenter, were least affected. They tumbled, clutching their ringing heads, and staggered upright.
Nearby, Wapol lay motionless. The sequence of events was a blur: their "advisor" storming in, striking down Wapol, turning on King Cobra… Two Alabastan guards intercepted, but were effortlessly brushed aside.
Then, as the advisor moved for the kill, another black shadow plummeted from the sky, obliterating the tent and flinging everyone back with its impact.
"Wh-what in the…?" Chess stared ahead, where the newcomer now faced the advisor.
A monster?
A terrifying, unknown creature. Hulking frame, thick limbs, crimson skin and eyes, those dark green, curving horns…
"What is happening?!" Chess had never seen such a horror. His legs turned to jelly, frozen. Beside him, Kuromarimo's eyes rolled back; he fainted.
In contrast, Alabasta's two guardians, Pell and Chaka, though grievously wounded, held firm. Both had taken direct hits from Vergo's bamboo sword, vomiting blood, bodies screaming in protest. Yet they moved.
Chaka, in hybrid form, hauled himself to Cobra's side. "Your Majesty!"
"I'm fine," Cobra assured, supporting the wounded man. "You're the one who's hurt…"
"Your safety is all that matters," Chaka rasped, wiping blood, gripping his blade. "Pell, guard His Majesty. I'll assist Mr. Vergil—ugh!" He collapsed to one knee, clutching his chest. The force behind that bamboo strike was beyond a Zoan's endurance.
"Damn it!" Chaka forced himself up, teeth gritted.
But as he raised his eyes to Vergil's broad back, his legs refused to obey. A primal instinct screamed a warning: Step forward, and death is inevitable.
That dread didn't stem from hostility. It was the inevitability of facing an unknowable leviathan.
"I… I am…" Chaka trembled. He was a guardian of Alabasta, a man who'd single-handedly razed pirate strongholds. Never had he known fear, even in hopeless sieges. Yet now, he couldn't move.
Terror, thick and cold, squeezed tears from the corners of his eyes.
"Breathe."
Cobra's calm voice cut through. A hand rested on Chaka's shoulder, devoid of blame.
Fear was natural. Earlier, on the Nanohana coast, backlit and distant, Cobra hadn't recognized him. Now he remembered.
Not long ago, a wanted poster that shook the world bore the name Alvin Vergil and this very inhuman form.
"[The Demon]…"
...
"[The Demon] has arrived…"
Vergo looked up at the monstrous form. He cracked his neck, the sound sharp in the tense air.
"What is your aim? [Sir Crocodile]? Alabasta's secret? Or something else…?"
WHOOSH!
Before he finished, a thick fist blurred toward him. Vergo vanished—a high-speed leap into the air evading the blow.
Geppo—Moon Walk!
Years undercover in the Marines had mastered him in their elite techniques. By kicking the air with immense force, he could walk on it as if on solid ground.
Yet even with this move, Vergo felt the evasion was barely sufficient.
[The Demon] was fast.
"Tch…" Vergo frowned, truly sensing the threat behind a 500,000,000 berry bounty. Savage. Swift. Frenzied. Uncommunicative. Utterly decisive.
Against such a monster, a single misstep meant death.
But Vergo wasn't one to wait.
He gripped his bamboo sword. Dark Armament Haki sheathed the blade. Simultaneously, he kicked the air violently, darting erratically through the sky, evading a relentless barrage of punches.
The more he dodged, the darker Vergo's expression grew. Is it just brute force? Or…
He's toying with me.
Underestimation was a weakness. Vergo wouldn't waste the opening.
Combining Geppo for aerial suspension and Soru for blinding speed, he flashed behind Vergil in an instant. Aiming for the base of the skull, he brought the Haki-clad bamboo sword down with full force.
Demon Bamboo!
THUD!
CRUNCH!
A dull impact. Tremendous force transferred into Vergil's body, cratering the ground beneath him.
A solid, killing blow.
But before Vergo could relish it, Vergil's mouth opened. A single, casual word drifted out:
"Ticklish."
A chill shot down Vergo's spine. He tried to disengage, but Vergil stamped the ground. Earthen spikes erupted, blocking his retreat.
Emerald-green scales rippled along Vergil's spine as his form streamlined. He twisted his neck, facing Vergo directly, and unleashed a roar.
ROOOOAAAAARRR!
No escape.
...
Periphery. The Ring of Fire.
A sandstorm raged!
Crocodile whirled Ground Death into the flames, mixing grit and fire to obscure "its" vision.
Minimal effect.
A vast, black shadow spread its wings, enveloping Crocodile's boat. Razor-sharp talons descended.
SHWING!
The boat splintered. Crocodile leapt clear, landing lightly mid-air, a dark chuckle escaping him.
"Heh heh heh heh… This gets better and better."
His body dissolved into a swirling vortex of sand, engulfing the area.
Aerial dogfight.
(End of Chapter 43)
✨Enjoying the story? You can support me on Patreon —
Patreon.com/MizuSan
✨ Patreon members get early chapter access, bonus content! 🥰
🎉 Plus, I'll release 1 extra chapter for every 5 reviews!💎 Or grab 1 bonus chapter for every 50 Power Stones you send my way! 🥳
🌊 Let's reach 20 Patreon members to unlock 5 extra chapters together!