"Roldy, you bastard! Has that guy finally come back?"
Alabasta, Rainbase.
Within the hidden underground space beneath the luxurious casino known as Rain Dinners, Crocodile lounged on a sofa. The familiar slicked-back hair, the familiar golden hook, and the familiar cigar still clenched between his teeth were all there. The only thing completely different from before was his body—he had changed from female to male.
His muscular frame, over three meters tall, sprawled across the sofa. Just looking at him gave off an overwhelming sense of pressure. In his hand was the latest newspaper. When he saw the news that Roldy had returned to the sea, a visible change flickered through his eyes.
"Hah… Seventeen years. My dear boss…"
Crocodile rose and walked over to the enormous water tank nearby. Several huge yellow crocodiles with bananas growing from their heads swam through the water. Reflected in the glass was his current appearance.
In truth, possessing a male body had always been something he desired. Aside from a few natural-born monsters, under the same conditions, men were always physically stronger than women. After entering Alabasta, he had exhausted every effort, relying on a series of schemes to establish himself as a hero, create his own organization, and then use the intelligence network left behind by Roldy to contact the Revolutionary Army. Through the Devil Fruit ability of that Revolutionary Army officer, the Okama King Emporio Ivankov, he had transformed himself into a man.
A male body truly did possess greater strength.
The only problem was that, because his current body had been altered by a Devil Fruit ability, he could not use Haki.
Crocodile understood this very well. This form could only be maintained temporarily. In battles at the highest level, Haki was always the key factor that determined victory or defeat.
"Boss!"
Someone entered Crocodile's hidden chamber. A familiar voice reached his ears, and Crocodile turned his head. Because of the lighting, his eyes looked especially gloomy.
It was a woman wearing a white cowboy hat, dressed like a cowgirl. Her wheat-colored skin looked particularly healthy. This woman was the second-in-command of the Baroque Works organization Crocodile had created in Alabasta.
The Devil Child — Nico Robin.
"What is it?"
"The Straw Hat Pirates, whom you ordered us to monitor, have entered Alabasta. Just as you predicted, Miss Wednesday has already made contact with them."
Crocodile nodded, indicating that he understood.
Nico Robin said nothing more and turned to leave.
As for why Crocodile would be interested in such an unknown little pirate crew?
The answer was simple.
The creation of Baroque Works had gone very smoothly. He spent Roldy's money, used Roldy's connections, and drew on the funds Roldy had accumulated. As a result, Baroque Works was far larger than it had been in the original timeline. Through the intelligence network of the Underworld , the two brats with sensitive identities in the Straw Hat Pirates could not hide at all.
After all, they could be considered juniors who had some connection to Roldy. It was only natural to give them a little care.
However…
"So it still couldn't stay hidden? Miss Wednesday, I hope you don't do anything that would make me unhappy. After all, this kingdom is the welcome-back gift I'm giving that guy Roldy."
Crocodile spoke in a low voice. After thinking for a moment, he picked up the Den Den Mushi beside him.
"Speed things up. I don't care what methods you use. The rebel army must attack the capital within one week!"
"Huh? Y-yes, yes! We understand!"
Alabasta was currently divided between three forces.
The first was naturally Crocodile and Baroque Works under his command, who were carrying out their plan to usurp the country. The second was the rebel army, who wanted to overthrow the foolish king Crocodile had manufactured through his schemes. The final side was the royal family of Alabasta, also the weakest of the three. Other than a few blindly loyal troops, their only remaining hope was Baroque Works' Miss Wednesday — Princess Vivi — who was trying to save the country.
Each link connected perfectly to the next. Everything was proceeding according to Crocodile's plan.
The rebel army had already grown into a real threat. The Alabasta royal family could no longer stop them. In at most one month, the rebel army would reach the royal capital. When that time came, he would appear as a hero, behead Alabasta's former king, pin unforgivable crimes on the rebel leader, and once both sides had fallen, he could rely on the reputation he had built up to become king as a matter of course.
"The struggles of insects. How amusing. How pitiful. Power is the only truly reliable thing in this world."
Failure?
Crocodile had never even considered such a thing.
He did not believe his plan could fail. After all, the final step of the plan was overwhelming force.
In other words, if some uncontrollable situation appeared, Crocodile would simply call in reinforcements…
…
At the same time, elsewhere.
"It's so hot! Nami, I want water!"
"Fine, but only one sip. If you hold it in your mouth, you won't feel as thirsty!"
Gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp…
Bang!
"You bastard! You just drank at least twenty mouthfuls, didn't you?!"
"Hahahaha!"
Alabasta's climate was scorching hot, and in recent years, water resources had become extremely scarce. Having just set foot in this desert kingdom, the Straw Hat Pirates were currently crossing a stretch of desert on foot.
Aside from the original six members, Vivi, and her duck, there was also a young man with a head of purple hair who stood around two meters tall. His build was extremely well-proportioned. Although his appearance was not exactly breathtakingly handsome, he was still quite pleasant to look at.
His identity was obvious.
The son of former Marine Admiral Zephyr, and a combatant of the Straw Hat Pirates — Ann.
"We still have two and a half whole days before we get out of this desert! Everyone, conserve your water!"
Nami still held supreme authority. At the moment, she and Vivi were riding on a camel named Eyelashes. Paying no attention whatsoever to Luffy's status as captain, she loudly scolded him.
"Hey, hey… I can't do this anymore. I'm about to die from exhaustion!"
The blazing climate was extremely unfriendly to Chopper, whose body was covered in fur. As the newest member to join the crew, his kind nature had allowed him to quickly blend in with the Straw Hats.
Ann, who was in the best condition among them, saw how miserable Chopper looked. He reached out with one large hand, grabbed Chopper by the head, and then placed him on the back of his neck.
"Thank you so much, Ann! So this is what the scenery looks like from up high!"
Chopper was beyond excited. His two reindeer hooves grabbed onto Ann's ears.
Ann smiled. As the third veteran member to join the Straw Hats, he truly liked the atmosphere of this crew.
In truth, at first, he had never intended to become a pirate. But for some reason, the moment he met Luffy, he suddenly discovered that he had no resistance at all to the other party's invitation.
Just like that, he had muddled his way onto the ship.
However, the Straw Hats had not disappointed him. These people were nothing like ordinary pirates. If anything, they were more like travelers.
And so, he had stayed.
Ann looked at Luffy walking ahead. There was a huge lump on Luffy's head, courtesy of Nami. At that moment, Luffy was grimacing and rubbing his head, but his eyes were fixed on Sanji.
There was no other reason.
Inside Sanji's backpack were pirate lunches prepared for them…
The group continued through the desert. The journey was long, but with companions at their side, it was quite enjoyable.
However, as they walked, a gigantic crab suddenly emerged from the sand.
The crab looked rather strange. Its eyes were lively like a human's, and above them was a large mouth that looked very much like a human's. Its lecherous-looking eyes stared at Luffy and the others. The corners of its mouth lifted into a nasty grin.
"Whoa!!! What a huge crab! Sanji, let's have crab lunch tonight!"
Luffy's eyes lit up. The sheer appetite shining in them left the crab at a loss for what to do.
"A crab this big would take quite a while to cook! Then let's hurry up and get moving!"
Sanji tugged at his tie. He had never cooked a crab this large before. More importantly, it was a crab from the desert. Just thinking about it made him excited.
"Hey, hey, hey! You two are seriously hopeless! Don't you think this crab would be perfect as a mount?"
Ann grabbed Chopper by the scruff of the neck and casually tossed him over to Zoro. Then he cracked his knuckles, the sharp pops ringing out one after another.
A short while later…
Everyone, including the camel Eyelashes, was sitting comfortably on the crab's head.
As for the crab, it was moving toward the distant horizon with tears streaming down its face…
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789