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BOOM!!!
Luffy's Conqueror's Haki surged like a tidal wave—
Instantly sweeping up all the clowns who had just been shouting their heads off.
The result? Completely expected.
As the sound of bodies hitting the floor rang out—
Rain Dinners… was cleared out.
"Let's go," Luffy said without even turning back, adjusting his straw hat.
Zoro and Sanji walked beside him, both dead serious.
Zoro tied on his bandana. Sanji lit a cigarette.
Nami and Usopp flanked the trio, silent but calm, gripping their weapons tight.
This was it.
The Straw Hats' first real battle on the Grand Line… had finally begun.
No one said a word.
Step by step, they walked toward the entrance of Rain Dinners.
"The plan's actually pretty simple,"
Back on the ship headed to Alabasta, Bai Ye (White Night) looked at everyone and said:
"Let the people know the truth—then take out Crocodile."
Then he looked over at Luffy, who was wobbling, barely able to stand.
"Crocodile's yours, Luffy."
Luffy grinned and gave a confident nod.
"No problem, White Night. Leave that guy to me."
Stepping over the unconscious Baroque agents, the five of them made their way to the heart of the casino.
And soon, Luffy's Observation Haki picked up the secret chamber hidden deep beneath Rain Dinners.
At that moment, the secret meeting inside the hidden chamber had come to an end.
At the head of the table, Crocodile's face flickered in and out of the candlelight.
"All the missions you've carried out all this time… it was all leading up to this day."
"Once everyone completes their part, just one night is all it'll take—"
"Alabasta will become our perfect paradise."
Crocodile grinned, his wild eyes sweeping over the people gathered in the room.
"This is your final mission—"
"Destroy the Kingdom of Alabasta!"
"Oooh~ What a flawless plan, Mr. 0!"
Suddenly, a flamboyant voice echoed through the chamber.
Mr. 2 stood up from his seat, spun gracefully in a perfect swan-dance pose, then turned to Crocodile with a dramatic wink.
"But darling~ I've got a little surprise for you~"
As he spoke, Mr. 2 pulled out a Den Den Mushi from his clothes—one that had clearly been connected for quite some time.
"What?!"
Miss Merry Christmas's eyes widened the moment she saw it.
"The Den Den Mushi?! Weren't they all confiscated before the meeting?!"
Crocodile was notoriously cautious. He never revealed his identity lightly. Most of the time, he gave out orders using coded letters via the Unluckies.
Now that the senior officers were gathered in person, there's no way he wouldn't have anticipated someone smuggling in a Den Den Mushi.
And yet, Mr. 2 had managed to do just that.
Which meant… the answer was obvious now.
"Miss All-Sunday… you chose to betray me after all, didn't you?"
Crocodile's voice was cold and deadly, like a grim reaper whispering in your ear.
He couldn't believe it. That she of all people would turn on him now.
"Who knows?" Robin replied calmly, her expression unreadable.
"Maybe I just felt like it. Who can say?"
She thought back to when Mr. 2 first contacted her.
Robin's eyes narrowed slightly, like she was remembering something amusing.
"Yoo-hoo! Little Bai Ye told me Sunday-chan is one of us!"
"She'd definitely help lil' ol' me~!"
We've only met once… why does he trust me so much?
Robin was confused—and more curious about Bai Ye than ever.
But more than that, this strange sense of trust… it felt amazing.
Just as Crocodile was about to lash out at Robin, the Den Den Mushi on the table morphed into a young girl's face.
And then came a clear, confident voice:
"Crocodile! I'm the princess of this country—Princess Vivi!"
Hearing that, Crocodile almost lost it.
Yet another bombshell.
Mr. 3 had explicitly reported that Princess Vivi had been taken care of.
And Mr. 2 had claimed to have taken out Mr. 3.
So what the hell was going on?
Did Mr. 3 betray me too?
Crocodile's eyes grew colder and more dangerous as he glared around the room.
Now, it wasn't just Mr. 2 and Robin he suspected. Everyone here was under suspicion.
And just then, Vivi's voice rang out again.
She wasn't just speaking to Crocodile—she was broadcasting to the entire nation of Alabasta.
"We know all about your plan," she said slowly and clearly.
"Alabasta will never become your so-called paradise!"
Her words cast a heavy silence over the meeting room…
…but all across Alabasta, the people were in an uproar.
In that moment, Vivi's popularity hit its peak.
As her powerful declaration echoed through the kingdom, followed by the cheering of the people…
Crocodile started to laugh.
That terrifying rage from earlier? Completely gone, like it never happened.
"Heh… hehehe… HAHAHAHAHA!!!"
His laughter grew louder and wilder, like a demon rising from the depths of hell.
Then, all at once, it stopped.
"Never, huh?"
His voice, like a devil's chant, came through the small Den Den Mushi—reaching Vivi and every citizen in Alabasta.
"You think you can stop me?"
The second question came with eerie calm, his tone so heavy it made people instinctively hold their breath.
Like if they even breathed, he'd find them and crush them.
"What makes you think you're worthy?! HUH?!"
The third question exploded like a thunderclap.
The Den Den Mushi trembled violently, like it might cut out any second.
Outside the palace, the people who had been cheering moments ago were now frozen with fear—some even collapsing to the ground.
In Yuba—
Koza and Pell stood side by side, listening to Crocodile's voice in silence.
Only now did people finally remember…
Just how terrifying the Desert King truly was.
"The Navy… the Navy will save us, right?"
When people hit their breaking point, they instinctively look for something—anything—to cling to.
"Yeah! Crocodile's a pirate. The Navy has to do something!"
Once the first person said it, hope began to ripple through the crowd like waves.
"Yeah! We've still got the Navy!"
"Where's the Navy?! Somebody call them!!"
Vivi was just about to reveal the truth when—
Crocodile's voice boomed again:
"The Navy? Hahahaha!!!"
"That's your great hope? The Navy?!"
"Why don't you ask your dear Princess Vivi—"
"She's the one who kicked the Navy out of this country days ago!!!"
His manic laughter echoed across all of Alabasta.
Then, looking at the Den Den Mushi, Crocodile said slowly—
"Your destruction… has nothing to do with you!!!"
At that very moment, above the Rain Dinners casino—
Lightning began to gather!!!
"....."