Chapter 184: Crocodile Enters the Scene!
At this moment,
the sea fish that had eaten the Smoke-Smoke Fruit hovered two meters above the ocean, its body transformed into smoke.
Though it lacked intelligence,
its instincts told it that the ocean was rejecting it.
"Everyone back off!"
A pirate captain shouted furiously.
Not just Marine HQ—the whole crowd witnessed something shocking:
A sea fish that had eaten the Smoke-Smoke Fruit had become a Logia-type user. If captured and properly trained, it could become a top-tier combat asset.
Especially a creature with no higher thinking—
much like the sea beast that allowed the Arlong Pirates to dominate the East Blue, which obeyed orders without question.
This smoke-powered sea fish was even more precious—and dangerous!
No wonder a fierce scramble broke out.
"Ha ha ha! The smoke fish is mine!"
A pirate captain hacked down the competition and tossed out a fishing net, capturing the fleeing smoke fish with precision.
Poof.
The fish dissolved into smoke and slipped through the net's grip.
The pirate captain froze in disbelief.
"Tch. Idiot. You need seastone to catch a Logia-type user. As expected of the weakest sea—can't even grasp the basics?"
Pirates from the Grand Line sneered.
Though they were irritated too.
They had rushed to the East Blue after watching the Den Den Mushi broadcasts, hoping to snatch the Trial Tower's treasures.
But getting here from the Grand Line took time. By the time they arrived, most of the Contract Fruits had already been snatched up by the local pirates.
They were supposed to be terrifying presences far above the East Blue rabble…
Yet the pirates they faced had strange powers and proved surprisingly difficult opponents.
It was infuriating.
"Coat the net with seastone powder and catch that smoke fish."
"Understood."
A ship without a Jolly Roger, but with a unique emblem on its sail,
released a figure holding a pale yellow parasol, who floated upward like she'd lost gravity.
In her hands was a net coated in seastone powder.
That "powder" wasn't true seastone—it was sand and fragments near seastone deposits, infused with oceanic energy.
Much cheaper than solid seastone.
"Ms. Valentine, it may be just a mindless fish, but it's a Logia user. Don't let your guard down."
A voluptuous Baroque Works member with a purple afro—Miss Doublefinger—called out.
"It's just a fish…"
The beautiful Mikita spoke arrogantly as she activated her Devil Fruit ability:
5,000 kg Weight Slam.
Her slender frame suddenly became as heavy as a boulder. Holding the net, she dropped toward the smoke fish at breakneck speed.
Sensing danger, the fish's smoky body condensed into a ghostly gray mouth and swallowed her whole.
"Help!"
Entangled in smoke, Mikita cried out to Paula for help.
"I told you not to underestimate it."
Paula, the Thorn-Thorn Fruit user, leapt high into the air. Her large bust jiggled with the movement as sharp spikes protruded from her body and stabbed into the fish.
But it had no effect. She, too, was entangled and immobilized.
"This has to be a joke… a fish this powerful?!"
Some pirates who'd been eager to join the fray now hesitated.
Everyone had heard of Baroque Works' fearsome reputation. A famed assassin organization operating near the Kingdom of Alabasta.
These two seductive women were top officers with code names—core members.
They had just effortlessly destroyed an East Blue pirate ship.
Their strength was beyond question.
Yet they were both caught by a smoke fish.
"This is the power of Logia Fruits. Even if you just ate one, unless you face Armament Haki or seastone, you can rampage through the Grand Line!"
A deep, raspy voice rang out.
Golden sand kicked up from the sea, forming a massive sandstorm that took shape into a towering figure.
A golden hook gleamed on his left wrist. He wore a deep green fur coat and a cigar in his mouth. A horizontal scar across his face made him look especially fierce.
With a wave of his right hand,
his golden sandstorm slammed into the smoke fish and knocked the two Baroque assassins free.
"It may be a Smoke Fruit, but you two are so weak it's laughable. Pathetic."
Crocodile's sand wrapped around Paula and Mikita, lifting them by the throat. They could barely breathe.
They, like the rest of Baroque Works, had never learned the true identity of their boss.
But when the Trial Tower appeared, they received orders to head to the East Blue and were told they'd be meeting the boss.
And now, from his words—it was clear who he was.
"He's… a Warlord of the Sea!"
Both pirates and Marines recognized him and gasped in shock.
Ruler of the Alabasta seas,
granted the right to plunder legally—hero of the Kingdom of Alabasta.
Crocodile!
"Boss… please spare us…"
"You're my subordinates. Why would I kill you?"
Crocodile smiled gently and let them drop onto the deck, weak and gasping.
His expression was identical to the "hero" persona he displayed in Alabasta's Rainbase city.
But only Paula and Mikita knew—
he really had intended to kill them a moment ago.
"Relax. You're safe now."
Crocodile's smile didn't waver. Under the watchful eye of the Den Den Mushi broadcast, he had to maintain his heroic image.
Otherwise, he truly would've sucked the life from them on the spot.
In his worldview, useless tools weren't worth keeping.
And Baroque Works' elite officers were just that—tools.
If a tool failed, it got discarded and replaced.
Boom.
The sandstorm surged, grains spinning madly.
Crocodile turned into a swirling current of sand, blocking the smoke fish's escape.
The grains rolled into a seamless prison, sealing it completely.
"Bring me the seastone chains from the ship!"
Still trembling, the two women scrambled to fetch chains from the storage hold.
The sand carried the chains forward. At its head, Crocodile's body reformed, ready to lock the creature down.
Then—
A black blur streaked in,
a fist smashing into Crocodile's still-elementalized body.
Thud.
His form solidified, crashing hard onto the deck. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
"Sorry, but that smoke fish won't be yours, Warlord."
A slim figure landed on the deck of a Marine warship, right arm cloaked in Armament Haki, clutching the writhing fish tightly.
He glanced at Crocodile and said calmly,
"My fists are nowhere near Garp's. I'm only after the smoke fish—not here to challenge a Warlord. I hope you'll understand."
The fish, bound in seastone chains, was tossed into a tank.
Crocodile got to his feet, wiping the blood from his lips. When he saw who it was, he laughed and replied warily:
"Of course. No offense taken. I just didn't expect Vice Admiral Tsuru to show up in the East Blue."
Marine HQ's Vice Admiral Tsuru,
arriving in the East Blue aboard a top-class warship—
and clashing with Warlord Crocodile!
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