"T-This!?"
Vivi was terrified.
She had been discovered.
And the information revealed… was shockingly precise.
At this point, she didn't have much of a choice.
Vivi: "..."
Vivi: "I admit it. I am Vivi. If you're with Baroque Works, I beg you—please stop trying to destroy Alabasta!"
March 7th: "Oh my, what a misunderstanding! We're not with Baroque Works—we're not the bad guys."
Emilia: "Miss Vivi, there's no need to be so tense. Everyone in this group means well."
Seitenshi: "Why not try to trust us a little?"
Vivi: "..."
Vivi: "You're really not part of Baroque Works?"
Nanashi: "Aren't you here to investigate the mastermind behind them?"
Nanashi: "Then I'll tell you—your so-called national hero is actually the boss of Baroque Works."
Vivi: "National hero? You mean... Crocodile?! One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?!"
She gasped and covered her mouth.
She couldn't believe it.
The hero who was supposed to be protecting Alabasta… was the very person trying to destroy it?
Who in the world would even believe her if she said that aloud?
[Ding! An abnormal doomsday factor has been detected near the new member Vivi. The Doomsday Journey has begun!]
[Doomsday Journey Participants]: Five
[Duration]: 1 Day
[Participants]: Nanashi, Nami, Vivi, Kisara Tendo, Esdeath
[Companion Mission]: Defeat the evil Transcendent—Crocodile
Silver Wolf: "That was fast. Nanashi just mentioned the mastermind and we're already being deployed."
Reinhard: "Another anomaly... The Plunderer, the Reborn, now the Transcendent. Are they connected?"
Nanashi: "We'll figure that out later. Vivi, something's not right around you."
There was no response.
Kisara Tendo: "Looks like something's gone wrong on her end."
Esdeath: "Can we move? I'm itching for a fight."
Nanashi: "Let's go."
"Pffft!"
Nanashi grabbed his weapon from Namis lips, lightly pinched her pink bud eliciting a moan from her.
Then he waved his hand as a golden light burst forth.
The two were suddenly clad in matching white T-shirts and shorts.
Perfect attire for the desert heat.
On their shirts were the words "I Come In Peace" and "I'm Peace" respectively—one glance and you'd think "couple" was tattooed on their foreheads.
Nami: "Isn't this a bit… high profile?"
She knew about Nanashi and Esdeath and was worried things might get tense.
Nanashi laughed. "What's there to hide? My woman is my woman. I'm not ashamed of that."
Feeling her heart melt a little, Nami smiled and hummed. "Mm."
Nanashi: "Let's move."
The two confirmed the journey prompt and vanished.
Meanwhile...
Nojiko noticed the sudden silence in the room.
With blurry eyes, she peeked through the door crack.
"..."
They were gone.
Trying to stand, she placed her hand on the floor—and felt a small puddle.
Her face flushed.
She convinced herself with a mental note: I must've spilled some water… That's all.
Trying to maintain composure, she straightened her hot pants, glanced around once more—still no one.
With a soft sigh, she pushed the door open and walked inside.
Back in Alabasta...
Vivi stared nervously at the chat group, still trying to confirm information about Crocodile.
Suddenly, the wind howled.
A fierce sandstorm swept across the desert.
"Ah!"
Shielding her face with her arms, she braced against the stinging wind.
Then, just as suddenly, the storm stopped.
She slowly lowered her arms—
"!!!"
Her eyes widened in horror.
From the swirling sands emerged a towering figure.
Burly and imposing, clad in a plaid shirt and a black fur coat.
His hair slicked back, a long scar cut across his face, and a cigar smoldered between his lips.
His left arm was replaced by a gleaming golden hook that shimmered under the sun.
Crocodile.
One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Vivi's heart raced, but she forced her expression to stay calm.
Bang!
A woman in a black leather jacket was thrown violently to the ground.
She groaned, blood trickling down her forehead, staining the sand.
Crocodile: "Should I call you Miss Wednesday… or Princess Vivi?"
His voice was low and venomous.
He was no longer just Crocodile—he was a Transcendent!
Vivi: "Your Majesty, the great Warlord—I don't know what you're talking about."
She forced a strained smile.
Crocodile: "It doesn't matter. You and Robin—traitors. Neither of you will exist after today."
With an indifferent gaze, his arm dissolved into swirling sand and surged toward them.
"Crocodile."
A cold voice cut through the desert air.
"Who?!"
Crocodile's body instinctively burst into grains of sand. He fled, re-forming hundreds of meters away.
He had felt it—a chilling sensation of death.
Two figures now stood before him.
A man. And a woman.
The aura from the man screamed danger.
Esdeath: "Is he the enemy?"
Kisara: "He looks tough."
Crocodile's brow furrowed. More enemies?
Esdeath glanced at Nanashi and Nami's matching outfits, but didn't say anything.
Instead, she asked with a gleam in her eyes, "How strong is he?"
Nanashi yawned, unimpressed. "He's trash. Nami, you take care of this one."
With the Thunder Fruit and the body of the Angel of Redemption, Nami could easily reach Lv4.
Crocodile was no match.
Esdeath's Demon's Extract was classified as an A-rank ability.
After completing her world's doomsday companionship, she had been upgraded to Lv5 combat strength, and had since mastered Haki and Rokushiki.
Dealing with Crocodile? Child's play.
"I can fight too!"
Kisara lifted her chin with confidence as a sword materialized in her hand.
Nanashi glanced at it and immediately recognized the design. "Zanpakutō?"
"Yeah, it's the ability I got from roulette. It's already at Lv3. Its real name—Shinsō(*Sacred Spear)!"
"A-ranked Zanpakutō, huh?" Nanashi muttered thoughtfully.
His own rank was S, while Kisara's was A. Still, that wasn't necessarily a reflection of power alone—compatibility and ability synergy played a big role.
Shinsō belonged to Gin Ichimaru, former Captain of Squad 3 in the Gotei 13. Its power allowed it to extend and retract at blinding speed—perfectly suited to a style that emphasized misdirection and sudden strikes.
Combined with Tendou-style swordsmanship, it made for an intriguing combination.
"You all seem eager to jump in," Nanashi said with a shrug. "Forget what I said earlier. I leave this guy to you. Consider it training."
To him, Crocodile was hardly worth the effort.
"Finally, a fight!" Esdeath grinned with deadly excitement. Without waiting, her body launched forward like a bullet.
"Glacial Horned Titan!"
A massive block of ice plummeted from the sky, casting a shadow over the desert.
Crocodile's pupils contracted. "A Devil Fruit user?!"
He reacted swiftly. The sands around him surged violently, forming a towering blade that erupted upward like a desert fang.
CRACK!
The icy mass shattered in mid-air, split cleanly by the Desert Spada.
"She's going all-in already."
Nami sighed. "Esdeath really is a battle maniac."
Now that Esdeath had taken the first move, there was no point in the others stepping in.
"That's just how she is," Nanashi said, spreading his hands. "I can't exactly stop her. Besides, you're not the type who needs to hog the spotlight anyway."
Nami gave a resigned smile. "Yeah, I know."
Kisara, meanwhile, had sheathed Shinsō. "I don't think I can top that. I'll start a livestream instead."
As the battlefield raged with ice and sandstorms, she sensibly acknowledged her limits.
[Ding! Kisara has started a livestream!]
[March 7th has joined the room!]
March 7th: "Whoa, Esdeath's the one fighting this time!"
Bronya: "Didn't you say you weren't going to get involved?"
Nanashi: "He's weak. No point in wasting effort. Just giving Esdeath a little stress relief."
Bronya: "Understood."
Chito: "They're so strong… One controls sand, the other ice! How do they do that?"
Nanashi: "Crocodile's a Sand-Sand Fruit user. A natural-element Devil Fruit. Esdeath's power is Demon's Extract—an embodiment of a demon god."
Chito: "Ohhh..." (Though she still didn't quite get it.)
Shinobu: "It's similar to my Devil Fruit ability."
Silver Wolf: "Powers from other worlds really are bizarre."
White Blood Cell: "Is this what human battles look like? Incredible."
Momonga: "No, this isn't normal. These are humans with powers."
Platelet: "Wow... so cool!"
Reinhard: "Mr. Nanashi, do you know what the 'Transcendent' really represents?"
Nanashi: "Yeah. I figured it out."
He had already accessed Crocodile's memories and seen the truth for himself.
Nanashi: "It's literal—a person who surpasses their past self."
Suho: "Wait, like someone from the future?"
Nanashi: "Yes... and no. More accurately, he's someone who returned from a future point in time—his memories merged with his current self."
From Crocodile's memories, Nanashi had seen the exact moment: he had come from just after being defeated by Luffy.
Unlike beings who were resurrected after death, like Arlong, this was different. This Crocodile was a convergence of past and future.
March 7th: "So he wanted to kill Vivi because he remembered what happened?"
Nanashi: "Exactly."
Vivi's face turned pale.
"Is all of this… true?"
Nanashi blinked, watching her stare at the screen in disbelief. With a wry smile, he said, "You do realize I'm standing right next to you, right? You could just ask."
"Ah?" Vivi snapped out of it, blushing.
"Well… um… is all of this really true?" she asked again, hesitantly.
"It's true," Nanashi said with a nod, his gaze landing on her outfit.
Technically, it was still Miss Wednesday in disguise.
"..."
Yeah, he really wasn't a fan of the spiraled, frilly costume.
"Hold still for a moment."
Nanashi pointed at her outfit. A swirl of energy shifted her clothes into a beautiful pink and gold dress.
Vivi stood stunned.
Next, Nanashi gently undid the ponytail, letting her hair cascade down in soft waves. With a few graceful touches and decorative pins, her look was completely transformed.
From awkward spy to stunning princess.
"Beautiful~" Nanashi admired his work proudly. The new Vivi was much more pleasing to the eye.
"Magic?" Nami blinked at the sudden transformation.
A spirited girl had instantly turned into a radiant, graceful royal.
"This is so weird," Kisara muttered. "She was already this pretty—why was she dressed like that?"
Vivi looked away, cheeks flushed. "Well… I had to keep up the disguise…"
"Nanashi, what about her?"
Nami gestured to the unconscious woman in black leather lying nearby.
The woman slowly raised her gaze, clearly hoping to stay unnoticed.
Too bad for her… that was impossible.
She quickly processed the situation, piecing together information in her mind.
That Vivi—she was the princess of the Kingdom of Alabasta.
And these strangers who had suddenly appeared... they didn't seem like ordinary people. They belonged to some sort of organization.
They even dared to attack a Warlord of the Sea!
Glancing toward the distant battlefield, she caught a glimpse of the chaos. Crocodile was clearly being overwhelmed.
"Miss, do you need a hand?"
Nanashi extended his arm like a gentleman.
The woman hesitated only briefly before accepting his offer and letting him help her to her feet.
Before she could ask anything, Nanashi spoke with a half-smile, casually revealing her identity:
"Devil's Child, Nico Robin."
"!!!"
Robin stiffened. Her body trembled.
He found out!
"Relax. I'm not interested in outing you," Nanashi said calmly, looking her over.
Her figure was fine, but her skin and facial features were still far from how she would look two years from now.
Robin couldn't tell if he was being honest or playing games, so she remained cautious.
"Are you with the World Government? Or pirates?"
"Neither," Nanashi answered plainly, shifting his attention back to the battlefield.
Crocodile's face twisted with pain and rage. Blood streamed from the corner of his mouth, and an ice spike pierced his right leg, freezing it solid. Not even elementalization could undo the damage.