The sudden flames left Crocodile and the numerous Marines slightly stunned.
'Flames? Whose ability is that?'
According to their intelligence, there shouldn't have been a fire-user among Nico Robin and the Straw Hat crew in the cave.
The top of the cave was destroyed by the flames. The scorching fire collided with the sand blade, creating a violent shockwave.
A figure leaped out from the cave and landed on the desert sand.
The young man was bare-chested, revealing his muscular upper body. He wore an orange cowboy hat and a string of crimson beads around his neck.
Looking at the face under the cowboy hat, Crocodile and the Marines were all shaken.
"'Fire Fist' Ace!"
"A commander of the Whitebeard Pirates!"
"What is he doing here?"
Gmil and the other three Vice Admirals, as well as Smoker and Hina, all changed their expressions.
"Fire Fist" Ace was completely outside of their intelligence reports.
His appearance was even more shocking than finding Luo Chen in the cave would have been.
As an elite officer of an Emperor's crew, "Fire Fist" Ace was definitely no weaker than a Marine Vice Admiral. In fact, an ordinary Vice Admiral might not even be Ace's match.
The expressions of Gmil and the other three Vice Admirals were grave.
At this moment, several people and a reindeer leaped out from the cave.
Crocodile scanned them and sneered, "Nico Robin, Straw Hat Luffy, you rats have nowhere left to hide."
"Gmil, you and your men hold off 'Fire Fist' Ace. Leave Nico Robin and Straw Hat Luffy to me," Crocodile said coldly.
Gmil gave him a suspicious glance. "Crocodile, this is the first time you've been so proactive in cooperating with us, isn't it?"
Crocodile blew out a ring of smoke and smiled. "As a Warlord of the Sea specially appointed by the World Government, assisting the Marines is within my duties."
"What's more, Nico Robin secretly established Baroque Works in my territory, disrupting the peace of Alabasta, which has made me very angry."
His gaze fell on Nico Robin's face, his eyes filled with ridicule.
'This bastard!' Robin cursed internally.
Even with her composure, she was thoroughly infuriated by Crocodile.
Everything in Alabasta had been planned by Crocodile from behind the scenes.
Seeing that his plot was about to be exposed, Crocodile had pushed all the blame onto her. She had become the boss of the criminal organization, Baroque Works.
Crocodile, on the other hand, was assisting the Marines in capturing her, and was even preparing to silence her for good.
Luffy shouted angrily, "Crocodile is the bad guy! You Marines have been deceived!"
His body was wrapped in bandages.
Not long ago, he had fought Crocodile in the desert and had nearly died. Luckily, Nico Robin had saved him.
Vivi was also extremely anxious. "I am the princess of Alabasta! I can prove that the boss behind Baroque Works is Crocodile! He's trying to use you Marines to silence us!"
Crocodile dived down from the sky with a playful smile.
"Princess Vivi, I know you've been coerced by Nico Robin and the Straw Hat crew. Don't worry, I'll rescue you right away."
Ace threw a punch, blasting a ball of fire. He shouted, "Luffy, run! You can't beat him in the desert!"
Crocodile was a user of the Logia-type Sand-Sand Fruit. He could freely create and control sand. The desert was like water to a fish for Crocodile. Even Ace wasn't completely confident he could defeat him in the desert.
He wanted to stop Crocodile, but Gmil and the other three Marine Vice Admirals had already charged over.
They were so fast that they intercepted Ace directly.
"'Fire Fist' Ace, since you dared to show yourself, you might as well stay here," Gmil said, drawing the twin swords from his waist.
Fighting one-on-one, it would be difficult to take down Ace. But there were three other Vice Admirals. In addition, Vice Admiral Onigumo had also landed in Alabasta and was on his way here. Five Vice Admirals would be enough to take down "Fire Fist" Ace.
The great battle erupted in an instant.
Ace and the four Vice Admirals unleashed their full power. Scorching flames, sharp sword-qi, and Armament Haki crisscrossed the battlefield. Endless grains of sand were blasted into the air, as if a sandstorm had been kicked up. The scene was terrifying.
In mid-air, Smoker, Hina, and the other Headquarters Captains and Rear Admirals charged out, chasing after the fleeing Nico Robin and the Straw Hat crew.
"What do we do, what do we do? We're dead!!!"
Usopp shrieked in terror, his legs so weak that he could only ride on Chopper, who was in his reindeer form.
Four Vice Admirals were surrounding Ace.
Dozens of Headquarters Captains and Rear Admirals were in hot pursuit.
And even closer behind them was a cruel Warlord of the Sea, flying through the air.
No matter how you looked at it, it was a desperate and hopeless situation.
Carina and Nami were running so hard their shoes had fallen off.
Both women's faces were pale.
Carina said self-reproachfully, "I'm sorry, Nami. We're the ones who got you involved in this."
That day, on their way to Rain-Dinners, they had been accidentally spotted and pursued by Smoker. In their flight, they had accidentally run into Nami, who was out buying clothes for Luo Chen. This had led to Nami also being discovered by the Marines, and she had no choice but to flee with them.
Nami looked back at the dozens of pursuing Marines and bit her lip tightly.
She was terrified right now.
She was afraid of being caught by the Marines, and she was also afraid of Luo Chen coming.
'Luo Chen probably doesn't know where I am. It's fine. Alabasta is so big, he won't be able to find me.'
Nami comforted herself internally.
The reason she hadn't woken Luo Chen up when they had fled that day was because she didn't want to drag him into this dangerous situation.
Multiple Marine Vice Admirals plus a Warlord. The enemy's strength was too great.
Even Ace, the 2nd division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, couldn't stand against them and was currently completely tied down by the four Vice Admirals.
"Gum-Gum Gatling!" Luffy's angry roar came from beside her.
Nami turned her head to look and was horrified to find that Crocodile had already caught up.
Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji had consciously stopped to attack him.
But just like when they had encountered Smoker in Loguetown, Luffy's fists, Sanji's kicks, and Zoro's slashes were all unable to pose a threat.
Hitting Crocodile was like hitting a pile of sand.
After being scattered, he would quickly reform, and they were unable to cause any damage.
"Damn it! If only I had learned Luo Chen's Armament Haki!" Luffy was exasperated.
He now desperately wished he had Luo Chen's ability. At least then he could hit that bastard Crocodile.
Robin, running beside Nami, asked, "Where did Luo Chen go? If he were here, we might still have a chance."
Nami shook her head. "I told him to run. The Marines were after him in the first place."
Usopp's terrified voice was on the verge of tears.
"Luo Chen definitely ran away! He didn't even dare to fight Crocodile! We're screwed because of him!"
On the verge of death, Usopp didn't care what he said anymore.
Nami glared at him angrily. "Luo Chen wouldn't run! But he probably just can't find us here..."
She knew Luo Chen's character. He would never easily abandon her and run away. However, it was unlikely that he would be able to find them. And Nami didn't want Luo Chen to come. It was just too dangerous.
Robin glanced at Nami. "You've really been completely brainwashed by him."
In a situation like this, if Luo Chen dared to come, he would just be throwing his life away.
She didn't know why this orange-haired young lady trusted Luo Chen so much.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]