WebNovels

Chapter 103 - "The Warlord's Master Plan."

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Out in the desert, a turtle wearing a hat and puffing a cigarette was hauling a carriage along at high speed.

This unimpressive-looking turtle was actually the Baroque Works' designated land-water transport turtle—Banchi.

Right now, its destination was a city in Alabasta called Rainbase.

Inside the carriage it was pulling sat five people.

"Stop shoving me! You're so damn fat, I've been squashed this whole trip!"

The speaker, an old woman with a wild red afro, was going off like a machine gun at the man beside her.

This granny was none other than one of Baroque Works' top officers—Miss Merry Christmas.

She had eaten the Mole-Mole Fruit, a Zoan-type Devil Fruit.

Her bounty: 14 million berries.

The guy she was yelling at had a body like a giant bear—honestly, more like a balloon.

This was her partner, Mr. 4.

At the moment, he was curled up as small as he could get and murmured in a slow voice:

"Sorry…"

It was hard to imagine a guy that huge being this much of a pushover.

Mr. 4 wasn't a Devil Fruit user—he was just insanely strong by nature.

But his pet? Now that was something else—it was a gun that had eaten the Dog-Dog Fruit, Sausage Dog Model.

"Yo! Big guy, Obaasan, just hang in there a bit longer."

Another voice chimed in from inside the carriage.

It was Mr. 2 Bon Clay, who had already decided to help Luffy and the others.

He was currently on an undercover mission as part of the plan.

Besides the three of them, there were two more top officers in the carriage—the strongest among the Baroque Works elite.

Miss Doublefinger: A stunning dominatrix with a blue beehive hairstyle. She had eaten the Paramecia-type Thorn-Thorn Fruit.

She could grow sharp thorns from any part of her body.

Mr. 1: Bald with monk-like hair, thin eyebrows joined into one, and a ripped upper body. He had eaten the Dice-Dice Fruit, another Paramecia.

He could turn any part of his body into a blade, making even his punches and kicks deadly.

These five were all key players in Crocodile's master plan.

Just as Mr. 2 finished speaking, Banchi the turtle came to a halt.

The group stepped off the carriage, and the first thing they saw was the most famous and luxurious casino in Rainbase — the Rain Dinners.

Soon enough, they were led inside to a hidden, soundproof room beneath the Rain Dinners casino.

Inside that room, waiting for them, was none other than Miss All-Sunday.

As high-ranking agents, they had all met Miss All-Sunday before. She was the one who usually gave them their mission orders.

So naturally, they all greeted her.

Robin responded to each of them in turn, then finally got down to business.

"First of all, thank you all for coming such a long way to gather here."

"This is the first time we've had so many senior agents together in one place. It's quite the crowd."

After a simple compliment to the group, she continued:

"There's a very straightforward reason I called you all here."

Robin glanced around the room, her voice calm and deliberate:

"We're about to launch the final phase of the operation."

Hearing this, Miss Merry Christmas and Mr. 4 both got visibly excited.

Mr. 2 put on a look of anticipation, but his eyes betrayed a flicker of disdain.

Mr. 1 leaned back in his chair. His face stayed stoic as always, but inside, he was anything but calm.

So... the long-awaited final operation was finally about to begin?

Robin caught all their expressions and smiled like a polished hostess.

"Before that, though, let me introduce someone to you."

"Your boss — the one you've never met."

As soon as Robin finished speaking, the sound of leather shoes echoed through the room.

Tap. Tap. Tap...

"He's Mr. 0, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."

The footsteps got closer, and a figure finally appeared before them.

It was a man with slicked-back hair and a long horizontal scar across his face.

A cigar glowed faintly between his lips, and his left hand ended in a striking golden hook.

His orange plaid shirt and black fur coat screamed mafia boss.

"This is Sir Crocodile — the Sand Crocodile, King of the Desert."

He sat down in the head seat, grinning at the room full of agents.

Then slowly said:

"The time is right. The final operation begins now."

"We call it — Utopia."

"To all the people of Alabasta—"

Meanwhile, in the rebel army's base in Yuba—

Three hundred thousand rebels were gathered in the square, all holding their breath, waiting.

And finally, the voice they'd been waiting for rang out.

"I am the princess of this kingdom — Vivi."

"I'm sorry for all the suffering this kingdom has gone through."

In Alabasta's royal capital, Vivi stood atop the palace balcony.

Facing the massive crowd below, Vivi showed no fear at all.

She kept speaking into the loudspeaker transponder snail:

"On behalf of the royal family, I sincerely apologize to all of you."

"You've all been through so much."

Even though she knew not everyone could see her, Vivi still bowed deeply.

Not for appearances — but for all those innocent people who lost their lives over the years due to the royal family's inaction.

That single bow stunned not only the citizens gathered in front of the palace...

Even King Cobra, standing behind Vivi, was shocked.

"Vivi... she's already become a real ruler."

Cobra couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Beside him, Igaram looked like he wanted to speak, but hesitated.

Because deep down, he truly believed that right now, Vivi was more fit to rule than Cobra himself.

Or rather... she'd make an incredible queen.

Vivi, of course, didn't hear her father's words.

She carefully pulled out another transponder snail from her pocket — this one already connected.

"Next, I want you all to hear something for yourselves — the voice of the one who wants to destroy this country."

With that, she placed the connected snail in front of the loudspeaker snail.

And right on cue, a voice came through:

"Never thought it'd be someone this high-profile... one of the Seven Warlords — Crocodile."

For a moment, the entire nation froze in shock!

"So... you're our boss, huh?"

After Miss Merry Christmas voiced her surprise, Mr. 1 asked the most obvious — and most important — question.

At those words, Crocodile leaned forward, resting his arms on the table.

He locked eyes with Mr. 1, fingers intertwined, his gaze full of pressure.

Sweat started to bead on Mr. 1's bald head before Crocodile finally spoke:

"Surprised? Or is it... you've got a problem with it?"

Crocodile's voice was calm and low — but it chilled everyone to the bone.

"N-no, of course not, boss,"

Mr. 1's partner, Finger, cut in nervously, trying to defuse the tension:

"We're just confused. I mean, the Warlords are government-recognized pirates, right?"

"So why go through all the trouble of setting up Baroque Works?"

"....."

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