"You've got guts," Rodin said, his voice a low growl. Female Crocodile, dazed by the sudden flood of emotions, collapsed into his arms. Rodin quickly let go and stepped away, amazed at the sheer power of the Love Perfume.
Male Crocodile, his patience gone, yelled, "Desert Sword!" He turned his hand into a sand blade and slashed at the ground.
"No! Save the Princess!" Pell shouted, transforming into his Falcon form and flying toward Vivi. The Royal Army also began to close in from both sides.
Female Crocodile stared at the approaching desert sword and calmly put her hand on it. Male Crocodile watched in horror as his sand blade disintegrated into loose sand. "Is that your desert sword?" she said with a hint of disappointment, then pulled out her own sand blade, this one wrapped in purple Armament Haki. It was far more powerful than his.
Male Crocodile spat out his cigar, mimicking her move, but an embarrassing thing happened. His right hand, from his palm to his upper arm, was sliced open and gushed blood. "This Haki..." he grunted, enduring the pain. "Impossible. My strength can't be weaker than my female self!"
He tried to shout another attack, "Desert..." but a sharp pain in his abdomen cut him off. Female Crocodile had landed a devastating blow to his navel with a fist wrapped in rapidly spinning desert spikes.
A single drop of blood fell and was quickly absorbed by the sand. "I didn't expect you couldn't even react to my speed," she said, retracting her fist and kicking out a leg.
Male Crocodile blocked it, but his left hand was in pain. "Impossible! You're so young!" he said as his golden scorpion cloak slipped off, revealing the hooks underneath. He tried to slash her, but she was a blur of sand.
"It's over, trash," she said, appearing behind him and hammering down with her fists. A dangerous instinct told him to run, but a numbness in his neck spread down to his tailbone. His vision blurred, and his two-meter-tall body crumbled to the ground.
The entire fight, from start to finish, had taken just over ten seconds. The Royal Army, having only taken a few steps, was stunned. "The Warlord... fell just like that?" they whispered. "They only sent one person..."
As female Crocodile moved in to finish him off, male Crocodile turned into a gust of sand. A sand tornado erupted from the center of the battlefield, sweeping up everyone nearby. But as soon as he became an element, female Crocodile used Observation Haki to search for his real body.
A few minutes later, the sandstorm subsided. Male Crocodile, in a small vest and his massive cloak, was on the ground, bruised and bleeding. Female Crocodile was in much better shape.
Vivi, who had been watching nervously, relaxed. Tears welled up in her eyes. The enemy she had been fighting for so long had been defeated by an ally's subordinate. The joy was immense. Her country would finally have peace. "Princess Vivi, the turmoil is over," Icarem said, his voice trembling.
The Royal Army stood in a daze, unsure of what to do.
Rodin walked up to the fallen Crocodile. "Do you want to kill me in exchange for the Warlord position?" Crocodile said, still having enough strength to speak. "Then kill me."
"I'll give you a choice," Rodin said with a slight smile.
Crocodile's eyelids trembled. "An opportunity?"
"Just kidding," Rodin laughed. "Why so serious?"
"What? You were kidding!" Crocodile yelled, but he was cut off and turned into a geyser of blood.
[Ding! You have killed a Warlord. The drawing time has been shortened by two days. You have two days left for a random draw!]
The main purpose of Rodin's journey had been achieved.
Female Crocodile walked up slowly. "He was weaker than I thought," she said.
"You were pretty domineering just now," Rodin replied, and a dangerous atmosphere filled the air.
"What do you want?" she asked, unafraid.
Suddenly, a heavy rain began to fall on the desert country. The dead Crocodile's conspiracy was exposed, the citizens learned the truth, and the civil unrest finally subsided. Rodin and his crew were hailed as heroes and invited to the capital palace.
Baki, however, had already left for Baroque Works' headquarters to collect Crocodile's hidden treasures. The branch office was buzzing with news of the shocking event, which would cause an even bigger stir than the news of Mihoko's victory.
As Rodin stepped into the palace, the system's voice rang in his mind.
[Ding! Host has arrived in Alabasta. Do you want to sign in? ]
"Sign in!"
Rodin received a reward from the system.
[Congratulations to the Host for successfully signing in at 'Alabasta', and rewarding a 'Rejuvenation Pill' + Enhanced Paramecia Silent Fruit!]
[Rejuvenation Pill: You can be ten years younger! (Note: A person can take it 3 times.)]
[Silent Fruit: Enhanced version without side effects. Please develop it yourself for details!]
Rodin was ecstatic. The Rejuvenation Pill could make a person up to thirty years younger, a treasure that would cause a frenzy on the black market. He stowed it away, knowing he had no use for it yet.
The Silent Fruit was an enhanced version of the one eaten by Corazon, which could create soundproof barriers. This, combined with an ability to turn invisible, would be a formidable combination for assassinations. Rodin believed he could develop the fruit's potential beyond what Corazon had.
The King's Audience
Rodin and his crew arrived at the palace, where King Cobra and his guard captain, Igaram, were waiting. Cobra immediately welcomed him with a banquet.
"Captain Rodin, you are a true talent," Cobra said.
"Would you marry your daughter to me?" Rodin asked with a grin.
Cobra's expression froze. He looked Rodin up and down, thinking he was a good match, but a pirate.
"Haha, of course I'm joking," Rodin said. "I'm here to tell you something."
"Captain Rodin, please speak," Cobra said nervously. He was worried about what this formidable pirate would ask for.
"Relax. The Warlord system has caused great turmoil in your country, hasn't it?" Rodin asked, walking past Cobra and sitting on the throne. Mihoko and Crocodile stood on either side of him, emanating an air of authority that was different from any king. The guards tensed, but they couldn't bring themselves to resist.
"That is true..." Igaram started to say, but Cobra stopped him. He wanted to hear what the man who had effortlessly defeated Crocodile had to say.
Rodin leaned back, looking down at everyone in the hall. "The Warlord system is a very troublesome thing for you," he said, tapping the throne's armrest. "And my purpose is to abolish all Warlords and make this system disappear completely."
The entire hall was in shock. King Cobra, who was already considering a proposal to abolish the system at the next World Summit, was astonished to hear a pirate with the same idea.
"The sand crocodile was the first, and he won't be the last," Rodin said with a slight smile. "You can think I'm bragging, but all I need you to do is one thing."
"Sir, what can we do to help?" Cobra asked, his voice now serious.
"Let all your citizens know me with a positive image," Rodin said. "Also, help me contact the Marines through your branch office and get them to add a paragraph to the newspaper." He had discovered that merely being famous wasn't enough; he needed a more emotional and impactful narrative to accelerate his power growth.
"These are small obstacles!" Cobra said, his voice now strong. But when he heard the content of the report, he nearly fainted.
Just then, Baki burst in. "Captain, it's over!" she yelled, having finished looting the Baroque Works headquarters.
Rodin nodded and stepped down from the throne.
"Captain Rodin, good luck!" Cobra said, and the rest of the palace followed suit. They all hoped he could succeed in annihilating the Warlords.
The next day, the news of Rodin killing the Warlord Crocodile and exposing his plot to take over Alabasta spread throughout the Grand Line. The Marines wanted to alter the report, but Morgans, the newspaper publisher, refused. He knew this was just the prelude to an even bigger story, and the Marines hadn't offered him enough money anyway.
All the Warlords read the newspaper, their faces showing a mix of thought, disdain, laughter, and indifference.
In the East Blue, the cooks in the Baratie were sweating, wiping their brows. "Compared to him, Sanji is just playing around," one said. "That kid... I can't believe he was an honest person before."