While Bitz and Robin were performing the ceremony and the Baroque Works' employees were sailing away, Crocodile, far away in Rainbase, transformed into a rolling cloud of yellow sand and charged towards White Wave Port.
This enemy was far more troublesome than he had imagined. Even the Mr. 1 pair had fallen to the opponent.
In that case, there was no need to call the other senior agents. He would personally execute the bastard who dared to challenge him.
Flying amidst the sand-filled desert, Crocodile suddenly felt the sky was unusually bright.
'Strange, it should be late afternoon, almost evening. Why is the sky still so bright? Could it be...'
Thinking this, he looked up at the sky and indeed saw a pure white full moon hanging high in the cloudless firmament.
"Fuhuhuhu~ A full moon, no less. Sending that bastard on his way under such moonlight is a kind of pleasure in itself."
"I hope he appreciates my thoughtful gesture. Ha~ Ha~ Ha~ Ha—"
Amidst laughter filled with fury, Crocodile's speed increased yet again.
.........
"Hiss~ Why isn't he here yet?"
In a certain bedroom, Robin, who felt like she was about to fall apart, stared blankly at the ceiling, her eyes full of resentment.
Bang! The door was pushed open from the outside.
Bitz walked in happily, carrying large and small bags of clothes.
"This place isn't bad. Even though it's a supply port for bounty hunters, I didn't expect it to even have a clothing store."
"Here, Robin-chan, look, I bought all these, your favorite clothes."
Glancing sideways at the dancer outfits Bitz was showing off, Robin weakly retorted:
"It's your favorite, right? If I could, I'd never want to wear such clothes in this lifetime."
"Hahaha, you're joking again. What girl doesn't like pretty clothes?"
Bitz completely ignored the resistance in Robin's words, unilaterally deciding to have her try them all on for him tonight.
Robin simply closed her eyes, with the mentality of out of sight, out of mind.
Seeing this, Bitz didn't harass her further, as even he knew Robin was at her limit.
'Looks like I need to find a new 'partner' quickly, for the sake of increasing my strength.'
Sitting down casually on a chair, looking at the 1.5-point increase in his combat power on the status panel, he began considering candidates for substitution.
First, Princess Vivi of this country was definitely not to be missed. Next, wait for the Straw Hat crew to show up and take Nami.
For the gap in between, he'd just make do with any pretty girls he could find.
After gaining strength, Bitz's standards had become picky.
He no longer had any interest in goods like the previous Miss Doublefinger. At the very least, they had to be on Robin or Nami's level, or maybe just slightly below.
.....
During the leisurely wait, Robin was almost falling asleep when Bitz suddenly reacted.
He opened his eyes, a look of pleasant surprise in them as he gazed in a certain direction, and said softly:
"He's finally here. Do you want to go out and greet your boss?"
Robin pondered for a moment, then nodded. It wasn't really to greet him, but to watch the fight between the two.
But before that...
She tightened the blanket around her and looked at a certain someone somewhat uneasily.
"You go out first. I need to get dressed."
"What's there to be shy about? It's not like I haven't seen it before," Bitz said, not moving an inch.
"Heh~ Pervert." After the sarcastic remark, Robin stopped dwelling on it, threw off the blanket, revealing her lovely figure, and quickly began putting on her clothes.
Bitz glanced a couple of times before looking away, not because the view wasn't attractive, but because Crocodile had arrived.
"It's a full moon tonight. Remember to keep your distance after you go out."
After leaving these words, he pushed the door open and left.
Puzzled, Robin looked out the window at the bright night, not understanding the deeper meaning of his words.
"Full moon? Does it have some special significance?"
Unable to figure it out, she immediately sped up. After getting dressed, she hurriedly ran out of the bedroom.
She even ran all the way out of the town, stopping on a high dune outside the town to watch the upcoming duel.
From this position, she could clearly see the two men standing on a rooftop, confronting each other.
The bright moonlight bathed the town as if clothing it in white. Under such beautiful moonlight, two men were about to decide life and death.
Although, but, looking at Crocodile, draped in a large cloak, smoking a cigar, posing like a big shot, Bitz still felt the urge to complain.
"I say, we've been standing like this for almost 5 minutes. Stop showing off and let's fight, alright?"
Bitz was truly speechless. They weren't making a movie; why was he striking such a cool pose?
"Hmph, stealing my Vice President, defeating my capable subordinates."
"I thought the enemy would be some remarkable figure, but it turns out to be a brat I don't even recognize."
"Baroque Works has truly become useless, to the point where the boss has to take action personally."
"Sorry for having no reputation at all."
Bitz's face darkened, feeling looked down upon.
It couldn't be helped; he had only been in this world for a few days. Forget reputation, hardly anyone even knew he existed.
"But isn't that why you're here? Once I defeat you, a Warlord, I imagine the world will know me soon enough."
"Oh, so it's another clueless idiot brat trying to make a name for himself using a Warlord's reputation."
"Since you're so eager to die, let this senior help you out."
As soon as the words fell, Crocodile started with zero frames, swinging his right arm upward from below. A sharp blade of sand shot straight towards Bitz.
Desert Spada!
The sand blade swept past, actually slicing through the stone roof instantly, the cut surface as smooth as a mirror.
But the sand blade, capable of cutting through earth and stone, was casually slapped apart by Bitz's hand, which was coated in Ki.
"Don't embarrass yourself by using attacks that feel like tickling."
Bitz was also well-versed in the art of showing off. These words immediately made Crocodile grit his teeth in displeasure.
"Brag after you survive this move, brat! Sables!"
Crocodile gathered a small whirlwind in his palm, which seemed not very powerful.
But when Crocodile threw it out, the small whirlwind immediately grew with the wind, instantly transforming into a violent sandstorm that covered the entire town, swallowing Bitz within it.
This was one of Crocodile's signature killing moves. As a Logia-type Sand-Sand Fruit user, he could easily stir up sandstorms akin to natural disasters.
And in a country like Alabasta, where most of the land is covered in desert, Crocodile was like a fish in water, his ability's power even greater than in other places.