Upon hearing Crocodile say that Tom had died by his hand, Usopp and Nami were so shocked they froze, as if turned to stone, unable to speak for a long moment.
Nami's face turned deathly pale, her mind blank. She couldn't accept that the man who had been laughing and talking with everyone just a day ago was now said to be dead.
But Luffy and Zoro simply fell silent after hearing Crocodile's words, their expressions unchanged.
"Just as I expected, you're as disgusting as ever."
Smoker, trapped in the cage, looked at Crocodile with undisguised contempt. "Did you kill him?"
"Staring at me like a mad dog, Smokey."
Crocodile, sitting in his chair, gently swirled the wine glass in his hand and took a sip. "You seem to have never considered me one of your own since way back."
"You heard right. That nobody with the thirty-million Berry bounty died by my hand."
Crocodile set his wine glass on the table, stood up, walked to the cage, and said to Smoker, "As for you, I'll make it look like an accident."
"You and Straw Hat fought quite hard. I'll just report to the World Government that I don't know what your purpose was in coming to this country—it must have been your own decision. The World Government couldn't have sent you here because they trust me as a Warlord of the Sea."
"So get along well with the Straw Hats. They're your companions in death. Cherish these final moments."
Crocodile's meaning was clear: he wanted Smoker to be eliminated along with Luffy and the others.
Before Smoker could respond to Crocodile's words, Usopp, trembling, shouted at Crocodile, "What did you do to Tom?!"
"He can't be dead! You're lying!"
Nami, having snapped out of it, ran to the bars, grabbed them, and shouted at Crocodile.
"How pathetic. In the face of cruel reality, the weak only know how to run away."
Crocodile laughed darkly. "That poor fool. I made him suffer a painful death. That was his fate."
Hearing Crocodile's words, Usopp and Nami thought Tom must have suffered inhuman torture at Crocodile's hands. Their expressions grew even worse.
"Did you kill him?"
Luffy, who had been silent until now, suddenly asked Crocodile.
"Do you have any doubts?"
Crocodile retorted.
"Liar."
After saying these two words, Luffy said no more.
Hearing Luffy's words, Usopp and Nami, who had been demoralized by Tom's situation, suddenly became energized.
Luffy's right. There's no way that guy would die so easily. I was really panicking for nothing.
Thinking this, Nami's complexion grew visibly brighter.
"Are you saying I don't have the ability to kill him?"
Crocodile had only seen pictures and wanted posters of Luffy before. This was their first face-to-face conversation.
"You're not that great either."
Luffy said bluntly.
"You're their captain, aren't you."
Crocodile put a large cigar in his mouth and said to Luffy. "You really are a good match for them. Equally ungrateful."
"I'll definitely beat you."
Luffy said very seriously.
"That's right. You'd better enjoy being smug now, because soon you won't be able to laugh anymore."
Nami had shed her previous dejection and said to Crocodile, "Once these guys get out of here, they'll send you flying into the clouds. Then you're finished. Right, Luffy?"
"Of course."
Luffy raised both arms and said to Crocodile with great momentum, "You bastard."
"It seems you're a well-trusted captain, Straw Hat Luffy."
Crocodile saw how Luffy had lifted the spirits of his crew with just a few words, but he didn't care. Looking at the wine on the table, he said, "Trust... the most useless thing in this world."
"Who does he think he is, looking down on people like that?!"
Nami was furious. If Crocodile was right, then everything she and Luffy had just said was meaningless. That would mean she had to believe Tom was really dead—unacceptable.
"Don't say any more. You'll make him angry."
Usopp was worried that if Nami cursed Crocodile too much, he might get angry, and as prisoners, they would be in trouble. That's why he tried to stop her.
"Crocodile!!"
Just as Luffy and the others were about to say more, a voice filled with anger suddenly rang out in the relatively quiet underground meeting hall.
"Vivi!"
Luffy and the others saw the person standing at the stairs at the entrance of the underground hall and shouted in surprise.
Behind Vivi, standing on the stairs, was a woman wearing a tight purple denim miniskirt.
Vivi had been brought there by Robin. Earlier, when Robin was taking Vivi back to Rainbase, they had unfortunately run into Pell.
Pell had been sent by the king to scout Rainbase. After arriving in the city, he had encountered Vivi.
Seeing Vivi restrained by Robin, Pell tried to rescue her but was quickly intercepted by Baroque Works Billion-Fold agents lying in ambush nearby.
However, Pell was also a Devil Fruit user. He had eaten the Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Falcon. In the current world, only five types of flight abilities had been confirmed, and he was one of them.
Pell was the strongest warrior of the Alabasta Kingdom. The Billion-Fold agents were no match for him. After easily dealing with those blocking him, he transformed into his falcon form and flew after Robin.
But Pell was helpless against Robin. As he flew toward her, Robin used her Devil Fruit ability to sprout arms on his back, grabbing his wings and making him fall from the sky.
"How elegant. That's the first time I've seen a human who can fly."
Robin watched Pell, who had returned to human form, and said with a light laugh. "But can you outdo me?"
Pell already knew from Vivi's letter that the real threat to the Alabasta Kingdom was the people of Baroque Works. Hearing the Billion-Fold agents call Robin "Vice President," he knew exactly who she was.
And when Vivi said Robin was the one who killed Igaram, Pell, who had worked with Igaram for many years, became even more enraged.
"If it's alright with you, I'd like to invite the princess to our place. What do you say?"
Robin asked Pell politely, an elegant smile on her face.
"Don't ask such pointless questions! Release the princess!"
Pell drew his sword and charged at Robin.
"It seems you still don't understand."
As Robin spoke, arms sprouted from Pell's back, grabbing his limbs at the joints. Two more arms sprouted and covered his neck, rendering him completely immobile.
"Strength and speed mean nothing to me."
Robin moved her right hand forward with a slight force. "Anchor Flower!"
Several crisp cracking sounds of bones breaking echoed. Pell's limbs were easily broken by the arms sprouting from his back. He collapsed to the ground, unable to get up.
Vivi saw that the strongest warrior of the Alabasta Kingdom had been effortlessly defeated by Robin. She couldn't believe it. She had expected Robin to be strong, but not this strong.
"Now, let's go. Don't keep them waiting. Your comrades are in the Rain Dinners' prison right now. Don't you want to be reunited with them?"
After dealing with Pell, Robin brought Vivi back to the casino called Rain Dinners. Using a secret passage to bypass the guests, they arrived at the underground meeting hall.
"You're finally here."
Crocodile saw that Vivi had been brought back by Robin and said, "Welcome, Princess of Alabasta."
"I won't run anymore. Because I want you dead!"
Now free, Vivi's anger burned even hotter at the sight of Crocodile. She took out her weapon, the Peacock Slasher, ran down the stairs, and shouted angrily, "Mr. 0! No, Crocodile! If you hadn't come to this country, so many people of Alabasta wouldn't be suffering! And he wouldn't have turned into that!"
Even though a day had passed, Vivi still clearly remembered the sight of Tom crawling out of the sand yesterday. It was like a terrifying nightmare, lingering in her mind, making her more upset the more she thought about it.
"Wait, Vivi! Open this cage first!"
Luffy saw Vivi recklessly attacking Crocodile and shouted urgently.
The moment she saw Crocodile, Vivi's emotions got the better of her. She didn't even hear Luffy's words. In her eyes, there was only Crocodile, the mastermind who had toyed with and tormented the country she loved.
Robin didn't stop Vivi. She just watched quietly. Crocodile even closed his eyes, sitting leisurely in his chair, letting Vivi attack him.
"Peacock Slasher!"
The Peacock Slasher in Vivi's hand extended rapidly, striking Crocodile's head and blowing it off.
But Crocodile was completely unharmed. Where his head had been, yellow sand sprayed from his neck, leaving Luffy and the others in the cage stunned.
"It's no use."
Smoker knew that ordinary attacks couldn't hurt a Logia-type Devil Fruit user. Vivi's attacks were just a waste of energy.
In an instant, Crocodile's body dissolved into yellow sand and dissipated. He reformed from the sand behind Vivi, covering her mouth with his right hand. "Are you calmed down now?"
"You saw my Suna-Suna Fruit ability firsthand yesterday. Do you want to become a mummy like him?"
Crocodile's words startled Nami. "What do you mean by 'mummy'? Did you turn Tom into that?!"
"If you really care about him, you should thank me."
Crocodile didn't release his hand from Vivi's mouth. "If he's a mummy, even buried deep in the desert, his body won't decay. Too bad you won't have the chance to dig him up."
"So Tom died that horribly?!"
Usopp clutched his head, his face full of terror.
"Vivi, what he said isn't true, is it?"
Nami urgently asked Vivi.
Unfortunately, Vivi's mouth was covered, and she couldn't speak. Besides, she didn't know how to tell Luffy and the others about Tom's condition.
To say Tom was dead—yesterday after fighting Crocodile, he was still alive.
But to say he was alive—the Tom she saw crawling out of the sand had, if anything, nine-tenths of his life gone, on the verge of death.
Seeing Vivi only shake her head without speaking, her eyes full of sadness, Nami's heart tightened. Just as she was about to speak, a loud boom echoed, followed by violent shaking throughout the underground meeting hall, like an earthquake. Luffy and the others were startled, not understanding what was causing such intense tremors.
"What's going on?"
Crocodile asked Robin with a dark expression.
"It seems something's happening outside."
Robin remained calm in the face of the sudden situation.
Just as Crocodile was about to say something, the Den Den Mushi in his pocket rang.
Crocodile released Vivi and answered. The casino manager's panicked voice came through. "Boss! Bad news! There's a monster!"
"Speak clearly."
Crocodile's face was calm. Normally, the manager wouldn't contact him directly. Something must have really happened outside. He could faintly hear the terrified, piercing screams of the casino guests through the Den Den Mushi.
"It's like this. Some monster with a rod just split our casino in half with one swing."
The Den Den Mushi clearly transmitted the manager's panic-stricken voice. "The monster is wreaking havoc in the casino. At this rate, he'll level the place soon!"
"Monster?"
Crocodile's face darkened. Since coming to the Alabasta Kingdom, no one had dared to cause such chaos in his casino. He was about to ask more when he heard the manager's rapid breathing through the Den Den Mushi. "Oh, boss."
"That crazed monster also said he's the Great Sage Equal to Heaven!"
After saying this, a scream of "Aaaah!" came through the Den Den Mushi, then silence.
"What did you say?!"
Crocodile had seen a lot in his time, but he had no idea what the manager was talking about.
"Get out here, Sand Monster!"
Just as Crocodile was about to throw the Den Den Mushi away and go see for himself, a thunderous roar came through the line. Though the voice was hoarse, it was still very loud—like someone shouting with overwhelming rage, sending chills down one's spine.
"I, the Monkey King, have come to exorcise the demon!"
As these words came through the Den Den Mushi, the large underground meeting hall shook violently again. Fine cracks appeared in the solid ceiling.
"That voice—it's definitely Tom."
Nami's face showed undisguised worry. She could clearly feel that Tom was very different from before. This abnormal change made her very uneasy.
"What he's saying sounds strange. Nothing like his usual self."
"Is he crazy?"
Usopp and Luffy speculated.
"Is he coming to find us?"
Zoro saw that the tremors were even stronger than before, as if trying to sink the place, and said this.
"The Trick-Eye Hunter? What's with this power?"
Smoker looked up at the ceiling, where more and more cracks were appearing, and also noticed something was wrong with Tom.
"It's him!"
Crocodile's face was terrifyingly dark. "Why is he still alive?!"
"Sand Monster, come out and die!"
Another roar, chilling to hear, came through the Den Den Mushi. "Give back the broom! Don't you dare touch the oranges!"
Then another loud boom. The underground meeting hall shook violently again. A small piece of rubble fell from the ceiling...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
T/N :
Support me and Access 30 chapters in Advance on my P@treon: [email protected]/GodFic