The silence in the ruined building was thicker than the desert heat, broken only by the faint, ragged breaths of the crew.
The two transformed Devil Fruits lay heavy in Ragnar's hands, their swirling patterns seeming to pulse with a stolen life.
Ragnar's voice cut through the stunned quiet atmosphere, sharp and practical, a bucket of cold water on their reeling minds.
"The shock is over. We are pirates. This town is a nest of enemies who tried to poison and murder us. Kuro, organize the crew. Loot everything of value, weapons, ammunition, currency, supplies. Leave them nothing but their shame and their headaches."
He pocketed the two new Devil Fruits as if they were mere trinkets, the cataclysmic implications of his power shelved for the moment in favor of pragmatic plunder.
The command shattered the spell. The crew, veterans of chaos in their own right, snapped into action. The metaphysical horror was pushed aside by the immediate, familiar thrill of acquisition.
Zoro, his earlier wariness buried under a layer of grim satisfaction, began systematically stripping the unconscious bounty hunters of their high-quality cutlasses and pistols, piling them near the gangplank.
"Hmph. At least they had decent steel."
Nami's eyes lit up with a predatory gleam, all thoughts of the terrifying fruit extraction gone, replaced by the glorious clink of Beri.
She moved through the cantina like a whirlwind, her bag growing impossibly heavy with gold coins, jewels, and promissory notes she deftly lifted from pockets and strongboxes.
"Don't just stand there, Nojiko! Check behind the paintings! The really good stuff is always hidden!"
Nojiko, still taking in what happened earlier, but following her sister's lead, helped ransack the place, her movements efficient if a little hesitant.
Kuro directed the operation with silent precision, his mind already categorizing the haul.
"Bartolomeo, use your barriers to create a chute for the heavier crates of supplies. Isabella, Robin, check the warehouses on the dock. Prioritize fresh water and navigational charts of the region."
Bartolomeo, his fanaticism now channeled into fervent labor, saluted sharply. "YES, SIR! FOR THE CAPTAIN'S GLORY!"
He created a series of green ramps and slides, making the transfer of barrels and crates from the town to the Tidereaver's hold a surreal, effortless process.
Robin observed the organized pillaging with her usual calm, though a new, profound depth of curiosity burned in her eyes.
As she located a cache of detailed Alabasta maps and Baroque Works deployment schedules, her mind was not on the documents but on the man who commanded them.
A man who could, on a whim, rewrite the very rules of power in this world. Her alliance with him had just transformed from a strategic gamble into a front-row seat to a revolution.
Within two hours, Whisky Peak had been picked clean. The Tidereaver, its hold groaning with new wealth and supplies, looked even more menacing, a sated predator.
The unconscious forms of hundreds of bounty hunters littered the streets, a testament to the vortex that had swept through and taken everything.
As the vortex's pirates Tidereaver pulled away from the dock, its sails catching the morning wind, it left behind a town that was not just defeated, but utterly despoiled.
Ragnar stood at the helm, his gaze fixed on the western horizon where the heat haze promised the vast deserts of Alabasta.
"Nami. Set a direct course. No more delays."
"Aye, Captain!" Nami responded, her voice bright with the success of the haul, the Log Pose already steadfastly pointing the way.
Seeing this, Ragnar who was at the helm smiled and then looked at Vivi who was also helping, and smiled again.
He originally hadn't planned to visit Whiskey Peak, but due to Vivi's request they gained a lot of resources and he gained two devil fruits, plus the Paw-Paw fruit he had gotten from God Valley after using his time travel card.
Now he had three devil fruits, but as for who was to eat them he still hadn't an idea at all. He will just wait and see.
…
Meanwhile, in the oppressive, climate-controlled opulence of the Rain Dinners casino in Rainbase, the atmosphere was anything but profitable.
Sir Crocodile sat behind his desk, the air around him desiccated and brittle. The double doors burst open to admit a flustered and uncharacteristically panicked Mr. 2 Bon Kurei.
"Boss! Boss! Terrible, just terrible news!" Bentham cried, striking a dramatic pose that failed to hide his genuine fear.
Crocodile took a long, slow drag from his cigar, the ember glowing like a malevolent eye in the dim room.
"Report," he growled, the single word laden with threat.
"It's Whisky Peak! The Vortex Pirates! They didn't just pass through, they… they were obliteratedeveryone! All our bounty hunters! Beaten, robbed, left in piles!"
Mr. 2's voice wavered. "And… and Miss Valentine and Mr. 5… they're dead! I saw their Vivre Cards burn out!"
A vein throbbed on Crocodile's temple. The news of the defeat was an irritation. The loss of two Officer Agents was a more significant setback.
But it was the next piece of information that turned the simmering rage in his gut into a boiling inferno.
"And that's not all, Boss Croco-baby!" Mr. 2 continued, wringing his hands. "The Princess! Princess Vivi of Alabasta! She's with them! She was seen talking to that Igaram fellow! She's allied herself with the Sea Scourge!"
The cigar in Crocodile's hand disintegrated into a fine powder of sand and ash. The glass on his desk spontaneously cracked as every molecule of moisture was violently ripped from it. His face, usually a mask of cool control, twisted into a snarl of pure, undiluted fury.
"YOU INCOMPETENT FOOLS!" he roared, the sound echoing through the chamber like a desert storm. He rose to his full height, his shadow engulfing the cowering Mr. 2.
"An entire town of my agents, wiped out by a single crew! My plans for Pluton, delayed! And now the very princess I've spent years discrediting is being escorted back to her kingdom by a pack of rabid dogs you were too weak to stop!" He slammed his golden hook on the desk, splintering the wood.
"You are all worthless! Weaklings clinging to the coattails of a real power!"
"I-I'm sorry, Boss! We didn't know they were so strong!" Mr. 2 shrank back, trembling.
"STRENGTH IS NOT AN EXCUSE! IT IS A PREREQUISITE!" Crocodile bellowed. He took a deep, shuddering breath, forcing his volcanic anger back under a layer of icy calculation.
The pieces were now terrifyingly clear. Nico Robin's betrayal was not just a personal insult; it was a direct military alliance aimed at the heart of his operation. She was bringing a weapon, this 'Sea Scourge' directly to his doorstep, using the princess as a key.
He pointed a sand-bladed finger at Mr. 2. "This changes nothing. It merely accelerates the timetable. They are coming here. To Alabasta. To me." A cruel, confident smile finally touched his lips.
"Good. Let them come. It saves me the trouble of hunting them down."
He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper.
"Your orders remain the same, Bon Kurei. Stay vigilant. Watch the coasts. I want to know the moment their ship is sighted. But you are not to engage. Is that clear? You will notify me, and only me. I will handle this… infestation personally."
Mr. 2 nodded frantically, his whole body shaking with relief at not being turned into a desiccated husk on the spot. "Y-yes, Boss! I won't let you down! I'll be your eyes and ears!"
"Get out," Crocodile ordered, turning his back to look out the window at the city that would soon belong to him.
As the doors closed, leaving him in solitary silence, Crocodile's reflection stared back at him from the reinforced glass. The fury was still there, a sandstorm raging behind his eyes, but it was now harnessed, focused.
The archaeologist had chosen her champion. The princess was leading them home. They thought they were bringing a storm to his desert.
He would show them what a real storm looked like. The sands would rise, and the Vortex Pirates would be buried so deep that not even the Devil's Child would be able to dig up their bones.
The hunt was over. The trap was set. All that was left was for the prey to arrive.