"!!!!!"
Hearing Perona's words, Crocodile nearly exploded from anger on the spot once again.
Unfortunately, his body was still weak, leaving him no choice but to swallow the humiliation.
Of course, the real issue wasn't Perona's childish prank.
What truly shocked him was Kairo's strength.
Even without Perona drenching him with seawater, he knew he wouldn't have been able to break free from Kairo's grasp.
When Kairo had grabbed his head and slammed him into the deck, not only had he been unable to move, but he had also felt an overwhelming pressure unlike anything he'd ever experienced.
The only other time he had felt something similar was when he challenged Whitebeard.
"You…"
After resting for a while, Crocodile finally recovered a bit of strength.
Struggling to sit up, he completely ignored Perona and fixed his gaze on Kairo.
"Just who are you?"
"Kairo."
Kairo smiled harmlessly.
"A traveler."
"A traveler? Kairo?"
Crocodile frowned.
He searched his memories as quickly as possible, trying to find any information connected to that name.
Nothing.
He had never heard of Kairo.
In fact, this was the first time he'd ever heard someone call themselves a traveler.
The more he failed to find any information, the more alarmed he became.
It was hard to believe that a man with such terrifying strength could be completely unknown.
More importantly, during their brief clash, Crocodile had clearly sensed something.
Kairo hadn't actually been trying to fight him seriously.
Kairo simply smiled and remained silent.
Honestly, Crocodile's strength was difficult to comment on.
As one of the oldest members of the Seven Warlords, he should have been an absolute powerhouse.
Instead, he had become the very first stepping stone for Luffy.
The word tragic wasn't nearly enough to describe his fate.
Granted, he was a scheming and ambitious villain through and through.
Still, his story perfectly illustrated one truth:
In front of overwhelming power, all schemes and conspiracies become meaningless.
Well...
In this particular case, that statement should probably be corrected to:
"In front of the protagonist's plot armor, all schemes and conspiracies become meaningless."
"You've never heard my name before, right?"
Kairo suddenly spoke.
"That's normal."
"I only entered the Grand Line from the South Blue not long ago."
"And even if I'd been here for years, you still might not have heard of me."
"I'm just a traveler who enjoys wandering around the world."
"This time, I came to Alabasta simply to experience the customs and culture of this great kingdom."
"As for why we fought just now..."
Kairo pointed toward the cabin.
"My little Perona wanted to see whether water could counter your Devil Fruit ability."
"And it turns out that's indeed a weakness of yours."
"You should be more careful in the future."
"Of course..."
"If you're feeling wronged, we can always have another spar."
Wronged?
Crocodile's eye twitched.
You call this feeling wronged?
You beat me up and then ask if I feel wronged?
After silently cursing Kairo several times, Crocodile tested his body.
Most of his strength had returned.
He slowly rose to his feet, walked to the edge of the deck, picked up his fur coat, and draped it over his shoulders.
Then he turned around.
His eyes sharpened.
"I'll admit you're strong."
"But I still want another fight."
"Sure."
Kairo nodded with a smile.
"Let's add a wager."
"If you lose…"
Kairo deliberately dragged out the sentence.
Crocodile grew impatient.
"What?"
Kairo rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Then his eyes lit up.
"I've got it."
"If you lose, you'll have to recite the Three Character Classic with my little Perona."
"!!!!!!!"
Crocodile stared at him.
For several seconds.
Completely frozen.
Finally, he recovered.
"…Fine."
"And if you lose?"
"Then I'll leave myself at your disposal."
"Deal."
Crocodile agreed immediately.
Without another word, he jumped off the Traveler and landed back on his small boat.
"Huh?"
Kairo blinked.
"What's this?"
"Have you been infected by Mihawk?"
"Do all Seven Warlords have some strange obsession with tiny boats?"
Crocodile completely ignored him.
With a cigar hanging from his mouth, he sailed away at high speed.
"Hahaha! This is fun!"
Watching Crocodile leave, Perona jumped out of Kairo's lap and grabbed her basin.
"Kairo!"
"I'm going to fetch more water!"
"Next time I see him, I'll splash him again!"
"Use seawater!"
"Not our fresh water!"
"I know, I know!"
Perona waved without looking back and disappeared into the cabin.
Robin watched her go, struggling not to laugh.
Mihawk had already been corrupted by Kairo.
Now Crocodile had joined the list.
At this rate, not a single member of the Seven Warlords would escape Kairo's influence.
Treating the Seven Warlords like collectible toys...
Only Kairo could come up with something this ridiculous.
Thinking about it, Robin couldn't help laughing aloud.
Hearing her laughter, Kairo turned and winked at her.
Robin's smile widened.
Walking over, she gave a small bow.
"Kairo-sensei?"
"Prepare something to eat."
"I'm hungry."
"Yes, Kairo-sensei."
The Traveler soon anchored along a coastline of the Kingdom of Alabasta.
The moment the ship stopped, the system's notifications rang out.
[Notification: Congratulations, Host. You have arrived at a new travel destination: The Kingdom of Alabasta.]
[Reward: 5,000 Travel Points.]
[5,000 Travel Points have been added to your account.]
[Current Balance: 26,000 Travel Points.]
[New missions activated.]
Mission 1
Defeat Crocodile and teach him to recite the Three Character Classic.
Mission 2
Defeat the Kung Fu Dugongs and teach them the Eighth Set of Broadcast Gymnastics.
Mission 3
Enter Alubarna, the royal capital of Alabasta.
Become Princess Vivi's life mentor and explain all eighty-one chapters of the Tao Te Ching to her.
Mission Reward
30,000 Travel Points
"..."
Listening to the system notifications one after another, Kairo suddenly felt that his educational background was insufficient.
There was only one phrase capable of describing his current feelings:
What the hell?
What kind of ridiculous missions were these?!
Teach Crocodile the Three Character Classic?
Teach Kung Fu Dugongs broadcast gymnastics?
Become Vivi's life mentor and lecture her on the Tao Te Ching?
What sort of cursed educational program was the system running?!
That's all for today.
Time to sleep.
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