“Let’s go! Straight to Rainbase! Take down that so-called Mr. 0, and this country’s crisis will be over!”
Vir looked at Luffy, who was still staring longingly at Ace’s departing figure.
His gaze shifted between Ace and the Vivre Card in his hand.
Hearing Vir’s words, Luffy snapped back to reality.
“Oh! That’s right! We should’ve done that from the start! Just beat that guy up and be done with it!”
Luffy found the idea excellent.
The rest of the crew had no objections either.
After all, Ace’s intel was reliable enough.
Since that was the case, heading straight for the enemy’s stronghold was the best move.
Vivi was a bit worried, but when she thought about Vir’s terrifying strength, Mr. 0 didn’t seem that scary anymore.
With no further objections, the group moved swiftly.
After confirming the direction on the map, they resumed their journey.
Vir sat on Chopper’s back, taking the rear of the group.
Seeing that everything was going according to plan, he felt relieved.
He began explaining Haki—specifically Armament Haki—to Chopper in detail, describing its nature within the body and the conditions required for awakening it.
Chopper listened intently, looking extremely serious.
If he had hands free, he would’ve pulled out his little notebook to take notes.
Whenever he didn’t understand something, he asked, and Vir answered patiently.
Advancing in Armament Haki wasn’t just about gaining power; it was also about knowledge.
As they traveled, Vir sat cross-legged, leisurely explaining everything.
He even coated Chopper’s antlers with a layer of Armament Haki so he could feel it firsthand.
Chopper kept thinking deeply about it, occasionally zoning out, and if not for Vir’s reminders, he would’ve already bumped his head multiple times.
With this, the monotonous journey didn’t seem so boring anymore.
…
“Mr. 2, you failed your mission, didn’t you?”
Inside Rainbase’s largest casino…
At a round table, several people were seated.
At the head of the table sat a man with a cigar in his mouth, his expression dark as he glared at the thin figure beside him.
Bon Clay (Mr. 2) was visibly nervous.
After all, he really hadn’t completed his mission.
He hadn’t been able to find Mr. 3.
According to the Baroque Works’ rules, failure meant death.
He glanced at Mr. 1, the man who could turn his body into steel blades.
If a fight broke out, that guy would kill him.
His mind raced, just as he was about to come up with an excuse, Crocodile’s grim face suddenly broke into a smile.
That smile was chilling.
“I’ll let you off this time. Do your job well, and don’t let it happen again.”
Crocodile, half-smiling, wasn’t being merciful—he just had other uses for Bon Clay for now. Otherwise, Mr. 1 would’ve already made his move.
Bon Clay was overjoyed and immediately burst into grateful tears.
When he first learned that his boss was a Warlord of the Sea, he had been shocked.
Now that this Warlord wasn’t punishing him, he was already lucky.
The reason everyone was gathered today was simple.
It was time to act.
After dealing with Bon Clay’s matter, Crocodile wasted no time and began assigning tasks.
Everyone listened carefully, afraid of missing anything.
Robin stood behind Crocodile, watching indifferently, as if none of this had anything to do with her.
Soon, Crocodile finished giving out orders.
He then slammed the table and stood up.
“For our Utopia Plan! Everyone, do your part!”
His voice rang out, and the subordinates responded in unison.
Seeing this, Crocodile nodded in satisfaction.
He waved them off to carry out their assignments, and soon, only two people remained in the hall.
There had been a small interlude during the meeting—Mr. 3, had somehow come back to throw his life away.
Now, he was inside a giant crocodile stomach.
Crocodile had no sympathy for useless subordinates.
Trash should be disposed of.
“The princess has arrived. Those fools probably won’t be able to handle her. Go and bring her to me.”
He instructed Robin.
Crocodile was well aware of Vivi and Koza’s relationship.
If those two met, the war would likely be prevented.
Robin had no reason to refuse.
Crocodile was her boss, after all.
“Understood.”
Soon, the grand hall was empty, leaving Crocodile alone.
Sitting in silence, he seemed deep in thought—or perhaps, he was simply waiting.
…
“That’s all for the theory. The rest is up to you.”
“Yeah! Don’t worry, big bro! I’ll do my best! I won’t let you down!”
Chopper turned around with a determined look, nodding at Vir.
Vir, seeing this, was satisfied.
This kid had strong determination.
He looked ahead to check how much farther they had to go.
And then, his eyes widened.
They were close to Rainbase.
But what shocked him was… the others were gone!
Where was everyone?
Where did they go?!
No way! Just a minute ago, he had seen all of them still there.
Wait…
Vir suddenly had a realization.
These idiots must’ve spotted the town and rushed in to buy water!
That had to be it!
And they didn’t even call us?!
We’re still out here!
Unbelievable!
“Hurry, Chopper! Let’s see if we can catch up to them!”
He shouted at Chopper, who immediately picked up speed.
Soon, they reached the town.
But with such a big place, it wasn’t going to be easy finding those fools.
Forget it, the casino was the best bet.
They were bound to end up there.
Seriously, these guys were a handful.
In the original story, Sanji had saved them. But this time, Sanji was with them.
If he didn’t hurry, they might actually drown in the Seastone prison.
Vivi might even get fed to one of those giant crocodiles.
After asking someone for directions, Chopper bolted toward the casino.
Smoker was probably there too, also about to get flooded.
Although in the original, he didn’t really struggle much with the water.
This time, though, Vir would let him stay in there a bit longer before saving him.
Rescuing drowning people was something he was pretty experienced with.
A toilet plunger works wonders.
One pull, and you get a lot of points.
It doesn’t take much time either.
Might as well make the most of it.
Also, Mr. 3, who was inside the giant crocodile…
That kidney boost pills he gave Ace earlier still had some left.
Might as well use it to patch him up quickly.
That’ll be some negative points for sure.
Crocodile will probably be gone by then.
As for dealing with a giant crocodiles? Easy!
For now, the priority was getting there before things spiraled too far.
Otherwise, who knew how messy it would get?
—
TL note: So many crocodiles in this chapter, what a mess. I did my best tho.
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