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...
Vivi's face turned white with shock. She really had been exposed—and in such detail. At this point she had very few options left.
Vivi: "…"
Vivi: "Fine, I admit it—I'm Vivi. If you're Baroque Works, stop wrecking the Kingdom of Alabasta at once!"
March 7th: "Whoa there, misunderstanding! We're not Baroque Works and we don't do evil."
Emilia: "You can relax, Miss Vivi—the people in this chat are all friends."
Seitenshi: "Try trusting us for a moment."
Vivi: "…"
Vivi: "You really aren't Baroque Works?"
Tatsuki: "Aren't you looking for whoever's behind Baroque Works? Here's a hint: your national hero is their boss."
Vivi: "My national hero? Crocodile?!"
She clapped a hand over her mouth. The man who had saved Alabasta was actually plotting its destruction—who on earth would believe that?
[Ding! An anomalous Apocalypse factor detected around Vivi—Apocalypse Journey activated!]
[Apocalypse Journey]: Five-Person Team
[Duration:] 24 hours
[Participants:] Tatsuki, Nami, Vivi, Kisara, Esdeath
[Objective:] Eliminate the evil Transcender Crocodile-
Silver Wolf: "That was fast—Tatsuki names the culprit and boom, a Journey pops."
Reinhard: "Another anomaly term: Transcender. Plunderer, Rebirther, Transcender… there must be a pattern."
Tatsuki: "Lore later. Vivi, the anomaly is right on top of you."
No reply.
Tendo Kisara: "Looks like trouble on her end."
Esdeath: "Can we move now? I'm itching for blood."
Tatsuki: "Move."
Pop!
He pulled his weapon from Nami and patted her buttocks; gold light flashed—both were now in crisp white tees and shorts, perfect for the desert. Bold black kanji on their chests read "Love" and "Affection."
"Isn't that… a bit evident?" Nami asked worriedly.
She knew perfectly well where Esdeath's feelings lay and worried about sparks.
Tatsuki laughed. "Evident? My women are my women; no need to hide it."
Warmth blossomed in Nami's chest. "Mm."
"Let's go."
They confirmed the Journey and vanished simultaneously.
…
Nojiko, still outside, realized the room had fallen silent.
She edged the door open—nobody.
As she stood her hand splashed a damp spot. Her cheeks flamed. Too much bath-water… that must be it.
Adjusting her hot-pants, she slipped inside to check.
…
Vivi was staring at the chat, trying to confirm Crocodile's identity, when a gale of sand exploded around her.
"Ugh!" She squeezed her eyes shut, forearms shielding her face.
When the wind died she lowered her arms—and her pupils quivered.
A burly, menacing figure was condensing out of dust: taller than she was, striped shirt beneath a black fur-lined coat, slicked-back hair, a long scar across his face, cigarette clenched between teeth. A golden hook flashed on his left hand.
Sand—Crocodile. One of the Seven Warlords!
Terror flickered in Vivi's eyes, quickly buried.
Thud!
With a flick of Crocodile's hook the woman in the black leather jacket crashed into the sand.
"Haa…" Blood trickled from her brow.
Crocodile: "So—Miss Wednesday, or should I say Princess Vivi?"
His gaze burned with anger. He was Crocodile, and he was now a Transcender.
Vivi forced a brittle smile. "I don't know what you mean, Lord Warlord."
Crocodile: "Doesn't matter. You and Robin both disappear today—two traitors."
His right palm dissolved into a tide of sand that surged towards them.
Tatsuki: "Crocodile."
Crocodile: "Who?!"
Every hair on his body rose. He burst into sand and re-formed hundreds of metres away. Death itself had brushed him.
Now a young man and woman stood before Vivi and Robin—the threat radiated from the man.
Esdeath: "That's the target?"
Kisara: "Looks fierce enough."
Crocodile scowled—more intruders?!
Esdeath glanced once at the matching tees, then asked bluntly, "Strength assessment?"
Tatsuki sighed. "Trash to me. Nami, knock yourself out."
With her Goro-Goro fruit at Tier 4 and an angelic body, the desert Warlord was no problem. Esdeath's Demon's Extract was an A-grade ability now tuned to Tier 5, with Haki and Rokushiki in her arsenal—also overkill.
Kisara lifted a blade. "I can fight too!"
Tatsuki recognized it. "A Zanpakuto?"
Kisara: "Yep. Roulette gave me an A-grade. Tier 3. Name: Shinso."
Interesting pairing with her Tendo-school swordplay.
Tatsuki waved. "Everyone's champing at the bit, so he's all yours. Think of it as sparring."
Esdeath's eyes lit. "Finally!"
She lunged. "Ice Hazard—Gray Horn!"
A mountain of ice crashed from the sky.
Crocodile's pupils shrank. "Devil-Fruit user?"
Sand heaved: a giant scimitar stabbed up, cleaving the frozen mass.
Nami sighed. "She jumped the gun again."
Tatsuki spread his hands—"That's her nature." Luckily Nami wasn't the jealous type.
Kisara sheathed Shinso with a click. "Pretty sure I can't top that—starting a stream."
[Ding! Tendo Kisara has gone live.]
[March 7th joined the stream.]
March 7th: "Whoa, Esdeath's fighting this round!"
Bronya: "Tatsuki's staying out?"
Tatsuki: "Weakling. Let Esdeath have her fun."
Bronya: "Roger."
Hai Xiaomei: "Sand control versus ice control—how?"
Tatsuki: "Crocodile's a Logia user—Suna Suna no Mi. Esdeath wields the Imperial Arm Demon's Extract."
Hai Xiaomei: "Ohhh."
Shinobu: "Same Fruit system as mine."
Silver Wolf: "Every world's power set is wild."
White Cell: "Humans fight like this? Incredible."
Ainz: "Well, powered humans."
Platelet: "S-so strong!"
Reinhard: "Tatsuki, do you know what Transcender truly means?"
Tatsuki: "I do."
He had already rifled Crocodile's memories.
Tatsuki: "Literally, someone who transcended his own past."
Suoh Mikoto: "A future man?"
Tatsuki: "Close. A person whose future self slingshots back into this moment and merges with his present mind."
Crocodile, it turned out, hailed from the instant Luffy beat him—different from Arlong's post-mortem rebirth.
March 7th: "So he wants Vivi dead because he remembers the future?"
Tatsuki: "Exactly."
Vivi: "Is… all this real?"
Tatsuki chuckled beside her. "I'm right here, you know—you can ask directly."
Vivi reddened. "Then… is it true?"
Tatsuki nodded, eyeing her spiral-band outfit. "…Honestly, that get-up offends me. Wait a sec."
He tapped the spirals; they melted into a pink, gold-trimmed gown. He loosed her ponytail, brushed the blue waves, added ornaments. In moments a radiant princess replaced the scrappy agent.
"Gorgeous." He admired his handiwork.
Nami and Kisara were amazed as well.
"Magic? The tomboy had become dazzling royalty."
"Why hide such beauty under that?"
Vivi flushed. "I—I had to stay undercover."
Nami pointed at the bleeding woman. "What about her?"
Robin tried to shrink into silence; impossible. Her mind raced—Alabasta's princess, strange rescuers, a Warlord on the back foot—
Tatsuki offered a hand. "Need help up, Miss Nico Robin?"
Robin flinched. Discovered. She took the hand warily.
"Relax. Your identity doesn't bother me." He noted absently that her looks still lacked the polish of the two-years-later Robin.
Robin stiffened. "World Government? Pirates?"
Tatsuki shook his head. "Neither."
He turned back to the battlefield: Crocodile, blood at his lips, an ice stake pinning his calf—Logia intangibility locked down—and humiliation boiling in his eyes.
...
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