Drake was very annoyed right now, and saying that he would teach Crocodile a lesson wasn't something that could be done with just a punch and a kick.
But Crocodile had been running too fast in the desert environment!
It wasn't that he couldn't pull him out, but he would have to overturn half of Rainbase. Drake hadn't been so insane that he would destroy this rare oasis of Alabasta just to vent his anger.
In the blink of an eye, Crocodile had entered the vast desert, and his aura had completely disappeared from Drake's senses.
Drake had snorted coldly, and where could Crocodile run to? Drake didn't believe that he would just give up all of his plans in Alabasta like this.
Unless he gave up Pluton, he would definitely not leave. So Drake didn't need to chase after him at all, and he would come back on his own.
Because there was someone here who was indispensable for him to fulfill his plans.
Drake had returned to the Rain Dinners, which had lost its roof, and as expected, he had seen Robin still sitting before the bar.
Of course, it wasn't that she hadn't wanted to run, it was mainly because Stella had been sitting next to her.
But the atmosphere between the two had been a bit strange, and Robin had been looking at Stella with a smile on her face, but Stella had had a pouty look.
Just as Drake had walked over, Stella had come next to Drake, saying, "Drake, I don't like this woman!"
Although Stella hadn't said the reason, Drake had also guessed it with his understanding of Stella.
Ever since Ohara had been destroyed, Robin had been wandering in the dark world all along. Exploitation and betrayal had been repeating themselves over and over again in her growth.
So Robin had long learned to hide her true heart, and she didn't trust anyone. Even the smile on her face had been fake.
Stella had been cheerful and straightforward, and had also had a delicate heart. Facing Robin, who had been always putting on a false front, it was hard for her to have any good feelings.
Drake had nodded at Stella, saying, "I understand, let me handle it!"
Saying this, Drake had walked before Robin, sitting on the chair, saying, "So you're Nico Robin, the child of the devil! You can rest assured, I've come to find trouble with Crocodile, and I won't make things difficult for you!"
Robin had been very smart, reacting right away, saying, "So Mr. 5 was defeated by you, it seems that Mr. 0 was asking for trouble himself!
But it's no use asking me if you want to find him, though!"
As someone who had been an absolute core member of Baroque Works, Robin definitely knew quite a bit. She should have known all of Baroque Works' other bases in Alabasta, and she could even guess where Crocodile was hiding right now.
But her meaning had been very clear, and she wouldn't say anything.
Drake had frowned, and although Drake hadn't planned to get any information from Robin to begin with, the fact that Robin had loyalty to Crocodile had been too magical.
But Drake had then understood, and Robin wasn't keeping secrets for Crocodile's sake.
Crocodile had wanted to use Robin to translate the Poneglyph that had recorded the information on Pluton, and Robin hadn't also been using Crocodile to look for the Poneglyph.
After understanding everything, Drake had sighed, and anyway, Crocodile would definitely return with Robin here, and he hadn't cared about her attitude anymore.
Robin had also been quite sensible, not trying to see if she could run away from Drake. Drake had also saved his heart, checking the equipment that Crocodile had dropped.
It had been Baroque Works' headquarters after all, and Crocodile hadn't taken a batch of collectibles with him, having fled in a hurry.
That pile of fur-collared cloaks and suits that had had the same style had been the most useless things, and what had been left had been valuable beli, gold, and jewelry.
But what had been most valuable to Drake had still been several weapons. Two of them had even been Grade Ryo Wazamono weapons.
Drake had flicked the blade of the scimitar in his hand, listening to the echo carefully.
As a blacksmith who had been acknowledged by the god of forging Hephaestus, Drake naturally had enough vision to judge whether a weapon was good or bad.
In this world, named swords had clear grades, and the Saijo O Wazamono grade, the O Wazamono grade, and the Ryo Wazamono grade were what all swordsmen had been pursuing.
And he didn't know if it was because of the raw materials or the special forging techniques, but there had been another special thing about the named swords in this world... and that had been the forging of black blades.
The named swords in the hands of great swordsmen had been tempered by being wrapped with their master's Armament Haki for many years, and the blade would transform into black as if it had been dyed.
That kind of black blade would possess astonishing strength, and even if its original quality hadn't been high, becoming a black blade would allow it to be ranked among the named swords.
The black blades that had been known so far had been the sword of the God of the Blade Ryuma, the national treasure of Wano Country, the O Wazamono grade Shusui. And there had also been the black blade Yoru in the hands of the world's greatest swordsman Mihawk.
The other named swords, whether it was the Four Emperor Shanks' Gryphon, Whitebeard's Murakumogiri, which had also been a Saijo O Wazamono grade, or even the Ace that the Pirate King Roger had had, hadn't been able to be forged into black blades.
It had already been considered a surprise that Crocodile's collection had had two Ryo Wazamono grade blades, and Drake hadn't been expecting that there would be a Saijo O Wazamono grade or a devil fruit within them to begin with.
Drake could recognize that the scimitar in his hand had actually been forged with several commonly used materials, but its conductivity to magic power had been astonishingly high. The secret to the forging of black blades might have been within it.
Swordsmanship was the mainstream method of cultivation in this world, and the matching sword forging techniques indeed had a few tricks. Studying it might allow him to level up his forging skills.
So Drake hadn't been in a hurry to find Crocodile anymore, and he had stayed in Rainbase.
After learning about the matter of Ohara from Drake, Stella's impression of Robin had also changed.
And Stella's personality, which had been as warm as flames, had also made Robin's gloominess lessen quite a bit, and although she hadn't completely opened her heart, she had still become friends with Stella.
But just two days later, Crocodile hadn't returned yet, but another uninvited guest had rushed to Rainbase.
What had arrived first had been the Straw Hat Pirates, and what had made Drake feel strange had been that Ace, who should have been separated from them in the original plot, had also been among the group.
Drake didn't know that he had been the reason for this, and with a strong person whose goal had been unclear in Alabasta, there was no way that Ace could have let his brother run around recklessly.
But the group had been dumbfounded after seeing the Rain Dinners, which had had its roof blown off.
In order to stop the rebellion in Alabasta, Vivi had had to reveal that Crocodile had been the culprit who had created everything.
So they had gone through a difficult journey, rushing to Rainbase just to defeat Crocodile.
They had also learned what had happened from the mouths of the surrounding residents, so they had come before Drake.
Ace's eyes had widened after seeing Drake, and it had been too unexpected for him to run into that person who had left a deep impression on him here.
But what had made him even more surprised had been that Luffy had already rushed before Drake before he could even advise his brother not to provoke the other party.
"Drake, where's that cool bird of yours? Please, let me ride it once too!"
Ace had turned his stiff neck, saying, "Do you guys know that person?"
Zoro, who had been on the side, had replied, "Ah, we met at Twin Cape, and you could say that we're acquaintances who have a pretty good relationship!"
Ace had felt relieved that they hadn't been enemies after having been surprised.
Drake had pushed Luffy's face away, saying, "Now isn't the time to say this, do you want to hide for a bit first, the marines seem like they're about to arrive!"
That's right, Drake had sensed the aura of Smoker, who he had seen before. He had been leading a large number of marines, and had been entering Rainbase.
Pirates weren't the Revolutionary Army, and they wouldn't provoke the marines on their own initiative. There was naturally a need for Luffy and this group of pirates to hide from Smoker.
Drake hadn't had these kinds of concerns, and he had also been too lazy to interact with the marines. They had just been a violent machine that had been maintaining the World Government, and Drake didn't have any extra thoughts about them.
The marines' justice? As long as the Celestial Dragons still existed, it wouldn't be any different from a joke.
But it seemed that Alabasta had begun to become lively along with the unfolding of Crocodile's plan!
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