As her younger brother, Sherlock understood his older sister's quirks and habits all too well.
Although they shared the same mother, compared to Sherlock—who had been quiet and well-behaved since childhood—Lisanna was entirely too eccentric and wild. Her unreliability and willful nature could even rival a certain Straw Hat idiot!
Even so, Sherlock truly hadn't expected his sister to have the sheer audacity to openly challenge one of the Four Emperors...
"And then? What happened? Was she hurt?"
Sherlock asked urgently. Then, his eyes fell upon the hideous scar splitting Crocodile's face and the golden hook replacing his left hand. Instantaneously, a flood of terrible, grim scenarios rushed into his mind.
(If... what if Lisanna was also...)
Blinded by worry, the glasses-wearing man's expression gradually grew dark, the white glare reflecting off his lenses completely obscuring his eyes. Driven by rising emotion, a terrifying aura slowly began to emanate from the Sorcerer. Though it was released unintentionally, the heart-stopping, oppressive pressure still caused the Desert Crocodile to stiffen slightly.
(This guy! There's no mistake. Heh, he really is that Silver-Haired woman's younger brother.)
Crocodile marveled inwardly before explaining aloud, "Don't worry. Though your sister's strength back then was absurdly high, she still lost without a shadow of a doubt. She wasn't injured. In fact, Whitebeard even invited her to join the Whitebeard Pirates on the spot, but she turned him down."
"Oh? Is Whitebeard's temper really that good?" Hearing that his sister was safe, Sherlock's expression softened, and the terrifying aura instantly receded like the ebbing tide.
"I don't know the exact reasons. However, I imagine there must be something unique about your sister. Furthermore..." Speaking up to this point, the Desert Crocodile sized up the Sorcerer with a meaningful gaze, flashing a half-smile. "And on that note, you should know better than I do, shouldn't you?"
Sherlock remained silent. After pondering for a moment, he continued to ask, "Do you know any other useful information? Regarding Silver-Hair."
"Like I said, I don't know all that much about her." Crocodile shook his head frankly. "That was the first time I saw Silver-Hair, and the last. Because after I was defeated at the hands of Whitebeard, I retreated from the New World."
Mentioning his crushing defeat from over a decade ago, the Desert Crocodile's tone was as calm as if he were telling someone else's story. His eyes were filled with reminiscence, clearly nostalgic for the days when he fought tooth and nail in the New World.
Back then, Crocodile didn't know the meaning of youthful arrogance; he only knew that the victor takes all. As a result, he was thoroughly "schooled" by Whitebeard, marking the Desert Crocodile's very first crushing defeat.
As for the second time...
"Heh, it really is laughable. After losing to that old fossil, I actually went and lost in Alubarna to an unknown rookie—a brat who didn't know his place, constantly spouting nonsense about comrades and friendship... Wait, comrades?" Crocodile suddenly froze, as if he had just recalled something incredibly important.
"Hey, Sarsalian. I suddenly remembered something very interesting about your sister."
"Your sister didn't go to challenge Whitebeard all by herself back then. She had several powerful female companions by her side. And one of them, I'm absolutely certain you've heard of her name."
The Desert Crocodile grinned. As his facial muscles stretched, that massive, centipede-like scar crinkled up, looking rather sinister. Without waiting for the Sorcerer to ask, he softly uttered a name on his own.
"That woman is none other than: Boa Hancock."
"The Pirate Empress?" Sherlock was slightly startled. Things were becoming increasingly complex and intriguing.
(To think that a Warlord of the Sea like her was actually my sister's companion back then...)
The Sorcerer was absolutely certain that his sister, whose dream was to become the Pirate King, wouldn't have the slightest bit of interest in the title of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Furthermore, from what Sherlock knew, the Kuja Pirates' stronghold, Amazon Lily, was located in the Calm Belt in the first half of the Grand Line, quite a distance away from the New World.
In other words, the Empress must have returned to Amazon Lily to rule as its sovereign after leaving the Silver-Haired Pirates, and subsequently accepted the World Government's call to become a Warlord of the Sea.
So here lies the question: for what exact reason did the most beautiful woman in the world choose to leave?
(What on earth happened between them?)
Countless possibilities flashed through Sherlock's mind, but due to the sheer lack of information, he couldn't deduce a reliable answer. Moreover, for reasons unknown, the glasses-wearing man had a bizarre, inexplicable premonition deep down: This matter was intimately linked to him.
"That's as much as I know. If you want to find out more about Silver-Hair while you're in the first half of the Grand Line, you'd better pay a visit to the sovereign of the Kingdom of Women first." Crocodile gave a soft chuckle. "Who knows? Out of respect for your sister, those Amazon warriors might just cut you some slack."
(The Pirate Empress, the Kingdom of Women, Amazon Lily... It seems I really must make a trip there if the opportunity arises.)
After silently making a troublesome decision that his future self would come to deeply regret, Sherlock lightly pushed up his glasses. He then bowed slightly toward the Desert Crocodile inside the cell, offering an elegant salute.
"Thank you very much for the information, Mr. Crocodile."
"Hmph, there's no need to thank me, Sarsalian." Snorting softly, Crocodile turned his head away with reluctant pride. "The only reason I wasted so many words on you just now was purely out of respect for Silver-Hair."
Despite being a sinister, treacherous, and vicious pirate, it had to be said that the Desert Crocodile still held firmly to his own set of principles in certain matters.
(Respect? Heh, it seems Lisanna's reputation carries quite a bit of weight.)
Sherlock smiled faintly. Sizing Crocodile up and down, he asked inquisitively, "But coming back to the topic, Desert Crocodile, don't you want me to break you out of here?"
Originally, the Sorcerer had intended to use breaking the Desert Crocodile out as leverage to get him to talk, but he hadn't expected the latter to be so cooperative. This truly caught the glasses-wearing man somewhat off guard.
"Or perhaps, did you already anticipate that your subordinates would come to rescue you?"
"Hmph! Don't make me laugh. Do you think I'm the type of pirate who would willingly accept charity from an enemy?" Crocodile closed his eyes, his face a mask of pure arrogance.
Such was the determination and pride of an ambitious mastermind like Crocodile. Rather than being saved by an enemy, the Desert Crocodile would prefer to be sent to Impel Down. Besides, in his eyes, the current seas were simply far too boring.
"As for those subordinates of mine, I have never trusted them for a single second. From beginning to end, the only person I have ever trusted is myse—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Crocodile suddenly realized the implication behind the latter half of Sherlock's question. His facial expression instantly became quite a sight to behold, making even the scar spanning across his face look rather comical.
"We, the Straw Hat Pirates, aren't the only ones who have entered this Marine fortress. On my way here while sneaking into this prison under invisibility, I happened to spot quite a few very familiar faces."
Sherlock lightly pushed up his glasses, the clear lenses reflecting two striking flashes of white light within the dimly lit stone cell.
"I highly doubt they accidentally stumbled into Navarone by mistake as well."
As if to validate the Sorcerer's words, the moment the glasses-wearing man finished speaking, both Crocodile and Sherlock sensed several presences—some familiar, some strange—rapidly approaching their location...
"..."
The expression on Crocodile's face grew increasingly complex.
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