Raleigh took a leisurely puff of his cigar, sitting in his office chair as he sized up Crocodile across from him.
Crocodile's expression had already turned unpleasant.
How long had it been since he'd last experienced the feeling of being disciplined like a dog? No.
The last time he was nearly beaten into a dead dog was also by this very man before him.
Raleigh had broken his left hand and stomped on his face, but at that time, to survive and to seek revenge, he endured the humiliation and accepted the invitation to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
He established his base in Alabasta, and for these three years, he lived comfortably.
On the surface, he was hailed as a hero of Alabasta, receiving admiration from many citizens.
Behind the scenes, his Baroque Works grew stronger, controlling many parts of Alabasta, even manipulating the king like a puppet.
However, after this man arrived, everything turned to dust.
Everything he possessed was like dirt in front of this man, not worth a second thought.
This made the proud Crocodile grind his teeth in fury.
Yet, he lowered his head and spoke words of submission.
"Yes, Vice Admiral Raleigh. I'll organize personnel and come up with an effective plan to accomplish this."
The flames of revenge burned fierce in his heart, making him afraid to raise his head and let Raleigh see his eyes.
His urgent desire grew more pressing.
He had to obtain the Ancient Weapon, Pluton, recorded in Alabasta's history.
Raleigh could humiliate him because he possessed power Crocodile lacked.
In this world, power was the measure of morality. Whoever had greater power had the right to speak.
'Just wait. Once I get the Ancient Weapon, it'll be your turn to kneel and beg for mercy.' Crocodile's mind raced with furious thoughts.
Raleigh had no idea what Crocodile was thinking, or perhaps he didn't need to know.
The Poneglyph in Alabasta indeed recorded the location of Pluton. But unfortunately, Crocodile couldn't enter that place.
Because Pluton was sealed beneath the underground magma of Wano Country.
Apart from that, only the legendary craftsman of Water 7, Mr. Tom, knew how to construct Pluton.
In Raleigh's view, Pluton might be powerful, but it was still unrealistic to think it could oppose Uranus.
As for Crocodile wanting to obtain an Ancient Weapon to oppose him, Raleigh thought it better to give him a little hope.
If he shattered Crocodile's dream now, Crocodile might just give up entirely.
Then Raleigh would have to spend time finding a suitable replacement for the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
It wasn't that the Navy couldn't take over here, but the Navy was currently under strict surveillance by the World Government.
Sengoku wasn't a poor leader.
Rather, during his tenure and Kong's tenure, the world's landscape had undergone significant changes.
During Kong's time, the seas were dominated by the New World Overlord, the Rocks Pirates, and the Pirate King's Roger Pirates.
Even after the Rocks Pirates disbanded, apart from Rocks himself, the other Pirate captains remained unscathed.
The strength of these individuals gave even the World Government a headache, so during Kong's time, the Navy needed to be tough.
But when Sengoku became Fleet Admiral, Roger was already dead.
Even in the original story, after the Four Emperors Crews expanded to a certain extent, they stopped expanding further.
They had no ambition to become world overlords.
If anyone did, it was Golden Lion Shiki. Unfortunately, in this world, Golden Lion Shiki died directly in a naval battle.
In the original world, Golden Lion was imprisoned in Impel Down for many years... The ambition to dominate the world was forced to halt after just a few steps.
Raleigh casually flipped open a file, which recorded some of the work content and income of Baroque Works.
After glancing at it a few times, he threw the file at Crocodile's feet and said, "It seems you've been too focused on making money these past few years and have forgotten the tasks assigned to you by the World Government."
Crocodile lowered his head to look at the file at his feet and said nothing.
"Alright, I have other matters to attend to in Alabasta. Once I've finished delivering my message, I'll leave." Raleigh stood up from the office chair and looked out the window. "This place, Alabasta, seems to have plenty of rainfall. However, on my way here, I encountered many people without water to drink. When you have time, look into what's going on."
After speaking, Raleigh didn't wait for Crocodile's response and walked out of the office with Gion.
The casino manager had long been waiting at the door.
Managers working in casinos were shrewd individuals.
Anyone their boss treated with such reverence was someone they couldn't afford to provoke.
The manager handed over a small briefcase.
"Sir, you must have endured hardships on your journey. This contains some tea money for you. Our boss instructed that this also covers the expenses from your entertainment at the casino earlier."
Gion was surprised by this scene.
It wasn't that she couldn't understand it, she felt their reaction was quick.
Raleigh took the briefcase from the manager and nodded.
Since someone was offering money, why wouldn't he accept it? After all, Crocodile's money wasn't earned through legitimate means.
After leaving the casino, the two quickly disappeared into the sandstorm, heading toward the royal capital of Alabasta, Alubarna.
"Boss, the two have already left. Our people followed them out of Rainbase and then returned," a subordinate dressed in a black suit said.
Crocodile was now seated in his office chair, holding a bottle of red wine.
After Raleigh left, he gulped down the expensive red wine in large mouthfuls, trying to numb himself.
However, upon hearing the report, he couldn't hold back any longer.
Bang!
After a loud crash, the high-end custom-made desk, which had cost Crocodile a fortune, was shattered by his immense strength.
He lifted his head, which had been lowered in Raleigh's presence, and glared at the subordinate before him with bloodshot eyes.
"Notify the members of Baroque Works. Tell them they must arrive here by tonight. If they can't make it, they don't need to come again."
His icy tone carried a hint of anger, making the black-suited subordinate tremble.
"Y-yes, Boss."
"Go."
Crocodile waved his hand.
He had no habit of venting his anger on his subordinates.
As someone who aspired to be a formidable leader, Crocodile held himself to high standards.
Controlling his emotions was the best course of action.
Unless necessary, he avoided showing anger in front of his subordinates.
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator