Just as the black-suited subordinate was about to leave, Crocodile remembered something.
"Bring me the information on those pirate groups entrenched in Alabasta. I want their detailed locations and personnel."
Although Crocodile had been trying to suppress his emotions, venting his anger was better for his health.
Raleigh hadn't left Alabasta yet.
Crocodile could only target the pirate crews lurking in the city.
Some of these pirates had sneaked in secretly, some were ones Crocodile wanted to recruit, and others had powerful backers.
But none of that mattered anymore.
Crocodile needed to vent, and so they became the scapegoats.
Just like that famous saying: "I destroy you—what does it have to do with you?"
If they had to blame anything, it was that their strength wasn't enough to earn Crocodile's respect.
Soon, a stack of documents was delivered to Crocodile's office. Since the desk had been smashed, the suited subordinate could only stand beside Crocodile, holding the files.
Crocodile read each one and tossed it to the floor.
Half an hour later, after finishing the last document in his hand, Crocodile's body radiated murderous intent.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind swept through the room as Crocodile's body dissolved into the air like flowing sand.
A sandstorm-like vortex crashed through the office window and howled into the distance.
Everyone in Rainbase who witnessed it bowed toward Crocodile.
"Lord Crocodile has taken action again. Did some powerful pirates arrive this time?"
"No matter how powerful they are, what does it matter? Once Lord Crocodile makes a move, they'll be defeated."
"That's right! Lord Crocodile is invincible!"
The ignorant masses didn't understand the truth, but they believed from the bottom of their hearts that Crocodile was the hero of Alabasta.
Within that single day, a total of five pirate crews, comprising nearly a thousand pirates of various sizes, were ambushed by the sandstorm and drained into mummies.
Only when night fell did a weary-looking Crocodile fly back to Rainbase. He returned to his exclusive office under the escort of security.
By now, the office was filled with executives of Baroque Works.
The desk and window destroyed that morning had already been replaced with new ones by the staff of Rain Dinners.
Crocodile sat in his seat, a cigar in his mouth, his face impassive as he looked at the executives under his command.
"This morning, Vice Admiral Christian Raleigh of the New Navy paid us a visit and assigned us a new task. That is to reduce the number of pirates entering the Grand Line through Reverse Mountain and Alabasta this year to thirty percent of last year's figure."
"I know this is a troublesome matter, but it concerns our lives. You should all be familiar with the reputation of Vice Admiral Christian Raleigh."
The subordinates exchanged glances.
Even Mr.1 didn't know what to say.
When it came to fighting, he was formidable. But asking him for ideas was a stretch—and any plan he came up with would likely be inferior to one Crocodile himself could devise.
The others were also racking their brains, trying to figure out how to solve this problem.
Seeing everyone deep in thought, Crocodile wasn't in a hurry to rush them.
Waiters from the first floor brought up cups of tea, but each of them was too preoccupied with thinking to drink.
By the time the hot tea had gone cold, the group still hadn't come up with any answers.
The anger Crocodile had vented earlier surged back into his heart.
"Worthless! Are you all a bunch of worthless fools?! After all this time, not even a halfway decent idea has emerged among you?!"
Crocodile's expression turned grim.
His gaze, as if capable of devouring everything, swept across the room, causing everyone to lower their heads and avoid meeting his eyes.
Finally, Crocodile's eyes settled on Miss Doublefinger, who was seated beside Mr.1.
Miss Doublefinger was a seductive woman and the only one in the room who'd taken a sip of tea.
Sensing Crocodile's gaze upon her, she quickly swallowed the tea and spoke up.
"Boss, I have an idea."
Crocodile exhaled the cigar smoke, triggering a chain reaction as the sound of heavy breathing filled the room.
The oppressive atmosphere dissipated.
"Let's hear it." Crocodile didn't expect any groundbreaking ideas; as long as it was feasible and effective, it would suffice.
After organizing her thoughts, Miss Doublefinger began to explain. "As everyone knows, I currently run a shop called the Spider Café as a cover. Every day, a large number of customers enter my shop, and they trust me. No one suspects I'm an undercover agent."
"My idea is to create a small town populated by our people near the entrance of the Grand Line. We can eliminate any Pirates who enter by catching them off guard. At the same time, we can also use other incentives to attract bounty hunters who are after money, providing them with information. This way, even if we lack combat personnel, we can make up for it with the number of bounty hunters."
Everyone in the office listened to her proposal while assessing in their minds whether this plan was feasible.
Crocodile was also deep in thought.
Mr.1 spoke up. "Theoretically, there's no issue with this plan, but there's one prerequisite: we need a capable executive stationed there to command and keep the bounty hunters in check. Let's not forget, we're also Pirates. It's only under Crocodile's protection that we aren't attacked by the New Navy."
"Among bounty hunters, there are plenty of unruly individuals, so establishing order in the early stages becomes the biggest challenge."
"Boss, I volunteer to go there."
Crocodile looked at Mr.1 before him and nodded.
If implemented as planned, this would deal a severe blow to the number of Pirates.
However, as Mr.1 pointed out, the most pressing issue was how to establish order with those bounty hunters in the early stages.
If the person sent there wasn't strong enough, there was a high chance the town would end up being taken over by others.
"Does anyone else have any ideas?"
After asking this, Crocodile turned his head toward Mr.1 and Miss Doublefinger.
"This matter will be entrusted to the two of you to handle together. I'll notify the finance department to allocate one hundred million Berries as startup funds. Additionally, I'll assign all internal operational command personnel from the organization to you, including a total of six hundred Billions and Millions."
"Later, submit the list to me for review. If there are no issues, this plan will commence tomorrow."
The two named individuals nodded in agreement, while the others, having failed to come up with a better alternative, could only follow suit.
Crocodile waved his hand. "All of you, go and prepare."
Before long, the office was empty.
Crocodile rubbed the ring on his finger, his desire for "Pluton" growing urgent.