The thunderous explosions instantly shattered the calm of the sea.
A large pirate ship emerged rapidly from the thick fog.
Dozens of pirates on deck raised their weapons and shouted excitedly.
"Men! Full speed ahead!"
"Close in on that travel ship!"
Standing at the very front of the pirate ship, a middle-aged man lowered his telescope after looking at Kairo's group aboard the Traveler.
His gaze eventually settled on Robin.
A savage grin spread across his face.
"Nico Robin!"
"I never expected you to make it from West Blue to the Grand Line as well!"
"Looks like fortune is finally smiling on me!"
"Hahaha!"
Meanwhile—
Aboard the Traveler.
Perona, who had been sleeping soundly, was abruptly awakened by the explosions.
"How annoying!"
Still half asleep, she assumed Kairo was playing a prank on her.
The moment she opened her eyes, she complained,
"Can't you let your little Perona sleep a bit longer?!"
"You need to leave immediately!"
Before Perona could continue grumbling, Crocodile suddenly shot past the Traveler aboard his small boat.
As he sped toward the approaching pirate ship, he shouted toward Kairo,
"Get out of here!"
Watching Crocodile rush away, Kairo blinked in confusion.
Then he turned to Robin.
"Is this guy... protecting us?"
"Probably...?"
Robin wasn't entirely sure herself.
She raised her telescope and looked toward the pirate ship.
The moment she got a clear view, her pupils contracted.
"That's..."
"The Black Lion Pirates?"
"Oh?"
Kairo couldn't help laughing.
"Black Lion?"
"Why do pirate crews always pick such ridiculous names?"
Robin smiled helplessly.
"They used to be a pirate crew operating in West Blue."
"I was once a member of their crew."
"Then they must've recognized you."
A trace of killing intent flashed through Kairo's eyes.
"Did they ever bully you, Robin?"
"Mr. Kairo..."
Robin was momentarily surprised by the sudden coldness in his voice.
Then she shook her head and laughed.
"No."
"I was the one who betrayed them."
Kairo blinked.
Then he immediately gave her a thumbs-up.
"Nicely done."
"Kairo! Robin!"
Perona finally woke up completely after spotting the pirate ship.
But hearing their conversation only left her more confused.
"What are you talking about?"
"Nothing important."
Kairo rubbed her head.
"You can go back to sleep."
"When you wake up again, we'll be in Alabasta."
"Oh."
Perona nodded.
Then her eyes suddenly widened.
"Who could sleep at a time like this?!"
"I'm going to wipe out those pirates!"
"They woke me up!"
"Perona is unhappy!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A series of deafening explosions suddenly echoed across the sea.
The sounds came directly from the pirate ship behind them.
"Huh?"
Perona immediately rushed to the edge of the deck and looked back.
"Wow!"
"That guy's amazing!"
Seeing Crocodile already charging through the enemy ship by himself, Perona looked genuinely impressed.
"Who is he?"
"Why is he helping us?"
Of course, Crocodile wasn't helping Kairo's group at all.
He had spent the entire morning hunting pirates without finding a single target.
Now that one had finally appeared, there was no way he would let it escape.
Anyone he encountered today was simply unlucky.
Meanwhile—
Aboard the Black Lion Pirates' ship.
The crew stared at Crocodile with trembling fear.
Having transformed into sand, Crocodile had already landed on their deck.
He casually grabbed one pirate by the throat and lifted him into the air with one hand.
Murderous intent radiated from his eyes.
"Pirates."
"You arrived at just the right time."
"Guhahaha!"
As his laughter echoed out, the pirate in his grip began drying out at an alarming speed.
In moments, the man had become a shriveled corpse.
Seeing such a horrifying scene, one crew member screamed,
"It's him!"
"He's one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea!"
"The Logia user of the Sand-Sand Fruit!"
"Crocodile!"
Black Lion himself had already recognized Crocodile.
After witnessing one of his men reduced to a mummy, he immediately stepped forward.
"Crocodile!"
"We have no grudge against each other!"
"There's no need to go this far—"
Before he could finish speaking, Crocodile slowly raised his right hand.
"Desert Spada?"
No.
He merely sneered.
"Sandstorm."
The moment he spoke, a miniature sandstorm condensed within his palm.
Seeing this, Black Lion's face instantly turned pale.
"C-Crocodile!"
"Wait!"
"I have something important to say!"
"I don't care what dead men have to say."
Crocodile grinned viciously.
"Guhahaha!"
"Die!"
He flung the sandstorm forward.
WHOOOOSH!
The moment it left his hand, the sandstorm rapidly expanded.
In an instant, it transformed into a gigantic whirlwind of sand that engulfed the entire pirate ship.
Then it began spinning wildly.
Wherever it passed, decks shattered.
Masts exploded apart.
The entire vessel was torn to pieces with overwhelming force.
Back aboard the Traveler—
Perona watched the enormous sandstorm destroy the pirate ship and excitedly jumped up and down.
"Kairo! Kairo!"
"Who is that guy?!"
"Is he a Devil Fruit user?"
"Wow!"
"The pirate ship got blown apart!"
"He's one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
Kairo walked over and looked at the ship being obliterated by the sandstorm.
"His name is Crocodile."
"He's a Logia-type Sand-Sand Fruit user."
"He can freely control sand and even transform his own body into it."
"A sand person?"
Perona's eyes lit up.
Then a mischievous grin spread across her face.
"So that means he's weak to water, right?"
"Well... in theory."
Kairo nodded.
"But you'd need the ability to actually splash water on him first."
At that moment, Crocodile had completely destroyed the Black Lion Pirates' ship.
He was now dragging the shriveled Black Lion around like a dead chicken as he returned toward the Traveler aboard his small boat.
Before Crocodile could even stop alongside the ship—
Perona suddenly vanished into the cabin.
A moment later, she came running back out carrying a large basin of water.
Without hesitation—
She hurled the entire basin straight at Crocodile.
SPLASH!
"!!!!"
Neither Kairo nor Robin had expected such a move.
When they saw Crocodile get drenched from head to toe—
Both of them froze on the spot like they had been struck by lightning.
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