Mr. 3 had completely realized the gap.
The man who could break his three-layered candle wall with a single punch had no intention of letting him escape.
Indeed, this pirate who had achieved a bounty of 71 million on his first wanted poster was not someone an ordinary person could compete with.
He was finished.
As someone who had failed the mission, he would definitely be eliminated by the organization. The beautiful vision of promotion and salary increase could only be a dream now.
Right now, all he wanted was to save his own life!
"You have a permanent pose here?"
Luffy drank elegantly, secretly praising the other person in his heart, giving him the rather idiotic title of "Red Tea Hermit".
"Ah? Didn't you hear Luffy-sama's question?!" Seeing Mr. 3 stunned, Bartolomeo grabbed his collar.
"As for the standing pose..."
Mr. 3 looked at the bamboo basket on the table.
Vivi immediately put her red tea aside and lifted the lid of the bamboo basket. Sure enough, she found a standing pose inside.
"Mr. Luffy." She handed the pointer to Luffy. "Is this what you're looking for?"
"No."
Luffy shook his head. On the frame, the name of the place "Little Garden" was marked.
Seeing him shake his head, Mr. 3's heart jumped in fear and he quickly said,
"This is the standing pose for Little Garden, and there's another one that stores the magnetic force of a nearby tourist island."
Pausing for a moment, he revealed a smile even uglier than crying. "Luffy-sama, what do you want?"
"I want the pose for Drum Island."
Luffy frowned slightly.
"Drum Island... is the next island after this one. The Drum Kingdom on the island is a world-class medical country." Mr. 3 suddenly realized and then looked embarrassed.
His heart sank.
He was finished! Was he going to be killed?
Vivi was surprised as she remembered Miss Kaya on the ship.
That delicate young lady is not in good health. She only leaves her room occasionally during the day, and she has only seen her a few times. Most of the time, she quietly reads medical books in the Sunny Library.
"Mr. Luffy, if you want to go to Drum Island, all you need to do is store enough magnetism here, and the compass will point to the next island." She said.
Hearing this, Luffy looked at her helplessly.
What I fear most is the silence in the air.
Vivi blushed and wondered, "What happened? Did I say something wrong?"
"It takes a year to store enough magnetism on this island." He said.
Mr. 3 laughed awkwardly and suddenly remembered something.
It was as if he had found a lifeline and quickly said, "There are two giants on the island, Luffy-sama!"
"They should have the clues you need! It is rumored that these two giants have been living on this island for a long time."
"The name 'Little Garden' comes from an explorer who came here and discovered the existence of the giants."
"He named the island after himself and wrote a widely circulated travelogue."
"For humans, this island is not small; in fact, it can be considered quite large."
"But for giants, it is perfect, just like Little Garden."
Hearing this, Vivi was shocked. Giants? Are we going to steal the giants' standing pose?
She secretly glanced at Luffy.
Luffy fell into deep thought.
If I remember correctly, the giants do not have the log pose of Drum Island. They only have a standing pose that points to their homeland, Elbaf.
He fell silent.
Staying on this island for a year to go to Drum Island? That's certainly not a viable option. Time is running out.
With that in mind, Luffy calmly drank his tea.
It seems that I need to find the "helpful" Shichibukai, Crocodile.
Suddenly,
Silence, silence~
The sound of a Den Den Mushi came from the basket on the table.
Luffy picked up the phone decisively.
A deep and slightly hoarse male voice came through: "Mr. 3, your mission report is taking too long."
It's Mr. 0!!
The behind-the-scenes boss of Baroque Works!
Mr. 3 trembled all over.
"Crocodile?" Luffy laughed. He was about to proactively contact him, but he didn't expect the other party to be so eager.
When he heard his name being mentioned, Crocodile's expression changed on the other end of the line.
"…Who are you?" He remained silent for a long time. "You're not Mr. 3!"
He rarely showed himself. All of Baroque Works' orders were always relayed by Nico Robin.
The members below couldn't possibly know his true identity.
If it weren't for the fact that the plan was coming to an end, he wouldn't have contacted him personally.
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy, captain of the Straw Hat Pirates."
Luffy crossed his legs and spoke slowly, "I heard that you haven't been up to anything good in Alabasta these years, trying to seize power in this country."
"Let me give you some advice."
"You should ask Doflamingo for some advice."
It only took him one night to seize political power in Dressrosa and obtain the position of king."
-----
Alabasta.
In a dark room.
Crocodile sat in a soft and comfortable chief's chair, his face frighteningly gloomy.
One of the Seven Shichibukai, Donquixote Doflamingo?
The kingdom he was looking for was just a small kingdom with a population of a few hundred thousand!
What is Alabasta? It's a large kingdom with a population of tens of millions, and it has a standing army of 600,000!
"Is that so? The aide the princess found is you!"
Crocodile narrowed his eyes, his gaze filled with killing intent. "The woman who defeated Mr. 5, she's also your subordinate, right? And you killed that useless Mr. 3..."
There was no need to guess how the other party knew of his identity and purpose. It must have been revealed by Princess Vivi.
"You want to kill us?" Luffy laughed. "I'll give you a chance. I'm currently in Little Garden. You can come personally. I'll be waiting for you."
Next to him, Vivi was so scared that she pinched his arm.
Unfortunately, he was made of rubber, so it didn't hurt at all.
Mr. 3 trembled all over. The boss of Baroque Works, is he a Shichibukai?!
This is too bad, now we're really lost!
If we don't die at Crocodile's hands, we'll die at the hands of the Straw Hat Crew!
What a lunatic, daring to provoke the Shichibukai!
On the other side, Crocodile broke the wine glass.
To be precise, the glass suddenly turned into quicksand and spread across his fingertips.
"An annoying provocation."
"My grandfather is Garp."
"!?"
Hearing this, Crocodile's heart raced.
The hero of the Marines, Monkey D. Garp!
This kid just happened to be called Monkey D. Luffy, and his name is also on the wanted poster. Even the Marines' demand is "capture alive only"!
This is a problem!
The crocodile's face looked very ugly.
Sure enough, the other party's next sentence confirmed his thoughts.
"I have proof of your crimes, Crocodile. You don't want the Marines to know about this, do you?"
"…What do you mean?" Crocodile gritted his teeth.
"I'll give you a chance. As long as you deliver a permanent pose from the Drum Kingdom to Little Garden before nightfall, I will temporarily not reveal your crimes to the Marines."
Luffy said with a smile, "After all, we are all comrades of the sea, good brothers on the same side."
Pausing for a moment, he added, "You have a duo called the 'Unlucky Duo' below you, let them come flying. Hurry up, the clock is already ticking, tick-tock~"
After saying that, he quickly hung up.
Done.
"Mr. Luffy!"
As soon as the communication was cut off, Vivi couldn't help but grab Luffy's arm and shake it vigorously.
"Don't shake me, don't shake me, you'll make me smell bad."
"What exactly do you want to do? You actually voluntarily exposed your whereabouts to Crocodile!"
"I know you're in a hurry, but don't get impatient now."
Rolling his eyes helplessly, Luffy calmly drank his tea.
---
"Damn brat!"
Crocodile's face was incredibly gloomy.
The busy tone coming from the phone left him at a loss and extremely irritated.
Mr. 3 is really useless!
Standing up and walking over to the huge glass tank, Crocodile looked at the banana crocodile in the water.
It was an extremely large crocodile, and in the three years of drought throughout the country of Alabasta, he had raised seven or eight of them in the tank.
"The grandson of the Marine hero... If this identity is true, it's troublesome!"
The identity is probably true.
As a Shichibukai, he could easily verify this kind of news, which would only take a few minutes.
"Has Marine already found out about Alabasta?"
The crocodile's brain quickly considered countermeasures.
Judging from the other party's request, this group of people is indeed in Little Garden, and Drum Island is the next island.
At the same time, he also knew that it would take a year for the magnetic storage to be completed there, so looking for a permanent pose was also a reasonable reason.
He could rush in now and ruthlessly kill this group of people, and he could arrive in seven or eight days at the earliest. A round trip would only take half a month!
But the plan is at a critical stage, and he doesn't even have half a month!
Furthermore, if Marine already knows and goes to Alabasta during his absence, even if he kills this group of people, it will be meaningless.
Of course, he is not only afraid of Marine.
Marine can't do anything to him for now!
What he fears is the exposure of "Pluton", which would attract the hostility of the World Government, and his title of Shichibukai would be taken away immediately!
Standing silently in front of the water tank for a long ten minutes.
"You did a great job, you brat, hitting my weak point perfectly!"
Crocodile's eyelids were slightly drooping, casting a shadow over half of his face.
He turned around and returned to the boss's desk, took out a Den Den Mushi, and dialed a number.
"Nico Robin."
The call connected, and a mature woman's voice came from the other end.
"Can you stop calling me that? Mr. O."
"Where are you now?"
"On my way back to Alabasta."
Hearing this, Crocodile frowned. "Immediately inform Mr. 1 and the others to go to the Drum Kingdom and eliminate Vivi and the Straw Hat Crew."
Huh?
Robin, on the other end of the line, immediately realized that something was wrong.
So, Crocodile continued giving instructions. "Notify the Unlucky Duo to prepare a permanent pose for the Drum Kingdom and send it to Little Garden!"
Little Garden... I see.
As a woman who had been in the dark world for 20 years, Robin was able to guess a few things from these words and phrases.
Calculating the time, Captain Luffy should arrive in Little Garden soon.
"...Notify Mr. 2 to gather in the rainy area. Come back quickly, the plan needs to be advanced!"
Finally, Crocodile gave one last order and hung up the call.
Sending Robin to the Drum Kingdom was impossible; he needed her to decipher the poneglyph!
Therefore, he could only insist that she return quickly.
After hearing these words, Robin revealed a charming smile.
"How interesting, what did Captain Luffy do to make Crocodile so anxious? This is the first time I've seen him like this."
With that in mind, she quickly followed the orders and contacted the others.
In the room, Crocodile put down the Den Den Mushi and reached out to grab the topmost bounty poster in the thick pile on the table.
Monkey D. Luffy
Only allowed to capture alive
Bounty: 71,000,000!
Now we're racing against time.
If Mr. 1 can successfully deal with the Straw Hat Crew in Drum Kingdom, everything will proceed according to the original plan.
If he fails, then we'll move forward with the plan!
There's a 5-day trip between Drum Kingdom and Alabasta!
5 days is enough!
"Monkey D. Luffy!"
Crocodile looked at the smiling face in the photo and snorted coldly,
"Hmph! You won this round with your move!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the bounty poster turned into quicksand and dissipated in the wind.
"You'll regret this..."
-------
House of Wax.
Luffy sipped his tea.
"So, there will be assassins attacking us in the Drum Kingdom?" Vivi muttered softly.
"Maybe Crocodile will come personally too, although the possibility is very slim. The plan is more important to him."
"To be more precise, it's Pluton."
Luffy put down his teacup, his expression full of confidence, "Then there's no need to rush. Just give him a little intensity and see how he reacts."
In the game of Go, this is called testing the opponent's ability. Just a little test, and it doesn't cost anything.
You can even get a free standing pose.
"Are they really going to send it?" Vivi asked, somewhat confused about the situation.
Luffy answered with certainty.
Who is Crocodile?
This guy spent several years planning to take over a country and the legendary Ancient Weapon.
How could someone like that act impulsively? He should consider all aspects and make the most appropriate judgment for the current situation.
Garp's grandson wants to report his misdeeds?
Regardless of whether there is a report or not, we must first stabilize the situation and find a way to eliminate him.
At the same time, considering the possibility of failure, let's execute the plan as soon as possible. Even if the World Government finds out after obtaining Pluton, what can they do?
In the end, they will have to negotiate with him and acknowledge his position.
After explaining all this to Vivi, of course, I didn't tell her about the prisoner.
Vivi felt a touch of admiration in her heart.
Humans are creatures that admire strength, and women are no exception.
It's not admiration for physical strength, but for intelligence. The feeling of being in control of everything is very admirable to her.
"You're amazing, Mr. Luffy~"
"It's just that I know about him, but he doesn't know my information."
Luffy shook his head modestly.
What intelligence? It's just information. Anyone could do it, and even do it better.
Of course, he also knows one of Crocodile's secrets.
Although he doesn't know the details, if he reveals them, Crocodile will be uncomfortable.
"Come on, let's go see those two giants. They're probably having a fierce fight."
Luffy stood up and walked towards the outside of the house, instructing Bartolomeo behind him:
"Barto, stay here and wait for the Unlucky Duo to bring out the Permanent Pose."
"Yes, Luffy-sama!"
Bartolomeo's face was also filled with admiration, no, fanaticism.
He truly deserves to be the man who will become the Pirate King. He can easily handle even the Shichibukai.
"Wait for me, Mr. Luffy~"
Vivi immediately followed in his footsteps, showing signs of becoming a fangirl.
(End of chapter)
Give me some power stones there you go~😉