One Piece: Fist of the World.

Chapter 154 Everyone has their own agenda
"Just suppressing the opponent and snatching someone from him, this kind of thing shouldn't cause Garp to take action."

Crocodile led the way, thinking in his mind what kind of excuse he could use to make Rhodes willingly hand over Nico Robin.

After so many years of secret investigation, he has basically been able to confirm that the information about one of the ancient weapons, "Pluto", is hidden in the royal family of Alabasta.

Nico Robin, who can decipher ancient texts, is the indispensable person for him to realize his plan.

"His hook should be of some use."

Rod followed behind Crocodile, his eyes lingering on his golden hook for a moment.

I just don’t know how much strength this guy still has left after so many years of abandonment.

but···
'At least it'll add one more item to my collection.'

'This is going to be a big win!'

They were about to enter the VIP room. How could Nia miss such an opportunity? She kept signaling Bakara with her eyes.

"I'm going to the bathroom first."

Bakara said this in a natural manner, then nodded to them and turned to walk to the other side.

There are a lot of 'lucky' guys out there waiting for her to suck.

"Does this country really have a so-called historical text?"

Naylu looked ahead and followed Rhodes quietly.

Before leaving Magnetic Drum Island, Rhodes had a conversation with him.

According to Rhodes, there is a legendary historical text in this country.

Although he didn't know where Rhodes got the information from, Neylu had been accustomed to Rhodes' various secret messages from time to time since he was a child. After Rhodes told him this, Neylu had been thinking about it.

Although Rhodes repeatedly explained that they came to Alabasta to look for the historical text only because Robin, the archaeologist and intelligence secretary in the team, was interested in the historical text, Neyle had other considerations in mind.

As the captain, Rhodes only needs to indicate the direction, but as Rhodes' right-hand man, he has many things to consider.

Rhodes' goal is to achieve new hegemony in this world, and they will inevitably confront the World Government in the future.

In this case, we must make preparations in all aspects from now on.

The world government has been trying hard to bury and prohibit the study and mention of the blank hundred years of history eight hundred years ago. This is what they need to have in their hands.

"I think I can learn something useful."

Nelu's mind was turning.

"This guy looks very strong!"

Pekin glanced at Crocodile in front of him, then looked at Xia Qi beside him, and the two communicated with each other with their eye contact.

"Can we defeat him if we join forces?"

“It’s probably a bit uncertain.”

After all, the other party is a natural devil fruit ability user, and is one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea who has been famous for many years.

"But, there should be a chance for us to fight each other."

Peikin and Xiaqi still haven't forgotten the feeling of powerlessness when facing Aokiji on Drum Island.

However, after half a year of training, they felt that they had become much stronger, and they should be able to perform better even if they faced Aokiji again.

'He was my former boss?'

Daz Bonis glanced at Crocodile in front of him.

"I feel like I'm totally inferior to Boss Rhodes."

'If a fight breaks out later, I'll ask to be the one to deal with him!'

"Yohohoho~~"

While the group was having different thoughts, they had already walked into the VIP room. Brooke saw several beauties in uniform in the room, his eyes lit up slightly, he walked up to them and bowed slightly.

"Ma'am, can I see your panties?"

"what?"

The waiter who was questioned by Brook blushed slightly and turned to look at his boss at a loss.

As a service staff in the VIP room, she was considered well-informed, but it was the first time she encountered someone who made such a request directly in front of so many people. Oh no, the other party was a skeleton.

"Do you want to agree?"

The maid's mind was in a mess.

Bang! !

Nia punched Brook on the head, knocking him to the ground, and then looked at the maid embarrassedly.

"I'm sorry, but our crew is just bones and doesn't know any better."

Nia casually dragged Brook to the side, found a place to sit down without waiting for being called, and then looked at Crocodile.

"How do we play?"

"Are all your subordinates like this? Rod."

Crocodile sat down, slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, looked at Rhodes and spoke.

"You don't need to ask about my affairs. Just take care of your subordinates."

Rod pulled out the chair opposite Crocodile and sat down.

“Hahahaha, although I’m usually not very interested in it, I really want to participate in this gambling game.”

Crocodile and Rod sat at each end of the long gambling table, facing each other, while Garp sat in the middle of the other side of the table, right between Rod and Crocodile.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha! If the navy hero is interested in participating, I can't wait to welcome you. As I said just now, I will give you 3000 million berries." Crocodile waved his hand, and the maid beside him placed a plate of chips in front of Garp.

"It's too boring for the Seven Warlords of the Sea and the Navy heroes to just gamble with Baileys or chips."

Rhodes flipped over the chips in front of him, then leaned back in his chair and threw the chips in his hand onto the table.

"Oh? Do you have any other ideas?"

Crocodile picked up the cigar and flicked it, slowly exhaled a large cloud of smoke rings, and slightly tilted his head to look at Rhodes.

"How about the loser answering a question from the other party, or agreeing to a request from the other party?"

Although Garp did not say it explicitly, Rhode knew that the navy must be a little worried about him because of his defeat of Moria some time ago. They were worried that he would challenge the other Shichibukai again and defeat them, affecting the deterrence of the Shichibukai and further destroying the fragile balance currently being built on the sea.

The original plan to come here directly to find trouble and find the historical text for Robin had to be changed.

Now Crocodile's conspiracy is really about to be exposed. Given Garp's character, after knowing Crocodile's conspiracy, he will most likely choose to stand idly by.

And Smoker, who still firmly believes in justice, will definitely stand against Crocodile without hesitation.

There will be no problem if I take action myself at that time, and I can even really call myself a 'partner of justice'!
"Oh?"

Crocodile took another deep puff of his cigar, and the slowly exhaled smoke blocked his face, with only a pair of eyes vaguely visible through the smoke.

"Sorry, I'm late. Has the gambling started yet?"

Bakara pushed the door open, took a look at the situation in the room, and chuckled with her hands covering her mouth.

"not yet."

Nia greeted Bakara.

The next gambling game seemed to be a little different from what she had originally expected, and she probably wouldn't have any chance to win big next time.

As a veteran who had been in the casino for many years, Bakara had a general idea of ​​the situation after taking a glance at the situation in the room, and walked directly to Rhodes with his long legs.

"Oh my, it seems I came at the right time."

Bakara picked up the bottle of red wine on the table, poured a glass for Rhodes, and then walked towards Crocodile with the bottle of red wine.

"Although this is Crocodile-sama's territory, let me pour you a glass of wine."

Bakara walked up to Crocodile, poured him a glass of wine, and when she turned around, her hand brushed Crocodile's arm as if inadvertently.

Swish~~
Crocodile's body turned into a ball of sand without warning. Bakara brushed her palm over it and felt a ball of fine sand passing through her fingers.

"Your subordinates are really too careless, Rhodes!"

Crocodile had a faint smile on his face and a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"I am the user of the Sand-Sand Fruit. I can absorb all the moisture from anything I touch."

As he spoke, Crocodile picked up the wine glass in front of him. In just a blink of an eye, the glass was weathered and the wine in the glass was sucked dry in an instant.

"Next time, please be careful and don't touch my body casually."

"Just by touching it, will it absorb all the moisture?"

As if he didn't hear the sarcasm in Crocodile's words, Rhodes put his hands on the gambling table and leaned forward slightly.

"Really? I don't believe it!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Crocodile once again had his signature breathy laugh.

"But, answer the questions or agree to the conditions, right? I agree to your proposal."

Crocodile looked at Rhodes opposite him.

This was proposed by the other party. I believe he would have no objection even if I asked him to hand over Nico Robin.

"Very well, Vice Admiral Garp, how about you be the referee?"

Rhodes looked at Cap.

Although he has Bakara to assist him, this is Crocodile's home court after all, and he doesn't know whether the other party has any special arrangements.

However, with Garp's eyesight and reaction, ordinary tricks would probably be ineffective in front of him.

“Hahahaha, I wanted to join in as well.”

Garp laughed and looked at Rod and Crocodile who were sitting on each side.

"However, I can be the referee."

"How do we play?"

"Let's just roll the dice and compare the size."

This is the simplest and easiest way to use Bakara's abilities.

Bakara walked back to Rhodes with the bottle of wine and stood directly beside him.

Although she failed to touch Crocodile and absorb his "luck" as she wished, but with the "luck" she had just absorbed outside, it would be easy for her to win the gambling game.

"I'll let Captain Garp roll the dice."

Crocodile glanced at Bakara beside Rod and pushed the dice in front of Garp.

Although I don't know what kind of ability the opponent's female member has, as long as I don't let her touch me, I should be able to limit the use of most of her abilities.

The smile on Bakara's face froze instantly.

She was not a direct participant in the gambling game, and if she could not touch the dice, she would not be able to use her abilities to influence the outcome of the dice.

(End of this chapter)