Starting with One Piece, a Multiverse Simulation

But this is a matter for our pirate crew, and we were the ones who promised to help Vivi, so I absolutely will not let Ace get involved.

Chapter 312 The Bet with Crocodile

Alabasta, Rainy Land

Because Alabasta has not received a drop of rain in the past three years, the kingdom is filled with turmoil and unrest.

Rainlands is Alabasta's only dream city, as it is Crocodile's stronghold.

It is also the only capital city unaffected by drought and internal strife, and the kingdom's largest casino, "Rain Banquet," is located here.

For the past three years, Crocodile has used his Devil Fruit powers to trigger sandstorms, causing Alabasta to fall into a state of chronic drought.

He then devised a plan to make the people believe that the drought was caused by the king's secret use of a rain-inducing agent called "dancing powder," thus triggering a civil war in order to take advantage of the chaos and seize control of the Alabasta Kingdom.

Crocodile had been planning this for many years, even creating a "hero" persona years in advance, all in order to better take over the country.

As for why Crocodile didn't directly conquer the area by force, but instead went to great lengths to incite internal strife, there are actually reasons for that.

Because Alabasta is a superpower in the first half of the Grand Line and one of the World Government's allies, it is protected by the World Government.

Crocodile is now one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, a pirate group recognized by the World Government. Even if he covets the country of Alabasta, he cannot openly lay hands on it.

In order to complete his series of future plans, Crocodile cannot give up his identity as one of the "Seven Warlords of the Sea" for the time being, which is why he made those plans.

With the situation in Alabasta becoming increasingly turbulent, and the rebel army even approaching the capital, Crocodile should have been in a rather pleasant mood recently.

However, the arrival of two uninvited guests at Rain Banquet Casino today completely ruined Klock's otherwise excellent mood.

"Wood, the Navy traitor, with a bounty of one billion Berries, has been abandoned even by the World Government. He's a top figure in the underworld, known as a big shot who has connections in all three worlds. I wonder what brings you here today?"

Rainfeast, Alabasta's largest casino, is not only Crocodile's headquarters but also his daily source of wealth.

However, all the other guests in the casino had been driven away. At the huge gambling table, Crocodile, with a cigar in his mouth, wiped the gold hook on his hand with a white cloth while looking at Wood sitting opposite him with a very wary gaze.

A few days earlier, Mr. 12 had reported to him that the naval traitor Wood had also landed in Alabasta.

However, Crocodile didn't pay much attention at the time, assuming that the other party was just passing by by chance. After all, although Alabasta was a major power in the first half of the Grand Line, it was not wealthy and should not be of any interest to the big shots in the underworld.

However, no sooner had Crocodile thought this than Wood arrived in the Rainlands and went straight to his headquarters, the Rain Banquet, which made Crocodile wary.

In terms of age, Crocodile is actually older than Wood, but in terms of pirate experience, Wood made his name on the sea much earlier than Crocodile, and Crocodile's status as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea cannot put on airs in front of Wood.

"Don't worry, I'm not very interested in Alabasta and I won't compete with you for this desert country."

It's just that war is about to break out here, and as everyone knows, I'm an arms dealer in the underworld, so I came here to do business.

I'd heard that Rainfield had the biggest casino, so I thought I'd come and gamble a few rounds. Who would have thought this would be your place?

Wood's words did not lower Crocodile's guard in the slightest, because he did not believe a single punctuation mark of what Wood had just said.

Admittedly, even if a full-scale war breaks out in Alabasta due to his meddling, it would certainly be profitable for Wood, a well-known arms dealer in the underworld.

But Crocodile didn't believe that Wood, whose business spanned the entire ocean, would bother coming to a remote region like Alabasta to eat sand for such a small amount.

"Stop talking nonsense. What do you want? If all you want is money, you can take as much of this casino as you can."

I just want you to leave Alabasta as soon as possible and not get in my way.

Faced with Wood, who was stronger and more powerful than him, Crocodile had no other choice. In order not to affect the execution of his plan, he now only hoped that Wood, this plague, would leave Alabasta as soon as possible.

"I can have anything I want? What if I said what I actually want is the ancient weapon 'Pluto'?"

"Crack——————!"

Almost as soon as Wood finished speaking, Crocodile suddenly transformed one of his hands into an elemental form and slashed down at Wood in front of him.

The sand that suddenly rose into the air formed a huge sand blade at an extremely fast speed, and in an instant, it split the long gambling table in front of him in two!

The terrifying power caused not only the gambling table in front of them to be cut open, but also the hard floorboards, which were instantly cleaved as if by a sharp blade, leaving a deep trench.

However, Wood, sitting opposite Crocodile, seemed to have anticipated Crocodile's sudden attack.

Faced with the enormous sand blade that looked incredibly powerful, Wood simply stretched out one hand, and the color of the sand blade, which looked like it had been cast in black metal, climbed up Wood's entire fist at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The next second, accompanied by a loud thud in the air, the desert sword, which was powerful enough to easily cut through the ground, was easily smashed by Wood's punch.

The powerful fist shattered the sand blades in an instant, and the resulting impact caused the shattered sand to explode in all directions like bullets.

The shattered sand blades, like a powerful shotgun, instantly riddled the once magnificent Rain Banquet Casino with holes.

Undoubtedly, with such a large number of sand bombs exploding in all directions, Robin and Crocodile, who were present, were also affected, in addition to Wood.

However, for Crocodile, who ate a Logia-type Devil Fruit, the sand that hit him like bullets posed no threat whatsoever.

As the sand pelted him, Crocodile remained calmly seated, smoking a cigar. Despite his body being riddled with holes, Crocodile didn't shed a single drop of blood.

This is the common ability of Logia-type Devil Fruits: the ability to transform one's body into elements.

When in this state, as long as their elemental weakness is not found, or they are not countered by Armament Haki or Seastone, even if their body is torn to pieces, Logia-type Devil Fruit users will basically be unharmed.

For this reason, Logia-type Devil Fruits are known as the strongest Devil Fruits, and they are almost invincible in the first half of the Grand Line where most people don't have Haki.

"Captain, in that situation just now, you could have taken the attack in a gentler way."

While Armament Haki is indeed a way to counter Logia-type abilities, have you considered the feelings of the people around you?

The sand bullets, which had just struck like shrapnel, had hit Robin, who was standing next to Wood. However, Robin immediately covered herself with Armament Haki, so she was unharmed.

That's right. Because without years of being on the run, Robin's growth rate is naturally incomparable to that in the original story.

At this moment, she has not only reached the stage of fair skin and beauty ahead of time, but also mastered two types of Haki, "Observation Haki" and "Armament Haki," under Wood's more than ten years of tutelage.

Furthermore, Wood shared his understanding of the "Flower-Flower Fruit" from his previous life with Robin, which led Robin to develop her own Devil Fruit to a very high level. Wood even thought that Robin had secretly reached the point of fruit awakening.

Robin is now feared by pirates on the high seas, and this is not just because she is Wood's personal secretary.

Another reason is that this woman not only has remarkable skills, but her strength has also reached the level of a cadre in Wood's current organization.

"Where did you hear about 'Pluto'? I've been planning this for Alabasta for three years, and even if you're a well-known arms dealer in the underworld, I won't let you go so easily."

Although I may not be able to win against you, I'm prepared to fight to the death. I can immediately arrange for my men to spread the news that Alabasta possesses "Pluto".

"As for the so-called ancient weapons, I think the bigwigs in the New World and the World Government would also be interested in them."

Crocodile already found the traitor Wood, a mere naval traitor, quite troublesome. Now, seeing Nico Robin beside him, who could also use Armament Haki to such an extent, Crocodile's expression naturally became even more unpleasant.

Crocodile had heard of Wood, the naval traitor, more than a decade ago, that he possessed the strength to rival a vice admiral in the Navy Headquarters.

Furthermore, those who fought against him were either legendary pirates or current Navy admirals.

More than a decade has passed, and Crocodile naturally does not believe that Wood's strength has actually declined. So at this moment, he seems to have no other choice but to admit defeat.

Even if he backed down, Crocodile didn't want to let Wood get away with it. He planned to expose the fact that Alabasta was hiding "Pluton" and thus completely muddy the waters.

In short, Crocodile cannot get his hands on "Pluto," nor will he let Wood have his way.

"I think you're overthinking it. I'm not really interested in the so-called 'Pluto.' Do you really think that with my current strength and power, I'd be short of an ancient weapon?"

Don't forget, I myself am the man known as an Ancient Weapon. 'Pluto' is dispensable to me. If I really wanted to make a move, would I be so frank as to say that here and now?"

Upon hearing Wood's words, Crocodile suppressed his anger and quickly calmed down.

That's right. With Wood's current strength and influence, "Pluto" has little effect on him, because his very existence is enough to intimidate the sea.

Moreover, if they really wanted to take action, doing so secretly would obviously be more effective; there was absolutely no need for them to reveal Hades's existence to them.

"So what exactly do you want? Is there something else in Alabasta besides the ancient weapon 'Pluton' that you care about?"

As the world's largest arms dealer and one of the most powerful figures in the underworld, Crocodile believed that Wood possessed intelligence that he was unaware of.

"Well, I came to Alabasta for vacation at first. If you insist on thinking that I came to steal 'Pluto,' then there's nothing I can do about it."

Besides, even if I didn't interfere this time, you, Crocodile, still wouldn't be able to obtain 'Pluto,' believe me?"

Crocodile certainly wouldn't believe that Wood was just there for a vacation, but Wood's words did ignite Crocodile's competitive spirit.

"Besides you, the naval traitor Wood, who else in Alabasta can pose a threat to me?"

Undeniably, Crocodile believed that if Wood wanted to interfere in Alabasta's affairs, he, Crocodile, would have no chance at all.

However, that is only relative to Wood and his group's power. In any case, Crocodile is one of the "Seven Warlords of the Sea", and his Baroque Works has been operating for many years.

It's hard to say if it were in the New World, but in the first half of the Grand Line, could Crocodile really be defeated by a bunch of rookie pirates?

"Since this is a casino, why don't we gamble once?"

Regarding Alabasta and "Pluto," neither I nor my forces will get involved, but I bet you'll ultimately fall to the Straw Hat Pirates.

"Even if you find the Poneglyphs in the Alabasta ruins that record 'Hades,' you won't be able to translate them yourself, will you?"

Although I don't know what your original intentions were, if you win your bet against me, I can have my assistant translate this historical text for you.

Don't forget, she is Nico Robin, the devil's child. If we're talking about anyone in the world who can understand the Poneglyphs, she's probably one of the very few left.

Besides the Straw Hat Pirates, the Navy has also been chasing them all the way to Alabasta. If you win, I can help you with all the cleanup work.

Wood's proposal did indeed intrigue Crocodile. He had originally planned to acquire the historical text about Alabasta first, then divide it into several parts and sell them through various channels, including the black market, to find someone to translate it.

This way, we don't have to worry about revealing the location of "Pluto," and we can translate the historical text as quickly as possible.

However, Crocodile himself was unsure whether the black market could find a way to translate the Poneglyphs.

Nico Robin is the sole survivor of Ohara, and if she were willing to help with the translation, it would save me a lot of trouble.

Furthermore, Wood claimed he could resolve the Navy's issues, and Crocodile had no doubt about it, because the current Navy traitor, Wood, indeed possessed that power.