Who told him to become the Pirate King!

Chapter 426 Declaration of War! The Whitebeard Pirates!

Crocodile was jolted awake from his coma.

Seeing this, a faint trace of regret flashed across Storm's eyes.

If Crocodile had woken up a little later, he might have been able to try other, more radical methods of "forced startup".

The first thing Crocodile saw after waking up was Storm's face.

Finally, it's no longer that ugly, menacing face of Blackbeard Teach!

Crocodile breathed a sigh of relief.

At the same time, he belatedly felt pain and weakness emanating from every corner of his body.

As a prisoner of the Blackbeard Pirates, Crocodile has not received any good treatment recently.

It's already a miracle that we're alive!

"White Dragon, you bastard—"

Crocodile lay on the island's ground, his gaze shifting from the white dragon's face to the empty sky.

"They actually made it!"

Say something.

Crocodile was still grateful for Storm's rescue operation.

Although he still really wants to die.

"Who told Blackbeard Teach to blackmail me? Well, I guess I'll just have to send him on his way!"

Storm crossed his arms and looked at the desolate-faced Crocodile.

"And this is also a perfect opportunity to declare war on the Whitebeard Pirates behind Blackbeard Teach!"

"Declaring war on the Whitebeard?!"

Crocodile, on his deathbed, sat up in shock and looked at the white dragon with a mixture of surprise and delight.

"You—you're not kidding?"

"I thought you were going to keep playing dead, lol!"

Storm clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.

"Whitebeard is truly your 'dream man,' Crocodile."

Crocodile was speechless upon hearing this.

He couldn't be bothered to pay attention to Bai Long's taunts, and forced himself to get up from the ground despite his weakened state.

He is indeed in very bad condition. Even when he manages to stand up, his body is swaying unsteadily, as if he could fall at any moment.

But since you can stand up, it means there's not a big problem.

It's simply a matter of how many bandages to wrap!

Crocodile gritted his teeth, enduring the pain, and said resolutely.

"Count me in to take down Whitebeard!"

Are you sure you can do it?

Storm sized up the sand crocodile, then raised his right hand.

"Do you want me to treat you?"

"But let me make this clear beforehand, Whitebeard is my prey."

"no problem!"

Crocodile agreed without hesitation, but at the same time he made a request.

"But I want to see how much of a difference there is between myself now and Whitebeard!"

Back then, Crocodile made a name for himself on the seas, then challenged Whitebeard, only to be mentally broken by the Pirate Emperor.

Crocodile not only escaped the New World like a wolf, but also retreated to Alabasta, hoping to seek revenge with the help of outside forces.

But so many years have passed.

Crocodile felt that his strength had improved to a certain extent.

And Whitebeard... he's already an old man.

Crocodile still wants to challenge Whitebeard himself.

"call!"

Storm curled his lip in disdain.

"He can't even beat Blackbeard Teach, yet he wants to challenge Whitebeard."

Storm had barely finished speaking.

Crocodile's face flushed red, and the veins on his forehead bulged as he argued.

"Blackbeard Teach — Ambush! — Actually, I could have taken him down myself!"

Then came a series of explanations.

Things like "Dark-Dark Fruit," "ability counter," and "I was careless."

In the cheerful air.

Using the power of the [Restore Ring], Storm quickly restored Crocodile to his peak condition.

Not only that.

Under Storm's deliberate manipulation, Crocodile's left arm—the one that had been severed—began to regain life, its flesh and bones healing until it was restored to its original state.

However, the scar on his face that almost split his face in two was preserved by Storm.

?

Crocodile stared at his regenerated left hand, his pupils trembling, before looking at the white dragon in disbelief.

"This is also the power of your Clay-Clay Fruit!?"

Crocodile was once transformed into a crocodile-man by Storm using the Clay-Clay Fruit.

So at this moment, he also thought that Storm was using the power of the Clay-Clay Fruit.

But Storm shook his head, denying Crocodile's guess.

"No, it's a different ability."

Crocodile moved his left hand a few times, gave Storm a deep look, but didn't press for details.

"I owe you one—no, I owe you two big favors."

Storm raised an eyebrow, and without making any excuses, directly stated his conditions.

"Why don't you come to the Kingdom of Ten Thousand and work for me?"

Crocodile did possess some talent for governing.

He single-handedly established Baroque Works in Alabasta, commanding thousands of bounty hunters and almost completely winning over the hearts and minds of the desert kingdom.

(Yes, while some members of Baroque Works do have bounties on their heads, strictly speaking...)

This is a bounty hunter organization, not a pirate organization.

This includes the "Cross Guild" in the normal timeline.

The so-called "Clown King" Bucky is really just a user of "Conqueror's Haki" talent.

Hawkeye Mihawk completely ignores worldly affairs.

The one who is truly in charge of things in the Cross Guild is Crocodile.

Even the predecessor of the Cross Guild—

-Pakistan Express.

That courier and logistics company was also started by Bucky with money borrowed from Crocodile.

Compared to Crocodile's combat abilities.

Storm values ​​Crocodile's management skills more.

There is no shortage of fighters in the world.

However, there is a severe shortage of managers who can take charge independently.

Upon hearing Storm's words, Crocodile instinctively wanted to refuse.

But as he was about to speak, he suddenly remembered his Baroque studio.

Previously, Crocodile followed Storm's advice and planned to eliminate the Whitebeard Pirates' affiliated forces first.

Back then, he left World of Warcraft with Baroque Studio!

But the battle with the Blackbeard Pirates.

The vast Baroque studio was now left with only Crocodile as its sole figurehead.

Even the Baroque Gustav was completely destroyed by Blackbeard Teach's bizarre abilities.

Crocodile has nothing left.

In addition, he owed Bai Long two huge favors...

A life-saving grace, a long helping hand.

It's like being given a second life!

Crocodile remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking.

"I need to think about it for a while."

Yo?

No refusal?

Doesn't that mean you agree?

Storm was very pleased.

"Alright, let's go back to Whole Cake Island first! I'm going to have Morgans the Big Newsbird pass on a message to the Whitebeard Pirates for me."

It wouldn't be difficult for Storm to defeat the Whitebeard Pirates.

As long as Blackbeard Teach is in his hands, he can lure out the Whitebeard Pirates.

However, some advance preparation is still very necessary.

"Wait a moment."

Crocodile suddenly unleashed his power, creating a sandstorm that swept him into the dust as he flew toward the island's shore.

Storm manipulated the clay, following Crocodile at a pace that was no slower than Crocodile's.

It only took a short while.

Crocodile then arrived at the island's shore.

Storm, who was with them, also realized that the sand crocodile was targeting them.

A huge wooden raft with a very rough and primitive appearance.

The Blackbeard Pirates' "pirate ship"

Neither the Storm Pirates nor the Dawn Pirates have ships.

But that doesn't change the fact that Storm thinks the Blackbeard Pirates' ships are trash!

Crocodile jumped onto the huge raft and searched inside.

A moment later, he came out of there carrying a huge wooden box.

"Here, take this box."

"Um?"

Storm took the box and opened it casually.

The ordinary wooden box was filled with strangely shaped Devil Fruits.

Having thoroughly studied the "Devil Fruit Encyclopedia," Storm immediately recognized the name of the Devil Fruit displayed at the top.

Paramecia-type Devil Fruit - Imitation Fruit

This Paramecia-type Devil Fruit originally belonged to Kurozumi Higurashi of the Rocks Pirates, but was later transferred to Mr. 2 Bon Clay, a senior commander at Baroque Works.

The appearance of this "Imitation Fruit" undoubtedly illustrates one thing.

Mr. 2 from Baroque Studios is dead.

Storm remained expressionless and casually rummaged through the remaining Devil Fruits in the box.

[Chop-Chop Fruit], [Thorn-Thorn Fruit], [Wax-Wax Fruit], [Bomb-Bomb Fruit], [Kilogram-Kilogram Fruit], [Mouse-Fruit Fruit], [Dachshund-Fruit Fruit] ————

Almost all of the Devil Fruits possessed by Baroque Works' top agents are located here.

Storm had anticipated this.

When he arrived, his Observation Haki covered the entire island, leaving only the Blackbeard Pirates and Crocodile's presence.

There were no other living people besides them.

As for Baroque Works, who followed Crocodile, their fate is not hard to guess.

The Blackbeard Pirates are not a "playing house" pirate crew like the Straw Hat Pirates.

In real battles between pirates, people can die!

Obviously.

Baroque Studio was almost completely wiped out.

Aside from Crocodile, who is the company president.

The others not only died, but Blackbeard Teach also took away their Devil Fruits.

Storm wasn't surprised by Blackbeard Teach's actions.

He was just a little puzzled as to why Blackbeard Teach didn't use the Devil Fruits from Baroque Works to arm his Blackbeard Pirates.

But Storm glanced at the Paramecia and Zoan-type Devil Fruits again.

Um·..

Say something.

Absolutely garbage.

Blackbeard Teach has very high standards.

Just look at the Devil Fruit abilities that the members of the Blackbeard Pirates will possess in the future to see how it goes.

Even an ordinary horse can be fed the Mythical Zoan type Pegasus Fruit!

Other fruits like the Power-Power Fruit, Teleportation Fruit, and Disease-Disease Fruit are also very powerful.

The only one whose meaning is somewhat unclear is the [Clear-Clear Fruit].

Blackbeard Teach forced Shiryu of the Rain, the great swordsman, to eat the [Clear-Clear Fruit].

There's a vague feeling that they don't quite match.

Storm casually closed the lid of the wooden box.

"So many Devil Fruits, just given to me like that?"

It's not a "gift".

Crocodile frowned and emphasized seriously.

"These Devil Fruits were originally 'spoils' you obtained after defeating the Blackbeard Pirates."

"I just—don't want these Devil Fruits to go to waste."

"Yeah?"

Seeing that Crocodile was clearly not being honest, Storm simply tossed the box in his hand to him.

"However, I still don't think much of these Devil Fruits!"

Almost all of Baroque Works' top agents are Devil Fruit users.

However, the Donquixote Family's executives are mostly people with superpowers.

It is worth mentioning that.

Many of the Devil Fruits possessed by Baroque Works agents seem to have corresponding "superior fruits" in the Donquixote Family.

The Cut-Cut Fruit and the Weapon Fruit.

【Kilogram Fruit】and 【Ton-Ton Fruit】.

In addition, there are the Wax-Wax Fruit, the Stone-Stone Fruit, the Bomb-Bomb Fruit, and the Boom-Boom Fruit...

They are not in a superior-subordinate relationship, but their relationship is closer than that of superiors and subordinates.

Storm genuinely looked down on the Devil Fruits possessed by these high-ranking agents of Baroque Works.

Too ordinary!

Crocodile silently accepted the box of Devil Fruits, unsure of what to say.

Storm casually added.

"If you like these Devil Fruits, you can use them to develop a new Baroque Works."

"Otherwise, we could sell these Devil Fruits for money."

If a legitimate pirate got a Devil Fruit, who would sell it for money?

That bastard Bai Long!

Crocodile glared at Strom, but still accepted the box of Devil Fruits.

The blue-eyed white dragon soared into the sky, flying at top speed all the way back to Totto Land.

Storm approached Robin.

Robin approached Big News Bird.

"President, the White Dragon Emperor asked me to pass on a message to Whitebeard!"

"What did you say?"

"The White Dragon Emperor announced that Marshall D. Teach, the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, would be publicly executed."