The Pirate Princess Becomes Queen

The Baroque Workshop had relatively low internal discipline, and the members all had their own jobs. Nicole Robin didn't take it to heart. She searched through her many books and soon sent Vivi a nautical chart and some official descriptions of the island from the local kingdom.

Chapter 45 The Crocodile is Angry

The Kingdom of Prodin is a neighboring country of the Kingdom of Dressrosa, and its King Elizabello II is very capable in battle! Both countries are powerful nations in the New World, but Dressrosa has a higher international standing. Like Alabasta, Dressrosa was one of the 20 powerful nations that participated in establishing the World Government 800 years ago.

Vivi felt that the location matched her memory, and she estimated that the town she was looking for should be within the Kingdom of Prodins.

She looked at the map over and over again, while the duck squatted beside her, offering her suggestions.

Because someone often gets lost, the duck was forced to learn a lot about navigation, and now it can be considered a half-navigational duck.

They roughly planned a route: first, to meet Zephyr at the Navy G2 base near the Kingdom of Lulusia. Vivi wanted to systematically learn about Haki, and Zephyr, with thirty years of teaching experience, was more than capable of guiding her. After that, they would go to Torance Town in the Kingdom of Prodins to find Devil Fruits. Once they had accomplished these two tasks, Vivi's abilities would be considered complete.

However, before setting off, she needed to further improve her skills, so she trained hard for half a month at Whiskey Hill.

She hasn't been able to find any points of light related to Armament Haki yet, but through her own practice, she has raised the skill to level 2 (5/50). The speed at which she can gather Haki has increased significantly, and the defensive power provided by Armament Haki is also quite considerable. In addition, with the "enhanced skin" she obtained from the Titans and the "Six Powers: Shave" she picked up from Smoker, she can withstand attacks and run away. She believes that her ability to survive has been greatly improved.

Having fully absorbed the swordplay energy points from Golden Lion, and considering her diligent training, her "Wave Slash" has now reached level 3, "Lion's Thousand Cut Valley" has reached level 2, and her swordsmanship is at level 4 (155/1000).

After rigorous training, she has now reached level 2 in the "Six Styles. Shave" technique, making her an expert in self-preservation.

During these two weeks, Duck Karu also finished reading a whole stack of books, including "Learn to Sail from Zero", "One Hundred Problems Encountered at Sea", "How to Deal with Giant Cats with Foxtail Grass", and "How to Fish at Sea"!

While Vivi and Karoo were diligently practicing their skills at home, something significant happened in Alabasta: Buggy the Clown led his pirate crew back to the Grand Line.

The Krieg Pirates, the overlords of the East Blue, regard the Grand Line as a den of dragons and tigers, a place they feel like they're walking through the gates of hell. But for Vivi and Buggy the Clown, returning to the Grand Line is like going home; they can come and go as they please.

Bucky the Joker didn't want to come back, not that he couldn't; he was very familiar with the flight path.

Almost simultaneously with Vivi, he also arrived at the Grand Line and found Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, known as the Sand Crocodile, in the oasis city of Rain in Alabasta.

Crocodile wanted to seize the throne of Alabasta, so he disguised himself as a hero and spent his days fighting pirates in front of the people to build up his reputation.

He had no intention of getting involved with Buggy the Clown Pirates.

Bucky the Clown isn't very capable; his fighting skills are terrible, but he has a wide network of connections.

As a member of the crew of Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, he participated in Roger's Battle of Edd War against Shiki, and witnessed Roger's execution in Loguetown. This guy knows a bunch of important people, and those important people know him too.

From Crocodile's perspective, he naturally didn't want to fight such a goofball, especially since Shanks had "face" to back him up. Crocodile wasn't afraid of Shanks, but he felt it wasn't worth it for such a minor character as Bucky the Joker.

Crocodile didn't want to deal with the Joker. His idea was that he would pretend he wasn't home, and the Joker would just sail through Alabasta and that would be it. Everyone would stay out of each other's way, which would be great, right? But he never expected that Bucky the Joker would lead his men and storm into his Rain Party Casino.

After a round of looting and vandalism, Shanks, who valued his reputation as well as Crocodile, couldn't hold back and beat Bucky the Joker. However, after much hesitation, he didn't kill him.

Vivi received the news that Crocodile had driven away Buggy the Clown and his crew, and that the news that he possessed Captain John's treasure had somehow leaked out. In an instant, the pirates in the first half of the Grand Line were in an uproar. You have to know that this is a treasure second only to the One Piece, and no pirate could resist it.

A group of people demanded that Crocodile hand over his treasure and share it with everyone. Crocodile was a dignified Shichibukai, how could he possibly accept such a threat? His answer was just one word: kill!

Buggy the Clown is not easy to kill. He shows no mercy when killing ordinary pirates, leaving corpses strewn everywhere and rivers of blood flowing.

......

Deep in the Alabasta desert lies the oasis city known as "Rainland".

The Rainlands originally had few inhabitants, which gave Crocodile the opportunity.

Everyone understands the principle of having multiple identities. Crocodile secretly created the identity of Mr. 0 and established Baroque Works. In the open, he disguised himself as a hero and a businessman.

He invested most of the profits from Baroque Works into the construction of the city of Rainland. Before the arrival of the Buggy Pirates, it was a notorious den of iniquity for miles around, and the casino called "Rain Banquet" filled the hearts of the people of Alabasta with the greed of getting rich overnight.

Now... now this place has been completely destroyed by the Buggy Pirates' special Buggy bombs!

Half the city, along with the magnificent casino, was buried under rubble. Crocodile, being a user of the Sand-Sand Fruit, could transform into sand and become immune to all explosive damage. However, while he was immune, the casino and the city beneath his feet did not.

While I was sleeping in the middle of the night, I heard a loud "boom" that turned the city, which had cost Baroque Studio most of its money and Crocodile's life savings, into ruins.

"That beast! I won't let him get away with this! I will never let him get away with this! He dared to mess with me, and I will make him pay the price!" Wearing a black fur coat, with his left hand severed at the wrist and fitted with a golden iron hook, standing two and a half meters tall, with a long horizontal scar on his face, Crocodile, with the demeanor of a black gangster, looked at the ruins of the city at his feet and trembled with rage.

Bucky the Clown is nothing! Everyone's afraid of Shanks!

Vivi wasn't the first person to give face, and Crocodile won't be the last. Everyone here is an adult; if there were a huge conflict of interest, killing would be acceptable—even Shanks would be killed, let alone Buggy the Clown. But the problem is, there's no conflict of interest right now, which is disgusting!

Crocodile stood alone on a high place, sulking. He was furious; his face was deathly pale, as if he were seriously ill...

Chapter Forty-Six: Turmoil

Bucky the Clown, sporting a sly grin, did not flee immediately after blowing up the Rain Banquet Casino.

Enraged, Crocodile transformed into a sandstorm and was about to capture Buggy the Clown when the cowardly pirate crew started shouting things like "Captain Buggy has been killed" and "Captain Buggy, we will remember you." This strange atmosphere among the pirate crew startled him, and his attention was slightly diverted, allowing Buggy the Clown to escape.

Crocodile stands alone on a high place, looking down at the ruins of his city.

Captain John's treasure? He had no such thing! For him, as long as he could take over Alabasta, he could have as much money as he wanted. He didn't care about the treasures of some pirates; they were just dead money. Only a fool like Bucky the Joker would be so obsessed with them. But now this fool insisted that he had clues to Captain John's treasure, and he couldn't explain the source of his wealth. The conflict between the two suddenly erupted.

"Tap tap tap," extremely light footsteps sounded behind him. Crocodile composed himself, straightened his face, and restored his usual confident expression.

"Mr. 0, you look a bit disheveled." Nico Robin, wearing a white cowboy hat and with her long, silky hair cascading over her shoulders, smiled charmingly as she gazed at the ruins below, her eyes holding a mysterious, enigmatic smile.

Crocodile was furious at her mockery: "I remember I ordered you to capture Bucky the Joker, and where is he? Nico Robin, do you think I won't kill you?!"

"I'm still useful to you, you won't kill me, at least not now... I really didn't catch Buggy the Clown, sorry, that guy ran too fast." Nico Robin was actually a little surprised. Her proud joint locks were completely ineffective against Buggy the Clown who had eaten the Chop-Chop Fruit. It was only because Buggy the Clown was focused on running away that the opponent seized the opportunity to turn around and fight, and the outcome was really hard to predict.

However, she didn't care too much; she was a scholar, not a warrior.

She asked Crocodile, "Tell me, how did we turn around like this? Are we going to face off against the Buggy Pirates? Is this pirate crew our next enemy?"

Enemy? Does Bucky the Clown even deserve that title?! Crocodile was very dissatisfied with Nico Robin's statement, but upon further reflection, it was indeed true. Bucky the Clown was indeed an enemy, and a disgusting one at that!

"Should we mobilize the studio for battle, Mr. 0?" Nico Robin asked businesslike, her smile fading.

Crocodile wanted to say that he was wary of Shanks because he knew about Shanks' relationship with the Joker, but Baroque Works' henchmen didn't know this information, so killing them was fine. However, after thinking about it carefully, he felt it was inappropriate. Could his relationship with Baroque Works withstand investigation? If Shanks was determined to investigate, wouldn't he find out?

What's the difference between killing someone in Baroque Works and killing them yourself?

He swallowed back the words that were about to come out, forcing himself to be rational and not let anger cloud his judgment. He said, "Don't touch Buggy the Clown, and don't touch his executives either... just kill his pirate crew! Kill all those low-level soldiers, and let's see how he still has the face to call himself a pirate crew!"

Nico Robin pressed further, "Then use your Mr. 0 identity to issue commands?"

Crocodile hesitated for a moment, then slowly shook his head: "No, our plan is far from being launched. Mr. 0's identity cannot be exposed. You will use my name as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea to hire Baroque Works to participate in the war."

He gritted his teeth: "I'll pay the participants to help me kill pirates!"

When his own men want to join the battle, he, as their boss, has to pay out of his own pocket. The frustration he feels is indescribable.

After thinking for a moment, he added, "You should also issue a task in the workshop regarding Captain John's treasure. Have the people in the workshop investigate and find out where it is. I will offer a big reward to anyone who can provide a key clue."

He looked down on those treasures, but he wouldn't refuse them either; if there were any clues, he wouldn't mind taking them to make up for his losses.

......

Nico Robin was very efficient. That afternoon, all Baroque Works members received orders from headquarters that Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, had hired them to fight. For each pirate they killed, headquarters would pay them a reward in addition to the Navy's bounty.

Baroque Works, centered in Alabasta, immediately unleashed tremendous energy, employing a variety of tactics including poisoning, ambushes, and sneak attacks. In just ten days, the number of pirates killed by them exceeded four figures. However, while they killed a thousand enemies, they also suffered heavy losses themselves. Ms. All Sunday gave each branch only two principles: Kill! Kill the enemy on sight! At the same time, recruit more people, recruit more bounty hunters!

Vivi scoffed at the orders from headquarters. This was just the beginning. Want to be a hero? Want to be the king of Alabasta? You can dream about anything.

She secretly informed Van Augur to spread the word, through casual conversation, that Crocodile possessed Captain John's treasure.

The World Government is rich and wouldn't be interested in such a treasure, but its officials might be eager to make a fortune. For bureaucrats, they don't care about the Seven Warlords of the Sea. "No matter how powerful you are, dare you try to kill me? Aren't the Seven Warlords under the government's jurisdiction? If so, hurry up and hand over your treasure! Officials are also short of money!"

It's just that Van Augur's current status is relatively low; otherwise, Vivi could have reported the matter to the Celestial Dragons, and then some "Saint" or "Palace" would have been sent. She'd like to see if Crocodile would dare to make a move.

These methods may not be able to remove Crocodile from his current position, but they will definitely disgust him to death!

Vivi didn't stay out of the trouble she caused. While Crocodile transformed into an Alabasta hero and fought bloody battles against pirates in this desert country, she also responded to headquarters' call under the pseudonym MS. Wednesday, killing many pirates attracted by the treasure incident on the route from Whiskey Hill to Alabasta.

Many of her skills require practical experience; only in combat can she identify her shortcomings.

Mr. 8, a veteran recruiter who went to the South Blue to recruit bounty hunters, and Ms. Monday, a strong woman, returned to the Grand Line with a large number of new recruits to join the battle. Vivi's partner, Mr. 9, also completed some finishing work in Loguetown. The four Heavenly Kings of Whiskey Mountain reunited and began to work together to kill pirates!

Chapter Forty-Seven: Kill the Enemy Upon Encounter!

"The ship ahead is flying the skull and crossbow flag; they're pirates!"

"Kill them!"

"kill!"

The Whiskey Mountain Kings, along with their subordinates, patrolled several sea routes leading to Alabasta, killing any pirates they encountered without hesitation.

What? You're saying you don't want to go to Alabasta? You're just passing through? Vivi would put a knife to their throat and force them to admit they wanted to go.

During battle, she charged forward fiercely, and whenever the two sides boarded each other, she was always the first to rush forward.

She wasn't practicing the "sacrifice of name and wisdom" of Wano Country, but rather using battle to allow her body to quickly master the newly increased power and become familiar with various techniques.

She still had to play it safe, but often, what her mind understood, her body might not. She could only turn what was in her mind into her body's instincts through constant battles.

Chopping mountains and seas only requires strength, but chopping people is different; it requires skill.

She believed that it was relatively safe to practice against some pirate grunts in the first half of the Grand Line.

"Your Highness, cough cough... Ms. Wednesday, you must be careful! Be careful!" The old minister Mr. 8 Icarus was very worried about Vivi's courageous actions, fearing that something bad might happen to her. He would occasionally fire a shotgun disguised as a saxophone at the pirates to help her eliminate the enemies around her.

Mr. 9 constantly performs high-speed movements using various front flips and back flips. When he sees a pirate officer, he pulls out an iron rod and smashes it down on the pirate's head.

Ms. Monday was even more ferocious; this strong woman wielded a long log, and with a single swing of her arm, she could bring down a large group of pirates.

Led by the Four Heavenly Kings, the bounty hunters of Whiskey Hill swept through the enemy ships with unstoppable momentum, clearing out almost all the enemies on the deck within ten minutes of boarding.

Mr. 8 and Mr. 9 finished off the pirates on the deck.

Vivi and Ms. went down into the cabin on Monday to search for their loot.

Each of them led a few men, one searching towards the bow of the ship and the other towards the stern.

While searching for a treasure chest in the captain's cabin, Vivi suddenly heard Ms. Monday at the stern exclaim in surprise. She rushed out of the captain's cabin and hadn't run far when she saw the tall and strong Ms. Monday flying backward from a distance, with a bloody wound from her shoulder to her left arm.

"Who is it?! Who dares to attack the Great Helmet Pirates? Do you guys have a death wish?!" A pirate who was two meters tall, with a long, thin face, and wearing a helmet that looked like that of a Japanese samurai strode out.

A dozen or so menacing-looking pirates surrounded Vivi, Ms. Monday, and several bounty hunters from all four directions.

In the cramped lower deck cabin, due to the lack of ventilation, the stench of the pirates mixed with the smell of blood, causing Vivi to frown.

One of the bounty hunters immediately recognized the leader of the pirates: "It's Crescent Moon, the captain of the Great Helmet Pirates! I heard he's a great pirate with a bounty of 3600 million!"

The bounty hunters' words carried a palpable sense of dread; in their eyes, this pirate captain with a 3600 million bounty, who had slashed MS. Monday's ship with a single blow, was an invincible force.

Is this pirate captain named Crescent Moon strong? Judging from his bounty, he certainly is. Krieg, the overlord of the East Blue with 5000 subordinates, only has 1700 million Berries. Mr. Big Helmet's value is equivalent to two Kriegs.

But in Vivi's opinion, the other party was nothing special. He didn't have a Devil Fruit ability, didn't know Haki, and his swordsmanship was just average. He probably only got a bounty of 3600 million by relying on brute force and cunning.