Weapon fruit is rubbish? Have you ever heard of Ryujin Jakka?

"Alabasta occupies an extremely important position among the many member states of the World Government."

"You caused such a commotion that you even captured the palace of this country. Apart from anything else, just for the Heavenly Gold that this country has to pay every year, the World Government will not let you go easily."

"Besides, there is the navy."

Nico Robin first glanced at Cobra who was leading the way, then turned to look at Crocodile beside him:

"You also saw the live broadcast of that ceremony."

"Kaidou, who is known as the strongest creature on land, sea and air, is just like a child who has not grown up in front of that man."

"Mr. Crocodile, are you really not afraid of death?"

She seemed to be reminding Crocodile of the situation he would encounter next.

"If I told you."

"The world government will not do anything to me for a long time to come?"

"Nicole Robin."

Crocodile heard this and said to Nico Robin with interest.

"Even if you get your hands on ancient weapons?"

Nico Robin's eyes flickered.

She was of course aware that the members of CP0 had come to her not long ago and reached some deal with Crocodile.

but.

She has studied historical texts for many years and has a certain understanding of the nature of the world government.

Given the current situation, the World Government's tolerance for the Seven Warlords of the Sea is indeed very high, but it definitely does not include ancient weapons.

"Wait until I get the ancient weapon."

“Whether it’s the World Government or Rosen.

"I am now qualified to have an equal dialogue with them."

When Crocodile mentioned the name Rosen, his voice suddenly became heavier than before.

"if."

"I mean if."

"There is no information about ancient weapons there as you wish?"

As soon as Nico Robin said this, Crocodile's steps suddenly stopped.

"No ifs!"

Crocodile was silent for a few seconds, then he said something in a calm tone as if nothing had happened, and then he stopped talking and followed Cobra without saying a word.

His heart was not as calm as it appeared.

As the first of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, he was of course aware of the current situation.

The World Government urgently needs the power of the Seven Warlords of the Sea to balance the Marine Headquarters, or to balance Rosen, but no matter how urgent the need is, it will not tolerate the Seven Warlords of the Sea getting their hands on ancient weapons.

in other words.

Regardless of the success or failure of capturing the Alabasta Palace and seeking the ancient weapon Pluto, Crocodile will now be standing on the opposite side of both the World Government and the Marine Headquarters.

The Five Elders want to kill him.

Rosen wants to put a collar on him.

No matter how vast and boundless the Grand Line is, there is no place for him alone.

"Rather than wearing a collar and becoming a hawk dog of the Navy."

"I would rather."

"Let's take a chance on this one."

When Crocodile thought of this, a hint of madness flashed in the depths of his eyes.

Either you get the ancient weapon Pluto, be on par with Rosen, and be able to have an equal dialogue with the Five Elders.

Or stand on the opposite side of both the navy and the government and be hunted down to death.

This was the only way he could think of to turn the situation around.

Rather than sitting there and waiting to die, being caught between the navy and the government and finally being collared, it is better to go crazy.

If you win the bet, you will become a chess player from a chess piece.

As for losing the bet, how bad can the situation be?

Anyway, he was already a loser from the moment he lost to Edward Newgate, so what if he lost again?

This is the spirit of the King of Desert.

In this ocean, Marshall D. Teach is definitely not the only one who is willing to risk everything for his ambition and dreams.

"Crocodale."

"He is indeed crazy!"

"No, it should be said that the pressure that Rosen brought to all the Seven Warlords of the Sea was too great."

Nico Robin looked at Crocodile's back and murmured in her heart.

She knew that no one could stop an ambitious man who had gone crazy and risked everything.

But, can I really trust such a person with the information about Pluto?

Nico Robin couldn't help but think so.

As Crocodile remained silent, Nico Robin fell into deep thought, and Cobra, who was leading the way, also stopped talking, the atmosphere between the three began to become weird.

Both quiet and depressing.

It's like the last calm before the storm.

click

As time passed, under the guidance of Cobra, the three came to an underground burial hall.

"arrive."

"This is what you're looking for."

"But I don't know what it says."

Cobra paused and stopped in front of a huge stone tablet.

"Nicole Robin."

Crocodile did not delve into whether Cobra really didn't know or was pretending to be ignorant, but glanced at Nico Robin beside him.

The latter did not speak, but walked up to the stone tablet and began to carefully interpret the words written on it.

"Have you finished reading it?"

"Then tell me quickly."

"Where is Hades?"

Crocodile stood aside and waited for ten minutes, until Nico Robin withdrew her gaze from the stone tablet and turned to face him, then he opened his mouth to ask.

this moment.

Even Crocodile himself did not notice that his voice was mixed with a long-lost hint of uneasiness and excitement.

“What is recorded above is the history of this country.”

"As for the Pluto you mentioned."

"There is not a single word about ancient weapons in the entire article."

Nico Robin met Crocodile's sharp gaze that seemed to be able to see through people's hearts.

"There's none?"

After hearing this, Crocodile didn't know whether to believe it or not. In short, he seemed unusually calm.

Even the slightest bit of nervousness and excitement revealed in the voice just now disappeared.

"Yes."

Nicole Robin also had a calm expression on her face, but her nerves were secretly tense and she was secretly on guard.

She knew exactly what she was doing and what the consequences would be.

After an ambitious man who has fallen into madness has put all his chips on the gambling table, he will crush his last glimmer of hope with his own hands.

Crocodile's reaction is predictable.

"That's it!"

"I understand."

"Nicole Robin."

Crocodile lowered his eyes slightly and remained silent for a few seconds. Just when the atmosphere became extremely depressing and gloomy, he suddenly raised his head and grinned at Nico Robin:

"It's ok."

"I choose to forgive you for everything."

"Even if you're hiding this from Pluto."

The voice just fell.

Crocodile's right arm has been transformed into sand.

"Because I never believed you!"

He raised his hand and the sand instantly turned into a sharp sand blade, slashing straight towards Nico Robin.

"What a coincidence."

"I never believed you either."

"MR.0."

Faced with Crocodile's sudden attack, Nico Robin was not surprised, nor was she panicked at all. She had already prepared for it and knew how to deal with it.

click

Seeing the desert sword coming across the sky, she, who had been on edge for a long time, leaped up and dodged the sand blade in time. A crack more than 50 meters long had been cut out where she was just now.

Crocodile saw this and said nothing. He just glanced at Nico Robin with a gloomy expression, then raised his hand to condense a sandstorm and was about to launch another attack.

But at this moment, a hand suddenly grew out from the ground behind him, holding a bottle full of water and pouring it directly on him.

"what?"

The Crocodile at this time is not the Crocodile ten years later.

Ten years younger.

The combat effectiveness has declined by at least ten years.

Even without using Observation Haki to sense, his reactions were still very quick, and he wasn't like Mirai who had spent decades in paradise and gradually became arrogant.

Feeling the movement behind him, Crocodile did not rely on his elemental transformation to fight off everything just because he was a user of the natural ability of the Sand-Sand Fruit. Instead, he chose to elementalize in advance, turning his whole body into wind and sand, and dodged before the clear water behind him could fall on his back.

嗖

then.

Before the water spilled onto the ground, and before the bottle fell to the ground, he had already swept behind Nico Robin like a breeze.

"Goodbye."

"Nicole Robin."

Crocodile stood behind Nico Robin, his right hand turned into a sharp sand blade, and slashed at Nico Robin.

"Is that the end?"

"What a shame!"

"It would be great if the stone tablet recorded historical texts instead of things about Hades."

"This way, at least when I go see my mother and everyone else, I can tell them in person the truth behind the 100-year gap."

Before the Desert Sword actually hit Nicole Robin's body, she already felt a sharp edge enveloping her body, and her hair stood on end with fear.

In the face of life and death, all kinds of emotions surged within her.

There is reluctance, regret, powerlessness and fatigue.

At the same time, many thoughts emerged in her mind.

Why do the stone tablets in the underground burial hall record ancient weapons instead of historical texts?

Why can’t we find the original text of history after drifting on the sea for so many years?

Why, after experiencing so much betrayal and pursuit, I still haven't been able to find the companion who will cherish me as Sauro said he would?

But in the end, they all disappeared, leaving only regret and confusion, and then quietly accepting the embrace of death.

When Nico Robin decided to come to the underground mortuary with Crocodile, she had already decided not to tell Crocodile even if she knew the information about the ancient weapon Pluto, and she was also prepared to be buried in the underground mortuary.

In other words.

No matter what is recorded in the underground burial hall are historical texts or ancient weapons, her fate is nothing more than two possibilities.

Kill Crocodile, or be killed by Crocodile.

Regrettably.

Not only was she unable to kill Crocodile, but even what was recorded on the stone tablet was not the authentic historical text. She could only die with regret and confusion.

"Ah la la la la!"

Just as Nico Robin lowered her eyelids and closed her eyes, waiting to die, a long-lost voice suddenly sounded in her ears.

at the same time.

Hiss

A sudden burst of freezing air instantly erupted, spreading to the entire underground burial hall.

Whether it's the indestructible stone tablet that records the location of ancient weapons, or the sand blade that is about to kill Nico Robin from behind, or even Crocodile himself.

Everything was frozen into ice the moment the freezing air exploded.

"this."

Seeing the underground funeral hall in front of her turn into a world of ice and snow, Nicole Robin's beautiful eyes widened, her pretty face filled with astonishment and disbelief.

It's not like she hadn't fantasized about someone coming to save her.

after all.

She has never forgotten the words that Sauro left behind before he was frozen. Even though she has experienced countless betrayals over the years, she still fantasizes that one day she will meet like-minded partners.

However, he did not expect that at the critical moment of life and death, the divine soldier who descended from the sky was not his imaginary companion, but one of the culprits who had executed the demon-slaying order and destroyed O'Hara, and also the savior who let him escape.

"Ao Pheasant!"

"I know it is you."

"come out faster!"

After experiencing the terror between life and death, and seeing her long-lost enemies and benefactors, Nicole Robin looked around and her emotions began to get out of control.

Even when faced with death, she could do so with relative calm.

But when she faced the fact that the person who saved her might be Kuzan, she collapsed.

however.

No matter how much Nico Robin shouted until her voice became a little hoarse, she did not see the long-lost figure appear.

If the ice that froze Crocodile in front of her was not exactly the same as the ice that froze Sauro, she would even suspect that all this was her imagination.

What you see now is just an illusion before death.

"Ao Pheasant!"

Nico Robin turned around and looked around, but still couldn't find any trace of Kuzan.

The only response I waited for was.

click

Crocodile was originally frozen into an ice sculpture, but the ice covering his body suddenly cracked, extending into countless cracks, like a spider web, covering the entire body of the ice.

then.

The ice sculpture did not break, but disappeared into thin air as if all the water had been sucked out of it.

"Hu! Hu! Hu!"

After escaping, Crocodile gasped for breath.

Obviously.

The feeling of being frozen by the frost was very uncomfortable, even for him as a user of nature abilities.

After all, the ice fruit has a restraining effect on the sand-sand fruit. Although it is not as obvious as water, it still has a restraining effect.

If he had not developed the Sand-Sand Fruit to a strength that was almost a natural disaster and mastered the power of drying up, he would be able to absorb the moisture from organic and inorganic matter he came into contact with, absorb the moisture from rocks or soil and turn them back into sand, and even absorb the underground water under the desert. Once frozen, it would really be completely frozen.

"Kuzan."

"I didn't expect you to appear here?"

"When did you start targeting me?"

Crocodile panted and glanced around, secretly on guard.

But what puzzled him was that after looking around the entire underground burial hall, he couldn't find Kuzan.

See this.

Crocodile's eyes flashed red.

The observation Haki was then spread out.

"how is this possible?"

"How could there be no breath?"

"So what's up with these ice cubes?"

Crocodile was stunned.

Although his Observation Haki is not very good, it is still possible to sense a range of about a hundred meters. But just now, after using his Observation Haki to sense, he found that there were only two auras around him.

One is Nico Robin.

One is Cobra.

There is no third breath at all.

Observation Haki won’t lie, but neither will your eyes.

When he was frozen just now, the coldness that penetrated into his bones, and the ice covering every corner of the underground burial hall, told Crocodile everything.

Only two people in the world can possess such power.

The user of the Ice Fruit ability.

Kuzan.

as well as.

Use the weapon fruit to rub the strongest Zanpakutō of ice and snow.

The owner of Hyorinmaru.

Rosen.

"Ah la la la la la."

"I'm ready, Rosen."

"Although I don't know how to face her, but the ugly daughter-in-law must meet the father-in-law eventually, and I have to face her eventually!"

Just when Crocodile began to question his eyes and his observation Haki, a voice that was very familiar to him and Nico Robin sounded again.

Both of them were sure that this was Kuzan's voice.

only.

"Rosen?"

Crocodile's face changed color instantly when he heard Kuzan's voice as if he was talking to someone he couldn't see, and also mentioned Rosen's name.

"Break it, Mirror Flowers and Water Moon."

At this time.

A voice sounded leisurely in the ears of Crocodile and Nico Robin.