Chapter 22: The Oasis & The Desert (1)
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Sir Crocodile called all the executives of Baroque Works; the rendezvous point was the port of Nanohana. From there, after revealing his identity, he first planned to lead the group to Alubarna right away.
He said 'at first' because that plan just changed after receiving a call from one of the workers of his Casino that was in Rain Base.
"Sir, Mr Manager says he is going to kill this new player...!" A minion let him know via a Den Den Mushi. "B-because this player has clearly been cheating, even though we are unable to see through how he is doing it, and he has earned 9 million bellies just today. A-ah, Mr Manager is attacking!"
It was nighttime, Crocodile had a cigar in his mouth like usual. He had a frown on his head when he heard the news, pausing on his way down the ship that had docked on Nanohana.
'A new player who has skills that can fool the eyes of my people? The manager, no less, who is the best at poker in the casino.' Crocodile contemplated. 'Quite talented. Could he be one of the famous Gamblers who is just taking a stroll around these parts?'
Though Crocodile was mad at Hashirama and had just set foot in Alabasta after two days of traveling, he still hadn't gone insane. He calculated all the possibilities to earn the best outcome in this situation.
'Right. I should tell them to not attack this guy.' Crocodile soon decided. This guy should receive generous treatment within the casino and the hotel that was under the casino until Crocodile finished the job with Hashirama and went to meet him himself. 'No need to kill off such a talent. It's still a good thing even if he isn't world famous, I can hire him to work in the Casino.'
"Listen. Do not engage." Crocodile sent out an order. "Tell him the Warlord wishes to meet him, that should calm him down until I am there."
"Alright sir, let me stop Mr Manager." The Minion replied.
In the next few seconds, Crocodile heard through the snail while continuing his walk as the minion pulled the mad manager to a corner, and instructed him as told by the Warlord.
Crocodile could hear the rage in the manager's voice, and he understood where he was coming from. Still, an order was an order so the manager took a calming breath and received the snail from the minion to talk to Crocodile.
"Boss,"
"Have you learned his name yet?" Crocodile asked, interested to know if this guy indeed was some infamous gambling king.
"Ah. No, boss. I was too driven by my emotion and didn't get to ask for his name."
"...Alright," Crocodile held back a grunt. "Ask him, say the Warlord is interested."
The manager replied in affirmative and Crocodile could hear his footsteps fade away as he walked back to the game table. He could barely hear their voices, so when he heard the name 'Hashirama' his eyes just twitched a little, making him sigh as he realized he had started to hallucinate that name.
'Not for long. After today, he will just be a distant memory.' Crocodile told himself as he walked into the branch of the Baroque Works in this area.
Inside the building, Crocodile frowned when he asked a minion where Miss All Sunday was and the minion didn't seem to know. He just grunted a little in response, once again telling himself that it was fine since she wasn't a part of this mission, anyway. Still, it would be wrong to say he wasn't mad and didn't plan to make her pay for moving on her own without consulting him first.
Soon, the manager returned to the other side of the Den Den Mushi and said. "Sir, forgot to tell you, he is but a kid, seems to be around 16 or 17, and he says his name is Hashirama Sen—"
By the time the manager reached the name part, Sir Crocodile had already turned around and ran out of the door he came through. His eyes were bloodshot as he stood under the moonlight outside the building, clenching his teeth around his cigar.
"Listen, you bastards," Sir Crocodile growled like a beast. "Kill him. At any cost."
* * *
He wore a red suit with a red shirt under it; a shirt that nobody would be able to tell was white in color in the morning.
With a gorgeous lady by his side, her arm interlocked on his elbow, Hashirama was walking with a straight face with a briefcase in his hand.
Behind him was the casino, the biggest one in this country, that was now in ruins thanks to the tree branches, vines, and roots that came out of its doors, windows, and very recent cracks in the wall.
It was nighttime, yet countless people were gathered on the street. All eyes were initially locked on the building before focusing on the figure of Hashirama and his girl of tonight, staring incredulously at this couple who calmly walked out of the ruined hazard behind them.
Watching the female take out a thick cigar and light up on her lips, wearing too much of an indifferent expression, that soon turned into annoyance when the boy took the cigar from her mouth and started smoking it—the people realized that these may not be the sanest in the area.
Some even theorized the briefcase in the man's hand that was for sure filled with money was the result of these two raiding the cashier while this strange phenomenon struck inside the casino.
None, however, could even guess that these two were the reason behind all this, to begin with. As a result, the boy's white shirt had become bloody red.
* * *
"You're the best, seriously." Now that was a big change in tone and words that he heard from this mercenary woman.
Currently, Hashirama and Mikita were in a grand restaurant that was still functioning, even though the rest of the city was in a state of confused chaos.
With many sensational foods served before her, Mikita had a delighted smile on her face as she put juicy eggs inside her mouth.
Mikita wasn't wearing her disguise anymore. Instead, it was Hashirama's turn to disguise. They had to switch like this, otherwise, they would have been captured by the local authorities who were searching for them with all their manpower.
"9 million bellies...!" Mikita gulped her food as she exclaimed in a low voice. "Can you imagine what that much money can do? We are rich, seriously!"
"Shh," Hashirama picked up a piece of juicy steak with a spoon and led it to her mouth, gently pushing it to her as she opened her mouth like a good girl. "There aren't many people around, but better be careful still. Just tonight, okay? You can brag all you want tomorrow when I expose that guy."
Mikita nodded slowly, gulping the food, as she gave him a smile, with juice trailing down one side of her lip.
"As you say, boss. Hehe, I can't wait, seriously~" Mikita giggled, while Hashirama went back to a stance, creating the image of a battle to prepare his mind.
'No, it shouldn't be a problem with Mikita around.'
* * *
Like all the cities in Alabasta, Rain Base as well had a forest around it that was formed in a triangle. That, from far, went perfectly well with the casino inside the city, which was shaped like a pyramid, creating a satisfying scene to behold.
Today that distant scene was more beautiful because of the trees, vines, and leaves that littered the pyramid. Even from a distance, it was visible and made your typical passerby confused.
Sir Crocodile, however, didn't feel confusion at the sight. He felt rage, fury, and anger at this scenery. Because that pyramid belonged to him, it was his main office, and also because he knew who exactly was behind that incident.
He barely held himself back from cursing since his subordinates were right beside him and he didn't want to ruin his sophisticated image. He was sitting inside a wide carriage, with the top executives of Baroque Works around him, while one woman was peeking out of the window.
"Whew," Miss Doublefinger whistled even though her expression was blank. She was peeking out the window to look at the scene ahead. "So t'is done by the same kid who made this desert green? Impressive."
"Don't compliment him in front of Mr Zero," said Mr. One, who was her partner.
Miss Doublefinger clicked her tongue softly but heeded the warning without any complaint.
"She is right, though. It is impressive." Crocodile himself admitted. "Now I think All Sunday wasn't wrong when she said this boy might have defeated Mr Five and Miss Valentine. Regardless, we are seven people and he is one. Don't worry."
Mr Zero, Mr One, Mr Two, Mister Three, Mister Four, Miss Doublefinger, and Miss Merry Christmas. They were the seven participating in this mission, and even if this kid was blessed by luck he wouldn't walk out of the city alive today.
"He is hiding somewhere," Crocodile said as the carriage reached the entrance of the forest. "I have had the city closed down. Nobody should have left it since the incident, so he is still around somewhere. Upon reaching our destination, we will split and search for him ourselves. Don't hesitate to hurt people. It's said that he's got a bit of a Hero Syndrome, so he might reveal himself if he sees people getting hurt."
Crocodile's subordinates listened attentively, uncaring to nod. They didn't think this would be a challenge. They were confident in their powers and abilities. They have fought a lot of people, and they couldn't be scared off by this kid, no matter how strong the rumors said he was.
The carriage continued forward, going slowly as it was moving through the road inside the forest.
Suddenly, the carriage took a harsh break, shaking every passenger inside, as Sir Crocodile growled.
"Watch out where you go." Crocodile yelled at the driver.
"Sir," the driver gulped, "There is a huge, strange vine blocking our path. The carriage can't move forward."
Sir Crocodile, along with his subordinates, blinked at once. A huge vine blocking the main road of the forest? That sounded like-...
"Jump!" Crocodile yelled warningly.
He immediately pushed the door open and jumped outside. As they were highly trained, the troops managed to jump along with him—right in time for something huge to slam down on the carriage.
The wooden carriage took the hit head-on and burst into a thousand splinters; splinters that penetrated a few of the former passengers, making them groan in pain as they fell to the ground on their faces.
Being a Logia, Sir Crocodile ignored the splinters and quickly regained his footing.
"Thanks for keeping a watch in Alubarna,"
A voice filled the forest, as Crocodile looked around in alert. His subordinates groaned and got up from their positions one by one and also looked around, but they couldn't find anyone.
"But as planned, he came here instead. Surprisingly, he brought troublesome company."
"...There!" Mr Two yelled as he pointed at one of the tall trees, drawing everyone's gaze. "That must be him!"
There, they found a boy wearing a white shirt with rolled-up sleeves, and black pants. He stood on the tallest branch with a Den Den Mushi in his hand.
...Hashirama Senju, their target.
"Talk to you later." Hashirama cut the call and flung the snail to another tree as it stuck to the wood. "I'm going to be busy for a bit."
Sir Crocodile's eyes burned, his body bleeding sand, the ground yellow, as he prepared to kill the pest that had been bothering him for so long.
"Everyone. Attack." Crocodile commanded, and before everyone else, Mr One moved.
He utilized his devil fruit to turn his forearms into blades, then he swiftly cut down the tree in a single swoop.
As the tree began to fall, the battle began.
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