Chapter 208: Removing the Firewood from Under the Cauldron

"Mr. Gao Wen, I..."

Vivi was so agitated she could barely speak coherently, while Icarium beside her likewise revealed a look of gratitude.

Even though there were no obvious wounds on Gao Wen's body, the current state of Rapeseed Flower Port was sufficient to explain the ferocity of last night's battle.

Being able to extend a helping hand to Alabasta after enduring such a battle, regardless of success or failure, filled both of them with gratitude.

"Thank you."

"You're thanking me too early."

A faint smile played on the corners of Gao Wen's lips:

"Think about how you're going to pay my reward."

"The appearance fee for a Warlord of the Sea is not low."

Vivi froze, instantly displaying an expression as if mourning her parents, and just as she was about to speak, Gao Wen's voice reached her ears once more.

"Forget it."

"With Alabasta being such a poor, remote place, what oil and water could possibly be squeezed out of it?!"

Gao Wen waved his hand, suddenly looking somewhat listless.

Ignoring Vivi, who was puffing up her cheeks in anger like a steamed bun, he turned directly and walked back into the ship's cabin.

Crocodile had made moves against Gao Wen twice; although both were easily neutralized by him, even a clay figure has a bit of temper, let alone a pirate with a fiery temper and who acts as he pleases?

If Baroque Works can still open for business after this matter is over, consider me defeated!

After returning to the captain's quarters.

Gao Wen immediately took out a Den Den Mushi, briefly recounted the events to Ah Jin and Xiang Keluo, and then issued an order:

"Since Crocodile is rushing to seek his own death, then let's grant him his wish!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

Whiskey Shanfeng.

In the port.

Ah Jin hung up the phone, lifted his head to look at the Baroque Works base in the distance, his eyes containing nothing but cold killing intent.

Even though the events at Rapeseed Flower Port tonight were glossed over by Gao Wen in a few sentences, merely the two names that appeared within them were enough to make one sense the peril involved.

"Luqi, Zoro, prepare to move!"

Luqi glanced sideways at Ah Jin and said:

"Did Crocodile make a move against the Captain?"

Ah Jin nodded, ignored the two of them, stood up directly, and said coldly:

"The Captain fought with that fellow, was interrupted midway by the Jin Shizi, and expended considerable effort before barely managing to escape."

"The Jin Shizi?!"

Luqi found it difficult to maintain his previous composure, the pupils of his eyes constantly contracting:

"Is it the Jin Shizi that I know of?"

"No, the only one capable of suppressing the Captain should be that fellow, but..."

"Just how fast is the Captain's speed of becoming stronger?"

"Two months ago in the Drum Kingdom, his battle with King of Calamity Jin ended in a draw, yet now he is already capable of crossing swords with such a figure?"

His words carried shock that was difficult to hide.

Compared to such a combat record, the power displayed during the previous test of Doriki seemed like a joke.

Recalling his experiences after boarding the ship, Luqi only now realized that he had never seen Gao Wen cultivate.

Originally, he thought that accompanied by himself and his companions engaging in increasingly fierce internal competition, the distance between them and Gao Wen should have grown closer.

But now it seemed this viewpoint was not only wrong, but ridiculously wrong.

Zoro, regarding Gao Wen's sudden explosion of combat power, was clearly already accustomed to it, or perhaps numb to it; he raised his hand and patted Luqi on the shoulder, saying indifferently:

"You will understand later."

"Captain Gao Wen is a monster that cannot be measured by common sense."

Ah Jin spoke, interrupting the conversation between the two:

"Less nonsense, let's handle the main business first!"

Accompanying his words, a layer of bony armor gradually manifested on Ah Jin's body, interweaving and combining on his shoulders to form two white bone cannons.

At this moment, the bone armor covering Ah Jin's entire body emitted a luster as warm and smooth as jade, yet under the illumination of the moonlight, it appeared exceptionally cold.

"Leave none alive!"

"Hiss—!"

Boom!

Two bone projectiles shot forth from Ah Jin's shoulders, instantly destroying a club in the distant port.

The entire port immediately descended into chaos.

Countless Baroque Works assassins rushed out wielding weapons, angrily preparing to subdue the person who had attacked.

Then, two figures were seen speeding over under the moonlight, sharp claws and a long blade easily tearing apart the flesh of the crowd!

That night, at Whiskey Shanfeng, Baroque Works... was completely annihilated!

At the same time.

The same scene played out once again at Rain Dinners, the casino where the high echelons of Baroque Works had gathered.

With Xiang Keluo's godlike speed and Roubo Luqi's extreme long-range sniping ability, even against the Baroque Works senior executive serving as Chief Commander, the battle remained completely one-sided.

No.

This was simply a massacre!

From the moment Xiang Keluo struck to the instant Roubo Luqi shattered Mr. 5's skull with a single shot, the entire engagement lasted no more than three minutes.

By the time Xiang Keluo, drenched in blood, set the casino ablaze, the cigarette in Sanji's mouth had not even finished burning.

"Why exactly is my assignment to protect the crew?"

A hint of helplessness colored Sanji's tone.

Combat accelerates growth faster than anything else; given the current level of internal competition aboard the ship, this accumulation of experience could easily become an insurmountable gap.

Xiang Keluo raised his hand, flicking the blood from his claw blades, and said indifferently:

"Everyone has their own strengths; I excel in strategy, that fellow Ah Jin possesses fierce determination, Luqi acts with decisive ruthlessness, and you..."

"To quote the Captain's words, you are a born simp; you can't bring yourself to lay a hand on a woman."

"Just rest assured and serve as our security guard."

The corner of Sanji's mouth twitched; unable to restrain himself, he turned his head aside:

"Next time, please find me a man to deal with."

The air instantly fell silent.

Even Roubo Luqi's drooping eyelids gained a spark of spirit at this moment as he teased:

"I originally thought your profound respect for women stemmed from admiration, but now you're telling me you actually prefer men?"

"Hahahahaha—!"

Burst of laughter immediately erupted throughout the scene; even the murderous aura in Xiang Keluo's eyes diminished considerably, while a faint smile gradually appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Sanji's face flushed crimson; he tried to argue back, but finding two fists unable to match four hands, he was quickly drowned out by everyone's laughter.

Seeing this, he could only offer a helpless smile, silently cursing them as childish brats in his heart, without taking such a trivial matter too seriously.

By the time the Rain Dinners casino burned to ashes in the flames, there was not a single soul left in the surrounding area.

After Xiang Keluo and his group resolved the issues here, they proceeded toward the Alabasta capital according to Gao Wen's orders.

That location served as the designated meeting point agreed upon by the three teams.

Within the borders of the Bastan Realm.

Amidst a sky filled with swirling yellow sand.

Crocodile and Daz Bonez sat within the carriage pulled by the amphibious turtle Banachi, advancing toward Alabasta.

This species of desert turtle possessed immense strength, exceptional endurance, and rapid movement speed, forming a stark contrast with other populations of the same species.

Precisely because of these traits, Baroque Works selected it as the dedicated transport vehicle for its Chief Commanders upon the organization's founding.

Inside the carriage.

The arm Crocodile had lost to Gao Wen's blade had already undergone hemostatic treatment, removing any threat to his life.

Having lost the golden hook on his hand, much of the murderous aura surrounding Crocodile's entire body had dissipated.

He sat silently on one side of the carriage, smoking cigar after cigar until each burned down to nothing.

The two battles from the previous night, along with Shiki's final, definitive judgment upon him, still lingered stubbornly in his mind.

After a long pause.

Crocodile murmured:

"Even someone as powerful as Knight Gao Wen appeared so powerless when facing those monsters standing at the pinnacle, did he not?"

Last night.

Having witnessed Gao Wen's exaggerated combat power, and time after time seeing him charge relentlessly toward Shiki despite desperate circumstances, only to be crushed by Shiki again and again.

He too had once felt moved, harboring thoughts of relying on his own strength like Gao Wen to challenge Whitebeard once more.

Yet all of that ended the moment Gao Wen vanished following Shiki's final sword strike.

Like twenty years ago, two similar individuals, facing legendary battles in identical fashion, made the exact same choice.

"You and I are ultimately no different."

"To contend against such monsters, one can only rely on the Pluton!"

That's right!

There is still Pluton!

Crocodile took a deep breath; the cigarette butt in his mouth ignited with a crimson glow as his eyes brightened once more.

After casting aside the chaotic thoughts swirling in his mind, Crocodile focused all his attention on the Pluton hidden within Alabasta.

"Not only Knight Gao Wen, but even Shiki is likely heading for Alabasta; as expected, their objective must also be the Pluton."

"However, this very fact proves that the Poneglyph hidden in Alabasta, even if it isn't the Pluton itself, must undoubtedly be something extraordinary."

"We must locate Alabasta's Poneglyph before they do, and then hand it over to that woman for deciphering."

At this moment, the Pluton had become almost the sole hope remaining in Crocodile's heart.

And to achieve this goal, the strength of Baroque Works remained indispensable.

Thinking thus.

Crocodile retrieved a Den Den Mushi from his robe and dialed the number for Mr. 4 and Mr. 5, who remained stationed in Rainbase.

"Purupuru—!"

"Purupuru—!"

"Buru buru—!"

……

Inside the carriage.

The Den Den Mushi's standby ringtone sounded continuously, lasting for over a minute without connecting.

"No one there?"

Crocodile's brows furrowed slightly, feeling a sudden, inexplicable unease.

Immediately, he dialed the Den Den Mushi at Whiskey Peak, but again, no one answered.

"Mr. 1, when you left, was there any problem in Rainbase?"

Daz Bonez shook his head:

"No."

"That area is inherently desolate, and inside are the Baroque Works elite; within the Bastan Realm, logically no one should possess the strength to do anything to them."

Hearing this, Crocodile nodded, yet that unease in his heart lingered like a shadow, refusing to dissipate.

He felt he had overlooked something; suddenly, a pirate ship appeared before Crocodile's eyes.

It was a small pirate sloop flying Gao Wen's flag, so dilapidated it could barely withstand the winds and waves of the Grand Line.

"It's the ship!"

"According to the intelligence previously sent back by our people at Whiskey Peak, the Knight Gao Wen should be piloting a pirate ship converted from a Marine battleship!"

"The hull alone exceeds one hundred meters in length!"

"Yet what they docked at Rapeseed Flower Port was merely a small sloop; this…"

Daz Bonez realized the implication in an instant:

"Boss, are you saying they split their forces?"

"Even…"

Daz Bonez did not speak the subsequent speculation aloud, but his trembling pupils and his agape lips proved it all the same.

Even someone as composed as him could no longer remain seated.

For if that speculation proved true, it meant that the Baroque Works, which Crocodile had built over nearly twenty years, had lost more than half its combat strength tonight.

"Call again!"

"Keep calling until someone answers!"

Crocodile roared, so intensely that the wound on his arm split open and bled, yet he uttered no word of pain.

Inside the carriage.

The Den Den Mushi's ringtone sounded again and again, yet still no one answered; as time passed, the expressions of the two men grew increasingly grim.

Soon.

In the distance, a red sun rose on the horizon; the blinding sunlight streamed through the window onto Crocodile, yet it still could not conceal his deathly pale complexion.

Finally, the Den Den Mushi connected, but the news that came through sent a chill of terror through Daz Bonez.

"B-B-Boss, last night the Gao Wen Pirates launched a surprise attack on Whiskey Peak; the personnel we left there… are all annihilated."

"We can't reach Rainbase either; could it be—!"

Crocodile rudely hung up the phone, the veins on his forehead throbbing wildly:

"No need to call further; Rainbase should also be the handiwork of the Knight Gao Wen."

"Truly, the younger generation is formidable."

"He divided his forces into three: using the battle at Rapeseed Flower Port to distract my attention on one hand, while launching a lightning war on the other to instantly destroy our two core strongholds at Whiskey Peak and Rainbase."

"After this engagement, the Baroque Works has lost more than half its main combat strength; even our reputation in Paradise will suffer a blow, and recovering our vitality afterward—who knows how long that will take."

"In other words, up to this point, excluding the unexpected factor of the suddenly appearing Jin Shizi, every single one of my decisions fell within his expectations."

"Not only does he possess formidable combat strength, but he also has such outstanding strategic vision…"

"A monster!"

Crocodile slumped down dejectedly; even though his heart was filled with immense reluctance, he had to admit that the gap between himself and the Knight Gao Wen was no longer limited to combat strength alone.

"What do we do now?"

"Boss?"

Daz Bonez's forehead was covered in cold sweat.

He knew clearly that this was absolutely only Gao Wen's first wave of offense; an even more fierce attack would arrive immediately.

And the Baroque Works had been nearly crippled by this single strike from Gao Wen.

The only personnel available to deploy were the agents stationed in various towns and ports across the Bastan Realm, along with Sara, Robin, and others in the capital, Alubarna.

Crocodile closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and forced himself to calm down.

He understood that when facing an opponent who remained still until striking like thunder, the more panicked and anxious one became, the more likely one was to make mistakes.

And in the current situation, any error in decision-making from here on would be a fatal blow to him.

Silence fell over the carriage for a time, with only the sound of the amphibious turtle's footsteps moving forward.

After a long while.

Crocodile opened his eyes again, having already restored his usual steady demeanor, and stated decisively:

"After the Knight Gao Wen captures Whiskey Peak and Rainbase, his next move will most likely be to head for Alubarna, while our combat strength is far inferior to his."

"Now, our only chance is to exploit a time lag: seize the item and then retreat quickly!"

"There is no time to cultivate step by step and control this country."

"Have Sara and Nico Robin act; directly seize control of Cobra!"

(End of Chapter)