Chapter 215: I Will Take Whitebeard's Head

In terms of pure physical defense, Gao Wen had already approached the level of Kaido and Big Mom.

Even for Kizaru to break through his defenses, he would need to exert his full strength.

Moreover, Zoan-type users naturally possessed incomparable advantages in close combat, and this was even more true for Mythical Zoans, the pinnacle of the Zoan class.

This was sufficiently proven by the fact that the wounds Kizaru himself had left on Gao Wen's body moments ago had already mostly stopped bleeding and healed.

But if this guy was determined to escape, I wouldn't be able to keep him here.

Kizaru raised a hand to adjust his glasses and said indifferently:

"Ara~"

"I thought you would be a type of pirate adept at scheming, but it turns out you're a battle maniac like Kaido?"

"I really can't do anything with you; I agree to this request."

As he spoke.

Kizaru's gaze couldn't help but fall on Gao Wen's face; seeing that the latter was clearly exhausted, he also felt reassured.

Even being a Mythical Zoan didn't mean one could fight endlessly; after long periods of high-load combat, sufficient rest time was still required to recover stamina.

Gao Wen was strong, even approaching the pinnacle of pirates, but as an unawakened Zoan, his physical capabilities hadn't yet reached that kind of monstrous degree.

For some reason.

Thinking of this, Kizaru felt a distinct chill come from the wind and sand blowing past his body.

In a flash.

Kizaru noticed that there seemed to be a hint of a smile of a scheme fulfilled in Gao Wen's eyes, yet in the next instant, it completely vanished.

An illusion?

Well~

It must have been an illusion.

There's no way you could be full of life and energy the very next day after suffering such heavy injuries, right?

Kizaru shook his head, casting the absurd thought that had arisen in his mind to the back of his head.

"Deal!"

Gao Wen's mouth corners split into a grin as he slowly sheathed the Guanshi Zhengzong.

A Conqueror's Haki sparring partner at the Admiral level. Although the improvement in Conqueror's Haki brought by training was far less than that from real combat, especially combat involving clashes of beliefs and wills, accumulating little by little still yielded a considerable gain.

From the Marine Headquarters to Alabasta, Zephyr would take at least over a month.

Even counting from the moment the Marines noticed the abnormalities in Alabasta after the battle with the Jin Shizi.

The time left for Gao Wen still exceeded one month.

The Conqueror's Haki experience harvested in the interim might be enough to raise Gao Wen's Conqueror's Haki to level four, and it wasn't even impossible to comprehend Conqueror's Haki coating through this.

The temperature difference between day and night in the desert was enormous.

It was now deep into the night; the biting cold wind blew away the yellow sand covering the ground, and also scattered the dust covering Crocodile.

"Cough, cough, cough—!"

After several violent coughs.

Crocodile slowly opened his eyes, sensing the threat right beside him.

He tried to stand up, but within his body, twice severely injured and nearly near death, there was no longer such strength.

He could only collapse powerlessly.

"Is this my end?"

"So unsightly!"

Crocodile struggled to lift his head, looking at the bare-chested, scar-covered Gao Wen, and the languid Kizaru nearby, understanding in his heart that there was no possibility of escape for him today.

But at this very moment, there was not a trace of anger in Crocodile's heart, only an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

He suddenly remembered why he had felt a hint of hesitation before entering the temple and obtaining the Pluton.

It was unwillingness!

Why were some people destined from birth to stand at the pinnacle, while others had to be crushed in the dust?

Was this fair?

Of course not!

Thinking of this.

In Crocodile's eyes, it seemed as if a fire was burning; he turned his head to look at Gao Wen:

"I will take Whitebeard's head!"

"I absolutely, absolutely, absolutely will take Whitebeard's head!"

"Hahahahaha—!"

The dry, hoarse laughter echoed through the desert, even overpowering the howling wind around them at this moment.

Kizaru watched this scene coldly.

The lenses on the bridge of his nose reflected the moonlight, completely obscuring his eyes, making it impossible for anyone to tell what he was thinking.

Only a murmuring voice came from Kizaru's mouth:

"Ko~wa~i~ne~"

"Now I actually believe you could fight to that extent with that monster Barrett."

"However."

"The only outcome awaiting you is imprisonment in Impel Down; no one can escape from there."

"No!"

As Crocodile's laughter subsided, he stated with unshakable determination:

"Someone has escaped from there before."

"The Jin Shizi!"

"Since he could become the first, why can't I be the second?!"

"Of course you can be the second."

Gao Wen, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke; he lowered his gaze to look at Crocodile, a hint of appreciation revealing itself in his eyes.

To be honest, although Crocodile was a villain, he was one of the villains Gao Wen appreciated the most.

Founding the Baroque Works and issuing bounties against the Marines in reverse—in the situation where turmoil was just beginning to show in the New World, this move hit the nail on the head, striking directly at the fatal weak points of the Marines and the World Government.

From this perspective, Crocodile could almost be counted as one of the top chess players of that era.

"If you can do it, then do it and show me!"

"Hmph!"

Crocodile closed his eyes, yet the corners of his mouth gradually stretched wide:

"I won't prove anything to you, but if it aligns with my interests, I will do it; it's that simple."

"How anticipating~ I wonder what the blood of those hegemons standing at the summit tastes like~"

"Hahahahaha~"

After several bursts of wild laughter.

Crocodile lost consciousness; his body had long since reached its limit, and the fact that he was still alive now was merely due to his own willpower forcing out one last breath.

After remaining silent for a while, Kizaru lifted Crocodile with one hand, then turned and returned to Alabasta.

Gao Wen watched the direction where Kizaru disappeared, took a Den Den Mushi from his bosom, and conveyed his orders to Ah Jin and Luqi, who had split up to act separately.

"Withdraw from Alabasta!"

"Return to Rapeseed Flower Port and await orders!"

Several hundred kilometers away.

Ah Jin and his group were taking shelter from the wind and sand in an oasis, replenishing their scarce fresh water resources.

After several consecutive days of high-temperature exposure, the skin of all three had darkened considerably, yet only their eyes still revealed a sharp, solemn, and killing intent.

"The Captain has ordered us to return to Rapeseed Flower Port."

Ah Jin sat on a piece of broken rock, looking at the Den Den Mushi in his hand which had closed its eyes, confusion appearing in his gaze.

Zoro, standing nearby, was the same:

"Did they encounter some powerful enemy?"

"The Jin Shizi?"

Zoro quietly tightened his grip on the three long swords at his waist.

His teeth were clenched so hard that his cheeks bulged high, and thick reluctance poured out from his eyes.

This situation, where his own strength failed to keep up, requiring the Captain to bear everything alone and face powerful enemies by himself, was something he could not endure, whether emotionally or in terms of personal will.

If one is always protected, how can one ever become the World's Greatest Swordsman?

Yet he knew even more clearly that against such an opponent, he indeed could not cope.

Previously, merely dealing with Foxy required the combined strength of four people to achieve victory; so against the even stronger Jin Shizi...

How should they fight?

"Tch!"

"We are indeed still too weak."

Zoro dejectedly lowered the long sword in his hand, yet his eyes ignited with fervor at this moment:

"To grow faster, we need stronger opponents, opponents so strong that even if I wager my full power, I cannot defeat them!"

"I am unwilling to become a burden on that man's progress."

"Ah."

Luqi removed the hat from his head, patted off the wind and sand upon it, and revealed eyes no different from Zoro's:

"I feel the same."

"Less nonsense."

Ah Jin said lightly:

"Act according to the Captain's orders."

"Even if we truly have to face an opponent like the Jin Shizi, to that man, we are also purely..."

"A burden!"

These two words were spoken by Ah Jin with extreme weight.

So much so that Luqi and Zoro both turned to look at him in surprise; only then did they realize that within the entire Gao Wen Pirates, the one most unwilling to accept this was probably this man.

The three fell silent, and after burying the traces of their stop with yellow sand, they embarked on their return journey.

Amidst the sky filled with wind and sand, three figures moved swiftly under the moonlight.

A few breaths later.

Bang!

Luqi suddenly stopped in his tracks; he inexplicably felt a trace of unease in his heart, feeling as though he had overlooked something.

This feeling was very similar to what he had felt before encountering the CP organization's ambush at Whiskey Shanfeng.

Indescribable and inexplicable, yet it vaguely made one's scalp go numb.

"What's wrong?"

Ah Jin looked at Luqi in confusion.

"Nothing."

After pondering for a while with no result, Roubo Luqi shook his head and said:

"Let's go."

"We'll act according to the captain's instructions first."

"Mm."

Several days later.

With Cobra, Vivi, and Koza all taking action, the internal turmoil within Alabasta was quickly quelled.

As piece after piece of evidence was delivered before Kizaru, he also realized exactly what Crocodile had done to this country.

Although Kizaru could tell that Cobra intended to conceal certain things.

But the Alabasta Kingdom was, after all, one of the twenty nations that founded the World Government; the implications were too great, and a single careless move could easily punch a massive hole in everything.

Adhering to the principle that it is better to avoid trouble than to invite it, Kizaru simply turned a blind eye.

After all, over these past few days, even with his discerning eye, he could see that while Cobra might not be a brilliant and mighty king, he could genuinely empathize with the suffering of the common people.

Just this single point was enough to make him surpass ninety-nine percent of the kings of this era, at least allowing the common people of this country to live slightly better lives.

Marine forces had also entered the various towns within Alabasta several days ago, assisting the local guards in completely uprooting the Baroque Works organization.

Apart from Daz Bonez and his deputy Zala successfully escaping, the rest of the Baroque Works officers either died at the hands of Xiang Keluo and others or were captured by the Marines to serve a steady sentence behind bars.

Everything was developing in a positive direction.

Except...

"Admiral Kizaru, today's battle is about to begin!"

The familiar voice appeared in Kizaru's ears once again; he nearly failed to keep a steady grip on the pen in his hand as he looked out the window at Gao Wen, who was full of vigor and showed not the slightest trace of fatigue.

He finally realized that he was not only wrong, but ridiculously wrong.

This damn brat had been beaten unable to crawl yesterday, yet could fully recover in the blink of an eye, seemingly unaffected in any way.

What the hell!

No one told me that not only is his ability ridiculously strong, but his physical recovery capability can absolutely rival the level of Big Mom and Kaido!

Thinking of this.

Kizaru couldn't help but reach out to rub his sore shoulders, his brows wrinkling into the shape of the character 'Jiong':

"Have mercy on this old man, please; these old bones of mine are not like you youngsters."

"Then I'll leave?"

"For real?"

"Of course it's real; I'll leave Alabasta right now."

"Don't!"

The veins on Kizaru's forehead throbbed wildly, and he nearly lost his composure on the spot:

"I'll do it."

"Isn't that enough?"

A few minutes later.

In the desert outskirts of Alabasta, two figures, one red and one crimson, once again engaged in combat of the most extreme intensity.

The roaring sounds triggered by the two even reached the royal palace located in the center of Alubarna.

At this moment.

Inside a sickroom within the Alabasta Wang Gong.

Robin, who had long since awakened, slowly sat up, gazing at the sky filled with wind and sand outside the window; she stared blankly for quite a while before turning her head to look at Cobra before her.

A faint blush rose on her face:

"Did Gao Wen really say that? Did he say I am his person?"

"Ah."

Cobra nodded.

Mentioning Gao Wen, he couldn't help but reveal an expression of gratitude:

"If it weren't for him this time, neither I nor you could have escaped Crocodile's hands."

"I have seen many pirates, including quite a few figures like Crocodile, but a pirate like him, I am seeing for the first time."

As he spoke.

Cobra's gaze fell upon Robin.

He had long guessed Robin's identity but had never exposed it.

Betraying someone who had shown him kindness was something he could not do, but keeping Robin here was absolutely impossible.

Her identity was far too sensitive; once the Marines or the World Government learned of it, she would inevitably face endless pursuit, and even the nation of Alabasta would be implicated.

Nowadays, the best solution was undoubtedly to find a haven for Robin, and the Gao Wen Pirates were the most ideal target.

"So... won't you consider it?"

Robin did not speak, merely turning her head to gaze indifferently out the window.

From this angle, she could even faintly make out, beyond Alabasta, the sandstorm growing increasingly violent due to the battle between Gao Wen and Kizaru.

After a long while.

Robin withdrew her gaze and murmured:

"Mr. Cobra, do you think someone like me could find..."

"No."

"Is it worth having a home?"

Cobra's eyes tightened.

Recalling the tragedy of Ohara, he suddenly felt as if something were stuck in his throat, and furthermore felt extremely guilty about the slight ulterior motive he had just harbored.

"If you are willing to become my daughter, Alabasta will forever be your home."

"However."

"You may not be able to use your original name anymore."

Robin stared blankly at the old man before her.

How could she fail to see the slight ulterior motive Cobra had earlier, and she understood that as a king, he needed to be responsible for the people of a nation, but as these words left his mouth, her heart was filled in this moment by something.

It was very warm and very fulfilling.

"No need."

"I do not want my existence to cause this country to fall into that kind of situation again."

"After all, in a certain sense, I was also an accomplice, wasn't I?"

Cobra fell silent for a moment.

Robin lowered her head to look at her book, but the restlessness in her heart made her unable to read even half a character.

Alabasta and Cobra are different; they are different from everyone I have met before.

That man... is also special.

The most benevolent pirate?

Saul, it seems I have found a place to settle down.

(End of Chapter)