Chapter 45

"And you will all be founding heroes, with honor, wealth, and beauties aplenty."

"At that time......"

Just as he was painting a big pie,

the telephone worm on the table suddenly rang, causing Crocodile, interrupted, to answer it with displeasure.

"Miss. Sunday, you're late!" Crocodile growled.

"I found Princess Vivi outside the Rain Banquet, with three members of the Straw Hat Pirates—I can't capture them alone."

Robin's intelligence surprised Crocodile.

According to his intel, Vivi should currently be heading toward......

But this obvious lie—Robin, that clever woman, would never use it.

Unless......

This woman has truly betrayed me and is setting up an ambush!

But......

Would he be afraid?

"I understand. Stay put and keep watch. We're coming right away."

Crocodile hung up the telephone worm and looked down at the agents below.

"Princess Vivi is the only flaw in our plan; if we capture her, our plan will surely succeed!"

"For a better tomorrow—act!"

The senior agents rose,

and Crocodile transformed into a sand vortex, shooting straight through the vent to hover above the Rain Banquet, instantly spotting Luffy's group with no attempt at concealment—among them, the blue-haired Vivi.

This eased Crocodile's breath,

the woman hadn't betrayed him after all—he still needed her to translate the Poneglyph and find the Pluton.

Without Robin as a buffer, Crocodile had no patience for slow baiting—when you possess absolute power, why waste time on these low-reward vermin?

He surged downward, sweeping straight toward the Straw Hat Pirates; before they could react, he snatched Vivi, gripping her snowy neck, and returned to the Rain Banquet's rooftop.

"Princess Vivi, I never expected you to come to us so willingly—truly admirable courage," Crocodile teased.

Too easy.

Just some vermin.

Clearly, the previous assassination failed because those agents were too weak—they got caught and eliminated by mistake.

He didn't notice,

that in Vivi's eyes in his grasp, there was not a trace of fear!

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45. Robin in left hand, wine in right!

As Crocodile teased Vivi,

the other senior agents poured out from the Rain Banquet, and Luffy launched himself toward Crocodile.

Crocodile casually tossed Vivi to the ground.

"Lock her up. She's still useful."

He didn't even glance at Luffy's flying punch.

His elementization made him confident this punch wouldn't hurt him—instead, it would shatter the Straw Hat brat's confidence......

"Boom!"

The punch landed solidly on flesh; Crocodile, stunned, was blasted off the rooftop. Though he turned to sand mid-fall and landed safely, the clear fist mark on his face turned his expression livid, faint water stains visible.

Careless!

That Straw Hat brat's fist was wet!

At this moment,

he realized Robin had betrayed him—no one else could possibly know his secret weakness!

Meanwhile,

Miss. Christmas, who was rushing to catch Vivi, suddenly had her vision blocked by a cloud of smoke, then a black fist expanded infinitely before her eyes.

"Boom!"

The black fist struck Miss. Christmas squarely on the face, slamming her into the ground and embedding her there.

The fist's owner revealed himself—it was none other than Ma Di!

—"Sexy Technique" may not be a serious ability, but its core—"Transformation Technique"—is real.

Before others could react,

Ma Di, like a tiger among wolves, landed another black punch, ignoring her thorn spikes, and with overwhelming force, slammed her into the earth!

"Clang—"

Mr. 1's blade slashed against Ma Di's Armament Haki, sparking metallic sparks and halting his continued "slaughter."

"Your opponent isn't me," Ma Di smiled.

The next second,

Sanji's blade slashed toward him; Mr. 1 could only focus on fighting him.

Zoro arrived right behind,

kicked Mr. 2, clad in swan attire, into the Rain Banquet, then charged in after him.

Only Mr. 4 and a dog remained to face Ma Di.

"Lassoo!" he shouted.

The dachshund at Mr. 4's feet immediately spat out a time bomb, which Mr. 4 swung his baseball bat to smash toward Sima Di.

【Ding! Congratulations on signing in at the famous scene "The Shotgun that Ate the Devil Fruit!" and receiving the sign-in reward: Hearthstone of the World of Warcraft Innkeeper!】

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【Hearthstone of the World of Warcraft Innkeeper: After binding a return location, activating it again will condense a Teleportation Method array; upon guidance, it will teleport internal members to the bound return location!】

————————

【Reward stored in the system space!】

"Boom!"

Sima Di extended one hand forward, unfolding a telekinetic shield; the sparks from the exploding time bomb did not distract him in the slightest.

A hearthstone?

Isn't that just a "Return Stone"? Pity it can only bind a single return location, and the teleportation is one-way.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The triple explosion brought Sima Di back to his senses; he then saw Mr. 4 wildly swinging his baseball bat, looking as if he was determined to blast through his telekinetic shield.

Then...

I'll send it right back to you!

Sima Di clenched his fist, freezing all the time bombs in midair; with a flick of his finger, they returned along their original path. The cumbersome Mr. 4 failed to dodge and was blasted square on, collapsing to the ground in black smoke, landing squarely atop his beloved dog Lassoo.

Tsk!

A pitiful sight.

Robin also walked over to Sima Di's side at that moment, her eyes holding a faint glimmer.

"I thought your Devil Fruit ability was strong, but I didn't expect your body technique to be this strong either?" Robin said, surprised.

Not just Robin; Sima Di himself was surprised.

Previously, his body technique was passable, but only so-so.

It was that "Body-Forging Pill" that gave him a qualitative transformation, a rebirth.

"My body is in great shape; if you get the chance, test it out," Sima Di teased.

How to test it?

Of course, through personal experience!

Robin did not answer, merely covering her mouth and giggling.

This half-resisting, half-yielding manner made Sima Di even more itching with desire!

This woman is truly so skilled!