Chapter 134

"I'm going to take care of that Blackbeard bunch of bastards first, then I'll deal with you."

"If you don't give me the answer I want, I'll turn your daughter, your citizens, all of them into mummies just like Mr. 3!"

Having said that, he walked toward the outside of the great hall.

Mr. 1 and Mr. 2, the senior agents of Baroque Works, glanced at Mr. 3's mummy and couldn't help but feel their hearts tremble with fear.

Working under a boss like Crocodile, whose moods were utterly unpredictable, one never knew when death might come.

Yet they didn't dare betray Crocodile either, because doing so would only hasten their deaths.

The agents hurriedly followed behind Crocodile, terrified of suffering Mr. 3's fate.

Only Miss All Sunday, Nico Luo Bin, remained in the palace for the time being.

Cobra looked at this woman in puzzlement:

"Are you staying to guard me? That's completely unnecessary. In my current state, even if I wanted to escape, I don't have the strength."

Luo Bin slowly walked up to Cobra and shook her head:

"No, I'm not here to guard you. I just want to ask you—do you truly know the whereabouts of the Poneglyphs?"

Cobra gave a bleak smile.

"Even when Crocodile tortured me like that, I didn't tell him. Do you think I'd just tell you?"

"So that means you do know."

Luo Bin keenly seized the key clue, causing Cobra's expression to change.

Then, Luo Bin suddenly crossed her hands:

"Clutch!"

Two arms abruptly sprouted from Cobra's back, gripping his shoulder blades viciously.

"Ah!"

Cobra let out a scream.

Luo Bin asked urgently, "Tell me quickly—where are the Poneglyphs?"

Cobra endured the searing pain in his shoulders and looked at Luo Bin:

"Crocodile isn't here right now. Aren't you afraid he'll kill you?"

Luo Bin showed not a trace of hesitation or fear.

"I only want the Poneglyphs. No matter what price I have to pay for it, I don't care!"

Cobra's eyes suddenly widened.

"Heh... worthy of the demon child of Ohara. Your goal must be the Poneglyphs themselves, not Pluton. But unfortunately, I can't tell you either..."

Luo Bin's face revealed anger, despair, anxiety, sympathy, and many other complex emotions.

But in the end, she still withdrew her Hana Hana no Mi technique.

Walking toward the palace exit, she said:

"Cobra, even if you won't speak now, Crocodile will make you talk—unless you don't care whether your daughter and your citizens live or die."

After Luo Bin left, Cobra finally collapsed weakly to the ground.

That woman was right—Crocodile wouldn't let him off.

And could he truly be indifferent to the lives and deaths of his daughter Vivi and his citizens?

……

……

Luo Xing, Jack, and Foxy followed far behind the Blackbeard Pirates.

The Blackbeard Pirates were far too arrogant and overconfident, believing that in the first half of the Grand Line, there was no existence that could threaten them.

They had no vigilance whatsoever in their hearts, and so they never noticed Luo Xing and the other two tailing them.

They traveled all the way into the capital of Alabasta.

Inside the capital, a war involving tens of thousands was underway—the civil war between the Royal Army and the Rebel Army.

Seeing this, Blackbeard cackled:

"Zehahaha! The new era is truly coming—even these ants know how to fight for power!"

Burgess said disdainfully:

"What could that bunch of lowly weaklings possibly seize? The grand stage that truly shapes the world belongs to you, Captain!"

Blackbeard laughed even harder, immensely pleased with himself.

They paid no heed to the war between the Royal Army and the Rebel Army.

A war of this caliber, in their eyes, was no different from children playing house.

Blackbeard's group headed straight for the palace.

Luo Xing had originally been too lazy to bother with Alabasta's civil war—after all, once Crocodile was dealt with,

all the misunderstandings and the drought here would soon be resolved..........

But a glance from the corner of his eye caught sight of a blue-clad girl weeping in despair.

Adopting the great-saint mentality of saving every beautiful girl in distress that he could, Luo Xing stopped in his tracks.

He said to Jack and Foxy behind him:

"You two go on ahead. I'll catch up later."

Jack and Foxy were a little puzzled.

Could the young master actually want to meddle in this tedious war between ants?

But they didn't dare ask more and obediently replied:

"Yes, young master."

Then they followed the bearded man and his group into the Wang Gong of Alabasta.

Luo Xing tapped his foot, and his figure instantly vanished from the spot.

When he reappeared, he was already behind the girl in blue.

The girl was kneeling on the ground, her two white, lotus-root-like calves forming an inverted V.

Her slender yet curvaceous body trembled, and her delicate face was covered in tears.

This Princess Nefertari Vivi of Alabasta, with a hoarse throat, screamed desperately:

"Please, stop fighting! Stop fighting!"

"It wasn't my father who used the Dance Powder; it was Crocodile, that pirate!"

"We are all his toys; we have all been used by him. Do you understand?"

Yet Vivi's desperate, mournful cries failed to stir even a ripple.

The Royal Army and the Rebel Army were still slaughtering each other.

Occasionally, a rebel answered her, but the reply was:

"Your Highness, you are lying! Lord Crocodile is one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea; he is here to protect us! It is clearly your royal family that has caused us three years without rain, forcing us to suffer from drought!"

Crocodile understood well the principle of committing to the act completely.

While spreading rumors about Cobra, he sent his pirate subordinates to plunder Alabasta's towns, then appeared himself in the guise of a savior to rescue the towns.

In this way, he established immense prestige and fame in the minds of the ignorant 2.4 populace of Alabasta.

That is why Vivi said that everyone in Alabasta was Crocodile's toy.

This method of using toys was even more ruthless and cruel than Doflamingo actually turning people into toys!

Crocodile truly deserves his reputation as a master at manipulating human hearts!

Hearing this reply from the rebels, Vivi fell into even greater despair.

Her beautiful face was devoid of any color, and her sapphire-blue eyes had lost their usual liveliness, containing only stagnation and darkness.

She could do nothing!

She could only watch helplessly as her people slaughtered one another, played with to death by that demon Crocodile!

"Why... why, why!!"

Vivi's fingernails dug into her palms until they bled.

Just as she sank into endless darkness,

Just as she plunged into the abyss of despair,

A gentle and warm voice suddenly sounded behind her:

"Do you want to change all this? I will help you."