Chapter 197: Rain Diners

Alabasta, Rainbase.

With the mindset of "since I'm already here," Karl took a detour to visit Comrade Sand Crocodile to see if he could trigger a series of Warlord missions.

The last private meeting with Bartholomew Bartholomew Kuma didn't activate this mission, probably because Bartholomew Bartholomew Kuma had never been hostile to him, and plus, he was now cooperating with the Revolutionary Army, so the mission on Bartholomew Bartholomew Kuma could be considered a failure.

Now the only ones he could count on were Sand Crocodile and Doflamingo.

In the air, Karl simply used Observation Haki to perceive, and immediately found the most powerful aura here. If nothing went wrong, that was Crocodile.

Karl jumped directly from the raven's back and fell towards the building in the middle of the lake. When he was about 20 meters from the ground, Karl exerted force instantly and used Moon Walk to break through the window.

FBI, cough, wrong set.

"Tsk tsk tsk, I was wondering why there would be such a powerful aura in Alabasta. So it's the Warlord, Sir Sand Crocodile. Why are you hiding in such a small place?"

"You, how could you..."

Obviously, Crocodile was a bit overwhelmed by Karl's arrival. He had clearly heard the news just now, so how did he get here so fast?

"What, not welcoming my arrival?"

Crocodile's mouth twitched. Nonsense! But on the surface, he pretended to be nonchalant, even appearing very enthusiastic.

"Guhahaha~ How could that be? You are a Navy hero! Your arrival makes my place shine!"

Karl looked at Crocodile with some surprise, but it was also within reason. He probably wouldn't be stupid enough to attack him.

However, it had to be said that Crocodile's getup was quite good.

Slicked-back hair, fur coat, quite the style of a big boss.

"This place is really nice! Located in the desert, yet not lacking water at all. No wonder it's called Rainbase!"

Crocodile grinned: "It seems you've done your homework on Alabasta. I just don't know why a Navy hero would come to me? Surely not just to be a guest, guhahaha~"

Karl's smile gradually faded, and he looked at Crocodile indifferently: "You've been very low-key these past few years. Besides handing over the heads of pirates every year, I rarely hear news of your activities. Are you plotting something?"

"Guhahaha, what could I be plotting? It's just that I Move Move Like the climate here. I come here to sit when I'm free. What? Is that not allowed?"

"Do I need the Navy to question what I do?"

Karl chuckled: "That's not it, I'm just a little curious."

Crocodile's expression was calm, and he said meaningfully: "Curiosity killed the cat! I've suffered quite a bit because of that!"

Crocodile's words seemed to imply something else, but Karl didn't care. Anyway, he wasn't here to fight; it was meaningless.

Someone would take action eventually, so why should he bother?

"I heard that Alabasta has had a century-long drought in the past few years. How do you..." "Brrr-brrr-brrr~"

Before Karl could finish speaking, the Den Den Mushi rang. Karl just reached in, and his expression changed suddenly. It was the exclusive Den Den Mushi given to him by the Five Elders. They would use this to contact him if they had something.

"Sorry, let me take this call."

Karl flashed and disappeared instantly. Crocodile was stunned, but inexplicably had an ominous premonition.

Bang~

"Mr. 0, just received news..." Before Robin could finish, she was covered by Crocodile, who had elementalized over.

"Don't speak. That Navy hero is here. You must never let him see your face, understand?"

Robin, feeling a bit uncomfortable, shrank her pupils and nodded quickly. Only then did Crocodile let her go.

"You hide immediately. You must not show your face until you receive my message. Otherwise, I will kill you first! And then clear all ties with you."

Robin didn't speak, looked deeply at Crocodile, and turned to leave in silence.

Desert.

"Did you finish talking to Cobra? What did he say?"

"He said that the destiny of the Nefertari family is to protect Alabasta, so no matter what, he will not move to Mary Geoise and become a World Noble."

"Oh, is that so? That's really troublesome!" Then the call hung up.

Karl curled his lips. Idiot.

He had originally wanted to play around with Crocodile, but now he wasn't in the mood.

The white-haired old man next to him whispered to the blond middle-aged man beside him: "We already anticipated this result. Since that's the case, we have no choice but to have the CP department step in and talk to the rebels in Alabasta."

"No rush. Since Karl happens to be in Alabasta, let him investigate first to see if the mastermind is that guy Crocodile. If it is him, we can just deal with Crocodile directly."

"Makes sense. Let's do that."

And so, Karl, who was just about to head back, received another call. After hanging up, Karl cursed and turned around.

Bang~ Another window broken.

"Sorry, you don't mind, do you?"

Crocodile smiled on the surface but cursed internally: *Can't you just walk properly for once, you bastard?

"Where were we? Oh right, I remember. All the events happening in the Kingdom of Alabasta now are little tricks you're pulling behind the scenes, right?"

"I don't see... Hmm? What did you say?"

Karl stood up, looked directly into Crocodile's eyes, and said word by word: "I said, all the events happening in the Kingdom of Alabasta are little tricks you're pulling behind the scenes, right?"

Crocodile's expression changed, and he snorted coldly: "What do you mean? I'm just the boss here. What does Alabasta's business have to do with me? Don't you dare make baseless accusations!"

"Stop pretending. Do you think what you've done is so covert? You should know that Dance Powder is a prohibited item strictly banned by the World Government."

"How would Cobra have the ability to import such a large quantity of Dance Powder without someone finding out?"

"Crocodile, don't treat everyone Move Move Like a fool. Do you think we don't know? We just couldn't be bothered to deal with it."

Crocodile's expression changed repeatedly, and the look he gave Karl gradually filled with killing intent.

"Ding~ Detected hostility from Sand Crocodile toward the host. Triggered series quest 【Don't Hit Your Own People 5/7】"

"Exclusive Seven Warlords quest: As allies, you should love and cherish each other, live in peace, and not fight and kill, which hurts harmony and wastes precious time for slacking off."

"Quest requirement: Avoid engaging in battle with Sand Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."

"Reward: 【Desert Affinity】"

【Desert Affinity】: When in a desert, all attributes increase by 5%.