Chapter 417: Crocodile Defeated

"Pops, what's wrong?"

Bai Huzi waved his hand to signal he was fine, and the sorrowful expression on his face gradually dissipated.

"How is Ace doing lately?"

"Uh, according to news from Ace, he should be in Alabasta right now."

"Alabasta... I see. Sigh, I hope he can successfully bring that guy Teach back."

Bai Huzi sighed. The agitation in his heart had been growing more pronounced lately, and he always felt like something major was about to happen. He could only attribute it to his own aging and overthinking.

Meanwhile.

Alabasta, Alubarna, Royal Tomb.

Luffy, covered in wounds, lay prone on the ground, his life or death unknown. Cobra, in a disheveled state, leaned against the wall, gasping for air, his eyes filled with despair.

"Yi-hahahaha, he-hahahaha!"

Crocodile let out a laugh of satisfaction. The royal tomb was crumbling, and debris fell continuously from the ceiling.

One could only imagine what kind of battle had just taken place here.

Although the Straw Hat boy had found his weakness and caused him quite a bit of trouble, he was the final victor!

"The moment has finally arrived, the day my grand ambition begins... This country is mine!!!"

Crocodile couldn't help but spread his arms, feeling as though his life had reached its peak.

"Hmm?"

Crocodile slowly turned his head to look. It turned out that, at some point, the Straw Hat boy had actually stood back up. Even though he was still gasping for air, his eyes looked at him with incomparable determination.

"Heh, heh, hu-hu..."

"The battle... isn't over yet! You, you can't beat me!"

Crocodile looked at Luffy in disbelief. He couldn't understand how the Straw Hat boy, who had been like a dead dog just a moment ago, still had the strength to stand up. Did this make any sense?

If Karl were here, he would kindly tell Crocodile to just get used to it.

"Hmph... is that all you could manage to squeeze out?"

Crocodile's mouth curled slightly upward as he walked and spoke: "A stray dog is a stray dog; you can only talk tough."

Luffy's gaze sharpened, and he shouted loudly: "I am the man who will become the Pirate King!!!"

Alright, the buff is fully stacked. Old Croc, pack your things and get ready to go to Impel Down to read the newspaper!

After a bitter struggle, Crocodile fell, as expected. Fortunately, his falling posture was quite cool, which salvaged a bit of his dignity.

Rumble~

Not long after Crocodile fell, a low rumble of thunder sounded in the sky, and drizzling raindrops fell upon the parched land of Alubarna.

The Marines, rebels, and Baroque Works members who were fighting all froze.

Smoker slowly wiped the water droplets from his face and said with a strange look, "It's actually raining, that really is..."

"Commodore, the bomb has been defused by the Straw Hat Pirates. What should we do now?"

Smoker understood what his subordinate meant. Alabasta was a member nation of the World Government, and the Marines had no authority to handle internal strife in a member nation. But the situation now was not that simple.

During the few days he had stayed in Alabasta, he had learned quite a bit about the inside story. This matter was far from being just a simple internal rebellion.

The culprit was the Warlord of the Sea Crocodile, who even dared to attack a Marine Commodore. His crimes were heinous.

If he hadn't mastered Haki, he might have really been outmaneuvered by Crocodile.

"What to do? Stop this senseless war and reduce unnecessary casualties. That is what we will do!"

"Yes! Commodore!"

Smoker slowly walked to Crocodile's side and looked up toward the clock tower. The person standing on it seemed to be Princess Vivi of Alabasta.

"Please, stop fighting!!!"

"The rain falling now will fall just as it did before, because the conspiracy of the mastermind Crocodile has been shattered!"

The rebels said disdainfully: "Don't joke around! We saw with our own eyes that the Royal Army attacked Alohala!"

"That's right, Mr. Kohza was also shot by the Royal Army. How do you explain that?"

"Can a few empty words just brush over the people who fell in this rebellion?"

The rebels remained incensed and grabbed their weapons, wanting to fight again. The Royal Army had taken the blame for Crocodile and felt very aggrieved, but they had to pick up their weapons—not to wipe out the rebels, but to protect themselves.

Vivi looked at this situation and couldn't help but feel discouraged. Crocodile had clearly fallen, so why were they still killing each other? Why wouldn't they listen to the explanation?

Marineford, Fleet Admiral's office.

"Karl, you'll have to get busy for a while. Recently, several Supernova pirate crews have been causing trouble everywhere, bringing us a lot of..."

"Brrr-brrr-brrr~"

The Den Den Mushi rang. Sengoku picked up the phone: "Smoker, is there something you need from me?"

"What? Crocodile was actually defeated by Straw Hat Luffy? How is that possible?"

Sengoku glanced at Karl, his expression becoming somewhat grave: "So that's how it is? I understand. You continue to stand by in Alabasta, and then compile all the data on what happened in Alabasta these past few days and send it over."

"Mm-hmm, thank you for your hard work!"

Sengoku hung up the phone and said to Karl: "Crocodile was defeated by Garp's grandson!"

Karl rubbed his chin: "Oh? So fast? Is that guy Crocodile really that weak?"

Sengoku said speechlessly: "You're asking me? Who should I ask?"

Karl sat up straight and said with interest: "Since Crocodile has been defeated, his plan to usurp the country will surely be made public. In that case, his position as a Warlord of the Sea won't be secure, right?"

"That goes without saying. The Warlord system states very clearly that one must not infringe upon the interests of World Government member nations. If it weren't for the fact that Crocodile was still of some use to the World Government, he would have been stripped of his Warlord title two years ago!"

"Tsk tsk, doesn't that mean the World Government will have to find a newcomer to join the Seven Warlords of the Sea? To fill Crocodile's vacancy?"

Sengoku was silent for a long while: "They probably will."

Karl stretched and yawned: "Shouldn't this merit be enough for Smoker to become a Vice Admiral?"

"It's enough, but you know what kind of personality that guy Smoker has. Since he didn't defeat Crocodile with his own hands, I'm afraid he won't want this credit."

"Regardless, this is still a merit. If it's not given to him, who else can it be given to? Straw Hat Luffy? Good grief."

Karl waved his hand: "I'm off. I'm going to meet those Supernovas and let them feel the malice of society."

"Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute. What's the rush?"

Karl turned back to look at Sengoku: "What is it now?"

"Do you know the Child of the Devil, Nico Robin?" ===== CHAPTER 419 =====