Pirate: I was just slacking off, do you really think I'm bad?

In a restaurant on Lanro Island, everyone looked at a man who was not very tall with great fear.

Young Crocodile didn't yet have the scar on his face, but he had already started slicking his hair back.

Now, he has gradually begun to gain some popularity on the Grand Line.

In theory, he could already gather people to build his own fleet and set sail.

However, due to his Devil Fruit ability, Crocodile hates the sea more than other Devil Fruit users. Even the smell of the sea breeze, which is rich in moisture, makes him feel uncomfortable. Now somewhat lost, Crocodile plans to finish this meal and then travel to other islands to find his own path.

Guga.

The restaurant door was pushed open from the outside.

The noise brought a sound to the otherwise quiet environment, and all the diners looked towards the door, wondering which unlucky person had been so reckless.

If Crocodile makes a move later, they will definitely rush out immediately to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

Leading the group was a tall, handsome man with a warm smile.

Beside him was a beautiful woman with fair skin, a pretty face, and long legs; a mole on the corner of her mouth added a touch of allure.

Immediately afterwards, an extremely burly figure followed them in. His broad body completely blocked out the sunlight, and what frightened everyone was that the two men and women in front of him were wearing cloaks that symbolized the navy.

"Navy Crocodile tensed up as he saw the three people enter."

It has nothing to do with strength; it's purely a subconscious physical reaction. Whenever pirates see the Marines, regardless of their strength, they will subconsciously tense their muscles.

However, the three of them didn't seem to see Crocodile. Instead, they went straight to a table and sat down, saying:

"Boss, three servings of seafood fried rice, three servings of seafood fried noodles, a few servings of our specialty, and ten liters of rum."

"I'll ask for more if it's not enough."

Afterwards, Raleigh wiped the table and sat down with Gion and Barrett.

After receiving the intelligence, they learned that Crocodile was eating at this restaurant, so they headed straight there.

Crocodile hasn't left yet, so there's no need for them to be in such a hurry.

They were in a hurry and hadn't had breakfast, so they decided to eat at this restaurant.

The restaurant owner stood there dumbfounded, unsure of what to do. On one side was a rising pirate, and on the other were marines of unknown origin. He was in a dilemma. If the three marines who came couldn't defeat Crocodile, his little shop would be doomed.

Noticing that his boss was frozen in place, Barrett looked up and glanced at him.

"What are you standing there for, boss? Hurry up and get it done, I'm starving."

"Excuse me, sir, please wait a moment, it'll be right there."

The boss wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. The burly man who spoke up gave him a sense of danger no less than Crocodile Barrett. Crocodile had been keeping his head down the whole time, and since he was facing away from Crocodile, he hadn't been able to see his face clearly.

But now he recognizes it.

Douglas Bullet, a rising star among pirates and a former member of the great pirate crew Raleigh, is known as the Devil's Heir.

However, Crocodile was curious as to why someone like Barrett would be hanging out with two Marines. Had Barrett been captured by the Marines?

However, judging from the interaction between the three of them, Wen is clearly not the one!

The naval couple were clearly a pair. Barrett showed great respect to the man, but not so much to the woman.

Clearly, there is some kind of mysterious connection between them.

Crocodile pondered the relationship between the three of them while using his fork to put a piece of seafood pasta into his mouth.

"You three, your order has arrived."

Before long, the food that Raleigh ordered arrived. Fresh seafood and chewy noodles were mixed together, and a refreshing aroma wafted over, making everyone's mouths water. The three of them were somewhat surprised to see such delicious food.

They had originally planned to negotiate with Crocodile about the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and since they were hungry, they decided to grab a bite to eat.

But I really didn't expect the food at such a small restaurant to be so delicious.

"I'm starting!"

Luo Li started enjoying the food first, and with cries of "delicious!" and "tasty!", the noodles quickly went into his stomach.

Crocodile lowered his guard when he saw the three people wolfing down their food.

These three people really do seem to be just here for a meal, not to cause me any trouble.

Crocodile, having finished their meal, was ready to pay the bill and leave.

He had just stood up when he suddenly felt someone standing behind him.

Crocodile reacted quickly, drawing a small knife and slashing backward with his hand.

However, his powerful strike was blocked by a hard fist.

Crocodile's pupils dilated instantly.

So fast!

Douglas Barrett? Wasn't he just eating over there, thinking about things, but that didn't affect Crocodile's actions?

He subconsciously used his elemental transformation ability to move away from Barrett and appear in a corner far away from Barrett and Raleigh.

He gripped the knife in his hand and said with a gloomy expression;

"Gentlemen, I don't think I've offended you in any way."

Barrett shrugged and said nothing.

Crocodile knew immediately from Barrett's behavior that the one in charge among the three was not Barrett, but the navy man who was eating noodles.

Raleigh swallowed the seafood noodles in his mouth, then took a big gulp of rum before speaking;

"Hello, Crocodile."

It's a pleasure to meet you for the first time. We apologize for our intrusion, but we genuinely want to have a conversation with you.

Upon hearing this, Crocodile's gloomy face flashed with anger:

"You call this communication?"

"If I hadn't attacked just now, I think Douglas Barrett's fist would have smashed into my head the next moment!"

Raleigh said with a regretful expression:

"Mr. Crocodile, we are not some random cat or dog on the street."

This is Douglas Barrett. If you only have the strength of one Barrett strike, then you are not qualified to communicate with us.

Upon hearing this, Crocodile's expression turned even more grim.

Good news, they didn't come here to kill him.

Bad news: that navy man seems to be even stronger than Barrett.

On the island, Crocodile, with the power of his Logia-type Devil Fruit, was able to safely evacuate even if he couldn't win.

But the navy man's face always felt strangely familiar. Suddenly, inside the restaurant, a diner stood up, pointed at Raleigh, and exclaimed excitedly:

"It's Vice Admiral Christine Raleigh! We're saved!"

The others were also excited when they heard Raleigh's name. Most of them had never seen a picture of Raleigh, but many knew about his deeds.

With Raleigh around, Crocodile can't cause any trouble.

Keep in mind that Raleigh is someone who can't even kill pirates like Shiki and Whitebeard.

This is actually a misconception among the public. Raleigh was only involved, not a key figure, but the public will spread whatever they want to hear.

Realizing that Raleigh was there, Crocodile dared not harm the civilians, and they frantically rushed outwards.

In less than a few seconds, only Crocodile and Raleigh remained in the restaurant; even the owner and the waiters had run away.

Crocodile turned deathly pale upon hearing Raleigh's name.

One Douglas Barrett is enough for him to fight with all his might, but if he were to encounter a powerful Marine, Crocodile wouldn't even be able to run away.

"Don't stand there, come and sit down."

Raleigh raised his hand in greeting.

After hearing Raleigh's words, Barrett returned to his seat without a word and began eating his seafood noodles.

Crocodile wanted to escape, but he could feel three auras locking onto him, and if he dared to leave, he would be in danger.

Then he was met with three devastating attacks.

This was a consequence he dared not bear.

He dawdled and slowly moved step by step to Raleigh's front.

"Let's have a drink."

Raleigh pushed the glass full of rum towards him and greeted him warmly.

Crocodile snorted coldly;

"No need for that. I don't like drinking anything water-based, including alcohol."

Despite being rejected, Raleigh wasn't angry. He took out the notification letter for becoming a Shichibukai and the explanation of the rights and obligations of a Shichibukai from his pocket and handed them to Crocodile.

"This is?"

Crocodile looked puzzled as he saw the file Raleigh handed him.

"A plan proposed by the World Government to recruit several promising pirates to work for the Navy."

"The details are all written inside; you can take a look yourself."

Raleigh introduced himself enthusiastically.

Crocodile, with a puzzled expression, began to peruse the notice and instruction manual for becoming one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. The more he read, the more surprised he became, and the more intense the excitement in his eyes grew.

Such a plan was simply too attractive to him.

Once someone becomes one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, they wield immense power.

Crocodile had no doubt that no pirate would refuse such a offer.

In the past, there was no choice. Pirates were always living in fear, afraid that one day they would become the target of the Navy, be targeted by powerful bounty hunters, or be killed by other pirates.

Now, the world government has granted several slots for legal and free plundering, allowing the navy to escort and plunder civilians at will!

Crocodile had no doubt that even someone who had nothing would rise to prominence in a very short time after acquiring this identity.

A large number of pirates will gather under his command to work for him.

After all, who would choose to be a miserable pirate risking their life if they could live a peaceful and comfortable life?

"I do!"

Crocodile said firmly,

Raleigh wasn't surprised at all; he knew what kind of person Crocodile was.

A smart person wouldn't give up such generous terms, but...

The scope of the right of lawful plunder is limited to…

Pirates and those underground criminal gangs' ships!

Krocdalen immediately felt like he'd been tricked, and pointing wide-eyed at the instruction manual, he said:

"It clearly states here that as long as you don't attack the World Nobles and the Navy, it's fine. Are you kidding me?"

Raleigh's previously cheerful expression vanished, replaced by a cold look.

I don't know what the World Government is thinking, but in my eyes, you're just a test subject chosen by the Navy; you had no choice.

"Although it's written in the World Government's constitution, I disagree with it, so this clause won't take effect."

After hearing Raleigh's words, Crocodile stood up, slammed his hand on the table, and said...

"If that's the case, I can't accept it. You should look for someone else!"

After saying that, Crocodile left his seat. However, just as he was about to open the door, Raleigh's soft voice came from behind him:

What do you take me for? A street vendor haggling over prices?

"Actually, there are only two possible outcomes for me to come here to see you today: either you accept my conditions and obey my orders from now on, or you die here and I go find a suitable pirate."

call.

The sound of whistling wind followed behind them.

Crocodile instantly pushed open the door and transformed into his elemental form at top speed, running outside.

A dust storm formed where Crocodile had left, and it expanded instantly, sweeping away everything in its path.

Crocodile charged forward with a grim expression. He didn't expect the sandstorm behind him to defeat his opponent; it only needed to slow him down for a few seconds to get him to the battlefield.

boom!

An incredibly strong figure suddenly smashed through the newly formed sandstorm and approached Crocodile at an extremely fast speed.

"Um?"

Sensing something was wrong, Crocodile turned around instantly, a long sword formed from sand appearing in his hand, and slashed at the dark figure behind him.

Barrett remained unmoved by Crocodile's resistance, a twisted smile on his face, and charged at Crocodile at full speed.

"Stop looking down on me!"

Crocodile felt humiliated and angrily used all his strength.

boom!

The long sword formed from condensed yellow sand struck the shoulder covered in Armament Haki, but did not penetrate deeply.

But Barrett's body slammed solidly into Crocodile's chest with a loud crack!

A crisp sound of bones breaking rang out.

Crocodile coughed up blood and flew rapidly toward the ground with a thud!

With another loud bang, Crocodile crashed into the ground, creating a large crater, and lay inside it.

Barrett crossed his arms and looked at Crocodile lying on the ground with an indifferent expression.

"So domineering?!?!"

"You damned bastard, I'll kill you!"

Crocodile's eyes turned blood red.

He had never suffered such injustice since he ate the sandy fruit.

Being so easily defeated made Crocodile question his existence!

He climbed out of the pit, took a deep breath, and his body began to emit countless tiny grains of sand in all directions. Instantly, the air seemed to become murky, and the visibility decreased significantly.