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

Raleigh took a leisurely puff of his cigar, sitting in his office chair and sizing up Crocodile across from him.

Crocodile's face had turned extremely ugly.

How long has it been?

How long has it been since he felt like he was being trained like a dog?

Do not!

The last time I was almost beaten to a pulp was also because of this man in front of me.

He broke his own left hand and stomped on his own face, but at that time, in order to survive and seek revenge, he endured the humiliation and accepted the invitation of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

And during the three years he established his base at the Alabasta factory, he lived a very comfortable life.

He was publicly regarded as a hero of Alabasta and was adored by many people.

Behind the scenes, his Balot Works organization flourished, controlling many parts of Alabasta, and even the king was completely outmaneuvered by him.

As a result, after this man arrived, everything turned to dust.

Everything he possessed was like dust in front of this man, and he didn't need to care about it at all.

This made the proud and arrogant Crocodile almost grind his teeth to dust.

But he still kept his head down and uttered words of submission:

"Yes, Lieutenant General Raleigh. I will organize personnel as soon as possible and come up with an effective plan to accomplish this task."

The burning rage of revenge within him intensified, making him afraid to look up and let Raleigh see his eyes.

His already urgent idea became even more pressing.

He was determined to obtain the ancient weapon recorded in Alabasta's history, Hades.

Raleigh was able to humiliate him with impunity because he possessed a power that Crocodile lacked. In this world, power is the standard by which morality is measured.

Whoever has the greatest power has the right to speak!

"Just wait. Once I get the ancient weapon, that's when you'll kneel down and beg for mercy."

Crocodile's mind was racing with ideas.

Raleigh had no idea what Crocodile was thinking, or perhaps he simply didn't need to know.

The Alabasta Poneglyphs do indeed record the whereabouts of Hades.

Unfortunately, Crocodile cannot enter that place.

Because Hades was sealed in the underground magma of Wano Country.

Besides, only Mr. Tom, the legendary craftsman of Water City, knows how Hades was made.

In Raleigh's view, Hades may be powerful enough, but it's unrealistic for him to fight against Uranus.

Raleigh thought it best to give Crocodile, who wanted to use ancient weapons to fight him, a glimmer of hope.

If Crocodile's dream is shattered now, he might just give up completely.

Naroli still needs to spend time finding a suitable candidate for the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

It's not that the Navy can't take over here, but rather that the Navy is currently being closely watched by the World Government.

The Warring States period was not a bad leader.

Rather, the world order changed significantly during his time in office and during his absence from office.

During Kong's reign, the seas were home to the New World's overlords, the Rocks Pirates, and the Pirate King Roger's Pirates, among others.

Even though the Rocks Pirates fell apart, all the pirate captains except Rocks were unharmed.

This group's strength is a headache even for the World Government, so the Navy needs to be tough while Sora is in power.

However, by the time Sengoku became the Grand Master, Roger had already died.

Even in the original work, the Four Emperors' crews stopped expanding after reaching a certain size; they had no ambition to become the world's overlords.

If there is one, it's Shiki the Golden Lion.

Unfortunately, Shiki the Golden Lion in this world died in the naval battle.

In the original story, Shiki the Golden Lion had held power in the gates of Impel Down for many years.

The ambition to dominate the world was forced to end after only a few more steps.

Raleigh casually flipped open a file that recorded some of the work and income of the Barlot Workshop.

After glancing at it a few times, he threw the file at Crocodile's feet and said:

"It seems that you've only been focused on making money these past few years, and have forgotten the mission the World Government entrusted to you."

1

Crocodile looked down at the files at his feet, saying nothing.

"Alright, I have other things to do in Alabasta. I'll leave after I've finished explaining."

Raleigh stood up from his office chair, looked out the window, and said:

"Alabasta is a place with plenty of rainfall."

"However, when I arrived, I encountered many people who had no water to drink. I'll look into what's going on when I have time."

After saying that, Raleigh, without waiting for Crocodile's reply, led Gion out of the office.

The original manager was already waiting at the door.

The managers working in casinos are all shrewd and cunning people. Even their bosses treat them with utmost respect, so they are definitely people you absolutely cannot mess with.

The manager quickly handed over a small briefcase.

"Sir, you must be tired from your journey, sleeping in the open. Here is some money for your tea."

Our boss gave instructions, including regarding the money you just spent at the casino.

Gion was somewhat surprised to see this scene. It wasn't that she couldn't understand it, but she simply felt that the reaction here was very fast.

Raleigh took the briefcase from the manager without expression and nodded.

Since someone is offering him money, why shouldn't he accept it?

Anyway, Crocodile's money isn't from legitimate profits.

After leaving the casino, the two quickly disappeared into the sandstorm, heading towards Alabasta's capital, Arubana.

"Boss, the two lords have already left."

Our men followed them out of the rainy area and then returned.

A henchman in a black suit spoke respectfully.

Crocodile was already seated in his office chair, holding a bottle of red wine.

After Raleigh left, he gulped down expensive red wine, trying to numb himself.

However, after hearing the news, he couldn't help himself.

!

With a loud bang, Crocodile's expensive custom-made high-end desk was smashed to pieces by his immense force.

He raised his head, which had been bowing to Raleigh, and stared at his underling with bloodshot eyes.

Inform the people at Balot Works to arrive here tonight; if they don't, they don't need to come back.

His cold tone, laced with anger, terrified the henchman in the black suit.

He said tremblingly:

Yes, BOSS.

"Go."

Crocodile waved his hand, indicating that he did not have the habit of venting his anger on his subordinates.

Crocodile, who aspires to be a powerful figure, has high standards for himself, and being able to control his emotions is the best thing he can do.

He generally avoids getting angry or losing his temper in front of his subordinates unless absolutely necessary.

Just before the man in the black suit was about to leave, Crocodile suddenly remembered something:

"Send me the information on those pirate groups entrenched in Alabasta. I need their detailed addresses and personnel."

Crocodile kept telling himself that venting his anger would be good for his health.

Raleigh hasn't left Alabasta yet, 1

Crocodile had no choice but to target the saw-wielding pirates.

Some of these pirates sneaked in, some were people Crocodile wanted to recruit, and some had powerful backers.

But it doesn't matter anymore.

Crocodile needed to vent, so they became the scapegoats.

Just like that famous saying: I destroy you, what does it matter to you?

The blame lies with their strength being insufficient to warrant Crocodile's attention.

Soon, a file was delivered to Crocodile's office. Since the desk was smashed, the young man in the suit could only stand next to Crocodile to hold the file.

Crocodile would read one copy and then throw the other on the ground.

Half an hour later, Crocodile finished reading the file in his hand, and his body emanated layers of murderous aura.

call!

Suddenly, a strong wind arose in the room, and Crocodile's body was swept away by the wind like quicksand.

A sandstorm-like gust of wind ripped open the office window and howled as it flew into the distance. Everyone who saw it in the rain bowed reverently to Crocodile.

"Lord Crocodile is at it again. Is this time a really powerful pirate?"

"What's the use of being so powerful? They'll be defeated as soon as Lord Crocodile makes a move."

"Yes, yes, Lord Crocodile is invincible!"

The ignorant masses, unaware of the truth, genuinely believed Crocodile to be a hero of Alabasta.

During that day

A total of five pirate crews, with nearly a thousand members, were all sucked into mummies after being attacked by a sandstorm.

It wasn't until nightfall that Crocodile, looking somewhat tired, flew back to the Rainlands.

With a blank expression, he returned to his private office under the protection of security personnel.

At this moment, the office was filled with executives from the Balot Works.

The desks and windows that were damaged in the morning were all replaced with new ones by the staff of Yuyan.

Crocodile, a cigar dangling from his lips, sat expressionlessly in his seat, looking at his subordinates.

He opened his mouth and said:

"This morning, Vice Admiral Christine Rowley of the Navy came over and assigned us new tasks."

That means reducing the number of pirates entering the Grand Line this year via Reverse Mountain and Alabasta to 30% of last year's number.

I know this is a complicated matter, but it concerns our lives. You should all know the name of Lieutenant General Christine Raleigh.

The men looked at each other, and even Mr. 1 didn't know what to say.

If we're only talking about fighting, he's certainly fierce. But asking him for advice is a bit of a stretch, especially since the solutions he comes up with aren't as good as Crocodile's own.

The others were also racking their brains, trying to figure out how to solve this problem.

Crocodile saw that everyone was deep in thought, and without looking at them, he urged them on.

The waiters on the first floor brought up cups of tea, but they were all too busy thinking to drink them.

Even after the hot tea had cooled completely, no one had come up with an answer.

Crocodile's anger, which he had just vented, surged up again:

"waste!"

"You're all a bunch of useless trash!"

"It's been so long, and not even a decent idea has come up yet!"

Crocodile's face turned unusually gloomy, and his gaze, which seemed to devour everything, caused everyone who looked at him to immediately lower their heads and avoid eye contact.

Until Crocodile turned his gaze to Miss Double Finger Paula, who was sitting next to Mr. 1.

This was a somewhat sexy woman named Pora. She was the only one in the room who had taken a sip of tea. Noticing Crocodile's gaze on her, she quickly swallowed the tea and said...

"Boss, I have an idea."

call.

Crocodile gently exhaled from his cigar, which seemed to trigger a chain reaction, filling the room with heavy breathing.

The previously oppressive atmosphere suddenly disappeared.

"Tell me about it."

Crocodile didn't expect to come up with any groundbreaking ideas, as long as they were feasible and effective.

After organizing her thoughts, Paula began to speak, "As everyone knows, I'm currently infiltrating a shop called Spider Cafe."

Every day, a large number of customers enter my shop, and they trust me completely; nobody cares that I might be an undercover agent.

My idea is to create a town at the entrance to the Grand Line, populated entirely by our people, and then kill any pirates who come in when they're not looking.

"At the same time, we can also use other pretexts to attract pirate hunters who are only after money, providing them with intelligence. This way, even if we lack combat personnel, we can make up for it with the sheer number of pirate hunters."

Everyone in the office listened to Paula's speech, while simultaneously trying to quickly determine whether the method was feasible.

Crocodile was also thinking in his own mind.

Mr1 suddenly spoke up:

The plan is theoretically sound, but it has one prerequisite: it needs a senior officer who can keep the pirate hunters in check and take command.

"Don't forget, we are pirates too, it's just that we're currently protected from the Navy by Lord Crocodile's magic."

The world of One Piece Hunter is full of unruly individuals, so establishing order in the early stages becomes the biggest challenge.

"Boss, I'd like to apply to go here."

Crocodile glanced at Mr. 1 in front of him and nodded.

If this plan is followed, it will definitely deal a serious blow to the number of pirates. However, as Mr. 1 said, the most pressing issue is how to establish order with the group of pirate hunters in the early stages.

If the people sent there are not capable enough, the town may very well become someone else's property after it is built.

"Does anyone else have any ideas?"

Crocodile then asked a question before turning to Mr. 1 and Paula:

This matter will be handled by the two of you together. I will instruct the finance department to allocate 100 million Berries as start-up capital. In addition, all internal executive command within the organization will be assigned to you, and you will be given a total of 600 Elders of the Billion and Million Berries.

"Please submit the completed list to me later. If there are no problems, this plan will officially begin tomorrow."

The two people whose names were called nodded, and the others could only nod in agreement since they couldn't think of a better solution.

Crocodile waved his hand:

"Go and prepare."

Before long, the office was empty again.

Crocodile rubbed the ring on his hand, his desire for "Pluto" growing ever more intense!