Pirates on Rocks' Ship 996

“But… Crocodile has done a lot of good deeds lately; he’s dealt with many of the pirates who came to cause trouble!” Cobra hesitated for a moment before saying.

"Hmph! Crocodile only treats Alabasta as his territory. Our Kingdom Army is here. Even without him, we can handle those pirates!" the lieutenant, Jackal Jakka, said with some dissatisfaction.

“Alright… Bell, could you please go and meet this Akame, and see what his purpose is in coming to Alabasta!” Cobra thought for a moment and then said to another royal guard adjutant, Bell the Falcon, who had been standing silently to the side.

He is a Zoan-type Bird-Bird Fruit user - Falcon type, one of the few users with the ability to fly, and it takes him the least amount of time to travel to the rapeseed fields.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Bell immediately stepped forward, bowed, and replied.

They were all quite loyal to Cobra, because the king of the Neferutari family was indeed a rare and good king.

Meanwhile, at the new headquarters of Baroque Works, Crocodile looked angrily at the intelligence report in his hand.

“Red Eyes… Reina! That guy… why is he here!” Crocodile stared at Robin in front of him and asked directly.

Robin shook her head and said, "I don't know. I only know that he seems to have some connection with Ohara. After I went to the Whitebeard Pirates, I didn't see him at all. I only saw Whitebeard!"

"Is that so? Then this time... you won't go to see him, okay? You've already seen Whitebeard, haven't you?" Crocodile stared at Robin and said softly.

Robin nodded without refuting.

"Then... Akame Reyner! Let me see just how much you've improved over the years!" Crocodile stood up and walked out of the headquarters.

Robin, who remained behind, had a slight smile on her face. She was certain that Crocodile was no match for her father, so she had no worries about his safety whatsoever.

Meanwhile, in the port city of Rapeseed Flower, Reina was strolling around the streets. Although he had long since noticed that at least three groups of people were following him, he didn't care at all. He ate and drank as usual, acting as if he was there for a vacation. However, he would return to his hard shell every day and only come out again after finishing his work the next day.

"My lord! This is the situation... It seems the other party was just passing through, so they stopped here to replenish supplies and take a look around!" A soldier dressed in the uniform of the Kingdom of Alabasta reported to a man named Bel the Falcon, who wore an Arabic-style turban, had dark purple four-pointed star makeup around his eyes, wore a white robe, and had a long sword hanging at his waist.

“I understand. When does he usually appear in the city?” Bell asked softly.

"It's usually in the afternoon, around this time!" the subordinate replied after checking the time.

Just as he finished speaking, a soldier came in and loudly reported, "Sir, Akame has entered the city!"

Upon hearing this, Bell immediately said, "Let's go, let's go meet this legendary great pirate!"

"Yes!"

So a group of royal soldiers followed Bell directly toward where Reyner was.

"Boss, can you make this cheaper? Isn't it a bit too expensive? Don't think you can cheat me just because I'm not a local!" At this moment, Reina was in the market, haggling with a vendor.

“Sir, what are you saying? Everyone knows that we Alabasta people are the most hospitable! We would never charge higher prices just because you are from out of town!” The vendor immediately waved his hand and said.

"Really? Since you Alabasta people are so hospitable, why don't you give me this as a gift? Or... is your Alabasta hospitality just a rumor?" Reina said to the vendor with a smile, holding the goods in his hand.

Although the vendor was clearly unwilling, he was so embarrassed by Reina's provocation that he turned red in the face and couldn't say a word!

“If you’re a friend… then it’s fine to give it to you for free! Boss, how many Berries is this? I’ll buy it!” At this moment, Bell walked over with a group of Kingdom soldiers and said with a smile.

"Lord Bell...?" The merchant was taken aback. Upon seeing Bell, he immediately stepped forward to greet him and then said to Reina, "Since you are Lord Bell's friend, this item is a gift for you. No payment is required! We Alabasta people do not lie!"

"Ah~ Ah~ Is this the Kingdom of Alabasta's army? What? Are you here to arrest me?" Reina recognized Bell the moment he saw him, but pretended not to know him.

"I am Bell, the adjutant of the Kingdom of Alabasta's army. Greetings, Lord Reina!" Bell greeted him with considerable politeness. "I have come here to ascertain your purpose in entering Alabasta."

Chapter 224 Another Defeat to the Sand Crocodile

"Purpose?" Reina chuckled. Reina wasn't bothered by Bell's politeness, and Bell's character was quite good, so Reina was fairly satisfied with him.

“Would you believe me if I said I was just passing by?” Reina replied with a smile.

“I believe you!” Bell nodded and said, “If you are truly just passing through, then to ensure you have a pleasant experience, I can arrange for all your expenses in Alabasta over the next few days to be covered by the Alabasta royal family!”

“What a bold guy…” Reina rubbed his nose and said with a smile, “But I don’t dislike you! Alright, my purpose in coming here is Crocodile! I heard that our first division commander Marco was attacked by him here before. If we don’t teach him a lesson… won’t everyone think… that our Whitebeard Pirates are all gone? Right, Mr. Crocodile!”

"Guhahaha... Akame! The one who wants revenge... should be me! Your Whitebeard Pirates stole my people from me without any reason... shouldn't you give me an explanation?" On the roof of a building, a clump of sand slowly formed the image of Crocodile, laughing loudly at Reina.

“Since we all have the same goal, let’s do it the way pirates do! But I had a good impression of this member of the King’s Army, so… let’s not make the battle take place inside the city. Let’s go outside and have some fun…” Reina had barely finished speaking when he was already running swiftly out of the city.

"Hmph! Utterly absurd!" Crocodile snorted coldly, turning back into sand and chasing after Reyner's figure.

"My lord, what should we do?" a soldier from the royal army asked Bell upon seeing the situation.

"You prepare to evacuate the city's residents and tell them to all go home and not come out for the time being. I'll go and take a look!" After thinking for a moment, Bell sprouted a pair of wings from his back and chased after Reyner and Crocodile.

When Bell caught up with them outside the city, he found Reyner and Crocodile already facing off.

"Tell me, what is your real purpose in appearing here?!" Crocodile, smoking a cigar and wearing a coat, seemed to ignore the desert heat and asked Reina directly.

He knew perfectly well that Reina was definitely not there to get revenge for Marco.

Marco successfully abducted the man without being injured or defeated, so there was no need for Reyna, the first mate, to travel all the way to cause trouble for Crocodile.

It's not like Marco was defeated or killed here, why would Reina have to come all the way from the New World?

"Hehehe... Not bad~ Since you know I didn't come for Marco's sake, why don't you guess... why I'm here!" Reina said with a smile.

Crocodile pondered for a moment, then said directly, "You've come for Nico Robin, haven't you? There have been rumors that you have connections with Ohara of the West Blue, and it seems those rumors are true!"

"Hahaha... Everyone says Crocodile has a good mind, and it seems they're right! However... Nico Robin not only has some connection with me, but also with our entire Whitebeard Pirates. Although I didn't see her when she went to Crescent Moon Island this time, our captain has already sent me a message asking me to come over!"

Crocodile…don’t say I didn’t warn you! If anything happens to Nico Robin here…you might face unimaginable repercussions!” Reina said with a laugh.

"Whitebeard...?" Crocodile's eyes narrowed, and he said solemnly.

He had fought Whitebeard before, and he greatly admired and feared Whitebeard's strength.

Meanwhile, Bell, who was hiding to the side, was even more shocked when he heard the conversation between the two. He never expected that there would be such a person in Alabasta, someone who was involved with the Whitebeard Pirates and who was willing to send his vice-captain to warn Crocodile.

“Nicole Robin is mine now, and this is my territory... Whatever happens is none of your business to tell me what to do!” Crocodile replied firmly.

Nico Robin is a very important part of his plan. If she were on Crescent Moon Island, he naturally wouldn't do anything, but now that Nico Robin is in his hands, he will absolutely not hand her over voluntarily.

If he can find Pluton by using Nico Robin, then becoming the Pirate King will be just around the corner. At that time, even the Whitebeard Pirates won't need to be as wary as they are now.

However, Reina's words were not entirely useless. Originally, he planned to kill Nico Robin after she helped him find Pluton, but now that the Whitebeard Pirates had intervened, he would not take action against Nico Robin until he was absolutely certain of success.

“So… this is why I came here! Little crocodile…” Reina’s eyes turned red as soon as he finished speaking. Clearly, he had activated his Sharingan and was ready for battle.

"Desert Blade!" Crocodile was no fool either. Seeing Reina's eyes, he knew that this battle was inevitable, so he took the initiative and launched an attack on Reina.

"You really haven't improved at all!" Reina smiled slightly, easily dodging Crocodile's attack.

"Is that so? I'll show you... Sandstorm! This is my home turf!" Crocodile said, creating a small tornado that was growing larger and larger.

"Is that so? But... I don't have time to play with you!" Reina closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he had activated the Mangekyou Sharingan. He then quickly rushed towards Crocodile's location.

"Die!" Crocodile roared, throwing the now enormous tornado in his hand directly at Reina.

"What a boring guy... Freeze a thousand miles!" Before anyone knew it, Hyōrinmaru had appeared in Reina's hand. With a slash, he directly cut the tornado in two and then froze the two halves of the tornado.

"How is this possible? The ground is cracked! I'll absorb all the moisture, let's see how you freeze then!" Crocodile braced his hands on the ground and activated the Sand-Sand Fruit's ability to absorb moisture.

"It's just a dying struggle!" Reina, who was already close to Crocodile, thrust the Hyōrinmaru in his hand toward Crocodile himself.

"Pfft..." The sword tip pierced through Crocodile's body, but Crocodile's body turned directly into sand and scattered in the desert.

"Do you think I'll keep making the same mistakes?" Not far away, a sand dune slowly formed, eventually taking the shape of Crocodile.

"Hey~ This is getting interesting!" Reina chuckled and said.

The reason Crocodile dodged his attack just now was not because he used Observation Haki, but because he immediately teleported away after using his own technique.

Based on Crocodile's physical skills as depicted in the original work, he shouldn't have been able to avoid Reyner's attack, but he did, indicating that he has indeed reflected on his own fighting style.

However, the opponent still prefers to take shortcuts. Without awakening Haki, one cannot truly fight against these strong individuals. Having been invincible for too long in the first half of the Grand Line, Crocodile has forgotten the cruelty of the pirate world.

"What a mischievous fellow!" Reina slowly turned around and looked at Crocodile.

Crocodile, with a cigar in his mouth, looked somewhat smug. When he first fought Reina, he was completely overwhelmed by Reina. Now, at least Reina could no longer attack him at will. With his Devil Fruit ability added to the mix, he still believed he had a chance of winning.

"Guhahahaha... Akame Reina! You're nothing more than... um...!"

Crocodile hadn't finished speaking when he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. It turned out that Reina had appeared beside him at some point and punched him in the stomach.

"You're daydreaming during a fight... Are you stupid?" Reina said, somewhat speechless, looking at Crocodile, whom he had just knocked away.

"Damn it!" Crocodile, who was getting up from the ground, was furious. That bastard Reina had actually ambushed him. It was so unsportsmanlike.

"Desert Greatsword!"

Enraged, Crocodile unleashed a sand-formed slash directly at Reyner.

However, this kind of straight-line attack posed virtually no threat to Reina, who easily dodged it.

"Slash!" Before even getting close, Reina raised his hand and unleashed a slash. However, just like last time, Crocodile dodged after releasing his attack, so Reina's slash did not hit Crocodile's main body, but only cut the sand clone in half.

"Hmph! What a naive fellow... Do you really think you can contend with me with such petty tricks?" Crocodile may have thought that he could move around in the desert undetected by using his Devil Fruit ability, but in Reina's eyes, who possessed Observation Haki, it was all in vain.

So the moment Crocodile appeared, Reyna had already locked onto him.

"You..." Crocodile, who had just transformed from sand into human form, saw Reyna standing beside him and was once again subjected to a merciless beating from Reyna.

Reina did not intend to kill Crocodile, so he did not use Hyōrinmaru, but only used his fist containing Armament Haki.

"How about it, little crocodile? Want to try again?" Reina asked with a smile, looking at Crocodile lying on the ground unable to move.

In fact, if Crocodile had fought Reyner normally, he wouldn't have been defeated so quickly. However, he arrogantly chose this fighting style, which was easily countered by Reyner.

Bel, who was hiding to the side, was quite shocked to see that the fight between the two had ended so quickly.

At least in his opinion, Crocodile was already quite powerful; his strange Logia-type abilities were impossible to defend against. However, all of this seemed to have no effect on Reina.

Bell, unaware of the existence of Haki, naturally assumed that it was all due to Reina's eyes. He thought that Reina's eyes had seen through Crocodile's everything, which was why it ended so quickly.

"No wonder he's a pirate with a bounty of over a billion..." Bell muttered to himself as he hid there.

Chapter 225 The Unpopular Reina

Crocodile lay on the sand, his head covered in blood, his eyes vacant as he stared at the sky.

He never expected that he would suffer an even worse defeat this time than before.

As for Reina, after teaching Crocodile a lesson, he returned to Rapeseed Flower City, but he was surprised to find that there was no one on the streets.

However, after thinking about it, he understood the reason.

The battle between Marco and Crocodile must have had some impact on the city, as he had already seen when he arrived; many places were still under repair.

Therefore, those Alabasta Kingdom soldiers were probably worried that their battle with Crocodile would damage the city again, which is why they took this precaution.

After figuring out the reason, Reina lost interest in continuing to shop and went straight to the port, returning to the back of the hard shell.