Pirates on Rocks' Ship 996

"What an interesting ability! Humans can actually fly!" Robin said with a chuckle as she sat on Bell's back.

"Mr. Ace of the Whitebeard Pirates is currently in the palace. Let's go there now!" Bell didn't smile, but instead flew straight to the palace with Robin.

He sensed something was amiss on his way. Although he didn't know what was happening, he knew he had to get back to the palace immediately.

“Yes, no problem!” Robin smiled and nodded in reply.

In the Nahana Desert, Blackbeard and his crew were crossing the desert, but they seemed to have gotten lost.

"Damn it... how much further do we have to go in this hellish desert?" Idar said, sounding somewhat dejected.

"Phew~ Stop talking and let's go! Save your energy!" Lafayette, dressed as a theatrical character, glanced at the other person and said.

"Damn Fire Fist Ace... When I catch him, I'll teach him a lesson for making us go through this!" Idar cursed and continued forward.

"Lafayette! Go up and see if you can see a city or an oasis! We can't go on like this!" Blackbeard looked around and said.

“Yes, Captain!” Raphael nodded, sprouted a pair of wings from his back, and flew straight into the sky.

A moment later, Lafayette landed and said, "Captain, we've spotted some building ruins ahead. It might be an old city; perhaps there's a place to rest!"

"Alright, everyone, keep it up, let's go take a break!" Blackbeard nodded and said.

So the group continued forward.

Meanwhile, in an inn in Albana, Ace looked at the Marines surrounding him and Aokiji standing next to Smoker, and said with slight surprise, "Admiral Aokiji? Why are you here!?"

"Oh dear~ it seems you haven't met the person you wanted to see yet!" Aokiji was slightly relieved to see that only Ace was there, and said with a smile.

However, upon hearing Aokiji's words, Ace's eyes narrowed, and he looked at Aokiji, saying, "It seems... you know something!?"

Aokiji smiled but didn't say anything. Instead, Smoker asked Ace, "Where's Straw Hat?"

"Sorry, I wasn't with them... so I don't know!" Ace shrugged and said with a smile.

But just then, a naval soldier came in and reported to Aokiji and Smoker, "Sir, we've spotted the Straw Hat crew! They're in Albany!"

"Hmm? Very well, then Aokiji... I'll leave this place to you, Straw Hat is mine!" Smoker, with a cigar in his mouth, showed no respect to Aokiji and prepared to leave with his soldiers.

"Hey, hey... that won't do! Luffy has his own things to do, and I can't let you disturb him!" Seeing Smoker preparing to leave, Ace immediately stood up and shouted at him, "Divine Fire - Shiranui!"

Ace's actions immediately drew the attention of Aokiji and Smoker. The two dodged Ace's flames, glanced at the civilians on the street, and realized it was inconvenient to take action.

"Tashigi, evacuate the civilians in the surrounding area!" Smoker ordered his subordinates, staring at Ace.

"Yes, Colonel Smoker!" Tashigi immediately led the Marines to evacuate the surrounding civilians, while Aokiji and Smoker confronted Ace.

"Smoker, you go! I'll handle this!" Seeing that Aokiji had taken the initiative, he turned to Smoker and said.

“Alright!” Smoker glanced at Ace and left in the direction the soldier pointed.

"Aokiji... things seem to be getting complicated!" Ace watched Smoker leave. This time, he didn't stop him. Firstly, there were still many citizens around who hadn't been evacuated. Secondly, Aokiji was already planning to make a move, and if Aokiji dared to do so, Aokiji would definitely retaliate.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Banana Crocodile Casino, Luffy, who had just arrived, stood at the door and shouted inside, "Crocodile...get out here!!"

"Idiot... if you keep yelling like that, they won't come out!" Sanji, who followed behind, said with a cigarette in his mouth.

But no sooner had he finished speaking than a row of guards came out and said, "Are you the distinguished guests of the Straw Hat crew? We have prepared a VIP room for you, please come in!"

"Oh? Does that mean we should go in if we dare? I like that!" Zoro said with a light laugh.

"But why can I already smell a trap?" Sanji asked, frowning slightly.

“If you’re scared, you can stay here!” Zoro glanced at him and said.

"You damn green-haired moss, what did you say?" Sanji immediately started arguing with Zoro.

"Alright, now's not the time to argue. Sanji, go look around. Let's catch up with Luffy and go inside together!" Nami said immediately upon seeing this.

"Hey~~ Nami-san~~~" Upon hearing this, Sanji immediately ran to the other side, intending to observe the surroundings first.

So the remaining people, led by Luffy, charged straight in.

"Wait... Straw Hat Luffy... what is your purpose in coming to this country?!" Just then, Smoker arrived and shouted at Luffy.

"Damn it, it's that old smoker! My abilities don't work on him! Everyone, run!" Upon seeing Smoker, Luffy and his crew ran even faster!

"I told you to stop...didn't you hear me?" Smoker saw Luffy running even faster and immediately sped up as well in anger.

And so... a group of people fell into the trap Crocodile had prepared for Luffy.

"What a brilliant trap... I didn't even notice it!" Luffy, who was in the cage, highly praised Crocodile's trap technique.

“That’s right, there’s nothing we can do if we get caught in a trap like this!” Usopp nodded in agreement.

"Damn it! We just barged in here ourselves, okay? Are your brains made of tofu?" An enraged Nami punched each of them, giving them bumps on the head.

"But it feels so strange! Ever since just now, I haven't been able to muster any strength, like I'm starving!" Luffy said weakly, clutching the seastone cage.

"That's because... this cell, like my Jitte, is equipped with Seastone!" Smoker, who had fallen into danger with Luffy, explained to the group of rookie pirates what Seastone was.

"You... are partners who will go to the underworld together... so you want to get along peacefully!" Just as Smoker and Luffy were arguing, Crocodile slowly appeared and said with a light laugh.

"Crocodile!" Princess Vivi and Smoker called out his name at the same time.

"You...you're Crocodile? You damned bastard! I'm going to kill you!" Luffy, who had just stood up from the ground, rushed to the edge of the cell again, but lost all his strength after touching the sea stone.

"Your nose is as sharp as a wild dog's, Smoker! It seems you thought I wasn't a good person from the start! But it's alright, I'll say in my report to the government that you died in the line of duty while chasing the Straw Hat crew! Anyway, the government trusts me quite a bit and won't send the Navy over!" Crocodile said with a light laugh.

Smoker looked at Crocodile but didn't say anything. He didn't tell him that Aokiji was in Albana.

"So, next... Princess Vivi... I really didn't expect we'd meet here!" Crocodile chuckled as he looked at Vivi's furious face. "By the way, you're a princess, you can't be treated the same as those guys!"

As he spoke, Crocodile pressed a button, and the floor beneath Vivi's feet suddenly opened, only to quickly close again after Vivi fell down.

"Weiwei!" Nami rushed over, but couldn't find anything.

"Damn it, where did you put Vivi?" Luffy immediately yelled at Crocodile.

"Hahahaha... Don't worry, she'll be here soon!" Crocodile said with a laugh.

Sure enough, not long after, a member of the Baroque Works brought over Princess Vivi, who was tied up.

"Weiwei!" Luffy and the others shouted loudly upon seeing Weiwei.

"Hahahaha... This is our Alabasta princess, don't treat her so roughly, untie her ropes!" Crocodile said with a laugh to the members of Baroque Works.

"Yes, President!" Upon hearing this, the members of Baroque Works immediately loosened the ropes slightly.

Vivi, who had just been freed from the ropes, attacked Crocodile.

"Peacock Chain!" Vivi leaped up and swung the sword at Crocodile's head.

"boom!"

Vivi's weapon shattered Crocodile's head, but instead of blood, countless grains of sand flew through the air.

"Are you smitten? Miss Wednesday!" The sand slowly reformed into Crocodile's shape, but this time he grabbed Vivi with one hand and whispered, "Everyone in this country knows I'm the Sand-Sand Fruit user... This kind of technique won't work on me! So... do you want to become a mummy?"

Although Crocodile said this, he did not actually harm Vivi. Instead, he tied her up again and made her sit in the chair.

"I was planning to have a proper talk with you, but it seems you prefer this approach!" Crocodile said with a smile after Weiwei was forced to sit down. "Now... it's banquet time!"

Meanwhile, in downtown Albana, Ace and Aokiji also engaged in a duel. Ice and fire are inherently mutually restraining, so it's hard to say who has the upper hand in terms of ability.

However, Aokiji clearly had the advantage in both physical combat and Devil Fruit abilities. So, shortly after the battle began, Aokiji started to suppress Ace, with ice raging and Ace's flames being shrunk to just around Ace's body.

"As expected of a Marine Admiral!" Although Ace was being suppressed, it was impossible for Aokiji to defeat him in a short time. Compared to the Ace in the original work, the Ace who had been molded by Reina for three years was stronger in both physical skills and Haki. Therefore, Aokiji simply could not defeat Ace in a short time.

Moreover, this was the city of Albana, the capital of Alabasta, and the two fought with considerable restraint, without using any wide-ranging moves.

Chapter 290 Crocodile's Pleasure

When Bel returned to the palace, he was shocked to find that Jakar was actually gathering an army and preparing to fight the rebels.

"What? The king is missing?" Bell was incredulous as he listened to Jaka's explanation.

“That’s right. Although there are rumors that the king led his soldiers to burn down Katrea, I still don’t quite believe it!” Jaka nodded and then recounted the information from earlier that day.

Robin, who was standing to the side, did not interrupt. She simply stood quietly to the side, but she had already guessed that Crocodile had launched his final plan.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ace. Although we were in the palace earlier, a group of marines came later, so to avoid unnecessary trouble, Mr. Ace went to the hotel over there!" After seeing Robin, Jakka was still hostile towards her, but he didn't make a move. Instead, he told her where Ace was.

Robin looked in the direction Jakka was pointing and saw a burst of flames shooting into the sky, followed by a large amount of ice that instantly extinguished the flames.

"That's... Admiral Aokiji's Ice-Ice Fruit!" Robin's expression changed, and she immediately realized who Ace was fighting.

"What?" Upon hearing Robin's words, Jakka and Bell exchanged bewildered glances. They hadn't expected the Navy to send their most powerful admiral.

"I can't mistake it, this is Aokiji's Ice-Ice Fruit power! You two, I have other matters to attend to, so I won't stay any longer!" Robin finished speaking and walked directly out of the palace. She was thinking about why Ace had fought with Aokiji and how to help Ace now.

Watching Robin leave, Jakka said to Bell, "What do we do now? If the Navy really joins forces with Crocodile... an Admiral... does this mean they intend to completely destroy Alabasta?"

“Don’t jump to conclusions too soon. Maybe the Navy isn’t allied with Crocodile; they might have other reasons for coming!” Bell shook his head and said, “The most important thing right now is to find the King, otherwise… something really serious is going to happen!”

“But I’ve searched everywhere and haven’t found the king. Now the rebel army is heading towards Albana. Are we just going to sit here and wait to die?” Jaka frowned and said firmly, “I am the adjutant of the Alabasta Guard. My duty is to protect Alabasta! I will absolutely not allow those rebels to do such a heinous thing!”

Upon hearing this, Bell could only manage a wry smile; he was at a loss for what to do.

"How about this! I'll start searching for the king's whereabouts right now. You gather the army as planned, but don't start fighting the rebels yet. If you can delay them, it's best to delay them until you find the king! What do you think?" Bell suggested after thinking for a moment.

“Alright! Bell, I’m entrusting the King to you!” Jaka nodded and replied.

Meanwhile, at Baroque Works' secret base in Albana, Crocodile told Vivi everything that was happening outside.

"The word 'scumbag'... was invented for people like him, right?" Zoro, who was usually indifferent to everything, couldn't help but say this after hearing Crocodile's words.

Crocodile, however, didn't care at all, and said with a smile, "You know what? Miss Wednesday! Whether it's the King's Army or the rebels... their goal is the same! It's all to protect Alabasta... Guhahaha... Isn't that interesting? Fighting each other for the same goal, with countless deaths and injuries, how interesting! Guhahaha..."

"Stop talking! That's too despicable!" Weiwei couldn't stand it anymore and shouted.

"Damn it... If it weren't for this iron cage... I'd beat you to a pulp if I didn't get out here!" Luffy roared, unable to contain his anger.

"Guhahaha... It's so heartbreaking! They dedicated themselves to this country, yet they could only watch helplessly as it perished!" Crocodile ignored them completely and laughed heartily.

"Want to know why I went to such lengths to acquire this country? Miss. Wednesday!"

How am I supposed to know what's going on in your rotting head?

“What a sharp-tongued princess! But it doesn’t matter… you’ll find out in the end!” Crocodile said with a light laugh.

"boom!"

After Crocodile finished speaking, the chair with Vivi strapped to it collapsed.

"Hey...hey...what do you want to do? Miss Wednesday!" Crocodile asked softly, looking at Princess Vivi moving on the ground.