One Piece: Blue Scale Admiral

Luo Xia stared with cold eyes at the approaching desert kingdom.

"Crocodile, very well. You'd better pray that Lieutenant Colonel Tina is alright, otherwise you probably won't live to see Luffy's arrival for three years."

Chapter 319 A Mighty Man Descends from the Sky

The vast Alabasta rainforest desert.

The dry air felt like flames licking the scorching sand, and the intense heat seemed to distort the air above the desert.

With a pale face and her once luscious red lips now cracked from dehydration, Tina was being supported by Vivi and, under the protection of a dozen or so naval soldiers, fleeing deeper into the desert.

The ruthlessness of the Baroque Works was even greater than Tina had imagined.

The group of people was like a swarm of locusts that could never be killed, relentlessly stalking them from a short distance behind, using flintlock pistols, crossbows and other ranged attacks to constantly harass Tina and the others, leaving the group, who had been fleeing for more than ten hours in the midst of battle, somewhat exhausted.

Tina came lightly equipped with only a dozen or so naval soldiers to investigate the importation of dancing powder into Alabasta, without making a large fuss.

Because the Kingdom of Alabasta is a member state of the World Government.

The navy is generally not allowed to interfere in the internal affairs of member states.

Even if it's detrimental to the country, it's still unacceptable.

Only when the World Government receives a request for support from a member state and issues instructions to the Navy Headquarters can the Navy openly enter the member state's territory to handle matters.

This support, of course, is not free.

Member states need to pay a considerable price to obtain naval support.

In theory, if the price is high enough, even a naval admiral can be persuaded.

"Lieutenant Colonel Tina! Can you still hold on? Or should we hold off the hyenas behind you and Princess Vivi? If we can just hold them off a little longer, Major General Luo Xia will be here soon!"

"Yes! As soon as Major General Rorschach arrives, not only will these hyenas from Baroque Works flee in terror, but even Crocodile himself will run away at the mere sight of him!"

A dozen or so soldiers, holding flintlock rifles that were already empty of ammunition, looked with some reluctance at Tina's bloodless face, gritted their teeth, and looked at the large group of figures trailing behind them hundreds of meters away.

Tina glanced at her blood-soaked left shoulder and weakly reprimanded, "Tina said you don't need to risk your lives to stop the enemy's harassment. Since Major General Luo Xia and his men have received our request for reinforcements, we just need to keep moving forward and wait for their arrival."

"but……"

The soldiers looked at Tina's stubborn expression and hesitated to speak.

The Rain Desert is located in the heart of the Kingdom of Alabasta, quite far from the port of Saint Tin Island on the coastline.

Even Rear Admiral Luo Xia's warship was already in the waters near St. Ting Island the moment it received their request for help.

However, getting here from St. Ting Island in a short time and finding them precisely is an extremely difficult task.

However, apart from Major General Rorschach, who was the first to receive the distress signal, they could find no one else who could help immediately.

We've contacted headquarters, but that's too late to help in the immediate situation.

Marshal Sengoku was also powerless to do anything, and could only tell Tina to stay away from danger and try to buy time.

Vivi remained silent, supporting Tina.

She looked somewhat dazed at that moment.

She never imagined that Crocodile, who had always been known as a hero of the Kingdom of Alabasta, would be, in the words of these naval soldiers, the mysterious behind-the-scenes boss of Baroque Works, Mr. 0.

Vivi refused to believe it.

Just over ten days ago, she was rescued by the guardian of that desert kingdom from a vicious pirate.

but……

These same sailors who had also saved him seemed to have no reason to deceive himself about this.

Especially the dashing female navy officer beside me.

According to Tina's speculation, the reason why Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, has been hiding in the Alabasta Kingdom is likely because he is plotting against the country.

The infamous Baroque Works in the park is very likely a force cultivated by Crocodile.

Otherwise, given Crocodile's apparent status as a hero of the kingdom, he would never have tolerated a chaotic organization like Baroque Works running rampant in Alabasta for so long.

The mere thought that the desert guardian, worshipped by the entire nation, might be the culprit behind the kingdom's turmoil sent shivers down Vivi's spine.

Crocodile is a powerful Shichibukai and the ruler of the desert.

If the Kingdom of Alabasta were to truly confront such a covetous adversary, it's hard to imagine what a dark future awaits it.

The more Vivi thought about it, the more blurred and grotesque Crocodile's smiling face, which she had seen in the rain a dozen days ago, became in her mind.

If, if Crocodile really is the mastermind behind all this chaos...

So who can save this country?

"If Major General Rorschach arrives, even Crocodile will flee at the mere sight of him!"

"Rear Admiral Luo Xia is the strongest new generation of powerhouses in our navy. None of the veteran vice admirals are his match!"

"That's a super strongman who can single-handedly defeat a pirate fleet of 20,000!"

During those dozen or so hours of desperate escape, the words Vivi heard most often came from the naval soldiers.

Regarding that seemingly unusually young rising star in the Navy, Rorschach.

It seems that simply mentioning that person's name can give them immense confidence.

The astute Vivi noticed that it wasn't just the naval soldiers who were like this.

Even the powerful female naval lieutenant commander Tina beside him was the same.

I really don't know what kind of person that Rear Admiral named Rorschach is, that he can give these sailors that kind of confidence.

Bang bang bang!

Bang bang bang!

Short, intense gunshots rang out again, like popping beans.

Those damn hyenas have started their harassing attacks again.

Tina and the others ignored them and simply quickened their pace.

At a distance of 100 meters, the guns in those men's hands couldn't hit them at all; they were just trying to scare them and intimidate them.

The earth trembled violently, and the desert beneath our feet was shaken so that the sand slid and rolled away.

The naval soldiers turned around with drastically changed expressions, only to see a group of bloated and fat crocodiles, swinging their wide and ferocious tails and opening their blood-red mouths, excitedly charging towards them, driven by a group of Baroque Works members.

"Run! It's a banana crocodile!"

The soldiers dropped their flintlock pistols, gripped their longswords, and stood behind Tina and Vivi.

"Princess Vivi, please take Lieutenant Colonel Tina and leave first! We'll take care of this!"

Without waiting for Vivi and Tina's reply, a dozen or so naval soldiers gripped their swords and charged toward the giant banana crocodile that was wagging its tail.

“You are no match for those beasts. Going there will only lead to your deaths.”

Tina sighed, shook off Vivi's support, took out a cigarette from her pocket and put it in her mouth. She smiled and said to Vivi, "Princess Vivi, from now on, I'll trouble you to travel back to the capital alone."

“Lieutenant Colonel Tina…” Vivi was stunned. She saw Tina, with an unlit cigarette in her mouth, sway in the wind and rush in front of the naval soldiers. She stretched out her hands to the left and right, and two black iron bars quickly extended from her palms, binding the three huge creatures that were charging forward head to head.

Boom!

The three banana crocodiles, each over ten meters long, crashed into the black barrier released by Tina.

The immense force of the impact instantly twisted and bent the two black barriers, which were as hard as steel.

Tina, who was standing in front of the banana crocodile, turned pale and spat out a mouthful of blood.

However, the charging banana crocodile stopped in its tracks, its forelimbs forcibly bound by the black bars extending from her hand. With a few loud thuds, it collapsed onto the yellow sand, kicking up clouds of dust.

"That's really impressive. I never expected that a mere naval lieutenant commander could still possess such strength after losing so much blood and being completely exhausted. I'm starting to admire you, beautiful naval officer."

On the back of the banana crocodile in the middle, a fat, snotty-nosed man emerged, carrying a thick baseball bat in his hand, with a dachshund whose hindquarters were made of gun parts following at his feet.

"Watch out! That man is Mr. 4 from Baroque Works."

Vivi took out the Peacock Dagger from her sleeve, assumed a fighting stance, and ignored Tina's advice to leave alone.

"Lasu".

The fat Mr. 4 sniffed, muttered something, and raised his two thick arms high, swinging the baseball bat he was holding down heavily.

The dachshund named Rasu spat out a dark projectile, which was hit by a baseball bat swung down from above and shot towards Tina with a bang.

"A 400-pound home run!"

Tina, with a cigarette dangling from her lips, released the black bar she was holding with her right hand, and a black gun emerged from her palm. She shot it out with a whoosh, piercing the black cannonball before it reached her body.

Boom!

A huge explosion occurred four or five meters in front of her.

The scorching flames and the impact of the riot made Tina, who was already exhausted and injured, even paler.

However, Mr4 did not stop. He continued to swing his baseball bat rapidly, smashing all four black projectiles spat out by the dachshund over.

Bang!

Bang bang bang!

Four black projectiles whizzed towards Tina, who was swaying.

"Lieutenant Colonel Tina! Danger! Get out of the way!" Vivi's expression changed drastically, and she shouted urgently.

"Lieutenant Colonel!" the soldiers exclaimed in shock.

The shells were too fast; with their strength, they simply couldn't stop them.

Click!

Suddenly, a thick bolt of lightning stretched from the distant horizon, like the branches of a towering ancient tree, extending infinitely in the air before crashing down on Mr. 4's head.

Boom!!

A dazzling flash of lightning instantly engulfed and pierced the fat man swinging a baseball bat, along with the dachshund at his feet and the three banana crocodiles struggling to their feet again.

The terrifyingly high-intensity electric current instantly turned their bodies into unrecognizable piles of charred remains.

The four cannonballs fired at Tina exploded in mid-air, turning into four balls of fire.