After cursing the bastard who had taken Robin, Crocodile forced himself to calm down.
Despite his frustration, Nico Robin was the key to obtaining the Ancient weapon, Pluton. Her safety had to be secured at all costs.
After so careful consideration, Crocodile decided to entrust the mission to Mr. 1—his strongest agent and the operational leader of Baroque Works.
Wasting no ti, he contacted Daz Bones, known as Mr. 1, who was on a mission in another part of the kingdom.
In a southern city, Mr. 1 had just finished eliminating the local military commander when he heard the familiar tone of the Den Den Mushi ringing.
Pushing the corpse aside, he took the commander's seat as if nothing had happened.
Signaling his partner, who was rummaging through the room, to stay silent, he answered the call.
"Who's this?"
He didn't know who was on the other end, but since it was an internal line from the Baroque Works network, he picked up anyway.
His voice was cold and indifferent, like soone with little interest in idle chatter.
But the words that followed made his expression shift slightly:
"This is your boss—Mr. 0, leader of Baroque Works."
Upon hearing Crocodile's voice, Mr. 1's attitude changed imdiately, becoming more serious.
Even his partner, Miss Doublefinger, who had been strolling around playfully, paused and turned to listen intently.
"Mr. 0? This must be the first ti you've assigned a mission personally. Well then, if it's a direct order from the top, I'll see it through to the end."
"Hahaha, that's what I like to hear."
"The task is simple. Our Vice President, Miss All Sunday, has been taken and is currently returning to Alabasta with her captor. I want you to eliminate the man who took her and ensure she returns unhard."
"The Vice President got taken? That's no small thing," he muttered, then said, "Understood. Just send the ti and location of the ship's arrival—I'll take care of the rest."
"Good. Soone will contact you with the details. Don't disappoint , Mr. 1."
Daz Bones hung up without another word, his gaze shifting toward his partner, who was watching curiously.
"Let's go. Ti to move."
"Oho~ The elusive boss contacts us himself and asks us to rescue the VP? This is way more exciting than a boring old assassination."
Miss Doublefinger's tone was filled with anticipation. She turned and followed her partner out of the scene quietly.
From the uninhabited island Peter had landed on, all the way to Alabasta—the headquarters of Baroque Works...
Along the way, they stopped for a day at a small naval outpost, where they exchanged Margin's head and all the loot for a pile of belly.
Then, the small ship sailed for a total of six days before entering Alabasta's territorial waters.
During those six days, Peter grew more accustod to his power. He doubled down on intense training, following a Saitama-style routine with even greater difficulty, practiced advanced Ki control, and spent so private ti bonding with Robin.
Thanks to all that, his battle power had now reached 40 points—a significant jump of 21.
The only drawback? Robin was completely drained by today. When Peter tried to wake her around noon, all he got was a groggy plea for more sleep.
Left to his own devices, he bathed, ate, and then went to the deck to train his Ki sensing by locking onto random fish amid thousands in the sea.
"If I'd known the trip would be this dull, I'd have stayed on that island a couple more days. No rush to go crocodile hunting, really. So why the hurry?"
Lying along the railing post-training, Peter let out a sigh.
"But I have to admit, that clever woman kept her secrets well."
He wondered what kind of expression she'd make when he confronted Crocodile. And while he was looking forward to seeing their fight—he had to admit, watching it in real life was even more thrilling than seeing it on screen.
Suspecting Robin had her own agenda, Peter remained cautious.
Using his heightened senses—far sharper than a regular human's—he noticed her subtle moves.
Though she had been glued to him the past few days, she had still secretly used her Hana Hana no Mi powers to form a pair of arms and a mouth in the shadows, sending daily updates to Crocodile via a mini Den Den Mushi.
Peter didn't stop her. In fact, he figured it might be useful to let Crocodile act, giving him a chance to test his full strength.
Just as he was deep in thought about how to take on the desert warlord, one of the crew cautiously approached him.
"Ahem, Mr. Peter... we're almost at Whitecaps Port. Should we wake the Vice President?"
The crew remained wary of Peter. They were clearly envious, but no one dared voice it.
Peter pulled out a golden pocket watch and glanced at the ti.
"We're already there? Ti flies..."
With a quiet sigh, he gently moved past the crew and started walking toward the upper deck, waving lazily behind him:
"No need. I'll go wake her myself."
One of the crew mbers watched Peter's back as he ascended the stairs, muttering under his breath:
"Damn... if I had power like his, the Vice President would be mine. Ugh, being weak sucks."
The ship had three levels in total.
The bottom two were for supplies, food, cannons, ammunition, and crew quarters.
The upper deck housed the captain's quarters, a lounge, a small kitchen, and a ss hall.
Robin's private room was located behind the captain's quarters, accessible only through it and locked with a key.
But that wasn't an issue for Peter. He already had the key in hand.
He opened the door and entered.
The first thing that caught his eye was, of course, the oversized bed—clearly big enough for more than two.
To the left stood a wardrobe, and to the right, a bookshelf.
There was also a plain wooden desk and a modest vanity.
Peter couldn't tell whether Robin just disliked decoration or never saw this ship as a permanent ho.
Either way, the room's layout and décor were minimal—almost dull.
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