C190

"Hey, why did His Majesty call me here? Where is he?"

After Crocodile arrived but didn't see Cobra, he couldn't help but ask in confusion. Although Cobra was absent, Alabasta's guard adjutant and another person Crocodile didn't recognize were present.

Upon hearing Crocodile's question, the palace guard adjutant didn't respond directly but instead spoke respectfully to the unknown figure: "Mr. Pent, I'll be on my way."

With that, Bell immediately transformed into a falcon and flew into the sky.

"Hey, what's going on here? Who are you, and why did you come to me through Cobra?" Crocodile asked, his tone growing irritated. 

He touched the golden hook on his left hand, fighting the urge to kill. If it weren't for Pluton, the ancient superweapon, how could he— a free-spirited pirate—be stuck in a place like this, playing the role of a kingdom's patron saint?

Kain smiled. "I'm a businessman. You don't need to know my name, though you will soon learn it when you become a prisoner. I've been entrusted by King Cobra to address the spying on Pluton and the Baroque works, which has been pulling strings behind the scenes."

"Oh, so I've been exposed. When? Never mind, it doesn't matter," Crocodile muttered, his expression shifting several times.

 Finally, he squinted his eyes and laughed manically. "Cobra's an idiot. Wouldn't it be better to die in ignorance? Just find someone and hold onto them like a lifeline—it's a joke!"

"Desert Sword!"

As Crocodile laughed wildly, his arm suddenly transformed into sand, and he hurled a sand blade with such speed that it sliced Kain in half. The blow even carved a long ravine in the desert.

"With this kind of strength, you dare to attack me?" Crocodile sneered, seeing Kain split in two, a terrified look on his face. 

Losing interest immediately, he thought Kain was no more than a small-time pirate, someone with a bounty of a few million who'd probably been tricked into this.

But before Crocodile could turn and head toward the gate, he saw the Kain he'd just sliced in half suddenly turn to smoke. 

On the other side, an identical Kain slowly emerged from the transparent body, smiling as he addressed Crocodile .

"That's just a clone. I wanted to see if you had Observation Haki. Now it's clear—you're not much of a threat. How much did you pay the World Government to become a Shichibukai?"

"Damn bastard!!!" Crocodile hissed, his anger rising. That had just been a warm-up, and yet this fool dared to underestimate him!

He slammed his hands to the ground and shouted, "Desert Sunflower!"

Suddenly, the desert beneath Kain began to sink, creating a massive, swirling pit. The surrounding sand softened rapidly, pulling everything in, and within moments, it could swallow a person whole.

"Be obedient and be swallowed by the sand! Ha-ha!" Crocodile laughed. But to his disbelief, he saw Kain floating in the air. 

The sand trap was no threat to him, and worst of all, the bastard was smiling, which only fueled Crocodile's rage.

"Damn bastard, Desert Sword!"

An extremely sharp sand blade struck Kain once more, but after cutting through dozens of meters of desert, Kain waved his hand and used a transformation technique to control the nearby sand, seizing control of the Desert Sword Crocodile had used.

"My Desert Knife!" Crocodile exclaimed with shocked eyes. He had trained long and hard to perfect this move, and it was the first time he had seen an enemy either cut in half by the Desert Sword or dodging in humiliation. 

But Kain? Kain had simply dissolved the attack into sand.

"Sure enough, as long as the strength is great enough, magic can seize control of natural elements from a Logia user," Kain mused. "That means you're too weak, Crocodile ."

Kain confirmed his theory and, seeing the sandstorm created by Crocodile , used a significant amount of magic to reverse the flow of the surrounding sand, halting the storm's progress.

As Kain's magic gradually took control over the sand, Crocodile realized he was losing his grip on it.

"My sand? Impossible! I'm a Logia Sand-Sand Fruit user! How can you control my sand in the desert!?"

Crocodile gritted his teeth and shouted in anger before rushing toward Kain. Having found his previous sand attacks ineffective, he now intended to fight up close.

"Die!" Crocodile shouted, launching an attack.

Boom!

Kain cast an explosion spell, shattering Crocodile's legs as he charged. However, instead of blood and flesh splattering, Crocodile's legs turned to loose sand and collapsed into the desert.

"Damn! I'm Crocodile , the Sand Crocodile, a Shichibukai! A great pirate destined to conquer the world!" Crocodile fumed, still furious about his defeat. His legs were already recovering rapidly.

Kain shook his head and remarked, "You don't even know Haki. How do you expect to conquer the world? Cruciatus!"

"Ah! Ahh! Ahhh!"

Crocodile screamed as an unbearable pain coursed through his body. His whole form trembled, unable to stop shouting in agony.

"I can't take it anymore with only half of my magic power used. Why would the World Government make Crocodile a Shichibukai?" Kain wondered aloud. 

The Sand Crocodile's abilities didn't pose any real threat to him; he hadn't even used his full strength. 

Spells like Fiendfire and the Killing Curse were completely ineffective. Even his vast magical reserves were suppressed by half.

The only threats to him in the One Piece world, Kain realized, were extremely fast fighters or powerful Conqueror's Haki users. 

His apparition had a half-second transfer time, which could create great danger if faced with speedsters. But there was also Conqueror's Haki, something Kain intended to experience firsthand in the future.

"The soul is out of the body," Kain muttered.

After stopping the Cruciatus Curse, Kain cast the Imperius Curse, taking control of Crocodile's mind. The sandstorm that had filled the sky gradually calmed, and before long, the desert returned to its former tranquility.

The Imperius Curse cannot permanently control a person. If it were someone like shinno, Kain's Imperius Curse might last for a year or two. 

But for someone like Crocodile , Kain felt the Imperius Curse would only last about a month before it failed.

Therefore, the seastone handcuffs were still in place. After Kain took control of the Baroque works, he planned to experiment with extracting Devil Fruit abilities.

 Blackbeard had used the Dark Fruit to steal the Shock Fruit ability from Whitebeard, so it was possible to extract Devil Fruit abilities.

"But first, let's take control of the Baroque works and use it as the base for the Kain Chamber of Commerce in the One Piece world," Kain decided. He then placed his hand on Crocodile's shoulder and used a flying spell to take him to City.

"It's amazing. I didn't expect that Crocodile could be defeated," Nico Robin said, looking at Kain, who was sitting on the sofa with a serious expression. 

Standing next to him was his former boss, the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Powerful pirates recognized by the government.

Nico Robin had initially sided with Crocodile because, on one hand, he could help her find the history texts, and on the other, because his strength was enough to prevent the World Government from targeting anyone close to the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

But now, Crocodile was standing obediently beside Kain like a pet. In Nico Robin's memory, that man would never admit defeat, even when he failed. Yet now, this had nothing to do with the seastone handcuffs.

"Don't worry about that. Hurry up and call the rest of the Baroque works. This place is big enough. Have all the executives and alternates come here," Kain chuckled, speaking to Nico Robin. 

The devil's child had considered attacking him earlier, but she'd abandoned the idea after a quick assessment. However, Nico Robin's thoughts hadn't escaped his notice.

"I know, but many people are on missions outside, so it might be difficult to have everyone come back," Nico Robin replied.

Kain interrupted her, saying, "If they don't come back, tell them they don't need to. Let them run if they want to."

"I understand," Nico Robin nodded, then turned to leave the room. She felt an immense pressure from Kain. Though he was always smiling, it felt as though she was facing a government CP agency.

'Am I going to run away? But the ancient texts aren't fully known yet. Stay by this person's side.' Nico Robin was conflicted. 

She couldn't decide between her life and her dreams. The pursuit of the ancient texts had been her lifelong goal, but staying with Kain—would it be dangerous to cooperate with him? Or more importantly, would he be willing to cooperate with her?

Stronger than the Sand Crocodile, if she becomes the new Seven Warlords of the Sea, she must be qualified to protect herself. But Nico Robin couldn't figure Kain out at all, so she couldn't make a decision.

For now, she followed Kain's instructions and notified all the members of the Baroque works, from the chief conductor to the executive conductor. 

After the notification, Nico Robin took the initiative to sort through the information about these people and went to see Kain, ready to test the waters and communicate.

"King Cobra, I've dealt with Crocodile , and I'm handling the Baroque works in City. I'll be back in a few days, or you can come here for a visit," Kain informed Cobra through the phone bug. 

If all goes well, Rainbase City would belong to him in the future. Not only would it serve as the headquarters for the Kain Chamber of Commerce, but it would also house his research laboratory.

….

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