False Hero

At this moment, the surrounding floors were visibly sunken.

Gawain picked up the devil fruit beside him and slowly walked towards Bon Clay.

As far as Gawain could remember, only two Devil Fruit hands could do this.

The Clone-Clone Fruit lets the user change one's appearance, even clothes and voice, to become exactly the same as the target.

While the owner of the one is still imprisoned in Impel Down. Considering the existence of Daz Bonez, the identity of the person in front of him is obvious.

"The No. 2 in the Baroque Works, codenamed Bon Clay, and your real name Bentham, right?"

Gawain said calmly.

He had sensed something was amiss ever since he met Daz Bonez twice, but he didn't know why the Baroque Works, which was supposed to be operating in Alabasta, came here.

Now, when he looked at the Devil Fruit in his hand, he already had the answer in his heart.

"So what is the reason that made you spend such a huge price to get this Devil Fruit?!"

Bon Clay saw that his identity was exposed, so he simply stopped pretending. After removing his devil fruit ability, he changed back to his original appearance and forced a smile on his face: "How could I know such a thing?!"

"But."

"If you want to pry something out of me, I advise you to give up the idea."

After speaking, Bon Clay closed his eyes and had already prepared to face death in his heart.

To him, even if he is not very familiar with the people in the Baroque Workshop, they are still companions, and he would never betray his companions.

"Yeah?!"

Gawain had a smile on his face. He had anticipated the outcome.

Of course, Bon Clay is not a good person. After all, he followed Crocodile to steal the country. But if he looks at him from the perspective of a friend or companion, his reliability is comparable to that of Gin.

In the manga, he sacrificed himself several times and pulled the Straw Hat back from the brink of life and death.

Gawain did not dislike such a person and would even try to accept him under normal circumstances, but if he were an enemy, that would be a different matter.

"From the moment you enter the harbor, everyone on your ship is under my control."

"I'll say this once. Their lives are now in your hands. Do you surrender, or would you let them die?"

Bon Clay's expression tightened, and he was in a dilemma.

His eyes kept changing, and there was a struggle between his conscience and his desires in his mind.

The scene became quiet for a moment, with only the sound of breathing becoming heavier.

After a few seconds, Bon Clay's expression relaxed, as if he had accepted his fate, and said: "You have to promise me that you won't touch the little cuties on my ship. Otherwise, I will bite a piece of flesh from you even if I die!"

Gawain nodded, with a smile on his face: "I admire men who value their companions. I can guarantee their safety. After all, if you join me, they will also be my subordinates."

Bon Clay heard this and said: "All I know is that this matter involves a deal between my boss and an official in the World Government. After the deal is done, he will cover up our actions in Alabasta. The price is the Bone-Bone fruit."

"This time, I received an order midway to come here and seize this devil fruit."

"Only you?"

Bon Clay gritted his teeth: "It's just me."

"What a dishonest fellow."

Gawain smiled slightly: "That guy called Daz Bonez is also from Baroque Works, right?"

"Mr. 1!"

Bon Clay's expression tightened, and just as he was about to argue, the weight on his shoulders increased again. Blood gushed out of his mouth and nose, his internal organs were damaged as they could not bear the gravity, and even his face turned extremely pale. He felt a black screen before his eyes, and then he completely lost consciousness. 

Gawain took advantage of the situation and called over several of his crew to drag Bon Clay out.

At the same time, the ship that Bon Clay had anchored in the harbor was also taken control by Van Augur's team.

This action naturally caused a commotion in the harbor, but it did not last long and was calmed down by the guards who arrived on the scene.

People continued to move through the harbor as if nothing had happened.

Inside the room, Gawain looked at the Bone-Bone fruit in his hand, and what came to his mind was Crocodile's figure.

A hint of coldness gradually emerged in his eyes: "One sneaky and one normal, two-pronged approach, it's not like this guy's style, but reaching out to Raven Harbor is really fatal."

"In that case, it's all your fault."

This place was originally Gaza's property, and now it is closely related to Gawain's previous plan. It is a nursing home left for these companions who are about to leave, and no one is allowed to get involved.

Fujitora stood aside and understood Gawain's anger. In fact, he felt even more angry than Gawain: "I'm even more curious, who is this so-called boss behind Baroque Works?"

Gawain did not hide anything and said calmly: "Crocodile, who's one of the Seven warlords of the sea!"

"Seven warlords of the sea?!"

Fujitora frowned; he had some negative feelings towards the existence of one of the small organizations that was created by the World Government.

"How can justice be achieved by punishing evil with evil?!"

"Besides, how can those evil parties running rampant in the world be controlled so easily?!"

At this time, a hint of ridicule appeared at the corner of Gawain's mouth: "What's most important to these people is not justice, but their own transcendent status."

"Originally, those guys have honestly participated in the Martial Arts Tournament. Even if they won this devil fruit in the end, no one would say anything."

"But now…"

Then Gawain asked Gin, Kuro, and others to take action and capture Daz Bonez.

But it was empty-handed. Apparently, the former noticed Bon Clay's infiltration had failed.

Realizing that completing the mission and obtaining this Devil Fruit is not possible.

He just chooses to give up and leave hurriedly in the night.

Upon hearing the news, Gawain's eyes became even colder, and he had already decided that after entering the Grand Line, the first stop would be Alabasta.

The Drum Kingdom is also on the way, so he can take advantage of the situation to recruit Chopper.

… … …

The next day, at Alabasta.

A group of pirates attacked a small border town but were stopped by Crocodile.

In the midst of wind and sand, countless people cheered and regarded the man in front of them as a hero.

"I'm not a hero."

"Hahahaha!"

Surrounded by the crowd, Crocodile's mouth curled up into a playful smile.

Of course, what he said was true.

But it couldn't stop the surrounding civilians from loving him.

If this game of pretending to be a hero could continue forever, he might really be written into the history of Alabasta.

He's certainly not a hero.

All this is just a play to deceive the king's trust and find the Ancient Weapon, Pluton, hidden in the kingdom.

Crocodile slowly left in the crowd, like a heroic man who did good things without leaving a name.

Now, it seems to be working very well.

Only when he was away from the crowd did the expression on his face suddenly turn cold, and even the veins on his forehead were throbbing uncontrollably.

It was because of the information sent back by Mr. 1 last night that made him almost vomit blood.

"Mr. 1, Mr. 2, even when they work together, they can't get that devil fruit?!"

"Damn it!"

"If I lose Spandine's protection, my actions in Alabasta will most likely be exposed to the Marines."

"I must lie dormant for a while and wait for the right time."

Crocodile picked up the wanted poster and looked at the overly young face with a cold look in his eyes.

"Young, ambitious, and full of energy… Such pirates are as numerous as crucian carp in this sea." 

"But the vast majority of them, after entering the New World, will only be attacked by those monsters and eventually fall into despair."

"You won't be any different either."

"When the time is right, I will take your life myself."

Bang!

Crocodile threw the bounty order in his hand away, turned around, and stepped into the wind and sand.

Even though he is unwilling in his heart, this game of playing the hero will continue.

Until he is truly sure that he gets everything he wants before the World Government and the Marines react. Only then would he calmly withdraw.