At the same time, in the royal palace.
Gawain and Cobra sat across from each other, discussing the arrangements for the upcoming Martial Arts Tournament.
The tournament's general framework had already been determined: regional qualifiers would be held across the four seas, with the winners advancing to Alabasta for the finals.
Once Gawain established his foothold in the New World, Alabasta would be relegated to a secondary competition venue, with the final rounds moved to the New World.
However, Cobra was more concerned with Gawain's plan to fake Robin's death and help her escape unnoticed.
"Will it work?!"
"If your people kill the fake body directly, it will arouse the suspicion of the World Government, right?"
"No!"
Gawain shook his head and said calmly: "If my people kill her, it will not arouse the suspicion of the World Government!"
After a moment of silence, Cobra understood what Gawain meant: "Even if the people above find your actions, it will be understandable since you have a reason to attack her because Baroque Works was almost wiped out by you alone, and countless high-level people died in your hands."
Gawain nodded: "It is more likely that the information that my people killed the target will not reach the ears of the high-level people of the World Government."
"It is not uncommon to fight for credit within the World Government."
"That makes me feel relieved."
Cobra breathed a sigh of relief and continued: "Then Robin, no, now it should be called Nicole; from now on, she is my eldest daughter hidden in the palace."
"She will get rid of everything related to the past and live a new life."
"Ah."
… … …
A few days later, what happened inside Alabasta was spread across the sea along with the newspapers of the World Economy News, and it caused turmoil in the Grand Line.
"The former Warlord, Crocodile, was arrested by Admiral Kizaru for secretly planning to seize Alabasta and will be imprisoned in Impel Down."
"The World Government has revoked his privileges as a Warlord."
"Nico Robin, the Devil Child, has been confirmed dead in Alabasta."
"Golden Lion reappeared in the sea and fought with White Knight Gawain in Alabasta. His whereabouts are unknown..."
One sensational piece of information after another, carefully manipulated by the World Government's media, spread across the sea, shocking everyone.
… … …
New World, at Kuraigana Island.
Inside the castle, Hawk Eyes sat at the desk with the latest issue of the World Economy News in his hand.
His eyes swept through the useless information and finally stopped on a photo of Gawain fighting with Golden Lion.
"Golden Lion is old and has old injuries. His combat power is far less than his peak period."
"But he was able to fight with Golden Lion and retreat unscathed. Just based on the combat power Gawain has shown now, it is not to be underestimated."
"Has he grown to this level in one year?"
Hawk Eyes couldn't help but feel surprised.
Originally, in his expectation, Gawain would need several years or even more than ten years to reach this level.
But he didn't expect that only one year had passed since the last meeting, and Gawain had already gained such a powerful strength.
"You are better than I thought, but this strange posture..."
Hawk Eyes looked at Gawain in the photo, who seemed to be wearing a soft red armor, and frowned slightly: "Mythical Zoan fruit?"
"Abandoning swordsmanship and pursuing shortcuts… Can someone like you still stand before me?"
"As the seed I have set my eyes on, I can't let you fall like this!"
Buzz!
A sharp buzzing sound suddenly came from Hawk Eyes's ears.
He turned his head to look.
What he saw was the restless black-blade night.
"You… are also longing for that guy's blood?!"
"Or are you also longing for someone to surpass yourself like me?"
As Hawk Eyes muttered to himself, Yoru became more and more restless.
The buzzing sound emitted by the blade even startled the birds outside the castle.
Around the castle, the human-like creatures, Humandrill, lurking nearby stiffened in fear, and for a moment, they didn't even care about the weapons in their hands and fled in all directions as if they were desperate, making the surroundings of the castle terribly quiet.
When the Humandrill came to their senses and tried to return to the surroundings of the castle, Hawk Eyes had already disappeared.
But still, no one dared to approach the castle, which was like a forbidden place.
… ...
At the same time, in North Blue.
Several islands appeared in the clouds, attracting countless passing ships on the sea to stop and watch.
But when they realized what the islands and fleets floating in the sky meant, they fled in all directions.
"How much farther to our target?!"
On the throne, Golden Lion stroked the rudder above his head with one hand, his eyes full of urgency and impatience.
Since he knew that the Op-Op Fruit could remove the rudder on his head, he didn't even care about the clues of Pluton in Alabasta and directly led a large army to look for the traces of the Op-Op Fruit user.
This was even more true after Golden Lion sensed the limitation of the rudder on his head on his own combat power during the battle with Gawain.
"It has been basically confirmed that the boy who escaped from Doflamingo that year is in the North Blue, and his name is Trafalgar Law!"
Spandine stood aside with a humble and respectful attitude.
After gaining the trust of Golden Lion, he was appointed as a staff officer by Golden Lion based on his experience in the CP organization and his extraordinary mind.
Now, he is a cadre-level figure on this ship.
"According to our intelligence, he is currently in Swallow Island. At our current speed, we should reach him in about seven days."
"I can't wait that long."
Golden Lion gritted his teeth and said: "If I can't even fight as I want, how can I fight Whitebeard, Linlin, Kaido, and that arrogant kid? How can I take over this world?!"
"Increase our speed!"
"Yes, sir!"
Several navigators answered with gritted teeth, and then they quickly left the castle and passed on Golden Lion's order.
Just then, a News Coo flew into the castle from the sky in the distance. It threw down a newspaper and took a few bank notes from Golden Lion's hand before floating away.
"Did that coward kid fail again?"
Golden Lion came to his senses and slowly unfolded the newspaper.
What caught his eye was a picture of Crocodile wearing shackles and locked in a cage.
Although he was imprisoned, his expression was extremely calm.
The cowardice and fear that could be seen in Crocodile at a glance completely disappeared, leaving only an indescribable calmness and determination.
Golden Lion showed an interested look:
"A man with unwavering conviction and a coward consumed by fear… his very presence feels different."
"Now that's the look of someone who truly aims to defeat Whitebeard!"
"A crushing defeat… Yet, instead of breaking, he has reforged himself. Interesting. But..."
Looking at the sword wound on Crocodile's chest and abdomen, Golden Lion recalled the vicious slashes Gawain had landed on him during their battle at Nanohana city.
Such swordsmanship with sharpness and precision was unforgettable. In Golden Lion's 70 years of life experience, only Kaido can compare with him.
"You are not dead after all!"
Golden Lion stood up suddenly; his eyes were frighteningly bright at this moment: "How could this guy, who is a monster rookie in any era, fall so easily in such a place?"
"Next time, I will really break your spine!"
"Hahahahaha!"