Bucky the Clown, wearing a smirk, didn't flee immediately after blowing up the Rain Banquet Casino.
An enraged Crocodile transformed into a sandstorm, intent on capturing Bucky. But just as he was about to reach him, the cowardly crew of the bizarre pirate group shouted, "Captain Bucky was killed!" and "Captain Bucky, we'll remember you!" This absurd scene momentarily stunned Crocodile, distracting him just long enough for Bucky to escape.
The Sand Crocodile stood alone atop the wreckage, looking down at the ruined city.
Captain John's treasure? How could I possibly have that?! As far as Crocodile was concerned, if he controlled Alabasta, he'd have wealth beyond imagination. Pirate treasures meant nothing to him—they were dead wealth, only obsessively pursued by fools like Bucky. Yet this idiot now claimed he held clues to Captain John's treasure and couldn't explain his recent financial windfall. The clash between them was inevitable.
Light footsteps approached from behind—tap tap tap. Crocodile composed himself, smoothed his expression, and wore his usual smug demeanor.
"Mr. 0, you look a little… disheveled," Nicole Robin teased with a sweet smile. Wearing a white cowboy hat, her silky black hair draped over her shoulders as she gazed at the ruins beneath her with a faint, unreadable smirk.
Crocodile, visibly irritated by her sarcasm, snapped, "Didn't I order you to capture Bucky the Clown? Who allowed him to escape? Nicole Robin, do you think I won't kill you?!"
Unfazed, Robin responded calmly, "I'm still useful to you. You won't kill me—at least, not yet. And no, I didn't catch Bucky. He ran too fast."
Inwardly, she was surprised. Her powerful joint lock techniques were useless against Bucky, whose Chop-Chop Fruit made him immune to slashing and separation attacks. Fortunately, Bucky had only been focused on fleeing; if he'd turned to fight, things could've gotten messy. Still, Robin didn't take it to heart. She was a scholar, not a frontline fighter.
"So tell me," she asked Crocodile directly, "what's really going on here? Are we going to war with the Bucky Pirates? Are they our next enemy?"
Enemy? Crocodile was insulted. Bucky the Clown? An enemy? Ridiculous! But after a moment's reflection, he had to admit—it was true. That clown had become a nuisance. An enemy, even. A clownish one, but still an enemy.
"You want Baroque Works to go to war, Mr. 0?" Robin asked, this time seriously.
Crocodile wanted to say yes, but the name Red-Haired Shanks stopped him. He knew of Shanks' deep ties with Bucky the Clown. The fools in Baroque Works didn't know that. But if they struck at Bucky and it reached Shanks, could Baroque Works withstand the scrutiny?
Would getting them involved just invite Shanks' wrath?
He swallowed his initial response. With effort, he steadied himself and replied, "Don't touch Bucky. Don't engage his officers either. But his crew? The pawns? Kill them. Slaughter his pirates. I want to see if he still dares to call himself a pirate without a crew to back him."
Robin nodded. "Shall I issue orders under your Mr. 0 identity?"
Crocodile paused, then slowly shook his head. "No. Our main plan hasn't launched yet. Mr. 0 must remain hidden. You will issue the order through Baroque Works using my title as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
He clenched his jaw. "I'll personally fund the operation. Hire bounty hunters and killers to slaughter those pirates!"
It was a bitter pill. Paying mercenaries out of his own pocket to wipe out pirates… but necessary.
He added, "Also release a mission in the studio about Captain John's treasure. Let them investigate. Anyone with leads gets paid."
Crocodile didn't care about the treasure—but if it could compensate for his losses, he wouldn't turn it down.
---
Robin wasted no time. By that afternoon, all Baroque Works agents received directives: The Warlord Crocodile had hired them to kill pirates. For every confirmed kill, they'd be paid by the organization on top of Navy bounties.
Baroque Works, based in Alabasta, exploded with activity. Poisonings, ambushes, assassinations—their methods were ruthless. In just ten days, they eliminated over a thousand pirates. But their losses were steep: 1,800 casualties. Still, the kill order held firm. Ms. All Sunday relayed the central mission: Kill enemies. Recruit more bounty hunters.
Vivi scoffed at the headquarters' decree. "This? This is just the beginning. You want to be a hero? The king of Alabasta? You're dreaming."
She quietly contacted Van Augur and asked him to spread rumors that Crocodile possessed Captain John's treasure.
The World Government might not care about such wealth—but corrupt officials certainly would. The lower-tier bureaucrats didn't care who Crocodile was. Warlord? Government dog? Irrelevant. If he had treasure, they wanted a piece.
If Crocodile really was under government jurisdiction, they'd demand he hand over the loot. "You've got treasure? Show it. Right now."
Had Van Augur been more prominent, Vivi might have escalated the issue to the Celestial Dragons. Let one of their envoys—the so-called "saints"—show up. Would Crocodile dare lay a finger on them?
Maybe these schemes wouldn't dethrone him, but they'd disgust and humiliate him thoroughly.
Vivi didn't hide from the chaos she'd sparked. While Crocodile played the hero, battling pirates across the desert as Alabasta's "savior," Vivi donned her Ms. Wednesday disguise and responded to HQ's call—eliminating countless pirates lured by rumors of the treasure along the route from Whiskey Peak to Alabasta.
She also needed live combat. Her diverse techniques required refinement through battle.
Mr. 8, the loyal courtier, and Ms. Monday, the fearsome bounty hunter recruiter from the South Blue, returned to the Grand Line with an army of rookies to join the fight. Mr. 9 had completed cleanup in Loguetown. The agents of Baroque Works—each with secrets and loyalties—regrouped to wage war against the growing tide of pirates.
And as the storm swelled across the desert sands, the clash between ambition, deception, and vengeance surged to new heights.