Little Luffy's arms stretched out quickly, and in front of the astonished eyes of the robbers, Luffy's fist had already touched the face of a middle-aged bearded man.
“Bang!!”
Luffy's fist was extremely accurate, and he punched the robber directly on the bridge of his nose.
“Ouch!”
Feeling a swollen pain, the robber who was hit in the nose subconsciously covered his nose with his hand and let out a low cry of pain.
Blood flowed out from between his fingertips. The robber stumbled a step to steady himself, lowered his head slightly, and looked at the blood in his hand in disbelief. His eyes instantly filled with bloodshot, and he growled to his companion beside him:
"Why don't you do it?!"
"Leave that brat to me, I'm going to kill him myself!"
At his call, the robbers immediately rushed forward and rushed towards Luffy and others.
"Gun shooting randomly~~"
Luffy's shout rang out in the alley, and dense fist shadows covered one side of the alley, directly knocking the four pirates who were rushing over to the ground. Although he was just a child, the power of his fists was enough to knock down an adult like that.
At the same time Luffy took the initiative to attack, he clenched his fist, and a blazing flame instantly covered his arm. Just as he was about to attack several pirates on the other side, several arcs of lightning flashed past him.
By the time Ace reacted, the lightning arc had already hit several other robbers. The robbers who were hit by the lightning arc didn't even have time to scream in pain, and were directly knocked unconscious to the ground.
In just a few breaths, the alley was filled with the groans of the robbers.
"Devil Fruit User!"
"These brats are users with special abilities!!"
The robbers who were knocked down by Luffy finally realized who they had met until this moment.
Devil Fruit User.
For most ordinary people, this is synonymous with power. Although the robbers are fat and strong with fierce faces, they are still very afraid when facing people with special abilities, even though the people they are facing are just children.
Enduring the pain, the robbers hurriedly got up from the ground, quickly dropped the blades in their hands, and ran out of the alley in a hurry, intending to escape the scene.
"Hey, wouldn't it be rude to leave like this?"
However, Kuzan would never give them such an opportunity. In this hot summer day, a layer of frost quickly extended from the soles of Kuzan's feet. The ice froze the ground and the wall. After extending for several meters, an ice wall rose from the ground, instantly blocking the robbers' way.
“Bang!!”
The unwilling robbers knocked on the ice in front of them with their hands. Looking at the motionless ice wall in front of them, the robbers turned back in panic and looked at Kuzan and others, their pupils full of despair.
"ordinary!!"
For the low-level robbers, dignity has no meaning to them at all.
The robbers who were blocked felt their knees weaken and fell to the ground, begging for mercy and kowtowed to Kuzan's men.
"No, don't kill us!"
"We were forced into this, and I didn't want to be one either."
The robbers, realizing the difference in strength, cried and expressed their sorrow, with fear hanging over their hearts.
There's nothing we can do about it, this is the way the world is.
People like them could easily lose their lives if they accidentally offended someone they shouldn't. It's hard to say who among thieves, robbers, and pirates will live longer.
If you are smart and beg for mercy quickly, you might be able to save your life.
Robbers like them who have been in the business for many years are naturally well aware of this. As long as they can save their lives, they will not hesitate to kneel down and beg for mercy.
"I'm forced to do so—"
"Oh, you really dare to say that!"
"Hey, you guys, do you know Crocodile?"
Kuzan himself is not a bloodthirsty person. Although he doesn't know whether these robbers have done something even more abhorrent in the past, at least for now, Kuzan will not kill them all just because they intercepted his way.
What's more, he had more important things to do on this island.
"Crocodile!!!"
When the robbers heard this name from Kuzan's mouth, their faces suddenly changed. Without saying a word, they all lowered their heads tacitly and were as quiet as quails.
"Um?!"
Kuzan could naturally tell from the other party's expressions and tone that these people knew Crocodile. Seeing that the other party did not answer, his expression became cold, and a heavy sense of oppression fell on the robbers.
"Don't you know?"
"Then you are of no use to me!"
Kuzan's words revealed a dangerous aura.
It's useless.
To these robbers, the meaning of this sentence couldn't be more obvious. In their "circle", all the useless people were dead!
"I know him! I know him!!!"
Finally, someone answered the expanded question directly. The bearded man whose nose was broken by Luffy also responded repeatedly.
When the other three saw him talking, their faces turned pale and they wanted to stop him, but under the pressure from Kuzan they did not dare to speak.
Crocodile.
This name is known to everyone in their Kingdom of Alabasta.
No one knows when this person came to their Alabasta Kingdom. They only know that five years ago, an underground society called BW appeared in the Alabasta Kingdom, and the president of that underground society was Crocodile.
In just two years, Crocodile swallowed up almost all the underground forces in the Kingdom of Alabasta and became the true "Dark Emperor" of the Kingdom of Alabasta.
On the surface, BW is a large enterprise that controls oil, grain and shipping, and the group's boss Crocodile is also a shrewd businessman.
But in fact, Crocodile's business war is simple and unpretentious.
The high-ranking officials of the Kingdom of Alabasta also have deep interests connected with Crocodile. Because of this, even a wise man like King Cobra was deceived and concealed by his subordinates, and had no idea that such a huge evil force had appeared in his own country.
Crocodile's BW Club really came to light two years ago. At that time, the Navy Headquarters and the World Government focused all their attention on the big pirates in the New World, and no one cared about Crocodile.
After several years of operation, Crocodile's power also penetrated into the army.
Just when the Navy Headquarters was gathering its forces to attack the New Navy some time ago, Crocodile's BW Club finally broke out, overthrowing the royal power in one fell swoop and firmly grasping the control of the kingdom in its hands.
Crocodile's ideal is to transform the Kingdom of Alabasta into a military government that is not bound by the World Government.
Use absolutely powerful military force to deter all forces at sea to ensure absolute peace.
Although his methods are tough, his ideas are also recognized by some senior officials. At the same time, Crocodile, as the user of the natural Sand-Sand Fruit, also has extremely strong strength. Under his intimidation, the maritime threat faced by the Kingdom of Alabasta is indeed much smaller.
Although the security on the island was getting worse and worse due to the mixed crowd of foreigners, the upper-level officials and nobles were also fattened up by the profits from selling arms.
Under Crocodile's reforms, the only ones who were hurt might be the laborers at the bottom and the royal family at the top.
When it comes to information, the barriers are actually very strong. The lower you go in the hierarchy, the less information you can get.
These news are widely circulated in a certain circle, but people outside the circle may never have heard of them.
Although these robbers were not of high rank, the information they knew was relatively detailed. Although it was simple, it gave Kuzan a preliminary understanding of Crocodile and his forces.
"Is the power so great?"
“There’s some trouble.”
With a single gesture, Kuzan froze the robbers in place. The scorching sun shone down, yet an icy chill permeated the alley.
He originally thought that he was just dealing with a pirate who had some strength and dared to rob the royal family, but after a brief understanding of the situation, he realized that this matter might not be as simple as he imagined.
Crocodile's power has eroded this country so deeply that if you want to uproot it, you will probably bring out a lot of dirt and may even affect the country's people's livelihood and economy.
"Brother Kuzan, what should we do next?"
Although Ace is precocious, his sensitivity to this kind of information is far from enough.
He didn't have the chance to teach the robbers a lesson, and he was feeling very upset at the moment.
"Um"
"If Crocodile's influence is really that deep, then there are only two ways to resolve this matter."
"One option is to spend some time investigating their forces and members, and then mobilize the navy to wipe out this criminal organization."
"But if we do that, the time it will take is incalculable, and it won't be easy to find out the details of that organization."
"I'm afraid we don't have that much time to deal with him."
"As for the other way, it's simple and crude."
"Go find Crocodile and arrest him directly. After the arrest, slowly investigate the criminal forces."
"But if we do that, I'm afraid many people will go into hiding."
"After we leave, these people will gradually emerge, regroup into a powerful force, and take control of this country again."
"The organization Crocodile built was not a loose organization like the Pirate Group."
"It's a massive interest group. Even if Crocodile is arrested, this interest group will still exist, and a new leader will be born within the group."
Although Kuzan was facing young kids like Ace and Sabo, he also tried to teach these young people through this incident.
Kuzan regards these children as the future of the navy, and he hopes that these children can grow up quickly under the influence of his parents.
Although Ace was smart, he only half understood what Kuzan said. Sabo was much better. He had received aristocratic education since he was a child, and had studied all the cultural courses seriously after joining the Marine Headquarters. He was able to understand the key points that Kuzan said.
As for Luffy.
Well, no one expected the young, single-celled Luffy to understand these things.
"The Navy Headquarters's capabilities are extremely limited, and Admiral Kuzan's original mission was to patrol the East China Sea."
"Changing the route to Alabasta was also a temporary decision."
"It seems that the only option left is the second one."
"The rest, I'm afraid, will have to be left to General Sakaski."
Sabo was very smart and had a clear understanding of the problem. He quickly found the most suitable route for them from Kuzan's two methods.
Hearing this, Kuzan also smiled and patted Sabo's head:
"Yeah, you're right."
"The most urgent task is to confirm whether King Cobra is still alive. If he has been destroyed by pirates, then we must protect the heir to the kingdom."
"Let's go and check out the palace first."
The place where Kuzan and others landed on the island was a coastal town in Alabasta. Alabasta has a very large land area, and if you want to go to the royal capital, you need to cross a desert called the "Burning Dead Sea".
Kuzan briefly reported the situation on his side to Zefa on the ship, and asked Zefa to lead the fleet to meet them in the distant sea first, while he himself took Ace and several other children and headed towards the royal capital.
“Hehehe!!”
"I didn't expect it, I really didn't expect it!"
"A pirate like me actually gets the chance to speak to all these great people."
"Excuse me, are there any instructions you would like to give me?"
In the royal palace of the Kingdom of Alabasta, Crocodile, dressed in a neat suit, was sitting on a gorgeous throne.
In his left hand, there was a sharp golden hook, and in his right hand, there was a glass of wine with a mellow aroma.
On the desk in front of him, there was a completely white Den Den Mushi.
Crocodile leaned slightly in front of the Den Den Mushi, his tone full of joking, without any of the "respect" that was expressed in his words.
"Crocodile, we hope that you can become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and directly obey the orders of the World Government."
"As long as you can, the World Government will acquiesce in your control of the Kingdom of Alabasta."
"Not only that, we will also give you some help."
A low and hoarse voice came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.
Crocodile's smile widened upon hearing this:
"Oh?"
"Your World Government is clearly in such great trouble, yet you still have the time to pay attention to the Kingdom of Alabasta?"
"The Seven Warlords of the Sea are really good bargaining chips."
"But, does the World Government really have the ability to command the Marine Headquarters?"
"I've received news that the Navy Headquarters' ships have now appeared in the waters outside the Kingdom of Alabasta."
"I suppose the patrol ships at Marine Headquarters have noticed something unusual happening in the Kingdom of Alabasta?"
"Hehehe, do you think I'm afraid of the Navy Headquarters?"
As Crocodile finished speaking, the other end of the phone fell silent.
After a long time, a low and hoarse voice continued to come from the receiver:
"You don't need to worry about whether our World Government is capable of commanding the Marine Headquarters."
"Just know that we can keep you alive."
"The warship that appeared in the Kingdom of Alabasta was not the patrol ship you mentioned at all."
"Admiral Aokiji and former Admiral Zephyr are on that ship."
"Their target is you. Without the protection of our World Government, the Alabasta Kingdom you worked so hard to obtain will eventually return to someone else's hands."
"Crocodile, please think about this carefully."
"Once you've figured it out, use Den Den Mushi to notify us!"
(End of this chapter)
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