It had been several years since Nico Robin left Marine Headquarters and infiltrated Alabasta.
At the beginning, she hadn't come into contact with Crocodile directly, but she'd learned from Finn that Baroque Works was Crocodile's organization.
So Robin had soon joined Baroque Works in Alabasta.
With excellent intelligence capabilities, a sharp mind, and decent combat strength, in just two years, Robin had made contact with Crocodile, who was hiding behind Baroque Works.
And it had taken more than half a year before Crocodile finally took her seriously.
Now, she'd become Crocodile's most trusted right-hand subordinate.
Of course, this trust was only reflected in Crocodile's attitude toward his subordinates.
In fact, ever since the battle with the Whitebeard Pirates in the New World years ago, when he'd been betrayed by his own subordinates and stabbed in the back, Crocodile no longer truly trusted anyone.
The same was true for Nico Robin.
It was simply because this woman could indeed help him quickly handle many unimportant trivial matters to a large extent, and was genuinely a smart and excellent adviser on many major issues, so Crocodile showed great trust in her.
Crocodile picked up the newspaper from the table and asked casually, "I heard you're looking for Poneglyphs?"
"It should be said that you asked me to find the Poneglyphs." Robin corrected.
She sat casually on the office sofa, poured herself a cup of tea, took a sip and said, "Don't you want to find the ancient weapon hidden in Alabasta? Pluton. That's why I'm looking for Poneglyphs."
"Instead of looking for Poneglyphs, it would be better to start directly with the Nefertari family. After all, even if we find the Poneglyph, we can't decipher it, right?" Crocodile responded.
Then his expression showed surprise. "Doflamingo? That bastard..."
Doflamingo had actually known Crocodile for a long time. Before Roger's execution, Doflamingo had been in contact with Crocodile.
Doflamingo had also invited Crocodile to cooperate several times.
But Crocodile had been very arrogant at the time. He hadn't taken Doflamingo, a country bumpkin from the North Blue, seriously at all and had no intention of cooperating with him.
After his defeat in the New World, he'd focused all his attention and energy on Alabasta and done almost nothing else, so there'd been no basis for cooperation between the two. This connection had gradually faded.
Not long ago, after Doflamingo became one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile had said somewhat sarcastically, "That guy is more or less following in my footsteps."
Wasn't this a kind of arrogance as a senior?
In the blink of an eye, before he could even deal with Alabasta, Doflamingo had already become king of Dressrosa.
Comparing this to his own knighthood, Crocodile felt embarrassed.
But he wasn't very anxious, because Crocodile knew very well that Alabasta's scale was far beyond what a small country like Dressrosa could match.
Are you kidding? What was Dressrosa's population? About two million.
What about Alabasta?
Alabasta's national standing army alone was at least two million.
In terms of land area, Alabasta was dozens or even hundreds of times larger than Dressrosa!
As for geographical factors, Dressrosa was in the New World, which was extremely chaotic and made it easy to employ various methods.
In contrast, Alabasta faced great constraints in the first half of the Grand Line, unable to use many unconventional means.
"Boring! If you think this kind of news can bring me joy, you're completely wrong." Crocodile said, tossing the newspaper on the table.
"When you came to Alabasta, didn't you have the same idea as Doflamingo? To become king of Alabasta? I thought Mary Geoise's tacit attitude would make you happy..." Robin said calmly.
Crocodile raised an eyebrow, then laughed. "That's something I didn't expect. If that's the case, then I'm indeed a little happier."
"Aren't you going to look for the Poneglyph?" Robin suddenly changed the subject.
Crocodile glanced at Robin. "I won't ask about what you want to do. As long as you do what I ask and don't cause me trouble, you can do whatever you want."
Everyone had their own interests, and Crocodile was certainly aware of this, so he didn't force Robin to do anything. If she wanted to find Poneglyphs, let her.
Of course, Crocodile actually still had some doubts about Robin's identity, but he didn't say anything for the time being.
"Interest." Robin suddenly said.
"Finding Poneglyphs is my interest. The reason for this interest is that I discovered someone else was coveting them, which made me very curious." Robin said with a smile.
Crocodile said nothing but slowly exhaled a puff of smoke.
"Don't you want to ask?" Robin looked at Crocodile again.
"I already told you I have no interest in knowing what you want to do." Crocodile waved his hand.
"The Revolutionary Army..." Nico Robin suddenly said.
Crocodile, who'd been expressionless, suddenly raised his head and looked at Robin. "Revolutionary Army?"
"My efficiency is pretty good, right?" Robin smiled, then continued. "According to my investigation, the ones who've been causing us trouble in Alabasta recently are the Revolutionary Army. Their leader here should be one of their top officers, Gecko Moria. Those damned zombies should be his..."
"This is truly surprising, yet not at all surprising news," Crocodile murmured, then asked, "So what's their purpose?"
"Isn't the Revolutionary Army's purpose very obvious? They're doing the same thing all over the world. I think it's to liberate this country?" Robin said thoughtfully.
After a brief pause, Robin continued, "Of course, they're also investigating Poneglyphs, which is how I got involved. Do you need me to stop these activities?"
"As you wish. Just don't cause me trouble." Crocodile waved his hand calmly, then said, "I'll give you a new mission. Find out as soon as possible where the Revolutionary Army is hiding and what their purpose is. Also, all the actions being done under the Revolutionary Army's banner can be stopped..."
"Are you afraid of their revenge? Haha..." Robin said with a smile.
"I just don't want to create an unnecessary enemy for myself, at least not before I figure out what they're planning to do." Crocodile said coldly.
"You're so boring." Robin complained, then stood and walked toward the door.
But just as Robin was about to leave, she suddenly stopped. "Come to think of it, are you really not going to show yourself at Baroque Works? Many people already suspect I'm the biggest boss."
"That's good, isn't it? If something really happens, you can take the blame." Crocodile said coldly.
"Are you so ruthless?" Robin smiled, said nothing more, opened the door and walked out.
"I only need the two identities of Seven Warlords member and Hero of Alabasta. That's enough." Crocodile murmured softly.
Perhaps for Crocodile, the so-called Baroque Works was just his dark history.
As a man destined to become the King of the Desert, he certainly hoped his identity could be purer. At the very least, he shouldn't have anything to do with criminal organizations like Baroque Works.
After Robin walked out of the office, she soon encountered someone in the corridor. She frowned slightly, then smiled. "Mr. Caesar, it seems you've made your choice?"
That's right. The person in this corridor was none other than M. Caesar Clown, the culprit behind the Punk Hazard gas leak.
To Finn's surprise, he hadn't gone looking for Doflamingo, Kaido, or Charlotte Linlin. Instead, he'd found Crocodile and seemed ready to join him.
When Caesar saw Robin, he put on a sinister smile. "Of course. Mr. Crocodile's offer to me is too generous. Ms. Robin, we'll be partners from now on."
Robin smiled and nodded. "That's an honor."
After a brief pause, Robin continued, "Mr. Crocodile is inside, so I won't disturb your meeting."
Then Robin left, and Caesar walked into Crocodile's office.
After walking out of Rain Dinners casino, Robin leaned against a palm tree, staring at the casino entrance with a thoughtful expression.
After a long pause, she murmured softly, "Perhaps it's time to compile a summary of news from Alabasta and report it to headquarters. Caesar... two dangerous individuals mixed together, and the Revolutionary Army has appeared. Tsk tsk, if I can pull this off, I'll definitely be promoted to Vice Admiral!"
And if she became a Marine Vice Admiral, she could pardon her mother, Nico Olvia, from Impel Down.
Wasn't this what she was pursuing?
"Mom..." Robin whispered with a hint of longing in her voice.
After leaving Marineford for so many years, it was naturally impossible for her to visit Olvia in Impel Down again.
"Baroque Works... Crocodile's indifference may be my breakthrough." Robin thought again.
Looking at the scorching desert heat, Robin finally smiled. "Let's first investigate the Revolutionary Army's intentions. Whether it's our Marines or Crocodile, we should all take this matter seriously."
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Admiral Sakazuki's expression today seemed particularly excited.
Vice Admiral Onigumo stood in his office, watching him sign documents very quickly, somewhat surprised.
Because Sakazuki was a very serious person in daily work. Unlike Finn, who didn't care about such things at all and would sign anything Hina dared give him, Sakazuki would read carefully before signing his name.
But today, he was signing without even looking.
After throwing the document to Onigumo, Sakazuki asked, "Is there anything else?"
"Uh... yes." Onigumo nodded.
"Really? Then I'm leaving work." Sakazuki said with a smile.
Then he ignored Onigumo, stood, and walked toward the door.
Onigumo finally asked curiously, "Admiral, what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to pick something up. It should be delivered today. I ordered a revolver from the Ordnance Department..." Sakazuki said without turning his head.
Aren't you the one who uses lava? Don't you just spray magma?
"Are revolvers popular now?" Onigumo murmured.
"Ah, it's a gift for Ace. He's going to study at the military academy and will soon become a formal and glorious Marine." Sakazuki said happily.
Just like a proud father hoping for his son's success!