"[Sand Crocodile]..."
The CP0 agent's eyes shifted slightly, and they moved their feet a little, getting ready to fight.
Let's not talk about plans to "defeat" or "kill."
Just in terms of individual strength, they weren't sure they could "hold" one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea in a one-on-one fight.
But the CP0 organization has a habit of working together. Even though the individual fighting power of its members is strong, they always like to act as a group.
Now Crocodile is on this ship. This isn't just CP0's home turf, but it's also far from land, so his natural-type devil fruit power can't be fully used.
So no matter how you look at it, CP0 has a huge advantage in this situation!
"Are you going to fight us here?"
A CP0 agent stepped forward, their voice cold.
They pulled a dagger from their waist, and the blade had a bright black color.
That's the color of sea stone.
Sea stone weapon!
Only the World Government and the Marines have the people and resources to make precious sea stone into blades!
"Hmm, showing a dagger right away, not as a sneak attack, but is the dagger your main weapon?"
Crocodile watched the CP0 agent in front of him with interest, and rubbed his chin.
He remembered what Rowan had told him.
In the Drum Kingdom, Rowan had fought a CP0 agent who used dual scimitars. Those scimitars were definitely rare, specialized weapons.
Now, Crocodile saw someone else using a dagger as their main weapon, and he had some interesting guesses.
"Hey, do you CP0 guys all like using unusual weapons?"
Crocodile turned into a sandstorm.
But just when the CP0 agents thought Crocodile was going to attack, he actually backed away and leaned against the mast.
"Calm down, people of the World Government."
Crocodile spread his hands, took a puff of his cigar, and grinned wickedly:
"I'm one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, one of your people."
If it were a normal Marine, they might be speechless at Crocodile's words, but CP0 are the elites of the World Government.
Not only are they top fighters, but they're also first-class when it comes to "rules."
Another CP0 agent put on their gloves and said calmly:
"The Seven Warlords of the Sea are just pirates who have been given 'legal looting permits.' The World Government recognizes your legal existence, and you need to turn in some of your wealth at fixed times."
"In other words, the Seven Warlords and the World Government have a contract."
"Other than that, we have nothing to do with each other, let alone 'who's on whose side.' Only stupid Marines would fall for that kind of nonsense."
The CP0 agent finished putting on their gloves and waved their slender fingers, making a crisp sound.
They frowned and said slowly, in a low voice: "Actually, I've broken the necks of three natural-type devil fruit users..."
"Oh, how scary!"
Crocodile bit his cigar, clapped, and laughed loudly: "So, you're going to kill me?"
"Because you're standing on Ryan Rowan's side."
The other CP0 agents took out their weapons and slowly surrounded Crocodile.
But Crocodile showed no fear, and instead looked at the scene in front of him with interest, looking very confident.
The CP0 agents didn't understand where Crocodile's confidence came from, but they were fully prepared.
How would this veteran pirate, who was invited to join the Seven Warlords of the Sea as soon as he set sail, deal with the current situation?
Suddenly, Crocodile took something out from under his coat and aimed it at the surrounding CP0 agents.
A gun?
A cannon?
Whatever it was, the CP0 agents reacted immediately.
They didn't dare to attack a natural-type devil fruit user head-on, so they either retreated behind cover or rolled away to dodge.
But the CP0 agents didn't hear the expected cannon fire or gunfire, but instead Crocodile's loud laughter.
The laughter seemed to be mocking their actions.
The CP0 agents looked up and saw that Crocodile was holding a telephone bug!
The telephone bug's eyes widened and its eyeballs twisted, recording everyone's actions on the ship.
This unexpected thing made the CP0 agents' eyes widen. Some of them wanted to rush forward, but Crocodile stopped them with one hand.
Crocodile put a finger to his lips and smiled wickedly and happily.
"Shh, be careful!"
He tossed the telephone bug in his hand. "This is a top-of-the-line recording telephone bug, connected to dozens of backup channels."
"If I just press a button, this live broadcast about the Aden Kingdom will be connected to the entire North Sea's television lines."
"You should know better than me what will happen then, so I don't need to say more, right?"
Crocodile found a comfortable box to sit on, propped up one leg, and smiled faintly: "Sometimes, this thing is more useful than guns and cannons, isn't it?"
"Indeed."
One of the CP0 agents held out a hand to stop the few who were still planning to attack, and then said calmly: "But don't forget, that thing is heavy, you have to be able to pick it up."
"Oh?"
Crocodile raised an eyebrow and asked: "Then tell me, can I pick this thing up?"
"..."
The CP0 agent was silent for a moment, and finally nodded. "At least in this incident, you can pick it up."
This conversation seemed confusing, but it was actually very simple.
Sometimes, the power of public opinion is stronger than guns and cannons.
But to control the power of public opinion, you must have some power yourself, otherwise you will only bring disaster upon yourself.
--You can know the truth, but you must also be able to survive after knowing the truth.
And now, regarding the Aden Kingdom incident, CP0 clearly didn't plan to fight Crocodile to the death. It wasn't worth it for them.
So, the tense atmosphere on the ship's deck suddenly calmed down.
...
Both sides were silent for a while.
Crocodile wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he started teasing the telephone bug.
After all, his main goal was to prevent CP0 from joining the battle on a large scale, which would be too dangerous for the Four Seas Alliance's normal fighting power and would cause widespread casualties.
If the Four Seas Alliance was damaged, that would mean his potential military strength was damaged!
And the CP0?
They were all "shrewd."
Since Crocodile had stopped them here, they might as well think about something interesting.
So, a CP0 agent broke the silence on the deck.
"How many of the infected people from the Aden Kingdom do you think will survive?"
As soon as he said this, many people gave their opinions.
"Half, maybe."
"None of them will survive."
"Very few."
"..."
But Crocodile suddenly interrupted: "Actually, you can discuss another question."
He took a puff of his cigar and asked slowly: "How many of the pirates you sent will survive in front of the 'monsters'?"
Hearing this, the CP0 agents were a little confused.
But real-time information from the Aden Kingdom indirectly confirmed the "possibility" of Crocodile's question.
--The Crystal Demons of the Aden Kingdom, because of Hiluluk's words, began to fight back against the invading pirates!
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