Planning and Raiding Crocodile
After a few more days of trying out the 'green mist' ability - which he decided to name [Cosmic Prison].
Sealing some random items in his gourd bottle; including a barrel of oil, some miscellaneous items, and a 'surprise' for Croc-boy which he managed to buy from the black market with the help of the thugs.
He was prepared to take on Crocodile and his crime syndicate - Baroque Works.
'The biggest problem would be being surrounded by Crocodile's agents and having to fight them at the same time.' - while confident of taking Croc-boy by himself on a 1-v-1, he wasn't foolish enough to risk being attacked from all sides,
Even after his training he still had a time limit on how long he could maintain his astral constructs, which would be even shorter if he coated them with his [Blackout] ability.
Dragging the fight on would only increase the chance of being overwhelmed - and he currently didn't have crewmates that could aid him in combat.
"Still this should come in handy. Hehe" - turning to the medium-sized box of dynamite laying on the table, he made a smug expression while calling his 12 'minion' thugs to line up.
Handing them each a stick of dynamite, he proceeded to explain his plan and what their task was.
"I want all of you to spread outside around the casino - once you hear an explosion, this will be the signal for you to light the dynamite sticks and then run away. This is your final mission. Try to stick to less populated areas, I don't want any unnecessary casualties. No fuckups will be tolerated -understood." - standing in front of the thugs like a commander giving orders to his troops, Adriel calmly explained in an authoritarian tone leaving no room for discussion.
"YES, SIR BOSS." - the thugs shouted in unison while bowing their heads and trembling from Adriel's presence.
"Good. Dismissed." - giving his approval Adriel sent them away as he started to plan his next course of action.
'I can't take them all on at the same time, but who says I have to.' - that's right he was planning on using the thugs along with the dynamite to create a distraction which would split Crocodile's forces - while trying to investigate the cause of the commotion.
He'd then be free to take out the closest ones to him while heading directly for Croco-boy. A classic 'cut-down-the-leader' tactic.
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Two days later after all the preparations were ready - the time for the raid had come, after repeating the plan once more to the thugs, they jumped into action waiting for Adriel's signal.
"Time to make my debut, damn I wonder what nickname they'll give me." - making a smirk on his face Adriel thought to himself while walking to his position.
When he arrived in front of an abandoned house close to Crocodile's casino, he proceeded to light a dynamite stick and throw it inside.
*BOOOM*
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*BOOM* *BOOM* BOOM*...
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"KYAAA"
"AAAAH" - after the initial explosion went off, another 12 sounded out close by - instantly creating pandemonium among the citizens and alerting Crocodile as well as all agents of Baroque Works.
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Inside a luxurious room, a man smoking a cigar was seen giving orders to some individuals, after hearing the explosions outside.
"Find out what happened. And if you find any threats... eliminate them." - giving a carefree look he quickly ordered before going back to smoking while sitting at his desk counting berries.
"Yes, Mr. 0" - they all saluted and proceeded on their mission.
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Outside, on a rooftop, Adriel was waiting for Croc-boy to make his move.
And just as predicted, all the Baroque Works agents started heading in pairs each taking different directions towards where the sounds of the explosions came from.
One pair, in particular, were coming in his direction.
A woman wearing a yellow cap carrying an umbrella and a man with short-spiky dreadlocks and a pair of sunglasses.
'Interesting, out of all the members I didn't think they'd be the ones I'd run across' - Adriel thought to himself while seeing Mr.5 and Miss. Valentine approaching his direction.
He remembered that when they first met the straw hats in Whiskey Peak they were arguably the weakest members of Baroque Works, easily being defeated by Luffy and Zoro without breaking a sweat.
'Still, the 'Bomu Bomu no Mi' that Mr. 5 uses has very good potential. It's a shame that he's a minus IQ nose-picking idiot that has no idea how to effectively use it.' - Adriel thought while circling at their back.
"Caught you lacking - suckers." - he whispered as he made his move.
Appearing from behind he launched a sneak attack - also known as a 'sucker punch' - instantly knocking both of them out.
After smacking them again for good measure, he took out some rope he had previously stored in his bottle gourd - and proceeded to gag and tie both of them up.
Throwing them in the same building he previously blew up, he continued advancing on Crocodile's position.
'I'll come back for you don't worry." - he gave Mr. 5 a final look before making an evil grin. (A/N: can you guess what his plan is?)
Jumping from rooftop to rooftop he quickly encountered the next pair of agents.
Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday, also known as Nefertari Vivi princess of Arabasta.
'Oh the princess made her appearance.' - still hidden, he proceeded to jump from the rooftop, kneeing Mr. 9 straight in his face and retiring him from the action while breaking a couple of his teeth.
As soon as he appeared, Vivi tried attacking him - but he easily restrained her before pacifying her by saying.
"Princess, I'm with the rebellion. We're here to put an end to Crocodile's reign of terror. My comrades have already launched the attack." - he lied with a straight face as if that was the absolute truth, before releasing Vivi.
"WHAT? THAT WAS YOU... I thought I told Koza to wait until our investigation was complete." "We don't have any evidence of Crocodile's crimes." - she angrily shouted before calming down and making a dejected expression while biting her lower lip.
"That was the case until we found out about 'Operation Utopia' through a traitor from their ranks." - Adriel continued his lie acting with a solemn expression making Vivi scared as to what 'Operation Utopia' might be to cause the rebels to launch an attack on Crocodile in broad daylight.
After a moment of Adriel explaining to her what it was - she made a horrified expression before anxiously asking;
"W-what do we do now?" - slightly shaking she questioned Adriel while trying to hold her tears back as best she could.
"Lead me to Crocodile, I'll take him down." - Adriel said while smiling, causing Vivi to become shocked at what she heard.
"J-just you? B-but he's really strong. W-where are the others?" - she started tearing up thinking that this was a suicide mission.
"Don't worry I'm pretty strong too - hehe." - Adriel said while clenching his fist in front of his face and smirking at Vivi.
"A-all right I show you the way." - still doubtful, but knowing that things progressed too much to try and go back to the original plan now - she started to lead Adriel to Crocodile.
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Reaching the main building, Vivi and Adriel hid while discussing the next course of action.
"W-what now? Should I create a distraction while you attack him from behind?" - Vivi questioned solemnly while thinking about how to distract Crocodile.
"No, just wait here." - Adriel patted her on the head while starting to walk towards the building.
"H-huh??" - slightly blushing she couldn't help but look at his big strong back - at that moment she felt like he could carry the whole world.
'W-why's my heart beating so fast??" - touching her chest she thought to herself while trying her best to not speak out loud.
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Once he made it to the building without being detected, Adriel started climbing to Crocodile's office window - which Vivi pointed at when they first arrived.
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*Knock* *Knock*
"Huh?" - hearing the knock at his window, Crocodile turned around in his office chair, seeing a person watching him while smiling - before he could say a word the figure smashed the window directly kicking him in the face, with his leg covered by a purple flame.
Sending Crocodile flying across the room - breaking his expensive-looking wooden desk in the process.
"Delivery... I heard you ordered an ass whooping - I accept cash or card." - smirking, Adriel waited for Crocodile to get up and take a look at his shocked mug.
"Ugh - who are you?" - getting up while grunting Crocodile questioned, becoming irritated at what he thought was him being caught off guard.
"Hahaha - all you need to know is that this is your last day as a 'king' - BITCH." - Adriel lightly laughed while provoking Crocodile - which was surprisingly effective.
"Don't get ahead of yourself. You just caught me off guard." - Crocodile said while trying to control his anger - clearly not working out for him as the vein on his forehead looked like it would burst any second.
"Sure, if that makes you feel better." - Adriel taunted while grinning, happy to know that his [Blackout] ability could indeed counter devil fruits and the inherent intangibility that logias naturally had.
This, however, immediately drove Crocodile to attack enraged at being humiliated by an arrogant young brat.