Dayum

|Rainbase, Crocodile's personal Casino...|

...

"WOOOOH, I FUCKING WON!!"

"Great for you pal!"

"Could you give me just a little bit of it? I know that if I go a few more times I will win as well!"

"That's some crazy luck there"

"Hey, it's me, your disappeared dad. Coincidentally I've decided to return now that you have won the big prize... As the family that we are, why don't you give me half of it?"

With screams of euphoria filling the entire building, a lot of people could be seen walking around the enormous place while looking greedily at the several flashy games that promised them infinite wealth, in hopes that their lives would make a drastic turn for the better that day.

However, at that moment, one certain person could be seen not minding in the slightest those machines, and instead seemed to be more interested in the doors that led directly to the VIP room, glancing at them intensely at all times...

... A young man... in dirty and ragged clothes similar to those of a beggar.

Most of those who saw him tended to think that he was only a stupid youth thinking too highly of himself, or maybe a youth daydreaming of something he would never become. However, in reality, he was none of those, and his real intentions were severely more obscure than that.

"... Let's see what a pirate chosen by the world government looks like..."

To fight Crocodile, and discover whether he was really the one causing all the trouble in Arabasta... Those were his real intentions at being at the casino.

And as you might have guessed, this youth was none other than Farid, who despite the fact that he knew he was entering a casino, did not even consider changing the ragged and dirty clothes that made him appear to have a very deplorable condition, and simply came with the clothes that he was wearing even when they were completely destroyed and full of dust and sand.

He was not the type to care about such things, after all.

Instead, he was much more focused on substantial things, rather than the looks of pity he was receiving at all moments.

Like, for example, how to successfully infiltrate without causing much ruckus.

"This place sure has a tight security..."

As he continued to look at the door that led to the VIP room in a discrete manner, several plans for sneaking in there stealthily started formulating within his head while he muttered in a low voice with squinted eyes.

"Now, how the hell do I bypass the guards?"

Sure, he pretty much would beat them all up and get done with everything, but since the possibility of Crocodile being the one behind everything was not fully certain yet, it was better to enter in a more peaceful way.

After all, he didn't want to become a wanted man just because he assaulted the business of an honest and innocent pirate.

He really doubted the honest and innocent part. However, it didn't hurt to be careful just in case.

"Hmm?"

Then, as if realizing something, Farid blinked in realization as a small light passed by his eyes, before he then walked towards a shady corner of the building, and grabbed a small coin from his pocket.

"This should do"

Grinning slightly, Farid let out a short and sly laugh as he muttered a few words of satisfaction in a low voice, before he then placed the coin on the superior part of his thumb, and aimed it directly towards one of the walls of the casino which were most far away from him.

Then, as a playful smile spread across his face, Farid's finger's muscles started tightening to their limit, creating a bit of ripple around them for a short moment, before then he opened his mouth and muttered a few words with a grin spread all across his face.

"While a bit of destruction might be going a bit overboard, if I don't get caught, I don't think it matters that much anyways"

Then, without warning, Farid's fingers suddenly snapped.

-Fwoooooosh!!!-

By flicking his thumb forward while pointing toward the wall on the other side of the building, soon the coin that was on his thumb all along was shot forward at a terrifying speed and flew directly towards the wall without being noticed in the slightest by anyone in the casino.

That was, however, only until then, in the blink of an eye, and without any warning, the coin rapidly crashed into the wall and created an enormous explosion that blew half of it away, as if what had hit had been actually a cannonball instead of a simple coin.

-Booooooom!!!-

The impact had been so big, in fact, that most of the casino immediately entered into a state of panic, with everyone running around in fear and not caring about the machines any longer, while all the guards entered into a state of alarm and rapidly readied their guns and fists, trying to find the threat that had caused such a problem.

"An attack?! Who's so gutsy to attack the Casino of a Shichibukai?! Everyone, look for the culprit!!"

With several angry shouts covering the building, and the panicked screams of the people who were surprised by the sudden explosion, soon chaos enveloped the entire casino and made everyone there get even more confused, not understanding anything about what was happening.

Except for one person.

"Easy peasy"

-Click...-

Making use of the fact that the guards were too busy trying to calm down the people and looking for the culprit, Farid sneaked up from behind them and swiftly opened the door that led to the VIP room before closing it and disappearing from the Casino's main hall.

Like that, the whole problem had been solved, and now that Farid had infiltrated the insides of the casino, all that he had to do now was to look for his objective and interrogate him just like he had done with king Cobra previously.

"Surely, it won't be a problem either... It's what I would like to say, but..."

Shaking his head in annoyance, Farid looked at the long corridor in front of him, before soon the sound of steady and calm steps started reaching his ears and made him straighten up his back.

Someone was approaching.

'Who's this? This person doesn't feel like Crocodile...'

Furrowing his eyebrows, Farid waited for the said person to arrive as he stretched his limbs a little bit to prepare for any incoming battle, before soon the figure of the mysterious person was finally revealed, and made Farid's face stiffen slightly.

"Hmm, and I was wondering what had caused such a big fuzz up here... I see that we have an uninvited guest"

What appeared in front of him, was a tall slender young woman with shoulder-length black hair, and two big beautiful blue eyes, wearing a purple cowgirl outfit and smiling curiously in his way, as she spoke with an interested tone of voice while glancing at him with a prying gaze...

... As if... she was seeing a very curious thing.

Seeing that, Farid couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice.

"Dayum..."

However, maybe because he spoke loud enough for the sound to reach her, or maybe because there was too much echo in the corridor, soon the woman frowned slightly and asked him with a confused tone.

"What?"

-Kh-hum-

"No, nothing"

Shaking his head after he noticed that she had heard him, Farid cleared his throat, before he then straightened his posture and looked at her with a contemplative expression on his face.

'Who's this woman? I don't think I heard of a person with her appearance rich enough to become a VIP of a casino... Then, is she maybe part of Crocodile's organization?'

Letting his thoughts run wild, Farid stayed silent for a few seconds while thinking of several possibilities on the process, before he then shook his head and took a step forward.

'Well, whatever the answer is, it still won't stop me from meeting Crocodile...'

Thinking that, Farid's eyes turned resolute for a brief moment before soon he started walking toward the woman with an impassive expression on his face.

"..."

The woman, on the other hand, was calmly watching Farid walk towards her with an amused expression on her face, as it entertained her to see his face being completely unbothered by the fact that he had been discovered sneaking in so brazenly.

He was pretty cheeky for someone who had barged into someone's else casino, was what she was thinking at that moment.

However, since she had a job to do there, the woman soon shook her head and immediately raised her voice while speaking toward him, just that this time with a bit more forcefulness in her tone.

"May I know what business you have here?"

Hearing her question, Farid stayed silent for a few seconds, before he then smiled slyly and shrugged his shoulders with a calm expression on his face.

"I'm here to ask a few questions to Crocodile... That's all"

"Is that so?"

Nodding her head, the woman smiled slightly, before she then stopped smiling and crossed her arms right in front of her chest, similar to an X shape.

Her voice was several times colder than before as she spoke.

"I'm sorry, but he doesn't want to meet anyone for the time being. I suggest you leave immediately"

...

'Hmm...? Is she threatening me?'

Looking at the woman in front of him, Farid smiled slightly at the provocation, before he then shrugged his arms and looked at her with a challenging grin on his face.

"What if I don't?"

"...?"

Furrowing her eyebrows when she heard Farid's words, the woman narrowed her eyes for a short moment, before she then forced a smile and spoke in a playful tone.

"Then, I will have to take you out myself... Seis Fleur!!"

Suddenly, after the woman finished speaking, several arms started sprouting all over Farid's body and made the latter shriek in surprise at the sudden appearance of such a bizarre thing.

"Holy cow!"

However, not caring in the slightest about Farid's strange shriek, the woman immediately closed her eyes, seemingly trying to concentrate, before she then opened them abruptly and yelled in a loud voice.

"Clutch!!"

Then, as if responding to her words, the arms around Farid's body suddenly curled up around his entire body like several snakes tying up his entire body, before then, in the blink of an eye, they tightened their grip to their limit and started constricting all of Farid's limbs without mercy, making the woman close her eyes calmly as an almost imperceptible pity passed by her eyes on the process.

"..."

Then, after a few seconds of silence passed, the woman slowly shook her head while sighing, only to then make a strange hand gesture that made all the arms that had grown on Farid's body loosen up and stop constricting his body.

'This much should be enough...'

Thinking that, the woman's expression loosened for a brief moment before she then opened her eyes again and turned to look in the direction of where she thought would be Farid's unconscious body lying on the ground.

After all, if it had been a normal person that had received that attack, the arms that had sprouted on the victim's body would have easily bent their body to an unnatural position due to their overwhelming number and strength and probably broken several bones of the body in the process.

However, Farid was not a normal person, was he?

"This is a strange way of hugging someone"

Instead, he was standing right where he had received the attack from before, wearing the same boring expression of always, and speaking as if nothing had actually happened.

"...?!"

Widening her eyes abruptly after seeing Farid, the woman stared dumbfoundedly at his completely unscathed body which seemed to have not been affected in the slightest by the attack, before she then looked at his completely calm face which seemed to say that he hadn't felt a thing from the attack from before, and frowned slightly.

"Clutch!!"

Yelling again, this time with a more frustrated tone on her voice though, the arms sprouting all over Farid's body soon started curling up around his limbs once again, before then they started constricting his body with a strength that would have made any other person faint instantly, and immediately tried to bend his body in order to break his bones.

It was at that moment, however, when a faint shocked expression spread across the woman's face, as she noticed something that she hadn't noticed during the attack from earlier.

Farid, who was still standing there with a completely unbothered expression on his face, felt like an unmovable statue that would not bend no matter how hard she tried.

An unmovable person... That was what Farid was.

However, no matter how shocking it had been for her to see something like that, she still had a job to do. And thus, she didn't panic and rapidly started taking the same X pose again, probably preparing to launch another type of attack.

'If that won't work... Then...-'

"Sorry, I'm a bit in a hurry, you see"

-Fwoooosh...-

However, before she was even able to do anything, her thoughts were cut short, as soon Farid appeared right in front of her and raised his fist high into the air, aiming it directly toward her in the process.

'I have to...-'

The woman thought of dodging. However, as if feeling it instinctively, as soon as she saw Farid's fist aiming directly at her, her entire body felt that she wouldn't be able to dodge even if she tried with all her energies, and immediately stopped trying.

Then, as if affirming that statement, in the blink of an eye Farid's fist moved at an imperceptible speed and rapidly struck the woman's body.

Not once... but four times... And all in the span of merely one second.

-Ta!-

-Ta!-

-Ta!-

-Ta!-

His fists had been so fast, in fact, that they had looked more like a blur in the air than a fist punching someone, and not even the woman had been able to see them clearly

Then, as if her body had collapsed, soon she fell to the ground and let out a painful groan as her face hit the ground with a dry sound.

-Thud!-

"Kgh...!"

However, despite that small groan, no other sound came from her mouth, as soon, as she opened her eyes widely and glanced at her own body in astonishment before muttering in a soft voice.

"There's... No pain?"

"I hit only some of your nerves so of course there shouldn't be any pain"

Kneeling in front of her, Farid explained with a calm gaze in his eyes, as a wry smile appeared on his face, before then he looked to the side and continued explaining.

"Though, you won't be able to move for the next ten minutes... However, don't worry, you should be fine to go after that"

Saying that, Farid showed her a thumbs up with a sly smile on his face before he then stood up and immediately started walking away, leaving the woman looking at him with a confused expression on her face.

He didn't have time to waste, after all. There was still someone he had to meet.

"Very well, let's see how much of a monster you truly are, Crocodile"

Clenching his fists, Farid increased his pace, before he then disappeared into the darkness of the corridor and left the woman alone thrown on the ground and muttering something in a low voice.

Her tone of voice was incredibly frustrated as she spoke.

"I have to move... I won't be able to see it otherwise..."

...

-To be continued-

°°°

(A/N: In the end, I ended up uploading this chapter tomorrow (Which is now).

By the way, I will also immediately start writing the next chapter, as I'm in a window of 4 hours, and I don't have anything else to do... So feel fortunate you guys...

Also, my mouse just broke, and now I have to buy another one :|

I hate my life)