Chapter 39: The Storm

Crocodiles den den mushi rang. "Hello, this is Mr. Prince. From the shitty restaurant." Crocodile felt like he was about to blow his fuse right now. Kai had really pissed him off. "Who and where the fuck are you?!" He yelled into the den den mushi. "Woah Croc calm down. What are you on your period?" Sanji asked Croc, causing everyone in the room to fall to the floor laughing. Even Robin joined in. Sanji heard this. "Oh? It seems mask man already told his story." He said.

"You know too?!?!?!! You die now! With the rest of them!" Crocodile was beyond pissed at this point. "Well, setting aside whether you are able to kill me or not. I'm not dumb enough to tell you where I actually am. Why would I ever give away such vital information?" Crocodile had multiple tick marks appear on his forehead. "Shut it! I don't need to hear that again!" Everyone was laughing at Crocodiles' stupidity now. "*Bang!* *crack* *smash*" Over the transponder snail the voice changed. "We caught him! Mr. Prince is now tied up at the north side of the rainbase!"

Crocodile heard this and wasted no time getting out of there after smashing the glass wall and letting water in. He started making his way to Sanji. But, Sanji was actually on the south side of the rainbase. He used Chopper as a distraction and came into the room to see the room starting to fill with water and Vivi standing there confused about what to do.

"WAHAHAHA! Welcome mister prince!" Kai said from inside the cage. "Shehehehe! Mr. Prince huh! What an ironic name!" Sabo laughed at Sanji's name as he knew about his past. Kai smacked him in the head. "I don't wanna hear that from you! Mr. Noble."

Sabo rubbed the back of his head. "And I don't wanna heard that from you, a liter-" Kai cut him off. "*sigh* You're lucky devil-chan isn't here right now or everything would be fucked." Sabo realized his mistake and shut up. Before looking at Kai. "Wahahaha/Shehehehe!" They laughed causing everyone to be confused. "He really thought we called the marines!" Sabo said as he laughed at Crocodile. "Wahaha! That dumbass!"

Smoker was shocked. "Why wouldn't you call the marines? Are you telling me they have no idea what is happening now? You're the dumbasses!" He yelled at the duo. Kai just chuckled. "Don't worry Smokey. We just fixed the biggest problem this country has." He turned to Vivi. "Hey princess wanna guess who was on the other end of that call?"

Vivi thought for a moment before her jaw opened wide. "You didn't. Did you really? That could save the country!" Kai and Sabo had huge shit eating grins on their faces. "Oh but we did! Wahahaha! That was the leader of the revolutionary army in Alabasta. Who now knows Croc's plan and has no reason to fight against Cobra anymore! Wahaha!" Vivi started shedding tears. "Thank you! Fujin! You just saved everyone!"

Kai got serious. "Hold up princess. You're forgetting about the bomb. That thing is huge. Potentially a city wide explosion could go off." This caused Vivi to gasp. She was so close to saving everyone! They just needed one more thing. "So I'm gonna need you all to make me a promise. If we can find a way out of this cage. I have a way to get rid of the bomb. But you need to keep my methods a secret. Especially you Smokey. I don't want the government on my ass for this." Everyone instantly agreed and Smoker said. "Of course I'd keep a secret from those 5 senile old men if it can save a country! What kind of marine wouldn't?" Kai sighed. "A lot of them actually. It's pretty sad."

"So what is this mysterious ability?" Sanji asked as he lit a cigarette. Kai smiled like a maniac. "My devil fruit of course." The crew was shaken. Smoker had his cigar drop to the floor with his mouth wide. "Since when did you…" He trailed off. "I've always had it. Since before I met any of you."

Zoro woke up from his nap that he had just fallen into. "So what are we gonna do about being locked up in a cage?" Kai shook his head at the fool. "What kind of fucking idiot would give away the keys to his own lock?" Kai said as he pulled a key out of his pocket. "I obviously gave devil-chan a fake key. Why would I just toss the key to get us out of here? This way I could get all the information out of Croc that I wanted while being able to free you all at any time without him ever knowing. Devil-chan probably already figured out what I was doing but kept her mouth shut. Not a bad plan huh."

"So then earlier when you said that it was all part of your plan to get Croc talking you were telling the truth?" Nami asked him with her mouth wide open in shock. "Of course. How many times do I have to tell you guys? I'm like a thousand steps ahead of these fools. And I'm definitely not an idiot!" Kai said as he unlocked the cage and everyone got out. The crew got out of the rainbase and Kai left the crew to go to the clock tower.

He geppo'd away out of sight before using his fruit. He didn't want Sanji to recognize him in front of everyone and expose them. He reached the clock tower in less than 3 minutes of flight time. He broke through the face of the clock and found a bunch of people inside. He flashed around and sliced off all of their heads. No witnesses. He grabbed the bomb in the clock tower and flew away. After about 2 minutes he was at the shoreline and another 2 minutes after that he dropped the bomb in the ocean. He flew back to Alabasta and went to the castle.

He walked into the throne room. "Yo! Cobra! I stopped the revolutionary army by telling them that Croc was the real bad guy and got rid of the bomb that was gonna go off in your city! Vivi is safe and the only thing left to do now is kick Crocodiles ass! And there's already someone on his way to do that. He is someone your daughter is very fond of. Who knows maybe a future son-in-law! Wahahaha! Anyway, your country is safe now. No war and no bomb to kill people and the only person who can tell Croc about Pluton is a smart girl who won't do that. Speaking of which, can you have someone show me to the poneglyph. And bring Croc and the girl with him there as well when he asks them. Don't worry I'll guard it for you."

Cobra's brain froze. Too much information at once. He didn't even know about a bomb and it was already handled?! He sorted out his thoughts. "I'm finally gonna have a son-in-law?!" He asks Kai. Kai smacked his head. "Out of everything I just told you that was the most important thing?!?!" Cobra just nodded seriously. "Yes." Kai facepalmed. Cobra carried on. "I don't really get why but all you need me to do is take you to the poneglyph and bring Croc and his girlfriend there too. Right?"

"She's NOT his girlfriend!" Kai snapped, surprising himself. Maybe he got more attached to Robin than he realized. "*sigh* Sorry. Let's just say it's been a long day. Yes, that's all you need to do." Cobra nodded and showed Kai to the room. Kai read the ancient text and nodded to himself. He didn't really care about the weapon. He would rather just have it destroyed as it was more dangerous in the government's hands or some random asshole like Crocodile than it was helpful in his or the revolutionary army's hands.

Besides, he already knew it was a warship from the manga. He also knew that Franky had the blueprints already so this little reading session did nothing for him. He just waited while sitting on top of the poneglyph while using future sight in anticipation.

After a while of waiting Kai started to hear voices coming from the stairway before he could see anyone there. "The poneglyph in this country most likely holds the location of Pluton. Am I wrong?" Robin asked.

"I don't know. It has been the duty of the royal family to guard these ruins for generations. None of us know exactly what we are guarding." Cobra answered her. "Protect it? What a joke? If it's history, why are you trying to protect it? History is meant to be a story told to the people, to prevent our mistakes from repeating." Robin said as she opened the door to where the poneglyph was.

"Yo. Cobra, devil-chan! What's going on?" Kai asked the duo that just walked in. The two looked over to see Kai sitting on top of the poneglyph. The two walked toward the poneglyph and Cobra wasn't injured this time like he was supposed to be because he agreed to show Robin here. "Fufufu. Mask-san, why am I not surprised you're here? But what about everything else that's going on? Are you really just gonna let the country be destroyed?" Robin asked Kai.

"Hmm. You mean the war? Or the bomb?" Kai asked. "Fufu. Both of them are pretty bad. Who knows, maybe they could end up killing the three of us as well." Robin asked playfully. Cobra sweatdropped. Why are these two joking about the fate of his country and their own deaths? Kai smirked. "Did you really think I didn't already deal with that?" He asked Robin.

"No, I don't, you must have done something, but what was your goal in that cage? The marines can't stop Crocodile so your transponder snail wouldn't matter. You should know this, so what was your real plan?" Robin asked.

"Wahahaha! I love talking to smart people. SO much easier. But when did I ever say that the snail was connected to a marine?" Robin gasped. She thought about it. Who other than the marines would he call. Then she remembered Sabo's identity. "The revolutionary army?" She asked Kai. "Wahaha! Yup! They heard Croc himself tell everyone his whole plan. What an idiot. Oh right Cobra! I have someone you would wanna meet. He made this whole thing possible so I think you owe him that much at least."

Robin nodded. "You're really getting Pipe-san to meet the king? I can't believe you were actually able to do that. But what about the bomb? What about Crocodile? The Straw Hat didn't beat him." Kai just said. "Yet." Robin was slightly confused. Kai just said. "Rubber man hasn't won yet. Give him an hour and this will all be over. As for the bomb. It's sitting at the bottom of the ocean probably 30 kilometers away from the shore of Nanohana." Robin just laughed. "Nishishi! You really had Croc in the palm of your hand this entire time. Didn't you? No wonder you were so relaxed last night when gambling."

Kai just smiled. "Well feel free to achieve your dreams and read this stone cube. Don't let me hold you up any longer."

After Robin had read for a little bit Cobra asked. "Are you satisfied? Is what you want there?" Kai sighed. "No, it's just some stupid shit I don't care about." Cobra and Robin looked confused. Kai said. "Oh, you weren't asking me? My bad." Before pretending that nothing happened.

Robin got to the end of the text and said. "Is this really it? Is this everything the country is hiding?!"

"Why? Are you dissatisfied?" Cobra asked. Robin didn't reply. "A fitting place for a state secret." A new voice said. "Yo. Croc! You're late!" Kai said as he waved at Croc from the top of the poneglyph. Crocodile ignored him as he was more concerned about the poneglyph. "You arrived quickly. Did you kill the Straw Hat already?" Robin asked Croc.

"I did. Now read the poneglyph out loud." Kai sighed. "No need to rush Croc, just calm down." Crocodile had a tick mark on his head. "There is a war going on right now and a bomb set to go off in a few minutes! So yeah, there is a rush!" Kai shook his head and whistled. "What war? What bomb? I don't recall either of those things happening." Kai said, causing Crocodile to freeze. "What did you do?" Kai laughed. "I'm not an idiot who would tell my plans to my enemy Croc. Jheez how many times do we have to go over this. This is the third time for goodness sake."

Crocodile was concerned about what Kai did but he cared about Pluton much more. "What does it say Nico Robin?!" He yelled out. "Alabasta is conquered by Kahira in the year 239 of the heavens calendar…" Robin when on to detail Alabasta history.

"I COULDN'T CARE LESS ABOUT HISTORY! JUST TELL ME WHERE IN THIS COUNTRY THE WORLDS MOST FEARED WEAPON RESIDES!" Crocodile screamed out.

"That isn't recorded here. All that this talks about is this country's history." Robin told Crocodile ready to face his wrath. "I see, what a shame. You were a most capable partner. But I'll be killing you right here." Crocodile said in a stone cold voice. Robin stayed calm. "Why?" She asked.

"The arrangement we made 4 years ago has come to an end. You were a great asset to have for these 4 years. However, at the very end you broke your promise to tell me about Pluton." Crocodile said as he got ready to attack Robin. "I have already verified that Pluton was on the poneglyph by all of your reactions. Now all I need to do is find it myself by searching this whole island! You gave me all the information you needed to Nico Robin!"

Crocodile charged at Robin who was able to keep up with everything he was doing with her kenbunshoku haki, but everytime she tried to touch him her hand would pass through him. Even when she used the water she brought, Crocodile was able to dodge after only a small scratch to the neck from her blade.

Crocodile finally reached Robin and shot his hook arm out trying to pierce her chest. Kai flashed down beside the two. Crocodile's arm stopped abruptly in mid-air as Kai grabbed his wrist with a haki coated hand. "C'mon Croc. You would think that you would know not to hit a woman. You know, considering that you are one yourself." Kai said with a joyful tone in his voice. "Nishishishi! I didn't expect you to come to my rescue. You like my knight in shining armour." Robin laughed when she realized Kai had stopped Crocodile.

"Let go of me! Are you going to try to fight me too? I would love the chance to kill you!" Crocodile yelled out as he struggled to move his hand. Kai looked at him. "Two things Croc. One, you're an idiot, Pluton isn't even on this island, I don't know why you assumed it would be. And two, I'm not gonna fight you. He is." Kai said as he pointed to the doorway.

5 Seconds later Luffy walked in. "CROC! Get back here! I'm gonna kick your ass this time!" Luffy yelled from the entrance. Robin was shocked. "He's still alive?" She asked. Kai turned to her and she could tell he had a massive grin on his face even with the mask on. "Forget already, devil-chan? I never lose a bet. Wahahaha!" Kai said as he let go of Crocodile. "Have fun Croc!" Kai said as Luffy punched him in the face sending him flying into a wall.

Crocodile and Luffy ended up in the other room as Crocodile flew through a wall. Their fight started and Cobra was a little shocked. "What do you mean it's not here?" Kai looked at him. "If you were being so secretive that to get information on the ancient weapon you had to take down an entire kingdom who was guarding it, would you really leave the weapon on that island?" Cobra nodded. That made sense. "So where is it?" He asked. "Ah, ah, ah, If I told you that, I'd have to kill you Cobra." Kai said in a serious voice.

"You know where it is? How could you know?" Robin was shocked at Kai. Kai just shrugged. "Who said you were the only one that could read devil-chan? I'm also a little interested in history." Robin froze. Someone just like her! Who could also read the ancient language! She thought back to something else that helped her out tremendously throughout her travels. "You... Was it you? 4 years ago?" She asked him.

"Wahaha! Call it a bit of sympathy, it was just a book anyway. I just figured you might like to have it." Kai said as he tried to wave off the fact that he gave Robin a book on kenbunshoku haki 4 years ago. Robin had tears in her eyes. She hugged him. "Thank you. That book saved my life many times." She said as one tear streaked down her face. Kai was the first person to unconditionally help and trust her since her mother when she was just 8 years old. Kai patted her back not realizing he had just cemented a permanent place in the devil child's heart. "It really was nothing. But, you're welcome, Robin."

After a minute of crying on Kai's shoulder Robin wiped her tears. "Hehehe. What a big scary devil. Right Cobra?" Kai asked the king who was still in the room with them. Robin gave him a light slap to the back and Cobra was still stunned. "I thought she wanted to destroy the world. I see that I was mistaken now. My apologies." Cobra said to Robin and Kai.

"Wahaha! Don't get so worked up now old man. Today calls for a celebration! Your country is finally free! Now watch!" Kai laughed and turned towards a certain wall. A few seconds later Luffy came flying into the room through the wall right at Kai. Kai caught him and set him down. "Alright Luffy. Go get him. What kinda pirate king would lose to a mere warlord right?"

Luffy got up with a huge smile on his face. "Shishishi! You're right!" Before he turned serious as he looked to Crocodile. "Croc! You will never beat me! Because you don't even understand why I'm here! I'm here for my friend, Vivi! I came here with her to get her country back!"

"Kuhahahaha! You're poisoned and weakened! What can you even do now that you can barely stand? You're all bark and no bite!" Crocodile yelled out at Luffy. "I am…" Luffy paused for a second to look Crocodile dead in the eyes. "The man who will become pirate king!!"

"You brat! Do you know how many small fries in the sea think that they are destined for great things? The more one knows about the sea the less that they will carelessly boast! All the rookies say big things and get crushed before they learn this! And now it's your turn!" Crocodile yelled.

"Not me! I am… the man who will surpass you!!" Luffy yelled out as he sent another punch into Crocodile's face. Crocodile got back up and said, "You're just some kid from the East Blue! Just who do you think I am?!"

"I don't care who the hell you are or where the hell you're from!!" Luffy sent a kick into Crocodile's chin as he yelled. "I WILL SURPASS YOU!!" Crocodile went flying into the air on the verge of passing out. He turned around mid air and got ready for a final attack on Luffy.

Luffy jumped into the air after him and send his own punch at Crocodile. "Gomu gomu no gatling gun!" Luffy yelled as he sent out tens of punches at Crocodile. Blowing through Crocodile's attack and hitting him. Crocodile was sent into the air and he crashed through the roof of the building which was also the ground outside, unconscious.

Kai whistled and lit a cigarette for himself. "And THAT is how you win a bet."

"Hey guys up there! Isn't that Crocodile!?" Usopp yelled out at the man flying in the air. """"HE WOOON!"""" The whole crew shouted. When they saw this. They all cheered. Right after Crocodile was seen defeated, it started to rain, almost as if the gods of this world were watching over everything that had happened and were announcing their presence.

Kai looked up at the hole in the roof of the building and smiled. "Sorry Cobra, But I'm not paying for that." He said as he caught the unconscious Luffy in his arms.