Nico Robin!

The main hall of the Rain Dinners casino was noisy, filled with people gambling.

In a far-off corner, Crocodile's subordinates were keeping an eye on Sanders, but nobody else seemed to notice him and his companion.

"Not only that, I also know the location of Poseidon."

"The Poneglyph that records the location of Poseidon is currently in my territory."

Seeing the shock and confusion on Issho's face, Sanders dropped another bombshell.

Issho had just joined his crew, so it was necessary to showcase a bit of his strength.

"Huh?"

Issho's pale eyes were locked on Sanders, his mouth hanging open in shock.

Two of the three Ancient Weapons—known by this man?

And now, there's a Poneglyph in his own territory?

Issho wondered if the captain was pulling his leg, but he couldn't find a reason for Sanders to joke about this.

Was Sanders just trying to paint a pretty picture?

No need.

Issho had already agreed to join. Sanders had achieved his goal by finding him, so there was no need to exaggerate.

Moreover, Issho felt Sanders knew far too much.

He knew about Issho's strength, his name, Crocodile's conspiracy, and now two of the Ancient Weapons.

If he remembered correctly, the captain had only broken out of Impel Down a few months ago.

How could he possibly know so much? Pirates from Impel Down?

But if those pirates knew such secrets, they could have easily bargained with the World Government to be set free.

"I have other ways of knowing these things."

"My purpose here is only to recruit you and Nico Robin."

Sanders smiled as he spoke.

"It's truly an honor to join such a team," Issho said, sighing in admiration.

If he had joined out of mere curiosity before, now his interest in the captain was genuine.

"So now we're off to meet the next crew member, Captain?"

"Of course," Sanders said as he stood up.

"Facing a powerful Warlord of the Sea for your first pirate battle is truly a rough start to life as a pirate."

Issho chuckled lightly as he picked up his bamboo sword and stood as well.

Recruiting Nico Robin would undoubtedly mean confronting Crocodile, the Sand Crocodile himself.

Crocodile certainly wouldn't let someone as valuable as Nico Robin, who could read the Poneglyphs, walk away.

Whether or not Sanders could convince her to join would depend entirely on his abilities.

The two of them walked deeper into Rain Dinners.

At the same time, Crocodile was listening to a report from his subordinates.

They were in a huge conference room, with a long rectangular table in the middle. Crocodile sat at the head, while the rest of Baroque Works gathered around him.

Despite his arrogance, Crocodile had no choice but to take Sanders' sudden visit seriously.

"You're telling me Sanders has just been gambling with some blind middle-aged man?"

Crocodile asked in surprise.

"Yes, Mr. Crocodile, sir."

"They've been gambling and chatting, but we couldn't hear what they were saying. I didn't dare get too close either. Oh, and those thugs from before? They were struck by lightning just outside Rain Dinners."

"Lightning?"

"That must be the power of Sanders' Rumble-Rumble Fruit," Nico Robin said softly from beside him.

Crocodile snorted but didn't reply. The rest of Baroque Works' agents looked uneasy.

A pirate with a 2.4 billion bounty, and a powerful Logia fruit user at that.

If a battle broke out, could their boss stand a chance?

Even though Crocodile was also a Logia user, most of them felt that Sanders, who had defeated Admiral Aokiji, was clearly stronger.

Just then, a message came from a subordinate.

Sanders wanted to meet with Crocodile.

Everyone in the room visibly tensed. Even Nico Robin had a serious expression.

Crocodile was annoyed by the nervousness of his subordinates.

"Bunch of cowards!"

Glaring at them, he spoke:

"Bring Sanders here. I want to see what his intentions are."

Following Crocodile's men, Sanders and Issho slowly approached the conference room.

Crocodile hadn't ordered them to lead Sanders into one of his traps, as he knew those little tricks wouldn't work on him.

As they entered the conference room, Sanders immediately spotted Crocodile in his thick coat.

The scar across Crocodile's face gave Sanders an odd urge to slice it open.

Standing beside Crocodile was Nico Robin, dressed in a white coat and wearing a hat.

The other Baroque Works agents, including Mr. 1, stared at Sanders with tense expressions.

"Sanders, instead of hunting down the Celestial Dragons, what are you doing here?"

Crocodile glanced briefly at Issho before raising his head slightly in an arrogant, defiant manner.

Truly a man who fought his battles 50-50.

There wasn't a trace of fear in him as he faced Sanders.

"I came on behalf of my fellow Impel Down inmate, Douglas Bullet, to check in on you," Sanders said, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

Issho stood behind him.

"Bullet?"

Hearing the name, a fleeting look of surprise crossed Crocodile's face.

In his younger days, he had indeed fought against Douglas Bullet.

"You two are close, I take it?"

"Then why not release him?"

"No way. If he refuses to be part of my crew, why should I let him out?"

Sanders shrugged. Bullet had been the first pirate he tried to recruit, but it hadn't worked out.

"What exactly do you want?"

"I don't recall having any business with you," Crocodile said coldly.

"If you're here to play in Rain Dinners, you're welcome."

"But if you have other motives…"

Crocodile's eyes narrowed, his golden hook tapping on the table.

"Don't blame me for not being polite!"

Even though Sanders' bounty was thirty times his own, Crocodile showed no fear. His expression was fierce, his tone full of arrogance.

His subordinates were all stunned, not expecting their boss to be so brash when faced with a pirate worth over 2 billion.

At the same time, they all kept a wary eye on Sanders, afraid he might suddenly lash out.

"So arrogant, Crocodile!" Sanders grinned.

Among the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile was certainly one of the most proud and arrogant.

In the Paramount War, he had repeatedly refused Doflamingo's offers to join forces, even stating that Doflamingo was not worthy to stand as his equal.

No matter who he faced, Crocodile always carried an air of, "Don't mess with me, or I'll take you down."

In fact, his behavior during the Paramount War earned him quite a few fans.

Sanders crossed his arms and glanced at Nico Robin before saying:

"I'm here to recruit a new crewmate."

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T/N:

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