Chapter 225

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After a while, the noisy sounds inside the mansion had disappeared, returning to silence once again.

A petite woman soon stumbled out, her arm severed, covering her bleeding wound and grinding her teeth in pain.

Upon learning that only one person could leave alive, Mr. 8 struggled for a bit before launching an attack on Abel.

Although they've managed to capture pirates with bounties as high as fifty million berries, it was achieved through various dirty and low tactics before they were able to succeed.

Of course, they were not strong enough to win in a direct confrontation.

So they lost miserably, being knocked away and coughing up blood in an instant.

That approach was clearly not working, and the two of them then engaged in a fight among themselves to the death.

Finally, by relying on her poison needle, she turned defeat into victory and managed to survive.

However, her arm was brutally torn off by Mr. 8, nearly sending her into unconsciousness from the pain.

"Should we just let this woman leave like this? We from the Donquixote family are not afraid of the likes of Baroque Works. A mere two thousand people – let's go and finish them all."

Baby-5 appeared eager to try.

Abel first smiled and patted the little girl's head, then explained, "Indeed, I know you're powerful. But I need someone to send a message. Let her live a few more days."

"As for Baroque Works, they're not much of a concern. It's just that their boss behind the scenes is a bit tricky to deal with, and even Captain Doflamingo doesn't want to start a conflict over such a trivial matter."

The little girl nodded her head, not fully understanding.

...

The Kingdom of Alabasta, a superpower located on the first half of the Grand Line, is home to the "City of Dreams," Rainbase, which sports the luxurious casino "Rain Dinners."

This is where one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile, has taken up permanent residence.

Countless orders are sent out from here, remotely controlling Baroque Works, and none of its members are aware of his real identity.

Publicly, he is still a hero of this nation, beloved and adored by the people.

For a pirate to receive such treatment is an ironic twist.

That's why even though it's well-known that there is a Warlord of the Sea residing in the country, many pirates like 'Sister Elephant' still attempt to invade the nation and challenge Crocodile!

It's both for fame and fortune, and because they think he is not that formidable; they want to pull him down from his position and reveal his hypocritical mask.

Unfortunately, to date, no one has succeeded.

Even though Crocodile's strength has stagnated for a while as he seeks another elusive power, the 'King of the Desert' is not someone anyone can trifle with.

"North Blue, the Donquixote Family, Tsuru?"

Crocodile was puffing on a cigar, looking at the information in front of him.

Outside, his pet banana crocodiles were ferociously feeding, including some distraught looking prey.

After all, to him, individuals who have lost their utility have no need to continue living.

"Do they already know who I am?"

Suddenly, Crocodile's expression turned vicious, as if he was ready to kill.

For forces with strong intelligence capabilities, uncovering the person behind Baroque Works through various clues is not as difficult as one might imagine. 

After all, many things leave traces when done, and eventually, all these traces point in one direction.

Even within Baroque Works, there were those who guessed who the boss was, but anyone who couldn't keep their mouth shut is already dead.

What remains are naturally all those who know nothing.

And for the proud Crocodile, Doflamingo's bounty of over 300 million didn't scare him.

He dared to challenge even Whitebeard, why would he care about some bounty?

That's just something the Navy uses to fool people!

The only use for him was to exchange it for money.

On the other hand, what concerned Crocodile more was Rear Admiral Tsuru, who was persistently pursuing Doflamingo.

He had already begun to execute his plan and truly didn't want to attract the attention of the Navy, preferring to proceed with low profile.

Otherwise, with his usual temperament, he would have gone to kill them himself long ago.

"Do big shots like you look down on the scraps in my bowl?"

"Good, then just wait until you've built up your big business, and I'll rob it all!"

Crocodile sneered and casually tossed all the reports into a fire pit.

He planned to bide his time, waiting for the other party to come from North Blue to the Grand Line. As long as Rear Admiral Tsuru wasn't watching these people, he'd immediately strike and take everything!

Meanwhile, a major event also occurred in the North Blue.

Former Marine Colonel, now turned pirate, Diez Barrels had used up the luck of ten lifetimes. While robbing a merchant ship, he stumbled upon a devil fruit of strange shape.

The well-informed Diez Barrels recognized it as a devil fruit immediately!

And after consulting the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, he was ecstatic to find that this heart-shaped red fruit was the legendary Ope Ope no Mi?!

His eyes were full of endless greed.

Utilizing his remaining connections from his past, he contacted the World Government through the Marines, intending to sell this invaluable devil fruit to the Celestial Dragons!

In doing so, he hoped to become rich overnight!

Soon, the news of the Ope Ope no Mi resurfacing startled numerous powerful figures.

The final sale price of the Ope Ope no Mi was set at 5 billion Berries!!!

When his outrageous asking price was actually accepted, Diez Barrels was somewhat incredulous. After confirming several times, he burst into hysterical laughter.

The two parties then arranged the specifics of the transaction, the time, and the place, all shrouded in utmost secrecy.

The World Government only informed Fleet Admiral Sengoku and requested that a Marine headquarters' warship be dispatched to North Blue to complete the deal, ensuring the safety of the Ope Ope no Mi.

However, Diez Barrels was unaware that among his pirate crew, there was an informant from the Donquixote family.

This informant managed to pass on the information right away.

Then, like everyone else, they were confined, awaiting the transaction's completion.

When this information reached Doflamingo, his first thought was, "Again?!"

It was no surprise he felt this way since he was somewhat spooked by Tsuru's tactics before.

Yet, upon scrutinizing this secret information, he began to think it might not be like he imagined.

Could it be real this time?