Crocodile

The more practicing that had went on, the less there were disturbances from above the mountain that had caused the residents of Raijin Island to be attracted towards the ongoing actions of those sparring and training.

Each movement that Alyssia had made was gradually becoming so precise and controlled that she had been able to hold off the combined assault of Carrot, Archie and Nica with ease.

It had begun with there being some destruction to the surroundings until Alyssia had gained a better grasp of her techniques and had developed her own set of counters for them.

As she had gained more mastery over the battles, the damage that had been done each time had been reduced.

Every strong destructive attack was met with an attack of her own which had hit at the perfect angle and point with just the right amount of power to counter it and cause the force produced to either be dispersed or to be redirected.

The destructive power that each person possessed once they reached a certain stage would be able to let them destroy a small town, a mountain or anything in their surroundings if they did not control their own power well enough.

One kick could take many innocent lives or cause a huge amount of destruction if Alyssia did not hold back at times and in a battle against people as strong as herself or stronger, she needed a way to reduce the fallout from such a battle.

She had been working on that method during her battles with Boa Hancock and Mihawk but she did not have many strong challenges since then.

It was unknown if there would be spectators watching her future battle so she could not let that they were nearby affect her performance or hold her back so she continued to work on herself further to integrate everything she had learned so far.

If she did not control her own power output and let loose recklessly then she would be the one being tired out earlier and even if she won, there would be some risk of others interfering.

In order to prepare for those potential problems, each of her fellow Minks that were within the New World had to endure hellish training as their screams and cries were covered up by the sounds of thunder.

Meanwhile somewhere that had lots of rough looking people entering and leaving, there was a man that had a scar on his face and black slicked back hair.

Near him was a burly tanned man that looked like a trained killer, it was Daz Bones and Crocodile who were able to escape from Impel Down.

They had entered a private booth that was within the New World criminal underworld where Crocodile had sat in contemplation. "Hmm.. Alyssia Lucine was someone that I had once planned to deal with but since then, that Straw Hat had got in the way of my plans then I forgot about her existence. Now she keeps showing her growth and is difficult for me to do much about."

Daz Bones had asked. "Are you going to let your grudge go?"

Crocodile nodded. "For now.. there is no need for me to do anything and there are more important things to worry about. This may actually be an opportunity to take advantage of."

Daz Bones had stood there with his arms crossed and asked seriously. "How?"

Crocodile had answered coldly. "There has been no big gains from the loan to Buggy and his organisation so perhaps we should look in other places to expand our wealth. Tell me, what is the response of the underworld bosses towards the challenge?"

Daz Bones had responded quickly. "Everyone is interested in the matter and is looking forward to it. Each of them are arguing about who will win."

A cold grin appeared on the face of Crocodile as he had an idea on what to do next. "From now on.l we will use our resources to set up a place for betting, spread out many rumours that can sway others to favour betting for Garp like the outcome will only be him winning."

Daz Bones had raised an eyebrow and asked. "Why?"

Crocodile grinned as he had a look on his face like he was thinking of past events. "Logically speaking, Garp should be the one to win since he is the respected hero of the Marines and is still strong so it would be difficult for a rising star of the new generation to deal with him.

But.. from my past experiences with Straw Hat, I have learned not to underestimate the younger generation that are emerging within this era. I am placing my berries on Alyssia Lucine and if I am right, we should be able to gain a lot from the many that bet on Garp."

Crocodile had encountered defeat at the hands of Alyssia by her winning a lot from his casino and wounding him along with other additional things she did in Alabasta Kingdom, it had caused him to realise that he had greatly underestimated someone that could have killed him back then.

His battle with the Straw Hats that followed had taught him further that it was not good to keep underestimating someone just because their abilities and bounty was lower.

After being defeated and wounded to the point of being brought to death numerous times, Luffy still got back up and had overcome Crocodile.

If Crocodile had finished him off for good in the beginning then Luffy would not have been able to overcome him and the next time that he saw Luffy was when he was freed from Impel Down and entered the war.

It taught him a valuable lesson that most logical situations that seem to already be determined could change and what he had trusted in would not be what the end result would be no matter how he tried to calculate it.

Even he would have normally decided to bet on Garp winning and would have manipulated things to gain the most profits from the win of Garp but if he did so, he would be risking making the same mistakes as he had done before.

If he could be knocked down from his position as one of the Seven Warlords then it would not be long before others within the new generation would be doing the same to the others in higher positions.

It may have been a feeling within him that had let him doubt himself but he had decided to act on it rather than doing things how he usually did.

He did not know whether it was that he had grown a lot from his past experiences or if his decision was influenced in a bad way like someone being badly influenced by traumatic experiences.

Alyssia Lucine had concealed herself well during their first meeting until she had chosen to reveal her claws in front of him and the current situation that was playing out was similar in the way she had chosen to keep herself concealed until she wanted to reveal her claws once again.

It had further made Crocodile consider the idea that her actions were not just a small bluff of hers.

Crocodile added. "Gather all intel you have on Alyssia Lucine and bring it to me. I have a feeling that I am proceeding in the right direction but it is always good to check up on a couple of the details."

Daz Bones had left the room to do the tasks given to him while Crocodile had sat smoking a cigar. "Am I making a poor decision by ignoring what I already know or will this be the moment that I will be rewarded with this gamble. I really miss my casino."

Rumours spread around later that were related to Alyssia and how she had only been able to harm Blackbeard when he was tired and off guard while other things about her were slightly exaggerated about her.

Public opinion was moved towards Garp being favoured and many had begun to place their bets during the time that was approaching closer to the big fight but that was not the only thing that was happening during that time within the underworld.