One Piece: Failure’s Road to the Pirate King

Behind him stood a man with a slicked-back hairstyle, a long scar crossing his nose, and an earring in his right ear.

This man had lost his left hand, replaced by a golden hook, and wore a black fur coat over an orange plaid long-sleeve vest, biting on a cigar and looking down at everyone.

Anyone from Alabasta would recognize him; he was the hero of Alabasta, an object of admiration for the people.

"Lord Crocodile!" the dancers around him called out in awe.

Marika paused slightly and smiled, "Ah, what a big shot."

"I heard someone was causing trouble in Naruhara, and I thought it was just some small pirate."

Crocodile exhaled a puff of smoke, sat down in the chair next to Sage, poured liquor from the bottle in his right hand into a wooden cup, and after setting it down, picked up the cup with his only good hand and took a sip, saying, "What brings you to Alabasta, Norton Sage?"

Crunch!

Sage finished chewing a whole piece of meat with bones, swallowed it without a care, reached for the liquor bottle that Crocodile had taken, and chugged it directly, slamming the empty bottle back onto the table with a bang.

"Pour more, don't just stand there; I paid for this!"

"Yes, yes!" The dancers, momentarily stunned, hurried to fetch new bottles from the nearby liquor box.

At this moment, Sage finally turned his gaze to Crocodile, grinning maliciously, "If you're here to join the party, I'd be quite welcoming."

Crocodile remained silent, staring at Sage for a while, the latter unbothered as they locked eyes. After a long moment, Crocodile threw his head back and let out a rhythmic laugh:

"Ha, ha, ha, ha! Are the newcomers this arrogant now?"

Sage waited for the dancers to refill his cup, and after it was filled, he raised it towards Crocodile, laughing, "Weren't you a newcomer once?"

Crocodile's expression darkened at those words, but he still raised his cup and clinked it with Sage's, saying, "Alabasta does not welcome you."

"Which proper country would welcome a pirate?" Sage chuckled.

"Well, as long as you don't cause trouble here, I might let it slide."

Crocodile set down his cup, glanced at the crowd, and said, "Alabasta has been quite chaotic lately; it's better not to wander around."

Whoosh! As soon as he finished speaking, his body transformed into a cloud of sand and vanished from in front of everyone.

"Another Natural Type?" Renetia looked at the empty seat where Crocodile had been and pouted, "So annoying, what's he doing here?"

"He's one of the Seven Warlords, of course, he has the duty to stop pirates. What else would he be here for but to crack down on pirates?" Sage shrugged.

"Seven Warlords?" Renetia tilted her head, while Lily showed a curious expression.

One was young and hadn't heard much, while the other had no idea at all.

"The Seven Warlords of the Sea."

Marika explained, "They are one of the three major powers of the Grand Line, alongside the Navy Headquarters and the Four Emperors. Each of the Seven Warlords is incredibly powerful; they have the legal right to plunder, but in return, they are responsible for dealing with pirates like us."

"Plundering."

Renetia was a bit stunned, "Is that even legal?"

"Yes, they won't be pursued by the Navy," Marika smiled.

"That sounds impressive, Sage. Is that Crocodile guy afraid of you? He didn't make a move after coming here. If we defeat him, can we become Seven Warlords too? Then you could plunder without the King or Navy bothering you." Renetia's eyes lit up.

"There should be limitations."

Lily analyzed, "After all, the King is part of the World Government. If plundering were possible, that Crocodile guy should be the King of Alabasta now, but I heard the King here is called Cobra, not him."

"Why would he, as an employee of the World Government, plunder a member country? Wouldn't that be shooting himself in the foot?"

Sage rolled his eyes, "Don't think about it; I can't become a Seven Warlord. As for that crocodile, he won't be afraid of anyone. Those famous Natural Types don't take anyone seriously."

He becoming a Seven Warlord? With his bounty, plus the bounty notice of Nico Robin he got from the Warship, the facts were already clear. Someone had linked him to the Ohara incident, and he was probably already under investigation.

Sage never doubted the intelligence capabilities of the World Government. Besides, he was still young back then and had no chance to hide; if someone were to trace back, it would be easy to find out.

If they figured it out, the World Government would have to be crazy to choose him as a Seven Warlord.

Even if he, Sage, couldn't read.

...

Outside Naruhara, in the desert under the moonlight, a gust of wind and sand quickly swept in, transforming into Crocodile's form.

Outside, two massive crocodiles were stationed.

Next to one crocodile stood a woman wearing a white hat and a white coat, but underneath, she wore a cool purple corset, looking surprised, "I thought there would be a fight."

"No need for that."

Crocodile bit his cigar and exhaled smoke, saying, "Now is not the time to clash with that man. Our plan is right in front of us; we cannot afford any changes."

The woman glanced at the city and added, "There are reports that 'Fire Fist' Ace clashed with him here. His presence means Fire Fist has left; he's a truly terrifying man. Rumor has it he likes to plunder kings; I wonder if he has any interest in Alabasta."

"Isn't that perfect?"

Crocodile smirked, looking up at the bright moon, "I was just thinking, is Cobra's reason for disappearing with the rebel army in Alabasta not enough? Now there's an extra layer: Natural Disaster Sage plunders Alabasta, detonates bombs, and takes the soldiers to the skies, while we become the true 'heroes' of Alabasta."

"If he's interested, that's even better; if not, it won't hinder us. Norton Sage is not a threat, no matter what."

He spread his hands towards the moon, "Ha, ha, ha, ha! My plan is perfect!"

"Ho ho ho ho! I have a perfect plan!"

After a hearty meal, Sage didn't care about the still lively pirates and took three women along with Akin to the upper room, plopping down in a chair. After laughing a few times, he said to everyone, "I don't know if the other Seven Warlords have money, but Crocodile definitely has a lot. We'll rob him first, then head to the capital of Alabasta, Alubarna, and loot the Royal Palace before leaving! This plan is truly perfect!"

Where is the perfection in that? Isn't that just a rough robbery? Lily pursed her lips and didn't speak.

The other two also remained silent.

Akin, however, clenched his fist, excitedly saying, "Captain Sage! Please give the order; no matter what the command is, I will definitely complete it!"

Lily walked to the window, lifted a corner of the curtain, and looked down at the desert bathed in moonlight, shimmering with silver, saying, "While shopping, I gathered some intel. Alabasta is currently in internal chaos; are we going to take advantage of that to rob?"

"Exactly!"

Sage had a knowing expression, pulled out a cigar from his pocket, sniffed it, bit it, and casually took out a lighter to ignite it. After exhaling smoke, he said:

"The city where Crocodile is located is called 'Rainbase,' known as the 'Land of Dreams.' It's a gambling city; where there's gambling, there's a lot of wealth. This city is worth robbing!"

"After we rob Rainbase, we'll head to Alubarna and loot the Royal Palace!"

The appearance of the Straw Hat Kid allowed him to see that blue-haired woman, and with Crocodile's appearance, he finally remembered some things.

That blue-haired girl seemed to be the princess of this country, and with the involvement of the Straw Hat Crew, it meant that Crocodile was going to lose.

Although Sage found it hard to believe, the moment that man appeared, he felt he was not easy to deal with. Under the perception of Observation Haki, this guy should be more threatening than Ace.

If he remembered correctly, he had eaten the Sand-Sand Fruit, a Natural Type, especially in the desert.

But the fact was, he lost very suddenly. Once he failed, Rainbase would become a lawless land, and they wouldn't even need to wait for him to be defeated; they could just go and rob it.

After robbing Rainbase, they would head to Alubarna. If he remembered correctly, that would be when the rebellion broke out, and no one would care about them at all.

Although Sage was not afraid of either Crocodile or the so-called rebel army, the main goal was robbery, so it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Just rob and be done with it!