The upheavals in the New World hadn't had much of an impact on the first half of Paradise, at least not on Nico Robin's life, which had little connection to the New World turbulence.
Robin's teaching career in Alabasta was going smoothly, and she also ascertained that the royal family residing here held significant secrets, ones that couldn't be discovered through conventional means.
Meanwhile, Crocodile's plans were quietly underway. After Roger's death, he ventured into the New World, losing much there, eventually becoming one of the first to accept a position as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Among the Seven Warlords, he was considered quite scheming, and through various channels, he concluded that Alabasta concealed a massive secret related to Ancient Weapons, leading him to come here.
Initially, he hunted pirates repeatedly under the guise of his Seven Warlords title, becoming a national hero in newspapers, thus achieving his first goal - establishing his name. In the eyes of Alabasta's civilians, he had already amassed considerable renown.
During this phase, he continuously recruited followers and established Baroque Works. To him, these subordinates were merely tools, and Logia-type users were virtually invincible in the first half of the world, as these people were indeed too weak for someone who had once ventured into the New World.
By sowing discord and inciting the populace to overthrow Alabasta's royal rule, he seized the opportunity to acquire what he needed — this was Crocodile's plan.
In the desert kingdom, water was the most precious resource, and in this world, there was a special powder named Dance Powder banned by the World Government.
Its invention was intended to provide rain to drought-stricken countries, as only those who have experienced drought understand the preciousness of water resources. The name Dance Powder originated from the excitement and dance of the populace in the rain.
However, Dance Powder had severe side effects; it didn't create water from thin air but instead extracted moisture from the air, resulting in rainfall in one place but drought in others.
Crocodile's plans in Alabasta were beginning to show signs, relying heavily on Dance Powder.
Over the months, public grievances began to surface.
Meanwhile, before Vivi and Igaram came to discuss with Nico Robin, Crocodile had already extended an invitation to Robin.
He needed someone familiar with the royal family's internal information and with certain capabilities, an outsider like Nico Robin fit this criterion perfectly.
Shortly after Robin was selected as a Palace Tutor, he discovered something special about her identity.
She was neither the orphan of Ohara nor the World Government's wanted Son of the Demon, yet held certain renown in the Underworld; even far away in Paradise, Crocodile had heard of this name.
In his view, such a woman coming to Alabasta couldn't be merely for the palace tutor's salary; she certainly had other unknown secrets.
Upon investigation, he found Nico Robin was very interested in Alabasta's ruins, collecting considerable information, which further confirmed his judgment.
Yet, he didn't know that the reason his men could trace Nico Robin was all her deliberate doing.
She was accompanied by an Inteleon. Though the little lizard couldn't compare to Elizabeth, it hadn't learned dual Haki nor could it snipe with devastating effects, but it was more than enough to handle the bunch in Baroque Works.
After all, it's one of the Three Starter's final evolutions and anyone daring to block its attacks would have to train to super rookie level.
Even in the desert, their tracking and stealth skills were inferior to Inteleon, a racial gap only closed through professional training. They couldn't possibly handle a special Pokemon with built-in spy gear and invisibility abilities.
As a Palace Tutor, Nico Robin was qualified to stay overnight at the palace. Recently, amidst the night sandstorm, Crocodile's elementalized body silently sneaked into Nico Robin's bedroom, only to find Robin in strange sleepwear.
"Your hobby is really peculiar."
Wearing a white tight-fitting suit, Crocodile didn't understand the style of such attire, unaware that it was a battle suit replicated by Queen, possessing high defense power.
"Better than some people sneaking into a woman's room at midnight, isn't it, Mr. Crocodile?"
His fame in Alabasta was high, whether as a national hero or as one of the Seven Warlords, it was true, so for Nico Robin not to recognize him would be odd.
Crocodile's gaze then shifted to the notebook on the table, filled with strange symbols and translations, a sight that brought a smile to his lips.
He confirmed his suspicions, believing Nico Robin must have special studies on ancient scripts, given her interest in researching ancient ruins.
"Nico Robin, your resume indicates you're a smart person; I don't want to waste words with you. I need your abilities to handle some matters for me."
Be it the investigation of ancient scripts or actions within the royal family, Robin's abilities seemed exceedingly convenient.
"Why?"
"Work for me, and you'll get more documents; if not, then this flower of yours will wither away here."
Crocodile touched the flower on the table, and within several breaths, the flower in the vase wilted and shriveled into fragments.
But for some reason, he felt a sense of crisis at that moment, though he couldn't find anything amiss before realizing it was too late, some things he was destined never to recover.
Even as a New World failure, he held blind confidence in himself; although Robin seemed to have betrayed many organizations, he believed he could control this woman.
After tens of minutes of negotiation, Crocodile believed his intimidation and bribery had worked and transformed into yellow sand to leave.
"Rotom, the opponent has left."
Rotom's voice came from the rooftop, and the lizard also deactivated its invisibility from the corner, simultaneously disabling the safety of the nail gun filled with high-purity Seastone nails.
Inteleon achieved invisibility through the secretion of a special liquid, even managing to make some carried items enter a state of invisibility too.
Hide in the corner with special weapons, coupled with Rotom and the battle suit's assistance, in the absence of information, Crocodile might not necessarily be Nico Robin's match.
He thought himself the boss, but in reality, he was the fish that got reeled in.
At this moment, Vivi and Igaram were unaware that the person before them was already a special undercover agent, and neither did Crocodile realize that the person before him always bore the Hundred Beasts' mark.