At the palace of Alabasta, Vivi originally planned to send a signal by blowing up the palace to reveal the truth to everyone, but just as the fuse was about to burn out, Crocodile appeared at the palace.
At this moment, he already considered Alabasta his territory, and of course, he wouldn't allow Vivi to blow it up.
King Cobra had already fallen into Crocodile's hands at this time, though the kingdom had many guards, they were nothing in Crocodile's eyes. As his grand plan was about to succeed, his ambition had already inflated.
"If the kingdom is destroyed, the royal family dying with it is only to be expected. You two should have already prepared to die here."
The smoke from the cigar and the yellow sand rose around Crocodile, accompanied by shallow laughter as Crocodile came before Cobra.
"I have no intention of letting you go, but you should understand one thing: there are many ways to die. If you don't want to die painfully and make your daughter experience the same pain, you'd better answer me one question honestly.
Cobra, Pluto, the King of the Underworld, where is it?"
The threat of death did not change Cobra's expression, but the name of Pluto made Cobra's face change dramatically.
"How do you know this name?"
"It seems you know of this thing's existence, Pluto, the King of the Underworld, a legendary ancient weapon capable of obliterating an island with a single shot, bearing the name of a god. According to my information, it should be somewhere in this country.
This was my original goal. As long as I possess it, I can build the strongest military nation here, recruit manpower, enhance my force, and ultimately surpass the power of the World Government!"
As a man of ambition, Crocodile's ambition was immense, aiming not just to become a Pirate King but more like a King of the World.
"The World Government would never sit back and let a pirate do such things."
"That's why I need Pluto. Without absolute force, how could I directly oppose the World Government?"
He considered everyone present as dead men, which is why he exposed his ambitions. He had planned this for a long time; if no one knew about it, he would lack much fun.
However, he did not see the expression of fear he wanted on Cobra's face.
"I don't know. I also don't know where it is; it may not even be in this country."
"I see, this answer is not unexpected, or rather, I also know that something like Pluto might just be a legend.
However, according to my plan, in 20 minutes, the rebel army will reach the square and begin the chaos, and in 30 minutes, my men will fire a special shell at the palace here, a five-kilometer explosion range will level everything here to the ground.
Mr. Cobra, let me change the question. Since you don't know where Pluto is, then tell me, where is the Poneglyph?"
From the beginning, Crocodile never expected to get Pluto's location from Cobra; he found someone with some understanding of the Poneglyph, aiming to decode it himself.
The previous threats and bomb intimidation, the ultimate goal was to obtain the Poneglyph, but just as Cobra was about to respond, Robin couldn't help but laugh aloud.
"What's wrong, Miss All-Sunday? Are my words funny?"
"No, not funny, at least not to me. But my friend said you are full of useless nonsense, and even she thinks you are useless, which is quite amusing."
Crocodile's expression became unpleasant; he couldn't understand why Nico Robin wanted to show a confrontational attitude at this time.
It's not just Crocodile who didn't understand, Vivi also didn't understand, she thought Robin was waiting for an opportunity, but didn't expect her to make such a statement now.
"Why? Seeing I plan to kill this princess, you, as her former teacher, can't hold back? Do you think I don't know about your communication with each other? Originally, considering your ability, I planned to use you a little more, but it seems you don't appreciate this opportunity."
Saying this, Crocodile pulled out a stack of papers from his pocket, which were some notes of Robin, but in Crocodile's eyes, they were actually a dictionary for translating the Poneglyph.
He wanted to show that he had already seen through everything and was in control of the situation all along.
However, Nico Robin's attitude still exceeded Crocodile's expectations; she was neither panicked nor shocked but talked business with Cobra.
"King Cobra, I am indeed interested in the Poneglyph as well, and by the way, I have a business proposal for you. According to our rules, the price for intervening in a battle is usually estimated based on the enemy's strength.
Crocodile's original bounty is 81 million Belly, with a Seven Warlords of the Sea identity premium of 300 million, and the initial price for a battle between nations is 500 million Belly, adjusted slightly based on scale.
Given the scale of the Alabasta rebel army, 1 billion could clean it up thoroughly, whether eradicating or capturing them alive according to your request.
So as long as you are willing to pay 1,381 million Belly plus Poneglyph information, this matter can be resolved perfectly. What do you think?
This is a friendship price considering Princess Vivi's favor."
There was not a sound, whether it was Cobra, Vivi, Crocodile, or the kingdom's guards, all fell silent due to Robin's question.
"Robin, stop joking, if you really have some arrangement, then handle it quickly, I'll agree to this price on behalf of my father!"
Vivi was the first to react. Since she learned some knowledge from Robin, Robin gave her a feeling of being omnipotent. At this moment, she was more willing to believe Robin indeed had arrangements.
"Goo hahahaha... Nico Robin, I initially thought you were a smart person, but now it seems you are also a fool. Do you think Alabasta really has someone who can deal with me? Or do you think that Straw Hat boy and his bug can defeat me?"
"Of course not, Logia-type abilities are strong on the Grand Line, but Mr. 0, is there a possibility that some people are not from Alabasta?"
Sizzling...
A strange sound entered everyone's ears; in the daytime of Alabasta, a bizarre phenomenon was happening, a thin layer of ice was spreading towards the palace from afar, and within a few breaths, it completely froze this desert palace.
And a figure was gradually approaching from the distance.
The cold brought by the ice layer made people shiver in the hot summer, although this fear lasted for a very short time.
"Robin, I'm here, does this entrance meet your expectations? Isn't it cool!"