Chapter 173 - 12

Chapter 12 The Dispute Over the Royal Palace Cemetery, Luffy vs. Crocodile (Part 1)Alabasta's western region, the Royal Tomb!"Is this it? The Royal Tomb! The resting place of generations of kings." Robin spoke, then her eyes sharpened, looking directly at King Cobra. "Where is the poneglyph?"Cobra remained silent, then walked to a nearby statue, which was a white, cat-headed, fish-bodied sculpture!Then, Cobra used his body to rotate the statue counter-clockwise, and a secret passage immediately appeared in the originally green lawn!"A hidden staircase?""The poneglyph is deep underground here!"Then, the two walked down the stairs!"Most people don't even know of the poneglyph's existence," Cobra said tentatively."The world behind the scenes is very deep. Even as a king of a World Government member nation, you might not know everything." Robin explained, her tone becoming softer as if her goal was about to be achieved."You are not guilty, because you couldn't have imagined that there are still people in the world who can read those characters!""You mean you can read those characters?" Cobra's tone changed, a mix of anxiety and fear."Mm! That's why Crocodile and I are cooperating! That's why he can't kill me." Then Robin stopped, "I'm afraid the poneglyph of this country records the location of Pluton! Isn't that right?""I don't know," Cobra shook his head.Finally, the two arrived at the deepest part of the Royal Tomb."That's right, this is... a poneglyph!" Robin's face finally showed joy....Meanwhile, on the only path leading to the Royal Palace graveyard,Tashigi crawled forward slowly, propping herself up with her elbows. "Nico Robin, I must... catch you!"Just then, a gust of yellow sand blew past, and Crocodile's tall figure appeared. His brown overcoat was tattered, and the bloodstains on his face and body had long dried! He was clearly in a bad state, but his aura remained powerful. A severely wounded dragon, even before ants, was still incredibly formidable!"Crocodile!""Hahahaha, it seems you were defeated by that woman? I never thought you would chase me all the way here. Marine, how is your boss?" Crocodilesaid with a mocking expression. "Did that smoky bastard run away?""A stray dog has no right to discuss justice. This is the nature of this sea! You should go back to the shore and slowly discuss your justice! Hahahaha..." Crocodile calmly walked past Tashigi, heading towards the Royal Tomb....A moment later, Tashigi grabbed "Shigure" which had fallen to the ground, slowly stood up, and then, a red figure appeared before her!"Straw Hat!" At this moment, Luffy was in an even worse state than Crocodile. He was covered in blood, as if he had emerged from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood!"Where did he go? Where did that Crocodile run off to!" Luffy endured the intense pain, his voice firm.Tashigi pointed the way in confusion, then punched the ground. "What justice! What Marineford!"...On the other side, Luffy stumbled and ran towards the Royal Tomb. Suddenly, a sharp pain struck, and Luffy collapsed to the ground!Luffy struggled to get up, leaning against the wall, panting. "Damn it, is this really it?" He looked at the path he had come from, a path forged in blood!His arms hung limply. With the mindset of a transmigrator, he couldn't find any hope of winning! He preferred to think twice before acting, and as for why he had come here, whether it was a moment of recklessness or the true Luffy's influence on him, he couldn't say anymore!Luffy's arms hung naturally. "Drip... drip..." Drops of blood flowed from his arms.After a long silence, Luffy slowly stood up and shouted to the sky, "What is this? What are these injuries?""Crack!" A sound like breaking shackles rang out, and an invisible wave of air swept across this land, stirring up the surrounding dust!"Conqueror's Haki + 0.1""Gum-Gum Fruit ability + 0.1"Finally, on the panel,Haoshoku: 30.0 (Intermediate)Gum-Gum Fruit: 30.0 (Intermediate)Luffy no longer planned for contingencies. This time, he would give his all... In the Royal Tomb, Robin stood before a huge stone tablet, Cobra sat bound beside her."Does it contain what you wanted to see?"Robin said nothing, only stroking the characters on the stone tablet with one hand.At the same time, "Knock... knock... knock!" sounds came from the secret staircase. The one approaching was... Crocodile!"As expected of a national secret! No matter how desperately one searches, if you don't know the mechanism, you really wouldn't find this place!"Crocodile walked up to Robin and said, "Is this the poneglyph? Nico Robin!""You're quite a mess, Sand Crocodile!" Robinlooked at Crocodile's injuries with some surprise, but considering that earth-shattering punch, it was perfectly understandable!"Indeed! To be beaten like this by an unknown nobody, it's truly a disgrace!" Crocodile laughed wildly, his body unconsciously turning into an element, a sign of impending loss of control. A stream of yellow sand slid from Crocodile's body, and immediately, a blood-hole appeared on Crocodile's waist, a literal penetration of his body!"Nico Robin, have you deciphered it? Read it to me!" Crocodile's eyes were red, suppressing his murderous intent!"Kashira conquered Alabasta, this was in the year 239 of the Celestial Calendar. In 260, Peter was ruled by Dima! In 306, Elmar completed the construction of the Great Cathedral of Duff..."Crocodile's face stiffened, and his mouth twitched."In 325, the hero Mama of Ordia...""Hey, wait a minute! Is this the kind of thing we want to know? I don't care about this country's history. Quickly tell me the location of the world's most formidable military power slumbering in this land! Where is Pluton?" Crocodile issued his final ultimatum!"It's not recorded here!""What?!""It only records history! The word 'Pluton' doesn't even appear!""I see, so that's how it is!" Crocodile became calm. He closed his eyes. "What a pity! Although you were once an excellent partner, but..." Crocodileopened his eyes, a fierce glint in them. "I'll... kill you here!""This country's poneglyph has no clues about Pluton," Crocodile slowly approached Robin. "Or, you never intended to tell me even if it did!"Crocodile swung his golden hook, knocking off Robin's brimmed hat. Robin retreated repeatedly, finally backing against a pillar."I could tell that from Cobra's expression!""However, I'll forgive you! Because... I never trusted anyone from the beginning!" Crocodile laughed maniacally!"Rumble..." Suddenly, a sound rang out, and then the entire tomb began to shake!"Is that you? What did you do? Cobra!""Don't worry, it's nothing major." Cobra looked at Crocodile with a calm expression. "I merely pulled out a small pillar from this underground sanctuary! All the center of gravity has lost its balance, and this place is about to collapse! You will all sleep here with me forever!" Cobra's expression was resolute."I swear on the name of the 12th generation king of the Nefertari Royal Family, I will never hand this sand kingdom over to you!""Damn it!" Crocodile became enraged. It was as if fate had been working against him all this time!Just then, a glass water bottle flew towards Crocodile, and then Robin, holding a dagger, rushed towards Crocodile!"If I sprinkle water on you, I should be able to stab you!"But the next second, a cloud of sand absorbed the water, and then he directly grabbed Robin's neck with his right hand, his face gloomy, as if he had thought of something extremely painful!"What?" Robin struggled desperately, her heart filled with despair! She hadn't expected Crocodileto have developed a stress reaction to water!Then, Crocodile swung violently, and Robin was flung away, crashing into a stone pillar!Afterward, he charged forward in a semi-elementalized state, his golden hook raised high!Robin closed her eyes in despair. 'Is this it? Mama, professors, Saul... I... I'm coming to join you! Kulo, I'm sorry! I... I can't live any longer!'After a long while, Robin opened her eyes and was instantly stunned!She saw a man covered in blood and wounds, holding off Crocodile's golden hook with one hand.He smiled at her. "You're Robin, right! I haven't thanked you for what happened back then!"Then his eyes sharpened, looking at Crocodile. "You are not allowed to lay a hand on her!""Straw Hat!" Crocodile looked at Luffy in horror, or more precisely, at Luffy's incredibly black arm!Crocodile's right hand turned to sand and he swung it violently!"Bang!" Crocodile was sent flying backward!He stood up again, looking at the blood-soaked youth in disbelief, and muttered, "Armament Haki...!?"