"Not yet."
Rowan didn't dislike Tsunade's impatient style, but some things needed to be discussed again.
"If all we wanted was to take Vegapunk away, we could move at any time. But if we're talking about packing up Egghead and taking the whole island with us, then we need a solid plan."
What kind of place was Egghead? It was a laboratory the World Government had built specifically for Vegapunk.
In order to keep the world's number one scientist under control, the Government hadn't just stationed Kizaru there as the officer overseeing the Marine science unit and protecting Vegapunk up close.
Even one of the Five Elders, Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, the Warrior God of Science and Defense, frequently appeared there in person to monitor Vegapunk's progress.
Forget ordinary people—even an Emperor of the Sea might not be able to get anywhere near that place.
Taking Egghead away without anyone noticing was no easy task.
Robin said calmly, "I have an idea. We can lure the tiger away from the mountain."
"How?"
Robin smiled and laid out her plan. After hearing it, Rowan burst out laughing and clapped his hands.
"Good. We'll do it that way."
The next day, Morgans ran a massive story on the front page of the newspaper.
The great hero of the Alabasta Kingdom, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile, was not only the real culprit behind the false accusations against the king for using Dance Powder, but also the mastermind behind the entire scheme.
And his true goal was to stir up civil war in Alabasta while secretly searching for one of the three Ancient Weapons—
Pluton.
In an instant, the news that Pluton was in Alabasta spread across the entire world.
The whole sea exploded over it.
All eyes turned to the Alabasta Kingdom.
At the same time, inside Rain Dinners, the casino in Rainbase, Alabasta—
Crocodile stared at the freshly printed newspaper in his hands, trembling with rage.
He had been so close. So close to succeeding. And then, all of a sudden, Morgans blew the whole thing wide open.
Now the entire world knew he was searching for Pluton in Alabasta.
The World Government's attention had almost certainly been drawn to him already.
At this point, his chances of finding Pluton had dropped to nearly zero.
Crocodile knew exactly how powerful the World Government was. Once they started moving, things could get very bad for him.
But what he couldn't understand was this:
How had Morgans found out what he was planning?
Even Baroque Works didn't know his true objective. He had never told anyone.
…No, that wasn't true. There was one person.
His partner. Miss All Sunday of Baroque Works. Nico Robin.
But Crocodile couldn't understand why she would do this.
Didn't she know it would attract the World Government's attention too?
"Why, Nico Robin? Why?"
Since he couldn't figure it out, he decided to ask the woman herself. Turning into sand, Crocodile swept through the casino, found Nico Robin quietly admiring flowers, and seized her by the throat.
"Yeah. Why would that be?"
Robin tilted her head and looked at him.
Crocodile snapped, "I'm asking you why you did this. Did you forget that you're still being hunted by the World Government, Devil Child?"
Robin let out a sigh.
"To be honest, I'm just as confused as you are, Boss. I'd really like to know why the real me decided to do this."
The real her? What real her?
Crocodile looked baffled. He had no idea what she was talking about.
"What the hell are you playing at?"
Robin smiled faintly.
"That question can only be answered by the real me, Boss. Assuming you ever get to see her again."
The moment she finished speaking, the Robin in Crocodile's grasp went poof and vanished into a puff of white smoke.
Right in front of his eyes.
A chill ran through Crocodile's whole body.
He had never realized that the Nico Robin who had been with him day and night wasn't even the real one, but some kind of puppet or clone.
How had she done that? And when?
Wasn't she just a Flower-Flower Fruit user? Since when could that fruit do something like this?
Crocodile couldn't make sense of it.
But one thing was clear.
He was in serious trouble.
Robin was gone.
So who would the World Government take its anger out on now? Who else but the obvious scapegoat?
At that moment, Crocodile almost laughed from sheer anger.
He had hunted geese all his life, only to be pecked in the eyes by one.
Robin had taught him a lesson the hard way.
Never underestimate anyone.
Meanwhile, once the news about Pluton and Crocodile threw the sea into chaos—
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, who had been on Egghead, was immediately recalled to Mary Geoise to discuss countermeasures with the other Five Elders.
Inside Pangaea Castle, the Five Elders gathered.
Saturn had barely sat down when Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro said calmly, "Crocodile's attempt to find Pluton crosses a line the World Government cannot tolerate. I propose we strip him of his Warlord title immediately, capture him, and imprison him in Impel Down."
No one objected.
In fact, all of them strongly agreed.
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter said coldly, "No matter who it is, anyone who crosses the line must be dealt with harshly."
At the same time, Saint Marcus Mars frowned and asked, "Is Pluton really in Alabasta?"
Saturn took a moment to answer. "Unknown. But Queen Lily was no simple person. Alabasta may indeed have information related to Pluton."
The moment Lily's name came up, all five Elders grew solemn.
She had not been easy to deal with. Back then, she could have become a Celestial Dragon, but turned it down and returned to Alabasta instead. No one knew what she had really been planning.
Ju Peter said, "Whether Pluton is in Alabasta or not, we cannot be careless. We must act immediately. Under no circumstances can Pluton—or even clues about Pluton—fall into the hands of a pirate."
"Agreed."
"Approved."
Nusjuro said, "Crocodile is no minor figure. The question now is who to send to arrest him and throw him into Impel Down."
"He once challenged Whitebeard. His strength is respectable. An ordinary Vice Admiral probably isn't enough."
"Send Garp. He has more than enough power to handle Crocodile."
"That old man is too unruly. He may not listen."
"Then send Aokiji."
"That's a sound choice."
"Agreed."
After a round of discussion, the Five Elders unanimously decided to send Admiral Aokiji to Alabasta to capture Crocodile. Nusjuro immediately called Sengoku and issued the order.
"Understood. I'll dispatch Aokiji at once."
Sengoku knew just how serious the matter of Pluton was. Whether the story was true or not, it had to be treated as if it were true.
If Pluton really did fall into Crocodile's hands, the Marines would be in serious trouble.
After hanging up, Sengoku immediately summoned Aokiji and ordered him to head to Alabasta and arrest Crocodile.
"Well, well… what a pain."
Aokiji said that out loud, but his actions were quick enough. He immediately set out for Alabasta.
At the same time, after issuing their first set of orders, the Five Elders were waiting for the results when a report from a CP agent suddenly came in.
One of the Four Emperors—Kaido—had mobilized, and his target seemed to be Paradise, the first half of the Grand Line.
The Five Elders reacted immediately.
It was obvious what had happened. Kaido had read the papers, learned about Pluton, and now wanted to interfere in Alabasta.
After all, the importance of Pluton was beyond question.
And if Kaido knew, then the other three Emperors probably wouldn't ignore the chance either.
"That damned Morgans," Saturn cursed, even as he said, "Kaido must be stopped. We cannot allow him into Paradise."
The others nodded.
"Who is currently stationed in the New World?" Ju Peter asked.
Saturn answered, "At the moment, only Kizaru is on Egghead."
"Then send Kizaru to stop Kaido. He must not be allowed into Paradise before the situation in Alabasta is resolved."
"Tell him this is a direct order."
As for whether Kizaru could actually hold Kaido back, that was no longer their concern.
They had given the command.
Saturn personally called Kizaru and ordered him to intercept Emperor Kaido.
"Ooh, scary."
Kizaru said that in his usual tone, but even so, he turned into a streak of golden light and left Egghead immediately.
From that moment on, Egghead's defenses were left dangerously hollow.
When Rowan saw that through farsight magic, he couldn't help smiling.
Without question, his objective had been achieved.
So he gathered Robin, Tsunade, and the others and said seriously,
"It's time. We're going to pack up Egghead."
Tsunade said, "We should've done that ages ago."
She had already been waiting so long she was starting to lose patience.
The group moved at once, but their first stop wasn't Egghead.
Because if they wanted to pack up the entire island and take it away, they still needed one man's help.
Golden Lion Shiki.
So their first destination was Shiki's territory.
In the original story, Shiki had hidden himself in the skies above the East Blue, so Rowan didn't need much effort at all to use farsight magic and find him.
~~~
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