Chapter 106: The City of Dreams, Rainbase! Crocodile's Invitation
After crossing the long and cruel desert, the Straw Hat crew finally reached their destination.
It was also the base of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Sand Crocodile—the "City of Dreams," Rainbase.
The moment everyone stepped through the city gates, the intense contrast was almost dizzying.
Unlike the barren villages outside that had withered from drought and were littered with bones, this place was simply a paradise in the desert.
Huge fountains sprayed cool mist, and green trees lined the streets.
People wore luxurious clothes, held fine wine, and their faces were filled with hedonistic smiles.
There was no war here, no drought—only prosperity, wealth, and casinos spread throughout the city.
"This... what's going on?" Vivi looked at everything in front of her, unable to believe it. "Clearly people in other places are dying of thirst..."
Tatsuya stood on a street corner, looking at the gamblers around him who were obsessed with gambling, turning a blind eye to the national crisis, and even mocking the foolishness of the Rebel Army.
His gaze became incredibly cold.
"Monopolizing all the water sources here, using money to numb people's hearts."
Tatsuya lowered his voice, a hint of disgust in his tone:
"Prosperity built on the dried blood of others... what a sickening 'Utopia'."
However, for the other two idiots, this was just a paradise for hydration.
"Water!!! So much water!!"
Luffy and Usopp, whose lips were cracked from severe dehydration, had eyes that turned into fountain shapes as soon as they entered the city.
At a glance, they saw the most magnificent building in the center of the city, shaped like a giant pyramid with a huge Crocodile statue on top.
That was the largest casino in Rainbase—"Rain Diners."
"That place looks like it has the most water!! Charge!!"
Luffy shouted and dragged Usopp along as he rushed inside.
...
Inside the lobby of the "Rain Diners" casino, it was magnificent and bustling with people.
"Move, move!! I want to drink water!!"
Luffy rushed in like an out-of-control cannonball, not looking at the road at all, heading straight for the bar inside.
In front of the bar, a white-haired man wearing a coat with the word "Justice" on the back was sitting there eating pizza.
"Bang!!"
Luffy slammed into the man's back, and the two of them rolled on the ground like a human pyramid, pizza smeared all over their faces.
Luffy climbed up and stared at the man with pizza sauce all over his face, stunned.
The other party was also stunned.
"Straw Hat!!!" Smoker's eyes widened, nearly biting through the cigar in his mouth.
"Waah!! It's the Smoke Guy!!!"
Luffy's eyes popped out in fright, and he shouted reflexively: "Run!!"
The originally orderly casino instantly fell into chaos.
"Catch Straw Hat!"
Smoker turned into white smoke and roared as he chased after them.
Luffy ran through the casino with Usopp, bumping into Zoro, Nami, Vivi, and Tatsuya who had just arrived.
"Luffy?! Is that... Smoker?!" Zoro was shocked.
"Stop talking! Run!!" Luffy led the charge.
In the process of being frantically pursued by the Marines, everyone ran blindly.
But under some seemingly coincidental guidance, they rushed through a long corridor and reached a "VIP" door at the end.
"We can definitely hide from the Smoke Guy here!"
Luffy kicked the door open.
...
Inside the VIP room, the light was dim, with only a few luxurious crystal chandeliers emitting cold light.
At the end of the room, there was no escape exit.
Only a huge leather sofa and a man sitting in its shadow.
He had slicked-back hair, wore an expensive fur coat, a cigar in his mouth, a golden hook for a left hand, and a horizontal scar across his face that looked particularly hideous.
Beneath the floor by his feet was a giant glass tank where several massive Banana Crocodiles were swimming with their bloody maws open.
Seven Warlords of the Sea—Sand Crocodile.
He seemed to have been waiting for a long time.
"Heh heh heh..."
Crocodile blew a smoke ring, his sinister eyes scanning the intruders, his voice low and raspy:
"Welcome to Rain Diners, Straw Hat Luffy..."
His gaze rested on the black-haired youth:
"And... 'Crimson Lotus Victor'."
"I didn't expect you to actually make it here alive."
In that instant.
Tatsuya's muscles tensed immediately; the pressure coming from a top-tier powerhouse made his hair stand on end.
Hum—
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan activated instantly.
In Tatsuya's vision, the man before him was not flesh and blood, but a terrifying aggregation of extremely dry sand and dust.
"This guy..."
Alarm bells rang in Tatsuya's mind:
"His body is entirely flowing sand. And in this desert environment, his power is infinite..."
"If we don't consider elemental counters, this guy's combat power in the desert is practically Tailed Beast level."
However...
Since it's sand.
Tatsuya's eyes flickered as he quickly formulated a tactic in his mind.
Sand should be afraid of water, right?
Although there's no large water source here, I can create one with Chakra.
Tatsuya quietly hid his hands behind his back and began to quickly form hand seals.
Those were forty-four extremely complex seals.
[Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu].
Tatsuya planned to strike first; if nothing else, he'd use the water dragon to test the depths of this Sand Crocodile.
However.
"You damn Crocodile!!"
Before Tatsuya could finish the seals, Luffy saw his enemy and saw red. Without a word, he swung his fist and charged:
"I'm going to send you flying!!"
"Wait! Luffy! Don't be impulsive!" Tatsuya shouted.
But it was too late.
Crocodile looked at the charging Luffy, a mocking sneer curling his lips, and he lightly pressed a button on the armrest.
"What a foolish rat."
"Click."
The sound of a mechanism activating rang out.
The floor beneath everyone's feet suddenly split open like a trapdoor!
"Eh?!"
The ground beneath Luffy's charge vanished.
Not just him; Zoro, Nami, and Usopp standing behind, and even Smoker who had chased them in, all lost their footing.
"Aaaaaah!!"
Everyone slid down a giant slide-like passage, falling straight into the trap beneath the floor.
At the moment the floor split.
"Body Flicker Technique!"
Tatsuya reacted extremely quickly. With a tap of his toes, his body turned into an afterimage, attempting to jump toward the only safe landing spot nearby.
"Trying to run?"
Crocodile snorted coldly.
"Desert Spada!"
High-pressure sand suddenly sprayed from the surrounding walls, instantly blocking all of Tatsuya's landing spots and evasion routes.
At the same time, Tatsuya saw Nami also falling, screaming in terror.
"Tatsuya!!" Nami reached out in desperation.
If Tatsuya forced a breakout, he might escape, but Nami would definitely fall hard and might even get injured.
"Tch."
Tatsuya stopped forming seals, the red light in his eyes flashing.
He forcibly twisted his body in mid-air, giving up his chance to escape and instead accelerating his dive downward.
Swish!
Tatsuya grabbed Nami's hand and pulled her into his arms to protect her.
"It's okay!"
"Bang!!"
The next second.
Everyone fell heavily to the bottom of a cage made of Sea Stone.
The trapdoor above closed with a "boom."
The light dimmed instantly.
Crocodile walked to the top of the cage, looking down at the trapped rats, letting out a Tatsuya's wild laugh:
"Guhahahaha! Welcome to my special cage!"
"Enjoy your final moments here... pirates."
"Oh? There's a Marine too, but no matter! Guhahahaha!"
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