With one agent dead and the other hurt, desperately grasping at the wound on his stomach, Alex doesn’t show them any mercy. He slashes at the injured agent and finishes him off, his [Draining Meteor Sword] slowly absorbing power, growing more powerful after every slash.

You have dealt 58 damage to Billions Agent

Billions Agent has lost 2% of his maximum resources

You have killed Billions Agent

The remaining Baroque Works agents—partly filled with fear, but also desperation and raw survival instinct—attack Alex together, drawing their weapons, mostly sabers and knives, and charging at him in a messy wave, throwing their bodies and weapons forward.

Alex skillfully dodges and counters, using his sword and Mustrano to block, parry, and strike back, not receiving a single point of damage. The agents are utterly unable to outspeed him, and their STR is so inferior that Alex can effortlessly stop their attacks even when they come in pairs.

You have dealt 76 x 3 = 228 damage to Billions Agent

Billions Agent has lost 4% of his maximum resources

You have killed Billions Agent

…

You have dealt 71 damage to Billions Agent

Billions Agent has lost 3% of his maximum resources

You have dealt 45 damage to Billions Agent

Billions Agent has lost 2% of his maximum resources

You have killed Billions Agent

Within ten seconds, Alex kills every last Billions Agent, and only then does Luffy arrive—shocked at the scene in front of him.

Tired of repeating the argument once again, Alex searches the place anyway, quickly stumbling onto a set of stairs leading up.

Rushing up, with Luffy angrily following behind, Alex storms through the building, pushing deeper and deeper into it.

Finally, a few minutes later, he kicks open another door, leading into a large, spacious office. In the middle of it, he sees King Cobra tied to a chair, looking utterly helpless and drained.

In front of him stand a man and a woman.

“Hey, Alex! How dare you kill them all! I can’t accept this, I—” Luffy yells angrily, bumping into Alex, only to freeze as he looks forward.

“Crocodile!” he yells, staring at them, his eyes filled with rage.

“It’s such a displeasure seeing you for the first time… Mr. 6,” Crocodile says in a cold voice, while the woman next to him—Miss All Sunday—does her best to keep up her poker face, appearing calm and collected.

“Straw Hat... you must be the luckiest and dumbest pirate I have ever seen. Miraculously surviving a fight against me, only to come back trying to die again.”

Luffy grits his teeth angrily, trying to rush forward, requiring Alex to hold him back with all of his strength.

This is... a little surprising. This seems a little suspicious.

“Fuck off!” Alex yells. “Calm the fuck down!”

With Luffy barely able to contain his rage, Alex stares at Nico Robin, coldly returning his gaze.

She is not my enemy... what is going on here? This seems too suspicious. Crocodile should have assumed that we would find him here.

Alex keeps staring at her, waiting for some sign. Then, just for a moment, she blinks twice—and Alex feels something brush against his ear.

Keeping his calm, he doesn’t react at all, forcefully keeping himself in check.

Suddenly, he hears a quiet voice coming from behind his right ear, barely audible.

“This is a trap,” it says.

That’s… Robin’s voice.

“Multiple Billions Agents are hiding next door—along with a pair of dangerous strangers. Most likely, the Marines you encountered in Water 7. They seem to possess mysterious abilities and are targeting you. I can’t tell you the details, only Crocodile knows as I was excluded from the meeting. You need to get out of here. The King will be safe—Crocodile still needs him,” Robin’s voice continues, steady and low.

Can I trust her…? She betrayed everyone she ever claimed to work for. Our relationship is partially based on blackmail. This is… a gamble. However, there is one thing I can do to find out easily.

En!

Alex performs En, and to his absolute shock, he indeed senses two people on the floor behind him—right where he and Luffy entered—leaning against the wall next to the door.

They’ve indeed lured us here... Robin seems to be truthful, I guess.

He immediately feels that they both possess a strong Aura, their superior lifeforce—probably due to their enhanced stats—more than apparent. However, even more shocking is that he senses at least a dozen more armed people, all in nearby rooms and on the stairs they ascended, lying in wait for them.

It’s indeed a trap… and I didn’t see or feel them at all until now. Good. Forewarned is forearmed.

Alex yawns loudly, acting completely calm and unconcerned, like he’s bored out of his mind.

“So, what is this all about, Crocodile?” Alex asks, his tone lazy on purpose. “Trying to ambush us? I mean, I’m impressed. It takes a lot of humility to admit that you are incapable of taking me on by yourself. I commend your intelligence,” he taunts, acting self-confident.

“Hey… I’m fighting him!” Luffy chimes in, cracking his knuckles.

“Are you sure you want to do that?” Crocodile asks, pointing his golden hook towards King Cobra.

Cobra, muffled and tied down, tries to respond, but is only able to force out a few strangled sounds, his eyes displaying an intense mix of anger and hopelessness.

“Are you stupid?” Alex asks, acting amused. “Why the fuck should I care about this so-called King? There is only one royalty, one king, I’m recognizing… myself!”

And maybe a certain self-proclaimed Princess.

“Huh?!” Luffy yells. “We need to save him! What are you saying?”

Shut up… this guy is the worst at bluffing, he’s fucking honest to a fault. Though ultimately I don’t really care about the king, so this isn’t even a lie.

“You… Mr. 6… what is your goal?” Crocodile asks, his voice still calm, acting like he’s in full control, but his eyes are growing visibly confused. “Are you trying to become the king? Are you insane?! A wanted criminal like you without backing can never ascend to that position. You must realize that yourself. What are you after? It’s still not too late to make a deal. If you tell me what you know about Pluton and disappear, I’m willing to let bygones be bygones,” Crocodile offers, his face revealing a hint of confusion.

“Hehehehe,” Alex laughs, raising his hand before his mouth as if he has to physically hold back his laughter. “What about you? Weren’t you one yourself? A so-called criminal? Haaa... things can change... with you dead... a position might unexpectedly open up,” He comments, continuing to laugh.

“Luffy…” Alex whispers rapidly, talking as fast as he can without moving his lips too much. “Grab Cobra and secure him. I’ll cause a distraction! When you get him to safety, you can fight fucking Crocodile. I need to take care of a pair of rats as well. I’ll drop you the water now… take it with you. Don’t lose it.”

“Crocodile... the answer to your question… it’s simple…” Alex says, lowering his hand and finally revealing his smiling mouth. “I want the people in the rooms next to us, on the stairs, and behind the door, your organisation, and, most importantly, you…”

Alex then suddenly drops a barrel filled with water from his inventory and places it down right next to Luffy, who immediately lifts it and drinks a large amount. His mouth and cheeks stretch like crazy as he gulps, before the water visibly sinks into his stomach.

“To die!” Alex yells, taking out his three Annihilation Grenades. He immediately lights them up with a short one-second fuse, then throws all three behind him through the open door at different angles—so one lands right at the doorway, one rolls down the stairs, and one lands on the opposite side from the stairs.

“Kill them! Act now!” Crocodile yells loudly.

“Water Water … Blast!” Luffy yells, spitting out a part of the gathered water he’s holding in his mouth, targeting Crocodile directly, shooting a pressurized stream straight at him.

Despite Crocodile’s demand for backup, nobody enters the room—Alex’s grenades lying outside, obviously acting as a strong deterrent.

A second later, Alex’s grenades go off—three violent explosions shaking the building hard enough to rattle the walls. Alex completely ignores the notifications, unable to pay any attention to the details. In that exact moment, with Luffy’s blast flying towards him, Crocodile, with pure instinct, grabs Nico Robin from his side and uses her as a shield.

The water hits her relatively frail body instead, slamming her into the window with a brutal smack—then blowing her straight through it, glass bursting outward as she tumbles into open air, crashing down outside onto Polka Street.

What the?! Did he just kill Nico Robin?!

Luffy—focused, still holding the mostly full barrel in one hand—grabs the chair Cobra is tied to, carrying it, and tries to rush past Crocodile.

The Warlord, however, blocks him, confidently stepping into his path, only for Luffy to suddenly slam the barrel of water onto the floor, breaking it. Water splashes everywhere, flooding across the room, and some of it splatters onto Crocodile’s body, covering his entire front side.

Idiot! He broke the barrel… but this is a chance.

Alex, holding his sword, with Mustrano still conjured, dashes at the surprised Crocodile. He activates Ren and covers his weapon with Aura using Shu.

He activates Blizzara Sword, slashing at Crocodile, who barely manages to block with his hook—only for the frozen explosion to still burst outward and engulf him anyway.

You have dealt 35 x 2 = 70 damage to Crocodile.

You have slowed Crocodile

It’s effective… frost works!

Alex immediately follows up with a Toxic Breakthrough, stabbing Mustrano deep into the surprised—and slowed—Crocodile’s stomach.

You have dealt 51 damage to Crocodile

You have poisoned Crocodile

Finally, Alex’s eyes turn cold as he grabs his [Seastone Dagger] with his left hand, pulling it from his inventory, Mustrano pushing him into intense bloodlust and murderous intent as he stabs it toward Crocodile’s heart.

Die!