Chapter 405: Storm at Alabasta: Arrests and Upheaval

A single misstep could ignite a world-shaking war born from his hands. That’s exactly why he gave up pursuing Ace. After all, their true target was Luffy.

Daz Bones noticed the Navy’s arrival and quietly slipped over to Crocodile’s side, ready to whisk him away. But at some point, coils of white mist wrapped tightly around his body. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t break free.

“The Seven Warlords, huh? I heard all this mess is your doing, Crocodile,” Smoker said as he approached.

On the way here, Smoker had heard whispers that Alabasta’s current disaster was mostly Crocodile’s doing, all part of his plot to steal the kingdom.

Smoker only learned about this thanks to Vivi, who had fully explained Crocodile’s crimes to Koza and convinced him to stop trying to overthrow the kingdom.

After Vivi’s careful explanation, Koza immediately ordered his rebels to halt their assault on the Royal Army and began spreading the truth about Crocodile’s actions.

With the help of Den Den Mushi, the news raced across the entire island in just minutes, so it was no surprise Smoker heard it on the road.

“Our boss is a Warlord of the Sea! You Navy guys have no right to arrest him!” Daz Bones roared, still struggling in place.

“That was before I learned the truth,” Smoker shot back.

“But since you’ve committed treason, I do have the right to take you in.”

No sooner had Smoker finished his words than thick clouds of smoke billowed out from his back, twisting into ropes that swiftly bound the other executives trying to make a quiet getaway.

The Navy soldiers behind him marched forward in unison, pulling out seastone shackles as they moved in on the captured pirates.

“Mmm! Mmm!” Daz Bones tried to speak again, but Smoker shut him up fast, gagging everyone for good measure.

“You lot, take these guys back to the ship.”

“Yes, Commodore Smoker!” A small squad of marines dragged Crocodile and his group toward the shore.

Smoker pulled out the Den Den Mushi from his coat. “Moshi Moshi!”

Somewhere on a quiet stretch of sandy beach along the Grand Line, Dill lay back alone, soaking up the warm sunshine.

“Bloo bloo bloo!” The Den Den Mushi began ringing.

“Ah man, finally a little vacation and now this?”

Dill reached for the Den Den Mushi, pushed his sleep mask up, and answered lazily, “Moshi Moshi!”

“Dill here!”

“Admiral Dill, this is Smoker. I’m in Alabasta—”

After Smoker described every detail of Crocodile’s schemes in Alabasta, Dill took a moment to think. “It’s too late now. Send Crocodile straight to Impel Down. I’ll handle the situation from here.”

“As for Luffy, let him go for now. Once you’ve dropped Crocodile off at Impel Down, report back to Navy Headquarters.”

“Admiral—” “That’s an order!”

“Understood, Admiral Dill!”

Smoker had only planned to report Crocodile’s crime, but instead he was ordered to call off the pursuit of Luffy.

He ground his teeth in frustration but obeyed. Leading the marines, he began moving toward the shore.

“That guy almost made a mess of things.” Dill, on the other hand, wasn’t worried that Smoker couldn’t take Luffy. In his eyes, Luffy was just a rookie with a fledgling crew, nothing to fear.

The real reason Dill stopped him was because he knew about Luffy’s grandfather—none other than Vice Admiral Garp, the Navy’s legendary hero. If he sent Luffy to Impel Down, he’d never forgive himself for betraying Garp’s teachings.

Though Dill was Zephyr’s right-hand man, his very first mentor in training had been Garp.

No matter how you looked at it, he had no business ordering Luffy’s capture.

He only reported Crocodile’s crimes to Fleet Admiral Sengoku.

…

“Bang!”

“Damn it! I can’t believe Crocodile pulled a stunt like this.”

“Hmph, I told you none of the Warlords can be trusted. Why does the World Government keep making these calls?”

“In my opinion, this is the perfect chance to pressure the World Government into scrapping the Seven Warlords program.” Zephyr, now semi-retired and serving as the Navy’s chief instructor, spoke bitterly.

Because the timeline had shifted, Zephyr’s wife still died at the hands of a pirate he once spared. He’d never had any patience for the Warlord system.

He was against it from the start, but with the World Government pushing hard, there was no stopping it. Now that he finally had a chance to fight back, there was no way he’d let it slip away.

“Now’s not the time to debate the Warlords. What we really need to discuss is how to deal with Crocodile,” Sengoku cut in. He didn’t want to listen to another rant about the Warlord system, especially with all the government spies lurking in Navy Headquarters.

“First things first: revoke Crocodile’s Warlord status and start looking for the next qualified candidate.”

“As for Crocodile himself, keep him locked up in Impel Down. After all, we’re dealing with a Logia-type Devil Fruit,” Vice Admiral Tsuru advised calmly.

The Seven Warlords may have special privileges, but that doesn’t mean they can get away with seizing entire kingdoms. Still, executing Crocodile wasn’t something the Navy wanted either.

If they did, his Logia Devil Fruit would end up back on the loose, just waiting for the next powerful pirate to claim it.

For those who wanted a peaceful sea, that was out of the question.

Better to keep him locked away in Impel Down for decades, far from sunlight and trouble.

“Alright, let’s set this matter aside. Now, about developments in the New World…”

With things settled, Sengoku quickly changed the subject, turning his eyes to the other Vice Admirals in the room.

This Navy meeting was the biggest since Roger’s execution.

Crocodile’s case was barely a blip in comparison.

Aside from Admiral Dill, the other two Admirals, Garp, Zephyr, Onigumo and the rest packed the grand hall wall to wall.

A quick count showed nearly a hundred people present—the lowest rank being a Rear Admiral.

“There’s trouble brewing in the New World again. Karl’s Pirate Crew seems to be plotting something major,” Tsuru said, folding her hands on the table as she spoke in a measured tone.

“Recently Karl’s crew has been in frequent contact with Kaido’s Beasts Pirates and even halted their battles with the Whitebeard Pirates.”

“Reliable reports say the Giant Kingdom now has hundreds of thousands of giants training for war.”

“Whoa!”