"Oi."
Ozz crouched beside the lounge chair, watching as Little croc's lay there motionless. He gave her cheek a poke.
"Come on, move a little. Eat something. You're not planning to starve to death on the Oro Jackson, are you?"
With a snap of his fingers,
A plate of seafood fried rice appeared on the table in front of them.
Ozz simply stared at her, while she stared back at him with a look of existential disdain.
Ozz: "..."
Sha: "..."
Maybe it was hunger finally overpowering her, or maybe she just couldn't stand Ozz's antics any longer, but she forced herself to speak through the weakness.
"You... bastard... I can't even lift my arms. How the hell am I supposed to eat..."
At those words, Ozz's eyes lit up.
Oh crap.
He forgot.
"Well then... if I unbind you, can you promise to behave yourself?"
Sha nodded reluctantly, as if resigning to fate.
Ozz didn't quite believe her. Not that he was scared of her pulling something, but if she lost her mind and damaged the Oro Jackson, he'd be heartbroken.
A flicker of red glinted in his eyes. After confirming something unseen, he nodded and snapped his fingers.
The black seastone shackles around Sha's ankles vanished instantly.
True to her word, she didn't make any sudden moves. She simply picked up the spoon in silence and began eating.
Ozz interlaced his fingers and rested his chin on them, watching her eat with the air of a gentle mentor.
"So, what do you think? Want to join us?"
"I know what you're thinking. Once you realized that with your own strength alone, you'd never become king, you gave up. You became disillusioned and decided to build your own ideal world, a utopia untouched by any external powers. That's what you've been looking for, isn't it?"
Ozz smiled calmly, his chin propped on his hands, never once looking at the stunned expression on Sha's face.
"That thing..."
"The Ancient Weapon: Pluton."
"You... How the hell do you know about that?!"
Crocodile dropped her spoon, eyes narrowing with a dangerous gleam.
"That? Hmm... maybe it's because of my prophetic Observation Haki."
"Prophetic?"
Crocodile echoed the word in disbelief. Even Mihawk, who had just walked over holding a bottle of red wine, paused mid-step.
Both of them looked at Ozz with beads of cold sweat trickling down their backs.
Just how many abilities did this monster have?
"And I can say with absolute certainty, Alabasta does hide a great secret. But..."
"You won't find the Ancient Weapon there. You should give up while you can."
"..."
At those words, the last shred of hope in Sha's heart crumbled.
So that's how it is...
Everything she had planned, all those schemes carefully laid out over more than a decade, was all for nothing?
Sha slowly lowered her head. Her face was now shrouded in shadow, hiding her expression completely.
"There's no need for that face. Taking roundabout paths and placing your hopes in some outside force... is that all the great pirate Crocodile amounts to?"
Ozz's aggravating tone broke her composure instantly.
She tried to lash out in rage, but another wave of weakness surged through her body, and she collapsed back into the lounge chair.
The scene shifted.
Ozz was now standing behind her, looking down at her upturned face.
Ambitious. Powerful. Someone who looked dependable, like Hawk.
And to be honest,
Seeing this bold, sharp, sexy queen of a woman now utterly powerless, flushed and vulnerable before him... it gave Ozz a sense of smug satisfaction.
Though when he thought back to her transformed state, then looked at her now, looking hot and fierce, he had to admit... it did mess with his head a little.
"If you've still got ambitions you want to chase, this might just be the right place for you."
"Just the name Black Gun carries more weight than some overhyped Pluton."
Unaware that his subordinates had already spread word of his new alias, Ozz still took great pride in his old title.
"And if one day you get tired of all this, I can promise you a comfy retirement in a World Government member nation."
Despite how tempting his words were, Crocodile's face remained calm. She didn't get swept away by the fantasy Ozz painted for her.
Instead, she looked at him coldly and asked,
"So what you're saying is... you'll never lose? Not to Whitebeard, not to the World Government, not to anything else out there... you'll never lose, is that it, Dotor Ozz?"
"Well, of course."
Seeing her suddenly so serious, Ozz casually turned and dropped back into his chair.
"Is that so."
Crocs exhaled a puff of smoke. Maybe she really had seen in Ozz a chance at reaching the world's summit. Or maybe it was just a woman's instinct to seek stability.
Or maybe...
She'd accepted the reality that she wasn't getting out of this, and the mountain of debt hanging over her head had become inescapable.
"If you ever do lose one day, I'll be the first to kill you."
"Yeah yeah..."
Ozz grinned. Like hell he couldn't tell—this was her tsundere way of saying "yes."
With another snap of his fingers, the seastone cuffs vanished for good.
Crocodile rolled her shoulders, testing her restored mobility. Then she glanced sideways at Ozz, who was now sprawled out sipping juice on his chair after sealing the deal.
Her lips twitched.
"This guy... is he always like this?"
Crocs turned to look at the swordsman nearby, who had just drawn his blade, clearly planning to practice on some Sea Kings.
The swordsman didn't even glance her way, as if the question was too mundane to need answering.
"You'll get used to it."
Crocs: "..."
Looking around at these increasingly bizarre crew members, she couldn't help but wonder if she'd ended up on the wrong ship.
In the end, she decided to explore the ship itself the Oro Jackson, the legendary vessel of the Pirate King.
She studied it closely, this ship that had once circled the globe and reached Laugh Tale itself. Her eyes softened slightly.
"Beautiful ship, isn't it?"
Before she realized it, Ozz had appeared beside her again. With his towering height, Crocs had to tilt her head up to meet his eyes.
"In the future, let's take this ship and go see the world."
Ozz's voice was full of nostalgic warmth.
Almost unconsciously, Crocodile asked,
"What's your dream, Ozz?"
"Huh?"
Ozz blinked at the question.
"A dream, huh... I've lied before and said I wanted to turn the world upside down, but honestly, that doesn't suit me."
He never saw the point of creating chaos just for the sake of it. Too much trouble for too little fun.
If he did ever cause a worldwide upheaval, it'd definitely be for a good reason.
Like entertainment, for example.
"My dream..."
"Is to be the freest and happiest person in the world!"
"Whether it's living in luxury or stirring up trouble for the fun of it, none of that really matters."
"I don't need to care what insects have to say about my life, because this world has always been survival of the fittest."
To be the freest and happiest...
Crocodile knew simple as that might sound, achieving it was nearly impossible for most.
Without the strength to stand atop the world, without overwhelming power or influence, that so-called happiness and freedom would shatter at the slightest touch.
"To think you've got that kind of ambition, you bastard..."
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