One Piece: Signing In as a Pirate Begins with Roger's Execution

"What's going on here?"

"A sandstorm inside the auction house?"

Karl looked at the swirling yellow sand filling the air and the raging flames around him. The cheerful mood he'd had after handling Hancock's "training" vanished instantly.

"This is truly irritating. Who's causing all this chaos here?

Judging by the situation… is this a fight between two Logia users?"

Using his ability, Karl created an air barrier around himself to keep the scorching, sand-blasted heat from ruining his clothes. Then, he moved forward through the corridor, soon hearing violent explosions echoing from underground.

The billowing sand and uncontrollable flames swirled madly in a massive pit. Karl's face darkened when he arrived.

He saw numerous charred bodies scattered about. Most of them wore chains.

Nearby, there was also a large number of cages used for holding slaves.

It was clear to Karl that this place was a secret base for slave traders.

"Let me see who's behind this madness."

With that, Karl leapt into the underground cavern, eager to see who was fighting. However, he soon spotted a man with slicked-back hair and a heavy coat holding a little girl—who looked no older than three or four—in his arms. The girl wore a slave collar around her neck.

It was clear that the slicked-back man was here to rescue her but had been discovered, leading to the current brawl.

As Karl observed him, he began to feel that the man looked increasingly familiar.

"Is that… Crocodile? That cold-hearted bastard is here rescuing a slave? Impossible.

"And that other guy… is he the current Flame-Flame Fruit user?"

Karl's thoughts grew chaotic.

Encountering the current Flame-Flame Fruit user wasn't particularly shocking. After all, Devil Fruits only reappear after their previous user dies, and until Ace inherited the fruit in the canon, it likely passed through other hands. The original story never made this clear.

What confused Karl was why Crocodile was here saving someone. It didn't match his ruthless, scheming persona at all.

Karl decided to observe from the sidelines rather than interfere directly.

"Crocodile! You miserable stray dog! You failed to defeat Whitebeard, and now you're here causing trouble in my territory? Are you trying to get yourself killed?

Look at that pathetic left hand of yours—lopped off by that old geezer Whitebeard and replaced with a hook. What a disgrace!"

The bearded man mercilessly mocked Crocodile. Judging by their conversation, the two seemed to know each other well, though their relationship was clearly antagonistic.

"Heh. Even if I failed against Whitebeard, a loser like you has no right to insult me!

Genos! I don't care about your twisted habit of trading slaves and slaughtering them for sport.

But this girl is mine. I won't let you kill her so easily!"

Crocodile's voice was firm, showing no fear of the man before him.

"How laughable! A pathetic stray dog dares bark at me?

I'll enjoy seeing how you plan to protect her. That slave is as good as dead!"

"Flame Roar!"

"Desert Spada!"

A massive explosion erupted as fire and sand collided, wreaking utter destruction upon everything around them.

The charred corpses scattered nearby turned into dry husks before disintegrating into dust, leaving no trace behind. The battle's radius began to expand, pushing the fight toward the surface.

"These two are evenly matched," Karl muttered to himself, stroking his chin. "They've focused heavily on their Devil Fruit abilities, so neither of them seems skilled in Haki.

However, Crocodile's busy protecting the girl, so he's at a disadvantage."

The flames and swirling sand couldn't get close to Karl at all. With his Float-Float Fruit ability, he could manipulate the air around him, creating a high-speed rotating barrier.

Although the barrier wasn't particularly strong, it was enough to block natural hazards like fire, sandstorms, and torrential rain. The scorching heat from the flames couldn't touch Karl in the slightest.

"Fine, I'll take care of that Flame-Flame Fruit user first. Once he's dead, Ace's Devil Fruit will be free to reincarnate.

As for Crocodile… I'll leave him be. I can't exactly kill him in front of the girl."

Having made his decision, Karl glanced up at the two combatants still locked in battle and shot upward.

As fire and sand clashed fiercely in the air, a sudden gale burst from below, extinguishing both the flames and the swirling sand.

Seeing this, Crocodile's expression changed dramatically. Without hesitation, he turned and bolted.

Crocodile had recognized Karl's face, and he knew better than to stick around.

To hell with pride—what was pride compared to staying alive?

Even Karl couldn't help but feel speechless watching Crocodile flee so quickly.

Before Karl could react further, however, Genos, the Flame-Flame Fruit user, unleashed a massive sea of flames in an attempt to kill him.

"You dare interrupt our fight?!"

"Die, you bastard!"

Genos roared furiously, releasing his full firepower. Smiling with satisfaction as the firestorm engulfed everything, Genos muttered to himself:

"Though that bastard Crocodile managed to escape, this idiot here will do just fine as a stand-in.

Killing ten people this week—target met three days early. Now I can take a break."

Genos's gruesome "hobby" was to kill ten people every week. Few knew about this sick habit of his; otherwise, he wouldn't have survived as long as he had.

"Killing ten people every week? What a charming little habit."

Just as Genos smugly turned to leave, a voice suddenly rang out from within the flames.

Genos's eyes widened in disbelief.

"How… How are you still alive?!"

Meanwhile, Crocodile reached the port, commandeered a random ship, and quickly sailed away from the Sabaody Archipelago. It wasn't until he'd escaped over a thousand meters that he let out a long sigh and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Since he had been protecting the girl, he couldn't fully transform into sand, which left him with some serious injuries.

Setting the girl down gently, Crocodile allowed a faint smirk to creep onto his face.

"I almost failed my plan, but at least this brat is safe.

If something had happened to her, my plans for seizing Alabasta would've been ruined."

Pausing for a moment, Crocodile sneered as he lay down on the deck.

"Cobra, you'll never guess… From your daughter's disappearance, to your request for me to find her, and even her eventual return—it was all orchestrated by me.

Heh. It's a bit humiliating, but it's all worth it for Pluton. Consolidating control over Alabasta is just a nice bonus."

"Hahahaha! What a delightful day!"

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