Chapter 86 – [86] : Playing Crocodile Like a Fiddle!

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“Rowen… your ability…” Ace began, looking intently at Rowen. He had never encountered someone capable of wielding multiple Devil Fruit powers before.

What bothered Ace the most was that Rowen had used his Flare-Flare Fruit ability.

It was common knowledge: only one of each Devil Fruit existed at any given time—Only after the current user died would the fruit reappear somewhere else in the world.

Yet, Ace’s own Flare-Flare power was still present within him.

But Rowen had undeniably used the Flare-Flare Fruit’s abilities—and wielded them even more powerfully than Ace himself!

But as Ace was about to press further, he stopped himself.

Possessing such an ability clearly meant Rowen harbored a massive secret—Given they had only just met, directly prying felt inappropriate.

“There’s nothing to hide,” Rowen stated calmly, meeting Ace’s gaze. “I can use multiple Devil Fruit powers—And I can plunder all powers from others, including their Devil Fruit abilities.”

“As for how I can use your Flare-Flare ability? It likely stems from the life-and-death bond you share with Luffy—a form of spiritual connection. Because Luffy and I are also the closest of comrades, that bond acts as a conduit, allowing me to access your Flare-Flare power.”

Rowen understood now.

The ‘FUEL’ for equipping Traits from others — ‘Bonds’ — were essentially manifestations of spiritual power.

The physical manifestation of spiritual power was Haki. Spiritual power itself held limitless potential. Naturally, such power could serve as fuel for equipping abilities.

“I-Is that even possible?! What a frightening ability!” Hearing Rowen’s explanation, Ace’s pupils constricted sharply, staring at Rowen in utter shock.

The ability to plunder ALL powers from others—

And using spiritual bonds as a conduit to wield others’ abilities—

Creating the impossible phenomenon of identical Devil Fruit powers appearing simultaneously—

Such power—was unheard of!

Ace stared at Rowen, stunned, then slowly composed himself.

“Is it really alright—to tell me something like this?” Ace asked seriously, looking at Rowen.

This power was too dangerous, too monstrous, too unbelievable.

They had only just met—Ace felt his earlier questions were perhaps too forward, yet Rowen had revealed everything without hesitation.

“You’re Luffy’s brother. That’s enough,” Rowen replied with a warm smile.

“I never hide anything from my comrades. That includes the people they trust most,” Rowen finished.

Hearing this, Luffy, Usopp, Zoro, and Sanji all grinned.

Nami and Vivi looked at Rowen, their eyes shining brightly.

Robin pressed her lips together, looking at Rowen, a strange light flickering in her own eyes.

‘Comrades’—a word that felt like an unattainable luxury to her—Yet Rowen spoke of his abilities openly, not hiding anything even from her.

This man… did he truly consider her a comrade worthy of trust?

Robin felt a significant emotional tremor, her eyes gleaming with complex curiosity.

——

—[Sun God (Apex Gold) equipping progress significantly increased!]—

—[Asura Aura (Special) equipping progress significantly increased!]—

—[Modified Exoskeleton equipping progress significantly increased!]—

—[Anthem of Courage (Special) equipping progress significantly increased!]—

——

A series of notifications flashed before Rowen.

“I see,” Ace murmured, looking at Rowen with genuine admiration.

For Ace, who belonged to the Whitebeard Pirates—a crew centered around the concept of family—this man before him possessed incredible charisma.

“I swear on my life, I’ll keep this secret,” Ace declared with utmost seriousness.

“Relax! We’re friends already, aren’t we?” Rowen clapped Ace on the shoulder, laughing heartily. He knew Ace’s character well; he had no concerns about Ace revealing anything.

Besides… he also needed to slowly break down Robin’s emotional walls.

Sensing Robin’s emotional shift with his Observation Haki, Rowen smiled faintly. Robin’s psychological scars ran even deeper than Nami’s.

Rowen was determined to help her overcome them. He certainly wouldn’t let things devolve into some ridiculous ‘Robin Retrieval Arc’ involving CP9 like in the original story.

Those failures weren’t worthy of dictating Rowen’s path.

Rowen was a man who took control of everything himself.

“Hahaha! Right! We’re friends now!” Ace laughed back easily.

“My little brother… he’s always been rather willful. Thank you all for looking after him,” Ace said, his smile fading slightly as he looked towards Rowen and the others, bowing deeply.

“Luffy’s brother is surprisingly polite…” Zoro commented, genuinely taken aback.

“Anything can happen on the sea,” the others nodded in agreement.

“By the way, Ace, why did you come to Alabasta?” Luffy asked curiously.

“I’m chasing someone,” Ace’s expression instantly turned razor sharp.

Trusting Rowen and his crew completely now—Ace didn’t hide anything, recounting the entire story of Blackbeard murdering a comrade and stealing a Devil Fruit.

Hearing about the betrayal enraged the Straw Hats.

“I heard someone defeated Blackbeard in Yuba, so I came to Alabasta to check,” Ace explained, looking towards the distance.

“Yuba? That place… is the Rebel Army leader’s base,” Vivi stated, her expression immediately turning serious.

“Rowen… do you think I can succeed if I go there and try to stop the rebellion? The rebel leader used to be my friend,” Vivi asked, looking towards Rowen for guidance. Now, Vivi’s heart belonged entirely to Rowen; she trusted his decisions completely.

“No. Going there would be pointless,” Rowen replied slowly, looking at Vivi.

“With Baroque Works constantly fanning the flames, and the Clone-Clone Fruit ability in play… even if the rebel leader agreed to stop now, Crocodile would force his hand. The rebellion is inevitable.” Rowen placed a comforting hand on Vivi’s shoulder.

“To end all this… there’s only one way. You know what it is, don’t you, Vivi?” Rowen looked intently into her eyes.

“Defeat Crocodile,” Vivi whispered, biting her lip.

“Exactly. Until Crocodile is taken down, everything else is futile,” Rowen stated, gazing towards the distant desert.

“Where is that Crocodile guy?!” Luffy immediately yelled.

“In Rainbase!” Vivi named the city.

“We don’t need to go there either,” Rowen stated calmly, just as the others were getting fired up.

“EHHH?!” Everyone looked confusedly at Rowen.

“Don’t forget—Robin is on our side now. The initiative is ours. If we simply show ourselves in Alubarna, the capital… he will obediently walk into our trap. The Rebel Army, fueled by Crocodile’s manipulations, will also target Alubarna. We eliminate Crocodile there, reveal the truth, end the rebellion, and restore peace to Alabasta—all at once,” Rowen explained with a calm, confident smile.

He had no time to play Crocodile’s cat-and-mouse games across the desert.

With Robin providing intel, the advantage lay entirely with Rowen. He refused to follow Crocodile’s script like in the original story.

Instead—he would make Crocodile walk right into his setup—Crocodile had no other choice!

“I see! With the initiative entirely ours, we can choose the battlefield, Control the entire situation! And returning to the capital early allows Vivi to inform her father of everything, giving them time to prepare!”

“Plus, the Clone-Clone Fruit’s disguises are useless against your Observation Haki—After defeating Crocodile, we can reveal the truth to the citizens and the rebels simultaneously, completely restoring peace to Alabasta! What a brilliant plan, Rowen!” Sanji, with his sharp mind, quickly grasped the strategy, looking at Rowen with admiration.

“Taking the initiative like this—I like it,” Zoro grinned.

Following Rowen’s strategy, they never lost the upper hand. It was always others being led by the nose by Rowen—even Warlords were no exception.

“Rowen,” Vivi murmured, looking at him, her eyes sparkling.

In Rowen’s hands, no problem seemed insurmountable.

“Impressive,” Ace acknowledged, understanding the situation in Alabasta now after listening to Rowen’s plan. He was deeply impressed. This man possessed not only immense power and terrifying abilities but also brilliant strategic thinking.

“Well then, I’ll head towards Yuba,” Ace said, shouldering his pack.

“Be careful,” Rowen replied, clapping Ace on the shoulder, then turned to Usopp. “Usopp. Materials.”

FWOOSH!

Smoke enveloped the materials Usopp produced. Rowen activated the Munch-Munch Fruit ability, quickly constructing a small desert vehicle.

“Use this. It’ll make desert travel easier,” Rowen offered to Ace.

Rowen didn’t intend to stop Ace from pursuing Blackbeard. It wasn’t just about the future Summit War. Even Whitebeard couldn’t dissuade Ace; Rowen trying would be pointless. ‘People don’t learn from words; only experience teaches.’

“Being able to use multiple Devil Fruit abilities… certainly is convenient. Thanks,” Ace chuckled.

“Luffy. This is for you,” Ace tossed Luffy a small piece of paper. “With this, we’ll definitely meet again,” Ace smiled.

“A Vivre Card?” Rowen commented knowingly.

“That’s right. You really know a lot, Rowen,” Ace grinned.

“My little brother causes a lot of trouble. Please continue to look after him,” Ace said, bowing deeply again to Rowen and the crew.

“Yeah,” Rowen replied calmly.

“See you later, Rowen,” Ace smiled and waved.

“Your brother is so polite. Nothing like you,” Sanji commented dryly to Luffy as they watched Ace depart.

“Shishishi! Ace is Ace! I am me!” Luffy grinned cheerfully.

“Alright. Let’s head to Alubarna,” Rowen stated, watching Ace’s retreating figure.

‘The next time we meet… will be at the Summit War.’ He then turned back to the crew with a smile.

“OOOHHH!”

The crew boarded the desert vehicle Rowen created, speeding off towards Alubarna.

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Rainbase.

“Still… absolutely no word back!” Crocodile hissed, his expression incredibly dark and grim.

He had deployed Baroque Works agents across the entire Alabastan coastline, yet received zero reports regarding Nefertari Vivi’s whereabouts.

Either Vivi hadn’t returned to Alabasta yet—

Or the one helping her was far more formidable than he imagined.

“No news of Vivi or Robin… but I did receive this,” Crocodile muttered, looking down at the wanted posters on his desk, his eyes filled with malice.

Sky Sovereign Rowen! Bounty: 100 Million Beri!

Crocodile certainly knew the name of this super rookie causing such a stir across the seas recently.

User of Conqueror’s Haki—clashed with Mihawk back in the East Blue…

He didn’t expect him to show up in Alabasta.

Although this rookie possessed Conqueror’s Haki and a bounty exceeding his own frozen one, Crocodile hadn’t initially been concerned. His bounty was decades old, frozen upon becoming a Warlord. A mere 100 million Beri meant nothing to him.

But what Crocodile hadn’t expected—

This man had somehow drawn Vice Admiral Gion here!

Crocodile knew Gion’s strength well.

An Admiral Candidate!

Though far inferior to a true Admiral, she was still among the top powerhouses on the sea, leagues above standard Vice Admirals!

What shocked Crocodile even more—Gion had actually fought Sky Sovereign Rowen!

Though the battle was fierce, preventing his Billions agents in Nanohana from getting close, reports indicated Gion was actually at a disadvantage.

Completely unable to handle Rowen… And although the final outcome was unknown, Gion had clearly abandoned her pursuit of Rowen.

The Admiral Candidate—had failed!

This news seemed utterly unbelievable to Crocodile. If not for multiple reports confirming it, he would have dismissed it entirely.

A rookie, just entering the Grand Line, fought an Admiral Candidate and held the upper hand?!

It sounded like the biggest joke on the entire sea!

Worse still—the man’s whereabouts were now unknown.

And Gion remained in Alabasta.

This further complicated Crocodile’s already troubled situation regarding Robin and Vivi, casting a dark shadow over his plans—Dealing with someone of Gion’s caliber would be extremely difficult if she interfered with his operation!

“Buru! Buru! Buru!”

“Buru! Buru! Buru!”

Just then, his Transponder Snail rang.

“Hm?” Crocodile looked at the calling number. It was from his surveillance team monitoring the Royal Palace in Alubarna.

Click.

“Mr. 0 speaking,” Crocodile stated gravely.

“BOSS! MISS WEDNESDAY HAS APPEARED! AND MISS ALL SUNDAY IS WITH HER!” the agent reported loudly.

“Where are they?!” Crocodile felt a surge of unease.

“Right here in Alubarna!” the agent replied quickly.

“What?!” Hearing the confirmation, Crocodile’s pupils constricted sharply.

Appeared directly in the capital, Alubarna?!

Did that mean his entire intelligence network along the coast failed completely?!

Who in the world was helping Nefertari Vivi?!

“Who else is with them?” Crocodile demanded, his voice laced with malice.

“A-Also… Straw Hat Monkey D. Luffy, bounty 45 million… and… and…” The agent’s voice trembled, the snail’s projected face suddenly contorting in absolute terror.

“AND WHO ELSE?!” Crocodile roared, his eyes narrowing dangerously, though he already suspected the answer.

“And… ME,” the voice from the Transponder Snail suddenly changed, taking on a surprisingly powerful, confident tone.

“SKY SOVEREIGN ROWEN!” Crocodile snarled, his face turning utterly grim.

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