After a massive sandstorm, the people of Rainbase opened their eyes in disbelief.
What they saw was a rain of berries falling like raindrops from the sky.
With Noir's scream as he scattered the money, the people of Rainbase went completely insane.
"Crocodile is handing out money!"
"Don't fight! Don't push me!"
"Money! Give me the money!"
"Asshole! Put down the berries in your hand!"
Crocodile felt like his heart was bleeding.
The Rain Dinner Casino was a powerful money-making machine in his hands.
The money earned by this one casino was comparable to the entire revenue of the Baroque Works.
Noir stood at the back of the chaotic crowd with two bags of berries on his back and grinned, "Well, I'll be going now, Sea Warlord~"
With a smug look, Noir collected the money, turned into sand and sank into the ground.
Now even Crocodile couldn't tell where Noir had hidden himself.
Crocodile roared like an enraged lion, his immense fury erupting as he shouted, "Noir!"
Even though Crocodile had become the "hero" of the country, this so-called honor wasn't enough for the people to return the money they had taken.
In addition, Noir used Crocodile's name to throw money around!
As the farce began to die down, Crocodile, exhausted in body and mind, returned to his office.
Looking at the devastated casino and the empty vault, all that remained in Crocodile's heart was rage and hatred!
He forced himself to calm down and think carefully about Noir's motives.
Noir was the one he had targeted, no doubt.
But Noir's understanding of him was far beyond Crocodile's imagination.
Coup d'état and the Pluto, Noir seemed to know his plans from the beginning.
But why come to the Rainbase and waste time if he knew this crucial information?
Was it to distract him?
This suggested that he had more advanced information than Crocodile.
For example, the burial place of the text of Pluto's True History!
But what use would that be?
Unless... he had an accomplice who could distract him while he checked the True History Text.
A flash of brilliance crossed Crocodile's mind, and he saw the woman's face in his mind.
Nico Robin? The one he had sent away?
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If Noir could hear Crocodile's inner speculations, he would be munching on seeds and shouting "brilliant".
Noir's reason for creating a scene in Rain Dinners was simple: to get some money.
But Crocodile, through speculation, unexpectedly found out the real reason.
This was something Noir hadn't expected.
Crocodile paced the room, more and more convinced of the possibility.
He picked up his private phone and called Robin.
Brrr Brrr Brrr...
No one answered and Crocodile felt that he might be right.
Nico, Robin and this Noir had definitely conspired beforehand!
Crocodile regained his composure and rushed towards the capital, determined not to be wrong this time!
As Crocodile flew away on the wind and sand, Noir slowly revealed his face in a Rainbase alley, muttering in confusion:
"Damn... why is he going to the capital?"
"I wonder if Robin took care of that."
With the berries on his back, Noir turned and walked out of the alley.
After a few steps, Noir hesitated for a moment.
"Forget it, let's follow and see..."
---
Alabasta's capital, Alabasta.
The normally heavily guarded palace grounds saw an unexpected visitor today.
In the western royal cemetery of the palace, several skilled soldiers lay on the ground at the gate.
Several arms suddenly grew from the shoulders and backs of the guards, quickly closing around the throats of several soldiers.
Snap!
A few crunching sounds of breaking bones, and the guards fell unconscious without a sound.
Withdrawing her powers, Robin quietly pushed open the door and slipped into the graveyard.
Underground Hall of Sacrifice...
Robin pondered in her mind as she searched for a long time, finally finding the underground switch.
She gently activated the mechanism, and with a dull sound, the heavy, seamless door slowly lifted.
There was indeed an underground palace.
Finding the entrance, Robin was overjoyed, feeling more confident about finding the True History text.
She was not disappointed. After navigating through long, narrow tunnels, her vision opened up again.
Inside the underground hall, the blue stone Robin had been searching for was right there!
The True History text!
Robin gently caressed the cold stone with her hand.
The words engraved on it were transmitted to her brain by the touch, giving her an indescribable feeling of reassurance and excitement.
Her beautiful eyes scanned the stele, the obscure ancient text appearing as plain text to her.
When she finished reading all the records, Robin sighed deeply.
As she and Crocodile had speculated, this stele did indeed have little historical record.
It recorded the location of one of the three ancient weapons, the legendary warship Pluto.
But that didn't make Robin greedy. Instead, after reading it, she truly felt a sense of loss.
Robin's dream was actually very simple; she didn't want anything from the True History text.
The Pluto, the ancient weapons, Robin didn't want any of them.
She just wanted to know the whole story, nothing more.
But Robin's dream had too many enemies in this world.
Robin had a photographic memory. After recording Pluto's history on the stele, she left the tomb.
Although she didn't get the crucial 100-year clue she wanted, seeing another part of the story satisfied Robin.
Using the Flower-Flower Fruit's stealth ability, Robin easily slipped out of the heavily guarded palace.
The sky had darkened, and as Robin stepped onto the soft, fine sand, she felt both relaxed and apprehensive.
Relaxed because she finally knew the hidden True History text of Alabasta.
Worried because she knew the last piece of True History Text she had confirmed, what next?
This thing wasn't like cabbage, something you could just get whenever you wanted.
As Robin pondered, Noir's face reappeared in her mind.
Should she accept his invitation and follow him to look for it?
Actually, it wasn't such a bad thing...
At worst, she would betray him like before, if it was to her disadvantage...
In any case, she was still the devil's child.
Robin thought of this and laughed self-deprecatingly, but behind the smile was endless bitterness.
"Nico Robin, where are you going?"
A deep voice sounded, Robin's beautiful eyes trembled, and the fear in her heart was immediately awakened.
"Crocodile..."