Chapter 120: A New Hero

A visible low-pressure cyclone swirled within the room, the yellow sand restlessly dancing in the air, tinting the bright sunlight filtering through the window into a murky, dim haze with extremely low visibility.

Just like Crocodile’s deeply unpleasant, sullen scarred face, this oppressive atmosphere had persisted for an entire day since the bitterly failed negotiation.

Seeing this pervasive yellow dust mist, few dared to disturb the lone time of this Warlord of the Sea.

Yet, someone still impudently knocked on the office door:

“Lord Crocodile!”

“There’s another pirate ship at the docks!”

In Rainbase, pirates had become a rare species.

Because any unlucky pirate who inadvertently trespassed into Crocodile’s territory would inevitably become a prop for his public spectacle in front of the Rainbase people.

Their disgraceful lives would ultimately only serve to embellish Crocodile’s false title of “Alabasta’s Hero.”

Thus, over time, fewer and fewer pirates dared to approach Rainbase, leaving Crocodile often struggling for material for his public performances, forcing him to assign subordinates to constantly monitor the docks.

Whenever pirate activity was detected, Crocodile would tirelessly appear before the people to stage a grand show of “eradicating evil and protecting the land.”

But that was in the past.

Upon hearing his subordinate’s report, Crocodile did not even bother to stand. With a mere distant flick of his hand, he twisted open the office door with a whip made of sand.

As the door swung open, the subordinate saw Crocodile’s gloomy expression and heard his sharp rebuke:

“From now on, you don’t need to report this kind of thing to me anymore!”

Now, Crocodile had little patience left to play the hero.

As long as that explosive leverage remained in Garen’s hands, he would never be recognized as the legitimate king of Alabasta. No amount of playing the good guy mattered.

“Yes, sir!”

The subordinate bowed his head nervously under Crocodile’s piercing gaze.

After a moment, he trembled and continued:

“But… the Garen you ordered us to watch is also heading toward the docks.”

“What is he doing there?”

At the mention of this troublesome name, Crocodile’s mood wavered.

The subordinate, of course, could not answer and lowered his head even further.

“Damn it!”

Crocodile cursed inwardly, unable to suppress his resentment and suspicion toward Garen. Furious, he rose from the sofa.

His body suddenly transformed into a swirling cloud of yellow sand, bursting through the window and flying out.

The ability to fly granted Crocodile great mobility; it did not take long for him to travel from his stronghold, the Rainy Banquet casino, to the Rainbase docks.

The dust cloud appeared at the docks, surrounded by a bustling crowd, yet Crocodile no longer enjoyed the cheers and worship of the Rainbase citizens.

Their attention was absorbed by another hero with a more appealing appearance:

That sharply chiseled, resolute face paired with splendid armor and a greatsword was the very epitome of a righteous knight.

The faint golden glow surrounding his armor and the crimson flames burning along his greatsword added a striking visual impact to Garen’s presence.

No elaborate choreography was needed; with such effects, even without martial arts guidance, the combat scene was dazzling and spectacular.

Those unfortunate pirates were not turned into dried husks by Alabasta’s hero’s sand, but fell beneath the sacred flames of the righteous knight.

This battle, a feast of sound and light, soon neared its end. The entranced Rainbase citizens erupted into warm cheers and applause for the newly debuted hero, Garen.

Meanwhile, Crocodile, who had by then solidified into a physical form on the ground, was mostly ignored by the crowd, reduced to mere background noise swallowed by fervent fans.

Yet his towering height of two and a half meters still made him conspicuous, and soon the people recognized him as the other Alabasta hero they once revered.

“Hahaha!”

Garen stepped forward ahead of the crowd, greeting the sullen Crocodile with a bright smile:

“Old Sand!”

The nickname sent shivers down Crocodile’s spine, and Garen approached with a familiarity that made Crocodile’s skin crawl:

“I figured you might be in a bad mood lately, so I took it upon myself to deal with these lawless pirates for you!”

“You—!”

Crocodile was furious enough to strike Garen with his golden hook.

“Hey, no need to thank me!”

Garen’s voice grew louder, his slogan clear to every citizen present:

“Eradicating evil and protecting the good, chivalry and justice—that’s what I’m supposed to do!”

The Rainbase citizens immediately realized:

This excessively handsome, enthusiastic righteous knight was indeed a true hero, no less than Crocodile himself!

They applauded even more fervently for the two heroes standing side by side.

Compared to Crocodile’s scarred face, cigar clenched in his mouth, severed glove, and golden hook, Garen’s image perfectly fit the mold of a flawless hero.

Coupled with the recent buzz borrowed from the two Warlords, Hawk-Eye and Crocodile, Garen quickly became the adored hero of Rainbase, his popularity surging at a terrifying speed, surpassing Crocodile, who was losing out on looks.

“What exactly do you want?”

Amid the crowd’s noisy cheers, Crocodile ground his teeth and hissed quietly in front of Garen.

Garen’s earlier enthusiasm had vanished; he replied coldly:

“Isn’t it obvious enough?”

“Your position as Alabasta’s hero won’t last much longer.”

Though Crocodile knew his coup had little hope left, the deep-seated resentment was impossible to let go.

Now, seeing Garen blatantly undermine him and compete for fame, Crocodile’s fury boiled over.

His already fierce scarred face twisted grotesquely, so distorted it was almost a public eyesore, capable of calming crying infants.

With Crocodile’s grim visage present, the once fiery atmosphere the crowd had created was instantly doused.

In the minds of the citizens, Crocodile’s reputation plummeted further in sharp contrast to Garen.

Garen only added fuel to the fire with a mocking smile:

“Crocodile, just watch closely!”

“Let me teach you how to be a true hero.”

...............................................

Several days later.

The same office, the same Crocodile, but the sandstorm swirling inside had intensified significantly.

This time, however, Miss Robin, his secretary, was there beside him.

“That ‘righteous knight’ is really…”

Robin looked helplessly at several newspapers spread across the desk, her expression oddly conflicted.

After much contemplation, she finally found a fitting word:

“Interesting.”

“What’s interesting about him?”

Crocodile slammed the desk heavily and spat out his truest thought:

“I’ve never seen such shamelessness!”

Robin could only nod in agreement.

Thanks to Garen’s antics, she found herself aligning with her troublesome boss.

Crocodile laughed bitterly, casually picking up a newspaper:

“It’s only been a few days? The press has already opened a bureau in Alabasta!”

What made Crocodile angrier was that these reports covered no earth-shattering events, but trivial matters involving Garen.

Visiting the elderly with Princess Vivi, volunteering at orphanages, leading city cleanups, maintaining order while lining up, helping old ladies cross the street...

Crocodile, who relied solely on killing pirates to build his reputation, was utterly baffled by Garen’s approach.

Yet somehow, these inconsequential news stories were highly effective.

The overwhelming coverage quickly made the people of Alabasta forget the original hero, Crocodile, remembering only the flamboyant righteous knight.

Crocodile could only glare darkly at the prominent name on the paper, gnashing his teeth as he read unfamiliar phrases:

“Garen does good deeds without seeking credit?”

“Starting with small acts, from the people and returning to the people?”

“The blue scarf on his chest looks even brighter?”

...