The Conglomerate- One Piece SI Ch.12

Chapter 12

CAPTAIN BARTOLOMEO

He arrived on the shores and could sense that something was wrong. Crocodile was one of the more vile and smart pirates roaming the seas. Unlike idiots who thought themselves to be infallible, the man understood the importance of planning and persevering.

the Baroque Works fleet’s formation was an unmistakable declaration of hostility. making it clear that the Warlord was not in the mood for playing any games.

He had taken a clear stance against the Marines, thereby putting his position as warlord in jeopardy. A bold move for a pirate of his intellect and trickery, and he doubted that he would have taken such a move without proper planning.

And so, as he flew towards Rainbase, the base of operations for Crocodile and his Baroque Works, he was not surprised when he found himself attacked by a sudden bolt of lightning.

CRACK!

All it took was a single barrier to stop the lightning bolt, but that was just the beginning of the attacks, as many bullets shot by a sniper targeted him, and again, he blocked them along with a massive slash attack that tore through the very air.

And he was not an idiot and recognised all of those attacks, before Luffy himself jumped in front of him, his fist coiled back as he mouthed.

“Gomu Gomu no....” and Bartolomeo raised a brow.

"Now that’s new,” he whispered, as he formed a complete cube around himself to protect himself as Luffy’s fist blurred towards him.

“...Jet Pistol!”

BANG! BOOOM!

And his fist hit his barrier, yet could not cause even a crack as the Straw Hat wearing pirate clicked his tongue, while his crew of Nami, Usopp, and Zoro surrounded him and threw their own attacks.

CLANG! BOOM! CLANG!

And none of their attacks could penetrate through his barriers, as he simply raised his hand, and formed four pillars above them.

“Grand Fall!” he bellowed, and the barriers plummeted like thunderbolts, flattening the Straw Hats into the sand, as Bartolomeo himself descended to the desert ground, slowly landing as he addressed the pirate crew.

“I don’t think you lot are idiotic enough to know that you could get powerful enough in a few weeks to take on me,” he whispered eyeing a struggling Luffy who tried to push against the weight of his barrier, and stand up but he did not relent as he stared at the little pirate.

“Damn it! Damn it!” he screamed, as he tried to push himself off of the desert floor.

“I believe I asked you a question, Luffy,” he asked again, but the boy stared him in the eyes, without replying.

And Luffy was not the kind to stay quiet, or the kind to support someone like Crocodile. So, something had to be wrong, and somehow he couldn't say it, until he figured it out, moving in would be a mistake.

The question was, could he take on Crocodile? And the answer was a resolute yes. As powerful as the Warlord may be, he was no match for him. But Crocodile was smart enough to know that, anad so he must have planned something.

“Well then,” he whispered as he removed the barriers from their backs and cracked his fingers as the four straw hat members jumped up in surprise.

“If you lot aren’t going to say anything willingly,” he whispered, looking Luffy in the eye as he prepared himself for a measured battle until he had gathered all the facts.

“Then I will just have to beat it out of you,” and with that, he blurred and in front of Luffy, as he kicked him in the face, sending his body tumbling through the sand dunes as Zoro tried to attack him from behind, and was surprised as instead of a simple barrier Barto formed a sword using his barriers and blocked his attack using that.

“What the...” and as he swung it in full force, the green-haired swordsman was sent tumbling back as well, as he turned towards Usopp and Nami, both of whom were pale and quivering with fear, as he turned his gaze towards them.

Yet despite their fear, they still stood firm and did not try to run away as he glared at them.

“Damn it! Why won’t it break?!” Usopp shouted as he fired a barrage of bullets towards him, but he simply parried them using his sword, and though the weapon was not his primary choice, he had been trained in the way of the sword by Garp-sensei’s Rear Admiral, Bogart-san, who was quite a master Swordsman.

He appeared above him and punched him to the ground as his teammates all shouted.

“USOPP!” but the boy was unconscious as he turned towards Nami, who put her staff, but not before he had grabbed her by the neck and pushed her in the air as he began to tighten his grip slowly.

“Did you really think you lot could beat me?” and both Zoro and Luffy jumped towards him, and just as they were about to hit him, he formed a barrier around him, and pushed it outwards at breakneck speed.

“Almighty Push!”

BOOOOOOOOM!

“AGHHH!” and the two of them screamed again, as their attacks were interrupted and they were pushed back again, as Nami struggled to breathe.

And so, he pulled her closer and looked her in the eye, and could see the plea and desperation in them as he whispered into her ear.

“Blink twice quickly if you are being forced to fight me,” and her eyes widened at his words as the girl blinked twice quickly, confirming his suspicion.

“Useless!” he threw her body away, as he turned towards Luffy and Zoro again, who were still trying to break through his barrier.

“I will deal with the weakling later,” he whispered as Zoro and Luffy prepared themselves.

“Let me educate you lot first....”

.

.

.

And so the battle continued, and despite their improvements, the Straw Hats were no match for him, though their battle was more for show rather than an actual fight. He had ascertained that someone from Baroque Works was probably watching the fight, and so they put on quite a show as Nami slowly fed him information about Crocodile’s plans.

And his plan was simple, as he intended to stoke a civil war in Alabasta and then come out as a savior. He had created a massive rift between the royal family and the people by inducing droughts over the area by the use of something called ‘Dance Powder’, a little concoction that was used to produce artificial rain.

It was a neat little invention, but had a major side effect that it caused droughts in the surrounding areas of where it was used, and so the lack of water and the year-long droughts were all his plan to incite a rebellion.

He was blackmailing the Straw Hats using the life of the Princess Vivi, and all the people of Alubarna, for he had placed a bomb in the capital city, which he threatened to blow if any of the Straw Hats dared to speak of this plan.

“Well then, this was quite a disappointment,” he whispered, as the four bodies of the Straw Hats lay strewn across the desert plane as Bartolomeo smiled, giving Nami a final glance.

“You lot are not worth my time,” and with that, he moved past them as she collapsed onto the ground once more, as he headed towards the central city of Alaubarna in front of him.

And as he neared the gates, a massive sandstorm interrupted his path as Crocodile appeared in front of him, along with the blue-haired Princess of Alabasta.

“I should have expected nothing less out of someone of your repute,” he praised as Bartolomeo, and as the sand shifted, he saw that he was not alone and alongside him stood various members of his criminal enterprise, the Baroque Works. Though, he did not miss the how one face was missing amongst the gathered people, one he was quite eager to meet actually.

“I could say the same thing about you, you pirate scum,” and with that he prepared himself for battle, and he clicked his fingers, and in the blink of an eye swords were thrust into the bodies of his workers, as they all screamed out in agony.

“AGHH!” “WHAT!” “HOW!”

Yet his own eyes remained focused on Crocodile, as his weapon passed through his body, without causing a dent.

“Please stop!” and it was the Princess who spoke, stopping him from blitzing the bastard.

“I beg you! He will kill thousands if you attack him!” and Bartolomeo gritted his teeth as Crocodile smiled wildly.

“I would listen to the Princess if I were you, Cannibal,” and he stopped, as he continued.

“You pride yourself as some savior, don’t you, you boot-licking foot soldier! But all you are is a fool! HAHAHA!” and he laughed, as Barto was forced to stand down.

“Yet despite your strength, you are helpless, all because I hold the lives of thousands in my hand,” and he retorted quickly, while making a small prayer for Luffy and his team in his heart.

“If you want to kill me, then be done with it bastard!” and he shook his head, as he took out his cigar.

“I won’t just end your life so easily!” and the Princess’s eyes widened at his words, as she paled.

“You pride yourself on that perfect record, don’t you! On how you have yet to fail in a singular mission! Today, I will show the world that you are not as infallible as they think you are! That even their mighty hero can do nothing but watch as I bring an entire kingdom to its knees!” and he laughed maniacally, as he threw out a pair of handcuffs towards him.

“Put these on!” and Bartolomeo saw that those were Seastone cuffs.

“And why would I do that,” and the man cocked the gun, aimed at Vivi’s head.

“Because otherwise I blow out the brains of your precious Princess right here and now,” and Barto raised a brow.

“Do you think this is the first time that someone has threatened me with a hostage?” Barto threatened, and indeed, as a Marine, he had faced such a situation many times, and so it was hardly as threatening as the bastard intended it to be.

“Daz!” the bastard called out, as one of the few of his named agents still standing, replied back.

“Boss!” and his body was littered with wounds from the weapons that impaled him.

“Use the switch to blow up the city if he moves even a single muscle,” and the bald bastard turned towards him.

“Aye, aye, captain,” and Bartolomeo simply stood there contemplating his options.

“Now, put on those cuffs, you wannabe Hero,” and he looked at the Princess, who had tears running down her eyes as she pleaded.

“Please! I beg you, do as he says,” and so he bent down and put on those cuffs, and their effect was immediate as all the weapons, impaling his named agents, vanished as he felt a massive weight on his shoulders, taking away his Devil Fruit powers.

“What next?” he asked, as the man smiled.

“Nothing, I just want you to see your own failure with your eyes. I want you to realise that there are no heroes in this world, that you are a failure,” and he felt the sand under him lift as Crocodile lifted them into the air, as he carried him into the city.

“And once my plan is complete, only then will I put you out of your misery in front of the entire world....”

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NAMI

Nami lay there on the ground, unmoving though she was not as unconscious as one would believe. Outwardly her body may seem gravely injured but the truth was something far simpler, for most of the injury marks on her body were simply an illusion or make up.

But it was not just those marks that were an illusion, the three unconscious bodies lying around her were a mirage as well, as she prayed for Luffy’s victory. Still, that did not mean that the Marine bastard had gone easier on them, and her neck still throbbed with pain where he had gripped it.

She planned to complete to Nojiko-nii as soon as this was over, because was this the way one should treat a lady?

And to think that she had thought him all chivalrous.

But her heart grew cold as she heard the sound of footsteps, and she closed her eyes once more, pretending to be unconscious while simultaneously praying that their ruse was not seen through.

“I know that you are awake,” but those words hit her like a punch, as she slowly opened her eyes and saw a black-haired woman standing there above her.

“So, you were keeping an eye on us after all,” Nami answered as she rose up, gripping her staff, as she prepared herself for battle.

“Indeed, and you put on quite a show and might even have succeeded in your ruse if it was someone else observing the fight,” the tall woman answered as she pushed up her hat, as Nami looked her in the eye.

“Well, now that you have found out our secret, I am afraid I cannot let you leave, Nico Robin,” and the bodies of Zoro, Luffy, and Usopp all vanished with a puff, as Nami prepared herself for battle.

“How do you know that name?” the girl asked, those dark orbs narrowed.

“So, he was right,” and Bartolomeo was the one who had located and identified Crocodile’s worker, and had given her his name along with a message to pass on.

“He told it to me,” she answered, as she had been instructed to.

“The Marine captain. He also gave me a message to pass along,” and Nico Robin was silent as she heard that.

“And what message was that?”

“He said that one of them is here,” and those eyes widened.

“And that he is only here to protect the Kingdom of Alabasta and bring down Crocodile, so choose wisely,” and she did not know what those words meant, but their effect was obvious on the girl in front of her who had an awestruck face as she whispered.

“How could he know that?” Robin whispered, more to herself than anyone else, her voice laced with something Nami never expected—hope.

“Whatever it is that you two have going on between you two is no concern of mine, but I will not let you destroy Vivi’s home,” Nami announced, as the girl turned towards her.

“We are not enemies,” the Black haired girl’s words caught her by surprise, making her blink wildly, “not anymore!”

“What! Buy your work for Crocodile! You want to try and destroy Alabasta!” she screamed, and the girl shrugged.

“I have no intention of destroying this country, and my alliance with Crocodile was one of convenience rather than ideals. So, why don’t you tell me where your friends and what your plans are so that I may see if I might be able to help you out or not,” and she did not want to trust her, but she had seen how Crocodile and his men had blackmailed Barto, and how they had beat him and put him in Seastone cuffs.

The man needed their help, and if they wanted to save this kingdom, then he needed it fast.

“We are trying to locate the bomb Crocodile has placed in the city, that is the only thing he has asked of us,” and her eyes widened.

“I see, well then I believe you are in luck....”

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