Chapter 31: [31] Just Hand Me Over…! (2)

Chapter 31: Just Hand Me Over…! (2)

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It has been 51 years since she’s been a marine; having joined at the early age of 20.

In her long career, Vice-Admiral Tsuru has seen lots of things.

She was the strongest female Marine in history, and that unofficial title made a lot of her admirers compare her adventure with the likes of Vice-Admiral Garp and Fleet Admiral Sengoku, her two closest friends.

Admittedly by Tsuru herself, her adventures weren't so great. She never went after the Pirate King or the Strongest Man Alive, though she did clash with a few of the other Emperors in their younger days.

With such experience on her shoulders, very familiar with the evil of humanity, with the witful schemes of dirty pirates, Tsuru wasn’t surprised when she heard the report regarding Warlord Crocodile.

“Pirates, haah.” Tsuru sighed a little. “You guys never learn.”

Standing in front of the Sea Prism Cell on the top floor of Rain Dinner, Tsuru looked down on the criminals who were chained inside.

Despite never having gone after Roger and Whitebeard, Tsuru had a bit of history with nearly all of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Sir Crocodile was no exception. That was why, decades ago, it was surprising news to her when he applied for the Warlord position. Her surprise only grew when he went to Alabasta and started playing a hero.

Tsuru was very suspicious for the first few years, but later, she came to accept that this guy genuinely changed for the better.

Now, a few years after that, Sir Crocodile’s true goals were exposed. Tsuru’s judgment was proven wrong and she was very disappointed. 

That’s why when she heard the report from Sengoku, she asked permission to handle this herself. More so since her ship was just near Alabasta, it didn’t take two or more days for the Marines to come, unlike usual.

Tsuru’s disappointment was made clear to him by her gaze, as she stood outside his cell. Yet, Sir Crocodile didn’t look regretful, sad, or angry.

“Been a while, hasn’t it, Tsuru?” Sir Crocodile said with a smirk. “Funny, isn't it? My ambitions this time too came to an end.”

“It seems so, yes. I will admit, I am a little surprised seeing you in this condition.” Tsuru didn’t give him any further attention and accepted the papers the King handed over to her. Flipping the papers, Tsuru’s disappointment only increased. “This makes me nauseous. I see you bribed the local Marines too. How sad.”

Alabasta didn’t have Marines, but the nearby islands did. Sir Crocodile was doing this for decades, so the Marines were ought to notice at one point or another. Sadly, he had been bribing them to keep their mouths shut.

“Soldiers,” Tsuru turned to her subordinates. “Open the cell and take them outside. They’re chained with sea stone handcuffs, so there shouldn’t be any problem.”

“Wait,” Sir Crocodile shouted while the marine female soldiers began to open the cell, without a care for his words. “Listen to me for a moment, Tsuru.”

“I have nothing to hear from you.” Tsuru walked to the side, making space for the soldiers to take out the prisoners and have them walk out through the doors. “All the proof is in my hands; I see no reason to waste time conversing with a scum.”

Sir Crocodile, as he was being dragged by the soldiers, was about to say something again. However, before one could come out of his mouth, the entire building shook.

“Wha-”

The King, Queen, and Princess panicked and Tsuru stood over them to protect them from any harm. Her hands were ready to use her Devil Fruit; the power that was a counter to Sir Crocodile more than Hashirama could ever be.

The Wash-Wash Fruit exploited the Sand Logia’s water weakness to its best.

“Hey— hey, I am not the one doing that.” Sir Crocodile shrugged and showed his handcuffs once the earthquake ended. “Don’t get so worked up, it’s giving me chills.”

“Huh.” Tsuru put her hands down. “But your smirk says you at least know who did that.”

“I think I do.” Sir Crocodile looked at the King and Queen, giving them a grin, and then looked back at Tsuru. “Don’t you wonder how the King got such accurate and well-detailed proof against all my bad deeds? Aren’t you curious to know how I was exposed, in the first place? Who beat a Sand Logia while in a desert?"

Tsuru frowned. It would be a lie to say that she wasn’t curious about how this bastard was exposed. From the papers in her hand, she knew that even an internal officer of this ‘Baroque Works’ would have a hard time gathering all this. So who gathered these proofs?

If anything, it seemed as if Sir Crocodile himself collected evidence against him, but that was impossible, so the truth should be that someone similarly ranked as he had done this. But the papers didn’t mention anyone like that, the member names noted in the papers didn’t include anyone so.

One thing that was good was that, Crocodile was alive. If he had died, killed by this mysterious culprit, then things would have been a mess. The Government wants him alive since Dr. Vegapunk has been doing something with the Warlords. If Crocodile died, the killer may have gotten into quite a lot of trouble. 

In fact, the government might have wanted this guy in Crocodile's stead, to help with Dr Vegapunk's project. After all, this person was clearly more interesting, having the power to take down a Logia in its natural habitat. 

Tsuru was very thankful such a disturbing development didn't happen. She was never a fan of these experiments, and the true hero of this country wouldn't have deserved it.

"My curiosity does not matter," Taurus said with a scowl. "If I need to know anything, I will just ask the Royals who are beside me. I see no point in talking to a lizard like you. Soldiers, take them outside."

The marine soldiers nodded and began to take the criminals out. A few criminals resisted, while Sir Crocodile was taken away nicely while he chuckled ominously.

"...Now that he's gone," Tsuru slowly turned to the two Royals. "I will have to ask you how you got these papers. Also, who defeated that lizard?"

The King and Queen looked pale, while the Princess looked frightened. Sighing in her head, Tsuru smiled and patted the little girl's head.

"Don't be so nervous, you guys are not criminals. This is just a necessary questioning protocol. You can answer them truthfully." Tsuru said and watched the King sigh.

"It was my nephew who defeated the Warlord," said King Cobra. "He is the one who knows the details of these papers too. Can we wait for him to return?"

'Return…?' Tsuru narrowed her eyes. 'Was he here, and left for some reason? Weird.'

"He, uh, he had a sudden call of nature. He didn't want to meet the Marines like that, in case he got scared and made a mess." The Queen tried but Tsuru could easily see that something was amiss here.

A man who defeated a Warlord would fear pissing in front of the Marines? Yeah, sure.

"...Alright," Tsuru nodded regardless. "Let us go outside too then; we will wait for this nephew of yours there."

The Royals nodded slowly and then followed behind her.

* * *

When outside, Tsuru found that the earlier huge crowd had dispersed. People were once again starting to gather, but it wasn't as much as before. She supposed the earlier earthquake was what caused this. 

Civilians were weak and easily frightened. The reason why she entered the marines and rose up to such a high rank was to keep those innocent people safe. If such a small earthquake was so scary to them, what'd their reaction be if they came across Edward fucking Newgate?

Anyhow, that wasn't important here.

Tsuru walked to her soldiers, who had placed the criminals on their knees for everyone to see. The Royals followed behind her and received Sir Crocodile's glare. They were the ones who put him in this humiliating situation, after all.

"You punks…" he growled. "Where is that brat? Why isn't he coming? You don't get it, do you? If he doesn't reveal himself, my claims will just be more authentic."

"You better shut up, Crocodile." Tsuru gave him a disapproving look. "You'll be punished for what you did already, but if you insult the rulers of a Kingdom while in front of me, the result would not be nice."

Sir Crocodile growled at that but said nothing. He knew she would ask him about Hashirama soon when that boy would fail to come back. Then, it would be his time to accuse the Royals that they were hiding a wanted criminal in their home.

"King Cobra," Tsuru turned to look at the King. "How much longer must we wait? I am starting to believe that this lizard might actually be on to something. Tell me the truth, just what is happening?"

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The King exchanged nervous glances with the Queen, and sighed. He was about to speak, that seemed to be another excuse, but his voice was cut even before it started.

"No need to bother them with questions." The voice of a young man said. "I am here."

Tsuru turned to the source to find a handsome young man walking to her. He was with a girl, whom he was grabbing by her arms that he had locked behind her back.

Tsuru's eyes trembled as she ignored the boy and focused on the appearance of the girl.

'...No way.'

Her last picture was taken 17 years ago, but there was no doubting it. That woman was her, the demon child, Nico Robin.

She had her head lowered, her eyes unfocused, as she was being forced to walk forward by the boy behind her.

"Kuh...kuh-ah-ah-ah!" The former warlord was shocked at the sight at first, but soon he began to laugh. "This is such a funny sight. Isn't it, Nico Robin?"

The girl's lips twitched a little, but she didn't say anything. However, Crocodile's words did confirm Tsuru's suspicion as she frowned.

"This is Nico Robin," said the boy who bought her here. "She was Sir Crocodile's partner. I did not know her true identity, so I partnered with her to take down the Warlord. Today, I learned that she is a wanted criminal, a devil child, so I rushed after her to capture her when she fled."

"W-what?!" Sir Crocodile spat to the ground. "Stop lying! We all saw that you ran with her in your arms. You knew her true identity, and you wanted to save her. We all saw that!"

"...We did not." It was Queen Titi who spoke while giving a strange look to Hashirama. "The three of us saw him run after this… Nico Robin, whoever she is, after her true identity was revealed. This boy is the nephew we spoke of. Sorry, Miss Vice Admiral, the reason we lied to you was because we weren't sure who that woman was so we didn't want to complicate things. But it seems Hashirama managed to capture her so no point in hiding things anymore."

"Stop lying. My subordinates all saw-"

"Shut up, Crocodile." Tsuru cut him off with a grunt. "I am not interested in your lies. It's clear you just want to bring the country down with you, you fucking lizard bastard. The proof all matches with what they're saying, and the boy is handing over the culprit all by himself. What's there to doubt?"

"...."

"Soldiers, capture her. Put a sea stone handcuff on her." Tsuru ignored Crocodile and ordered. 

Her female soldiers nodded right away, moving towards the woman and doing as ordered. Tsuru walked over to the boy when the culprit woman was captured. 

She put a hand on his shoulder and patted it, smiling softly. "We have been looking for her for decades. Who could have thought you'd find her? You defeated the corrupted Warlord, too. Boy, what's your name?"

"It's Hashirama Senju, Vice Admiral." the boy said with an expression too serious for his teen face, making her blink.

"Senju…" she muttered, falling silent for a brief moment, and then smiled. "Heh. I suppose it makes sense now."

"Huh?"

"It's nothing, boy." Tsuru shook her head. "Ah right, is Tsunade Senju your sister?"

"Yes…"

"She joined the marines last night, I received a report. I am to take her on my ship, so I know. Just telling you to not worry, I'll make sure to train the sibling of a young hero like you well." Tsuru gave him a nod, squeezing his shoulder one last time, and turned around.

"Soldiers, pack them up in the carriages. Two in each. We don't have time to waste here, let's get moving." Tsuru said and walked away.

As the criminals were being put into carriages, Sir Crocodile gave Hashirama a side look with a grin. He looked proud, even though he was the one who lost. 

He was proud that Nico Robin was being pulled down with him. Though the Marines didn't believe it, Sir Crocodile heard when this boy said he had a 'promise' with Robin. A promise that was never fulfilled.

After the criminals were put in different carriages, Vice-Admiral Tsuru conversed with the Royals one last time, giving them some consolation for all these schemes. She also told them to take good care of Hashirama, for some reason. At last, she hopped in one of the Marine Carriages that took off at wind speed.

The Marines were gone, so was Sir Crocodile, and so was Nico Robin…

"Hashirama," Titi placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it softly. "You did well. I do feel sorry for her, but… this was the better choice."

She pulled him into a hug, knowing very well that this boy just broke a solid promise for them. He must be so sad and guilty.

"We are sorry," Cobra apologized as well as he came closer and joined the hug.

From the side, Vivi also joined, hugging him with sad eyes.

*  *  *

Hashirama needed some time alone; that’s what he told the royals and took a leave.

He slowly walked back to the hotel where Mikita was. This time, he took the stairs instead of jumping through the window, and climbed up to the third floor.

Hashirama stood silently in front of the door for a moment, and only a while later did he knock and waited. Until the door was opened by Mikita who looked nervous.

"...Are you alright?" asked Mikita slowly as he walked inside, closing the door.

"Same question. Did it work?" Another voice asked, and Hashirama turned to the source to find a worried… Nico Robin looking at him. "Did her Observation Haki or whatever see through the Clone's Transformation?"

“Low chance.” Hashirama's sad expression vanished in thin air as he grinned. "Low chance that she even used that technique, and even if she did, she didn't see. We are all safe."

“Oh…” Slowly, Mikita and Robin exchanged glances. Then, they cheered. "Yes!"

This was a big, big win. They just tricked a Vice-Admiral!

Robin fell down on her ass, sitting on the bed, while Mikita ran and threw herself on his body.

"You did it, you fucking idiot!" Mikita pressed her lips on his cheeks, “I was going to bite you hard if you failed and got me in trouble~!”

That didn’t happen, and Hashirama had indeed scored another win. 

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