Chapter Seventy-Seven: The Clash of Reputations

Early the next morning, as golden sunlight spilled across the dunes, a city with the quintessential architecture of Egypt came into view. Buffon called out to Sauro to halt the land turtle, and after disembarking, the group continued on foot toward this dreamlike city in the desert—Rainbase.

As soon as the group left the vehicle, both Mr. 3, who had been hiding beneath it, and Binchy, the turtle pulling the carriage, let out a sigh of relief. Ever since this band had boarded yesterday, the two had been on the verge of collapse. Binchy feared they might kill and cook him at the slightest provocation—one glance from the girl with the dinner fork had made him acutely aware of her hunger for food. With a giant weighing several hundred kilograms on his back, escape was impossible; he could only pray these “bandits” had already eaten before boarding.

Mr. 3, meanwhile, had eavesdropped on their conversation and was now certain of their identities. The shadow Buffon cast in his heart had already eclipsed that of the elusive boss, Mr. 0, leaving him trembling throughout the entire journey. He figured that if Buffon discovered him again, it wouldn’t just be as simple as tying him up and turning him over to the navy.

Previously, aboard a navy vessel, they had used Miss Golden Week’s powers to control a marine and barely managed to escape back to Little Garden. After settling the others there, he had secretly snuck aboard the ship of Mr. 2, who had come to deal with him, following it in disguise all the way to the Spider Café in hopes of meeting Mr. 0 alongside the senior agents and reporting in for a shot at redemption. He hadn’t expected to run into Buffon’s group again, resulting in the rest being captured in one fell swoop.

But now, with the group disembarked, their immediate danger was averted. Binchy pulled the carriage into the city and headed straight for Rain Dinners. Seeing the empty carriage, Robin turned and entered the casino to report to Crocodile.

Upon hearing the news, Crocodile sneered, “It seems we really are dealing with a cautious group of opponents. Let’s wait for them to come in—if there’s a giant among them, it’ll be impossible for them to keep their movements in Rainbase concealed.”

Yet by afternoon, none of his spies had found any trace of the group. The only possibly related lead was a party of six, two of whom were giants. Crocodile dismissed this outright; he couldn’t believe Mr. 2 would mistake two giants for one, nor did he think Binchy could manage to pull two giants at once.

Robin, however, felt a flicker of delight at the news. She was almost certain the white-clad group Mr. 2 had mentioned was Buffon and his companions. Out loud, she mused, “Could it really be CP0? If they wished to sneak into the city unnoticed, their skills would certainly allow them to evade our surveillance.”

Crocodile laughed indifferently. “We’ll find out soon enough, won’t we?”

Meanwhile, Buffon and his companions had found an inn and settled in. He was in no hurry to seek out Crocodile at Rain Dinners; he wanted first to tend to the city’s sick. His previous two experiences had revealed something fundamentally different from stitching together corpses: from these ordinary people, he gained something called “faith.” Although he’d received small amounts before, it hadn’t been enough to level up—he’d barely sensed its utility. But after harvesting a large quantity at Cape Mustard, his faith had finally reached level 3, and he could feel its effects: all other benefits he received now carried a substantial bonus.

With such an invaluable tool for leveling, how could he not seek to maximize it immediately? Thus, in less than half a day, their inn had become the most renowned clinic in Rainbase. The innkeeper even vacated the largest suite for Buffon to see patients. Hearing of the miraculous skills of the “magician doctor” Buffon, the local nobles sent their own people to invite him for house calls, but Buffon refused them all. After two groups tried to use force and were promptly thrown out by Sauro, the nobles had no choice but to queue alongside the commoners.

Word of this soon reached Crocodile. He asked Robin, “Is it the same magician doctor who showed up at Cape Mustard?”

“Why not go and see for yourself?” Robin replied, absentmindedly stroking the crocodile.

“Very well. I’ll pay a personal visit to this magician doctor whose reputation is now on the verge of surpassing my own!”

En route to the inn, Crocodile quickly reviewed the dossier Robin had handed him. Buffon’s public identity as a subordinate of Moriah was no secret. Baggio’s background was already an open secret among the navy, and Crocodile could not be kept in the dark either. As for Reiju, there was no need to conceal her status as princess of the Vinsmoke family. After reading about these three, a barely perceptible, cruel smile touched Crocodile’s lips.

As for Sauro, the supposedly dead former navy vice admiral whose ties to Robin were too deep, the report contained not a single word of truth. Lily, who had appeared out of nowhere, was likewise dismissed in a page of nonsense. Vivi, for her part, was simply listed as an attendant.

Handing the dossier back to Robin, Crocodile remarked, “If he’s Moriah’s man, then his medical skill isn’t so surprising. But for him to show up in Alabasta now, and so brazenly—there’s something odd about it all.”

“Mr. 0, what do you plan to do with them?” Robin asked, smiling as usual.

“If they don’t cause any trouble, we’ll give them a VIP suite at the casino and let them treat people there. But if I discover any ulterior motives, then they cannot be allowed to remain in Alabasta,” Crocodile said gravely.

At this, Robin began to ponder his intentions. She had to admit, inviting Buffon into the casino would both raise his standing among the people and allow Crocodile to keep him under watch. Every move Crocodile made was impeccable, leaving no openings. Should Buffon’s group refuse, that would count as “causing trouble,” and they would simply be eliminated in secret.

Robin had no doubt of Buffon’s strength—a man who could fight Mihawk to a draw would be an overwhelming opponent for Crocodile. But she was curious to see how Buffon would choose. She doubted he had come to Rainbase, escorting Vivi all this way, simply to heal the sick as he claimed.

Before long, the two arrived at the inn where Buffon’s group was staying. Seeing the line stretching from the inn all the way into the street, even Crocodile was taken aback. In these three years, on Alabasta’s soil, only his own reputation as the Desert Crocodile compared—perhaps even the king was not so beloved.

This only piqued his interest in the magician doctor further. When the people in line saw Crocodile arrive, a chorus of exclamations erupted.

“It’s Mr. Crocodile! Are you here to see the magician doctor? Make way for Mr. Crocodile!” exclaimed a matronly woman, her face aglow with admiration.

“You fool, have you lost your mind? How could Mr. Crocodile possibly be sick or injured? He’s clearly here to reward the magician doctor!” another woman retorted.

Whatever the speculation, every person in that long line stepped aside for Crocodile, clearing a path straight to Buffon’s side.