"Ginny! Are you okay?"
Though Michael had hung Ginny from the roof of the building, Kuma's height allowed him to easily pluck her down with a single reach.
"Of course I'm fine!" Ginny slumped on Kuma's shoulder, still refusing to back down.
"It's only because Michael stopped in time—otherwise, once I caught my breath, he'd be the one getting pounded into the ground!"
Everyone glanced at the battered terrain, then at the equally battered Ginny and finally at Michael, who barely had a speck of dust on him...
Ginny, no one have such a stubborn pride like you!
But as comrades who had fought side by side through life and death, no one pressed further.
Instead, they turned their attention to Michael, whom they hadn't seen in a long time.
"You haven't been to Baltigo in almost a year." Monkey D. Dragon stepped forward, gripping Michael's hand firmly.
"What brings you back so suddenly? Something urgent?"
"Can't be helped. Ever since I sent Rosinante undercover, he's been carrying out the Marine's plans nonstop." Michael nodded. "Meanwhile, your liberation campaigns across the four seas have progressed even faster than I expected. The covert ops teams needed me more than the Revolutionary Army these past months."
Dragon had expected this answer.
Once the Revolutionary Army's overarching strategy for the next few years had been set, the rest came down to execution—something that didn't require Michael's micromanagement.
"As for why I'm back now, aside from checking if Ginny's been slacking off, I also need Ivankov's help with a small favor."
Michael had no reason to hide his intentions from his Revolutionary Army comrades.
At that moment, the house Ivankov had used as an operating room was fully opened.
The first to emerge was naturally Ivankov's large head.
"Michael, the surgery is complete... Oh, Dragon, you're back? What perfect timing, hee—haw!"
Michael ignored the noisy Ivankov and shifted his gaze behind him.
A blue-haired mature beauty stepped out, clad in a Revolutionary Army uniform and draped in a fur cloak.
The moment that face lifted, even Michael couldn't help but shudder.
The resemblance was uncanny.
In terms of facial features and contours alone, she bore an eighty percent similarity to the original Vivi.
Yet her aura was far more mature and noble, while the scar across her nose bridge didn't mar her appearance—instead, it added a touch of vicious, yandere-like intensity.
It had to be said, the original Vivi was completely overshadowed by Crocodile after reverting to her original gender.
The difference in presence was simply too vast.
After all, when Crocodile was still the princess of Alabasta, the kingdom was at its peak of prosperity.
By the time Vivi grew up, Alabasta had already declined.
"Wow, Crocodile... or should I still call you Princess Nefertari?"
"Let's not bring up the old name," Crocodile shook her head. "From now on, there is only Crocodile."
[Okay gimme a pic of our princess croco here]
Michael nodded, noticing that Crocodile showed no signs of discomfort.
Instead, she instantly regained the regal bearing of her former princess days, every movement exuding nobility.
"Inhale—exhale! Even after reverting to a woman's body, this is one habit I just can't quit."
"Wait, Crocodile..." Michael suddenly spoke up. "Are you sure that undergoing the sex-change surgery again would alter your face from its original appearance?"
"Michael, you don't need to worry about that," Ivankov chimed in from the side. "As someone who saw Crocodile's original appearance back then, I can guarantee that the current Crocodile bears no more than thirty percent resemblance to her past self... The original Crocodile was a super delicate beauty, while this face now is the epitome of tomboys."
"...You really know your way around women, huh."
"Of course! I am the perfect being who embodies both masculine and feminine beauty!"
"Stop glorifying being a drag queen with such lofty words, you big-faced bastard!"
"So... the princess of Alabasta, is it?"
In the conference hall of Baltigo, all the Revolutionary Army's top officers had gathered.
Michael had informed them of Crocodile's identity.
But he only revealed her background—nothing more.
It wasn't a matter of distrusting the Revolutionary Army's officers, but rather that unlocking Pluton would be a task better suited for the Marines.
After all, Wano Country was already marked as another recruitment ground for him.
"Monkey D. Dragon, the notorious criminal whose infamy has spread across the seas... at least, that's how the World Government puts it." Crocodile, now changed into a set of clothes borrowed from Ginny's room, continued puffing on her cigar.
"I must say, I admire you revolutionaries. At least you've got more spine than those pirates."
"You're a pirate yourself, yet you look down on pirates?" Ginny beside him gave Crocodile a strange look.
It was hard for her to imagine that this man wearing her clothes was the same slicked-back pirate from earlier.
"And don't you dare compare us revolutionaries to pirates!"
With that, she slammed the table hard, flames curling from her nostrils.
"A Logia-type Flame-Flame Fruit user?" Crocodile hadn't witnessed Michael and Ginny's training battle, so seeing Ginny display her Devil Fruit powers now surprised him.
"The Revolutionary Army actually has a Logia Fruit user in their ranks?"
"Most likely, more than one." Dragon shook his head and nodded toward Crow beside him.
Understanding the cue, Crow immediately produced the Devil Fruit they'd brought back from the North Blue and placed it before Michael.
"Chief of Staff, this is the Devil Fruit I obtained at the cost of a shoulder injury!"
"However, none of us could identify what fruit it is, so we were hoping you could examine it."
At first glance, wasn't this Devil Fruit just an irregularly shaped lump of coal?
Then considering who obtained it...
"Dragon wasn't wrong. Now the Revolutionary Army has more than just Ginny as a Logia user." Michael placed the fruit back in Crow's hands.
"Congratulations, Crow. From now on, you'll be a Logia-type Soot-Soot Fruit user."
This outcome didn't surprise Michael.
After all, this had been Crow's fruit in the original story.
But witnessing this scene, Crocodile once again looked at Michael in astonishment.
Which meant his subordinate now had four Logia Fruit users at his disposal?
No, counting himself, that would make five!
"Michael... just what are you planning?"
Crocodile murmured to himself.
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