"So it was him?" Douglas Barrett muttered after listening, but in the next moment, he suddenly opened his eyes and stared at Qin Chuan.
Qin Chuan was taken aback by Barrett's glare. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Captain Qin Chuan, it's true I fought the Sand Crocodile, but that was over twenty years ago. It's not surprising you know I served under Roger—after all, he was a legend, and his crew were well-known. But how could you possibly know what happened during my solo journey?"
Qin Chuan realized he'd let something slip. There was no reason he should know about Douglas Barrett's fight with Crocodile.
"The secrets of heaven must not be revealed. You'll understand eventually," Qin Chuan replied calmly.
He obviously couldn't say, "I know from watching your cartoon." That would sound insane, and there was no way Barrett would believe it. So, he decided to act mysterious.
Sure enough, Barrett was stunned. If he hadn't seen Qin Chuan's terrifying strength at Impel Down, he might've thought he was bluffing. But that power... it seemed like Qin Chuan truly possessed an overwhelming ability—something that could pierce the veil of fate itself.
If that was the case, it was terrifying indeed.
For the first time, Douglas Barrett felt a deep sense of awe and respect for Qin Chuan—rooted in fear of the unknown.
"Captain Qin Chuan, where are we heading next?"
"To Alabasta, to meet Crocodile," Qin Chuan said.
"He's in Alabasta? Why bother with him?"
"I'm going to beat him—and then ask if he wants to join us. If he refuses, I'll gladly open a vacancy in the Seven Warlords."
"You're planning to become one of the government's lapdogs?" Barrett asked, narrowing his eyes.
Though he accepted Qin Chuan as captain, he had no intention of bowing to the World Government.
Qin Chuan laughed. "You're thinking too much. That title means nothing. But in the New World, pirate fleets move in dozens. If it's just the two of us, we'll be worn out in battle. That's why I plan to recruit fighters and build our own crew."
Barrett sneered. "You think that guy's worthy to join us?"
He clearly didn't respect Crocodile. After all, their previous battle had ended inconclusively. The idea of joining forces with him annoyed him.
"His strength isn't bad. He's one of the Seven Warlords for a reason. More importantly, he has a Logia-type Devil Fruit. You know how powerful that is."
In the world of pirates, Devil Fruits are categorized into three types: Paramecia, Zoan, and Logia. Logia is considered the strongest. Its core ability is elementization—rendering physical attacks useless. Aside from a few exceptions with natural counters, only Haki—especially Armament Haki—or the Yami Yami no Mi can effectively deal with a Logia user.
If the user's Armament Haki isn't strong enough, they can't harm a Logia user at all. So, having a Logia fruit grants a tremendous advantage.
Even Douglas Barrett, a fearsome warrior, only possessed a Paramecia-type fruit—the Fusion-Fusion Fruit. His ability allows him to combine and fuse inorganic objects with his body or reshape them into powerful weapons.
Though powerful, it didn't carry the same innate defense and elusiveness as a Logia.
"Hmph. So what? I'll beat him myself when we meet!" Barrett said coldly.
Following Qin Chuan's memory, their warship changed course and headed toward the Kingdom of Alabasta. Two days passed on the open sea.
Suddenly, a massive ship appeared in the distance.
"Looks like a pirate ship. Want to stop it?" Barrett asked.
Qin Chuan narrowed his eyes. The ship's bow was carved into a giant red dragon, and a skull with crossed swords hung from its twin masts.
"You've got to be kidding. Another familiar face already?" Qin Chuan smiled.
"My acquaintance?"
"Someone who once sailed with you—though maybe just an intern back then. You remember him?"
"Who?"
"Red-Haired Shanks. He's become one of the most influential pirates in the New World. Sooner or later, he might rule it. He's one of our future targets too," Qin Chuan said.
The ship in front of them matched the Red Force, the flagship of the Red-Haired Pirates, in both scale and design.
And based on the timeline, Shanks had likely just lost his arm in Windmill Village. If that was true, they were probably preparing to head into the New World.