Demon Slayer Virgil [Isekai One Piece]

"Very good, the effect is quite satisfactory." Zavia smiled as he watched the chattering crowd below.

"What's the point of doing this?" Crocodile, bound and standing beside him, asked with a sideways glance.

"I told you, all I want is fame. Nothing more." Zavia replied, hanging up the Transponder Snail.

"Fame... huh..." Crocodile looked down at the so-called king's subjects, his expression unreadable.

"Well, things are almost done. It's time to wrap this up. Ahem." Zavia cleared his throat, feeling the timing was right: "People of Alabasta! I will hand Crocodile over to the Marines, ensuring he remains imprisoned forever. So, you can finally live in peace!"

"Oh!!!"

"Urizen is our hero!!"

"Urizen! Urizen! Urizen!!"

"..."

The crowd below began chanting Zavia's alias.

Zavia didn't pay much attention. He wasn't a true hero. He placed the Den Den Mushis back into his pocket and left the clock tower with Crocodile.

Below the plaza, in the alleyway on the far right.

"This is impossible! Crocodile was actually defeated!"

Rebel leader Kohza watched the scene unfold with disbelief, his face etched with astonishment.

"What's wrong with that, Kohza? Doesn't this mean our goal has been achieved? To defeat Crocodile."

One of Kohza's subordinates spoke casually behind him, seemingly satisfied with Zavia's "defeat" of Crocodile.

"No, it's definitely not that simple! I need to find Vivi!" Kohza, however, sensed something was amiss and turned to head towards the palace.

Meanwhile, in the alleyway on the far left.

Crocodile's executives, Mr. 1, Mr. 2, Mr. 3, and others gathered there, their faces grim as they watched the scene at the clock tower.

"What should we do?! Boss has been captured? We're finished!" Mr. 3 panicked. He believed that if Crocodile was done for, he would be too. He didn't want to be sent to Impel Down.

"No, I don't think that's the case." Mr. 1 crossed his arms, his expression calm.

"Look, Boss is clearly bound and being declared defeated, but there's no expression on his face, only calmness. There's definitely more to this than meets the eye."

"So what do you mean?"

"Boss might have a bigger plan."

As expected of Crocodile's most trusted subordinate, Mr. 1's deduction was spot on. If Zavia were here, he would have applauded him.

"Let's go, back to the base. We'll wait for Boss there." With that, Mr. 1 led the others out of the alleyway.

…

"Alright, the goal is achieved. It's time for me to leave. Of course, I'll keep my promise, Crocodile." Zavia stood in the desert, a thousand meters away from the town, and spoke to Crocodile.

"How will you keep it? Make me stronger?" Crocodile remained skeptical.

"Yes, I'll teach you some techniques to make you at least less weak, so you have some fighting power when you enter the New World. And you need to change your arrogant mindset."

Zavia removed his mask, revealing his true face. Although Crocodile had seen it in the newspaper, seeing it in person still surprised him.

"You're younger than I thought."

"Is that so... Let's not waste time with idle chatter. Let's begin now."

"Now? Here?" Crocodile was taken aback.

"Where else? I don't have time to linger. I've had my fun, achieved my goal, and now it's time for me to leave." Zavia stored the Yamato blade in his spatial bag and looked at Crocodile.

"...Alright." Crocodile, feeling somewhat speechless, took a fighting stance and even revealed his hidden weapon, the poison hook.

"That's the spirit. If you don't give it your all, I'll be disappointed. Then, let's begin!"

…

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, six days had passed.

"Haa~"

Zavia sat on the bow of a small boat sailing towards its destination, letting out a yawn of boredom.

"Big brother, where are we going?" Arthur approached and sat beside him.

"To the Florian Triangle."

"The Florian Triangle?"

"Yes, a very 'scary' place." Zavia turned to Arthur with a smile.

"Sc-scary... How scary?" Arthur seemed a little frightened, suggesting he might be afraid of the supernatural.

"How scary, hmm... Let me think. For example, the entire island is full of zombies and ghosts~"

"..."

Arthur's face stiffened, and his body trembled slightly.

"Haha, just kidding. Don't worry, I won't let anything harm you." Zavia chuckled and patted Arthur's adorable little head.

"You promise, big brother?" Arthur grasped Zavia's hand and spoke softly.

Zavia didn't say anything, simply gazing at the sea in silence.

…

"That guy Zavia is at it again?"

Marine Headquarters, Marineford. Sengoku looked at the newspaper on his desk, a headache forming.

"Hahahaha, that's Zavia for you." Garp sat on the sofa, munching on senbei, clearly amused by the situation.

"Sigh, that Zavia never gives me a break. Now he's done two major things within a month, and both are big deals. How can the Marines save face?" Sengoku sat in his chair, closing his eyes, trying to calm his emotions.

"Hey, Sengoku, don't worry. That's Zavia, isn't it? His actions have always been strange. Besides, from what I can tell, that brat Zavia is probably trying to make a name for himself."

"Hmm? What makes you say that?"

"Look at Crocodile in this newspaper, Sengoku. You and I both know what kind of person Crocodile is, but in this picture, he looks completely calm, without any anger from being defeated."

"Now that you mention it, that's true..." Sengoku picked up the newspaper and examined the picture carefully, realizing Garp was right.

"Fame, huh?..." Sengoku stared at the newspaper, lost in thought.

…

"So this is the Florian Triangle?" Zavia steered the ship towards a vast expanse of mist, his expression unchanging.

"Hey, hey, big brother..." Arthur clung to Zavia's clothes, looking terrified. It seemed he was truly afraid of the supernatural.

"Relax, I'm here." Zavia patted Arthur's head to reassure him and then steered the ship into the mist.

"I wonder if we'll encounter Brook..."

Three hours after entering the mist.

Zavia had been wandering aimlessly within the mist for what felt like an eternity, his patience wearing thin.

"Hmph~ Another wrecked ship? How many is this now?"

Before Zavia's eyes lay a half-sunken, dilapidated pirate ship, surrounded by fish swimming lazily.

This was one of the many ships lost within the Florian Triangle. Zavia had lost count of how many he had encountered in the past three hours.

"Negative, negative, negative..."

Suddenly, an ethereal voice echoed around them, seemingly coming from behind, then in front, sometimes distant, sometimes near.

"Wuu~ Big brother~"

Arthur became even more frightened upon hearing the voice. Since entering the mist, he hadn't left Zavia's side, clinging tightly to his clothes as if fearing he would be snatched away by a ghost.

Seeing this, Zavia couldn't help but find it amusing. Suddenly, an idea struck him. He slowly reached behind Arthur and whispered in a spooky voice:

"Little boy, you're so cute~"

"Eek!!"

Arthur jumped up and clung to Zavia's body.

"Big brother! There's a ghost!"

"Hmph hmph hmph, hmph... hahaha..."

Zavia tried to keep a straight face, but he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Big brother? ...You scared me! You tricked me! Stop laughing!"

Arthur's face flushed red as he realized what had happened, and he started hitting Zavia with his small fists.

"Sorry, sorry. Seeing you like that, I couldn't help myself. But don't worry, no matter how funny it gets later, I won't laugh. Unless I can't help it."

"You're still laughing! You're not allowed to laugh! Not allowed!..." Arthur continued to pummel Zavia playfully.

"Alright, alright, calm down. How do you feel now? Are you still as scared as before?"

"Eh? It seems... I really am..." Arthur realized he wasn't as scared as before after Zavia mentioned it.

"Alright, since it's not so bad anymore, come down. We have a guest."

"A guest?"

"Yeah."

Just as Zavia finished speaking, a white ghost with its tongue sticking out emerged from the ground.

"Wh-what is that?" Arthur, who had just calmed down, immediately clung to Zavia's leg again.

"A Negative Hollow. It's a type of Devil Fruit ability, but strictly speaking, it should be a soul." Zavia spoke slowly, observing the ghost.

A smile appeared on his face. Encountering a Negative Hollow meant he wasn't far from Moria's ship.

This was good news. He was tired of sailing around aimlessly like a headless fly.

However, there was also bad news – this thing was immune to physical attacks.

According to the original story, these ghosts were immune to any physical attacks, making them practically invincible. Unless Zavia knew magic, he suspected that a phantom sword condensed from magical power might be able to harm them.

Additionally, these things could induce negativity in people but had no effect on those who were already deeply negative.

Zavia wasn't sure if it would work on people with strong willpower. After all, Vergil's willpower was unshakeable.

For the sake of one thing – obtaining power – he could overcome any emotion, including the love for his brother.

Although he ultimately couldn't bring himself to do it, Vergil truly believed he wanted to kill his brother Dante.

Well, yes, Vergil believed he wanted to kill Dante.

"So, time to figure out how to deal with this thing."

Zavia's eyes turned cold as he recalled the ghost's immunity to physical attacks. As for why it was only slightly cold, it was because he didn't know how to deal with this thing either. He didn't know any magic.