A Bride for the Desert King | Crocodile

Chapter 12: The Scoop of the Century (The Reactions: Part 4)

Kamabakka Kingdom – Emporio Ivankov's Palace

Laughter boomed through the grand dining hall, shaking the chandelier's crystal prisms until they chimed like distant bells. Emporio Ivankov clutched the newspaper in both hands, his enormous eyes crinkled with amusement.

"Ooh ho ho ho ho! Now this is a sight I never thought I'd see!" he crowed, shaking the paper with theatrical flair.

Across the ornate table, Sanji groaned into his hand, cigarette smoke curling around his fingers. "That guy?" His voice dripped with disbelief, the cigarette clinging precariously to his lips. "You're tellin' me Crocodile—that miserable, cigar-chomping sand demon—has a woman now?"

Ivankov's grin widened beneath his painted lips. "And not just any woman, honey! Look at the way he holds her. That's no business partnership—that's a claim!" He waggled his manicured fingers like a magician about to unveil a trick.

Sanji leaned forward and snatched the paper from Ivankov's grasp, eyes narrowing at the black-and-white image dominating the front page. The grainy photograph captured Crocodile striding through the sunlit streets of Serapha, his usual air of cold authority as unshakable as ever. But beside him stood a woman draped in a gown of burgundy and gold, her presence as striking as the dawn against the desert sands. She moved with quiet grace, her head held high as if she belonged nowhere but at his side.

Sanji's jaw clenched.

That bastard.

It wasn't enough that Crocodile had power, wealth, and enough arrogance to choke a Sea King—no, now he had her, too? Some beautiful, elegant woman willingly walking beside him while Sanji was stuck training on this godforsaken island, surrounded by—he glanced sideways at the Okama warriors giggling into their teacups—absolutely no beautiful women in sight.

Life was cruel.

"Tch!" He clicked his tongue and tossed the newspaper onto the table with a rustle of pages. "Whatever. Doesn't matter to me."

Ivankov gasped, pressing a hand to his chest as if Sanji had personally wounded him. "Ooooh~ So jealous, my little Sanji-boy? Feeling left out, hmm?"

Sanji's eyebrow twitched dangerously. "Why the hell would I be jealous of Crocodile?" he snapped, crossing his arms with a huff. "I don't give a damn who he's sleeping with."

"Oho~ Sleeping with, you say? So scandalous!" Ivankov clasped his cheeks with both hands, eyes gleaming with exaggerated glee.

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT, DAMMIT!" Sanji's face turned red as laughter erupted around the table, the Okama warriors whispering conspiratorially behind painted fans.

"Poor Sanji-boy," one cooed, batting their lashes. "So upset another man found love before him~"

"Maybe he should try his luck with Crocodile's woman, hmm?" another teased, sending the table into fresh giggles.

Sanji seethed, smoke curling angrily from the cigarette clenched between his teeth. "Oi! Keep it up, and I'll—"

"Now, now," Ivankov interrupted, still smirking as he picked up the newspaper once more. His eyes danced across the headlines with keen interest. "Hmm... Crocodile stepping back into the spotlight like this, making such a bold, public move... That's the real story here."

Sanji rolled his eyes. "You mean besides the fact that some poor woman's stuck dealin' with his grumpy ass?"

Ivankov chuckled, the sound low and knowing. "Oh, honey, nobody just 'ends up' with a man like him. That woman? She's something special. And I wanna know why."