Chapter 45: Heading to the Royal Capital
Inside the dim meeting room, about ten people sat around a round table. Kohza and Vivi sat opposite each other. The Straw Hat crew and several of Reiner's undead remained standing behind Vivi, not taking seats.
BANG—!
One man leaped up, slamming both hands heavily onto the table, his expression stunned as he yelled.
"What did you say!?"
"Hey, is this real?"
"I knew it! The King would never do something like this!"
Several other rebel leaders also spoke up, their expressions varied, but all held a trace of amazement.
Among them were several members of the Suna Suna Clan who had played with Vivi during childhood and trusted her more, but not everyone felt the same.
"Why should we believe you?"
"What if this is just a conspiracy cooked up by the royal family, seeing the war turning against them, trying to frame someone else?"
"Exactly! Do you have any proof, Princess Vivi?!"
A few dissenting voices began to emerge.
Reiner wasn't surprised by this at all. The fact that some people had managed to sit and listen to Vivi's entire story was already thanks to the fortuitous rain.
"Proof... I don't have any right now—"
"...No need to say more," Kohza interrupted Vivi.
"Wait, Kohza! You have to believe me! Father would absolutely—"
"No, I believe you," Kohza stated plainly. However, these words made the others restless.
"Leader! You can't just because she's Princess Vivi!"
"Wait! This is too rash!"
"Yeah! What about the brothers who died..."
"Everyone quiet! Listen to me—" Kohza shouted, cutting off the noisy crowd. He rubbed his temples, leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and began to speak:
"It's not because of Vivi. Calm down and think carefully. If you had to choose between Crocodile and Cobra, who do you think is more likely to do something like this?"
Kohza truly proved himself capable of rallying 700,000 troops, managing to calmly set aside three years of war-fueled hatred to analyze the situation.
"A king who reigned conscientiously for decades, developing this barren land... what reason would he possibly have to do such a thing? No matter how scarce water is in the capital, the royal family surely wouldn't lack their share."
Kohza continued with his eyes closed:
"And think back... the King's personality changed drastically three years ago, coinciding exactly with Crocodile's arrival in Alabasta... Isn't that too much of a coincidence?"
"We never considered it from this angle before, but following Vivi's words and looking deeper, aren't there far too many 'coincidences', big and small?"
Silence descended upon the meeting room...
Everyone's face grew somber as they lowered their heads, lost in thought and recollection...
"...Yeah. If I had to pick one, I would definitely trust the King more."
"How could that King possibly do something like this? I still find it hard to imagine..."
"Believe Vivi, everyone!"
A brown-haired man suddenly stood up and shouted. He was a former member of the Suna Suna Clan. He had long grown weary of the war; if not for Kohza, he wouldn't even have joined the Rebel Army.
"Several of us have known King Cobra since we were kids! Don't we know in our hearts what kind of person he is?"
Tears streamed from the brown-haired man's eyes as he continued shouting, "I didn't want to fight anymore long ago! Too many people have already died! Do you really want to continue!?"
Hearing this, the others around the table began to be moved. Of course, they didn't want to continue. Only those who have experienced it know the cruelty of war; the gory scenes haunted their nightmares daily.
A portion of the group was already prepared to declare their stance, while others remained undecided. However, there was one person whose thoughts were diametrically opposed...
A man sitting just two seats away from Vivi looked stunned by the situation unfolding.
The Boss never said this might happen!
Correct. He was one of Baroque Works' members infiltrated into the Rebel Army, having risen to a leadership position two and a half years ago.
Their mission was to continuously incite the rebels' emotions and even sabotage any negotiation attempts with the Royal Army.
Looking at the current situation, the man's palms began to sweat, his fists clenched tightly.
Should I attack Princess Vivi now? If Princess Vivi dies here, the Royal Army will definitely attack, and then even if the rebels lose their fighting spirit, they'll be forced to respond... but...
If I make a move now, I definitely won't escape. But if I don't act, the war won't start on time, ruining the Boss's plan...
I'm dead either way! Damn it! The Baroque Works spy gritted his teeth, palms sweating profusely.
Maybe... maybe I should just flee as soon as the meeting ends? Even if I'm hunted down, there's still a slim chance of survival. If I act here, I'm absolutely dead!
Having reached this conclusion, the man took a breath, gradually unclenching his fists.
However...
"Stand up. Roll up your sleeve."
Reiner spoke coolly. The Blue Ogre summon, cloaked though it was, already had the tip of its spear pressed against the spy's throat.
Sorry not sorry~ Having Observation Haki is just badass.
The Blue Ogre and Red Ogre had alerted him the moment the man's hostile intent arose. Reiner had initially planned to wait for him to make a move and catch him red-handed, but then the man gave up. Tch.
Everyone looked shocked. Several rebel leaders reacted instantly, drawing firearms and aiming them at the Blue Ogre.
"Don't move!"
"He is an undercover agent for Baroque Works," Reiner stated calmly. The Blue Ogre's spear pressed closer, slightly breaking the skin, causing blood to seep out.
"I'll say it again. Stand up. Roll up your sleeve for everyone to see."
Baroque Works members had identifying tattoos on their arms; he had discovered this during the fight for the Dance Powder.
Hearing this, everyone turned to look sideways at the accused man, their expressions growing strange. "Hey Doron, you..."
Rolling up a sleeve shouldn't be that hard, right? Why not just prove your innocence?
The man's face darkened further, a venomous glint flashing in his eyes.
Was it useful? No!
Forget him; everyone in this room combined wasn't enough to take on the Straw Hat crew. Faced with overwhelming combat power, he had no room for resistance.
Soon, under threat to his life, the undercover agent confessed everything he knew.
"Doron... you..."
"I can't believe what Princess Vivi said was all true."
The group of leaders looked utterly incredulous. It was all too convoluted; their brains couldn't keep up.
"Since that's the case, stop standing around," Kohza finally spoke, breaking the atmosphere.
"Now that we have witness testimony, let's spread the news to our other comrades immediately."
"I will personally make a trip to inform the people at the other bases right away."
Taking advantage of the rain while the rebels' fighting spirit was dampened, the leaders began moving around, explaining the truth.
Kohza also took some men and departed from the main base camp towards the other strongholds...
"There's nothing more we can do on the Rebel Army side now," Sanji stated, back in the meeting room where only the Straw Hat crew remained.
"Next, let's escort Vivi directly to the Royal Palace and sync our information with the royals."
"Thank you... Truly, thank you all so much," Vivi couldn't help but cover her face, thanking them repeatedly.
"The little delinquent is going to cry again," Reiner chuckled softly. This time, Nami didn't roll her eyes, just offered a faint smile along with him.
"But our business isn't finished yet," Luffy raised his hand, bumping his fist against his palm, and grinned. "The final enemy hasn't been dealt with, right?"
"Yeah. If we don't take care of him, this whole situation will just repeat itself in different ways," Zoro added, one hand resting on his sword hilt, a smirk playing on his lips.
"The rebellion has been stopped. If Crocodile doesn't give up, he'll likely go after the King in the capital," Reiner lit a cigarette and stated coolly.
"Get ready to cross the desert. Then we head straight for the Royal Capital."
"This time, we need to find some suitable desert mounts first. I can't handle transporting everyone with my undead."
Having decided, Reiner went off to find some horses. Sanji also started asking the rebels for some food and water supplies.
Once prepared, the group departed from Katorea, heading straight for the Royal Capital of Alabasta – Alubarna.
The final stage of the Kingdom of Sand...
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