Chapter 46: Senior Agents, Respective Opponents
Alubarna, the royal capital of Alabasta, was built on a circular plateau rising from the desert. A total of five white marble stairways on the front and sides provided the only means of entering the royal capital.
"Everyone! We can see the Royal Capital!"
At this moment, Reiner and the crew were riding hard across the desert on horseback, already approaching the stairs of the Main South Gate.
Reaching the foot of the stairs leading into the city, Reiner summoned his undead.
"There's no time to delay. Let's hurry up."
This time, they had headed straight for the capital from Katorea, only stopping to rest once midway. Even so, the Baroque Works agents had likely already set up an ambush.
With the news of the ceasefire spreading among the Rebel Army, it would surely reach Baroque Works quickly, especially since they had Den Den Mushi for contact.
Ditching the horses, the group immediately charged up the stairs until they reached the gate at the top.
"Halt! Who goes there?!"
"This is a special period! The entire city is under martial law!"
Several guards raised their spears, blocking their path. Behind them, a large contingent of the Royal Army stood in formation, ready for battle.
"It's me!" Vivi directly threw back her hood, revealing her cascade of sky-blue long hair and her face.
The guards were stunned upon seeing her, immediately lowering their weapons. "Princess Vivi! What are you doing here?"
"There's no time to explain! Let us in quickly!" Vivi called out urgently.
"But... they... Understood!"
"Quickly, make way for the Princess!"
The guards looked at Reiner and the others behind Vivi, filled with questions, but they still resolutely carried out their princess's command.
Even now, during a critical period where war could erupt at any moment, no soldier would doubt this princess.
Meanwhile, inside a certain house within the royal capital, two people sat at a table. Not far away in a corner lay a man, bound and gagged.
"Croco-boy~ Is Honey's plan still necessary now?"
Mr. 2 asked the grim-faced man beside him cautiously. Their original plan was to kidnap the King, then have Mr. 2 impersonate him to incite unrest and accelerate the outbreak of war.
They had already captured the King, who was tied up nearby. However, they had just received news that the Rebel Army had learned the truth and were spreading out to announce a ceasefire.
BANG—!
"Straw Hat crew!" Crocodile gritted out through clenched teeth, his face twisting with dark fury.
This news had come too suddenly, without any prior warning.
They had only arrived in Alabasta yesterday, yet somehow, bafflingly, they had already quelled the rebellion?
This group, whom he had previously disregarded, had unexpectedly accomplished such a major feat without him even noticing.
"The original plan is unnecessary now."
Crocodile forced the words out, his voice chillingly cold. "You rendezvous with Mr. 1 and the others. Eliminate the Straw Hat crew and Princess Vivi."
"Understood, Croco-boy~" Mr. 2 acknowledged, touching the tips of his fingers together as he pirouetted away in ballet steps.
At this point, restarting the war would be extremely difficult. Once the truth spread, practically no one would want to step onto the battlefield again.
Crocodile's face remained dark. He walked over to the bound Cobra, crouched down, and forcefully ripped the tape from his mouth.
"Sand Crocodile!"
"Don't shout so loudly."
Interrupting Cobra's furious roar, Crocodile spoke with a sinister grin:
"Seems you really raised a good daughter, Cobra. After I obtain that thing, I will be sure to repay her properly."
"Whatever you're plotting, you've already failed!"
Cobra cursed, struggling against his bonds, pressing his face close to Crocodile's.
"Your conspiracy has been exposed! The World Government will absolutely strip you of your Warlord title! You're finished, Crocodile!"
"Hehehehe~ Warlord?"
Crocodile pressed his golden hook against Cobra's throat, smirking coldly.
"That title means nothing. I only accepted it for my own convenience."
"Since things have come to this, let them strip it. Once I obtain the Ancient Weapon, what can even the World Government do to me?"
"You... you..."
Cobra stared at Crocodile, utterly stunned into silence. So that was his true goal! How did he find out?
Cobra then gritted his teeth, glared fiercely at Crocodile, and growled:
"That's nothing but a rumor! No one knows if it's true or false, and no one can verify it!"
"Hehehehe, you don't need to worry about that. You just need to tell me where the Poneglyph is."
"In your dreams! I would die before revealing even the slightest bit of information about the Poneglyph!"
"You will tell me the Poneglyph's location."
Crocodile grinned sinisterly. "I've planted a bomb somewhere in this city. When it explodes, it will affect a radius of five kilometers. Cobra, you wouldn't want to see so many people in this city die, would you?"
"Bastard!!!"
Cobra's face contorted savagely as if wanting to swallow Crocodile whole, his eyes nearly splitting with rage as he roared,
"You animal!!!"
"Hehehehe~~"
Meanwhile, in the city streets – empty because residents from the outer areas had been moved to shelters due to the imminent threat of war...
BOOM!!!
A violent explosion suddenly erupted, halting Reiner and the crew in their tracks as they headed towards the Royal Palace. They stopped, looking around.
"What was that!?"
"An exploding baseball?"
"Over there!"
Following the direction Reiner pointed, they saw a tall man with disproportionately thin limbs standing in a hole, his upper body exposed above ground level, holding a solid all-metal baseball bat.
"That's Officer Agent Mr. 4!" Vivi shouted, her expression serious.
"His partner, Ms. Merry Christmas, is a Mole-Mole Fruit user! She can dig freely underground!"
"He's an enemy, right!?" Luffy charged straight forward.
"Be careful, Luffy!" Vivi yelled in alarm. "His arm strength is incredible!"
The all-metal bat in Mr. 4's hand clearly bore a '1t' marking.
Before Vivi's words faded, Luffy, rushing towards his opponent, suddenly stumbled. Two mole claws had shot out from the ground, clamping onto his feet.
"Eh? Eh? Eh? Wait a sec!"
Luffy was startled by the sudden attack. Before he could break free, Mr. 4's bat swung around and smashed heavily into Luffy's face, sinking in and sending his head snapping back violently.
"Don't worry about Luffy; blunt attacks don't work on him."
Reiner glanced sideways and upwards. A tall, sturdy, bald man stood on a nearby rooftop, arms crossed, looking down on them.
"We've got more enemies. Looks like everyone's here."
Mongrel. Dares to stand so high above me, Reiner thought, displeased.
Tap... Tap... Tap...
Just as he finished speaking, a sexy woman with an afro appeared behind them, clicking her high heels as she sashayed forward like a cat, her bright red lips parting to issue a seductive voice,
"To think you resolved the rebellion so quickly. You all are quite impressive."
"All because of you, Honey's fun secret plan got cancelled," another figure in strange attire walked out. Sanji couldn't help but shiver. "What kind of pervert is this?"
"How rude, bastard!"
Mr. 2 looked mortally offended, leaping forward in ballet steps.
"Let me show you... the power that combines the strength of a man and the flexibility of a woman! The power of an Okama!"
"Okama Kenpo!"
His exposed long legs, covered in hair, whipped towards Sanji with incredible speed. Sanji met the attack head-on, his own pitch-black kick mirroring the move.
"Damn Okama! Stop being disgusting here!"
Sanji cursed, a cigarette clamped between his teeth. Feeling the force transmitted through his leg, he was secretly shocked – someone could actually match his leg strength? He yelled back to Reiner and the others:
"Leave this guy to me! You guys keep going!"
"Go?" The bald man on the rooftop jumped down coolly. "Underestimating us, are you? Today, you all die by my blades!"
Mid-air, Daz Bonez curled his fingers into claws. His dark hands suddenly glinted with sharp, cold light as he swung both hands towards Vivi, sending invisible slashes flying towards the group.
"Ten Finger Quick Slash!"
Flying slashes? No, should be generated using his fruit ability.
Reiner secretly directed the Katana Devil and other undead forward to protect the Weakling Trio (Nami, Usopp, Chopper), while Zoro had already drawn his swords, stepping in front of the nearby Vivi.
CLANG—!
"Strange slashes... Then leave this one to me," Zoro smirked, parrying the finger blades, his eyes fixed on his opponent with keen interest.
♧♧♧
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
♧♧♧
-> 15 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.patreon.com/c/Segais
(Just remove the hyphen to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you