When Oliver began chasing that person, the mission updated once again.
[Remaining: 19/21]
'That means only Crocodile and Robin are left.'
Oliver stopped for a second when he heard the sound of the rebel army and the royal guard.
"I think it'd be a good idea to start getting ready," said Oliver, pulling out some blankets and a barrel of water.
Meanwhile, at the Alubarna palace, Crocodile had made his appearance for the first time, revealing his true objectives after injuring King Cobra and his guards.
Koza, the leader of the rebels, tried to stop the war after seeing this, but it was useless due to Baroque Works agents being embedded within both sides.
Crocodile had Vivi by the neck, holding her over the edge of the castle, ready to let her fall to her death.
"You did a great job spying on our company for two years," Crocodile congratulated her, enjoying the sight of the princess losing all hope of saving her country.
"In the end, you couldn't stop anything. Stopping the revolt, saving the kingdom... Your ridiculous ideals only caused more unnecessary victims! Let me tell you something. You can't save this country!" said Crocodile, completely breaking Vivi's spirit.
"Goodbye, princess..." he said, turning his arm into sand and letting Vivi fall. She tried to cling to him in vain.
Vivi began to fall, gritting her teeth in frustration as Crocodile laughed triumphantly, raising his head. Cobra screamed in despair, trying to free himself from the spikes as he watched his daughter fall.
Suddenly, Crocodile stopped laughing when he noticed something in the sky, though the distance and the sun behind the figure made it hard to see clearly. But as the figure got closer, Crocodile immediately recognized who it was.
"It can't be..." said Crocodile, seeing the teenager he thought was dead in the desert.
"CROCODILEEEEE!" shouted Luffy at the top of his lungs, riding on Pell, which brought a relieved smile to Vivi's face.
"LUFFY-SAN!" cried Vivi happily.
"Mugiwara!" shouted Crocodile, unable to believe he was alive.
Just before Vivi hit the ground, Luffy caught her, sighing in relief.
"I made it in time," said Luffy as Vivi desperately hugged him, tears still in her eyes.
"Luffy-san, Pell... In just a little while, the square will blow up! Everyone's going to die... No one can hear my voice... At this rate, the country..." Vivi sobbed uncontrollably, overwhelmed by everything that had happened.
"Don't worry. We heard your voice," Luffy assured her with a smile, surprising the princess.
"Yes," said Vivi, hugging him gratefully.
At the same time, the rest of the crew began gathering at the square.
"Why am I carrying you?! My injuries are worse than yours!" Zoro complained angrily, carrying Nami on his back.
"You're a man! Quit whining! My leg's injured and I can't stand! Ah, I'm fainting..." said Nami, faking the last part to gain Zoro's sympathy.
"LIAR!" yelled Zoro, irritated and indignant at her shamelessness.
Pell landed, letting Vivi and Luffy off. Luffy began stretching, winding his arm back, fully motivated and ready for the rematch.
"Be careful, Luffy-kun," said Pell.
"I ate a ton of meat, so I recovered the blood I lost. I... won't lose again," said Luffy confidently, staring at Crocodile.
"How did he get out of the quicksand with those injuries?" asked Crocodile calmly, though intrigued as he took a strong drag from his cigar.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH! Luffy's still alive!" shouted Chopper in surprise.
"Tony-kun!" said Vivi, surprised to see him.
"W-what?! Luffy!" said Usopp, shocked and relieved to see him safe.
"Vivi's here too!" said Chopper, also relieved to see she was alright.
"See? I told you! I knew it!" said Usopp, crying with joy upon seeing Luffy alive.
"Really?" asked Chopper, believing the lie as Sanji arrived with Matsuge behind him.
"Yeah right, does that look like the face of someone who knew?" said Sanji, seeing right through the obvious bluff.
"Usopp-san, Sanji-san!" said Vivi, relieved, as Zoro and Nami also arrived—and Nami had something to say to Usopp.
"This is terrible, Vivi-chan! You're really hurt!" said Sanji, worried.
"Usopp!" said Nami, hitting him over the head with her Clima Tact.
"Nami-san, Mr. Bushido... Everyone's alright..." said Vivi, relieved they were all alive.
"Who asked you to make a party gadget?!" Nami scolded Usopp angrily, frowning, while Zoro panted in exhaustion.
"You're standing perfectly fine right now!" Zoro complained.
"NAMI-SWAAAN!" cried Sanji, happy to see her.
"B-but it had a really strong attack, didn't it?" said Usopp, trying to calm Nami down.
"I'll kill you later!" Nami warned him. "Vivi. What's the situation? What's with this annoying sandstorm?"
"Well..." said Vivi.
"You bastard! Why is Nami-san injured?! I'll kill you!" Sanji asked Zoro angrily.
"But she's fine..." Zoro said, panting and pointing at Nami.
"Chopper, I need a favor. Could you bury my body in the wasteland?" Usopp asked before pretending to be dead, scaring Chopper.
"AAAAAHH! He's dead!" screamed Chopper, panicked, until he saw Usopp move. "AAAHH! He's alive!"
"Hey, where's Oliver?" asked Usopp as he got up, noticing he wasn't around.
"Wasn't he with you?" Nami asked.
"He was, but then he disappeared and left me fighting that weirdo alone!" Usopp said angrily.
"Maybe he got lost," said Zoro, eyes wide open, to which Vivi nodded.
"I don't think he's the kind to get lost," said Usopp.
Before they could continue talking, Luffy spoke to them.
"Sorry, guys. I already lost to him once. So... So I won't lose again! Take care of the rest!" said Luffy, determined and calm, entrusting them with everything else.
"Then hurry up," said Zoro.
"If you don't win, who will?!" said Usopp.
"I'm going to put an end... to all of this!" said Luffy, turning to look at them one last time.
"YES!" they all shouted, supporting their captain.
"I still have my friends..." Vivi thought with tears of relief, while Pell smiled at her.
"Crocodile!" shouted Luffy before launching himself like a slingshot.
"No matter how many times you try, you won't hit me. Looks like you're begging me to skewer you again," said Crocodile arrogantly as he turned to sand, smiling upon seeing Luffy wind up his punch.
However, Crocodile didn't expect what happened next—Luffy's punch landed squarely on his face, drawing blood and kicking off their battle.
Meanwhile, the missing Oliver was standing in front of a young man with light blue hair, who looked exhausted.
"You sure you don't want to give up?" Oliver asked the young man, who glared at him angrily.