The gates of Alubarna groaned as the rebel army surged forward. The hot wind howled like a warning, whipping through the canyon and streets. At the center of the chaos, the rebel commander Koza rode ahead of his men, hand raised in a desperate plea.
"Hold your fire! This isn't what we came for!" he shouted, trying to be heard over the thunder of footsteps.
But before his voice could carry, a shot rang out. A hidden sniper—a Baroque Works agent in disguise—pulled the trigger.
The bullet grazed Koza's shoulder, blood misting the air. His horse reared with a sharp whinny, and panic took hold among the rebel front lines. Koza struggled to keep his balance but fell to the ground, clutching his shoulder in pain.
"It's an ambush!" one rebel shouted.
"Protect Commander Koza!" another cried, rallying those nearby.
The front lines collapsed into chaos. Swords were drawn, rifles raised. The royal army, misinterpreting the sudden movement and seeing weapons drawn, readied their own assault, assuming the worst.
From the edge of the city walls, Vivi arrived atop the giant desert crab, desperately waving her arms.
"Stop! Don't fight! It's a trick! Baroque Works is behind this!"
But her voice was lost beneath the thunder of marching feet and shouts of war. Dust rose like smoke, and explosions lit the sky as both armies clashed. The civil war had begun.
Elsewhere in the city, atop a flat rooftop overlooking the battlefield, Shadow Crocodile stood motionless, facing Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger.
Mr. 1's eyes narrowed, his gaze wary. "That thing... It moves like Crocodile, but it's not him. It feels... wrong."
"Whatever it is," Miss Doublefinger said coolly, fingering the detonator in her palm, "we need to finish this quickly. We don't have time to waste."
With a flick of her wrist, her body spiked outward with deadly sharp needles, her entire form morphing into a weapon. Mr. 1 stepped forward, his arms transforming into long, serrated blades.
Shadow Crocodile didn't flinch. The black mist around him curled like a serpent, reacting instinctively to danger.
Mr. 1 charged first, slicing with blinding speed. His blade passed cleanly through the shadow—only for the figure to melt into mist and reform directly behind him.
A clawed arm lashed out with the force of a cannon, slamming Mr. 1 into the wall with a bone-shattering impact. Stone cracked beneath him, and the entire rooftop trembled.
Miss Doublefinger shrieked and hurled herself at the figure, her body a barrage of spikes. She aimed for the chest, hoping to impale the specter. But a shadow tendril shot out with frightening speed, wrapping tightly around her arm and yanking her back before she could land a hit. She screamed as the detonator slipped from her grasp.
Before it could fall to the street below, another tendril caught it mid-air and coiled it back into the swirling shadows.
From the dark mist, a voice echoed, resonating with controlled fury.
"You're not blowing up anything today."
Luffy's voice.
Robin and Luffy raced through the narrow alleyways of Alubarna. The sound of clashing steel, gunfire, and screaming echoed across the city, bouncing off sandstone buildings and towering columns. Each step they took brought them closer to the heart of the chaos.
"It's below the square," Luffy muttered between breaths. "In a transport wagon. Covered in supplies. Hidden in plain sight."
Robin narrowed her eyes. "That would place it directly beneath the center of the fighting... an ideal location for maximum casualties."
Luffy nodded grimly. "Exactly where they want it."
He suddenly sprinted ahead, the power in his legs kicking up a trail of dust behind him. Robin tried to keep pace, but he moved like a blur, each stride fueled by sheer determination and shadow-enhanced instincts.
She clenched her jaw. "He really isn't the same boy the world thinks he is."
The alley opened into a chaotic main road, and Luffy launched himself off the edge of a crumbled wall, landing on a balcony and vaulting into the next street. He was no longer running—he was hunting.
In the palace square, chaos reigned.
The smoke of cannon blasts and sand filled the air, and visibility was low. Soldiers from both the rebel and royal armies screamed and shouted, attacking blindly, believing they were defending their homes. The ground was littered with weapons, wounded, and confusion.
No one noticed the unassuming transport wagon that had rolled to a stop near the center of the square. It was covered with a tarp and seemingly filled with crates of grain.
Its driver, a quiet Baroque Works agent, had already vanished, slipping into the alleys to await the aftermath. His job was done.
Inside the wagon: a massive bomb. Wires snaked through a tight casing. A red light blinked steadily on the timer—counting down.
Vivi now stood in the square, bruised and coughing from the dust. Her voice was hoarse from shouting.
"Please, stop this! We're being used! You're all being used! This is Crocodile's plan!"
Nearby, an explosion knocked her off her feet. She hit the ground hard, her vision spinning. The chaos seemed to drown out even her thoughts.
Sanji appeared from the smoke, kicking away a soldier who had rushed toward her. He reached down and pulled her up.
"We have to find the bomb," she gasped.
"Luffy's already on it," Sanji replied, his voice low. He lit a cigarette from a burning torch and narrowed his eyes at the crowd. "We just have to survive until he gets there."
They moved to higher ground, hoping to get a glimpse of the battlefield, unaware of how close destruction truly was.
On the rooftop above, Mr. 1 groaned as he pulled himself from the broken wall. Blood trickled down his chin. His steel body armor was dented from the impact.
Miss Doublefinger hissed, glancing at the tendrils holding the detonator. She lashed out with one final spike attack—only for the shadows to absorb the blow completely.
Shadow Crocodile stepped forward, the mist swirling tighter. His face remained blank, emotionless, as he raised his hand.
The detonator dissolved into his palm like melting snow. His eyes flashed briefly—a trace of Luffy's will echoing within the hollow shell.
Back in the square, a ripple of shadow spilled across the ground, coiling toward the transport wagon like a serpent.
Luffy emerged moments later, sprinting full-speed through the chaos. He barely dodged an errant blade, vaulting over debris and fallen soldiers.
He locked eyes on the wagon.
"There!"
He rushed forward, pushing past startled fighters. One Baroque Works agent stepped in front of the wagon, a dagger gleaming in his hand.
Luffy didn't stop.
With one punch, enhanced by fury and precision, he shattered the man's jaw and sent him flying. The crowd around them barely noticed, too consumed by battle.
He reached the wagon and tore open its canvas cover.
Inside, the bomb glowed. The countdown blinked.
3... 2...
Luffy lunged.
The device blinked again—then stopped.
Shadow tendrils wrapped around the bomb's casing, neutralizing the mechanism and absorbing its energy.
Luffy stood over it, panting, heart pounding.
Behind him, a scream of rage echoed.
Miss Doublefinger hurled one last spike from the rooftop, aiming straight at Luffy.
But before it could land, a wall of sand-shadow rose and blocked it. The impact rippled but didn't breach.
Shadow Crocodile appeared beside Luffy, holding up the crushed detonator like a trophy.
"No kingdom will fall today," he said in a cold, echoing tone.
Luffy nodded, his gaze sweeping the battlefield. "Now... we stop this war."
To be continued...
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