"…"
Vivi trembled, unable to move as Shirogai's sand wrapped around her limbs like iron shackles.
"You bastard! Let Vivi go!"
Luffy, locked in a cage, bared his teeth and growled.
"Guhahahaha! Do you think barking will save her?"
Shirogai shoved Vivi down into a chair, his tone low and threatening.
"Princess Vivi, you should be quite familiar with my Sand-Sand Fruit. Move again, and I'll drain every last drop of water from your body. You'll be nothing but a pretty little mummy."
"Bastard!"
Vivi gasped for air, glaring at Shirogai's back as if she could burn holes through him.
He glanced over at Nico Robin, who hadn't realized her superior had been replaced, and smirked.
"Princess Vivi showed up right on time. Miss All Sunday, don't you think it's time for the banquet?"
Robin checked the pocket watch in her hand. She gave a faint smile and nodded.
"It's already past noon. The Ideal Land operation has begun."
Vivi stared at Shirogai, voice quivering.
"Y-you… What are you planning?!"
Shirogai's smile didn't reach his eyes.
"I'm going to erase the Alabasta Kingdom from the map."
He turned, looking down at her.
"Then, on its ruins, I'll build my own perfect kingdom. Your people will descend into chaos and despair—and become my playthings."
"You're delusional! Alabasta will never fall to someone like you!"
Vivi spat her words like venom, but Shirogai barely reacted. His eyes flicked to the cage where Luffy, Nami, Smoker, and the others were trapped.
"The greatest punishment is not death," he said quietly. "It's watching everything you care about crumble—right in front of you."
Vivi's mind raced. Shirogai had just revealed too much. Then it clicked—Mr. 2's ability. Her father's face. The plan…
"You… You're going to frame my father?!"
Shirogai let out a short laugh.
"Of course. I sent Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas to abduct King Cobra. With Miss Merry Christmas's tunneling ability, removing the king from the palace was child's play."
"Then," he continued, "I had Mr. 2 copy King Cobra's face. He'll parade as your father and 'confess' to the people in Yuba."
"He'll say the Dance Powder that caused the drought was his doing—that he burned it in the royal city to steal rain from the rest of Alabasta."
Shirogai's voice dropped lower.
"When people believe the King stole their rain and destroyed their crops, the public's rage will turn into revolution."
"YOU'RE INSANE!" Vivi shouted.
Nami gasped, horror written across her face.
"That's… That's disgusting!"
Luffy and Usopp growled with fury.
"Crocodile, you bastard! You're trying to destroy a country with lies!"
Zoro said nothing, eyes shut, conserving strength.
Smoker narrowed his eyes.
"This plan goes deeper than just a rebellion… doesn't it?"
Shirogai chuckled.
"As expected from the 'Mad Dog' of the Marines. Always sniffing out the blood."
He nodded, almost respectfully.
"Of course, there's more. Mr. 2, as the 'King,' will declare Yuba must be destroyed—to silence anyone who remembers the Dance Powder scandal."
"Pirates, disguised as the King's Army, will torch Yuba. Kill civilians. Leave nothing behind."
"Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger will destroy the port, cutting off all escape routes."
"Desperate citizens will be forced to flee to the capital, only to be stopped by the real King's Army. Blood will be spilled. War will break out in the streets."
"And when the rebel forces begin to lose, lacking proper weapons and leadership—"
Shirogai spread his arms dramatically.
"—I will appear."
He leaned in toward Vivi, grinning like a devil.
"I'll save the rebels. I'll defeat the 'tyrant' King Cobra. And in the eyes of the people, I'll be a hero."
"After that…"
He mimicked slitting a throat.
"King Cobra's head will roll."
"You're disgusting!" Vivi shouted, trembling with rage.
"Indeed I am."
Inside his mind, Shirogai spoke telepathically.
"[You really are twisted, Crocodile. I almost admire how low you'll go.]"
Crocodile's cold voice echoed back:
"Hmph. The weak are toys for the strong. If I hadn't done it, someone else—maybe even the World Government—would have."
"Blame Alabasta for being weak. Anyone holding information about a weapon like Pluton should expect to be hunted."
Shirogai muttered to himself, sighing:
"Innocence is a curse when you carry something powerful. Weakness is the original sin in any world…"
Meanwhile, everything Shirogai had described was already happening in Yuba.
The once-lively city was now a sea of fire.
Koza, leader of the rebel army, arrived to negotiate—only to be shot by a soldier in the fake King's army and collapse to the ground.
Citizens fled in terror as the fake King's forces stormed the streets.
At the port, Miss Doublefinger and Mr. 1 crashed pirate ships ashore, destroying the harbor and ensuring no one could escape by sea.
"Hehehe! Nothing beats chaos!" Mr. 2 Bon Clay, now back in his original flamboyant form, skipped away with joy as the fires raged behind him.
"The King turned into a weird Okama…?"
A little boy watching from the shadows blinked in confusion.
"Wait… Was that not the real King?!"
He turned to warn others, only to see two ominous figures approaching—Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger.
"You know too much, little brother," Miss Doublefinger whispered sweetly.
Mr. 1 raised a blade.
"Go to hell."
…
Back in the ruins, Koza, bleeding but supported by allies, gave a rousing speech to the rebel soldiers.
"The Alabasta Kingdom is lost! We march on Alubarna! We take the capital and build a new nation!"
The people, devastated and furious, roared in unison:
"Down with King Cobra!"
"Build a new Alabasta!"
"No more lies! No more drought!"
…
In the casino Rain Dinners, Crocodile sat at the top floor, drinking alone.
He stared out the window as smoke rose in the distance.
He spoke aloud, voice hollow.
"Shirogai. What's your real goal? You don't want me to take this country… yet you still let the plan unfold."
Shirogai's voice responded from within, calm and cold.
"Because this country needs to burn."
"All the years you spent poisoning it with fear and lies… The people's hatred needs to explode. Only then can the rot be drained."
Crocodile scoffed.
"You're such a hypocrite. You act detached… but I know you're trying to save this place."
Shirogai's reply was almost lifeless.
"[I don't care how many people die. This isn't about justice. Everything I do is to keep one person moving forward. One person.]
He'll be my blade. The nail I hammer into the heart of the World Government."
Crocodile exhaled slowly.
"So that weakling, King Cobra, joined Vespera too?"
---
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