The moment the war broke out, people from Luffy, Crocodile, and Kohza's sides were all heading towards the same destination, Alubarna.
And as time passed, the first to arrive at the city, naturally, were Crocodile's group, who had planned everything in advance.
Alubarna East Gate.
On the mountainside of a nearby tall mountain, Mr. 4 and Ms. Merry Christmas stood on the edge, overlooking the empty city below.
The moment the news of the Rebel Army's attack arrived, all the townspeople had fled the area.
Behind them, Cobra, with blood on his face, was tied there, unable to move.
"The Rebel Army should be here by now, right?!"
"Guarding this old guy, I'm almost bored to death!"
"I really want to see the war soon!"
"Don't you agree, Mr. 4!"
Ms. Merry Christmas said listlessly, with anticipation in her eyes, asking Mr. 4 beside her.
After about two or three seconds, Mr. 4 slowly nodded.
"Hmm!"
Ms. Merry Christmas immediately cursed at Mr. 4 in a rage,
"You idiot, you're too slow!"
Just then, a voice suddenly sounded behind them.
"Are you cursing Mr. 4 again, Ms. Merry Christmas?"
Ms. Merry Christmas was startled by the voice and quickly turned to look.
She saw Crocodile standing on the mountaintop behind them, a smile on his lips, his eyes, which always seemed to look down on others, narrowed.
Beside him stood Robin, who had returned to his side.
"It's because this idiot is too stupid!"
Ms. Merry Christmas didn't hold back, cursing again, then looked at Crocodile and said,
"Boss, since you're here, I'll leave this old man to you. Mr. 4 and I are going down to meet up with Mr. 1 and the others."
Crocodile smiled and nodded upon hearing this, then continued,
"Tell Mr. 1 that the Rebel Army will attack in less than thirty minutes."
"Vivi and Straw Hat haven't shown up yet; they'll definitely rush here during this time to stop this war."
"You absolutely must hold those city gates for me!"
Ms. Merry Christmas had strong confidence in her eyes, saying coldly,
"In short... as long as Princess Vivi disappears, that's all that matters... right?!"
Crocodile smiled upon hearing this, indicating his assent.
Afterward, Ms. Merry Christmas and Mr. 4 left the area.
At this point, Crocodile and Robin came before Cobra.
Crocodile, with a cigar in his mouth, a smile on his lips, and a furrowed brow, his eyes full of amusement and confidence, looked at Cobra and said,
"How pathetic, King!"
Cobra's eyes held anger, but he scoffed at Crocodile's remark with disdain,
"Hmph! What's the point of your sarcastic remarks now?"
"Do as you please, kill or torture me!"
Crocodile maintained his confident and playful smile, saying,
"When this kingdom falls, your royal family will naturally have to be buried with it."
"But before that, I have something to ask you, which is also my biggest purpose for coming here..."
As he spoke, Crocodile's expression turned serious and he asked, "Where is Pluton?"
...
About ten minutes after Crocodile interrogated Cobra.
Ten kilometers west of Alubarna.
Under a pile of rocks.
Luffy and his group met up with the Super Spot-Billed Duck Squadron who came to pick them up midway.
They had been waiting there for a long time.
And now, the time was ripe.
At this moment, the entire Straw Hat Crew was dressed in white cloaks, completely covering themselves, all disguised as Vivi.
Luffy looked at everyone and said, "You guys will now pretend to be Vivi going to stop the war."
"Draw away the executives guarding near the city gates."
"Then I'll take the opportunity to have Vivi take me around their line of sight to the Funeral Hall."
Luffy could not directly expose his whereabouts to the Funeral Hall, otherwise, if Crocodile knew, he would definitely be suspicious.
Upon hearing Luffy's command, everyone except Vivi and him responded in unison, "Understood!"
Immediately, they mounted their Super Spot-Billed Ducks and set off towards Alubarna.
After they departed, Luffy took out a den den mushi and dialed Nojiko.
After the other party connected, Luffy immediately spoke, "You can start preparing the live broadcast equipment!"
...
Nanohana.
The city, which was damaged by Cobra in the morning, had recovered somewhat, but this did not quell the anger of the people.
The streets were crowded with people, gathered everywhere discussing the morning incident and the impending battle between the Rebel Army and the King's Army.
And at this moment, in the largest square.
Nojiko arrived in front of a tall building on the edge of the square.
She began to set up the already prepared screen on the wall.
Her action quickly attracted countless onlookers.
Everyone was discussing, but no one dared to step forward to stop her.
Because in front of Nojiko, there was a circle of strangely shaped, mouth-like carnivorous plants, and plants with huge flower buds, constantly swaying, always revealing danger, as if they would attack anyone who came near.
...
While Nojiko was setting up the live broadcast equipment, Crocodile was here.
"I told you, there's no such thing here, so stop asking."
Cobra turned his head away, frowning, his eyes evading Crocodile's gaze.
Crocodile looked at Cobra's transparent lie, smiled, and said, "Stop struggling, Cobra."
"You're not still thinking this war can be stopped, this country can be saved, are you?"
As he spoke, Crocodile walked over, lifted Cobra, and pulled him to the edge of the mountainside, looking at the south of Alubarna.
There, like dark clouds pressing down on the city, an endless Rebel Army was charging at full speed.
As they got closer and closer, the ground began to shake, like an earthquake, emitting rumbling sounds.
Crocodile looked at the formidable Rebel Army and laughed loudly at Cobra, "Gahahahaha..."
"Do you see it, Cobra?"
"The Rebel Army has arrived."
"This war is about to begin."
Bang!
As soon as Crocodile finished speaking, a cannonball was fired from the city wall, aimed at the Rebel Army that had entered range.
Although it missed, this cannonball also signaled that the war had finally begun.
Soon, more and more sounds of cannon fire continuously rang out, and the roars and shouts of the Rebel Army were deafening and terrifying.
"Gahahahaha..."
Crocodile suddenly burst into laughter and said, "This war... has finally begun."
"How about it, Cobra?"
"Do you want to stay here and watch your citizens die one by one, or will you take me to find Pluton now?"
Crocodile knew that Cobra was a person who cared deeply about the lives of his citizens.
So when more and more citizens' lives were threatened, he would be unable to bear it and would yield.
Indeed, upon seeing the war begin, Cobra suddenly sighed, seemingly accepting his fate, and said, "Alright! I'll take you..."
"Gahahaha..."
Crocodile laughed loudly again.
He then lifted Cobra and left the place.
...
At the same time, Alubarna South Gate.
Mr. 1 and other executives were guarding there.
The sounds of the Rebel Army and the King's Army clashing had already begun, with cannon fire constantly roaring everywhere.
"It's starting, it's starting, it's finally getting interesting."
Ms. Merry Christmas said excitedly.
"Straw Hat and his crew haven't arrived yet, but the Rebel Army has arrived first, so... what should we do?"
Mr. 2 put his hands together above his head, forming a heart, dancing ballet, spinning around and saying, "I think we should just sit back and watch the tigers fight. The war has already broken out, even if the Princess appears now, it's too late."
Ms. Doublefinger took a puff of her cigarette and said confidently, "Our mission is to eliminate the Princess, we just need to follow orders."
Mr. 1's expression was cold, and his tone was extremely cold.
While the other four were talking amongst themselves, Mr. 4's voice began from their first sentence and only finished after their last sentence.
"I... see... someone..."
When the four first started chatting, they didn't pay attention to Mr. 4's words, but after Mr. 1 finished speaking, they all froze.
They suddenly looked at Mr. 4, who was looking west with binoculars.
The four simultaneously looked in that direction.
They saw a line of Super Spot-Billed Ducks rushing towards them at high speed, with a person draped in a white cloak sitting on the back of each duck.
"You idiot, why are you reporting so slowly?"
Ms. Merry Christmas cursed Mr. 4, then continued, "Those are the palace's Spot-Billed Duck Squadron, Princess Vivi must be among these people."
"They want to enter the city, we must stop them."
As she finished speaking, she and the others simultaneously prepared for battle.
Just as the Spot-Billed Duck Squadron was about to charge towards them, they suddenly turned sharply, scattering in different directions and running through several different gates.
And Mr. 1 and the other executives also split up at this time, each pursuing a certain "Princess Vivi."
...
At the same time, 10 kilometers west of Alubarna.
When Luffy sensed with his Observation Haki that the executives at the gate had all been drawn away, he and Vivi immediately set off.
They advanced at full speed towards the Funeral Hall.
...
Led by Cobra, Crocodile and Robin walked together on the way to the Funeral Hall.
"Pururu pururu pururu..."
At this moment, a den den mushi sound suddenly rang out.
Robin took out the den den mushi from her body and answered.
A voice immediately came from the other side, reaching the ears of the three.
"Princess Vivi and Straw Hat have been found."
"They are now trying to break through us and enter Alubarna."
"They... are doomed!"
Upon hearing Ms. Doublefinger's report, Crocodile suddenly burst into laughter.
"Gahahahaha..."
"Did you hear that, Cobra?"
"Your last savior has also been captured by our people."
"She won't be able to escape the pursuit of those people."
"That Straw Hat Crew are all rookies, only their Captain is a pirate with a 60 million Berries bounty."
"A pirate crew of this caliber simply doesn't have the strength to fight me."
As he spoke, Crocodile's expression suddenly turned fierce, with anger in his eyes, and he said in a low voice through the den den mushi, "Leave Straw Hat for me, I will personally deal with that guy after I finish my business."
"Yes!"
Ms. Doublefinger's report came from the other end of the den den mushi.
...
After the five Vivis slipped through different gates, the Rebel Army finally arrived at the foot of the South Gate city wall.
Looking at the city gate close at hand.
All the Rebel Army soldiers were in high spirits.
"Charge! Concentrate forces and break through the South Gate in one fell swoop."
"Break through the city gate, eliminate the King's Army, and capture Alubarna."
"Ah ah ah..."
"Capture Alubarna, charge!"
"..."
Amidst roars and shouts, the Rebel Army charged up the steps towards the South Gate.
However, Kohza, the leader of this group, felt incredibly confused.
Why did the King's Army's combat strength seem so low?
Why did the cannonballs on the city wall always miss their targets?
These questions left him very puzzled, and he vaguely felt that something had happened.
Under the Rebel Army's fierce assault, the King's Army's gate was easily breached.
The Rebel Army officially entered Alubarna.
This made Kohza even more confused.
He said to a Rebel Army cadre beside him,
"You lead the troops and continue forward; I will go into the palace myself to take a look."
As soon as he finished speaking, that person exclaimed worriedly,
"What are you going to do, Kohza?
"Now is our best chance to break through Alubarna in one fell swoop."
"If we miss it, we might lose this opportunity."
Kohza shook his head and said,
"I still feel something is wrong. You stay here and direct; I'll be right back!"
"Besides, I also want to go to the palace to find the King about something."
With that, Kohza did not wait for the other party to reply and headed alone towards the palace in the North District.
...
At the same time, the good news that the Rebel Army had successfully broken through once again reached Crocodile.
"Guhahahahaha…"
"The Rebel Army has entered Alubarna!"
"You've really fallen, Cobra."
"The King's Army was trained by you to be so vulnerable, breaking through the first line of defense so quickly."
Crocodile laughed uproariously, mocking Cobra.
Cobra looked dejected and said helplessly,
"Isn't this all your fault?"
"A large number of King's Army defected to the Rebel Army, and the King's Army's morale had long since vanished."
"Now that you've even tied me up, where would they find the will to fight and resist?"
Crocodile laughed heartily at his words and said,
"Guhahahahaha…"
"That won't do, Cobra."
"If the King's Army is defeated so easily, wouldn't all the planning I put into this war for so long be wasted?"
As soon as Crocodile finished speaking, Robin's voice suddenly came from beside him.
"We've arrived!"
Crocodile immediately stopped laughing at her words and looked forward.
He saw an extremely magnificent tomb, built with a level of luxury no less than a castle.
"Finally… have we arrived?!"
Crocodile exhaled softly, the corners of his mouth slowly curling upward.
...
At the same time, in Nanohana, in the square.
Nojiko's broadcasting equipment was already prepared.
The sudden appearance of this projection equipment made everyone present incredibly curious.
But they only dared to watch from a distance, not daring to approach.
Discussions among the crowd were constant.
"Hey! What are you going to show, after all?"
"Yeah! Answer us!"
"Why haven't you started yet? What are you waiting for?"
"It would be great if you could show us the war situation in Alubarna."
Someone brought this up, and such voices immediately resounded throughout the square.
"That's right, show us the war situation in Alubarna!"
Currently, the most captivating thing in all of Alabasta was the war taking place in Alubarna.
So everyone wanted to know the situation there.
Just then, Nojiko's den den mushi rang.
"Purupuru purupuru…"
She immediately answered upon hearing it.
Then she heard Luffy's voice from the other side.
"You can start!"
Upon receiving the command, Nojiko's mouth curved into a smile, and amidst the anticipation of everyone around her, she activated the projection den den mushi.
As the projection den den mushi cast images onto the huge screen, a series of scenes immediately came into everyone's view.