Inside the dimly lit conference room, more than ten people sat around a round table. Koza and Vivi sat opposite each other, while the Straw Hat crew and a few of Reiner's undead stood behind Vivi rather than taking seats.
Bang—!
A man suddenly jumped up, slamming both palms on the table, his expression shocked as he shouted:
"You said what?!"
"Oi, is this for real?"
"I knew it—His Majesty could never do such a thing!"
The other rebel army officers began speaking one after another, their expressions varied, but all carried a hint of astonishment.
Among them were several who had been members of the Suna-Suna Gang as children, who used to play with Vivi. They trusted her more than most—but not everyone was the same.
"Why should we believe you?"
"What if this is just the royal family, seeing the war go against them, making up a scheme to shift the blame?"
"That's right. Do you have proof, Princess Vivi?!"
The voices of doubt began to rise.
Reiner wasn't surprised. The fact that they were willing to sit and listen to Vivi explain everything from beginning to end was already thanks to the blessing of the rain.
"Proof… for now, I—"
"…No need to say more." Koza interrupted her.
"Wait, Koza! You have to believe me! Father would never—"
"No. I believe you," Koza replied calmly. Yet his words made the others restless.
"Leader, you can't just believe her because she's Princess Vivi!"
"Hold on! That's way too hasty!"
"Exactly—our fallen comrades…"
"Quiet! All of you, listen to me."
Koza raised his voice, silencing the chaos. Rubbing his temples, he leaned back against the chair, closed his eyes, and spoke:
"I'm not believing her because she's Vivi. Calm yourselves and think carefully. If you had to choose between Crocodile and King Cobra, who seems more likely to have done this?"
Koza was indeed worthy of leading an army of 700,000. He could remain calm enough to set aside three years of hatred and think rationally.
"A king who's ruled for decades, who worked tirelessly to develop this barren land—what reason would he have to do such a thing? No matter how scarce water becomes, the royal family would never lack their share."
Still with eyes closed, Koza continued:
"Think back. Three years ago, the king's personality suddenly changed. And that just happened to be the same time Crocodile came to Alabasta. Isn't that too much of a coincidence?"
"Before, we never thought in this direction. But if you follow Vivi's logic, there are far too many 'coincidences'…"
The room fell into silence.
Everyone lowered their heads, thinking back with heavy expressions.
"…Yeah. If I had to pick, I'd trust the king."
"There's no way His Majesty would do such things. Even now, I can't imagine it."
"Let's believe in Vivi!"
A brown-haired man suddenly stood up, shouting. He had once been in the Suna-Suna Gang. He had long since grown sick of war—if not for Koza, he would never have joined the rebellion.
"Several of us grew up seeing King Cobra with our own eyes! Don't we know what kind of man he is?"
Tears welled in the man's eyes as he shouted again:
"I've wanted to stop fighting for so long. Too many have died already. Do you really want to keep this up?!"
The words moved many around the table. Of course, they didn't want to continue. Only those who had lived through war knew its cruelty—the bloody scenes haunted their nightmares every night.
Some were already ready to side with Vivi. Some remained hesitant. But among them was one whose heart was firmly opposed.
Just two seats away from Vivi, a man sat stiff, his face stiffening.
The boss never said anything like this would happen!
That's right—he was one of Baroque Works' infiltrators in the rebel army. Two and a half years ago, he had risen to the rank of officer.
His mission was to constantly incite the rebels, even sabotaging negotiations with the royal army.
Sweat dampened his palms as he clenched his fists tightly.
Should I attack Princess Vivi right now? If she dies here, the royal army will definitely strike. Then, no matter how much the rebels waver, they'll have no choice but to fight. But…
If I strike now, I won't escape alive. If I don't strike, the war might stall, ruining the boss's plan…
Damn it! Either way, I'm dead.
The Baroque agent gritted his teeth, palms slick with sweat.
Maybe… if I run right after the meeting ends, I might live. Even if they hunt me down, at least I'd have a chance. But if I strike here, I'll die for sure!
With that thought, he exhaled slowly, loosening his grip.
But then—
"Stand up. Roll up your sleeves."
Reiner's calm voice cut through the air. The spear in the hands of the cloaked Blue Oni was already pressed to the infiltrator's throat.
Sorry, but having Observation Haki really is broken.
The moment the man's hostility rose, Blue Oni and Red Oni had warned Reiner. He had originally planned to let the guy make a move to catch him red-handed, but… the man chickened out. Pathetic.
Shock spread through the room. Several rebel officers immediately drew their pistols and aimed them at Blue Oni.
"Don't move!"
"He's a Baroque Works infiltrator."
Reiner's calm words made Blue Oni push the spear closer, drawing blood at the man's throat.
"I'll say it again. Stand up. Roll up your sleeve for everyone to see."
Members of Baroque Works bore distinctive tattoos. Reiner had discovered this in the battle over the Dance Powder.
Everyone turned toward the man, with confused expressions on their faces.
"Oi, Doron, you—"
Rolling up your sleeve isn't that hard. Why won't you just prove your innocence?
The man's expression grew darker, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes.
But… what's the point? It's useless.
Forget me—even if everyone in this room banded together, we couldn't match the Straw Hats. Against overwhelming strength, there was no hope of resistance.
Soon, under the threat of death, the infiltrator spilled everything he knew.
"Doron, you…"
"So the princess was telling the truth after all…"
The rebel officers were shaken. The truth was too twisted for them to follow—but they had no choice but to accept it.
"Enough standing around."
Koza finally broke the heavy silence.
"Now that we have both testimony and proof, we need to spread this to the other rebel units immediately."
"I'll go myself. We must get the truth out quickly to the other camps."
Seizing the moment while the rain had dampened their battle fury, the rebel officers began moving, spreading word of the conspiracy.
Koza, too, took some men and left the base to deliver the message.
"Now that the rebellion is handled, there's nothing more we can do here."
Inside the conference room, only the Straw Hats remained. Sanji spoke up:
"Next, we should take Vivi straight to the royal palace, so the king's side also knows the truth."
"Thank you… truly, thank you all so much."
Unable to hold back, Vivi covered her face, repeating her gratitude again and again.
"The crybaby's at it again." Reiner chuckled softly. This time, Nami didn't roll her eyes—she only smiled faintly along with him.
"But our task isn't finished yet."
Luffy raised his fist, clashing it against his chest with a grin:
"The real enemy still hasn't been defeated!"
"Yeah. If we don't take him down, this whole scheme will just repeat itself." Zoro rested a hand on his sword hilt, smirking.
"The rebellion's been stopped. If Crocodile refuses to give up, he'll probably target the king directly at the capital."
Lighting a cigarette, Reiner exhaled and said:
"Get ready to cross the desert. We're heading straight to the royal capital."
"This time, though, we'd better find proper desert mounts. I'm not putting up with undead again."
With that decided, Reiner went to acquire horses, while Sanji gathered food and water from the rebels.
Once preparations were complete, the group left Katorea, setting their sights on the Alabasta capital—Alubarna.
The final stage of the Kingdom of Sand.