Doc Q, however, was still sunk in gloom.
He lowered his head, shoulders slumped, and muttered weakly:
"Ahhh… No matter how hard we struggle, we'll never become Celestial Dragons in this life. They're born as Celestial Dragons… and we're born as trash. What a cruel fate… Alas~ Why wasn't I born a Celestial Dragon?"
"..."
The moment those words left his mouth, the entire Blackbeard Pirates crew collectively fell into silence.
No one wanted to speak.
No one could speak.
"…You are truly a fucking talent."
Xiao's mouth twitched as he stared at Doc Q, who had single-handedly annihilated the crew's fighting spirit with one sentence.
This guy was the same species as Usopp—
A negative-energy monster.
…
…
On Ace's side, the frustration in his chest had nowhere to go.
So, he vented it on the Sea Kings that had blocked his path—
beating them senseless, roasting them thoroughly with flames, and stuffing himself until full.
After that, Ace had no choice but to return to Alabasta.
Not for any strategic reason—
But because he had seen someone he hadn't seen in a long time.
His little brother.
Monkey D. Luffy.
What made things worse was that Luffy was currently being chased down by Marine Captain Smoker.
And then something happened that left everyone stunned.
Ace—
the Ace who had nearly wiped-out Blackbeard's entire crew by himself—
Was actually fighting Smoker to a standstill.
A perfectly even fifty–fifty exchange.
"…Is Ace deliberately humiliating us?"
Van Augur clenched his rifle so hard that veins bulged on his arm.
For someone as calm and composed as him, this was the closest he'd ever come to losing control.
Anyone would break.
They had just been chased halfway across the sea by Ace like frightened dogs—
And now he was evenly matched with a nobody?
It felt like a slap to the face.
For a moment, the entire Blackbeard Pirates crew wondered the same thing:
Was Ace mocking them on purpose?
"They were just comparing Devil Fruit abilities."
Xiao slapped Van Augur firmly on the shoulder.
"Smoke versus fire. Naturally a draw."
He paused, then added calmly:
"Ace didn't even use Haki. Not even once."
At the same time, Xiao had forcefully washed Ace's reputation clean.
After all—
If Ace were weak, wouldn't that make them look even worse?
Only by making Ace seem terrifyingly strong could the Blackbeard Pirates justify their own escape.
After all,
praising your enemies, hyping yourself, and stepping on your teammates—
Those were the three sacred arts for climbing the Black Sun Arena ladder.
…
…
Meanwhile, on the other side of Alabasta—
The rebel army continued its march toward Alubarna, the royal capital.
Wherever they passed, resistance collapsed almost instantly.
Before the overwhelming power of the Earthly Executors, most enemy forces had no chance to fight back.
Yet during the advance, something deeply unsettling emerged.
The distribution of sin values in Alabasta was… wrong.
Very wrong.
In theory, the officials who oppressed the people should have been riddled with sins.
But in reality—
They were clean.
Painfully clean.
Even the most corrupt among them barely reached double-digit sin values—
at worst guilty of greed or lust, nothing unforgivable.
Such numbers couldn't even ignite the flames of judgment.
They weren't qualified for divine punishment at all.
In contrast—
Every single captain among the hidden soldiers was steeped in guilt.
One man in particular had a sin value exceeding five digits.
Tens of thousands of sins.
How many innocent lives had he destroyed?
And yet—
This grotesque imbalance only grew more obvious the closer they drew to the royal capital.
By all appearances, Alabasta's upper class was filled with upright, frugal officials.
Their lifestyles were modest—
often poorer than wealthy merchants.
Meanwhile, corruption festered at the lower levels.
This absurd reality forced the advancing forces to halt.
Because if this anomaly wasn't resolved—
Then the revolution itself would lose all meaning.
The Earthly Executors existed to punish true evil,
not to slaughter innocent people wielding no real power.
"…Have we misunderstood His Majesty all along?"
Koza and several other rebels—
those who had grown up with Vivi and could freely enter the palace—
couldn't help but feel shaken.
"Could everything the king said be true?"
"Is there really someone hiding in the shadows, manipulating everything… framing His Majesty?"
In their memories, King Cobra had always been gentle and approachable.
Even when they were children—
Even when they caused trouble, annoyed Princess Vivi, or got into fights—
The king never lost his temper.
He only laughed, urged them to reconcile, and treated them to food.
That was the man they remembered.
Which was why, from the very beginning,
they had never truly believed that such a king could suddenly become a heartless tyrant.
And now—
That buried doubt had finally surfaced.
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