At this moment...
Cobra could not remain calm.
The contents of the Poneglyph within the Royal Tomb...
Although he could not read the ancient script and didn't know exactly what was written, he had a general idea of its subject.
One of the three Ancient Weapons...
The location of Pluton!
If such a thing fell into the hands of Crocodile, and Nico Robin translated its contents, what would happen when a pirate obtained an Ancient Weapon?
Just imagining it sent a cold sweat pouring down Cobra's spine.
"Rear Admiral Sean, then..."
"No rush. One of my reasons for coming to Alabasta was to resolve this trouble, but there's no need to hurry. Let's handle the current situation first!"
"Very well. I wonder how you plan to do that, Rear Admiral Sean?"
"Simple. We'll do this..."
'''
Alubarna, the capital of Alabasta.
The number of citizens gathered outside the royal palace had already exceeded one hundred thousand—twice the size of the Royal Army guarding the gates.
Fortunately, the Royal Army was fully equipped, while most of the civilians held nothing more than farming tools, which kept them from launching a forced assault on the palace.
However, once the crowd reached a certain critical mass and found someone to fan the flames of rebellion...
"Come out, King! We demand an explanation!"
"That's right! Why should we be taxed just to drink water?"
"The slaughter of your own people—we want answers!"
"Tyrant, get out here!!"
Over a hundred thousand people roared in unison; the scene was on the verge of spiraling out of control. Yet, no one noticed that regardless of the slogan, there were always a few specific individuals in the crowd who started the chants.
Just then, the palace gates slowly creaked open.
Protected by hundreds of Royal Guards, a group of people stepped outside. Seeing this, the Royal Army outside quickly cleared a path, forming a perimeter to maintain vigilance.
"Look! The tyrant is out! Charge! Avenge the dead!"
"That's right! If we don't overthrow the tyrant, we won't even be able to afford water! We can't live like this!"
"Rebel! We rebel! Today, we overthrow Cobra's tyranny!"
"We're dead anyway! We might as well gamble everything! Charge!!"
When Cobra appeared, the agitators scattered throughout the crowd froze for a moment.
This wasn't part of the plan. Why did he come out?
But a thought quickly followed: wasn't this an even better opportunity? If they could eliminate Cobra right here, wouldn't that be ideal?
Once they recovered, these individuals immediately began inciting the crowd again. Fueled by this provocation, the already enraged citizens were instantly ignited.
One person... ten... a hundred...
With a few leaders taking the lead, the situation quickly descended into chaos.
More than a hundred thousand people launched a surge forward. Facing them, the Royal Army immediately raised their weapons, standing their ground.
It was clear what would happen next.
There would be countless casualties; blood would flow like a river. The bloodiest event in Alabasta's history was about to unfold today.
"I knew it! The King should not have come out! This plays right into their hands!"
Igaram was frantic. This was exactly the outcome he feared. He immediately prepared to pull Cobra back into the palace. Otherwise, if something happened to Cobra here, all of Alabasta would truly be doomed.
However, before he could act, something changed within Sean. An invisible, indefinable power suddenly erupted, sweeping toward the charging mass of a hundred thousand people.
This was the release of Reiatsu, but this time, Sean's control over his power was exquisite.
As Aizen had once said, it is incredibly difficult to control one's power when trying to step on an ant without crushing it.
For Sean, knocking out a hundred thousand people in an instant would be easy, but that would be pointless. He needed these people to serve as witnesses for what came next.
Therefore, he required pinpoint precision with his Reiatsu—enough to halt the riot, but not enough to make them lose consciousness.
A few seconds later, a shocking sight occurred.
The civilians, who had been charging forward in a frenzy, all stopped dead in their tracks. Most of them began to tremble violently.
What was Reiatsu?
Reiatsu was the pressure exerted upon the soul itself. This was no joke. Even though Sean had precisely controlled his power to ensure they remained conscious, the primal fear emanating from their very souls was more than any ordinary person could withstand.
"My name is Sean Campbell, Commander of the Marine's 16th Branch, with the rank of Rear Admiral!"
By channeling his Reiryoku, Sean's voice covered the entire plaza before the palace, even though he hadn't shouted. It was as if his voice was delivered directly into everyone's ears. Every single person could hear every word he spoke with crystalline clarity.
No matter how chaotic or noisy the scene had been, everything went silent.
"Some of you know me, some do not. That does not matter!"
"I have come here today to announce something: the truth behind the drought in Alabasta, and the truth behind the events that took place in the capital's market today!"
Everyone in the plaza was stunned.
Who was Sean Campbell?
Most of them knew. After all, he was a constant fixture in the headlines of the World Economic Journal.
The youngest Rear Admiral in the Marine, known by the title "The Marine's Executioner."
While the title was grim and some disagreed with his bloody methods, everyone agreed on one thing: Sean's iron-fisted approach was reserved solely for pirates; he had never harmed a single civilian.
Especially in the East Blue, where pirates had nearly vanished, Sean's reputation had skyrocketed.
But why had he come here, and why was he standing beside King Cobra?
Given Sean's personality, if Cobra were truly a tyrant who treated lives as grass, wouldn't Sean have dealt with him directly?
Confused, everyone looked toward the youth draped in the Marine officer's coat.
"Bring the man forward!"
"Yes, Rear Admiral Sean!"
Igaram nodded and immediately signaled several Royal Guards.
A moment later, a strangely dressed individual—neither clearly male nor female—was dragged forward by the guards.
The people in the plaza were bewildered. What was happening?
However, some of them, upon seeing the person being dragged like a dead dog, felt their expressions change drastically.
Wasn't that...
"Wake him up!"
"Yes, sir!"
In the next instant, a Royal Guard took out a water skin and splashed the contents directly onto the man's face.
The sudden splash of water jolted Bon Clay awake. Instinctively, he sprang from the ground, slipping into his Okama Kenpo fighting stance.
"Yo, still want to fight?"
"You... it's you! Stay back!"
Hearing that familiar voice, Bon Clay turned to see a face that was even more familiar. His legs immediately began to tremble. After all, Sean had left him with quite a bit of psychological trauma.
Especially...
"Come on, let's test your shapeshifting. Hmm, why don't you turn into King Cobra?"
"What are you talking about? I don't understand!"
"You don't understand, huh? Then let's play that game from before again. I'm sure you'll understand then!"
"Stop, stop! I'll do it! I'll change, alright?!"
To the side, Cobra and Igaram watched with great curiosity.
'A game from before?'
What on earth had Sean done to him to make him this terrified?
In the next moment, Bon Clay slapped his own face with his right hand. What happened next left everyone in shock.
Igaram's eyes widened. He looked at his own King, then looked back at Bon Clay.
Good grief, there really was no difference!
In the plaza, the hundred thousand people watching were equally stunned. One by one, they froze in place.
What was going on?!
"Alright, let me introduce this man. This is Bon Clay, an agent of Baroque Works. Because he ate the Clone-Clone Fruit, he can transform into anyone he has touched. The person you saw in the market today was actually him!"
"That's right. This entire situation was orchestrated by Baroque Works from behind the scenes. They attempted to incite the citizens' anger against their King to trigger a civil war."
"Think back carefully. In your memories, is King Cobra the kind of man who would do such things?"
"Isn't that strange?"
That's true...
The King in their memories was a kind, gentle man who always put the people first. Forget about inventing a water tax—the mere idea of him forcing them to kneel was bizarre.
Could it be that, as Rear Admiral Sean said, they had all been manipulated by this "Baroque Works"?
"Don't believe his lies!"
"That's right! Cobra isn't the man he used to be!"
"Exactly! Have you forgotten that Cobra used Dance Powder to make the entire country suffer a drought?"
As the crowd began to reflect on their doubts, the Baroque Works agents hidden among them grew restless. They couldn't let things develop further, or the boss's long-term plan would be destroyed in an instant.
They began to shout frantically.
Sean immediately locked onto these individuals. He then turned his gaze toward the citizens, who were becoming agitated again because of the instigators.
"You claim King Cobra used Dance Powder. If that were true, why is Alubarna suffering from the drought as well?"
That...
Caught off guard by Sean's logic, the agents were suddenly speechless. There was no way to explain that.
After all, if Cobra had truly used Dance Powder, Alubarna should have been blessed with constant rain while the rest of the country suffered. But in reality, Alubarna had been just as dry as everywhere else for the past year.
How could they explain that?
However, one of them quickly thought of something and screamed again.
"Even if it wasn't Dance Powder, it's because he's done too many evil deeds! Heaven is punishing us!"
"Yes! That's it! Otherwise, why has the drought lasted this long? Cobra must have done something to outrage the heavens!"
"That's right! Only when Cobra steps down can Alabasta be saved!"
Unbelievable...
Now they were bringing "heaven's punishment" into it?
Sean shook his head and slowly drew Hekireki.
A sudden burst of light erupted, forcing the people around him to scramble back. A few seconds later, a bolt of lightning soared into the sky, striking upward.
No one knew what Sean was doing. Many even wondered if he was resorting to violence simply because he couldn't win the argument.
But shortly after, they noticed something strange.
The clouds in the sky suddenly looked as if they had been electrified; threads of current were weaving through them. As time passed, more and more thunderclouds formed, and the sky gradually darkened.
Under Sean's skillful manipulation, the sparse water vapor in the atmosphere rapidly condensed.
In the next second, several bolts of lightning flashed violently.
A sudden downpour... descended upon them!
Rain...
It was actually raining!!
The entire plaza fell silent instantly. Over two hundred thousand people stood frozen in shock.
Even the Baroque Works agents hiding in the crowd were left staring in disbelief.