Tiberion lifted him off the ground with one hand, gripping his neck, while the cold gleam of unhidden contempt crystallized in his eyes.
"Fire Fist Ace… you're far too weak."
Ace, blood boiling with rage, could barely breathe, but he didn't back down.
"...Ptoo!"
He clenched his teeth with suicidal fury and, with a strangled grunt, spat out a bloody clot with all his might.
However, Tiberion merely turned his head slightly, just enough for the spit to graze his cheek.
"..."
But his expression shifted.
A nervous twitch pulled at his face, the veins on his forehead bulged, and a shadow of fury devoured his features. The silence shattered in an instant as Haki darkened his arm, and without breaking eye contact, he tightened his grip on Ace's neck and slammed him into the ground.
BOOM
The impact carved out a crater several meters deep, its center cracking open in jagged lines like scars across the rock.
"Guh—!"
Ace vomited a thick stream of blood the moment his body hit the bottom. The flames around him flickered one last time, then vanished, as his eyes rolled back and his body went limp.
"A-ACE??!"
Luffy, who had just arrived, witnessed the entire scene. A lump formed in his throat, and the unnatural stillness of Ace's body fused with a piercing surge of panic that blurred his eyes with tears.
Without naming his technique, he took a step back, anchored his foot, and launched his right arm behind him, stretching it in a way that funneled all his fury into a single strike, unleashed like a whip straight ahead.
At the other end, the lightning that once crawled across Tiberion's body had already faded, leaving only a dim blue glow fading over his skin.
Swish
His massive figure, now free of electricity, moved with a sharp snap of his footwear against the floor. Driven only by his raw physical power, he launched forward with such speed that, to Luffy's eyes, he became nothing but a dark blur—so much so that the extended arm struck nothing but air.
Luffy barely had time to widen his eyes when he suddenly felt a crushing grip tightening around his wrist.
In an instant, the world spun, his vision dissolved, and a Haki-clad hand drove itself into his chest.
Boom
"A-ah…"
The blow wasn't thunderous, but dry and deep—like a drumbeat. All the air in Luffy's lungs escaped at once, and for a fleeting moment, his rubber body meant nothing.
Feeling the impact rip through his ribs, his consciousness flickered out amid the tears.
His body rolled to a stop near Ace, as silence settled once more. Tiberion, still standing, released the limp wrist and turned his gaze toward the next ant.
Zoro emerged from the lingering dust cloud near the entrance, stepping forward until he was only a few meters away. With a quick glance, he measured the distance between himself and Tiberion, then positioned Yubashiri in his right hand and the unruly Sandai Kitetsu in his left.
!
On the other side, all it took was for Tiberion to move one foot forward for the certainty of defeat to sink into Zoro's bones, dissolving any illusion of pulling off a feat; the pressure radiating from his presence tightened Zoro's muscles, as if he were suddenly standing on the deck of a ship caught in the heart of a wild storm.
Even so, his body didn't falter. With a faint sound of his grip tightening on the hilts, he bent his front knee slightly and whispered under his breath:
"Nitoryu Iai: Sai Ku—"
But the words never finished, because just as the blades began to move, Tiberion was no longer there.
Swish
In the same tenth of a second, a reddish blur materialized right at Zoro's guard.
There was no visible Haki, but the moment the two fingers Tiberion extended met the blades, a burst of sparks erupted, lighting up the hall.
Boom
The impact rang out like the dry strike of a blacksmith's hammer on an anvil, and the shockwave that followed surged through Zoro's arms like a jolt of electricity, forcing him to dig his heels in hard to avoid being thrown back.
In the midst of the tremor, he spat through clenched teeth, clinging to his katanas with all the strength he had left as his body was pushed back in a straight line.
The ground cracked beneath him, splitting into two parallel grooves that stretched several meters, until he managed to wedge his heel into a raised edge and stop the drag.
"..."
The surroundings took a moment to stabilize—but his swords did not survive the blow.
The Sandai Kitetsu let out an almost living groan, cracked from the guard, and with a splintering sound, broke in two.
Yubashiri suffered the same fate: it splintered along the blade and shattered into fragments that clinked as they hit the ground.
As air finally returned to his lungs, Zoro noticed an involuntary tremor running through his forearms and legs—but it wasn't fear… it was the aftermath of the only blow that had left him truly shaken.
Clenching his jaw until he tasted blood, he fixed his gaze on Tiberion, who was shaking out his fingers.
"...Zoro."
The moment was broken only by the anguished gasp of a tiny reindeer in a hat, who stood trembling from head to toe, hesitating for a few seconds between retreating or fulfilling his duty—until at last, he pushed forward toward the bodies of Luffy and Ace.
Once there, without asking for permission, he dropped to his knees, placed his ear against their chests, and began checking for pulses, reflexes, and breathing—hoping that the monster who had just defeated them was still focused elsewhere.
It was also during that quiet interval that Vivi appeared… with eyes wet from fear and guilt. After all, everything had started with an idea of hers…
"Worried about their safety, princess…" A voice like a caress to the soul rose up behind her.
But before Vivi could fully turn, Hancock's silhouette came into focus. "How noble," she said.
Hancock looked at her with a smile that, despite its beauty, carried a hidden danger—and that alone was enough to make Vivi feel on her skin the same pressure that had brought down half the square minutes earlier.
"Don't you think it's time to save them?" Hancock asked, casting a glance at the trembling reindeer. "You are the princess of this kingdom, after all; I'll assume their lives weigh on your conscience."
"..."
Vivi swallowed hard, also looking at Chopper. She didn't respond immediately, but her eyes—steady despite the tremble inside—searched for a spark of hope: if Boa Hancock was asking this, it meant she had an interest in the matter, and maybe, just maybe, there was a chance to prevent an even greater catastrophe.
"If you have a way to help them, I'll cooperate," she said, standing tall with a courage as fragile as glass. "But tell me plainly, Boa Hancock—what do you demand?"
"Oh, it's quite simple," Hancock replied, letting an almost imperceptible blush touch her face. "I won the tournament for you. Whether it was whim or fate, I don't care much for anyone… except Tiberion-sama. And I want to offer him a worthy gift: you."
!!!
Vivi stepped back.
The idea struck her mind like a bolt of lightning, igniting every neuron with the same desperate question:
Become the trophy of a monster?!
"N-no… That's impossible! I'm the Princess of Alabasta!" she whispered, feeling her knees beg for surrender.
"You can't just hand me over like some prize!"
Hancock's eyes turned cold.
"The choice is yours: refuse, and your kingdom becomes a memory. Accept, and your little friends live. The reindeer will be free to heal them, and Alubarna will see the sun rise tomorrow."
"Tiberion-sama doesn't care about your Alabasta. But me? I will not be humiliated in front of him."
The weight of that threat pierced through Vivi's resistance. A single glance at Luffy's unconscious face, Ace's blood-stained expression, and Zoro's trembling form was enough to understand that every second spent hesitating could cost them their lives… the lives of her friends.
Meanwhile, Tiberion cast an indifferent glance at the scene in front of him and let out a sigh of boredom.
These people were still far too weak. Fighting them wouldn't bring him any growth in power, so it was a complete waste of time.
Shaking his head, he swiftly expanded his Observation Haki, covering all of Alubarna. His senses penetrated everything—until they brushed against a familiar presence, deep beneath the desert surface… a presence now saturated with resentment, one that could only belong to Crocodile.
The spark of satisfaction that flickered in his eyes was as fleeting as it was deadly.
"I won't make the same mistake twice…" he muttered under his breath. And without a second thought for all the destruction he had caused, he set off toward the Tomb of the Kings.
Hancock, still behind Vivi, fixed her gaze on her one last time and delivered a sentence in a whisper only she could hear:
"I'm going to follow Tiberion-sama. You'd better walk beside me without protest… or the deal is off."
Vivi drew a deep breath, taking in the scene behind her—her friends' fallen bodies inside the palace—and accepted that no plea would change her immediate fate. She gave a small nod, trembling slightly.
"..."
Only when that trio disappeared from sight did the color return to the place. Sanji and Usopp rushed in, Sanji slung Luffy over his shoulder and helped Zoro to his feet, while Usopp bent down to lift Ace by the armpits.
…
Underground chamber, Tomb of the Kings
The fixed light bathing the Poneglyph was enough to reveal the sweat beading down Crocodile's forehead—betraying the storm inside him that he could no longer hide. The silence only made the frantic heartbeat louder, a heartbeat that knew all too well who was descending to find him.
"Nico Robin, have you finished interpreting it?" he asked impatiently. "Don't even think about playing games with me."
Robin didn't flinch at the question; she simply kept her eyes on the Poneglyph.
"There's still one fragment left…" she lied, stretching out every syllable—because deep down, for the first time in years, she was certain that time was finally working in her favor and not against her.
Crocodile's pulse spiked at those words. He raised his hooked hand to grab her wrist—but before he could touch her, two small arms blossomed on his shoulders, wrapped around his wrist, and immobilized it in an instant. Robin stepped back just enough to keep a safe distance.
"NICO ROBIN!" Caught off guard, he roared. "You dare betray me?!"
Robin cast a glance at the immobilized hook, then at the tense face still dripping sweat.
"You don't even need me to betray you," she said coolly.
"You know that the moment I tell you what the Poneglyph says, I'll lose all value to you… and you'll get rid of me. Am I wrong?"
!
Realizing he'd been read like an open book, Crocodile clenched his teeth—but inhaled deeply, and in an attempt to shift from panic to persuasion, softened his voice with the same tone he used long ago.
"Obey me, and you'll be untouchable under my shadow. I can help you bring down the World Government and make you my sole ally. Ohara will have its revenge."
"..."
Robin blinked, unmoved.
"I'm sorry. Right now, you don't have the power to protect me… and even less to protect yourself. You're running from Tiberion Hanma—and you know it."
The name hit like saltwater.
Crocodile's eyes went wide—and in an instant, he lost control.
________
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