Undoubtedly, the mastermind behind all this was Chiyu.
Copy‑Copy Fruit users are exceedingly rare in this world.
Yet for Chiyu, taking on someone else's appearance is nothing more than the simplest, lowest‑level Transformation Jutsu—even a child in the Ninja Academy could do it.
With a single Shadow Clone disguised as Crocodile, Chiyu quietly set up a Visual Den Den Mushi using help from Chaka and the others, and in one stroke exposed and crushed every last one of Crocodile's schemes.
He even diverted the public's fury away from King Cobra and planted it squarely on Crocodile himself.
Sometimes an entire battlefield can be reversed without a single drop of blood being shed.
Right now
All of Alabasta exploded in anger, but the target of that anger was now Crocodile.
In Rainbase, the "City Of Dreams," legions of enraged citizens stormed Crocodile's headquarters—the lavish casino Rain Dinners—and smashed everything inside to pieces.
They even found his secret room and destroyed all it contained, killing his pet bananagator as well.
Finally they set a great fire, reducing the grand, pyramid‑shaped casino to ashes.
Elsewhere, statues of the one‑time national hero Crocodile were toppled, broken, and spat upon.
Anything connected to him was burned to cinders.
At Koza's command the rebel army turned on Baroque Works agents, venting its wrath on them.
Baroque Works members were stronger than ordinary folk, but could not withstand a million‑strong rebellion.
Together, the ranks of Baroque Works numbered barely two thousand.
Faced with so lopsided a power gap, Baroque Works collapsed like dead wood.
The agitators Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas were soon captured; what awaits them will likely be a fate worse than death.
The agents Crocodile sent to stop Chiyu—Mr. 1 (Daz Bonez, the Dice‑Dice Fruit user) and his partner Miss Doublefinger (Zala, the Spike‑Spike Fruit user)—were intercepted long ago by the royal guard under Captain Chaka.
Powerful as those two were, Chaka himself is a Zoan user: the Dog‑Dog Fruit, Jackal Model. He and Pell, the Falcon‑Falcon Fruit user, are known as Alabasta's twin guardian deities.
Behind him stand three thousand elite soldiers, burning with rage and vowing to wipe out Crocodile and Baroque Works.
Chiyu trusts their strength.
In the past he preferred to settle everything alone—not by temperament, but because his system rewarded him only when he defeated minds warped by evil intent.
Now he no longer needs that system, and perhaps his personality is quietly changing as well.
High atop the palace wall, Crocodile watched these scenes unfold. Rage filled him, yet he understood that the tide had turned.
The Utopia Operation was over before it began; seizing all power in Alabasta was now impossible.
Even so, he felt neither frustration nor despair.
"Uchiha Chiyu, you ruined my plan—but it isn't over yet!"
Crocodile's true, final objective is the secret of the ancient weapon Pluton.
If he can obtain that knowledge, even a failed Utopia Operation would be worth it, for he would gain power beyond imagining.
He drew a deep breath. "Nico Robin, we proceed as planned. Capture Princess Vivi alive. Leave the old man Cobra to me."
Robin nodded. "Understood."
The two split up and rushed into the palace. By now they were no longer heroes of the realm, but the most terrifying criminals Alabasta had ever seen.
…
Seeing Robin's silhouette, the palace guards bristled, weapons crossed. "Halt!"
Robin merely crossed her arms—Paramecia‑type Hana Hana no Mi.
Arms sprouted from the guards' bodies, knocking weapons away, dislocating joints, and binding their arms behind their backs.
Crack—crack! Cries of pain followed as Robin strode past. Fresh guards arrived and were dropped just as easily.
She soon reached the princess's bed‑chamber.
The nervous sentries fought desperately, but her eerie ability was unstoppable.
Robin pushed the door open and finally saw her target.
"Princess Vivi, please come with me. Don't struggle."
She smiled, yet her words made the thirteen‑ or fourteen‑year‑old Vivi tremble.
A figure instantly stepped in front of the girl—it was Igaram, captain of the royal guard.
"Over my dead body!"
"Igaram, don't!" Vivi cried, but he had already attacked, yanking his bow‑tie to reveal the firearms hidden in his enormous curls. Bullets poured toward Robin.
Bang‑bang‑bang! Fueled by fury, he vowed to sweep away the villains threatening the kingdom.
Robin leapt aside, dodging most of the rounds, then crossed her arms again. Arms sprang from Igaram's body.
"Six Flower!"
Crunch! All joints in Igaram's limbs were snapped; even his spine broke. He collapsed, helpless.
"Igaram!" Vivi rushed to him, but Robin prepared to seize her.
Suddenly—"Cage Bars!"
A shout rang out. Two massive iron grilles shot from either side toward Robin, forcing her to spring away.
She turned to see a woman with pale‑pink hair, a marine coat draped casually over her shoulders.
"You're… Marine HQ Captain Hina, the Cage‑Cage Fruit user?"
Hina snorted. "Baroque Works' intelligence network is as good as they say. Nico Robin, the infamous Devil's Child—79 million berries on your head. To think you'd stoop to serve Crocodile."
Robin smiled coolly. "I'll do anything to stay alive."
Hina glanced at Vivi sobbing over the unconscious Igaram. "Even kidnap a child?"
"A child? The Navy branded me Devil's Child when I was eight," Robin replied.
"Unbelievable!" Hina snarled, launching iron‑bar arms at her. Robin dodged and countered—"Three Flower!"—three arms twining to twist Hina's body.
But Hina reversed her own iron limbs, binding Robin's conjured arms and pinning them.
Robin's eyes widened—her power had been neutralized for the first time. Hina smirked: "Looks like your ability doesn't work on me."
Robin answered calmly, "Don't be so sure."
The duel resumed—Hina was indeed formidable, the very officer who, in the original story, rounded up the remnants of Baroque Works, including Mr. 2 Bon Clay.
…
In the midst of battle, two new figures burst in: Nami, and Koza—the princess's childhood friend and leader of the rebels.
"Koza? Why are you here?!" Vivi gasped.
Koza, torn with guilt for having been manipulated by Crocodile, spoke gravely: "I made a terrible mistake. Now I'm here to make amends. Princess, I'll get you out."
Vivi worried for Igaram, but Koza assured her: "He's alive, just unconscious." He hoisted Igaram, took Vivi's hand, and urged, "Let's go."
Vivi insisted they rescue her father, knowing Crocodile must be after him; Koza agreed.
Nami called to Hina: "Captain Hina, will you be all right?!"
"Focus on protecting the princess," Hina replied. "Rear Admiral Chiyu should already be with the king."
Vivi blinked. "The hero who purged East Blue?"
Nami nodded proudly. "Exactly. Don't worry—Chiyu-sama will defeat Crocodile and save Alabasta!"
Koza was shaken. "The Navy's sudden new 'God of Slaughter' is in Alubarna already… so he's the one who exposed Crocodile's plot."
He bowed his head. "Without him, Alabasta would have been doomed. He is our savior; I am merely Crocodile's pawn—the sinner who almost sparked civil war."
Vivi corrected him: "No, Koza. You did it for the people. The true villain is Crocodile. We must unite and defeat him."
Nami silently admired the princess's courage and composure. "Come—Chiyu-sama will settle everything."
…
At the same time
Crocodile, seething, barged into the palace's forbidden precincts. The guards fell effortlessly before him, and soon he faced King Cobra himself.
"So you've come, Crocodile. You blocked my speech, poisoned my food, and had a drag‑queen double incite rebellion in my name, didn't you?"
"Enough chatter, Cobra. Take me to the chamber that hides the Poneglyph!"
Cobra was stunned. "The Poneglyph—so that's your true goal?!"
Pell the Falcon stepped forward. "Crocodile, abandon your delusions! Your scheme is in ruins. Surrender!"
Crocodile sneered. "Pell, do you really think you're this kingdom's guardian deity? Crescent-Shaped Sand Dune!"
At last he unleashed his Logia power—Suna Suna no Mi. His arms became immense curved blades of sand, lashing toward Pell and the elite guards.
Pell transformed with the Falcon‑Falcon Fruit, soaring up just in time, but the other soldiers were skewered and instantly mummified as their moisture was drained.
King Cobra, Pell, and the remaining guards looked on, aghast.
"So this is a Warlord's power… we're not even in the same league!"
Pell roared: "We were born to protect the king!"
He hurled himself at Crocodile—Winged Talon! Hurricane winds whipped up, enough to flip a small army, his talons aimed to rend stone.
Crocodile met him head‑on. "Bird‑type Zoan? Useless before a Logia!"
Desert Spada! One sand‑sword cleft the palace wall and the ground beneath, splitting them in two. The gale was severed; the blade's shock‑wave sheared off one of Pell's wings.
He crashed hard, unable to rise.
Cobra rushed forward, but Crocodile seized Pell by the throat. "Move, and he becomes another mummy. Take me to the Poneglyph—or watch him dry up before your eyes."
Pell could not speak; Cobra, seeing the horrific deaths around him, finally sighed. "I… I'll take you."
"Wise choice."
Soon, in a secluded corner of the rear gardens, Cobra activated a mechanism that opened a stairway into an underground vault. Crocodile, gripping Pell, forced the king below.
The vast underground palace was like an ancient ruin. There, Crocodile finally beheld the indestructible stone blocks carved in the language of the Lost Century—records of countless secrets, even the world's greatest mystery, the Void Century itself.
But those did not interest him.
What he wanted was the specific text etched on Alabasta's Poneglyph—the secret of the ancient weapon…
Pluton!
~~~
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