The Kingdom of Alabasta, Alubarna.
The atmosphere inside the palace hall remained heavy, everyone waiting anxiously for the outcome they hoped for.
King Cobra sat upon his throne, his expression calm and unreadable, though his gaze drifted toward the entrance again and again.
Standing beside him, Vivi pressed her clasped hands to her chest, head lowered in prayer, her unease written plainly on her face.
They had originally wanted to help, but Yamato and the others rejected the idea outright. The reason was simple: "It's not necessary!"
In stark contrast, the atmosphere on the other side of the hall was completely different—some people even felt relaxed enough to chat.
Nami rested her cheek in one hand, flipping through a book listlessly while grumbling.
"Why is that big idiot still not back? He must've run off to slack somewhere again! Seriously!"
"Do you think something happened?"
Chopper set down his teacup, worry in his eyes.
He knew Leno was strong, but honestly… this "Warlord of the Sea" had quite the reputation. Who knew how strong Crocodile really was?
"Relax. Nothing's going to happen. Even if Crocodile were ten times stronger, he still wouldn't be a match for Leno."
Nojiko paused while polishing her sword, then gave a small, unconcerned smile.
She had been by Leno's side longer than almost anyone. She knew exactly how strong he was. A mere Crocodile wasn't worth worrying about.
Hearing her words, the others nodded in agreement. As their captain, Leno had never once let them down in terms of fighting power.
"This is so boring… when will this all be over?"
Olga complained weakly, looking utterly drained.
She could never sit still. If the mood here weren't so tense, she would've run off long ago.
Nojiko glanced at the nearly-two-hundred-year-old "girl," amused. She was just about to speak when she froze and turned toward the entrance.
Moments later, a large hawk descended and rapidly transformed into human form. Pell stumbled into the hall, barely steadying himself.
"Y-Your Majesty! The rebels… they've all been captured... Without a single casualty!"
"NANI?!"
Cobra shot up from his throne and strode forward, eyes wide with shock.
"Pell, is that true? That was over a million rebels!"
"Yes, Your Majesty. It's unbelievable, but… it's the truth!"
Pell swallowed hard, the horror still vivid in his eyes.
As the captain of the royal guards, he had seen countless battlefield horrors—yet nothing compared to what he had witnessed just now.
At first, when he saw the lone, slender figure standing before the massive army, his heart nearly leapt out of his chest.
He had planned to swoop down and pull her out if things turned bad.
After all, she came to help. He couldn't watch a woman like that die in vain.
But the next moment shattered everything he knew.
That calm figure stepped forward—and scarlet lightning exploded around her.
In the blink of an eye, countless bolts of lightning surged outward like a crimson tide, engulfing the rebel army.
Within moments, the rebels who had been full of momentum collapsed like wheat before a scythe.
Even their camels and horses fell with them.
Corpses—well, unconscious bodies—piled across every corner of the battlefield.
Seeing that terrifying, merciless sight, Pell went pale as paper, his body so stiff he forgot to flap his wings.
It took him a long moment to come back to his senses. He steadied himself midair, dove down, and hurried to check the fallen rebels.
Only after confirming they were merely unconscious did he finally breathe again. He turned to the woman standing amid the scarlet lightning, fear flooding his eyes.
This wasn't a beautiful woman—this was a female demon god.
The figure glanced back at him, clearly displeased, then turned and left.
As she walked away, the lightning vanished with her, leaving the world clear once more.
Pell wasted no time. After ordering soldiers to secure the rebels, he immediately flew to the other two locations.
To his shock, the scenes there were identical to the first. Swallowing his rising dread, he rushed back to the palace.
Now, in the present, Cobra had been speaking for a while before he realized Pell was zoning out. Worried something was wrong, he quickly asked:
"Pell, to resolve the rebellion so quickly… were the three ladies injured?"
"No, none. They… they—"
"Report—!"
A soldier burst into the hall, interrupting him. Breathless and panicked, he saluted before speaking:
"Your Majesty, the rebel army has reached the city gates! The situation is extremely urgent. Please give us your orders!"
"..."
Cobra froze, staring blankly at Pell.
Pell blinked, then suddenly understood.
"Your Majesty, I flew here, so I was faster than their message delivery~"
"I see…"
Cobra let out a long breath. His heart had been tossed around enough for one day.
Since the rebel problem was already handled, all he needed to do now was publicly expose Crocodile's crimes.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city, after a night of rest, Hina's injuries had stabilized. Leno brought her to Alubarna.
In a quiet corner of the street, Leno reluctantly set Hina down from his arms, but still chased after her for a few more kisses.
"The rain ship you arranged—when will it arrive?"
"Today. Don't you trust me? Hina is angry."
Nestled against his chest, Hina rolled her eyes. She had contacted them right in front of him, yet he still had to ask.
After one night of his "tutoring," Hina could now comfortably enjoy his embrace.
Even she couldn't understand how she had ended up getting this close to this bastard so quickly.
Though they hadn't taken the final step yet, she knew she was already dependent on him.
"I trust you… I just don't want to let you go."
Leno wrapped an arm around her slender waist, rubbing his cheek against hers as he murmured:
"Later, take your men to the palace and arrest everyone from Baroque Works. As for Crocodile's corpse…"
"Once King Cobra reveals his crimes, I'll hand him over to you."
"Whatever. He's already dead anyway. He has no value left~"
Hina stepped out of his arms, waving lazily as she prepared to leave.
"I need to go. My subordinates are waiting."
"You really won't come with me…?"
Leno asked again for what must have been the hundredth time.
"No~ Being a Marine has always been Hina's dream."
She smiled sweetly and disappeared down the street.