here's a new chapter enjoy:)
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"That's the casino," Hina pointed at the pyramid shaped building with a crocodile perched at the top.
The sun was just peeking out of the horizon as the three Marines made their way to the casino. The streets of the city was mostly empty this early in the morning but for the casino that was never closed, there was still a large group of people present.
"No doubt some of these guys are Baroque Works agents," Smoker frowned, watching the people milling around the casino with their heads held low.
"Any changes in plans?" Hina glanced at the Commodore.
"Negative, we storm in," Luffy grinned.
"Aye, aye" The two Captains grinned back in response, both of them cracking their knuckles.
Luffy kicked open the door to the casino unceremoniously, startling the patrons inside.
"CROCODILE! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!" Luffy yelled.
Three burly guards immediately advanced towards them, barring their way.
"I'm sorry but you three will have to leave. No Marines are allowed here," The guard in the middle crossed his arms.
"Get out of our way," Smoker glared at the guard.
The guard shook his head with a wicked grin, "I'm afraid we can't do that, please remove yourselves from the premises."
"Crocodile is now suspected of illegal activities, to defend him would constitute you as a criminal as well. I suggest all of you to step down." Smoker furrowed his brows.
"Unfortunately, we still have our own job to do, members of the Government are barred from entering Rain Dinners," The guards remained where they were.
Hina sighed as she dropped low and swept her leg at the guards' feet, passing her leg through them.
The three guards only had time to squeak in surprise before they found themselves on the floor, both feet bound tightly with iron manacles.
"Hina victory," Hina grinned, making two peace signs with both hands.
"CROCODILE!" Luffy leapt over the struggling guards and charged into the casino.
Hina stepped on the middle guard before entering the casino without a second glance back, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
"I warned you," Smoker frowned down at the guards, stepping over them to join the others.
By now, most of the patrons who had some sense had already decided to leave the casino before the situation got any worse. The assistant manager of the place was already wringing his hands in frustration as Luffy leapt over tables and patrons alike, shouting out for Crocodile.
He turned to the woman wearing the cowgirl outfit, desperation in his eyes, "What should we do miss Manager?"
Miss All Sunday stifled a laugh while watching the Straw hat Marine jump around the room, "Tell them that Crocodile will be waiting for them in the VIP room."
The assistant manager was taken aback by her words but scurried off to do as he was told.
He stood apprehensively in front of Hina, figuring she would have been a better choice to tell the news rather than the one that was wrecking the place, let alone the other one with a face that was glaring at everyone.
"Er… Miss Marine? Mr. Crocodile awaits all of you in the Vip room," he gestured to the grand door at the end of the room with the words "VIP" nailed above it.
"Luffy, Smoker-kun, we got our target," Hina called out to the other two, pointing towards the door with a thumb.
"Alright! Bring it on!" Luffy yelled, already charging straight for the door.
"Let's go," Smoker chased after him without hesitation.
"So hasty…" Hina sighed, running after them.
As they ran through the door and into the corridor, the path split itself in two with a sign board in the middle. An arrow pointed to the left with the words "VIP" written above it and another arrow pointed in the other direction with the words "Filthy Marines".
"Smoker, Hina, do I stink?" Luffy sniffed himself.
Both Marine Captains raised an eyebrow.
"What the hell are you talking about? I didn't smoke at all, did I?" Smoker frowned.
"You smell fine, Luffy," Hina tilted her head at him.
"Then I guess we're not 'Filthy Marines' are we?" Luffy pointed at the sign.
Hina laughed while Smoker just face palmed.
"This is a trap, obviously, what should we do?" Smoker glanced at both paths.
"Go straight into it of course, he was already expecting us, there's nothing else we can surprise him with right now," Luffy cracked his knuckles, running off to the direction the 'Filthy Marines' arrow pointed.
"Whatever you say, Luffy," Smoker sighed, chasing after the Commodore.
"Hina tired…" Hina sighed as she was stuck with chasing after the two Marines again.
They barely took five steps in before a trap door opened below their feet, plunging all three Marines into the cage right below them.
Hina groaned as she pushed herself up from the ground, "Hina embarrassed… I was already expecting a trap, but not a trap door of all things…"
"Tch… It's a cage made of Seastone…" Smoker frowned at the bars.
"CROCODILE!" Luffy yelled, spotting the Shichibukai sitting casually at the table at the other side of the bars.
"So you've come Marines, like I thought you would," Crocodile smirked, swirling a glass of wine in his hand.
"Crocodile… So is it true you are the one who perpetrated the civil war?" Hina glared at him.
"Black Cage Hina, how ironic for you to be the one stuck in the cage this time," Crocodile laughed.
Hina gritted her teeth in annoyance, crossing her arms at him.
"Answer the question you damn pirate," Smoker glared at him.
"Kuhahaha! Yes, yes, it's all true of course, I was the one who made the people rebel against their king. But that should be the least of your troubles, shouldn't it?" Crocodile laughed.
"What? You think we can't get out of this cage?" Luffy huffed.
"Kuhahaha! The whole cage is made of Seastone! You Devil Fruit users will never escape out of there! In a few moments I will leave this place for Alubarna while this room completely self destructs, taking you three along with it!"
The three glanced at each other. Luffy was the only one among them that didn't have a Devil Fruit power, why did he assume all of them had one? They shrugged and decided to just play along with it as their advantage for now.
"You won't get away with this, the princess has already brought news of your treachery to the king," Hina watched him carefully.
Crocodile stood up and walked in front of their cage, a wicked smirk on his face, "Oh, I've already prepared something for that. I believe you've already met my dear colleague, Mr. 2?"
"What about it?" Smoker glared at him.
"He will be the one who shall instigate the rebels to launch a full scale rebellion by today, long before the princess or the king can get this news out to their people." Crocodile smirked wickedly.
"What do you even plan on achieving?" Luffy clenched his fists.
"Kuhahahaha! Well, since you're all going to die anyway, I'll let you die knowing how much you failed to protect anything by coming here," Crocodile threw his head back to drain the last of his wine, tossing the empty glass over his shoulder.
"In a few moments, Mr. 2 will impersonate the king and antagonize the rebels, my agents infiltrated among the rebels would also make sure to rouse them enough to launch a full scale assault on the capital. That's where the fun starts."
Crocodile lit a cigar and puffed at them, causing Luffy to recoil to the back of the cage in disgust. Crocodile smirked at his reaction while Hina and Smoker stood protectively in front of Luffy, hiding him from view.
"As you might have guessed, I want this country for myself, but it wouldn't do if there's still people who want to free this country walking around, would it?" Crocodile pinched his finger and thumb on his right hand suggestively.
"You wouldn't…" Hina narrowed her eyes at him.
"Kuhahaha! I would!" Crocodile swept his arm in an exaggerated arc.
"Everyone who gathers at the palace will die today! I have already prepared a big enough bomb that will be shot from the clocktower once the rebels are close enough! Even the Marines that you've brought here will perish! Once everyone is dead, I can just tell the World Government that all of you had died in this petty civil war and I had no relation to Baroque Works from the start!" Crocodile laughed maniacally.
"You would kill so many people just to get a single country? What do you seek to gain from a country that has been destroyed?!" Hina furrowed her brows.
"Countries can be rebuilt, and I will rebuild it with my own hands as the new king of Alabasta! Don't you see? All of you were doomed the moment you decided to help this worthless country!"
"Mr. 0," A voice called out from the stairs that led away from the room.
Everyone turned to see Miss All Sunday descending the steps slowly, joining Crocodile at his side.
"We can leave now, Mr. 2 has already begun his mission with the rebels."
"Good," Crocodile turned back to the trapped Marines with a smirk. "Well sorry I couldn't keep you guys company any longer, but I think my pets would make great company too in my absence," Crocodile snapped his fingers and a few Bananawanis entered the room, growling at the cage. A part of the floor exploded upwards as well, sending a geyser of water spewing out to flood the room.
"You, you're a wanted criminal yourself…" Hina narrowed her eyes at Miss All Sunday, recognizing her.
Miss All Sunday smiled at her, "I see my secret got found out after all, if it isn't too much to ask, please forget about my presence here."
"What are you doing siding with Crocodile? I can't see you gaining anything," Smoker crossed his arms.
"My protection from you dirty Marines of course, outlaws like us have to stick together after all! Kuhahahaha!" Crocodile turned his back on them, walking towards a tunnel at the other side of the room. "Now please, do enjoy all the water I can offer to you."
Miss All Sunday stole a glance at the Straw Hat Marine, she still hasn't forgotten their exchange on board their ship.
She looked over her shoulder to see Crocodile already at the entrance of the tunnel, not even looking back at them as he continued laughing to himself.
"Do you still think you can beat Crocodile?" Miss All Sunday looked pointedly at Luffy.
"Of course! I'll break out of here in no time!" Luffy grinned confidently.
"Good, it took a while for me to make up a Devil Fruit power for you to convince Crocodile," Miss All Sunday grinned with a glint in her eyes.
Hina raised an eyebrow, "Why would you do that?"
"So that you guys can escape of course, if you need proof of his treachery, all the papers you need are on the table in the office. It's through the door on the right of the staircase and inside a file."
Miss All Sunday turned her back on them and walked off, not waiting for a reply.
"What the hell just happened?" Smoker frowned.
"I promised her I'll help her kick Crocodile's ass!" Luffy laughed. "She's not a bad girl after all!"
Hina sighed at the Commodore's innocence, "On a more important matter, how are we getting out of here? This whole cage is made of Seastone…"
"Hina and I are useless in here, Luffy," Smoker nodded.
They turned just as a huge Bananawani chomped its jaws down on the cage, only for its teeth to shatter without leaving a mark on the cage walls.
Luffy glanced around the room, finding it empty except for the Bananawanis that were currently growling at them.
"These walls are harder than diamond, you think you can break us out?" Smoker glanced at Luffy.
Luffy placed his hand on one part of the wall, closing his eyes. He listened intently to the voice of the wall, opening his eyes when he finally found the spot he wanted.
"Not every part of it is made of Seastone," Luffy grinned.
He walked to the side of the wall, lowering himself down to a stance and pulling his fist back.
Without any warning, he punched his haki coated fist at the wall, creating a small circular hole where his fist had landed. Luffy stood aside to reveal his handiwork proudly to his colleagues.
Smoker sighed, "Er… Yeah, Luffy… Hate to break it to you… But I don't think any of us can fit through that…"
"Yes, Smoker, I can break diamonds, Grandpa taught me how to," Luffy grinned just as the wall behind completely collapsed to a pile of rubble.
"Have more faith in him, Smoker-kun," Hina laughed. "Now let's get the papers and go, we already got what we came here for!"
"Ri… Right," Smoker finally closed his gaping mouth to follow the two out of the cage.
"Should we use the tunnel to escape as well?" Hina looked up at Luffy who had just roundhouse kicked a Bananawani to the far end of the room.
"If that tunnel leads to Alubarna, I guess it'll be faster for us to take it rather than running back." Luffy grinned, landing on his feet with a flourish, prepared to face the next one that came charging at him.
"I got the papers, it was all neatly filed too, like it was prepared for us or something…" Smoker frowned at the papers he held in his hand.
"It seems she was already expecting us… This still seems too convenient…" Hina took the papers from Smoker, flipping through them.
It contained details on each and every one of Baroque Works' plans, their movements, their actions and especially Crocodile's involvement. It was all the proof they need to bring him to justice.
"That woman did this, didn't she?" Hina looked up at Luffy as he threw a Bananawani over his shoulders to crash into another of its brethren.
He shrugged, "I only know she doesn't like him either."
"I don't like this, getting help from a criminal of all people," Smoker crossed his arms.
"We'll talk about that later, unless you guys can swim out of here?" Luffy pointed at the increasing water level, all the Bananawanis crumpled in an unconscious heap at one end of the room.
"Tch, let's get out of here!" Smoker led the way to the tunnel, followed closely behind by Hina and laughing Luffy.
Vivi and Nami arrived at Kantorea just as the sun was beginning to set. Vivi charged straight into the town, frantically looking around the place for her childhood friend and leader of the rebellion.
"Kohza!" Vivi shouted frantically, swivelling her head around the rebel base to search for him.
"Isn't that princess Vivi?" A rebel nudged another.
"Princess Vivi?"
"I thought she was missing?"
"What is she doing here?"
"She's looking for Leader."
Vivi stopped Carue in front of a group of rebels who still had their mouths agape from seeing her among them.
"Where is Kohza? Please, I need to talk to him," Vivi pleaded.
"Lead… Leader went to Nanohana…" One of them stuttered helpfully.
"What?! Why would he be there?!" Vivi frowned.
"The king showed up there a few moments ago, apparently he was apologizing for stealing our rain…"
"No…" Vivi frowned. "That definitely isn't my father!"
She reined Carue around, dashing out of the town towards Nanohana, Nami following closely behind.
"Don't tell me… That's the fake?" Nami asked, catching up to her.
Vivi gritted her teeth, nodding her head, "My father would never do this… This is definitely Mr. 2 impersonating as my father right now! I need to stop him before he does any more damage!"
Just as the two girls disappeared into the horizon to the confusion of the rebels, Pell descended from the sky and landed in a cloud of dust.
"Where's princess Vivi?!" He demanded from the rebels.
"Pell… Pell the Falcon…" The rebels gasped.
"She… She just went to Nanohana…" A rebel pointed in the direction of the dust cloud the ducks were kicking up.
Pell frowned, "Why would she be headed there?"
"The… The king is there too…" Another rebel stuttered, still not comprehending what was going on.
"What?! Impossible! The king is travelling here right now!" Pell furrowed his brows.
He turned back into his falcon form and flew back to the direction where he had came from, searching for the king's entourage.
As he thought, there was another cloud of dust quite a distance away heading straight for Kantorea. He was sent by the king to fly ahead of them to make sure Vivi was safe, now he knew Crocodile had already put his plans into motion.
Pell flew back to the group of horses that were galloping with all their might towards Kantorea, calling out to them with a screech.
"Where's Vivi, Pell?" Cobra shouted up at him.
"She has left for Nanohana! Your imposter is there as well! We have to hurry!"
Zoro cursed under his breath, "We're too late huh…"
"No! We can still make it to contain the damage! This war must not escalate any further! Turn towards Nanohana!" Cobra yelled.
The group reined in their horses and redirected them towards Nanohana.
"Pell! Make sure Vivi is safe!" Cobra shouted at the flying falcon.
"As you command!" Pell disappeared back into the sky with a mighty flap of his wings, speeding towards Nanohana.
"We'll expose that imposter if we can catch him there, once everyone knows there's a fake king, this civil war will definitely end!" Chaka gritted his teeth.
Cobra sighed, "If only it were that easy, I can only hope that the people's hatred of me does not run as deep as I fear."
"It's alright, we'll definitely convince the people of the truth!" Usopp gave the king a thumbs up.
"Not if we can help it!" A figure jumped out from the sand, lunging towards the king.
"Watch out!" Chopper leapt up from his horse, turning into his human reindeer form.
He shoulder tackled Miss Merry Christmas away, both of them tumbling on to the sand.
At the same time, Mr. 4 appeared from beneath the sand, holding a large cannon on his shoulders and taking aim at the king.
"Not on my watch!" Sanji leapt from his horse towards the king just as Mr. 4 fired his cannon.
He kicked the cannon ball away with ease, landing on the sand with a flourish.
"Go! We'll take care of them!" Chopper and Sanji shouted back.
Zoro and Usopp both gave them a thumbs up before concentrating on following the king.
"What troublesome Marines! Because of you, we failed our mission!" Miss Merry Christmas yelled.
"That's too bad for you then, we'll not have it any other way. You guys have hurt Vivi-chan enough," Sanji lit a cigarette.
"We will not let you pass!" Chopper stood beside Sanji, trying to be as intimidating as possible.
"Who the hell do you guys think you are to stand against Baroque Works?!" Miss Merry Christmas frowned at them.
"We're Marines," Both Sanji and Chopper grinned confidently.
"Whatever! We'll get rid of both of you and then catch up to the king again!" Miss Merry Christmas burrowed back into the ground.
"What the hell is she?" Sanji frowned.
Chopper looked around him, finally noticing the holes that were spread out all over the place, "She's definitely a Devil Fruit user… There's holes all over the ground."
"That Mr. 4 is gone too…" Sanji gritted his teeth.
A dog popped out from the ground suddenly, snot dripping out of his nose while he stared at them.
"A dog? Where did that come from?" Sanji raised an eyebrow.
Just as they puzzled over the sudden appearance of the dog, it sneezed at them and a ball shot out from its mouth, flying towards them.
"That's a baseball isn't it?" Chopper frowned.
"Looks like it," Sanji nodded his head.
As the baseball neared them, Chopper pushed Sanji away without warning, leaping clear of the baseball.
"What the hell? Chopper?!" Sanji protested.
"I smell gunpowder in that ball! It's a bomb!"
As if on cue, the ball exploded at where the two had been standing before, sending balls of fire in every direction.
"Not bad avoiding that one, but you won't have a chance anymore!" Miss Merry Christmas popped her head up from the ground.
The dog sneezed again, sending the ball flying straight at them once more.
Both Marines jumped out in opposite directions, letting the ball sail past them. Before they could rejoice, Mr. 4 popped out from the hole in front of the ball with his metal bat, swinging it in an arc to hit the ball back at Chopper.
"Chopper!" Sanji barely had time to shout a warning as the ball exploded right in front of the doctor, enveloping him flames.
Sanji made a dash for him just as he spotted another ball heading straight for him from the corner of his eye. He leapt out in front to avoid it, rolling on the ground as the ball exploded behind him. He reached Chopper just as the doctor pushed himself up, bleeding in a few places but relatively ok.
The dog sneezed again, both Marines turning to spot the ball headed towards them.
"Don't underestimate me! I just have to take out the dog!" Sanji jumped up and kicked at the ball, sending it flying back.
The dog immediately dived back down into the hole before it was captured in the explosion.
"Those balls are heavy!" Sanji shook his leg. "Those are definitely not normal bombs!"
"What should we do?" Chopper glanced up at Sanji.
Sanji frowned, "We just need to make sure we keep them here long enough for the king to reach there safely… But I don't like getting pummeled either… You got a plan, Chopper?"
Chopper scratched his chin for a moment before bringing out a small yellow gum ball for Sanji to see.
"This is a medicine that I managed to create by accident, it allows me to transform to even more forms. One of it will allow me to scope out their weakness but I will need time to find it. The effects will only last three minutes though," Chopper said quickly.
Sanji grinned, "So I just have to cover you until you're done, right?"
Chopper nodded, swallowing the ball.
"Leave it to me!" Sanji narrowed his eyes at the holes in the ground.
"Rumble: Brain Point!"
Chopper shrunk back to his half reindeer size, pushing his hooves in front of him to form a triangular scope.
"I don't know what you're doing, but I won't let you finish it!" Miss Merry Christmas jumped out from a hole near them. She had increased her size by two times while her mouth was elongated into a snout. The place where her fingers were had also transformed into sharp claws.
"Is that a penguin?" Chopper widened his eyes.
"I'm a mole! I ate the Mogu Mogu Fruit and became a mole human!" Miss Merry Christmas yelled indignantly.
She lunged towards Chopper with her claws but Sanji stood in her way, kicking up to block her slash.
"I don't usually hurt ladies, but you most definitely don't look like a lady to me you penguin!" Sanji smirked.
"I'm a mole!" Miss Merry Christmas lashed out at Sanji who easily ducked under her blow.
Miss Merry Christmas cursed as she dived back into one of the holes. The dog and Mr. 4 appeared again from different holes.
The dog sneezed again and this time a whole bunch of balls came flying out of its mouth at once.
"Shit…." Sanji stared at the balls flying towards them.
"Sanji!" Chopper glanced back at the cook.
"Just concentrate on what you can do! Trust me to protect you!" Sanji yelled back.
Chopper nodded and resumed his 'scoping'.
"Party Table Kick Course!"
Sanji got down on his hands and begun spinning, kicking out his legs at the balls that came flying over away from them.
Mr. 4 however had ducked back down into his hole and appeared near the balls that were kick off course to hit them back towards them.
Sanji cursed under his breathe as he spun faster, frantically kicking away the balls again as they got close again.
"Sanji! I got it! All the holes are connected to each other!" Chopper yelled out suddenly.
"Good job!" Sanji grinned, pushing himself up into the air before he started to kick the bombs back into the holes instead.
"Chopper, get down!" Sanji landed back on the ground before shielding the doctor from the ensuing explosion that blasted out from all the mole hills, sending a huge cloud of dust into the air.
"You think that got them?" Chopper stood up carefully, changing back to his half human form.
"You bastards…" Miss Merry Christmas walked out from the dust slightly burnt but still standing.
"Fo…." Mr. 4 frowned at them.
"Now you've made us mad! I'll show you what happens when you mess with Baroque Works!" Miss Merry Christmas dived back down into the sand again, clawing her way towards the two Marines.
Sanji leapt in front of Chopper to kick at the mole that was in the ground but she dove back under before he could land a hit, appearing underneath Chopper.
"Got you!" Miss Merry Christmas yelled triumphantly as she latched a hand on both of Chopper's legs.
Chopper barely had time to yell in surprise as she started dragging him back the way she came where Mr. 4 was standing with his bat ready.
"Chopper!" Sanji started running towards them but Miss Merry Christmas was moving faster than him. Chopper could only watch in horror as he got closer and closer to Mr. 4, their intentions were clear as day.
"Molehill Fourth Road Intersection!"
Mr. 4 swung his bat at Chopper's head just as Miss Merry Christmas reached them, only to feel absolutely no impact on the bat.
Miss Merry Christmas looked up in confusion and realized the previously big sized Chopper had shrunk himself back down to his small size, allowing him to avoid the bat swing.
"Almost forgot I could do this…" Chopper wiped the sweat off his brow.
"Now, Chopper!" Sanji leaped towards Mr. 4 while Chopper changed back to his human form.
Chopper reached down with a hand to grab Miss Merry Christmas before throwing her up in the air, screaming.
"Rumble: Arm Point."
Chopper's arms and shoulders increased heavily in muscle mass while his hands transformed back into hooves.
Sanji started flipping over rapidly to gain speed as he fell towards the still confused Mr. 4, Miss Merry Christmas was flailing her arms in the air near him as she fell back down towards the ground. Chopper himself pulled his muscled arms behind him, standing at the place where Miss Merry Christmas would fall.
"Concasse!"
Sanji brought the heel of his foot down on Mr. 4's head with a satisfying crack, sending the shockwave through his whole body.
"Kokutei Cross!"
Chopper punched out his two arms towards the falling Miss Merry Christmas, his hoofs split apart to form an X shape imprint on her abdomen.
Sanji flipped back to land beside Chopper as Mr. 4 collapsed on top of the dog, squashing it underneath his huge body. Moments later, the unconscious form of Miss Merry Christmas fell out from the sky, impacting on the ground in a cloud of dust.
"Well done," Sanji grinned.
"Praising me won't make me happy you know?! Jackass!" Chopper turned back to his small form and started dancing happily.
Sanji grinned as he took another puff of his cigarette, "Let's go meet the others."
Kohza stared at the scene in front of him with disbelief, he never thought he would ever see this day. The king had just gave out the order to burn the port town to the ground and the soldiers immediately started breaking down the stalls and wrecking the houses, kicking away anyone who tried to stop them.
"It's a because of you my town has dried up! If only you don't exist!" A small child shouted at the king, a hammer held in his hand.
The king looked down at him with disdain as the child ran towards him, swinging his hammer wildly.
The king pulled his leg back and kicked the child across the face with no remorse, sending him sprawling a few feet away on the floor.
Everyone of the villagers gasped while a woman went to the boy.
"I'll kill you!" The boy shouted again, struggling against the woman who was restraining him.
There was no regrets in the king's eyes as he watched his men wreck the town.
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS, COBRA?!" Kohza couldn't hold it back anymore, advancing towards the king furiously.
"I've come to apologize of course," The king said simply.
"Shut up! What you're doing is insulting to everyone who believed you were innocent!" Kohza pointed an accusing finger at him.
The king stretched out his hands, gesturing to the town around him, "This drought was all caused by me, I was the one responsible for all the suffe-"
"I SAID SHUT UP!" Kohza ran to grab the king but was stopped by several Royal Guards who held him back.
"So many of us died still believing in you! They had never once suspected you of doing all those things! Don't you dare think you can defile the memory of those who died!" Kohza cried out at the man.
"KOHZA!" A feminine voice shouted out from behind him.
Kohza shuddered, he would never mistake this voice for anyone else but her.
"Vivi?" Kohza turned, staring up at the princess who was riding towards him as fast as she could.
"Get away from there!" She yelled.
Kohza stood rooted in shock, he remembered that the princess was still missing not so long ago, why was she here then?
Before he could decide on what to do, a gunshot rang out from his left as pistol discharged its round at Vivi, hitting her in the shoulder and throwing her off Carue.
"VIVI!" Kohza yelled, running towards where she had fallen.
Nami leapt off her own duck and knelt beside the princess, cradling her in her arms.
"I'm fine!" Vivi cried, clutching at her bleeding shoulder.
Kohza looked down at the girl, frowning, "You're not fine! You got shot!"
Everyone turned towards the king who held a smoking pistol in his hands.
"WHY DID YOU SHOOT HER?!" Kohza demanded, standing in front of Vivi to shield her from the king.
"Because he's a fake!" Vivi yelled loud enough for everyone to hear. "That king in front of you is a fake that the Shichibukai Crocodile has placed to spark off this civil war! We have been fighting a meaningless war from the start!"
Kohza turned his head to look at her, taking a step back in shock.
"You accursed girl…" The fake king frowned at her.
He pointed the pistol at her again, cocking the gun as everyone was still reeling in from Vivi's words.
Another gunshot rang out as the gun was fired again.
There was a loud screech in the sky as Pell descended from above, landing right in front of Vivi and deflecting the bullet with his sword.
"Princess Vivi! You're hurt!" Pell glared at the fake group of Royal Guards.
"I'm fine, Pell, what are you doing here?!" Vivi demanded.
"The king was attacked last night, then we found your letter and followed you here," Pell stood protectively in front of her, watching the fake king carefully.
"Pa… Papa was attacked?!" Vivi gasped.
"Where is he?" Nami frowned.
Pell furrowed his brows as all the fake Royal Guards began surrounding the fake king, "His Majesty is on his way here right now, we're here to stop this civil war with you!"
"Wait… No… You're saying… That all of this… This war… Everything… Was all a set up?" Kohza breathed, not believing his ears.
"Oh phooie, and I thought I could finish this without killing everyone," The fake king sighed, touching his face with his left hand to change back to Mr. 2.
Every villager gasped at the sight, shocked that the king in front of them had just changed into an okama.
"You… Who are you?!" Kohza demanded, drawing out his sword from his back.
"Just a passing okama!" Mr. 2 sang happily, doing a ballerina twirl on the spot.
"Kohza," Vivi gasped, standing up on unsteady legs. "Everything was set up by Crocodile, we have to stop the war."
Kohza frowned at the okama, "I understand now, Vivi… I was wrong…"
"Oh poonsies, because of this, I have to kill all of you now to cover up my failure. Maybe your deaths would be a better catalyst to escalate the war, what do you think, men?" Mr. 2 laughed.
"Great idea, Mr. 2 Bon Kurei!" The fake guards shouted in unison.
All of them drew their rifles to point at the small group in front of them.
"Pell! Take them and leave! The princess has to live!" Kohza yelled, stepping in front of the Royal Guard Captain.
"No! I won't leave without you, Kohza!" Vivi protested.
"There's no time, Vivi!" Kohza yelled, charging towards the guards.
"Exploding Star!" Usopp yelled, releasing a bunch of exploding bullets towards the guards.
Each of his bullets hit their rifles with precision, shattering their guns in their hands.
"Vivi! What's going on here?! You're hurt!" Cobra rode into the square on his horse.
"King Cobra!"
"Your Majesty!"
"So it's true!"
"We trusted you all this time!"
The villagers cried out.
"Papa!" Vivi ran to her father.
"The king is here?! That means Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas failed!" Mr. 2 cursed. "All my great acting for nothing!"
Zoro, Usopp and Chaka drew out their weapons and charged the fake guards alongside Kohza, subduing them easily before they could even make sense of what had happened.
"Give it up, Mr. 2, your organization's plans were doomed to fail." Usopp aimed his slingshot at him.
"You're the Marines I met… How cruel fate is…" Mr. 2 wiped the tears away sadly. "It seems we cannot avoid fighting each other."
"Kohza, I beg of you, we need to stop this meaningless war," Vivi grasped at Kohza's hand.
Kohza hesitated, glancing back at the others who stood to protect them.
"Go! We'll take care of them, save your country!" Nami shouted at them, standing beside her crew to face Mr. 2.
Vivi nodded quickly, dragging off a protesting Kohza and Cobra after her to Kantorea.
"You guys aren't going?" Zoro raised an eyebrow at Chaka and Pell.
Chaka transformed into his half jackal form, "We shall not rest until we bring the people who dared harm our country to justice."
"And here I wondered what kept you from giving us the signal to do our job," A woman with curly blue hair sashayed into the square.
Followed closely behind her was a tanned man who wore a sleeveless dark coat that bared his muscular chest with a white sash tied over his pants. He had an extremely displeased look on his face as he saw the state of the square.
"Mr. 1, Miss Doublefinger," Mr. 2 looked at the two with disdain.
"Such incompetence, Mr. 2… Couldn't you take care of one measly job?" Mr. 1 frowned at the Marines that stood in front of them.
"It's not my fault Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas failed theirs!" Mr. 2 protested, puffing his chest.
Mr. 1 sighed, cracking his knuckles, "I guess we'll just have to finish them off ourselves."
"Pell, Chaka! Evacuate the civilians! We will hold them off!" Zoro tied his bandana on his head.
"We can't let you fight them alone!" Chaka protested.
"Your country's people are more important! Get them to safety!" Nami smacked the two Royal Guard Captains on their backs.
Pell frowned, "We'll rejoin you when we can."
Both Royal Guard Captains started herding the villagers away from the square towards safety.
"Give… Give it up Baroque Works! You have failed!" Usopp pointed a finger at them.
"We'll make this quick, there's still time to salvage this," Mr. 1 sighed, scratching his shaven head.
"And I wanted to play with them a little too," Miss Doublefinger smirked.
"The big guy," Zoro bit down on the sword in his mouth.
"The bitch," Nami stuck her tongue out.
"Mr. 2…" Usopp frowned.
Both sides charged at each other amidst the rubble of the town.
______________________________________________
And cut. so that is it for this chapter hope you guys enjoyed and see you in the next chapter.bye
chapter 20:To End A War