Nami paced back and forth inside the room, unable to stop herself from wondering where Shiki had disappeared to.
And it wasn't only him.
After Robin helped them, she had vanished as well, saying there was something she needed to look for. Shiki had allowed it, so Nami could not really complain, but that did not make her any less restless.
Just then, the door suddenly opened.
King Cobra and Princess Vivi immediately stopped speaking. Their eyes turned toward the entrance with guarded expressions.
A tall, burly man with golden hair walked in slowly, dressed in a black kimono with a lion crest printed across his back.
It was Shiki.
The man who had gone off to kill the Blackbeard Pirates had returned.
The moment Nami saw him, the tension on her face loosened. She hurried over and looked up at him with confusion.
"Shiki, where did you run off to?"
Seeing her come to him first made Shiki's mouth curl faintly. He lifted his right hand and lightly ruffled Nami's hair twice.
"Some rats were trying to take advantage of Crocodile's fall," he replied casually. "I cleaned them up. Nothing worth making a fuss over."
"Rats?"
Nami blinked thoughtfully.
She thought about it for a moment, then nodded as if she understood. In her mind, Crocodile had probably left behind some troublesome subordinates or pirate groups trying to profit from the chaos.
Since Shiki had dealt with them, there was no need to ask more.
However, King Cobra, who had only just woken up, froze the moment he heard those words.
Crocodile's fall?
His face changed at once.
Crocodile was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. A pirate recognized by the World Government itself. A monster who had hidden inside Alabasta for years, deceived the people, stirred up rebellion, and brought the kingdom to the edge of destruction.
And this young man had just said he had dealt with him as if he had merely brushed dust off his shoulder.
King Cobra stared at Shiki.
Was he serious?
With Vivi supporting him, Cobra slowly got off the bed and walked toward the man standing by the door.
"Young man…"
His voice was still weak, but his eyes were serious.
"Did you truly defeat Crocodile?"
Shiki looked at him, then frowned slightly as if the question itself was strange.
After a brief pause, he answered in a flat tone.
"Yeah. Crocodile is finished. His body should still be outside the palace gates. Though with the rebel army gathered there, I don't know what state it's in by now."
Cobra stopped in place.
For a moment, he could not speak.
His mind went back to Rain Dinners. To Crocodile standing above him with that cold, mocking smile. To the humiliation, the threats, and the pain before he was kicked unconscious.
Everything after that had been a blur.
And now, the man responsible for all of it was dead.
Vivi saw the shock on her father's face and quickly stepped in.
"Father, this is Captain Shiki of the Golden Lion Pirates. He saved your life. I still haven't had the chance to properly thank him."
Cobra snapped back to his senses.
Realizing he had been staring far too rudely, he immediately lowered his head.
"Captain Shiki… thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for saving me."
Then, halfway through his bow, his expression stiffened again.
Wait.
What did Vivi just say?
Golden Lion Pirates?
Cobra slowly lifted his head.
"The Golden Lion…?"
His eyes widened as he looked at Shiki again.
That name was not something any king who understood the sea could ignore.
The Golden Lion.
A legendary pirate.
But the man in front of him looked far too young.
What exactly was going on?
Shiki watched Cobra's expression change again and again, and for a moment, he was genuinely speechless.
Still, he could understand it.
For ordinary people, hearing the word "pirate" was already enough to make them wary. Adding his name on top of that only made it worse.
So Shiki did not bother explaining.
Vivi, however, noticed the change in her father's expression and glanced nervously at Shiki.
Seeing that he did not look angry, she finally relaxed a little.
Shiki had helped them. He had saved her father and defeated Crocodile.
But Vivi had already learned one thing very clearly.
Shiki was not the kind of man whose mood could be measured by common sense.
He could help someone without asking for anything, but if someone truly angered him, even Vivi could not guess what he would do next.
Now that her father had already thanked him, Vivi hurriedly pulled the still-confused Cobra away before he accidentally said something wrong.
"Father, come with me for a moment. I'll explain everything properly."
"Vivi? Wait, what exactly happened while I was unconscious?"
"I'll tell you, Father. Just… not here."
Watching Vivi drag Cobra away in a hurry, Shiki smiled faintly.
It seemed that after only a few days, the princess had already carved his unpredictable nature deep into her heart.
A short while later, King Cobra returned with Vivi at his side.
This time, he had clearly calmed down.
He stood before Shiki and spoke solemnly.
"Captain Shiki, thank you for bringing Vivi back safely and for defeating Crocodile. Now that the truth has been revealed, there are still many things in this kingdom that I must deal with at once."
Cobra lowered his head slightly.
"After I settle the people and restore order, Alabasta will receive you properly."
Shiki thought for a moment, then nodded.
It was almost evening anyway, and the room they were currently in was not large enough for everyone to rest comfortably.
At Cobra's suggestion, Shiki and the others followed Vivi toward the main hall of the palace.
Alabasta was an ancient kingdom with a long history, and the palace reflected that. The halls were wide and grand, lined with cultural relics, old carvings, and rare treasures that had been preserved for generations.
The moment Nami saw them, her legs nearly gave out.
Gold.
Jewels.
Ancient ornaments.
The shine in her eyes changed instantly.
Her gaze locked onto the treasures as if her soul had left her body.
Shiki looked at her and fell silent.
A moment later, with a helpless expression, he grabbed Nami by the back of her clothes and lifted her onto his shoulder with one hand.
"Don't even think about robbing the royal palace."
"Who said I was going to rob anything?! I was just appreciating history!"
"You were practically drooling."
"I was not!"
Ignoring Nami's protest, Shiki carried her forward while following Vivi.
The main palace was extremely spacious, with five floors in total. Fortunately, the guest rooms were on the second floor, so they reached the room after going up only a short flight of stairs.
Shiki placed Nami down on a chair.
Still looking reluctant, Nami turned her head toward the hallway where the treasures had been, as if saying farewell to an old friend.
Shiki found another chair and sat down.
Vivi looked at everyone with a gentle smile.
"You must all be tired after everything that happened today. You're probably hungry too. Please wait here for a little while. I'll go have food prepared."
After saying that, Vivi slowly left the guest room.
At first, Shiki had not paid much attention to it.
But once Vivi mentioned food, he suddenly realized that he really was hungry.
About half an hour later, Vivi returned.
Beside her was a large woman pushing a tall serving cart into the room.
The rich smell of food spread through the air.
Nami, who had finally recovered from her treasure-obsessed state, immediately jumped up from her chair. Her face lit up as she looked toward Vivi.
Then she froze.
Her eyes moved from Vivi to the woman behind her.
"Igaram?"
Nami stared in disbelief.
"Did his injury already heal? And why is he dressed like that?"
Shiki, who was sitting in his chair, followed Nami's gaze toward the door.
Behind Vivi stood a woman who looked almost exactly like Igaram.
If not for the difference in clothes, even Shiki might have mistaken her for him at first glance.
Vivi paused in surprise.
Then she burst into laughter.
Seeing Vivi laugh so hard that she had to cover her stomach, Nami's face twitched.
"What? What's so funny?"
After finally calming herself, Vivi wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and explained.
"Nami, this is Igaram's wife, Terracotta. She isn't Igaram. They just look very similar."
Nami's expression froze.
Then she slowly turned back to the woman.
Terracotta gave her a warm smile.
"It's nice to meet you."
Nami's face turned red at once.
"So that's what it was…"
It had been a complete misunderstanding.
After that small commotion, Vivi and Terracotta began taking the dishes from the serving cart and placing them on the table.
Terracotta had prepared more than thirty dishes in just one hour.
The table quickly filled with fragrant food.
Shiki picked up his chopsticks and calmly tasted a little from each dish.
Nami was just as satisfied. Once she started eating, her earlier embarrassment disappeared completely.
Half an hour later, the thirty dishes had been completely cleared.
Not a single plate was left untouched.
Seeing everyone eat so well, Terracotta stood beside the table with a proud smile on her face.
...
News Coos crossed the sea one after another, scattering fresh newspapers across islands, ports, Marine bases, and pirate ships alike.
The headline was impossible to ignore.
[Former Seven Warlord Crocodile Exposed!]
[Secret Organization Baroque Works Behind Alabasta Rebellion!]
[Golden Lion Pirates Defeat Crocodile One-Sidedly!]
The moment the news spread, the sea erupted.
Crocodile was not an ordinary pirate.
He was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
A pirate recognized by the World Government itself.
To civilians, that title meant power, fear, and absolute authority. To pirates, it meant someone who had been strong enough for the Government to compromise with. To kings and nobles of affiliated nations, it meant a weapon the World Government had promised could be controlled.
But now, one of those weapons had turned his fangs on a kingdom.
And worse...
He had been defeated by another pirate.
Marine Headquarters.
The atmosphere inside the Fleet Admiral's office was so heavy that even the officers standing outside did not dare breathe too loudly.
Documents were piled across the desk.
Reports from Alabasta.
Reports from nearby Marine branches.
Reports from intelligence officers hidden inside the kingdom.
Every single one carried the same conclusion.
Sir Crocodile had secretly controlled Baroque Works under the name Mr. 0, manipulated the rebellion in Alabasta, used Dance Powder to deepen the kingdom's suffering, and attempted to seize the country from within.
The lower half of one report had been stamped with black ink.
Classified.
Sengoku stared at that part for a long time.
His expression became uglier.
"Pluton…"
He muttered the word in a low voice.
The officers in the room lowered their heads at once, pretending they had heard nothing.
That name was not something ordinary Marines were qualified to know.
Sengoku placed the report down and picked up another one.
This one concerned Crocodile's defeat.
According to the witnesses, Crocodile had been completely overwhelmed. His sand had been suppressed, his body had been crushed, and the officers of Baroque Works had fallen one after another before they could cause any more chaos.
The name written as the one responsible was the same in every report.
Shiki.
Captain of the Golden Lion Pirates.
Current bounty: 300,000,000 berries.
Sengoku's fingers tightened around the paper.
"This brat again…"
Across from him, Garp sat on the sofa with a bag of rice crackers in his hand.
Unlike the others, he did not seem affected by the heavy mood at all. He picked up another cracker, tossed it into his mouth, and laughed loudly.
"Bwahaha! Crocodile got eaten by a lion, huh?"
"Garp!"
Sengoku's forehead bulged.
"Do you understand how serious this is?!"
"Of course I do."
Garp's laughter slowly faded.
For once, his eyes became sharp.
"A Warlord tried to swallow a kingdom, and another pirate beat him before the Marines could clean up the mess. No matter how you write the report, the Government's face has already been slapped."
The office fell silent.
That was exactly the problem.
If Crocodile's crimes were hidden completely, Alabasta would never accept it. Too many people had seen too much. The king himself had survived. The rebel army had witnessed the truth. The royal army had witnessed it. Even the people had seen Crocodile's fall.
But if the whole truth was released, the World Government would have to admit that one of their Seven Warlords had nearly destroyed an affiliated kingdom under their nose.
And if they admitted that, every king under the Government's flag would start wondering the same thing.
Could the Seven Warlords really be trusted?
"Sengoku-san, Captain Smoker also called and said…"
Sengoku looked up. He was not surprised that Smoker had contacted Headquarters. After what Shiki had done in Alabasta, that stubborn brat was bound to have something to say.
"Say it."
The officer swallowed.
"He said that if Headquarters still treats Shiki like an ordinary rookie, then the ones who are blind are not the pirates."
Garp suddenly burst out laughing again.
"That sounds like Smoker!"
Sengoku grabbed the rice cracker bag from Garp's hand and crushed it in his fist.
"Stop laughing!"
Garp looked down at the ruined crackers with a heartbroken expression.
"Oi, Sengoku. Those were mine."
"Then act like this is a meeting!"
"It is a meeting. I'm listening."
"You're eating!"
"I can do both."
Sengoku nearly threw the report at him.
At that moment, another officer hurried into the room.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku! The intelligence division has finished comparing the witnesses' descriptions of Shiki's ability!"
Sengoku's gaze sharpened.
"Read it."
The officer opened the file.
"According to multiple accounts, the pirate Shiki is capable of making objects float after contact. Stone, sand, weapons, palace debris, and even large sections of the battlefield were controlled in midair. The ability does not appear to affect living beings directly, but anything non-living can be lifted and manipulated freely."
The officer's voice became more uncertain as he continued.
"The report states that the ability is extremely similar to the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi."
The moment that name was spoken, the expressions of several older Marines changed.
Garp stopped reaching for the broken cracker bag and squinted his old eyes.
Sengoku's face became completely grim.
The Fuwa Fuwa no Mi.
There were not many people in the world who understood the terror behind that name.
But Sengoku and Garp understood it better than anyone.
Years ago, the original Golden Lion had used that power to turn the sky itself into his battlefield. Marineford had nearly been destroyed during that battle.
And now, a young pirate carrying the name Shiki had appeared.
A young pirate who called his crew the Golden Lion Pirates.
A young pirate who seemed to possess the same ability.
Garp's voice lowered.
"So your guess might have been right after all."
Sengoku closed his eyes for a moment.
"The child of the Golden Lion…"
After a while, Sengoku opened his eyes again.
"Whether he truly is or not does not matter anymore. The sea will believe it. Pirates will believe it. And once that rumor spreads, every fool chasing the legends of the old era will start gathering around him."
Tsuru, who had remained silent until now, leaned back against the sofa.
"Then raise his bounty."
"If you leave him at three hundred million after this, pirates will think Headquarters is afraid to admit how dangerous he is. If you raise it too much, you'll turn him into a symbol too quickly."
Sengoku understood what she meant.
A bounty was not only a measurement of strength.
It was also a message.
Too low, and the Government looked blind.
Too high, and the pirate became famous overnight.
Sengoku looked toward the officer.
"Prepare the new wanted poster."
The officer straightened.
"Yes, sir! Amount?"
Sengoku's expression hardened.
"Four hundred million."
....
At the same time.
Mary Geoise.
Inside the highest chamber of the World Government.
Five figures sat beneath the cold light, their expressions unmoving as the reports from Alabasta lay spread across the table before them.
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn was the first to speak.
"Crocodile has failed."
His voice was calm, but the words carried no room for argument.
Across from him, Saint Marcus Mars looked down at the report with a dark expression.
"Failed is too light a word. His crimes were exposed before the royal family, the rebel army, and the people of Alabasta. Too many eyes saw too much."
Saint Topman Warcury folded his hands over his cane.
"Then there is no point protecting his name any longer. Crocodile has already become a loose end."
The moment those words fell, the meaning was clear.
The World Government had already decided to abandon him.
Crocodile had once been useful. As one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, he had carried the Government's name and used it as a shield. As long as he obeyed, his crimes could be ignored, covered up, or rewritten.
But now, the matter had gone beyond control.
A Warlord had used his position to nearly devour an affiliated kingdom.
Worse, he had failed.
And failure was the one sin the World Government never forgave.
Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro slowly drew his blade an inch from its sheath, then pushed it back in with a soft click.
"Crocodile will be declared a rogue Warlord who betrayed the trust of the World Government. His organization is to be erased. Any surviving members of Baroque Works are to be captured, silenced, or made irrelevant."
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter looked at the bounty poster placed beside the report.
"Condemning Crocodile after death is simple...the problem is the one who killed him."
Mars narrowed his eyes.
"A pirate defeated him and saved Alabasta. If that story spreads as it is, the World Government will look incompetent."
Warcury's expression hardened, and even his mustache twitched.
"Then we do not allow that story to spread as it is."
Nusjuro's eyes turned cold, and a thin smile appeared across his face, lit by the gleam of his half-unsheathed blade.
"We only need to change the meaning of his actions."
The meaning behind those words was understood at once.
They did not need to deny that Shiki had defeated Crocodile.
That would be impossible.
Too many people in Alabasta had seen the truth with their own eyes.
If the World Government tried to erase everything, Alabasta itself might speak.
So instead of erasing the truth, they would twist it.
Crocodile would be declared a rogue Warlord who had betrayed the trust of the World Government. Since he was already dead, all blame could be placed neatly on his corpse. His crimes, his organization, his ambition, and every disaster he had caused would become the actions of one corrupt pirate who had abused the authority given to him.
As for the Government's failure to notice his scheme?
That would disappear beneath official language.
The reports would say that once Crocodile's betrayal was discovered, the World Government moved to deal with him before Alabasta suffered any further damage.
And Shiki's role would be rewritten along with it.
He would not be described as a pirate who had humiliated the Government by defeating one of its Seven Warlords.
He would be presented as a dangerous but useful candidate who had eliminated Crocodile in order to prove his value and claim the vacant seat among the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
A pirate acting for ambition and seeking legal status.
A pirate who had moved, not out of kindness toward Alabasta, but because he wanted the power and freedom that came with the title of Warlord.
That explanation was convenient.
It would protect the Government's face, quiet the affiliated kingdoms, and turn Shiki's victory into something the World Government could pretend to control.
At the same time, it would place a chain around Shiki's neck.
If he accepted the invitation, the world would believe he had acted for the Warlord position from the beginning. Alabasta's gratitude toward him would become easier to manage, and the Government would gain the right to watch him openly.
If he refused, then they would learn something just as valuable.
They would know that Shiki was not a pirate who could be tempted by title, privilege, or legal freedom.
Either result was useful and would help them decide how dangerous this young lion truly was.
Warcury finally looked toward the official waiting near the door.
"Send the order to Cipher Pol."
The official immediately lowered his head.
"Yes, sir."
"Dispatch agents to Alabasta. They are to make contact with Shiki of the Golden Lion Pirates and deliver an official invitation."
Ju Peter's voice followed calmly.
"The vacant seat among the Seven Warlords of the Sea will be offered to him."
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