Katorea, the city nearest to Nanohana.
Amid more than three years of relentless drought in Alabasta, Katorea was blessed with an oasis capable of supplying water not only to Nanohana but to the entire surrounding region.
The rebel army's headquarters, set up on the outskirts of Katorea, looked from afar like a continuous roof formed by tents propped up on wooden poles.
"Welcome, Commander."
"Yes. Have the others arrived?"
"They're all waiting at the rendezvous point you specified."
"We need to move quickly."
As he spoke, Koza, Chief Commander of the Alabasta rebels, walking beneath the tents, recalled the days he and his father had spent maintaining the city.
"Don't be so quick to doubt, Koza. You know what His Majesty is like."
"Father, they say our numbers have surpassed ten thousand. It's been over a year since not a single drop of rain has fallen on Yuba."
"Just wait a little longer and things will get better. Once the rains return, all those outrageous rumors against His Majesty…"
Despite his son's worries, his father continued his work in silence.
But in spite of his words, the people's resentment only deepened.
"I heard the rebels and the royal army clashed."
"Yeah, I heard many died…"
"The canal system we built over decades is destroyed!"
"Without it, we can't draw any water!"
With the drought worsening and disasters piling up, Koza finally made his way to Alubarna, the capital, and confronted King Cobra of Alabasta as he sat on his throne.
"I do not believe those rumors that Your Majesty stole the rain using something called [Dance Powder]."
"Even so, you did confiscate it in the name of security, didn't you? I'm asking you to let us use it for the suffering people!"
"No, Koza. Wait for nature's rain."
"Once the rains come, the rebellion's momentum will collapse as well. If you'd only grant me permission, I'd act on my own, not the kingdom's behalf…"
"We cannot steal another country's rain just because we're in pain."
"Please, let us use just a little! Enough to save those starving to death right now!"
"That would spark a far greater war."
Koza's cries, nearly a scream, were met with Cobra's cold refusal.
Though Cobra's intent was to prevent a devastating war with foreign powers, to Koza—who could only envision the suffering people before him—those words sounded like excuses.
"You only see things in the distance… you don't even realize there's a sword at our throats!"
With that, Koza turned and strode out of the palace.
"I will return and take back the rain from you, the king of a doomed country!"
*
"Do we have enough guns and ammo?"
"Not yet, Commander. We're still short of what we need for an all-out battle."
Koza stood among his officers, receiving updates on the rebel army's situation.
Though their ranks grew by the day, they were woefully short on firearms and ammunition.
"Alert every village branch: once you're ready, launch a full assault on Alubarna…!"
"Koza! Ah—Commander!"
Just then, a man burst into the tent where Koza and his officers stood.
"What's wrong, Parapara?"
"Princess… no—Vivi is here!"
"…What?"
"She said she has something to tell us…!"
"Koza!"
"Vivi? How did you…?!"
*
The Straw Hat crew slipped into the tent with their faces half-hidden—all except Vivi—standing silently in the corner.
Vivi handed Koza and the officers wanted posters and the facts she had uncovered. The stunned officers exchanged horrified glances.
"Princess… is this really true?"
"That it was Crocodile of the Warlords of the Sea who stirred up chaos in Alabasta, and that his motive was to seize the kingdom?"
"That's impossible…"
"Then what about all the lives lost between the royal forces and the rebels? What were they for?!"
As the officers panicked, Vivi spoke with unwavering resolve.
"No one on the royal side or the rebel side is to blame. It was all Crocodile's conspiracy."
"We can still set things right. Please, everyone here—believe in me…"
"How can we believe you, Princess?"
One officer challenged her mid-sentence.
Though another tried to stop him, Koza lowered his head and remained silent, prompting the officer to press on.
"We know the faces on these wanted posters have been seen in Alabasta, but how can posters and a few testimonies prove everything you claim?"
"Photos and witness statements can be fabricated!"
"What are you saying? That the Princess is lying to us? Then how do you explain Crocodile protecting our country from pirates all these years? Was he the mastermind behind it all?!"
"I'm not asking you to believe me immediately! I'm asking you to halt this war long enough to verify the truth!"
"What if you're plotting something during that time?!"
"I believe in the Princess."
"Commander… that means…"
"We suspend the full-scale attack plan. Tell every village branch to stand down against the royal army."
"And if we find out the Princess is lying? We'll all be destroyed piecemeal!"
"If she were lying, why would she come all the way to our headquarters? We could've simply taken her hostage—she knew that risk."
"You anticipated that, didn't you, Princess?"
"Of course, Koza. As long as I can persuade the people here, I don't mind."
"…Under those conditions, I can accept it. I agree with the Commander."
"I'll follow as well."
"I trusted the Princess from the start. I'm in full support!"
"T-These fools… I can't believe it!"
As Koza and Vivi gained the officers' agreement, the man who had questioned Vivi—Kaji—snapped in anger and stormed out.
Zoro, Sanji, and Hancock exchanged glances and looked at Luffy, who shook his head in response.
"We had no choice, Vivi. Right now, no one can maintain faith in His Majesty while believing you."
"And I couldn't even keep my own faith… that's why I'm here."
"It's okay, Koza. Thanks to you, we've swayed the rest."
"Commander told me many stories—how close you were to the Princess since childhood…"
"I only watched from afar. Actually, I managed her fan club…"
"You had a fan club?"
As Vivi greeted the rebel officers, Usopp whispered to Nami.
"Looks like things are going better than we feared."
"I never expected Koza, the rebel Commander, to be Vivi's friend. That's why he was so willing to trust her."
"I worried his backing alone wouldn't sway everyone—he convinced them all by himself."
"He's a fitting leader for the rebels."
"Still, Vivi pushed this plan because the people of this country have a deep faith in the royal family. Without that, none of this would've happened…"
"Wait—there's a commotion outside."
"That voice…!"
Watching the unrest grow beyond the tent flaps, Koza opened the flap and called out:
"We've been preparing for years! We've gone without a drop of water, lost friends and family on battlefields to get this far!"
"Yet our Commander halts the full-scale assault just because one princess showed up? How is that fair?!"
Standing atop a large wooden crate was Kaji, his face red and veins bulging as he shouted.
Over a hundred men had gathered around him, and more rebels poured out of the tents to see what the uproar was about.
"Kaji's right! If they care about us, we should storm Alubarna now!"
"Time's on the enemy's side—every minute we waste, we die of thirst!"
"It's still raining in the capital!"
"Everyone, stand down!"
"Ch-Commander…!"
"Is that… the Princess?"
As more voices joined Kaji's complaint, Koza stepped outside and addressed the crowd.
Vivi and the officers followed him into the clearing, and Koza met the crowd's gaze head-on.
"First, let me be honest about our situation."
"With our current ammo, we cannot defeat the royal army. Advancing on Alubarna now would be suicide."
"I know the drought has exhausted us all, but we cannot afford to skip verifying the truth!"
"I'm not ignorant of the blood and tears you've shed over three years."
"But our real enemy is elsewhere. I came to tell you that we're being manipulated by someone we all must unite to defeat!"
By now, over five thousand rebels had gathered in the square.
In that moment, Vivi poured out the truths she had uncovered, her eyes and voice filled with heartfelt urgency.
"If what I'm saying is true, then all this time, Crocodile has been our true foe."
"I believe the Princess. What kind of man would steal rain using [Dance Powder]?"
"And coming here meant risking capture—as I just said, she knew that danger."
"To doubt the Princess now is…"
"If Vivi's information is accurate, our war has been utterly meaningless."
"I'm not saying we should never fight—but we need time to confirm her claims."
"That is my order as Commander, and as one of you!"
As the crowd fell silent, Koza seized the moment:
"Do not be fooled! I'm only giving the Princess the time to confirm the truth, not to break our resolve!"
"Stop it, Kaji! Why go this far?!"
"We put our trust in the royals—and look where it got us! How can we believe a Princess's words with no proof?!"
"If there was nothing to hiding, why did Vivi come here herself?"
"Th-the answer is…!"
"If the worst happens, we simply hold her hostage. At least then we won't be attacked first."
"You expected that treatment, didn't you, Princess?"
"Of course, Koza. As long as I can persuade the people here, it doesn't matter."
"…Under those conditions, I can accept it. I agree with the Commander."
"I'll follow as well."
"I trusted the Princess from the start. I'm in full support!"
"T-These fools… I can't believe it!"
In the uproar, Kaji himself raised his rifle, and panic rippled through the crowd.
"How can we trust a woman who brings no solid evidence?!"
"Now we see that Koza was never fit to lead!"
"Put down those guns. Now!"
"You're as much a threat as we are if you don't!"
With the rebels split between believers and skeptics, Koza recalled what he had once shouted before King Cobra's throne:
"I will return and take back the rain from you, the king of a doomed country!"
'I spoke that blasphemy in ignorance of the truth.'
'Now that statement has sown hatred and deafened everyone to reason.'
"Please stop! We are not enemies!"
"Princess, get out of here! It's too late!"
"Hold the Princess hostage! We'll threaten Cobra with her life!"
Vivi's desperate cries went unheard by the raging crowd—until Zoro stepped forward and spoke.
"It's come to this… if we don't get our hands dirty, there's no other way."
"Not set in stone, Marimo. In the worst case, Hancock…"
"Some will be immune, Sanji. Then the sacrifices Vivi tried to avoid…"
As Hancock spoke to Sanji, Koza remembered his father's words:
"Don't be so quick to doubt, Koza. You know what His Majesty is like."
"Just wait a little longer and things will get better…"
'I should have waited. I should have listened!'
'Now it's me—the rebellion's Commander—who has brought us to the brink of slaughter!'
"We are not enemies! Stop fighting one another!"
"Please stop!!!"
Amidst Vivi's screams and Koza's regret, it seemed a bloodbath was imminent—until Luffy finally spoke.
"I respect each person's free will."
"You…"
"Luffy!"
Luffy, expression calm, strode past Vivi and Koza to where rebels aimed guns at each other—and walked straight to Kaji, the epicenter of the storm.
"You're just an outsider Princess Vivi brought in—who do you think you are?!"
"That's why I didn't want to go this far."
Though he muttered softly, every rebel within earshot heard his words.
Kuuuuu—!
At that moment, waves of [Conqueror's Haki] burst forth from Luffy, radiating across the clearing.
"What is this… I can't breathe!"
"Why… why is this happening?!"
"I can't see…!"
Thud!
Rebels in the front ranks, staring at Luffy, felt their vision blur and their legs give out.
One by one, from a hundred to three hundred to five hundred, over a thousand rebels collapsed, overwhelmed by the power of [Conqueror's Haki].
Only a few remained standing: Luffy's crew, Koza and his officers, and Kaji himself.
Confused by the sudden darkness and weight, Kaji, face pressed into the sand, watched Luffy approach.
'Why… why can't I scream?!'
He felt as if an invisible hand squeezed his throat with unbearable pressure.
Even though Luffy had kept him outside the core of the Haki's effect, the sheer force of Luffy's presence crushed him.
"You're sure good at riling people up."
"I'll tell you everything…!"
"But it's natural to be suspicious when it goes this far."
Snikt!
With a single motion, Luffy ripped open Kaji's shirt, revealing the [Baroque Works] mark tattooed on his shoulder.
Crack, crack, crack!
"Aaaaaaaaah!!!"
"I thought so."
Luffy seized Kaji's wrist, drew a circle in the air, and twisted his arm, wrenching shoulder and elbow.
Kaji screamed in pain unlike anything he had ever imagined.
"That mark…"
"Koza, as Vivi said, that's the mark of [Baroque Works]."
"Having that brand means you're a spy for [Baroque Works], infiltrating both our ranks and the royal forces."
After Kaji lost consciousness in agony, Luffy turned back to face the others.
At his approach, Koza and the few remaining officers dropped to their knees.
"You… who are you?!"
"Koza, Luffy went this far for you…"
"Who exactly are you?!"
Only seconds ago, the tent had almost become a slaughterhouse. Now, Luffy had restored a fragile peace.
His very presence, like with Kaji, pressed down on everyone, claiming absolute authority.
"You don't have to look at me that way."
"I'm just someone who came to help a friend—nothing more, nothing less."
"But if you must know…"
Luffy, eyes shining with awe and a hint of fear, spoke to those who looked up at him.
"My name is Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm gonna be King of the Pirates."
"An introduction like that should be enough."