Alabasta's royal palace was in complete chaos.
"Your Highness! You can't go over there—it might... No, the South Hall is definitely dangerous right now!"
Igaram blocked Vivi's path and said sternly,
"Bell and Huka both left Arubana with His Majesty. The palace doesn't have enough strength right now to protect you."
"No."
But Vivi said in a low voice, "That explosion must mean the killer Mr. Dragon mentioned has arrived."
"They disguised themselves as me somehow. I... I have to make sure he's safe!"
She was frantic and had never imagined that right after she left the South Hall, Dragon would be attacked.
Based on the information she had now, the attacker seemed to have disguised themselves as her somehow, distracted the guards, and then successfully entered the South Hall.
If Dragon were killed because of this, causing the situation in Alabasta to worsen, she would never be able to accept it!
"I have to go, Igaram—please don't stop me, okay?"
So she looked at Igaram pleadingly.
To her, this Royal Guard captain was more than just a guard.
He was more like a family member and elder who had watched her grow up.
"...All right."
Igaram truly understood Vivi.
So when he saw her eyes, he knew he could no longer stop her.
The princess was usually approachable and easy to get along with.
But once she made up her mind to do something, no one could stop her.
"But you must promise me that if there's any danger or a fight breaks out, you will flee immediately!"
"Mm! I promise!"
Vivi clearly knew that her own combat strength would not be of much help, so she nodded without hesitation.
Thus, Igaram no longer hesitated.
He led the many guards, who were standing ready for battle, straight to the South Hall.
The entire South Hall of the royal palace had been devastated by the earlier explosion. The walls and pillars were covered in cracks, while rubble and pits of all sizes dotted the floor.
Fortunately, the ancient ancestors of Alabasta had clearly done an excellent job with the palace's construction.
Even after enduring such a massive explosion, the South Hall's overall structure remained intact—at least it would not collapse anytime soon.
"Move! Get inside immediately!"
After Igaram gave the order, everyone surrounded Vivi in the center and rushed into the South Hall.
Then—
"Ah!?"
"What... is that?"
Unrestrained cries of shock rang out.
Of course, as captain of the Royal Guard, Igaram should have reprimanded his subordinates for making such a fuss.
But at this moment, he had no right to reprimand them.
His eyes were practically bulging from their sockets, and his golden curls had nearly stood on end from fright.
"..."
Even Vivi covered her mouth in disbelief, her widened eyes filled with horror.
Before them was an unbelievable sight inside the South Hall.
The pillars and walls on the left were covered in thick frost.
The frigid air condensed into white mist that spread through the surroundings.
By contrast, the floor on the right had almost completely melted.
The bricks and walls that had been carefully selected when Alabasta's palace was built had been scorched red by the intense heat, while the rising waves of heat distorted even the air.
Extreme cold and scorching heat.
Though it was clearly a palace, it now seemed as if some invisible hand had molded it into two completely opposite worlds.
At the boundary between the ice and fire,
the assassins of Baroque Works had already fallen to the ground.
MR. 2 Feng Kley lay on his back, embedded in the ice. The candle hair atop MR. 3 Gardino's head had completely melted. Miss. Valentine and MR. 5 lay nearby, their parasol and sunglasses utterly destroyed.
Miss. Christmas's Mole Gloves had been burned to ashes. MR. 4 and his pet lay not far away, the huge baseball bat in his hand completely broken.
And in the center of the palace lay Miss. Doublefinger, her entire body burned, as well as—
"Monster."
In the middle of the battlefield,
MR. 1 Daz Bones was being held up in the air by the neck with one hand by Dragon.
His vaunted Blade Body was now covered in obvious cracks from frostbite.
Part of his right leg had even clearly been melted away by something searing hot.
He spoke weakly, "I... lost. Kill me."
There was clearly no will to resist left in the tough man's voice.
This was not merely because his injuries made resistance impossible, but also because of the battle just now.
No, that could not even be called a battle.
It had simply been their opponent showing them pure, overwhelming power.
Just as he had judged his opponent—a monster.
Challenging a monster had been foolish from the start.
As an experienced killer who had already been well-known even before joining Baroque Works, Daz Bones had long since come to terms with death.
"Kill you?"
But Dragon's voice beneath the mask was calm. "No. I think you passed."
"What?"
MR. 1 was naturally baffled.
But Dragon did not answer him.
He simply tossed him aside, slamming MR. 1 into the ground.
Only after confirming that his opponent had fallen unconscious did he clap his hands. "Phew. A little exercise. I even worked up a bit of a sweat."
After saying this with a smile, he turned to look at Igaram and Vivi, who were staring at him in a daze.
"Oh? Captain Igaram of the Royal Guard, and Princess Vivi. You arrived at just the right time—please take these people away."
"Th-they... they are... No, th-this whole place is..."
Igaram could barely form a coherent sentence.
Vivi, however, managed to remain composed.
She took several deep breaths despite her shock. The air, cold and scorching at the same time, helped clear her mind somewhat.
Only then did she manage to say in a trembling voice, "These people are..."
"Mm."
Seeing that she had steadied herself, a hint of approval seemed to flash in Dragon's eyes beneath his mask.
"That's right—they're the executives of Baroque Works, and they're the 'evidence' King Cobra wanted."
"You can inform King Cobra that he can return."
He spoke calmly.
"Wait. You mean Father..."
After hearing Dragon's words, Vivi froze for a moment before immediately realizing what he meant. "He knew all along? That's why he left the palace to inspect the disaster areas?"
"And Baroque Works?"
"Was this Baroque Works organization secretly responsible for causing the drought in Alabasta?"
"More precisely, it was the 'president' of Baroque Works."
Dragon nodded. "Ask King Cobra about the details yourself after he returns—if he's willing to tell you."
"..."
Vivi felt as though she was about to die of anger.
Dragon and her father had clearly discussed the plan, and they had even captured the enemy through that plan, yet she had been kept in the dark from beginning to end.
What was more, she knew very well that even if she asked King Cobra herself after he returned, he probably would not give her a direct answer.
But Dragon had already turned away, clearly with no intention of continuing the conversation.
After taking several deep breaths, Vivi gritted her teeth and said, "Igaram, arrest them all."
She had made up her mind.
If her father and that detestable man refused to tell her the truth, she would question the truth out of the enemy herself.
The guards hurried forward, bound all the assassins from Baroque Works one by one, and carried them away.
"Make sure to restrain them with Seastone if possible. They're all Ability Users—Alabasta should have Seastone, right?"
Dragon said this to Vivi and Igaram.
"They're all Ability Users?"
Vivi and Igaram were even more astonished upon hearing this.
They naturally knew how powerful Ability Users were.
Anyone who had eaten a Devil Fruit without exception possessed power beyond that of ordinary people.
Even in a superpower like Alabasta, which possessed a hereditary guardian Devil Fruit, there were only two Ability Users in the entire country.
Yet Baroque Works had sent no fewer than eight Ability Users as assassins.
It was obvious how powerful that criminal organization was.
But then Vivi realized another terrifying fact.
Judging from their surroundings, even all eight Ability Users together had seemingly failed to inflict the slightest effective injury on Dragon.
Vivi naturally understood what that meant.
Although both were executives of mysterious organizations hidden across the sea,
the [Twelve Zodiacs] executive Dragon was clearly far stronger than the renowned Baroque Works.
That was not because the latter was weak.
It was simply because the existence known as Dragon was far too powerful.
More importantly,
"Someone this powerful is only one of the Twelve Zodiacs."
"Then the Twelve Zodiacs—just how powerful is this organization?"
No one could answer Vivi's mutterings.
After capturing all the visitors from Baroque Works, Vivi naturally invited Dragon to participate in their interrogation.
She had, of course, been thinking cleverly. If Dragon conducted the interrogation, she might be able to glean something from the conversation.
Unfortunately—
"I'm not going. But please arrange a new place for me to stay. There's no need to prepare guards this time. Oh, and don't forget to put a bottle of cola in the room."
Dragon waved his hand.
"And don't kill the people we captured today. I still have a use for them."
Seeing how impervious Dragon was to persuasion, Vivi was disappointed.
But she did not say anything else. She soon left with Igaram and the guards.
The attendants quickly led Dragon to his new residence—a similarly elegant room on the southern side of the royal palace.
After entering the room, the attendants introduced the locations of the various daily necessities before silently leaving.
Dragon walked familiarly to the sofa in the center of the room and sat down, then opened the chilled cola placed on the table.
"Pssh."
The refreshing sound unique to carbonated drinks rang out.
Dragon casually took two glasses from the room and silently filled them with cola.
Then—
"I even brought out precious cola to entertain you."
"Guest hiding in the shadows, it would be rude not to show yourself now."
Before you continue