Heading to the Royal Capital

In the dim conference room, about a dozen people sat around a round table. Kong Zha and Vivi sat opposite each other. The Straw Hat Crew and Reiner's few Undead didn't sit down, but stood behind Vivi.

BANG—!

A man jumped up, slamming both hands on the table, his face aghast as he yelled.

"What did you say?!"

"Hey, is this for real?"

"I knew it, the King couldn't possibly do something like that!"

The other rebel leaders also spoke up, a mixture of expressions on their faces, but all showing a hint of surprise.

Among them were a few members of the Sasa Corps who had played with Vivi since childhood. They trusted Vivi quite a bit, but not everyone felt the same way.

"Why should we believe you?"

"What if this is a conspiracy concocted by your royal family, seeing the war going badly, trying to frame others?"

"Exactly, do you have proof, Princess Vivi?!"

Several people started voicing their doubts.

Reiner wasn't surprised by this. The fact that some people were even sitting there, listening to Vivi speak from start to finish, was already a blessing thanks to the rain.

"Proof, I don't have any right now—"

"...No need to say more," Kong Zha interrupted Vivi.

"Wait, Kong Zha! You have to believe me, my father is absolutely—"

"No, I believe you," Kong Zha said calmly. However, these words made the others unable to sit still.

"Leader, just because it's Princess Vivi, you can't—"

"Hold on! This is too hasty!"

"Exactly, our dead brothers..."

"Quiet everyone! Listen to me," Kong Zha shouted, cutting off the noise. He rubbed his temples, leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and said:

"It's not because of Vivi. Calm down and think carefully. If you had to choose between Crocodile and Cobra, who do you think is more likely to have done something like this...?"

Kong Zha truly lived up to his reputation as someone who could rally 700,000 troops; he was calm enough to set aside three years of wartime hatred and think through the problem.

"What reason would a king who has diligently served for decades and developed this barren land have to do something like this? No matter how much the capital lacks water, the royal family's share wouldn't be cut."

Kong Zha continued with his eyes closed, saying:

"Think back, the King's drastic change in temperament three years ago, and the time Crocodile arrived in Alabasta... It's too much of a coincidence, isn't it?"

"We never thought about it this way before, but if we follow Vivi's words and investigate deeper, there are simply too many big and small coincidences..."

The conference room fell silent.

Everyone's faces grew serious as they lowered their heads, deep in thought, recalling...

"...Yes, if I had to choose someone, I'd definitely trust the King more."

"How could the King do something like that? I still can't imagine it..."

"Believe Vivi, everyone!"

A brown-haired man suddenly stood up and shouted. He was a former member of the Sasa Corps and had long been tired of war. If it weren't for Kong Zha, he wouldn't even have joined the rebels.

"Many of us have known King Cobra since we were children. Don't we know what kind of person he is?"

Tears streamed from the brown-haired man's eyes as he continued to shout, "I don't want to fight anymore! Too many people have already died! Do you still want to continue?!"

At his words, everyone at the table was moved. Of course, they didn't want to continue. Only those who had experienced the brutality of war truly understood it. The bloody scenes made them wake up from nightmares every day.

A portion of the people in the room were already ready to show their support, while others were still undecided. However, there was one person whose thoughts were diametrically opposed.

A man two seats away from Vivi looked at the situation before him with some surprise.

The boss never said this would happen!

Indeed, he was one of Baroque Works' members who had infiltrated the rebel army, having been promoted to a leadership position two and a half years ago.

Their mission was to constantly incite the rebels' emotions, even sabotaging negotiations with the Royal Army.

The man looked at the situation, sweat beading on his palms, his fists clenched tightly.

Should I make a move on Princess Vivi? If Princess Vivi dies here, the Royal Army will definitely launch an attack. By then, even if the rebels lose their will to fight, they'll be forced to respond. But...

If I make a move now, I definitely won't be able to escape. But if I don't, the war won't start in time, and the boss's plan will be ruined...

Either way, I'm dead, damn it! The Baroque Works mole gritted his teeth, his palms sweating.

Maybe I should just run away immediately after the meeting ends? Even if I'm hunted, there'll always be a glimmer of hope. If I make a move here, I'm dead for sure!

Thinking this, the man exhaled, slowly loosening his clenched hands.

However...

"Stand up, and pull up your sleeve."

Reiner spoke calmly. The Blue Ogre, cloaked, already had his spear pressed against the mole's throat.

"My bad, but having Observation Haki really is amazing."

When the other party showed hostility, Blue Ogre and Red Ogre had already warned him. He had intended to wait for the man to make a move and catch him red-handed, but the man gave up. What a waste.

Everyone looked shocked. Several rebel leaders reacted quickly, pulling out their firearms and aiming them at Blue Ogre.

"Don't move!"

"He's a spy from Baroque Works."

Reiner spoke calmly, and Blue Ogre's spear moved a fraction closer, subtly piercing the man's skin and drawing blood.

"I'll say it again. Stand up, pull up your sleeve, and show everyone."

Baroque Works members all had a tattoo on their hand, a detail he'd discovered during the battle to seize the Dance Powder.

Hearing this, everyone turned to look at the man, their expressions a little odd. "Hey, Dalong, you..."

Pulling up a sleeve isn't that hard, is it? Why isn't he refuting this?

The man's face grew even darker, and a hint of malice flashed in his eyes.

Would it even help? No!

Forget him, even everyone in the room combined wouldn't be enough to fight the Straw Hat Crew. With such overwhelming power, the other side had no room to resist.

Soon, under threat of death, the spy divulged all the information he knew.

"Dalong, you..."

"I can't believe Princess Vivi was telling the truth."

Despite their disbelief, the various leaders found it too convoluted, their minds couldn't keep up.

"Since that's the case, don't just stand there stunned." It was Kong Zha who broke the current atmosphere.

"Now that we have a human witness, let's take advantage of this moment to inform our other comrades.

"I'll go personally; we need to tell the truth to the people at the other strongholds quickly."

Taking advantage of the rain, the rebels' fighting morale wasn't as high. The rebel leaders began to move around, explaining the truth.

Kong Zha also took some people and left the main camp for other strongholds.

"Now, on the rebel side, there's nothing more we can do."

Only the Straw Hat Crew remained in the meeting room. Sanji spoke directly:

"Next, let's take Vivi directly to the palace and synchronize the information here with the royal family."

"Thank you... Thank you, truly, very much." Vivi couldn't help but cover her face, thanking them repeatedly.

"The little delinquent is going to cry again." Reiner chuckled softly. This time, Nami didn't roll her eyes at him, only smiled faintly along with him.

"But our business isn't over yet."

Luffy raised his hands, his fists meeting in front of his chest, and grinned, "We haven't dealt with the final enemy yet, have we?"

"Ah, if we don't take care of him, this whole situation will just keep repeating itself in different ways," Zoro said, his hand resting on the hilt of the sword at his waist, a slight smirk on his lips.

"The rebellion has been stopped. If Crocodile isn't deterred, he'll probably go to the capital to target the King," Reiner said, lighting a cigarette, his voice calm:

"Get ready to cross the desert, and then we'll head straight for the capital.

"This time, we need to find some suitable desert mounts first. I can't stand using Undead."

Having made up his mind, Reiner went to find some horses. Sanji also began asking the rebels for food and water.

Once prepared, the group left Cattelya and headed straight for the capital of Alabasta—Alubarna.

The final stage of the Sand Kingdom...

It's a fight! Please keep reading these next few days!