He Was Walking Truth

Observation Haki spread rapidly.

Wilton quickly sensed Luffy's faint presence. With a springing leap, he crossed street after street, where rebel soldiers and royal troops were still fighting.

Wilton's leap was far too conspicuous, and quite a few people saw Crocodile's corpse.

At that moment, inside a secret passage.

Cobra emerged carrying Luffy and Nico Robin. He dropped onto the ground and gasped heavily, having suffered considerable injuries earlier.

Fortunately, they had escaped the underground mausoleum. Otherwise, they would have been buried alive.

After resting for over ten minutes, Cobra got up and continued carrying the unconscious Luffy and Nico Robin. But after only a few steps, a shriek tore through the air above him.

Boom—

Like a missile crashing down, a massive storm mixed with rolling dust and flying rubble erupted. Cobra was blasted away and slammed heavily into the ground.

Luffy and Robin were sent tumbling away as well.

A faint muffled groan sounded.

Robin's head struck a piece of rubble. Her eyelashes trembled as she groggily woke up, while Luffy beside her had already fallen into a deep unconsciousness.

"Marines."

Cobra's bloodied face shifted uncertainly. Especially when he saw Crocodile dangling from Wilton's hand, his heart had been completely pierced through, and the scenery behind him was visible through the hole.

He could not have been more dead.

This Marine Rear Admiral was a ruthless figure.

Robin, who had just regained consciousness, instinctively pretended to remain unconscious. She planned to stay still and observe the situation while wondering what had happened after she passed out.

Why had the Marines appeared?

"This Marine Rear Admiral, I am Cobra, King of Alabasta."

Seeing Wilton walking toward Luffy, Cobra shakily climbed to his feet and coughed to announce his identity, because he wanted to save Luffy and Nico Robin.

"You want to protect them?"

Wilton stopped and looked at Cobra, speaking bluntly. "You are a good king, but they are pirates. It would be better not to have too much contact with them."

Ignoring the stunned expression on Cobra's face, Wilton walked over to the unconscious Luffy, ready to arrest him.

Eight-Flower Claw.

Just as Wilton was about to touch Luffy, eight arms suddenly sprouted from his body, seizing his head and hands at once and continuously exerting force in an attempt to snap him apart.

Nico Robin had made her move.

She had observed that there was only this one Marine nearby.

"I thought you would keep pretending."

Wilton had long noticed that Nico Robin was faking it. Such a trick could not restrain him at all. Armament Haki rapidly spread over him and forcefully destroyed the arms on his body. Then Wilton vanished from where he stood.

Not good.

Robin's pretty face changed. She quickly turned around, but before she could see clearly, a powerful roundhouse kick swept toward her. Robin's facial muscles visibly compressed together before she shot away like a cannonball, smashing through several buildings.

As an absolute believer in gender equality, Wilton showed her the utmost respect as always, so he did not hold back in the slightest.

Cobra's mouth hung slightly open as he stared fixedly at the ruins while the dust gradually dispersed. Robin lay there with blood covering her face, her nose bridge collapsed and her hair disheveled. Her breathing was weak, and she had passed out again.

Not long afterward.

Wilton piled Crocodile, Luffy, and Nico Robin together, then worked out while pondering a problem.

He had already notified Sadi and the others.

The Straw Hat Pirates had all been arrested, along with Crocodile's subordinates. Once the two sides had nearly exhausted themselves fighting, Sadi's group appeared and captured everyone without any effort.

Not a single one escaped.

Everything had gone according to plan.

Unfortunately, the attempt to seize the Sand-Sand Fruit had failed.

Cobra remained seated in a corner, thinking about how to save Luffy and Nico Robin from the Marines.

This rear admiral before him did not seem easy to deal with.

What Wilton had said earlier was clearly a warning. As the King of Alabasta, with the country still in civil war, if the rebels learned that he had connections to pirates, the situation would likely become even worse.

He could not afford to make a single misstep now.

"Lord Wilton."

Soon, an excited voice rang out. Sadi had arrived with ten Marines, and the soldiers behind her carried Seastone handcuffs.

"Put Seastone cuffs on the Straw Hat Kid and the Child of the Devil."

"Yes, sir."

"Lord Wilton, the Straw Hat Pirates and Baroque Works' officers have all been captured. Minotaurus and the others, along with Smoker, have also stabilized the situation."

"The rebel army and royal army have now ceased fighting."

"What?"

Cobra, who had been like a transparent bystander, raised his voice. His battered face was filled with excitement. What had he just heard?

Everyone from Baroque Works had been arrested? The war had stopped as well?

An hour later.

In a side hall of Alabasta's royal palace, Wilton looked at the unconscious man bound in Seastone cuffs. He had dirty dreadlocks piled into an afro, resembling a rock singer.

He was one of Wilton's targets this time.

One of Baroque Works' senior agents, codenamed Mr. 5. His real name was Gem, and he was a bomb man who had eaten the Paramecia-type Explode-Explode Fruit.

Any part of his body could explode. Even the boogers he flicked could explode, and the breath he blew from his mouth could also be used as explosives.

This Devil Fruit was undoubtedly powerful.

Unfortunately, Mr. 5 had not developed it properly. If Wilton successfully seized this Devil Fruit, he would eat it without hesitation.

He did not need to develop its explosive power to some world-destroying extent. He only needed to develop it to the level of Little Boy, and he would become walking truth.

The position of admiral would be within easy reach.

Not to mention Tsar Bomba, hydrogen bombs, and so on.

If he developed any one of them, he could unify the world ahead of schedule and swiftly usher in his era of rule.

He skillfully arranged the fruit.

Wilton drove his knife into Mr. 5's heart. The latter woke up with a face full of terror, but Wilton tightly gripped his throat, preventing him from making a sound.

The stench of blood filled the air.

Mr. 5's body convulsed continuously before finally going still.

Ten minutes later.

Wilton sat in a chair with a gloomy expression. Exactly where had things gone wrong? Why had both the Sand-Sand Fruit and the Explode-Explode Fruit failed to transfer?

What rotten luck!

Or was this method fake?

Thinking carefully, what other Devil Fruits had appeared during the Alabasta arc?

The Straw Hat Pirates had the Mythical Zoan: Nika Nika no Mi, the Human-Human Fruit, and the Flower-Flower Fruit.

Crocodile's side had the Sand-Sand Fruit, Explode-Explode Fruit, Slice-Slice Fruit, Thorn-Thorn Fruit, Copy-Copy Fruit, Wax-Wax Fruit, and Press-Press Fruit.

The Zoan fruits included the Mole-Mole Fruit, Bird-Bird Fruit: Falcon Model, Dog-Dog Fruit: Dachshund Model, and Dog-Dog Fruit: Jackal Model.

"Other than the Sand-Sand Fruit and Explode-Explode Fruit, the remaining Devil Fruits are not very good choices."

Wilton frowned deeply as he recalled them, then finally sighed.

Both the Sand-Sand Fruit and Explode-Explode Fruit had failed to transfer, while the remaining Devil Fruits were not the best choices. It seemed this interception operation could only bring him fame.

"I hope the Rumble-Rumble Fruit succeeds."

Since he could not obtain the Devil Fruit he wanted in Alabasta, he could only set his sights on the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

As the saying went, things never happened three times.

He refused to believe he could really be that unlucky.

While Wilton was trying to seize the Explode-Explode Fruit, Smoker began reporting the Alabasta incident to Marine Headquarters.

From the other members of Baroque Works, everyone had already learned the truth. The entire conflict had been caused by Crocodile, one of the Shichibukai.

Marine Headquarters attached great importance to this matter.

Cobra's side had also stabilized the situation. When the people learned the whole truth, they all began to weep.

This disaster that had lasted for years was not caused by their king, but by Crocodile, whom they had regarded as a hero.

Fortunately, all suffering had come to an end.

Thank you, ancestors, for the monthly votes!