He Is the Walking Truth

Observation Haki spread rapidly.

Soon, he detected Luffy's faint presence. Wilton leaped forward, crossing street after street where the rebel and royal armies were still clashing.

Wilton's jump was far too conspicuous; many people saw Crocodile's corpse.

Meanwhile, in a secret passage somewhere.

Cobra emerged carrying Luffy and Nico Robin. He sat heavily on the ground, panting deeply, as he had also sustained considerable injuries earlier.

Fortunately, they had escaped the underground sacrificial hall; 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. However, just a few steps later, a whistling sound came from above.

BOOM--

Like a missile strike, a massive storm mixed with rolling dust and gravel flew everywhere. Cobra was sent flying and crashed heavily onto the ground.

Luffy and Robin were also sent tumbling.

A faint groan.

Robin's head hit a piece of rubble. Her eyelashes fluttered, and she groggily regained consciousness. Beside her, Luffy was still in a deep slumber.

"Marines."

Cobra's blood-stained face shifted between emotions. Especially looking at Crocodile, who was being carried by Wilton, his chest was a complete hollow, revealing the scenery behind.

He couldn't be deader.

This Marine Rear Admiral was a tough character.

Robin, who had just regained consciousness, instinctively pretended to be unconscious, planning to wait and observe the situation. At the same time, she wondered what had happened after she passed out.

Why had the Marines appeared?

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

Seeing Wilton walking towards Luffy, Cobra shakily got to his feet, coughed to announce his identity, as he wanted to save Luffy and Nico Robin.

"You want to protect them?"

Wilton stopped and looked at Cobra, stating directly, "You are a good king, but they are pirates. It's better to have less contact with them."

Without regard for Cobra's stunned expression, Wilton approached the unconscious Luffy, preparing to arrest him.

"Eight-Flower Claw."

Just as Wilton was about to touch Luffy, eight arms suddenly grew from his body, seizing his head and hands. They exerted force, attempting to break him.

Nico Robin had made her move.

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

"I thought you would keep pretending."

Wilton had long noticed Nico Robin was faking. These meager abilities couldn't control him at all. Armament Haki rapidly spread, forcefully destroying the arms on his body, and then Wilton vanished from his spot.

Not good.

Robin's pretty face changed. She quickly turned, but before she could see clearly, a powerful whip kick swept horizontally. Robin's facial muscles visibly contorted, and she was then shot out like a cannonball, piercing through several houses.

As an absolute proponent of gender equality, Wilton, as always, gave her the utmost respect, so he didn't hold back at all with this strike.

Cobra's mouth hung slightly ajar, his gaze fixed on the ruins where the dust was gradually clearing. Robin lay covered in blood, her nose crushed, her hair disheveled, barely breathing and unconscious once more.

A short while later.

Wilton piled Crocodile, Luffy, and Nico Robin together, then began exercising while contemplating.

He had already notified Sadi and the others.

The Straw Hat Pirates had all been arrested, along with Crocodile's subordinates. After both sides had finished their fighting, Sadi and the others appeared and apprehended everyone with no effort.

Not a single one escaped.

Just as planned.

It was a shame the Sand-Sand Fruit's power couldn't be stripped.

Cobra had been sitting in a corner, waiting, contemplating how to protect Luffy and Nico Robin from the Marines.

This Rear Admiral seemed difficult to deal with.

His previous words were clearly a warning to him. As the King of Alabasta, the country was currently in a civil war. If the rebels found out he was involved with pirates, it would likely worsen the situation.

Every action he took now had to be flawless.

"Lord Wilton."

Soon, an excited voice rang out. It was Sadi, leading ten Marines. The Marines behind her were carrying Seastone handcuffs.

"Handcuff the Straw Hat Kid and the Child of the Devil."

"Yes."

"Lord Wilton, the Straw Hat Pirates and the Baroque Works executives have all been captured. In addition, Minotaurus and the others, along with Smoker, have stabilized the situation."

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

"What?"

Cobra's voice, like that of an invisible person, rose. His battered face was filled with excitement. What had he just heard?

The Baroque Works members were all captured? The war had stopped?

An hour later.

In a side hall of the Alabasta Royal Palace, Wilton looked at the unconscious man bound by Seastone. The man had a messy, explosive hairstyle, like a rock musician.

This was one of Wilton's targets this time.

One of Baroque Works' top agents, codenamed Mr.5, whose real name was Gem. He was the bomber who had eaten the Paramecia-type Explode-Explode Fruit.

Any part of his body could explode, even his boogers. The air he blew out of his mouth could also be used as an explosive.

This Devil Fruit was undoubtedly very powerful.

It was a shame Mr.5 hadn't developed it well. If Wilton could successfully strip this Devil Fruit, he would eat it without hesitation.

Even if he didn't develop its explosive power to a world-ending level, just developing it to the point of a small bomb would make him a walking truth.

The position of Admiral would be within his grasp.

Not to mention things like Hydrogen Bombs.

Any one of these, if developed, could lead to the world's unification early, allowing him to quickly enter his reign.

He skillfully arranged the fruit.

Wilton's hand moved like a blade, stabbing into Mr.5's heart. The latter woke up in terror, but Wilton tightly gripped his neck, preventing him from making a sound.

A foul, bloody stench permeated the air.

Mr.5's body convulsed, and finally, he fell still.

Ten minutes later.

Wilton sat on a chair, his face grim. Where had things gone wrong? Why had the stripping of both the Sand-Sand Fruit and the Explode-Explode Fruit failed?

This was really bad luck!

Or was this method fake?

He pondered carefully. What other Devil Fruits appeared in the Alabasta arc?

The Straw Hat Pirates had the Mythical Zoan-type Nika Fruit, the Human-Human Fruit, and the Flower-Flower Fruit.

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

There were also the Zoan-type Mole-Mole Fruit, Bird-Bird Fruit: Falcon Model, Dog-Dog Fruit: Dachshund Model, and Dog-Dog Fruit: Jackal Model.

"Aside from the Sand-Sand Fruit and the Explode-Explode Fruit, the other Devil Fruits aren't very good choices."

Wilton frowned, recalling the details, and finally sighed.

Both the Sand-Sand Fruit and the Explode-Explode Fruit stripping failed, and the remaining Devil Fruits weren't ideal choices. It seemed this sniping mission would only yield reputation.

"I hope the Rumble-Rumble Fruit is successful."

Since he couldn't get the Devil Fruits he desired in Alabasta, he would have to set his sights on the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

As the saying goes, third time's the charm.

He refused to believe he could be that unlucky.

Just as Wilton was stripping the Explode-Explode Fruit, Smoker began reporting the Alabasta incident to Marine Headquarters.

From the other Baroque Works members, everyone had learned the truth: all the conflict was caused by the Shichibukai Crocodile.

Headquarters took this matter very seriously.

Cobra had also stabilized the situation. When the people learned the truth, they all wept.

This disaster, which had lasted for several years, was not caused by the king, but by Crocodile, whom they had considered a hero.

Fortunately, all the suffering had ended.