The sudden rainfall brought the war to a complete halt.
However, the relief was only temporary—the crisis was far from over.
Crocodile claimed that he had hidden a bomb in Alubarna, threatening to wipe everyone out in a single explosion. This meant it was either an enormous amount of explosives or a few extremely powerful bombs.
Vivi and Koza reacted quickly, taking immediate action.
They led both the rebel army and the royal guard, dividing them into two groups—one focused on searching for the bomb, while the other worked on evacuating civilians from the capital.
Although Crocodile only mentioned the bomb as a threat and didn't confirm whether it was set to detonate, they couldn't afford to take any chances. The bomb had to be found and defused. If that wasn't possible, then everyone had to be evacuated.
In any case, Crocodile couldn't be allowed to do as he pleased any longer!
Vivi soon reunited with her crew and urgently informed them about the bomb. At first, Nami and the others were shocked, but they immediately launched a thorough search.
During their search, they encountered a large number of Marine soldiers. However, instead of trying to capture the Straw Hat crew, the Marines actually offered their help. It was clear this was Tashigi's doing.
They eventually ran into Tashigi herself.
At that moment, Tashigi had three swords strapped to her waist, commanding her men with a strong and composed presence. She now carried herself like a true leader, exuding confidence even in the face of danger.
Chopper and Riky originally planned to track the bomb by scent, but the overwhelming smell of gunpowder in the city made that impossible.
Despite searching tirelessly, they still couldn't find it.
"By the way, did Crocodile say when the bomb would go off?" Sanji asked, lighting a cigarette.
"No, he only used it to threaten my father," Vivi replied. "But since it hasn't gone off after all this time, maybe he was just bluffing..."
"You can't think like that."
Law spoke up. "A guy like Crocodile has been scheming for years. He definitely has a backup plan for a moment like this.
That bomb probably exists.
Now that his plan has been exposed, he might really be trying to silence everyone.
We don't have much time.
We have to find it—fast."
As he spoke, he subconsciously glanced at the clock tower, the tallest structure in the city.
Everyone else followed his gaze.
Everyone's expression changed at once.
"We haven't checked there yet!"
Now that they had a clear suspicion, they immediately rushed toward the clock tower. Although it was a tall structure, with Law present, getting up there was no problem. His Op-Op Fruit abilities made it easy to transport everyone.
Well… there were a lot of people, so it was a bit cramped.
As soon as they entered the clock tower, they spotted two Baroque Works agents standing guard.
Seeing that the bomb hadn't been activated yet, everyone let out a sigh of relief—then promptly took down the agents. Afterward, they had Jango use his hypnosis to get information about the bomb.
Learning that there was only one bomb, everyone felt somewhat reassured. However, after Law carefully examined it, his expression darkened again.
"This bomb is on a timer! It doesn't need to be manually ignited—once the countdown reaches zero, it'll go off. Crocodile is really ruthless. Just how far is he willing to take this?"
"What? It's timed?!"
Everyone was stunned. The agents hadn't mentioned anything about a timer, so they assumed it was safe for now. But judging by their reactions, even the agents themselves might not have known this was a time bomb!
"We have to get rid of it right away!" Vivi exclaimed anxiously.
Just then, the bomb let out a beep—the countdown had begun.
Only one minute left!
Panic set in. Getting the bomb out of the city in under a minute was nearly impossible!
"ROOM!"
Law instantly activated his ability, then drew his Kikoku sword and sliced the bomb open. He was the only one who could do this—if anyone else tried cutting it, they'd risk setting it off.
With precision, Law located the internal wiring and severed it. The countdown immediately stopped.
Everyone let out another deep sigh of relief.
The emotional roller coaster of this whole ordeal was exhausting. No one ever wanted to go through something like this again.
"Law, thank you for saving us all!" Vivi said sincerely.
"Hmph, I was just looking out for myself," Law muttered, a bit uncomfortable with being thanked. He still wasn't used to this kind of thing as a pirate.
"Tararan really is a reliable partner!" the Straw Hats cheered.
"Since when did I become your partner? Don't say weird things," Law grumbled.
Ever since meeting the Straw Hats—this completely ridiculous and unpredictable crew—he felt like he was losing his cool, composed image. They were reckless, chaotic, and always testing his patience.
But… they were strong, and there wasn't much he could do about it.
With the bomb defused, they had Law completely dismantle it, breaking it down into fragments to ensure it could never explode. Only when they were absolutely sure it was harmless did they finally relax.
Meanwhile, deep within the royal tombs, Crocodile had dragged Cobra and Robin inside.
Before long, they reached a massive stone tablet covered in ancient inscriptions—the legendary Poneglyph.
The moment Robin was free, she immediately rushed forward to read it.
Seeing this, Cobra's face turned pale.
"You… you can understand those writings? You're… Nico Robin!"
Robin ignored him, quickly scanning the text.
Crocodile pressed her impatiently. "Tell me what it says! Where is Pluton?!"
Robin hesitated for a moment before beginning to read.
"Kashii conquered Alabasta… In the 239,260th year of the calendar, World Timeline ruled the Bitin Dynasty… In the 360th year, Enma established—"
"Hey, hey! Wait! Is this really what we want to know?!"
Crocodile's expression turned dark.
Robin kept an innocent look. "It's just some historical records of Alabasta."
But Crocodile only smiled colder.
"Nico Robin, stop playing games. Tell me what it really says! You've been betraying me from the moment you hid the truth from the Straw Hats. I let you live because I needed you to read the Poneglyph—but if you won't cooperate, I'll kill you right here!"
His voice dripped with killing intent. Crocodile never let traitors walk free.
Robin suddenly tossed a small test tube into the air, then stabbed it with her dagger.
A hand appeared on Crocodile's shoulder, catching the test tube.
Inside—it was full of water!
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