News of King Cobra's abdication spread quickly.
When the rebel army received word, Vivi became truly worried. She'd been prepared for her father to fight back against what she was doing. But abdication?
At least there was no news of an assassination.
Koza was equally shocked by the development. He'd been preparing his forces for a siege, or a prolonged conflict that would test everyone's resolve.
"Doesn't this just make things worse for the royal army?" he muttered, staring at the message. "Their morale must be completely shot now."
It even seemed to confirm those earlier rumors that had been circulating, that Cobra had been controlled by the nobility all along. Especially after Poisson's rise to power became public knowledge, the credibility of those whispers increased.
"I don't think King Cobra actually wants this war to happen," Kebi said thoughtfully.
"What do you mean?" Koza turned to face him, confused.
"If King Cobra really wanted to defend his throne, he'd need to consolidate his royal authority first. He'd gather his strength, unite with the nobles, build up his power base. He definitely wouldn't just hand over the throne to those palace nobles."
Kebi gestured as he explained. "That's like taking an already weakened royal army and stabbing them in the back. Before, they could at least put up a fight. Now? Their morale has completely collapsed. If war breaks out, it'll be a complete slaughter. By doing this... maybe he's trying to preserve as many lives as possible."
He looked at Vivi. "It seems your father doesn't blame you for what you're doing. He might even be trying to help you in his own way."
Vivi exhaled slowly. She'd initially sought a way to resolve the conflict. But instead, the situation had escalated beyond her control. Now she'd chosen what amounted to war, except the war seemed to be fading away before it could even begin.
"By the way, where's your friend?" Koza looked around, suddenly noticing Marcus' absence. "The one with the weird building powers?"
"He probably went back to the ship," Vivi said, though she sounded uncertain.
Ever since that day when Marcus had created New Katorea, Waterdeep, pulling an entire city from nothing using those strange block-building abilities, he'd disappeared into that ominous portal he called the Gate of Hell.
Had he entered it searching for something? Vivi hadn't followed him inside.
She'd heard Nami describe what lay beyond that gateway. Hell, she'd called it. A place where you could hear the wails of countless souls echoing through darkness.
Naturally, none of the crew were eager to explore it after that description. Not that Marcus had given them permission to enter anyway.
Sure, there was curiosity. But after Nami's warnings, Chopper and Usopp absolutely refused to go anywhere near it.
Sanji and Zoro, even if curious, had the self-control to resist temptation.
Alvida would obviously listen to Marcus. She always did.
The real concern was Luffy. But even Luffy's legendary stubbornness could be managed when Usopp and Chopper teamed up to distract him with other things.
So far, Nami was the only one who'd actually gone through the portal. Marcus had told Koza there was nothing inside, but Vivi still had no intention of checking for herself.
At that very moment, Marcus had indeed returned to the ship. He'd just stepped out of the Nether Portal, still brushing some of the ash off his shoulders, when he stopped dead in his tracks.
Bon Kurei was clinging to Luffy, both of them crying like they'd been separated for decades.
"What the fuck?"
What had happened while he was gone? Hadn't Luffy supposed to encounter Mr. 2 on the way to Arabasta? What could have possibly happened in the two days he'd spent grinding in the Nether that these two now looked like long-lost friends reunited?
And according to how the story was supposed to go, Mr. 2 should have met Sanji during the big battle, not... whatever this was.
When Luffy hadn't run into Mr. 2 earlier, Marcus had actually been worried. After all, Bon Kurei was a good person despite being an enemy agent. A true friend.
The first time, he'd lured away the Marines to save the Straw Hats. The second time, in Impel Down, he'd sacrificed himself to help Luffy escape.
That was more integrity than most "heroes" showed. Even if he was an okama.
When Bon Kurei spotted Marcus, he immediately struck a pose and threw him a flirtatious wink. "You're so cute! And you look strong. You'd make an amazing okama!"
Marcus, who'd originally had no negative feelings toward Bon Kurei, suddenly broke out in goosebumps. But he tried his best to keep his expression neutral. "Thanks... but I'm straight, and I'm not interested in becoming an okama."
"Ga-hahaha! I've been rejected!" Bon Kurei pirouetted, seemingly delighted by the response.
He bounced over to join Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp in whatever ridiculous dance they were doing.
Marcus stood there feeling completely baffled by the whole scene. He walked over to where Alvida was watching them.
"What happened?" he asked, pointing at the four idiots bouncing around.
Alvida laughed and explained, "Right after you left, we were about to implement Plan B. We were sailing through one of the canals when this sudden whirlwind came out of nowhere. Because of those swan wings on his back, this guy got swept up into the air."
She gestured toward Bon Kurei. "He landed right in front of our ship, so naturally we pulled him out of the water. But when his subordinates came to pick him up, his cover got blown, turns out he's with Baroque Works."
She then explained everything that had transpired. How Bon Kurei had learned that the boss was actually Crocodile, and about the Utopia Plan. But because he'd found out ahead of schedule, and because Vivi's movement had already gained serious momentum, plus with the appearance of a certain "miracle," the comparison between the two visions became obvious.
Which plan was genuine? Which vision was grander and more achievable? The answer was clear as day.
Not only had Bon Kurei defected, but quite a few other senior agents of Baroque Works had also started wavering in their loyalty. Most of those who'd switched sides turned out to be former Arabastan citizens who'd been forced to turn to piracy when the drought destroyed their livelihoods.
Now they were pulling in family and friends to join the rebel cause, creating a snowball effect.
"That's... actually pretty crazy," Marcus said, processing the information.
It seemed his changes were starting to cascade through the timeline. If things kept developing like this, Crocodile would soon find himself completely isolated.
Just the spread of a single idea, a different vision for Arabasta's future, had nearly dismantled Baroque Works, an organization that had taken years to build.
Even he hadn't expected results this dramatic.
"The words Vivi spoke were shocking," Alvida said, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Marcus. "Revolutionary, even."
She knew perfectly well who those words had actually come from, the man standing in front of her.
"Ahem... so where are we headed now?" Marcus changed the subject quickly. "Rainbase to find Crocodile?"
Just then, Nami walked over carrying a map and some notes.
"Perfect timing. Mr. 2, uh, Bon Kurei now, I guess, gave us some intel about Crocodile's plans. He's preparing to trigger a civil war. The original plan was to have him impersonate King Cobra to provoke the outer rebel forces, then stage small-scale battles using fake royal troops."
She pointed to locations on the map. "After that, he was supposed to impersonate Koza, go to Alubarna, and declare war on the royal army. Basically manufacture a conflict from both sides."
"Oh right, Marcus, you don't know about Bon's powers yet!" Luffy grinned, bouncing over. "He's gonna show you!"
"I must put on a good performance for my future crewmate!" Bon Kurei struck another pose and winked at Marcus again.
Another wave of goosebumps rippled across Marcus' skin.
But then Bon Kurei transformed right before his eyes, shifting into a perfect copy of Alvida's beautiful form. When he (she?) threw another flirtatious wink, he felt... actually not disgusted at all.
Realizing this, he fell into immediate self-reproach. It seemed his values were being corrupted by his visual senses. When it looked like Alvida, his brain apparently gave it a pass.
"Wait, hold on," he said, suddenly catching up to something important. "You invited him onto the ship?!"
Luffy just laughed and nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! He is awesome! Not only can he transform into anyone, but he's also an okama! How cool is that?"
"Fair enough," Marcus muttered, giving his honest assessment of the situation.
"I've been acknowledged!" Bon Kurei spun around, returning to his normal appearance.