The sky was clear and blue. Under different circumstances, it might've been a beautiful day. But right now, three armies stood poised on the brink of war, and the tension was thick enough to choke on.
The rebel army, the royal army, and what remained of Baroque Works had reached a critical standoff. They'd formed an unstable triangle where nobody could make the first move without getting crushed by the other two forces.
It was like a fucked-up game of rock-paper-scissors, except everyone would die if they picked wrong.
The rebels saw the royal army and Baroque Works as basically the same enemy, corrupt bastards working together to oppress the people. Plus, plenty of "former" rebels had supposedly surrendered and joined the royal forces. Who could guarantee those guys wouldn't stab them in the back the moment fighting started?
The royal army, for their part, knew damn well they had no alliance with Baroque Works. If anything, they wanted to tear into Crocodile's organization first, since those assholes were the ones who'd orchestrated this whole rebellion mess in the first place.
But their orders came from Poisson, though the coronation hadn't happened yet, and that guy's attitude toward Baroque Works was murky as hell. He seemed to hate them but also wanted to cooperate, which made absolutely no sense to the soldiers on the ground.
As for Baroque Works, the few remaining agents were loyal to their boss. But even Crocodile was playing the waiting game, hoping one of the other sides would fire the first shot.
The fuse that should've lit this powder keg? Bon Kurei. And he'd just... disappeared.
Crocodile's temple was throbbing, veins bulging as he stared at the Den Den Mushi in his palm. The snail's face had morphed into that infuriating long-faced bastard's expression.
"Mr. 0, no, wait, I should call you Crocodile now, shouldn't I? We had some good times together, darling, but we're just not compatible anymore. Time to go our separate ways~"
"So you joined the Straw Hats?" Crocodile's voice was calm. "Became some nobody pirate throwing away everything you could've had?"
"No, no, NO! The future you're describing can't compare to what Vivi and I are doing right now. I can tell the difference, sweetie. And joining the Straw Hats wasn't some impulsive decision, it's about friendship! Do you even understand what friendship means?"
Looking at that smug face through the Den Den Mushi, Crocodile felt his rage building. Under normal circumstances, he would've mobilized every agent in Baroque Works to hunt this traitor down and make an example of him.
But these weren't normal circumstances.
With their forces already depleted to almost nothing, could he really afford to send people chasing after Bon Kurei? The answer was obvious, he couldn't spare a single agent right now.
And it wasn't just Bon Kurei. Mr. 4 and his partner had vanished too. Their Den Den Mushi wasn't responding to any calls.
At this point, the only agents still under his command and willing to follow orders were Mr. 1, Mr. 3, and their respective partners. That was it.
Unable to contain his fury any longer, his grip tightened. The Den Den Mushi in his hand began to wither and die, its shell cracking as moisture was sucked from its body.
"Miss All Sunday," he said flatly, dropping the ruined snail. "Contact Mr. 7. Tell him to trigger the bomb manually. I want Alubarna wiped off the map. Let's see how the damn rebels and royal army like being destroyed together."
Robin sat nearby with her legs crossed, one finger tapping against her knee. "Of course, no problem. But that city still holds our last remaining loyalists. If the explosion goes off, we'll be completely alone."
"Don't question my decisions!" The words came out cold and measured, but the suppressed rage beneath them was like a volcano ready to erupt. One wrong word, and he'd explode.
Robin said nothing more. She simply pulled out another Den Den Mushi and began dialing Mr. 7's number.
Purururu.
Gacha.
The line connected quickly. The agent on the other end agreed immediately to the order. Mr. 7 and his partner didn't have the strength or background typically required for their rank, but they had something more valuable, loyalty. That's why Crocodile hadn't bothered including them in earlier strategy meetings.
But as Robin listened, something felt wrong. She could hear clicking sounds on the other end of the line, mixed with muffled cries and struggling.
Her eyes narrowed. "You're not Mr. 7."
"Eh? Really?" The voice maintained Mr. 7's tone, but the speech pattern and mannerisms were unmistakably Bon Kurei's. "I thought I was doing such a good impression~"
---
Atop the clock tower overlooking Alubarna, Bon Kurei stood with his foot planted firmly on the real Mr. 7's back. The agent and his partner were tied up and gagged, struggling against their bonds.
He had shifted back to his own appearance now, striking a pose.
"You guessed right! But there's no prize, darling~"
"Wait, hold on a second." Sanji was crouched nearby, examining something he'd pulled from a cannon barrel. "This thing looks like it's on a timer. It's gonna blow when it hits zero whether we want it to or not."
"What?!" Chopper's eyes went wide behind his goggles. "Then we've been working for nothing?!"
High-tech explosive devices were definitely outside the reindeer's area of expertise. He'd been hoping they could just disable the thing once they found it.
Zoro's hand moved to the hilt of his Sandai Kitetsu. "Should I cut it?"
"You moron, are you trying to kill us all?" Sanji shot him a glare. "What if the impact from your sword triggers the detonator? You want to blow us sky-high?"
"So we just let it explode then?" Zoro countered.
"What do we do, what do we do!" Chopper ran in circles on the tower platform.
Chopper, Sanji, Zoro, and Bon Kurei had formed a bomb squad after receiving a cryptic message earlier that morning. A mysterious Den Den Mushi had called them with a single repeated phrase: "There is a bomb in Alubarna."
No matter how many questions they asked or how they tried to get more information, the caller only repeated those same six words.
So they'd split up into search teams. Chopper used his enhanced sense of smell to track down the explosive, Sanji worked out how to potentially disable it, and Bon Kurei used his Clone-Clone Fruit powers to impersonate Baroque Works agents and extract information.
As for why Zoro was here... well, don't ask. He'd gotten lost again and somehow wandered into the operation by accident.
"Marcus could probably do something, right?" Sanji pulled out a cigarette and lit it, thinking through their options. Among the crew, he understood Marcus' abilities the least. The guy had way too many powers, nothing like a normal Devil Fruit user. That was beyond comprehension. If anyone could handle this situation, it would be him.
Chopper seemed to reach the same conclusion. He rummaged through his backpack and pulled out an ender pearl.
"Should we use it to call him?"
---
Meanwhile, across the city, Marcus stood alone in an empty street looking confused.
The plan had been simple: Luffy, Zoro, and he would form a strike team to take down Crocodile's remaining forces. But now only he remained, and he had no idea where his teammates had gone.
"I don't get it," he muttered to himself. "I blink once and Zoro disappears, fine, that's expected. But how did Luffy vanish too? Does that guy try to make fights harder for everyone?"
He had specifically volunteered to stick with Luffy to prevent exactly this kind of chaos. He'd seen what happened in the Arlong Park arc when Luffy went off-script. Plus, none of the Straw Hats except maybe Zoro had any real grasp of Haki yet, which meant fighting Crocodile required water-based attacks. And he had unlimited water access. That's why he'd joined this team. And now he was standing here alone like an idiot.
The small Den Den Mushi in his jacket started ringing. He pulled it out and answered.
"Marcus! I've got eyes on a turtle-drawn cart moving through the desert at your ten o'clock position. Should be Crocodile!" Usopp's voice came through tinny but clear. The sniper was somewhere elevated, standing on a camel's back to get a better vantage point over Alubarna.
"At that range, should we use the ultimate weapon?" He paused, then his voice rose in alarm. "Wait! That's Luffy! Wasn't he supposed to be with you?"
Marcus let out a sigh. He couldn't really blame Luffy, though. When you thought about it, the rubber captain hadn't actually experienced a truly brutal fight since leaving the East Blue.
Sure, in the original timeline, hehad gotten injured fighting Kuro, Arlong, and even when trapped by Mr. 3 and Mr. 5 in Little Garden. Those victories had left him on the brink of collapse, barely hanging on.
But things had changed with Marcus' arrival. Luffy had learned Life Return way earlier than he should have, which had boosted his confidence to unprecedented levels.
Marcus pulled up his map interface, scanning the overlay. His eyes widened slightly when he spotted Zoro's marker.
"Why the hell is he at Sanji's location? They were supposed to be on opposite sides of the city."
He opened the hostile targets list.
Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger had already reached Sanji's position. That wasn't good, Sanji wouldn't fight a woman, which meant he'd be at a serious disadvantage.
Then there was Mr. 3 and Miss Goldenweek. But what really caught his attention were the multiple figures dressed in white surrounding them. He didn't recognize their faces, but the moment he saw their profile icons, he knew exactly who they were.
World Government operatives.
And their location? The rebel army camp where Vivi, Nami, and Alvida's team was stationed.
"Mr. 3 really isn't someone to underestimate."
In the later parts of the original story, Mr. 3 had been reduced to comic relief. But the guy's original character profile painted him as someone who'd stop at nothing to complete his mission. That ruthless drive was why he'd been promoted straight to officer rank. Plus, the bastard was fiercely loyal.
Even after being hunted by his own organization, he'd still find ways to prove himself and crawl back into Crocodile's good graces. If Crocodile hadn't been so unforgiving of failure, Mr. 3's loyalty might've rivaled even Mr. 1's.
"So he managed to contact CP agents. Shit."
"Marcus! Did you hear me? Luffy and Crocodile are fighting!" Usopp's voice broke through his thoughts.
Marcus forced himself to stay calm. "Keep watching them. If things look bad, use your slingshot to launch an ender pearl to his position. And remember to channel your ability into the shot for extra distance."
"Right, got it!"
The Den Den Mushi clicked off as Usopp focused on his surveillance.
Marcus waved his hand, and five iron golems materialized around him.
"Head in that direction," he pointed toward the rebel camp. "Find Nami, Vivi, and Alvida. Follow their orders and protect them. Move fast."
The iron golems had just been created, but they possessed enough basic intelligence to understand commands. And with their size and appearance, the girls would recognize them immediately as Marcus' creations.
The five golems lumbered into motion. Their footsteps were shaking the ground as they broke into a run. It was actually the first time he had seen iron golems move at full speed, they were surprisingly quick for their bulk.
With that handled, he turned his attention to his next destination. There was someone who'd been waiting for him, someone who'd been positioned in Arabasta long before the Straw Hats had even arrived.
The Revolutionary Army's second-in-command: Sabo.
But just as he started moving in that direction, the world around him shifted without warning.
He suddenly found himself somewhere else.
He blinked, disoriented, trying to process the sudden teleportation. Then he took in his surroundings and understood, someone had used an ender pearl to summon him here.
Zoro was locked in intense combat with Mr. 1. Neither warrior could spare even a glance at Marcus' sudden arrival.
From what he could see, they'd reached a stalemate. Zoro hadn't achieved the ability to cut steel yet, and facing an opponent whose entire body could transform into blades meant he could inflict wounds but nothing fatal.
Mr. 1 looked equally frustrated. He'd landed several clean hits on Zoro, expecting to slice through flesh and bone. Instead, sparks had flown from the impact points like he was striking solid metal.
The man couldn't wrap his head around it. Zoro had claimed he wasn't a Devil Fruit user, yet his body was harder than steel. How was that possible?
Meanwhile, Sanji stood off to the side, looking uncomfortable. Miss Doublefinger was right there, but his code prevented him from fighting her.
Bon Kurei had taken over that battle, currently engaged in a desperate fight against the spike-covered assassin.
Sanji and Chopper weren't idle though. Mr. 7 and Miss Father's Day had somehow gotten free and were now tag-teaming against Sanji.
The fight looked evenly matched, but not because Sanji was weak. The bastards had figured out his weakness and were using Miss Father's Day as a human shield, circling around her constantly.
Chopper stood nearby with tears streaming down his face.
"Marcus! They ambushed us earlier! That woman, her whole body is poisonous! Bon Kurei got poisoned, and then they freed Mr. 7's partner! Those two sped up the bomb timer! Right now... Right now there's only three minutes left before it explodes!"
Despite his panic, he had managed to explain the sequence of events clearly.
Marcus immediately spotted the bomb, a massive cylindrical device with a rapidly counting timer. He placed his hand on it, trying to store it in his inventory.
Nothing happened.
"Figures," he muttered. Either the bomb was too large for his inventory system, or the fact that it was actively armed prevented storage. Either way, he'd need a different approach.
"You can handle this, right?" Chopper asked nervously. "If you can't, we're all gonna die!"
"Small problem."
Marcus' hands moved in a blur, pulling obsidian blocks from his inventory. He rapidly constructed a large Nether Portal frame.
He hefted the bomb with one hand, and started pushing it toward the portal.
Naturally, Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger noticed the movement.
But the first to attack was Mr. 7, who raised his gun and fired.
Ting!
The bullet ricocheted off Marcus' chestplate, leaving a small scorch mark but no actual damage.
"Just like I thought," Mr. 7 said. "Guns are useless against these guys."
Everyone on the battlefield except Bon Kurei seemed to have some form of enhanced durability. His weapons were completely ineffective.
That moment of distraction cost him dearly. Bon Kurei spotted the opening and landed a kick that sent Mr. 7 flying across the tower.
Miss Father's Day panicked and threw herself in front of her partner, shielding him from any follow-up attacks.
But Sanji didn't pursue. Instead, he lit a fresh cigarette and sighed.
"Come on, I'm not playing tag here. What is this, some kind of game?"
He hadn't attacked because Miss Father's Day had already passed out from the impact of hitting the wall. There was no point in continuing.
"If you've got time to complain, go help Bon Kurei," Marcus called out while wrestling the bomb toward the portal. "He looks like he's about to keel over."
Bon Kurei's appearance was alarming. Dark purple rings had formed under his eyes, and his lips had turned an unhealthy black color. The poison was spreading fast.
Miss Doublefinger stood in her full hedgehog mode, every strand of her hair standing on end like needles. Liquid poison dripped from each tip, hissing slightly when it hit the stone floor.
"Mr. 2, I know your abilities better than anyone," she said with sadistic pleasure. "That's why I came prepared from the start. You've got less than ten minutes to live. If you keep exerting yourself, you might not even last until the bomb goes off."
Marcus filed that information away. In the original timeline, this woman had been defeated by Nami in what seemed like a relatively easy fight. But now, fully prepared and in her true combat form? She was way more dangerous than the story had suggested.
Made sense, really. The original Nami had only been slightly stronger than a normal woman at that point. That weakness had triggered Miss Doublefinger's sadistic side, turning the fight into more of a game where she'd deliberately taken hits just for fun.
Hoisting the massive bomb onto his shoulder, he approached the activated Nether Portal.
He glanced at Zoro's fight. Thanks to the diamond armor, the swordsman hadn't taken any real injuries. But that also meant he hadn't been pushed to his limit... He hadn't accessed that demon aura that would let him cut through anything.
Zoro seemed to be using Mr. 1 as a training dummy, trying to comprehend the principle of cutting steel through repeated combat.
As for Chopper, Marcus had already tossed him a bucket of milk while moving the bomb.
The reindeer caught the bucket with both hooves.
Poisoning was no longer a concern.