If Maude had never come to this world…
The ones to stop the war would have been the Straw Hat Pirates.
The one to defeat Crocodile would have been Monkey D. Luffy.
But Maude had arrived.
The outcome remained the same, but the process had undergone some changes.
In a sense, the one who prevented the war was Maude.
The one who ultimately killed Crocodile with his own hands was also Maude.
However—
Under Maude's orchestration, it was indeed Straw Hat Luffy who knocked down Crocodile and safely rescued King Cobra of Alabasta.
Yet the World Government would never acknowledge that a group of rookie pirates had resolved the Alabasta crisis.
Nor would they admit that Crocodile had exploited his position as a Warlord of the Sea to carry out this attempted coup.
To cover up these facts, this entire communiqué was necessary.
A Warlord trying to steal a country?
Oh, no big deal.
We'll let another Warlord eliminate the threat.
To the World Government, having Maude—another Warlord—present in Alabasta was a stroke of fortune.
As long as they fabricated the story that Maude acted under the World Government's orders, cooperating with the Navy Headquarters to successfully thwart Crocodile, they could silently mitigate the negative impact caused by the Warlord system.
All these manipulations were meant to convey one message to the world:
Everything is under control.
Maude found this amusing.
Naturally, he had no intention of letting the World Government have its way.
After all, he was not the type of Marine who blindly followed orders.
Smoker had no idea what Maude was planning.
What he did know…
Was that Maude's words made him extremely uncomfortable.
And yet, he couldn't refute them.
A while later—
The reinforcements dispatched by the Navy had yet to arrive, but the Marines under Hina's command were gradually regaining consciousness.
"Hina is very angry!"
Having just woken up and grasped the situation, Hina stormed toward Maude with fury in her eyes.
"Focus on the mission."
Smoker intervened, blocking the enraged Hina.
"Move aside!"
Hina's voice was ice-cold.
Smoker remained unmoved, thinking to himself that even if she confronted Maude, the result would only be her lying on the ground again.
"Hina won't say it a third time—move aside!"
Hina was genuinely furious. Even if it meant her death, she wanted to land at least one punch on Maude to vent her frustration.
Smoker understood Hina's feelings but didn't want to see her humiliated again.
After all—
Their strength was simply no match for Maude.
"The reinforcements from Headquarters are almost here. The top priority is to consolidate our forces and block the escape routes of the Devil Child and the Straw Hat Pirates—not to waste time on meaningless things."
To stop Hina from charging forward, Smoker quickly invoked the direct orders from Headquarters.
Hina clenched her fists tightly at his words.
Her murderous gaze shot past Smoker, locking onto the man with the ever-present smile.
Compared to settling the score with Maude, the mission to intercept Nico Robin and the Straw Hat Pirates clearly took precedence.
Helpless, Hina relented.
Half an hour later—
The reinforcements from Navy Headquarters arrived—a fleet of thirty warships, albeit smaller in scale.
Even so, the display of force was impressive.
The sheer size of the deployment surprised Maude.
However—
He had no intention of getting involved.
As the reinforcements landed, the Marines quickly mobilized, spreading out along the coastal areas to block any possible escape routes.
Hina's ship set sail, heading toward the most likely escape route of the Straw Hat Pirates.
On the ship's prow—
Watching the fleet depart, Perona's eyes flickered with surprise.
"With so many troops… can the Straw Hats really escape?"
"Heh."
Maude chuckled softly.
The numbers were indeed impressive.
But Alabasta's vast territory meant the troops would be spread thin, weakening their advantage.
This dispersion increased the Straw Hat Pirates' chances of breaking through.
Moreover, if Dragon was still around, Alabasta might soon experience another large-scale artificial rainstorm.
Regardless of whether the Straw Hat Pirates escaped or not, Maude simply awaited the outcome.
"Let's wrap this up quickly."
Maude mused silently.
The sooner this matter concluded, the sooner he could return to the Sabaody Archipelago and continue learning the Life Return technique under Shakky's guidance.
With that thought in mind, Maude casually picked up the romance novel Perona had just finished reading.
His action immediately drew a death glare from the still-fuming woman.
But Maude paid no mind, flipping open the book.
After reading a chapter, Maude's expression shifted.
The protagonists were two women.
And this was a romance novel.
Maude glanced at Perona, who was engrossed in the sequel, then at Hina, who was monitoring intelligence reports.
A moment of silence followed.
"..."
So this cold, elegant Marine captain enjoyed this kind of love story?
After a brief pause, Maude quietly set the book down.
During the journey to the blockade point, Navy Headquarters transmitted the latest bounty posters for the Straw Hat Pirates.
With the exception of Nami, everyone on the crew was now wanted.
Notably, Luffy's bounty had skyrocketed to 150 million berries—50 million higher than in the original timeline.
"Fast work."
Maude held the bounty posters, marveling at the World Government's efficiency.
The news reports weren't even out yet, but the bounties were already updated.
Shortly after—
Whether by bad luck or Hina's good fortune, the Straw Hat Pirates stumbled directly into the fleet led by Hina.
To rendezvous with Vivi at the agreed location, the Straw Hats hadn't fled.
Naturally, they came under the fleet's assault.
Amid the cannon fire, massive black spears—each over five meters long—hurtled toward the Going Merry.
Just as the ship was about to be riddled with holes, a translucent barrier appeared, effortlessly deflecting the projectiles.
It was Bartolomeo's Barrier-Barrier Fruit.
Watching the fruit's defensive prowess, Maude's eyes flickered.
This ability was virtually invincible in conventional naval warfare.
Hina, with her wealth of combat experience, clearly realized this too—her expression darkening like a bitter widow.
Despite repeated clashes, the fleet couldn't inflict a single scratch on the Going Merry.
"30 million?"
Hina recalled Bartolomeo's bounty.
With this power alone, he was worth far more than 30 million.
While the Marines focused on the Straw Hats—
Maude reclined in his chair, playing with a Devil Fruit as if on vacation.
"Hmm… truly a formidable ability."
Seeing the Barrier-Barrier Fruit's flawless defense, Maude gained a clearer understanding of its upper limits.
"Looks like everything is on track."
With a flick of his wrist, shadows wrapped around the Devil Fruit, compressing it into a small black marble.
After breaking through six stars, Maude's Shadow Casket ability could now store objects—bringing one of his conceptual developments to fruition.
This particular Devil Fruit was a prize Maude had obtained during the Alabasta incident.
Though he had only drawn one…
Given the slim odds, securing even one was a testament to his incredible luck.
As a spectator, Maude watched Hina struggle against the Straw Hat Pirates.
In the end—
Just like in the original timeline, Vivi chose not to board the Going Merry.
However, two new passengers had joined the crew:
Nico Robin and Bon Clay.
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