The grand plaza before Alubarna's palace teemed with citizens, their murmurs creating a low hum that echoed off the sandstone walls. Vendors had closed their stalls early, mothers held children on their shoulders, and even the elderly leaned on canes to witness this moment. The air buzzed with anticipation - not just for the king's announcement, but for another glimpse of him.
"Did you hear?" a baker whispered to his neighbor. "They say just looking at him makes your heart stop."
"Don't be ridiculous," a fishmonger scoffed, though she'd spent the morning polishing her best necklace. "It's his voice that does it. Like honey poured directly into your—"
A fanfare of trumpets cut through the chatter. The crowd stilled as the palace gates creaked open. Then—
Gasps rippled through the plaza like a wave. There he stood, backlit by the morning sun, his blue hair stirring in the desert breeze. Every eye locked onto those mesmerizing pink eyes that seemed to glow with their own light. Time stretched impossibly thin as he descended the steps with languid grace, each footfall measured, deliberate.
When he raised a hand—just a slight gesture—the entire crowd exhaled as one, unaware they'd been holding their breath.
"I apologize..." His voice, soft yet carrying to every corner of the square, sent visible shivers through the assembly.
"No!" a woman cried out involuntarily, clutching her chest. Others murmured in distress—how dare their shortcomings make this divine being apologize?
The young man—Nolan, some whispered his name like a prayer—continued in that same effortless tone. "King Cobra won't be addressing you today. He's resting." A collective nod—of course their beloved king deserved respite. "The war... is over."
Simple words. Yet when they left his lips, they carried the weight of prophecy. A burly blacksmith fell to his knees. A street urchin burst into tears. Every syllable settled into the listeners' bones, not as a suggestion, but as sacred law.
The eruption of joy that followed shook the city foundations. "PRAISE HIM!" became a chant, growing louder with each repetition.
Nolan's eye twitched almost imperceptibly at the fervor. He gestured to Igaram to wait, then did something no one anticipated.
"Nefertari Vivi," he called, his tone shifting to something softer, "come forward."
A hush fell. Every head turned toward the blushing princess. Even the Straw Hats froze—Luffy mid-yawn, Zoro's eyebrow arched, Nami's lips parted in surprise. Only Robin smiled, fingers steepled beneath her chin.
Vivi's knees nearly buckled as she approached. The crowd's gaze burned hotter than the desert sun, but all she could see were those pink eyes watching her with... was that amusement?
"Kneel," Nolan said simply.
A scandalous command to give royalty. Yet no one protested. Not when Vivi, after only a heartbeat's hesitation, sank gracefully to one knee, her blue hair fanning across the marble like spilled ink.
Nolan raised the trident—its crystalline prongs catching the light in prismatic shards. The weapon hummed as it came to rest on Vivi's right shoulder, then her left.
"With this armament," he intoned, voice taking on an unexpected gravitas, "rule Alabasta with benevolence."
The trident passed into Vivi's hands—and the moment her fingers closed around its shaft, the sky rippled. Clouds spiraled into existence above the palace, dark and heavy. Then—
CRACKK!!
A single bolt of blue lightning connected the trident to the heavens. The rain that followed wasn't mere water—it shimmered, each drop carrying tiny motes of light. Where it touched the wounded, scars knitted together before spectators' eyes. A veteran missing three fingers gasped as bone and sinew regenerated in seconds.
Vivi stood transfixed, the trident thrumming in her grip like a living thing. The crowd's cheers turned to awed silence, then—
"THE PRINCESS HEALED MY SON!" a mother shrieked, holding up a child whose wasting disease had vanished.
"MIRACLE!"
"BLESSINGS UPON OUR PRINCESS!"
Nolan's final proclamation cut through the din, "Poseidon's Trident—commanding sand and sea. With it, Nefertari Vivi becomes Alabasta's strongest ruler."
As the rain continued to fall, washing away years of suffering, not a single citizen doubted his words. The age of miracles had begun.
.
.
.
Robin adjusted her grip as Nolan slumped comfortably against her. "My, my," she mused, her usual composure intact. "Falling into a woman's arms so easily? How bold."
Nolan simply blinked up at her, his pink eyes half-lidded. That lazy stare was apparently enough to crack even Robin's calm demeanor—she turned her head slightly, the hint of a flush on her cheeks.
"NOOOOLAAAN!" Luffy's shout announced the crew's arrival as they stampeded over. Usopp nearly tripped over his own feet in the rush.
"That rain thing!" Luffy waved his arms wildly. "Was that magic or just you being weird again?"
"Mm. Trident," Nolan answered, which earned him an immediate ear twist from Nami.
"Ow."
Zoro raised an eyebrow when Nolan suddenly nodded at him. The swordsman nodded back automatically, then frowned. 'Wait, why did I—?'
Nolan's attention shifted to the floating system panel only he could see,
[Host's Information
Name: Nolan D. Ranvil
Race: ???
Attributes: (Divine Allure)
Weapons: The Third Eye, Poseidon's Trident(can be reclaimed), Vasavi Shakti.]
That's right. The other thing that the system triggered was a simple spear yet the moment Nolan touched it, the critic system took its miracle.
He still remembered how it occurred.
[Ding! Congratulations for successfully triggering 1,000 times critic...
Sand Spear is currently going on an upgrade!
Ding! Sand Spear has been successfully turned into Vasavi Shakti!]
[Item: Vasavi Shakti - 'O' Sun, Abide to Destruction
Description:
A golden spear of absolute annihilation, Vasavi Shakti is the crystallized power of Indra, gifted—then cursed—to Karna as the ultimate weapon. When invoked, it rejects all laws of physics and magic, manifesting as a brilliant, sun-like radiance before hurtling toward its target with "certain death" as its sole purpose.
Abilities:
1. Absolute Destruction
- "Pierce the Unpierceable" – Ignores all defenses, whether physical (Armor of Fafnir), magical (Rho Aias), or conceptual (God Hand). Nothing can block it except another divine authority of equal rank.
- "Anti-Existence" – What it strikes is not just killed, it is erased from the record of creation, leaving no trace in history or memory.
2. Anti-Divine Authority
- "Slayer of the Divine" – Deals 1000% increased damage against deities, divine spirits, and those blessed by gods.
- "Severance of Immortality" – Permanently nullifies resurrection, regeneration, and immortality on hit.
3. Reality Collapse
- Upon impact, it unravels space-time in a localized area, creating a miniature black hole that distorts causality before exploding in a sun-core-level detonation.]
Vasavi Shakti... Even half-asleep, that name sent a thrill through him.
"Bath time," Nolan announced abruptly, shuffling toward the palace baths. The other guys perked up immediately.
"Awesome! The royal baths are the best!" Luffy cheered, already stripping off his vest mid-stride.
Sanji twirled excitedly, nosebleed imminent. "Nolan-saaan~ Need a back scrub? Special service available!"
Zoro gagged. "The hell's wrong with you, shit-cook?"
"SAY THAT AGAIN, MOSSHEAD!"
Chopper scampered after them. "W-wait up! Don't leave me!"
As the guys disappeared, the girls stood in a tense triangle. Nami edged backward. "Well! I should probably go supervise those idiots before they—"
Two hands clamped onto her shoulders. Vivi and Robin smiled sweetly, their eyes shadowed. "Oh no you don't," Vivi said.
"The three of us," Robin purred, "are going together."
The three rushed to the bath. The only barrier between the girls and boys bath is a simple wall that can be climbed. It won't hurt to have a small look right?
The boys' bathhouse filled with steam as the crew settled into the warm waters. Luffy immediately began splashing like an overexcited sea turtle while Zoro leaned back against the stone edge with a contented sigh.
Usopp was mid-sentence when Nolan finally undressed. "Come on, Nolan! Don't tell me you're gonna fall asleep before even getting in the— holy mother of—" His jaw dropped.
One by one, the others followed Usopp's gaze. The bathwater suddenly felt several degrees colder.
Sanji's cigarette fell from his lips. "...That's not fair."
Zoro squinted. "That's the size of my forearm.."
Chopper, in his small reindeer form, looked down at himself and whimpered. "I need to revise my human growth charts..."
Luffy, ever oblivious, tilted his head. "Huh? What's the big deal? It's just a— WOAH!" He leaned forward, eyes wide. "Nolan! Is that real?"
Nolan blinked sleepily as he sank into the water up to his chin. "Mm? What's wrong with you guys?"
The collective glare he received could have melted steel.
Sanji was the first to recover, lighting a new cigarette with slightly trembling hands. "So... dreams. What's yours, Nolan?"
"Live in debauchery," came the immediate, shameless reply.
Luffy scratched his head. "Dee-boo-chee... what?"
"Means he wants to be lazy forever," Zoro translated.
Usopp snorted. "So... exactly what you're doing now?"
Nolan smiled serenely. "But with more girls."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the dividing wall...
Three pairs of eyes peeked over the stone partition. Vivi's grip on the ledge tightened as she spotted Nolan through the steam. A slow, dreamy smile spread across her face right before her nose began gushing blood.
"Vivi! Vivi, stay with us!" Nami whispered urgently, shaking the princess as she started to slump.
Robin barely managed to catch her before she hit the floor, though the archaeologist's own nose wasn't faring much better. "Fascinating... the proportions are mathematically improbable..."
Nami wiped her own nosebleed, trying to look away. "Okay but... that's just not normal, right?"
Robin adjusted her glasses, which had fogged up considerably. "Indeed."
Back in the men's bath, Chopper suddenly perked up. "Hey... do you guys hear dripping?"
A pause. Then all heads turned toward the partition wall where three suspicious red streaks were now trickling down the stones.
Zoro sighed. "I'll pretend I didn't see that."
Sanji immediately launched himself toward the wall. "MY SWEET ANGELS ARE HURTING!"
The resulting chaos—involving a naked cook attempting to scale a slippery wall, a reindeer doctor trying to stop him, and a rubber captain laughing hysterically—would become legend among Alabasta's bathhouse attendants for years to come.
Nolan, for his part, had already fallen asleep in the warm water, completely undisturbed by the madness around him. Somewhere in his dreams, snacks were being hand-fed to him by adoring fans. Life was good.
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