"You're finished! This little pirate game ends here!"
Sir Crocodile's roar was a mix of desperation and dying pride. With a violent, sand-slicked backhand, he sent Luffy spiraling through the air. It was a classic scene in the Straw Hat's journey—the moment of the "defeat," the initial taste of the Warlord's overwhelming power.
"Haha! Do you see it now?" Crocodile laughed, his voice cracking. Despite being bald and bankrupt, he still held his trump card. "Even as we speak, my elite forces have infiltrated the palace. Your 'strongest' member, Evan, is pinned down here by a Marine legend. While you rot in the sand, your precious 'partners' are being slaughtered."
He looked at Luffy with a sneer. "Aren't you pirates the ones who always babble about friendship? Let's see how your 'bonds' hold up when your princess is a corpse."
The sand crocodile truly believed it. He believed the Vinsmoke mercenaries were loyal to the gold he no longer had. He believed Daz Bonez (Mr. 1) was currently painting the palace halls red with the blood of Nefertari Vivi.
The reality, however, was far more poetic.
At the gates of the palace, Reiju Vinsmoke stopped dead in her tracks. Daz Bonez, standing beside her with his arms folded, looked at the guards. "Why are we stopping?"
Reiju let out a sharp, cold chuckle. "Because, Mr. 1, our 'cooperation' has reached its expiration date."
Daz Bonez's eyes narrowed, his body beginning to take on a metallic sheen. "What is the meaning of this?"
"The meaning is simple," Reiju said, stepping back as Zoro, Sanji, and the rest of the Straw Hats stepped out from the shadows of the palace pillars. "I'm done working for a bald man with no future. And as for the money? Consider it a late fee for my services. I'm keeping every Berry."
She didn't give Bonez another glance. Instead, she walked toward Princess Vivi. "Princess, since the boys are going to be busy, perhaps you and I can negotiate a different kind of deal? I believe Alabasta is in the market for a high-quality steel production facility? I have the blueprints... for the right price."
Vivi didn't hesitate. She didn't even flinch at the sight of the scarred assassin standing ten feet away. She switched into "Queen Mode" instantly. "Construction of a steel plant is essential for the restoration of our infrastructure. I am interested, Lady Vinsmoke. But the details of the interest rates and sovereignty... we shall discuss those very carefully."
Reiju smiled. Even though they were both technically "Evan's people," a Vinsmoke never worked for free, and a Queen never gave away her kingdom. The negotiation began right there, on the steps of a potential war zone, as sharp and intense as any sword fight.
Daz Bonez, meanwhile, realized he had been played. He ignored the women and focused on his primary objective: Vivi. "The princess... must die."
"You talk too much," a voice grumbled.
Zoro stepped forward, already tying his dark green bandana around his head. His eyes were burning with a fierce, emerald light. Sanji stood beside him, lighting a cigarette, his leg starting to glow with a faint, demonic heat.
"Get out of my way, you shitty cook," Zoro growled. "This one is mine."
"Who are you calling shitty, Marimo? I'm here to make sure you don't bleed all over the palace rug," Sanji retorted.
Daz Bonez didn't care for their bickering. "My body is a blade. I have killed hundreds. Why did you bother hiding with your boss until now?"
Zoro drew his three swords, the air around him beginning to vibrate. "Hide? I wasn't hiding. I was waiting for an opponent worth cutting. You've got some steel in you, don't you? Good. I've been meaning to learn how to cut iron."
"You are covered in wounds," Bonez noted, his expression flat and serious. "Fight me, and you will die."
"Injuries? I've forgotten what it's like to fight without them," Zoro said, his stance shifting.
"Fine. I will kill you first," Bonez listed calmly. "Then the curly-browed cook. Then the traitorous Vinsmoke woman. And finally, I take the princess."
"Who the hell are you calling 'curly-brow'?" Sanji snapped, his foot igniting into a full Diable Jambe. "But you won't even get past the first level. The moss-head is cranky because he lost to a girl with glasses a few days ago. He needs to vent."
Zoro's aura exploded. The humiliation of his brief clash with Tashigi had been simmering in his gut, and Bonez was the perfect lightning rod.
"Interesting opponent," Zoro sneered. "But you're just a whetstone."
Zoro began to spin, his swords creating a localized hurricane. "Tatsu Maki!"
The wind blew Bonez into the air, stripping away his grounding. While the assassin was airborne, Zoro's arms seemed to multiply. A dark, monstrous energy—a "Ghostly Qi"—began to coalesce around him.
"What is that?" Bonez's eyes widened. He felt a primal fear he hadn't experienced in years.
"Kyu-tu-ryu: Ashura!" Zoro roared.
This was a trick Evan had suggested during one of their late-night training sessions on the ship—leveraging the "Ghostly Qi" to create an illusion of three heads and six arms. To a master like Zoro, the suggestion had unlocked a terrifying new realm of power.
"Silver Mist!"
Zoro blurred. Nine blades struck simultaneously. Each strike was infused with the "Breath of All Things," the realm of cutting iron that he had finally mastered under the pressure of the Grand Line.
Daz Bonez hit the ground with a sickening thud. His "unbreakable" steel body was crisscrossed with deep, bleeding gashes. He looked up at the sky, his consciousness fading. "The mission... failed."
Zoro exhaled, his own wounds reopening and spilling blood onto the stones. He sheared his swords with a sharp clack. "A bit too hard," he muttered to himself.
"You're a mess, Marimo," Sanji said, though there was a hint of respect in his eyes.
"He's not dead. He's tough," Zoro grunted, looking toward the distant center of the city where lightning was still striking the earth. "But what about Luffy? He's fighting a Warlord of the Sea. Is he really going to be okay?"
Sanji took a long drag of his cigarette and looked toward the violet flashes on the horizon. "Don't worry. Evan is over there. If things get truly ugly, that guy won't let the Captain fall."
"I hope so," Zoro said, looking at his swords. "Because if Luffy loses to a bald guy, I'm never letting him live it down."
[Diary Entry: Zoro just unleashed Ashura. It's a bit early in the timeline, but with the 'mental nourishment' I've been feeding them, their growth is off the charts. Mr. 1 is down, the palace is secure, and Vivi is currently out-negotiating a Vinsmoke.]
[Now, I just have to deal with this old man in front of me before he punches my head into the next island.]