Taro was woken up by a booming sound. He was far too weak, so after entering the city, he had simply found an empty house whose owners had fled and took a nap.
He rubbed his cheeks to wake himself up a bit, and then he heard the booming of cannons accompanied by the trembling of the earth.
Taro realized what was happening and pulled back the curtains. It was already broad daylight, and this trembling... the Rebel Army was already attacking the royal capital!
Ignoring the dull pain still coming from his wounds, Taro broke through the window and jumped out.
The Kingdom Army stationed on the city walls only fired a few symbolic rounds of shells before retreating toward the palace; the streets were littered with discarded weapons and supplies.
Taro picked up a blade from the ground, weighed it in his hand, and walked toward the city walls against the tide of retreating people.
However, just as he turned a corner, he saw someone running toward him from the other end of the street.
Her waist-length blue hair was tied back, swaying with her running steps. She wore a purple robe and a white cloak, her face stained with a bit of soot.
Princess Vivi!
Vivi also noticed Taro standing at the end of the street. Looking at the blade in Taro's hand and hearing the sounds of battle drawing closer behind her, despair rose in her heart.
Her companions were already helping her by intercepting the Advanced Agents of Baroque Works, and the man in front of her seemed to be another enemy. What should she do?
Vivi stopped involuntarily. Thinking of her companions locked in bitter combat and the citizens about to lose their lives innocently, tears flowed uncontrollably.
Taro was just rejoicing that the Kingdom Army and the Rebel Army hadn't engaged in street fighting, and seeing Princess Vivi arrive safely at the capital was an even greater surprise. However, seeing Vivi suddenly start crying left him a bit dazed for a moment.
What's going on?
Taro frowned and thought for a while, still confused, then he gave a thumbs up and gestured behind him twice. "The palace is just past this block..."
At this point, he felt a bit foolish again. This was Vivi's country; could she possibly know the way less than he did?
Taro gave an awkward laugh. "You should head over there quickly."
Seeing she didn't react, Taro urged her, "Go on, what are you standing there for?"
Suspicion filled Vivi's heart. Not an enemy?
Then could you please put the sword away before talking?
Nevertheless, she moved, watching Taro warily as she slowly shifted her steps toward the end of the street.
Taro had been observing Vivi. Having finally met such a popular female character, how could he miss the chance? Indeed, her face was very delicate, and her large eyes were beautiful, it was just... Then, the moment Vivi brushed past him, Taro suddenly remarked, "You really do look much prettier with your hair down!"
Vivi's body suddenly tensed the moment Taro spoke. Before he could finish his sentence, she suddenly accelerated, charging out like an arrow from a bow.
"Huh?" Taro turned his head, looking blankly at Vivi as she ran headlong away.
What kind of problem is this now?
He carefully recalled his words just now and then had a sudden realization. "It seems like it sounded a bit like flirting. Sigh, I've offended someone again."
Taro's lips twitched, and he let out a sigh.
However, he soon stopped worrying about it. What he wanted now was to find the area where Zoro was fighting Mr. 1. In his memory, there were fights happening in all four districts—North, South, East, and West—of the capital.
Turning into an alley, he used 'Falcon Form'. Qi swirled around his body, and with a sudden burst of strength from his feet, Taro soared into the sky with a 'whoosh'. He then spread his arms, transforming them into wings, and continued to climb using the air currents.
With all of Alabasta in full view, he first observed the overall situation of the battlefield.
Although the number of rebels surrounding the capital was still staggering, Taro did a rough scan and realized it couldn't possibly be the scale of 600,000 rebels; at most, there were only about 300,000. Meanwhile, the Kingdom Army stationed near the palace was even fewer, at most a few tens of thousands.
This was already much smaller than the 2 million rebels claimed in the original story. Taro felt slightly relieved. Then, he noticed that the Rebel Army's advance didn't seem very fast. This was strange, considering the Kingdom Army had already abandoned the outer defenses.
What Taro didn't know was that a change was also occurring within the Rebel Army.
"Leader, we should press our advantage and storm the capital in one go. Why stop?"
Koza had already believed what Taro said since they hadn't encountered any resistance along the way. The Kingdom Army was indeed showing restraint, and by the time they reached the capital walls, he was certain of it.
He thought for a moment. "No, we cannot attack rashly. We haven't met any decent resistance along the way, and now they've even abandoned the palace's outer perimeter. This might be a trap; we must be careful."
"But, Leader..."
Koza waved his hand to interrupt. "Say no more. Pick a few people to come with me to scout the capital first. If we haven't come out after an hour, then launch the attack."
"For now, stand by!"
"Yes!"
High in the sky, Taro circled the outer edge of the battlefield twice before beginning to search the inner city.
The collapse of a building in the North District caught Taro's eye. He lowered his altitude, and a flash of joy crossed his gaze. It was them!
He quickly dove toward the North District, deactivated his transformation on the roof of a building, and leaped across rooftops toward the target location.
Taro was anxious. Seeing the building collapse from the air made it look like the fight was intense, but when he landed on the nearest rooftop, he was surprised to find Zoro and Mr. 1 talking about something.
He faintly heard Zoro seemingly saying that Mr. 1 used to be an assassin in the West Blue.
Taro's sudden appearance surprised both of them. Zoro froze for a moment and then said expressionlessly to Taro, "It's you!"
Hearing Zoro's tone, Mr. 1 knew the two were acquainted. He stared at Taro, frowning. "So you are that fifth person!"
Hmm? What fifth person?
Taro was also stunned for a moment, but having rich experience in being misunderstood, he soon let it go. Forget it, there's no way to have a normal conversation with you pirate natives.
He sat cross-legged on the roof with a calm expression. "Say whatever you want. You guys keep fighting, I won't interfere!"
Zoro knew Taro and his quirk for watching fights, so he naturally didn't care. Besides, Zoro wouldn't allow anyone to interfere in his battle anyway.
When Mr. 1 heard Taro say he wouldn't interfere, although he remained very cautious, most of his attention returned to Zoro.
The conversation between the two had been interrupted by Taro's sudden appearance, so there was no need to continue it.
Zoro tied his dark green bandana around his head and glared at Mr. 1. "I'll let you see the difference in our pride as swordsmen."
He took the Wado Ichimonji, one of the 21 Great Grade Swords, into his mouth, and drew the Yubashiri, one of the 50 Skillful Grade Swords, along with the Sandai Kitetsu, a Grade Sword, into his hands, taking his stance.
"Three Sword Style: Bull Needles!"
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