Smoker snorted coldly, his arm instantly transforming into thick white smoke, all of it pouring into the hole in the ground at his feet!
These underground tunnels were interconnected, and the white smoke quickly filled every passage.
"Oh no!"
Underground, Ms. Christmas shrieked. Normally, her speed underground had no natural predators, but now, dragging the heavy Mr.4 and that dachshund, her speed was significantly reduced.
Before she could escape much further, the sticky and tenacious white smoke wrapped around her like tentacles, binding her tightly. No matter how hard she struggled, it was useless.
"Damn it! Why can't I break free! Damn, damn, damn it!"
Accompanied by her desperate wails, Smoker manipulated the smoke, pulling the two people and one dog out of the ground like radishes, and slamming them heavily onto the street.
As soon as Ms. Christmas regained the ability to speak, she roared furiously at Smoker: "Damn, damn, damn it! You stinking Marine!"
She then looked resentfully at the unconscious Mr.4 beside her, but her final tone was one of helplessness, anger, and a sense of disappointment: "I knew I shouldn't have brought you! You're so heavy!"
Smoker couldn't be bothered with her impotent rage. He exhaled a smoke ring and said coldly: "What you say now is useless."
Seeing that the situation was already under control, Tomioka had no intention of staying. He turned and walked towards the palace.
"Hey!"
Smoker called out behind him, "Once you all leave Alabasta, I will definitely capture every single one of you! Not one will be spared!"
Tomioka didn't stop, he just tilted his head slightly, "Mm."
Watching his calm retreating figure gradually disappear at the end of the street, Smoker took a deep drag from his cigar, thick smoke overflowing from his mouth and nose. He muttered under his breath:
"Why do I feel… so infuriated?"
Not long after, footsteps sounded from the alleyway on the other side. Tashigi slowly approached, escorting Ms. Doublefinger, whose hands were cuffed behind her back.
She had some dust on her, a few tears in her clothes, and the fatigue of battle on her face, but her eyes were bright.
"Captain Smoker!!"
Tashigi visibly relaxed when she saw Smoker unharmed, a joyful expression on her face. "It's great that you're okay!"
Smoker watched her return alone with her opponent, seemingly unharmed, and a faint, almost imperceptible hint of relief flashed in his eyes.
He nodded, his tone softening slightly: "Ah, you did well this time." Then, looking at Tashigi's expression, he suddenly remembered their earlier conversation. "What did you say to that guy…?"
Tashigi's face instantly flushed with embarrassment. Her gaze wavered, not daring to meet Smoker's eyes, and her fingers nervously intertwined. Letting a pirate escape privately, and even saying she wouldn't arrest him, she really didn't dare to say anything.
"I… uh… the situation at the time was…"
She stammered, completely losing her usual decisiveness when reporting work.
Smoker looked at her, then remembered Tomioka's matter-of-fact confession. He waved his hand, cutting off her explanation: "Never mind, it's nothing."
Smoker then cast his gaze towards the South Gate. "Let's go, to where the Princess is. Things here aren't over yet."
Subsequently, Smoker and Tashigi escorted three high-ranking Baroque Works agents, leaving the chaotic battlefield and heading towards the South Gate of Alabasta… At the same time, Vivi, riding Dash, arrived at the South Gate at top speed. The once bustling entrance to the royal capital was now shrouded in a chilling atmosphere.
Marine soldiers in uniform were densely lined up on the city tower and below the city walls, their armor reflecting the cold sunlight, and a suffocating tension permeated the air.
Her appearance immediately caused a stir. Some soldiers, seeing the blue-haired figure, immediately recognized her as their most familiar Princess.
They immediately started pointing and shouting, and then the others, seeing her, also began to discuss.
"This… isn't this Princess Vivi?"
"Princess Vivi is back!!!"
"Princess Vivi!"
The crowd automatically parted, and a tall, sturdy figure quickly walked out. It was Chaka of the Alabasta Kingdom Royal Guard.
"Princess Vivi!"
Chaka's voice was filled with excitement as he looked at Vivi. At such a critical moment, Princess Vivi, who had been missing for so long, had finally returned.
"You've finally returned!"
Vivi dismounted from Dash, walked towards him, and nodded vigorously: "Yes, Chaka, I'm back."
Her gaze swept over the soldiers standing by, and the faint clamor from the distant outside the city walls. Her heart sank. "What's the situation now?"
But a shadow fell over Chaka's face, and his voice was heavy: "The main force of the Rebel Army is already approaching outside the city… And, King Cobra's whereabouts are unknown, and Pell is searching with all his might."
He paused, his tone even lower, "We…"
Vivi raised her hand to interrupt him, her eyes firm, without the slightest waver: "I know, I heard what they said. I came back here to stop this war."
"It must not happen!"
Chaka looked at the Princess before him, whose eyes were firmer than ever. He knew that behind that letter, Princess Vivi must have endured many hardships to bring back that useful information and finally return here.
For a moment, tears welled up in Chaka's eyes. He nodded heavily, "Good! Princess Vivi! Good!"
Just then, a small commotion arose among the soldiers on the city wall, and whispers spread.
"Look there! In front of the city gate!"
"Why is that guy standing there alone?"
"What does he intend to do?"
Vivi and Chaka exchanged glances, then quickly moved through the crowd and ascended the tall city wall. The soldiers made way for them, and the two leaned on the battlements, looking down.
Right in front of the massive city gate, in the open space far from the Royal Army's formation, a figure stood silently.
He wore a black top hat and a seemingly ordinary long robe, with a pipe strapped to his back. He stood there, his back to the city wall, facing the vast Rebel Army slowly surging in the distance.
"It's dangerous there! Come up quickly!"
Vivi's shout cut through the dry air, drifting towards the solitary figure below the city gate.
However, what responded to her was not a retreat, but the man turning his head slightly, revealing half of a young face with a cheerful smile beneath the brim of his hat.
"I'm here to stop this war."
The moment his words fell, Sabo turned around, looking at the Rebel Army's vast forces raising dust that obscured the sky. The smile on his face faded, replaced by an expression of intense focus.
Before the heavy pressure brought by the massive army, he slowly bent down, clenching his fists. Beneath the cuffs of his seemingly ordinary long robe, his Haki-infused fists were pressed against the dry desert sand at his feet.
"Dragon's Breath!"