4:15 P.M.

This is the full-color version of the previous title page spread. Vivi sits on the left, laughing, wearing a white top and blue plaid pants. Karoo the duck sits beside her. Sanji is in the water, laughing and holding a dark fish. Nami and Chopper relax on rocks in the background. Zoro rests on a large green leaf holding a trident, and Luffy is perched on another leaf higher up. The scene is a lush indoor oasis with large green leaves, smooth white stones, and a view of domed buildings in the background.

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The page opens with a violent and chaotic scene on the battlefield. Chaka, the royal guard commander, is struck down, blood spurting dramatically from a massive wound across his chest as he desperately grips his large sword. In the midst of the fighting, a rebel fighter is shown yelling passionately, "I'LL BUILD THAT TOWN SO IT'LL HELP MAKE THIS COUNTRY BETTER THAN BEFORE!" Watching the carnage unfold, Vivi screams out in absolute horror, "KOUZA!" Chaka collapses backward, his sword falling from his grasp, as he cries out to his men, "COMRADES!" In the chaos of the battlefield, a rebel shouts, "STOP FIGHTING," while Kouza is shown looking on, his face covered in sweat and an expression of pure shock at the escalating violence.

The rebel army charges forward with a massive, deafening roar, "UOOOOO," raising their swords and weapons high into the air as they rush the royal guards. Among the royal guards, a man with a sinister smirk chuckles, "Heh heh," revealing himself as a Baroque Works agent in disguise. A thought bubble above him reads "B.W...!" as he prepares to incite more violence. Vivi watches the unfolding disaster from above, her hand covering her mouth in absolute horror and despair. The rebels continue their furious charge, yelling "UOOOOO" and "KOUZAA!". Suddenly, the charge is interrupted when a rebel turns in shock and yells at one of his own, "YOU IDIOT! WHY DID YOU SHOOT KOUZA!?" A cry of "GAH!" is heard. In the final panel, a smoking gun is shown clattering to the ground with a "CLATTER..." sound effect, indicating that Kouza has been shot by someone within his own ranks.

A massive, blinding cloud of sand suddenly sweeps over the battlefield, throwing the combatants into confusion. A rebel shields his face from the stinging wind, yelling, "What's with this sudden cloud of sand!?" Kouza, having just been shot, falls to his knees, heavily injured and bleeding. He gasps, "C... COMRADES...!" "HUFF" "HUFF". He tries to call out to his men, "LISTEN TO ME!" but before he can stop the fighting, he is suddenly shot in the back with a loud "BAM!!". He collapses further, desperately yelling, "FELLOW REBELS!" "HUFF" "HUFF". Nearby, the true culprits are revealed: Baroque Works agents disguised as rebel fighters are shown firing their weapons directly into the crowd of royal guards. The real rebels react in shock and anger to the gunfire, shouting, "THOSE BASTARDS!" "They've opened fire at us!", completely unaware that they are being framed.

The massive sandstorm completely engulfs the city of Alubarna, obscuring the palace and the battlefield in a thick, choking cloud of dust. Fighters on the ground struggle to see, yelling, "I CAN'T SEE AHEAD AT ALL!" and "DAMN THESE SAND STORMS!" In the blinding dust, chaos reigns supreme. A royal guard is shot down with a loud "BAM!!", while another guard, enraged by the unseen attacks, yells, "THOSE REBEL SCUM!" In the bottom panel, a Baroque Works agent, disguised as a royal guard and holding a smoking pistol, smirks evilly as he watches the two sides tear each other apart. He gloats, "It's useless! We B.W. agents have infiltrated both sides!" The wind howls violently around them, ensuring that neither side can communicate or realize they are being manipulated.

The violence escalates further as a royal guard is struck down by a rebel attack. The guard yells, "IS THIS HOW THE ROYALIST SCUMS FIGHT!?" while a rebel shouts back, "SURRENDER, MY ASS!" Vivi, watching from the palace, screams in desperation, "NO!" She pleads with the warring factions below, her voice cracking, "EVERYONE, PLEASE! YOU HAVE TO STOP FIGHTING!" "PLEASE LISTEN TO ME!" Crocodile glares menacingly, his face shadowed as he watches her futile efforts. Vivi turns to him, demanding, "HOW LOW ARE YOU WILLING TO SINK TO!?" The city's clock tower is shown, ticking ominously, "tic toc tic...". A royal guard commander, ignoring Vivi's pleas, orders his men, "RETURN FIRE, GUARDS!" Crocodile taunts Vivi, stating coldly, "THIS ENTIRE WAR IS..." while Vivi desperately yells, "STOP!", realizing that the slaughter is exactly what he wants.

A massive double-page spread captures the sheer scale and chaos of the battle unfolding in the Alubarna palace square. The air is thick with swirling dust and sand, obscuring the towering domed buildings in the background. Below, thousands of royal guards and rebel fighters clash violently. Men on horseback charge through the crowds, while foot soldiers swing swords, spears, and axes at each other. The deafening roar of combat fills the air with shouts of "WAAAAAAH!!" and the sharp "CLASH!!" of weapons striking. The two massive armies tear into each other with brutal intensity, completely oblivious to the fact that they are being manipulated into destroying their own country.

The battle rages on fiercely in front of the Alubarna palace, the roars of the fighters echoing through the air with shouts of "UOOOOO" and "WAAAAAH...". Vivi stands on the palace wall, clutching her head in despair, tears streaming down her face as she begs, "Please stop..." She looks back over her shoulder at the massive sandstorm raging below, realizing her voice cannot reach them. Crocodile looks down at the battlefield with a smug expression, remarking, "SO THIS IS AS FAR AS WE CAN GET...!?" Miss All Sunday stands calmly behind him, looking at the devastated princess. She tells Vivi, "You've fought well, Princess..." "But your voice won't reach them now...", confirming that the war has passed the point of no return.

Chaka, heavily injured and bleeding, yells desperately at Vivi, "GET AWAY FROM THAT MAN!" "RUN AWAY, VIVI!" Crocodile calmly smokes his cigar, completely unfazed by the guard's outburst. Vivi glares at Crocodile, realizing the extent of his manipulation. "The dust clouds... They're your doing." "NO!" Chaka lies defeated on the ground behind Crocodile, unable to protect her. Crocodile mocks Vivi's earlier hopes, quoting her naive plans: "'I can stop the rebellion if I do this...'" "'I can stop it if I do that...'" Vivi stands her ground, refusing to give up, declaring, "I CAN STILL SAVE LIVES!" "But as long as I stop that explosion 15 minutes from now," she says, determined to prevent the bomb from destroying the square.

Crocodile suddenly lunges forward and grabs Vivi by the throat, lifting her off the ground with one hand. "YOUR UNBEARABLE IDEALISM IS SICKENING!" he snarls. "UGHH!" Vivi gasps. "Open your eyes, Princess..." Vivi struggles against his grip, gasping for air but refusing to back down. "I WON'T ABANDON MY IDEALS NO MATTER WHAT!" "WHAT DO I CARE IF YOU FIND IT UNBEARABLE!?" Crocodile stares at her coldly, stating his twisted worldview, "Ideals can only be brought to reality by people with ability..." Vivi chokes, "HUFF" "AGH-" "HUFF". She weakly vows, "I WILL SAVE... THIS C-" "I SWEAR!" Crocodile dismisses her efforts, "How uncute for a girl..." Vivi yells back defiantly, tears in her eyes, "I'M THE PRINCESS OF THIS COUNTRY! I'LL NEVER GIVE UP TO THE LIKES OF YOU!" "SOMEONE LIKE YOU COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND!"

The sounds of the brutal battle continue to rise from the square below, "WAAAAAH" "CLASH". The clock tower ticks closer to the deadly deadline, "tic toc". Crocodile holds Vivi by the neck, looking out over the fighting with a cruel smile. "ALL THE WHILE OBLIVIOUS TO THE FACT THAT THEY'RE WALKING TO THEIR VERY GRAVES..." Vivi looks on in horror, sweating and trembling as she realizes the scale of the impending slaughter. Crocodile continues to taunt her, "More rebel reinforcements are coming to the palace square as we speak..." "15 minutes left until the explosion..." He turns his gaze back to Vivi, saying her name ominously, "Vivi...", letting the hopelessness of the situation sink in.

Crocodile yells at Vivi, explaining his twisted logic, "Even if it did cause a panic, I'm sure it would've saved a few thousand to a ten thousand lives at least..." "If you had just told the Royalists earlier that the palace square would be blown up soon," Vivi screams, "NO, STOP! CROCODILE, STOP!" Crocodile holds her out over the sheer drop of the palace wall. "IS WHAT INEVITABLY LED TO THE DEATHS OF YOUR BELOVED PEOPLE." Vivi cries helplessly. Crocodile continues his psychological torture, "YOUR DELUDED IDEALISM THAT WISHED TO SAVE EVERYONE," Vivi denies it, "NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! THIS IS NOT A GAME!" Crocodile drops a handful of powder into the wind. "From the very beginning to the very end, the people of this country have provided me no shortage of laughs...!" "THIS IS... DANCE POWDER!"

Crocodile continues his cruel speech, "But in the end, you and your comrades couldn't stop anything at all." A brief flashback shows Igaram in his disguise, saying, "IT'S ME! CAN'T YOU TELL? WELL, I DID LOSE A BIT OF WEIGHT SO I GUESS I CAN'T BLAME YOU." Vivi cries as Crocodile says, "You worked very hard these past 2 years," "Spying on my organization," Crocodile holds her over the edge. "Only ever amounted to increasing the casualties...!" "Let me make this clear to you." "All your idealistic talk of stopping the rebellion or saving this country," A close-up of Crocodile's face and Vivi's tear-filled eye is shown as he delivers the final blow, "YOU CANNOT SAVE THIS COUNTRY."

With a swift, heartless motion, Crocodile releases his grip on Vivi's neck. A "SWISH..." sound effect accompanies the action as she immediately begins to plummet from the high palace wall. Crocodile stands at the edge, looking down and watching her fall with a cold, unfeeling expression. Vivi tumbles through the air, her coat billowing around her as she descends rapidly towards the stone courtyard far below. Crocodile throws his head back and lets out a massive, cruel laugh, reveling in his victory as he watches the princess fall to her apparent death. Vivi continues to freefall, completely helpless to stop her descent.

Crocodile looks down from the wall, expecting to see Vivi hit the ground. Suddenly, a small silhouette appears in the sky, flying rapidly upwards. Crocodile notices it, standing at the edge. With a massive "WHOOSH", a large bird swoops in right under Vivi, catching her mid-air just before she hits the ground. Crocodile's eyes widen in absolute shock. "IT CAN'T BE...!" The bird lands on the wall, revealing a figure riding on its back. Crocodile glares, a vein popping on his forehead in anger and disbelief as he realizes who has just arrived.

A massive, dynamic splash page captures the climax of the chapter. Luffy, riding on the back of Pell in his full giant falcon form, flies rapidly up the side of the palace wall. Luffy is furious, his arm pulled back, ready to strike, as he yells at the top of his lungs. Sitting safely behind him on Pell's back, Vivi bursts into tears of overwhelming relief and joy, screaming, "LUFFY!". Crocodile is shown in a tight close-up, his confident demeanor shattered. His face is contorted in shock, anger, and disbelief as he yells, "STRAWHAT!". Luffy's voice booms across the page in massive, bold letters, "CROCO-DIIIILE!!!!!!", signaling his arrival to save Vivi and take down the Warlord.

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