Chapter 208 "Guardian Spirit"

The scene opens with a view of the towering clock tower in Alubarna. An ominous voice laughs, "KUHAHA!" as the clock ticks "+ic...". Down below, Sanji, Roronoa Zoro, Tony Tony Chopper, and Nami look up in alarm. Crocodile's voice echoes, "I CAN STOP THE REBELLION IF I DO THIS... I CAN STOP IT IF I DO THAT..." Suddenly, the face of the clock tower swings open like a hatch, revealing the dark muzzle of a massive cannon hidden inside. Crocodile's voice continues to taunt, "YOUR UNBEARABLE IDEALISM IS SICKENING!" A hand is shown tightly squeezing a piece of fabric in frustration. At the base of the clock face, Vivi stands looking up at the revealed weapon, the clock hands showing only minutes remaining until the deadline.

The massive cannon protrudes from the open clock face, its dark barrel aimed outward. Crocodile's voice booms, "LET ME MAKE THIS CLEAR TO YOU..." Below, the chaotic battlefield is shown, with Alabasta soldiers clashing violently in the dust. A close-up of Crocodile's face reveals a cold, mocking expression as he declares, "THIS COUNTRY! YOU CANNOT SAVE," Down at the clock tower, Vivi looks up in despair as the clock continues its relentless ticking, the hands inching closer to the detonation time.

The Straw Hats react to the grim realization. Nami, sweating and panicked, says, "With a blast diameter of 5km... The bomb's still gonna destroy most of the city even from all the way up there!" Chopper cries out, "ON A TIMER!?" Sanji grits his teeth, "WE STOPPED THE CANNON, BUT THE BOMB IS..." Zoro looks furious, "CRAP! YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDIN' ME!" Usopp screams in disbelief, "WHAT THE HELL! DOES THAT MEAN STOPPING THE EXPLOSION, WAS IMPOSSIBLE FROM THE VERY BEGINNING?" Sanji clutches his head in sheer frustration, yelling, "AFTER MAKING US GO THROUGH THE TROUBLE OF FINDING THE CANNON... AFTER EVEN TELLING US WHEN AND WHERE IT WAS PLANNED TO FIRE...!" A close-up shows the massive bomb loaded inside the cannon, with a digital timer attached to its side, counting down the final moments.

Overwhelmed by the cruel deception, Vivi breaks down. Tears stream down her face as she screams in agony, "JUST HOW MANY PEOPLE MUST YOU MAKE A MOCKERY OF UNTIL YOU'RE SATISFIED!? JUST HOW FAR DO YOU HAVE TO GO TO MAKE A FOOL OUT OF OTHERS...!" Crocodile's cruel laughter, "KUHAHAHA!" echoes in response to her despair. A wide shot shows the towering clock tower standing high above the city as a voice furiously screams Crocodile's name into the sky.

The scene shifts back to the royal tombs. Crocodile stands tall, looking down at the ground. He states coldly, "AS LONG AS SHE WON'T GIVE UP ON HER COUNTRY, MY CREW WON'T STOP FIGHTING EITHER!" On the ground before him lies Monkey D. Luffy, heavily battered and covered in blood, struggling to push himself up from the rubble. Close-up panels show Crocodile's golden hook dripping with blood, Luffy's fierce, unyielding eye as he forces himself to stand, and Crocodile's stern face watching him.

Crocodile watches as Luffy manages to get back on his feet. Luffy stands swaying, his body battered and bleeding profusely. Crocodile remarks, "LIKE YOU... SOMEONE," Luffy pants heavily, blood dripping from his mouth, and defiantly says, "HUFF... CAN'T BEAT ME...! HUFF..." Crocodile looks down at him with utter contempt. "So after all that trouble, those words are the only things you can manage to string up? How fitting for a pathetic mutt like you already on the verge of death. All bark and no bite!"

Luffy stands tall, his legs spread wide in a firm stance, facing Crocodile head-on. With unwavering resolve, he shouts, "I AM... THE MAN WHO WILL BECOME THE PIRATE KING!" Crocodile glares back, clearly annoyed by the declaration. He readies his hook and retorts, "Listen to me, brat! The more one comes to know of this sea, the less likely one will carelessly spout such boasts! As I said before, there's plenty of small-time rookies like you in this world!"

Luffy glares fiercely at his opponent. Crocodile swings his massive golden hook, declaring, "AND THE BETTER YOU KNOW ABOUT THE LEVEL IN THIS SEA, THE HAZIER SUCH DREAMS WILL BECOME!" He lunges forward, bringing the hook down in a deadly strike. However, Luffy swiftly dodges the attack and counters by kicking the side of Crocodile's hook with his foot, deflecting the blow. Crocodile looks surprised by the parry. Luffy, his face covered in blood but his eyes burning with determination, yells, "I AM... THE MAN WHO WILL SURPASS YOU...!"

Back in the city, Zoro looks up at the sky, noticing something. "It's that bird-guy... Did you see that just now..." A flashback begins, showing a young Vivi and Pell standing in a stone corridor. Pell says, "This place brings back many memories, doesn't it? This secret base for your Sand Sand Gang... PELL, LISTEN!...Your wild reckless behaviours back then, Had me throwing up my hands in frustration more times than I could count..." The memory shifts to an explosion in a gunpowder storage room. Igaram yells, "DON'T WE TELL YOU EVERY DAY TO NEVER COME NEAR THE GUNPOWDER STORAGE!?" Young Vivi is seen coughing in the smoke. Igaram panics, "WHAT WAS THAT EXPLOSION JUST NOW!? AHH! PRINCESS VIVI!?" Pell rushes in, asking, "W-WHAT WERE YOU DOING IN THE GUNPOWDER STORAGE!? VIVI!" In the present, Pell stands before the massive bomb in the clock tower, realizing the danger. "THE BOMB IS ON A TIMER! IT'S SET TO GO OFF ANY MOMENT NOW!"

The flashback continues. Young Vivi, covered in soot and crying, tries to explain herself. "Heehee... I wanted to try making some fireworks but I guess I messed up. I wanted some fireworks since today's the anniversary for when you joined the royal guards..." Pell looks shocked by her reasoning. Suddenly, Pell slaps Vivi across the face. Igaram and the other guards scream in horror. "H-HE HIT THE PRINCESS!" "AGHHHHH!" Pell, tears in his eyes, yells furiously at the young princess, "HOW MANY TIMES MUST I TELL YOU... TO NEVER COME NEAR THIS PLACE!"

The flashback continues with young Vivi crying from the slap. Igaram is furious, yelling at Pell, "PELL! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU JUST DID!? I'LL HAVE YOUR HEAD FOR THIS! IGARAM, WAIT!" Pell looks down with a serious, pained expression. "Look. What would I do... If you had been seriously hurt, or worse...!?" The memory shifts to a happier time. Young Vivi is riding on Pell's back while he is in his full falcon form, soaring through the sky. "HIGHER! TAKE ME HIGHER!" she cheers. "Awesome! We're up so high!" Pell, flying steadily, replies nervously, "P-princess Vivi! This is absolutely between just the two of us! His highness has sternly told me again and again to never take you flying."

In the flashback, young Vivi smiles playfully and says, "Fine, don't do it if you don't wanna! I just won't forgive you forever!" Pell sighs in defeat, "Ugh..." Vivi then asks, "Hey, Pell. Why do you train for battle every day? Who do you have to fight?" Pell, flying over the city of Alubarna, answers, "Because I'm a royal guard. One must be strong in order to protect this country. Well... It's not that I'm fighting a specific someone, but rather protecting a specific thing." The scene transitions back to the present day, with the clock tower looming. Voices echo, "IS THERE A DIFFERENCE?" "YES, THE OBJECTIVES ARE DIFFERENT." "HMM... THAT'S WEIRD."

In the present, the clock ticks closer to the detonation time. Pell stands near the bomb and speaks softly, "Princess Vivi," Vivi looks up, her face bruised and tearful, surprised to hear his voice. Pell continues, "To protect the royal Nefertari household is a duty," A close-up shows Pell smiling warmly, a look of absolute resolve on his face. "That I sincerely consider, To be my proudest honour."

Without hesitation, Pell transforms into his half-falcon hybrid form. He grabs the massive, heavy bomb with his talons and hauls it out of the cannon's barrel, taking flight. Vivi watches in stunned silence as Pell carries the explosive away from the clock tower. The clock continues to tick down its final seconds. Down below, Sanji, Tony Tony Chopper, Nami, Usopp, and Roronoa Zoro all look up in shock, their eyes wide as they witness Pell flying away with the bomb.

Pell, now in his full falcon form, soars high into the sky, gripping the massive black bomb tightly in his talons. The clock ticks relentlessly. A feather falls past a stone statue of a falcon overlooking the city. Down at the clock tower, Vivi screams in despair as she watches him fly higher. The hands of the clock are shown just seconds away from the 4:30 detonation time.

Pell continues his ascent, carrying the bomb high above the clouds, far away from the city of Alubarna. As he flies, his inner thoughts echo: "I am... The guardian spirit of Alabasta, The falcon." The timer on the bomb ticks its final seconds. The city below looks small and distant. The bomb is shown high in the sky, a small black sphere against the vast expanse.

A massive, blinding explosion detonates high in the sky above Alubarna. The blast radius is enormous, creating a colossal sphere of light and shockwaves that dwarf the city below. The sheer force of the explosion lights up the entire sky. Text reads: "The one who vanquishes, All enemies of the royal household." In small panels on the left, Vivi is shown covering her face and crying out as the blinding light washes over her.

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