Chapter 294: Refusal
In Vivi's eyes, Igaram saw hope, expectation, fear, helplessness, and countless other emotions tangled together.
But there was no surrender.
A dull ache rose in his chest.
He could not understand why a girl so young had been forced to carry so much. Yet he knew one thing clearly.
If he had possessed enough strength, the princess of an entire nation would never have needed to put herself through this.
He hated his own powerlessness.
In the end, Igaram said nothing.
He slowly released Vivi's shoulder and silently accepted her decision.
Vivi turned back toward the bed.
Then she stepped forward.
Her body trembled slightly with every step.
After seeing Igaram's reaction, combined with the young man's appearance and the power he had just displayed, she was almost certain this was the person she had been searching for.
Perhaps he was the only person who could help her resolve Alabasta's current crisis.
But Vivi was still human.
And she was afraid.
The distance between them was only a few steps, yet she crossed it in more than a dozen hesitant movements before finally stopping beside the bed.
She drew a breath and forced herself to calm down.
The white-haired youth remained lazily reclined against the headboard.
He neither spoke nor acknowledged her presence.
Vivi gathered her courage.
"Monkey D. Axel?"
For the first time, the seemingly indifferent youth reacted.
His distinctive red eyes slowly opened.
The atmosphere in the cramped room changed at once.
Vivi's body stiffened.
She stared at Axel's face, already mentally preparing herself for the possibility that she had made a terrible mistake.
Axel simply answered,
"Yes."
Igaram stepped closer in shock.
"You mean he's the person Baroque Works has been searching for?"
Vivi nodded solemnly.
"The information they gave us is from three years ago. If we account for how much he could have changed during that time, I think his appearance matches."
Igaram stared at Axel again.
"But that's far too much growth for only three years."
Three years ago, Axel had looked like a child of roughly ten.
Now, he appeared closer to sixteen or seventeen.
That difference was precisely why neither of them had connected the injured youth they found with Baroque Works' target.
No matter how much a child grew, the change should not have been this drastic.
And no one would naturally associate a badly wounded stranger with someone carrying such an extraordinary bounty.
Igaram swallowed.
"A bounty of four hundred million Berries..."
His expression grew even more incredulous.
"The former Marine Rear Admiral known as Yasha from that incident... you're saying this is him?"
"He admitted it himself," Vivi replied.
She glanced at Igaram.
"And after what you felt earlier, do you really need more proof?"
Vivi sounded surprisingly composed.
It was not because Axel's identity had failed to shock her.
The moment he confirmed it, she had been stunned.
But her fear was even stronger, and strangely enough, that fear forced her to keep herself under control.
Axel finally showed some interest.
"Baroque Works is searching for me?"
He knew perfectly well that Crocodile was the mastermind behind Baroque Works.
What he did not understand was why Crocodile wanted to find him.
"Yes," Vivi replied.
"The order came directly from Mr. 0."
"Anyone who obtains useful information about you can earn the authority of a Senior Agent."
"That reward alone has attracted nearly everyone in Baroque Works."
"Even an existing Senior Agent who finds you would gain the Boss's favor, along with an enormous amount of wealth."
Axel gave a short, humorless laugh.
"All that just for finding me?"
"What a capricious man."
"Yes," Igaram said.
That enormous reward was exactly why Baroque Works had continued searching despite three years passing without any reliable information.
Vivi caught something in Axel's wording.
"You called him a man."
Her eyes sharpened.
"Does that mean you know who the Boss of Baroque Works is?"
Axel glanced at the two of them.
"You don't?"
Vivi hesitated.
"We have some clues."
"But we haven't completely confirmed his identity."
"Liar."
Axel's reply came without hesitation.
Vivi and Igaram both froze.
"You already know who he is."
Axel looked directly at Vivi.
"You simply don't want to believe it."
"Or perhaps you're afraid to believe it."
The room fell silent.
"And judging by the way you looked at me after discovering my identity, you want me to deal with Crocodile."
Neither Vivi nor Igaram answered.
Because he was right.
They had already uncovered enough evidence to form a conclusion.
They simply had not wanted to accept it.
Crocodile was regarded throughout Alabasta as a hero.
He fought pirates.
He protected cities.
The people praised him as the man safeguarding their kingdom.
Vivi herself had once believed in that image.
Yet every clue they had uncovered within Baroque Works pointed toward him.
Only one final confirmation remained.
Igaram stared at Axel.
"How did you know?"
He and Vivi had spent an enormous amount of time infiltrating Baroque Works just to uncover fragments of the truth.
Until Axel said Crocodile's name outright, even they had hesitated to accept their own conclusion.
Yet Axel had exposed it casually.
"Is it strange that I know?"
Axel leaned back against the bed.
"I used to be a Marine."
That explanation carried enough credibility on its own.
The Seven Warlords of the Sea operated under the authority of the World Government.
The Marines naturally possessed access to information that ordinary civilians, and even most nations, could never obtain.
Vivi hesitated before asking the question that mattered most.
"Then... are you strong?"
A faint smile appeared on Axel's face.
"Quite strong."
The smile was small, but it made him look noticeably different from the completely detached person they had first encountered.
There was less childishness in his expression now.
More composure.
More maturity.
Vivi tightened her hands.
"Then what about Crocodile?"
Axel looked at her.
"You're asking whether I'll help you defeat him?"
"Yes."
Vivi nodded without hesitation.
If Crocodile was truly the mastermind behind Baroque Works, then defeating him would destroy the organization responsible for inciting chaos throughout Alabasta.
Without Baroque Works manipulating the population from the shadows, Vivi believed her country could finally return to peace.
Axel placed the empty cup down.
"I refuse."
Vivi froze.
At the same time, the cup rose gently into the air.
It drifted across the room and returned to its original place on the table.
The other scattered cups shifted as well, arranging themselves neatly without Axel touching any of them.
Igaram's heart pounded.
"A Devil Fruit Ability User..."
Only one of the sea's mysterious treasures could explain such an unnatural ability.
Axel did not bother correcting him.
He simply looked at Vivi.
"Helping you defeat Crocodile gives me nothing."
"It would be nothing more than troublesome work without any benefit."
Vivi clenched her teeth.
"You just don't have the confidence to defeat one of the Seven Warlords!"
A bounty did not directly represent combat strength.
Crocodile's frozen bounty of eighty-one million Berries certainly did not reflect his current level.
His bounty had stopped rising only because he had become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Vivi expected the provocation to strike at Axel's pride.
Instead, he smiled slightly.
"You could say that."
Vivi stared at him.
"You..."
She had no idea how to continue.
People with reputations like Axel's were usually proud to an unreasonable degree.
Even if they knew an opponent was dangerous, they would rarely admit uncertainty so easily.
Axel had simply accepted her accusation.
Her attempt to provoke him had collapsed before it even began.
Vivi took another breath.
"Then what do you want?"
Axel's smile disappeared.
"I don't want anything."
It was not an excuse.
At this moment, even Axel himself did not know what he wanted.
Nor did he know where his battered body was supposed to go next.
....
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