*Rumble...!!*
To the west of the royal palace, the entire Tomb of the Kings trembled violently.
Cracks continuously appeared across the ceiling of the underground tomb, spreading at a visible rate as streams of sand and stone cascaded down from the fissures.
After numerous stone pillars had been shattered during the battle, the ancient structure, now lacking support, finally reached its breaking point.
Deep within the tomb, standing before the massive stone monument engraved with the Poneglyph...
Robin stood quietly, her gaze focused entirely on the monument. She deciphered the voices of the ancient past line by line, completely ignoring the danger of the collapsing surroundings.
By the time Allen and Nami arrived, they found Crocodile lying silently in a pool of blood beneath the Poneglyph.
A dagger was lodged in his back, piercing through his damp coat and into his flesh. It was clear that Robin had taken advantage of his weakness to water to stab him.
*Damn kill-stealer.*
Allen cursed inwardly.
*Crash!!*
A massive boulder plummeted down with a deafening roar, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
Watching the cracks rapidly spreading directly above them, Pell's face was fraught with anxiety. He turned and shouted to Nefertari Cobra,
"Your Majesty! This place is going to collapse. Please let me get you out of here immediately!"
However, Cobra turned a deaf ear to his pleas. Instead, he stared solemnly at Robin as she read the Poneglyph.
"Why? Didn't you and Crocodile come here for the Ancient Weapon? Why did you kill him?"
"Without the convenience of his Warlord of the Sea title, even if you decipher the Poneglyph, you have no way of seizing Pluton. Nico Robin, what exactly are you plotting?"
Cobra demanded in a deep voice, unconsciously clenching his fists.
At that moment.
"Unfortunately, what I am looking for is not here."
Robin's tone was calm. Though her face appeared completely unruffled, a profound sense of boundless loneliness flickered deep within her eyes.
Having finished reading the Poneglyph, she slowly turned her head to look at Cobra and said lightly,
"What I seek is the True Poneglyph. Among all the monuments scattered across the world, it is the only one that records the history of the Void Century."
"The Void... Century...!"
Hearing this, Cobra's pupils trembled slightly, his expression unable to hide his inner shock.
*Crash!!*
Another massive boulder smashed down, showering them with fine sand and pebbles from the vaulted ceiling.
"I am truly sorry. Please forgive my insolence, Your Majesty!"
This time, Pell did not hesitate. He hoisted Cobra onto his back and spread his wings, transforming into a giant falcon. At the same time, he turned his head and shouted to Allen and the others,
"Hurry and get on, all of you!"
"Let's go, Allen!"
Nami immediately hopped on. Suddenly remembering something, she looked back at Robin and urgently urged,
"Hey! What are you waiting for? Hurry up and get on!"
"Me...?"
Robin was taken aback.
However, before she could react, a large hand grabbed her and pulled her aboard.
"Cut the crap. Who else would she be talking to, Crocodile?"
Allen couldn't help but retort as he brought her along onto the falcon's back.
"Let's go, birdman."
"Hold on tight, everyone."
Pell's gaze sharpened. Charting a flight path through the falling debris above, he leaped with all his might, spreading his wings and soaring straight up.
...
The main hall of the royal palace.
Sanji walked out while brushing the dust off his clothes. With a cigarette clamped between his teeth, he stopped at the top of the steps.
"For a mere okama, his kicking techniques were actually pretty good."
Sanji looked down to light his cigarette, took a drag, and slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke.
Inside the hall behind him, the four members of the Tsumegeri Guards brought out chains to shackle Bentham, who was lying face-down on the floor, bruised and battered after a severe beating.
Standing at the doorway, Sanji glanced back at him before shifting his gaze to the west. A massive plume of dust and smoke billowed upward from the collapsing Tomb of the Kings, and a giant falcon broke free from the haze, taking to the sky.
"Why is that idiot causing such a huge ruckus again? The royal family better not use this as an excuse to extort us."
"Whatever, as long as we won. I wonder how Gin and the others are doing out there."
With that thought, Sanji stepped forward, preparing to head outside the palace to check on them.
Just then, several figures rushed frantically through the palace gates, immediately sprinting toward the Tomb of the Kings in the west.
"Hurry! My father should be right over there."
"Yosh! That means the Sand Crocodile is there too, right? I'm gonna go send him flying!"
"Wait a minute, Luffy! I think I just caught a weird 'I'll-die-if-I-see-a-Warlord' disease! I'll just stay out here and keep watch for you!"
"What?! A weird disease?! Pull yourself together, Usopp! Quick, a doctor! Where's a doctor?!"
"Aren't you the doctor, you idiot reindeer?!"
...
Watching the noisy group sprint toward the tomb, Sanji blinked in surprise. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and muttered,
"If I'm not mistaken, those guys look like Nami-san's friends."
"Wait a minute, is that...!"
Suddenly noticing something, Sanji's expression shifted. He instantly locked onto Vivi, his eyes turning into hearts as his gaze clung to her.
"Ooh, what a cute girl!"
"Boss Sanji!"
Another voice rang out as Sham, accompanied by several pirates, ran in through the main gates looking panicked.
"This is bad, Boss Sanji! A ton of Marines have broken in outside."
"Marines?"
Hearing this, Sanji couldn't help but frown.
This was the royal palace of a nation affiliated with the World Government. How could the Marines just barge in?
"I'll go out and take a look with you."
Without time to overthink it, Sanji sprinted forward, asking as he ran,
"How's the battle going? And what about Gin and the others?"
"Gin is heavily injured! When we found him, he was on the verge of death!"
Sham hurried to keep pace, speaking anxiously,
"Buchi hid him in a house so the Isshi-20 could treat him. The boys are giving Gin blood transfusions right now, but we're terrified the Marines will find them."
"Those idiot Marines...! Of all the times to show up! Let's hurry over there!"
Sanji cursed through gritted teeth, his expression darkening.
Arriving outside the palace walls, Sham led Sanji at top speed toward the vicinity of the Clock Tower Square in the east.
In a hidden alleyway, several connected houses were currently packed with pirates. In one empty room, over a dozen civilians were tied up and gagged.
The three adjacent rooms had been converted into makeshift medical wards. Two of them were filled with injured pirates, while over a dozen doctors treated them with practiced efficiency.
In the final room, six fully equipped doctors surrounded a table, performing emergency surgery on a makeshift operating table.
"It's hard to imagine a person could sustain such injuries."
"It's a miracle he's even alive."
"The abdomen is sutured. We're starting on the chest cavity and upper limbs next."
"Wait, Doctor Evan! We're running out of blood!"
"Hurry and find someone outside! Who else has type S blood?!"
The lead surgeon, Evan, shouted urgently toward the door.
Sanji, who had just arrived, heard the shout. He frantically pushed the door open and rushed in, rolling up his sleeve as he yelled,
"Right here! I'm type S! Hurry up and give him my blood!!"
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