Atla Mountains, Alabasta Kingdom. Wooden villa, bedroom. After calming her chaotic emotions, Vivi couldn't help but look worried and asked:
"What are you planning to do now? Even if, as you said, Crocodile is the mastermind, killing him can stop Baroque Works' further plans. But now there are rebellions all over the country.
Even without Crocodile, the momentum of the rebellion has formed, and this matter is not so easy to quell..." Hearing this, Sephiroth smiled and explained:
"To quell this turmoil, I only need to deal with two people: one is Crocodile, and the other is a guy named Mr. 2 in Baroque Works..." Before he could finish speaking, urgent shouts came from the street again:
"Everyone come and see!
King Cobra is going to give a public live speech in Erumalulu!" Hearing this, Vivi quickly rushed out of the villa's bedroom, through the hall, and onto the street. Soon, she saw a screen projected onto the wall by a live den den mushi on the street again. It was the central square of Erumalulu, a coastal city hundreds of kilometers away from the Atla Mountains.
Cobra, dressed in a luxurious blue robe, stood on a high platform, guarded by a group of the Kings Army. Below the platform, in the central square, stood tens of thousands of Alabastan civilians. "Today, I want to announce something to the entire country!" Cobra, standing on the high platform, looked indifferently at the crowd below, his tone calm, even somewhat cold.
"When the Alabasta Kingdom was in drought, many lowlifes actually showed resistance to the royal family, formed a rebel army, and attempted to overthrow my rule. This truly makes me furious. I am the King of this country..." Vivi's pupils suddenly constricted as she looked at King Cobra in the projected image. This person is definitely not my Father, he would never say such words!
In the crowd, Igaram, who was covered in dirt, had curly hair, and wore a gray work uniform, quietly walked to Vivi's side and whispered:
"What's going on? His Majesty the King seems a bit off..." Hearing this, Vivi opened her mouth, but she didn't know how to explain. "This King is definitely that imposter. His Active appearance has saved me some effort. Let's go!
Princess Vivi, I'll take you to catch him!" Sephiroth walked to Vivi's side with a light laugh, causing Igaram to become wary. "Erumalulu is hundreds of kilometers away from the Atla Mountains. Even if we rush over now, the other party has probably already disappeared without a trace..." Vivi said with a frown. "That's not necessarily true!
A mere hundred kilometers is a distance I can cover in the blink of an eye." As he spoke, he pulled out the butcher knife tucked into his waist, opened a spatial door, revealing a twisted world of light green inside. "How about it, do you want to go with me?" Hearing this, Vivi didn't hesitate at all and walked directly into the world inside the door.
Igaram, in order to protect the Princess, also quickly followed. Sephiroth just smiled at this and didn't drive him away. Immediately, he also walked into the world inside the door and disappeared from the Atla Mountains. ......... Erumalulu, Central Square. King Cobra, impersonated by Mr. 2 Bon Clay, stood on the high platform and delivered an extremely selfish speech.
He finally announced his decision:
"Anyone who participated in the rebel army, as well as their relatives, must all die! I will execute the nine generations of the rebel army! Only then can my anger be completely appeased!" Whoosh!
As soon as these words were spoken, the civilians in the central square all looked horrified, and those watching through the live den den mushi across the country were also shocked. They had just finished watching King Cobra's self-incriminating confession.
The citizens' initial skepticism gave way to outrage as King Cobra, standing before the nation, announced his decision to execute nine generations of the rebel army. Though this public address avoided any mention of dancing powder abuse — unlike the Yuba incident — the parallels were unmistakable. The people drew their own conclusions.
"Your Majesty, why?" shouted one citizen, his voice trembling. "Our relatives may have joined the rebels, but they didn't take part in any violence!" "Cobra, you're no king of ours!" another cried. "He's lost his mind!" a third voice joined the chorus.
The central square erupted into chaos. Civilians shouted curses at Cobra, their anger boiling over. The crowd surged, teetering on the edge of riot, when Cobra — actually Mr. 2 Bon Clay in disguise — spun on his heel and made to flee the platform.
A crimson flash cut through the air. A spatial door opened silently, and Sephiroth, Vivi, and Igaram stepped through.
"Assassins! Protect the king!" barked the Kings Army soldiers, secretly Baroque Works agents. They raised their firearms, ready to fire.
Before they could pull the triggers, dark red lightning erupted from the void. A crushing Haoshoku pressure descended like a mountain. Thud! Thud! Thud! One by one, the soldiers collapsed, foaming at the mouth.
Bon Clay, still dazed from the Haoshoku impact, barely registered Sephiroth's approach. The silver-haired warrior's fist, wreathed in crimson lightning, slammed into Bon Clay's stomach. His eyes rolled back, and he crumpled to the ground.
The Mane-Mane Fruit's illusion shattered, revealing Bon Clay's true form — a heavily made-up, effeminate man. Sephiroth hoisted him up like a sack of flour and turned to the crowd below.
"Look closely!" he bellowed. "This man isn't King Cobra. He's an imposter, sent to plunge Alabasta into chaos and war!"
Gasps rippled through the square. The civilians stared in shock, murmuring among themselves.
"So it was all a trick!"
"I knew something was off. Our king would never act so foolishly."
"Was the Yuba incident his doing too?"
"This bastard nearly destroyed our kingdom!"
The rebel army, watching through den den mushi broadcasts, erupted into disbelief. Their plans for an uprising faltered. Fighting the Kings Army now, without understanding the truth, would be reckless and pointless.
"Igaram," Sephiroth said, turning to the curly-haired man beside him, "handle things here. Vivi and I need to deal with Crocodile."
"But I want to protect Princess..." Igaram said hesitantly. "Don't worry," Vivi interjected with a reassuring smile. "Sephiroth will keep me safe. Stay here and manage the aftermath."
Vivi hadn't anticipated Sephiroth could traverse hundreds of kilometers in an instant, let alone single-handedly capture Cobra—the imposter who'd posed as her father—before the eyes of the entire kingdom. Though rebellion still simmered, this decisive act forced the King's Army and insurgents into an uneasy stalemate, sparing countless lives from the butcher's block.
At this moment, Vivi finally began to believe what Sephiroth had promised. The wariness that had always kept her at arm's length from the silver-haired youth melted away without her noticing. Even his pale features, which she'd once found unsettling, now struck her as strangely beautiful.