Chapter 203: Is He a Dog or What?!
When Chaka awoke, blood was still seeping from his chest—the wound left by Crocodile's sand blade cut deep to the bone.
But more unbearable than the pain was the shame.
The guardian deity of the Alabasta Kingdom, the captain of the royal guard—
He had been knocked unconscious without even managing to block a single blow while the king was under attack.
He struggled to sit up.
Around him lay the soldiers of the palace guard, scattered in disarray—some unconscious, others groaning.
The air was thick with the scent of blood and dust.
Chaka's fist slammed hard into the ground.
His Majesty the King... was gone.
That kind king, who always smiled gently and cared deeply for the welfare of his people, had been taken by the mastermind behind it all.
And he could only watch helplessly.
The letter delivered by Karoo, handwritten by Princess Vivi.
It detailed Crocodile's three-year-long conspiracy, revealed that the rebels were mere pawns being used, and pleaded, "Please believe me, I will stop this war."
Chaka closed his eyes.
But what had he, as the captain of the guard, done?
He couldn't even protect the king!
He leaned against the wall and stood up.
Even if he had only his last breath left, he would find His Majesty the King.
Just then, a strange noise echoed from deep within the palace.
Chaka listened intently—two groups.
One group was larger, their footsteps chaotic, accompanied by the sound of some four-legged creature running.
The other was just a single person, his steps hurried and unconcealed.
They almost simultaneously burst into the audience hall where Chaka stood.
"Who goes there!"
Chaka instinctively drew his sword but staggered as the movement tugged at his wound.
The intruders froze as well.
On one side were four strangers with wildly different appearances—
A blond man with curly eyebrows, a long-nosed man, and a small blue-nosed reindeer carrying an orange-haired woman on its back.
On the other side was a young man in a trench coat, his face scarred and wearing sunglasses, covered in dust, his eyes sharp and anxious.
The two groups stared at each other in silence for two seconds in the grand, empty hall.
Then they spoke almost simultaneously:
"Who are you people!"
Chaka demanded.
"Where is Vivi!"
Sanji asked urgently.
"This is the palace! How did you get in!"
Chaka turned to the man in sunglasses, "Especially you, leader of the rebels!"
Koza did not back down. He took a step forward, "Vivi told me about the palace's secret passages when we were kids."
"I came for the truth. The Mirage outside the city just now—was it real?"
He stared intently at Chaka:
"Everything Vivi said—the drought, the Dance Powder, Baroque Works... is it true?"
Chaka's breath caught for a moment.
All of this had happened while he was unconscious.
Though he didn't know the specifics of the Mirage, hearing Koza say this meant Princess Vivi had already conveyed the truth to everyone.
The war might have stopped.
"It's true."
He lowered his sword, "I swear on the honor of the captain of the royal guard, it was all Crocodile's conspiracy."
Koza's shoulders trembled violently.
Three years.
For three years, he had carried anger and hatred, resentment toward the king, disappointment in his friend Vivi, and step by step led the rebels to this point.
And now, someone was telling him it was all a lie.
His people, his comrades, those brothers who had died in the conflict...
"That bastard..."
Koza's voice strained from his throat, "Crocodile..."
"Wait a minute!"
Nami interrupted them, "Now is not the time for blame! Vivi has been captured by Crocodile! We suspect he's in the palace!"
Chaka abruptly raised his head: "What?"
"You're also here to rescue the king?"
He almost exclaimed without thinking, "Crocodile just attacked the palace and kidnapped King Cobra!"
Upon hearing this, Sanji suddenly emitted a low growl, "Damn—!"
He closed his eyes, veins bulging on his forehead, pushing his sensory abilities to the limit.
Observation Haki, obsession with women, and some kind of "intuition" he couldn't even explain himself—all blended together.
"That direction."
He opened his eyes, gaze sharp as a blade.
"Miss Vivi is in that direction, my love radar won't be wrong!"
Then he turned and faced the ornate palace wall behind him.
Boom—!
Bricks flew, dust billowed.
When Chaka and Koza recovered from the choking dust, a large human-shaped hole had already appeared in the palace wall.
Beyond the hole was the palace's rear courtyard, and further away, the direction of the royal tombs.
"Wait, wait!"
Chaka shouted.
But Sanji had already charged out.
The remaining three followed closely behind.
Chaka and Koza stood stunned.
"....Who are they?"
Koza murmured.
"I don't know."
Chaka gripped his sword handle, "But they shouldn't be enemies."
He took a deep breath, about to step forward to chase them, but was pinned in place by a sentence Nami tossed back as she turned:
"You two must not follow!"
"What?"
Koza glared.
Nami's voice drifted from beyond the hole, speaking rapidly:
"There are Baroque Works spies in both the rebel army and the Royal Army!"
"If you two aren't there and someone deliberately provokes conflict, the war will restart immediately!"
"Now you must return to your respective armies and eliminate everyone with Baroque marks!"
She added without turning back:
"The king and Vivi, leave them to us."
The dust cleared, the four figures had already disappeared deep into the palace.
Chaka and Koza looked at each other.
One was a loyal royal guard captain, the other a rebel leader sworn to overthrow the royal family.
But at this moment, they saw the same thing in each other's eyes—
They must protect their country!
"Go back."
Chaka spoke first, "First, clean out the traitors."
Koza nodded.
Following Sanji further ahead, Chopper's nose smelled the perfume scent from Vivi.
The port city where they landed in Alabasta also flourished in perfume production.
When Sanji purchased local clothing, he prepared local specialty outfits and perfume for the ladies.
The intense fragrance greatly irritated Chopper's nose, so he remembered this scent particularly well.
Thus, confirming the pursuit direction was correct!
Meanwhile, the little reindeer marveled at how terrifying Sanji's perception was!
Was it really intuition as Usopp said?
Could it be something else?
Ralph said Sanji was a modified human, perhaps canine olfactory senses were also modified into his body.
Is he a dog? He is!
It truly is a cruel experiment, no wonder Ralph demanded secrecy for Sanji!
If Sanji learned about his origins, he would surely suffer a severe blow!
At the entrance to the royal tombs.
Sanji stood before the stone gate, charging in without hesitation.
Usopp swallowed:
"This is... a cemetery?"
"It's the royal tombs."
Nami lowered her voice, "Entry prohibited under normal circumstances..."
"This is not a normal situation."
They tread lightly, slowly advancing deeper.
Then, at the first turn, they smoothly spotted Vivi.
She lay sideways on the cold stone bricks, her face pale as paper, forehead covered with fine beads of sweat. Hearing footsteps, she struggled to lift her head.
"San...ji..."
Sanji rushed to her side almost instantly, kneeling down on one knee.
"Miss Vivi! Are you injured? Where?"
"It's... nothing..."
Vivi weakly shook her head, "Crocodile... he interrogated my father about the whereabouts of the Ancient Weapon... after getting the answer, he took my father and left... you must hurry and chase them..."
As she spoke, her body swayed unsteadily.
"I'm fine... just poisoned by Deadly Poison..."