But unfortunately, some mistakes, once made, leave no chance for regret.
Vivi would not give them that chance either, "The performance is over."
Watching this farce, Vivi raised her hand expressionlessly and delivered the final judgment, "The judgment has arrived."
Buzz!
In the sky, above that enormous golden divine form, a buzzing sound rang out.
The clouds were torn apart.
A gigantic holy sword a thousand meters long, its entire body flashing with dazzling, illusory holy light, slowly emerged from the clouds like the ultimate punishment hanging over the head of Damocles.
When they saw the holy sword radiating an aura of annihilation, it seemed as though all the air in the entire royal capital had been drained away.
All the civilians holding up their right hands lowered their heads even further, their bodies trembling violently from extreme awe.
And the tens of thousands of rebels in the plaza who had been swept along by Koza and could not raise their arms now had not the slightest trace of fervor left in their eyes.
All that remained was despair.
The sword's edge silently locked onto its target.
The enormous holy sword descended onto the central plaza of the royal capital at a seemingly slow speed that was actually as though it had cut through time itself.
There was no explosion.
No deafening boom.
Even the plaza floor and the surrounding buildings did not suffer the slightest physical damage.
But... everything fell into silence.
Within the range covered by that holy light, Koza, who had just been shouting hysterically in the streets, Toto, who had been kneeling on the ground, and the tens of thousands of unrepentant rebels, their bodies seemed to have been weathered by tens of millions of years, beginning at their fingertips and turning into tiny specks of white ash.
The wind blew.
Tens of thousands of living people, without even having time to let out a scream, were turned into clouds of dust by this specific divine judgment against those deemed guilty by the people of Arabasta, and completely disappeared into the air.
The plaza was empty.
The rebellion came to an end in a way that did not even leave behind a trace of dust.
The silence of this moment was like a layer of extreme cold, instantly freezing this desert capital.
But this was far from over.
At the exact moment those tens of thousands of people turned into clouds of dust, Vivi gently closed her eyes, and the power of her Devil Fruit rippled out once again like waves.
Buzz!
There was no buffer at all.
Everything that had just happened in the plaza, the despair of Koza, the tilting of the divine judgment scales, and the scene of the enormous holy sword erasing the lives of tens of thousands of people, was packaged into an extremely clear memory imprint.
Through her Devil Fruit ability, Vivi brutally implanted this memory into the minds of every person currently within Arabasta's borders.
At that instant, whether they were civilians waving ribbons, servers carrying dishes, or merchants far away in Rainbase or Nanohana Port, everyone painfully clutched their heads.
After witnessing tens of thousands of people turn to ashes with their own eyes in their minds, the only thought left in them was awe.
With a wave of her hand, tens of thousands of people had been erased without even leaving their bodies behind.
This queen, who usually appeared gentle and caring toward her people, instantly turned into a merciless, cold-blooded tyrant the moment anyone crossed the line.
This contrast and intimidation directly crushed every little thought in the minds of everyone in the country.
———
[On the Terrace of the Clock Shop]
"Not only is she absurdly powerful, she's even this decisive when it comes to killing?"
Zoro's eyelid twitched as he looked at the empty plaza below and the ashes drifting through the air, clicking his tongue with deep feeling.
"She really is that man's daughter. Once she decides to kill, she turns them all to ashes. That ruthlessness... I've certainly learned something today."
As a pure swordsman, Zoro actually did not feel much sympathy for the civilians who had died.
In his worldview, this sea was a battlefield where the strong preyed on the weak.
Since Koza and the others had chosen to gamble everything, they had to be prepared to lose everything and be killed.
If they were killed, they could only blame themselves for being too weak and making the wrong choice.
"Sigh!"
Sanji exhaled a cloud of smoke heavy with nicotine and shook his head with an extremely complicated expression.
"Whether it's Vivi or Shirahoshi and the others... to some extent, they all inherited the old man's worst traits. In their eyes, crushing a group of insects trying to cross the line doesn't require any emotional reaction at all."
"If it weren't for giving the old man the best viewing experience from the beginning, those people would have been killed long ago."
Hearing Sanji's words, Nami's heart began pounding.
Even these daughters treated killing people as something as ordinary as eating and drinking.
Then it was impossible to imagine just how bloodthirsty and merciless that Lord Rosse, who stood high above the clouds, must be.
Whether people knew Rosse or not, as long as they behaved themselves, they at least didn't have to worry about what that lord would do to them.
But Nami was different.
She was a Chosen Princess, someone selected by that man.
Although Carina and the others had not, as far as she knew, suffered any abuse after being chosen and had instead enjoyed special privileges, after witnessing this scene with her own eyes, Nami was genuinely afraid.
What if she displeased that god one day? Would she also be erased like dust with nothing more than a breath?
The companions on the terrace all had different thoughts.
———
[Meanwhile, Back at the Plaza]
Buzz!
After completing its display of power, the enormous golden divine form in midair dispersed in the wind like sand art, Vivi opened her eyes again, adjusted the collar of her suit, which had not even wrinkled, and swept her gaze over the citizens kneeling along both sides of the road. A warm smile once again appeared on her face.
"Those who violated the law have been executed."
Her cool voice rang throughout the royal capital.
"Arabasta's sacred moment should not be interrupted by filth. Music and ceremony, continue."
As her voice fell, the twelve frightened Karoo in front of the royal carriage, with Pell calming them down, began moving forward steadily once again.
"Long live the Queen! Long live the Jaygarcia family!"
"Long live the Queen! Long live the World Government! Long live Arabasta!"
Along both sides of the road, the civilians who had come back to their senses erupted into cheers ten times more enthusiastic than before.
They screamed Vivi's name hysterically, and some even added the World Government and the Jaygarcia family.
If everyone before had merely respected Vivi from the bottom of their hearts because she governed the country through generous welfare and gave them tangible benefits, then now, amid these earth-shaking cheers, everyone clearly heard the awe mixed into their respect. The awe toward a god who held life and death in his hands.
With both kindness and authority, royal power was completely secured on this desert land at this moment, and no one dared harbor the slightest thought of disloyalty again.
———
Elsewhere, in the royal capital's underground burial temple.
In the dark and damp passageways of the tomb, Shanks and his group all stood frozen in place at this moment, as though they had been immobilized.
The same scene of destruction from the plaza had also been stuffed into each of their minds.
"This power is a little too unfair..."
Cold sweat slid down Crocodile's forehead. He did not even have the time to feel sorry about the cigar he had just smoked halfway before dropping it onto the ground.
Killing people wasn't frightening.
What was frightening was the way they were killed.
In the scene they had just witnessed, with a wave of her hand, Vivi had killed not only the people in the royal capital's plaza, but also the rebels hiding in other cities, even those hiding underground and holding on to a sliver of hope.
As long as the scales judged them to be people who did not acknowledge her, there was almost nowhere they could escape.
No matter where they were, at the exact same time and moment, they turned to ashes without even getting the chance to scream.
Tens of thousands of people died simultaneously across space.
No, perhaps even more than tens of thousands. It could have been a hundred thousand.
This terrifying ability genuinely frightened Crocodile.
But at the same time, it made him even more determined to find Pluton.
If all three Ancient Weapons were this powerful, wouldn't those three weapons be capable of reaching the heavens?
"Leave immediately after reading the Poneglyph! Don't stop for even a moment!"
Shanks was the first to recover, his voice stern as he shouted a warning.
He had actually been mentally prepared for this kind of overwhelming strength from the enemy.
He had been unable to see through Vivi's exact strength before, but he had experienced Rosse's despair-inducing power countless times.
If not for the prophecy of Sun God Nika supporting him, perhaps he would have already despaired and abandoned his struggle in the face of the World Government's unreasonable strength.
"Go! Go! Go!"
The others were completely shaken by the scene. Not a single person dared raise an objection anymore, and they all nodded desperately.
Like ducks being chased by the Grim Reaper, they swarmed through the dark tomb passage toward the side hall where the Poneglyph was kept.
"I'm not leaving! I'm staying behind to avenge Koza! Let me go! Aaaah! That damn woman!"
The only exception in the group was the simple-minded Luffy, who was now crying and sniffling uncontrollably.
Although he understood little about the struggle for power, seeing with his own eyes in his mind that a friend who had just been fighting alongside him had been turned to ashes filled him with overwhelming anger and grief. He immediately turned around and tried to rush back to the surface.
"Are you crazy? Don't be stupid!"
Juste roughly grabbed Luffy and hauled him up, firmly tucking him under his arm.
As they ran, Juste shouted loudly, "If you go up there now, the only thing you'll accomplish is becoming another pile of ash for them to watch. Even Shanks can't withstand that ability. Wait until you have the strength, wait until you find the One Piece, then come back for revenge. There's no need to rush it now!"
Hearing this painful but realistic advice, Luffy, held under his arm, bit his lip hard, tears bursting from his eyes.
He took a deep breath and finally suppressed his anger, nodding heavily.
"It's right ahead! The stone tablet engraved with the ancient writing is behind that door!"
Robin, who was walking at the very front, spoke with rare urgency in her voice.
At the end of the passage stood a bronze gate carved with enormous jackal and sacred-bird sculptures.
Without any unnecessary words, "Open!"
Juste and Shanks pushed at the same time. With an extremely heavy rumble, the massive gate was forcibly pushed open from both sides.
Whoosh!
Everyone widened their eyes and looked inside with hope.
As long as they could find information about Laugh Tale and the Ancient Weapons on the Poneglyph, even if it was only a little, this trip would be worth it.
However, inside this palace, which should have been completely empty, illuminated by the faint light of the torches, there was no silence like they had expected beyond the gate.
Instead,an extremely inappropriate, smug voice floated down from above the enormous Poneglyph.
"Well~ well~ well~ Took you long enough."
A tall, slender figure was sitting cross-legged on top of the Poneglyph in an utterly carefree manner, even holding an apple that had been bitten halfway through.
Looking down at Shanks and the others at the entrance, he grinned from ear to ear.
"Gentlemen, you're really slow, aren't you? Do you know how long I've been waiting here in this pitch-black underground tomb for honored guests like you? Lying in ambush... uh, I mean, waiting for you?"
"You?"
When he clearly saw that lecherous face in the firelight, Shanks, who had been forcing himself to remain calm, suddenly widened his eyes and blurted out.
Sitting atop the Poneglyph was a man with a hunched back, a ridiculous topknot on his head, and an extremely lecherous smile.
That skinny, bony body and that lecherous air that even his gorgeous kimono could not conceal, there was no second person like him anywhere on the entire sea.
That traitor who had recently defected from the New World, brutally stabbed his own brothers in the back, and caused the entire Whitebeard Pirates to issue a wanted order for him.
Kozuki Momonosuke!
No one had expected that this man, who should have been fleeing Whitebeard's pursuit throughout the world, would brazenly appear in Arabasta's heavily guarded royal burial temple.
"Momonosuke! You killed brothers of the Whitebeard Pirates and betrayed Pops, and you still dare show your face in front of me!"
After a brief moment of shock, an uncontrollable, violent killing intent instantly erupted from Juste.
His towering, iron-like body bulged with veins, and his face twisted with extreme rage, looking like an evil spirit crawling out of hell.
He stared at Momonosuke, his fists cracking as he clenched them.
As the current captain of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division, the reason Juste had come to the first half of the Grand Line this time was to kill this scumbag who had betrayed his family.
If he hadn't happened to hear that Luffy was in trouble in Arabasta while passing near Water 7, and since it was relatively close, he would never have entered Arabasta at all.
But who could have imagined?
Fate really was playing tricks on him.
The target he hated so much that he wanted to tear him apart and drink his blood had actually delivered himself right to his doorstep.
"Well, well, well, isn't this our famous Captain Juste?"
Facing Juste, who looked ready to tear him to pieces at any moment, Momonosuke merely exaggeratedly patted his chest. The lecherous smile on his face did not diminish in the slightest, and the words that came from his mouth were even more vicious, "Why do you look like you want to eat someone? Not only are you a fake son to Whitebeard, you're a fake son yourself. What's it like living in Admiral Ace's shadow all day? Feels good?"
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