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While Kaito was dealing with Cobra, Luffy and the others were locked in fierce battles with the Baroque Works agents elsewhere.
Because of Kaito's involvement this time around, Vivi still hadn't managed to find Cobra. There was no confrontation between her and Crocodile. Instead she went straight to the rebel camp to find Koza.
"Koza, listen to me! All of this is Crocodile's conspiracy!"
"He sent people to impersonate my father and issue orders!"
Vivi laid everything out for Koza as quickly as she could.
Koza listened with a darkening expression, his face growing heavier with each word.
Deep down, he believed her. He knew exactly what kind of person Vivi was.
But if everything she was saying was true, the scale of the conspiracy was terrifying. The entire country had been played for fools. If Vivi hadn't made it in time, he would have led his men straight into war against the Royal Army, and both sides would have fought until there was nothing left.
The biggest problem now, though, was evidence. There was nothing to prove the King had been impersonated.
"Vivi, even if I want to believe you, there's no proof for any of this."
"Koza, I need time. If you can hold the rebels back from attacking, I can find the evidence!"
Koza was quiet for a moment.
"I can buy you one day at most. After that, I can't guarantee I can hold them."
"So whatever you're going to do, do it fast."
Relief flooded through Vivi. One day was enough to end this.
"That's wonderful, thank you, Koza! That's all I need!"
"No need to thank me. Honestly, I don't believe His Majesty the King would ever issue an order like that either."
"Now go. Quickly."
"Mhm!"
Vivi pulled her hood back up and walked out of the tent.
Koza watched her retreating figure, then turned toward the entrance.
"Someone!"
"Commander-in-Chief!"
A guard at the door snapped to attention.
"Summon everyone. We're holding a war council."
"Yes, sir!"
...
"Your Excellency Kaito, thank you for saving me. Please forgive me for not being able to express my gratitude properly right now."
"The situation in this country truly cannot wait."
Cobra, who had just finished having his wounds treated, spoke with deep sincerity.
Kaito waved it off with a smile.
"Don't worry about it. Crocodile's already gone anyway."
"You have my deepest thanks."
With that, Cobra walked out, his steps heavy with the weight of everything ahead.
"Your Majesty!!!"
"Chaka!!!"
Cobra looked up to find Chaka rushing toward him, his expression collapsing into relief.
"Your Majesty, I finally found you. I'm so glad you're alright!"
"Sigh. It's a long story. We'll talk as we go. The priority now is stopping Koza and bringing this unrest to an end."
Cobra said it with the worn expression of someone who had just barely escaped with their life.
"Yes, Your Majesty. And these people are...?"
Chaka glanced at the unusual group standing behind Cobra and couldn't help but stare. Hundreds of people, most of them children, and more than a few with distinctly green skin. It was a lot to take in.
"They're the ones who saved me. I'll explain everything later. Let's go."
Cobra walked on, Chaka following quickly at his side.
"Well. It looks like the Alabasta rebellion is about to come to an end, but your internship isn't going to be easy to complete."
Kaito watched the two of them leave, then turned to the crowd of young ones standing beside him with a deeply satisfied expression.
"Hmph! I've noticed, wherever Kaito-nii goes, it's never peaceful!"
"Exactly, exactly!"
"If this internship falls apart, Shizu-sensei is definitely going to lecture us!"
"It's all Kaito-nii's fault!"
The sudden chorus of accusations from the little ones left Kaito's smug expression dissolving into pure bafflement.
"What?! Don't make it sound like I'm a jinx! It would have been chaotic here with or without me!"
"I think they're right. Wherever Master appears, chaos follows."
A silver-haired figure in a maid uniform stepped into view in front of the group.
"Oh! Sakuya, you're back! How did things go?"
Kaito genuinely brightened at the sight of her return.
"I didn't fail. It's all here."
Sakuya produced a camera and handed it to Kaito.
As soon as they had arrived in the capital, Kaito had sent Sakuya ahead with the camera to film the Straw Hats fighting the Baroque Works agents. No particular reason. He simply wanted footage of the classic battles.
Kaito opened the camera, watched through the various battle scenes with a satisfied nod, and slipped it into his system space.
[Ding! Dimensional Gate fully charged. Begin anchoring world coordinates?]
'Oh, it's ready again. Go ahead, start anchoring.'
[Ding, anchoring world coordinates...]
[Ding, world coordinates successfully anchored! Based on Host's memory retrieval, the current world is "Girls' Last Tour." Host, would you like to begin crossing over?]
'Of all the worlds...'
Kaito stared at the result, genuinely surprised.
The first image that came to mind was two small girls riding a Kettenkrad through a grey, snow-covered wasteland.
The world of Girls' Last Tour was a simple one, in the way that a tragedy is simple.
A world devastated by years of war, life almost completely gone. The protagonists were two girls, somewhere between sixteen and eighteen years old. One named Chito, the other Yuuri. Together they moved through the spiraling layers of a ruined city, scrounging for supplies, trying to find a way up to the highest level.
Their grandfather had told them that people still lived up there, that it was something like a utopia.
In the final chapter of the manga, the two of them finally made it to the top.
It was completely white. Completely empty.
They looked at it, and quietly buried whatever they were feeling. After a long outburst of everything they had held back, they ate their last rations, held each other, and fell asleep in the snow.
"Looks like the savior is being dispatched again."
Kaito smiled quietly to himself, thinking about reaching those two in time.
"Kai-chan! What savior? Aren't you the Great Demon King?"
Milim looked at him with a puzzled tilt of her head.
"Milim, that is slander! Blatant slander! How could you call a morally upright young man like me a Great Demon King?!"
"You're the Demon King! Your whole family are Demon Kings!"
Kaito had apparently hit a nerve, because he jumped up at that.
Milim, watching him, planted her hands on her hips and declared at the top of her lungs:
"I am the Demon King! I am Demon King Milim! Wahahahahaha!!!"
"Uh... that's..."
Kaito pressed a hand to his forehead. He had miscalculated. He had forgotten, in the moment, that this one actually was a Demon King. The oldest one, at that.
"Alright, alright. You win."
"Kai-chan! Have you found a new world again?"
Rimuru's eyes lit up. She looked at him with an expression full of curiosity.
"You're the perceptive one as always. Yes. But this time Sakuya and I can handle it alone."
"There isn't much of value in that world. Have you heard of Girls' Last Tour?"
Rimuru searched her memory for a moment, then shook her head.
"Then it's probably an anime that doesn't exist in your world."
"Maybe so."
Rimuru nodded.
"Alright, let's go watch the touching reunion between father and daughter, and while we're at it, collect that reward from Vivi..."