Haki swept past like a violent gale and towering waves, slamming into the bodies and minds of everyone present.
The next moment.
The bounty hunters disguised as ordinary residents instantly rolled their eyes back. Foaming at the mouth, they collapsed unconscious to the ground.
A continuous series of heavy thuds echoed out.
In just a brief moment, hundreds of people laid strewn across the ground of the crowded pier.
"This... This...!"
Igaram watched this scene unfold with a face twisted by absolute shock.
To his senses, it felt as though a gentle breeze had merely blown past before all these people collapsed and lost consciousness.
Just what kind of terrifying ability was this?
Beside him, Princess Vivi stared at Lius with her large eyes shining with a peculiar light.
"Hey, hey, hey! Stop right there, you disgusting bastard!"
Ace yelled out while scrambling up from the ground to chase after Gem who was fleeing frantically into the distance.
"And you with the umbrella, stop right there!" Nami shouted with the commanding presence of a gang boss while brushing her bangs aside.
She stomped hard on the ground right after speaking. The air let out a sharp swish, and she vanished from her spot.
"Heat Haze!"
Flames erupted from the young man's arm as he shot a pillar of fire from his palm. The blast landed right in front of the escaping duo, exploding into a sky-filling sea of flames.
He chased after them at the same time and threw a heavy punch forward.
Boom!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Less than ten seconds passed.
The duo returned shortly after. They were each carrying a person, tossing their captives directly in front of Lius.
"Damn it, don't just issue orders so casually next time!" he finally processed what had happened and muttered a dissatisfied protest at his captain.
"These two are both devil fruit users," Nami remarked with a heavy sigh. "I didn't expect us to run into ability users right after entering the Grand Line!"
Gem and Mikita had already lost all ability to resist. Hearing those words filled their faces with utter humiliation.
They felt a sense of relief in their hearts upon remembering that their opponents were the strongest pirates of the East Blue.
"I know who you are," the captive man looked up at Lius and spoke with a humble tone. "You're the strongest pirates of the East Blue. The news has been all about you these past few days!"
He glared fiercely at Igaram as he spoke. "We never wanted to clash with you. We simply wanted to deal with these two traitors."
"You actually dared to sell out the boss! Not only will you get yourselves killed, but you'll also drag us down with you!"
"I hope the three of you think this through," the stylish blonde woman wearing a hat added from the side. "It'd be best if you didn't interfere with our organization's internal affairs!"
They never had any intention of targeting Lius and his crew from the very beginning. They merely wanted to eliminate the two traitors, Igaram and Vivi.
They had no idea why the duo had betrayed them. However, attempting to expose the boss's identity was an unforgivable crime.
That alone was reason enough for them to be executed!
"What about you two? Do you have anything to say?"
Lius lowered his gaze to look down at the two kneeling figures. "We won't involve ourselves in your organization's affairs for no reason unless you offer us a compelling enough incentive," he stated calmly.
"Also, stand up. Don't make me keep looking down at you!"
A wave of inexplicable relief and pleasant surprise washed over the two agents upon hearing those words.
The expressions on Igaram and Vivi drastically shifted in contrast. Their eyes filled with an unspeakable terror, leaving them hesitant and struggling to find their words.
Igaram eventually pulled the princess up to her feet.
"Look me in the eyes," Lius instructed further.
His voice was not loud, but his tone carried an undeniable authority that left no room for refusal.
"Don't scare the poor girl!" Nami could not bear to watch this and chimed in with a quick reminder.
Ace remained off to the side, taking on the role of a silent onlooker.
He still had not quite figured out what exactly was going on here.
Igaram took a deep breath, casting a sidelong glance at their two pursuers as he spoke in a hushed voice. "Sir, I hope the matters I'm about to disclose will remain strictly between us!"
"You two, come with me. I'm going to look for supplies!"
Ace dragged the two captives away before his captain could even say a word.
He had absolutely zero interest in dealing with such complicated matters.
"We hail from Alabasta. We infiltrated this organization to save our homeland."
"A mysterious woman called us yesterday. She told us that if we happened to encounter your crew, it might just be the opportunity we needed to save our country..."
Igaram continued to recount his tale.
Lius and Nami finally gained a rough understanding of the entire situation and its underlying causes.
It was exactly as Lius remembered from the original history.
Warlord Crocodile had arrived in Alabasta and was secretly plotting to usurp the country.
The kingdom's princess had disguised herself as a special agent and infiltrated Baroque Works to save her homeland. Her goal was to secure concrete evidence of Crocodile's treacherous schemes.
Igaram had sworn an oath to protect the royal princess with his life and followed her into the criminal syndicate.
The duo had managed to infiltrate the organization smoothly enough, but they were forced to start from the very bottom. After a month of hard work, they were finally transferred to Whiskey Peak just a few days ago.
They initially believed they would have to waste a considerable amount of time here before earning a chance to get closer to their elusive boss.
But that all changed when a mysterious woman called them last night.
"She said that if the three of you passed through here, and we truly wished to save our country, we could plead for your assistance!"
"I don't know why she pointed us to you!"
"But since you three really did enter the Grand Line through this island, I believe this must be fate. I beg of you, please save our country!"
Tears streamed down the older man's face as he reached the end of his plea, his tone incredibly humble and desperate.
"I'll agree to whatever you want as long as you can save my country!" the Princess of Alabasta cried out. "I'll do everything in my power to fulfill your demands no matter the cost!"
The fourteen-year-old girl stared at Lius and Nami with her large, tear-filled eyes, pleading with raw desperation.
"Any price?" Nami snapped her head toward the girl, her eyes practically morphing into beli symbols.
"Uhm~ I'll do my absolute best to satisfy your demands..."
"Then we'll do it for one billion beli!"
"..."
The faces of both Alabasta natives immediately turned green.
They were more than willing to agree in principle, but promising one billion beli was simply not a demand they had the authority to accept.
"I'm much more curious about that mysterious woman who contacted you than any monetary reward!"
Lius rubbed his chin with his eyebrows slightly furrowed.
It was not hard to imagine who it was. There was likely only one person capable of doing something like this.
It was the very person he had been planning to recruit as his next crew member!
She was also the only archaeologist in this entire world who could read and decipher the Poneglyphs!