The journey to Alubarna passed surprisingly smoothly. Nolan, draped lazily over Chopper's back like a particularly exhausted scarf, simply muttered, "Sky... shade please," and the heavens obliged. Thick clouds rolled in, blanketing their path in cool shadow.
Robin's eyes widened slightly - the only outward sign of her astonishment. "Remarkable," she murmured. "No unusual power, no visible effort... truly fascinating."
The Straw Hats, meanwhile, treated this meteorological miracle as completely ordinary. Usopp and Luffy were engaged in a heated debate about whether clouds could be eaten, while Zoro kept trying to doze off despite Sanji's constant kicks.
"Oi, Robin!" Luffy suddenly called out, scratching his nose. "What do you actually do?"
The abrupt question made Nami choke on her water. "Who are you and what have you done with our captain?"
Robin chuckled, adjusting her hat. "I study ancient civilizations and texts. An archaeologist, if you will."
Luffy's face scrunched up. "Arkee... ark..." He shook his head violently. "Nevermind! Sounds boring!"
Nolan let out a quiet snort of amusement from his perch.
Robin turned her attention to him, curiosity gleaming in her eyes. "And you, Mr. Sloth? Your looks seem almost supernatural. Some unique Devil Fruit perhaps?"
The crew perked up at this - they'd all been wondering the same thing.
Nolan took a long moment to respond, as if considering whether answering was worth the effort. "Nah," he finally drawled. "Just... won the genetic lottery, I guess."
The collective groan was immediate.
"UNFAIR!" Usopp wailed, clutching his face. "I had to train for years to look this handsome!"
Sanji kicked a rock in frustration. "All those skincare routines... wasted..."
Even Nami and Vivi exchanged glances, silently acknowledging their envy.
Robin, ever persistent, pressed further. "Might I examine your weapon? I'm quite curious about its mechanics."
To everyone's shock, Nolan casually tossed the gun her way without even looking up.
"WHAAAAT?!" Usopp's scream could probably be heard back in Rainbase. "That's it? Just 'here you go'? I begged for hours to see that thing!"
Nolan cracked one eye open. "Are you a beautiful woman?"
"...No."
"Then no."
Usopp collapsed to his knees, the injustice burning his soul. "This... this is discrimination! Gender bias! I'm filing a complaint!"
Vivi, meanwhile, had edged closer to Robin, both women carefully inspecting the weapon. "It looks so ordinary now," Vivi noted, running a finger along the barrel. "But when he fires it..."
Robin nodded, attempting to pull the trigger. Nothing happened. "Fascinating. It's completely inert in our hands."
Nolan yawned. "Gun's picky. Needs... understanding." He waved a vague hand. "History. Purpose. All that."
As they crested the final dune, the sobering sight of Alubarna's outskirts came into view - rows upon rows of rebel soldiers preparing for battle, their weapons glinting in the fading light.
"This... is more serious than I thought" Usopp scratched his nose while looking at the scene.
Before them stretched a nightmare panorama, Alubarna's gleaming white streets now ran red with rivulets of blood, the once-beautiful plazas transformed into charnel houses. The clang of steel against steel created a horrific symphony beneath the screams of the wounded.
Nami clutched a wooden stick with white-knuckled hands. "Vivi... your people..."
The princess stood frozen, tears streaming down her dust-streaked face as she watched countryman butcher countryman. A royal guardsman - someone she'd known since childhood - collapsed with three spears protruding from his back just fifty paces away.
The Straw Hats exchanged grim looks before turning in unison toward Nolan, who was rubbing sleep from his eyes against Chopper's fur. Their synchronized grins sent a chill down his spine.
"W-wait a minute..." Nolan's pink eyes darted between his crewmates. "That look never means anything good-"
"TIME TO EARN YOUR KEEP, SLEEPYHEAD!" Luffy declared, grabbing Nolan's collar as Zoro and Sanji each took an arm.
"Wah-?! Put me down! I'm not some kind of-"
"BEAUTY CANNON, DEPLOY!" Usopp shouted dramatically, pointing toward the central square where the fighting was thickest.
---
Rebel Camp - Front Lines
Commander Kozah wiped blood from his brow, his once-pristine uniform now tattered and stained. Every breath burned from the smoke and sand swirling through the air.
"Erik!" he coughed, grabbing his lieutenant's shoulder. "We need to break through to the palace before-"
A sudden hush fell over portions of the battlefield. Then another. And another. Like ripples in a pond, sections of clashing soldiers simply... stopped fighting.
Kozah watched in disbelief as a young rebel dropped his scimitar, tears in his eyes. "M-Major Farouk? You're... you're alive? But they said you ordered the massacre at the other town!"
The royal officer staggered back as if struck. "Nonsense! I was stationed at the western garrison all month!"
Similar scenes played out across the plaza. Old friends recognizing each other beneath battle grime. Neighbors lowering weapons in shock. The fog of war momentarily lifted by...
"Commander!" Erik pointed upward.
There, atop a crumbling minaret, stood a blue-haired figure silhouetted against the sun. Even at this distance, his presence struck like a physical force, an almost painful beauty that made hardened warriors catch their breath.
Nolan swayed slightly, clearly exhausted as he pulled back his hood. The Third Eye rifle hung limply in his grip, having discharged not bullets, but something far more powerful, truth.
"ROYAL GUARDS!" Nolan's voice carried unnaturally across the battlefield, smooth as honey yet impossible to ignore. "YOUR KING NEVER INITIATED THE DROUGHT! DON'T DOUBT HIM!"
A veteran captain clutched his chest. "That voice... it's like my late wife's-"
"REBELS!" Nolan continued, sweat dripping down his pale face. "YOU ALL WERE FOOLED! EVERYTHING IS PLANNED BY SOMEONE, THE KING YOU SAW BEFORE WAS A MERE IMITATOR!"
The battlefield descended into chaos of a different kind - not violence, but desperate verification. Weapons clattered to the ground as soldiers rushed to check claims, compare stories, uncover the web of lies that had brought them to this point.
---
Palace Gates
Crocodile's fist shattered a marble column as he watched through a spyglass. "That... INTERLOPER!" Sand swirled violently around him. "How DARE he interfere with years of planning!"
Beside him, Mr. 1 frowned. "Boss, we are almost finished, should we-"
"ABANDON THE PROTOCOL!" Crocodile roared. "If they want a villain to unite against, I'll give them one they'll never forget!"
The warlord's body dissolved into a swirling sandstorm that darkened the sky, his laughter echoing across the suddenly hushed city. Every eye turned upward as the true architect of their suffering revealed himself at last.
Luffy cracked his knuckles, his straw hat casting a shadow over determined eyes. "Alright. Now it's our turn."
Nolan collapsed backward into Robin's waiting arms, completely spent. "Nap time..." he murmured before relaxing under Robin's warm embrace.
---