Alex stares at the minister, finally having made some progress.

Good... hatred and rage always make people talk. It feels good to take revenge, doesn’t it?

The minister's face, filled with unfiltered hatred, his mind taken over by rage, he immediately decides to confess.

“The Mirda trading company on Polka Street… the king is kept there, along with some agents, protected by elite Billions. Just go south from the palace, it’s close to the center of the city, south of the marketplace, the largest building with a white carpet on its entrance—you can’t miss it. The agents were ordered to keep him alive as Mr. 0 has plans for him. He also asked the agents in charge to constantly ask him about Pluto, though I don’t know what it is.”

“Last chance…” Alex says, his voice icy cold. “One more lie and that’s it.”

“Huh?” the minister asks, now clearly confused. “I didn’t lie! This is all I—”

Suddenly, Alex beheads him, pulling his sword towards the right, the opening disappearing, replaced by the sharp edge of his blade. He easily slices off his head, not showing any sign of hesitation or doubt.

You have dealt 215 x 3 = 645 damage to Minister Viper

You have killed Minister Viper

“Too bad. I don’t believe you…” Alex says in a cold voice, staring down at the body. “Not even a chest… worthless.”

“You… you bastard!” Luffy yells, punching towards Alex’s face.

Alex, his SNS letting him easily see the attack, catches his fist mid-swing, using his AGI to catch it and his STR to kill any remaining motion.

I’ve truly grown stronger... this kind of attack, even by someone like Luffy, isn’t really much. It’s like dealing with an angry child.

Alex sighs and explains himself. “I don’t have the resources to take him as a prisoner. This guy is orchestrating a civil war that has already killed a lot of people and will kill even more. Letting him go will, without a doubt, kill even more people later down the road. It could also alarm our enemies.”

He pauses, his face growing serious. “That’s what I’d argue if I were a rational man. In truth, he just pissed me off, and I despise scum like him.” Alex’s grip tightens slightly, causing Luffy’s fist to shake, as the rubber hand caves in. “If you do not agree with me, knock me out or have me arrested—though I suspect you are not strong enough to do that, and shouldn’t you have other priorities right now? So let’s move on and save the king, whom this guy was ordered to torture to get the information Crocodile seeks.”

“…”

Without saying anything, Luffy pulls back his fist, rubbing it with his other hand, as it slowly transforms back into its original shape, the rubber rebounding.

Paying no more attention to him, Alex rushes forward, the Straw Hat following him, his eyes filled with doubt.

They quickly dart through the palace, knocking out a few patrols before exiting and rushing down the colossal set of stairs leading into the city.

By now, Alex sees a cloud of smoke—battles taking place not just outside, but at the southern entrance of the city as well.

“What… what is happening?” Luffy asks, staring toward the chaos. “It was so peaceful just a while ago.”

“War never changes,” Alex replies, surprising himself with his own cynical attitude, vaguely smiling at the reference.

Did I always spurt out this kind of black humor? Though it could indeed be way more epic than this silly civil war. Well... beggars can’t be choosers.

“This… Crocodile, I won’t forgive you!” Luffy yells angrily.

“Oh, so you will kill him?” Alex asks, smiling. “Since he’s responsible for all this, you won’t spare him, right?”

“I… I’ll beat him up!” Luffy says reluctantly.

Figures…. You may do what you deem fit, but I won’t be satisfied until I kill that guy and loot whatever kind of chest he has to offer.

“…Your call. Who am I to argue?” Alex says with a shrug, then keeps moving. “Anyway, I know Polka Street. It’s in the south of the city.”

As Alex and Luffy rush through the city, they see multiple defense lines of Arabasta soldiers, all staring at them in confusion as they notice them approach.

“Stop!” one of them yells, raising his weapon.

Alex and Luffy just vault over the line and move on without slowing down, the soldiers deciding not to break formation, instantly giving up any thought of chasing them.

Running through the familiar marketplace just under the palace, Alex stares around him. Smoke everywhere, and thousands of soldiers are kicking up enough dust to cloud the entire city in a light, gritty layer of haze.

“Fuck…” Alex mutters. “This is rough.”

I hope everyone else is okay. This is more chaotic than I thought. I need to believe in them….

If things go wrong, I hope they’ll just flee, as we talked about. Tereza can fly away and carry Benezia with her. Menchi will be safe in the first place, and Jewel is a master of stealth and escaping.

As they exit the marketplace and sprint south onto Polka Street, they are suddenly opposed by a dozen men and women wearing white uniforms.

“What the?!” Alex blurts out. “Marines?”

Why are they here? I know some of them interfered… but this is too early!It’s best if we talk ourselves out of this mess, or they might even hunt us or think we’re involved in the civil war.

“You there. You are suspicious. Stop, right now,” one Marine says, wearing a robe-like uniform with a large kanji on it.

Justice… so this is at least an Ensign. I hate these fucking hypocrites.

“How am I suspicious? I just want to go home to my poor grandmother. She needed her medicine, some tea, and food. Please let me go, officer,” Alex pleads, spreading his hands like he’s harmless.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Your mask! You are clearly suspicious!” the Marine officer yells, pointing his finger at Alex.

“My face is hideously injured. I fell into an acid trap long ago,” Alex lies without hesitation.

“Men!” the officer orders, and all of his soldiers draw their guns and aim at Alex and Luffy.

“Surrender now. This is your last chance!” he threatens again, his voice filled with anger and frustration.

“Hehe, no way, idiot,” Luffy says, smirking.

“Fire!” the officer yells, his eyes going cold.

Luffy steps forward, stretching out his arms, shielding Alex, causing almost all bullets to slam into him.

Standing behind him, Alex sees the bullets hit Luffy with enough force that they yank parts of his body back, making the targeted areas stretch backwards unnaturally.

A second later, they bounce back and whip forward, and the Marines panic as they get bombarded by their own bullets.

“That’s Straw Hat Luffy!” one of the Marines yells. “Arrest him!”

“We don’t have time!” Alex yells. “Just run!”

He gathers his Aura under his feet and leaps onto a nearby balcony, his high STR and NEN stats letting him clear the height with ease. From there, he jumps again, landing on the roof.

Luffy stretches out his hands, grabs the nearby roof edge, and slings himself up as well.

Together, they continue along the street—but run across the rooftops, jumping from building to building every few seconds.

The Marines keep firing, but the shots miss.

Suddenly, Alex feels an impact on his chest, but he smiles as he receives no damage.

You have received no damage

The system does not display an Armor stat, but my armor is of high quality! No way a simple round bullet, fired from a primitive weapon like that, can punch through—especially at such a high distance.

If I were wearing a robe, I’d have received damage. That’s the difference between items... the most important items that simply can’t be quantified are kept hidden, but they do exist!

Running as fast as they can—jumping and climbing over any obstacle—Alex sees that the Marines have finally given up chasing them.

Suddenly, he notices a large building with a white carpet painted on its front side.

“Stop, Luffy!” Alex yells towards Luffy, who’s also flinging himself towards the next building.

“What?!” Luffy yells, crashing against the building a moment later as he turns his head towards Alex, thus not being able to look forward.

“We’re here!” Alex notes, pointing to the other side of the road.

Alex carefully jumps down from the roof, making sure not to botch his landing, his high PHY allowing him to easily withstand the drop.

As he tries to open the door, he finds it locked.

Heh...

“Open up, FBI!” Alex yells, violently kicking the door in, using Ko to gather all of his Aura on his right foot.

As Alex lands his attack, the door doesn’t just spring open—it explodes into splinters, getting blown to pieces.

Inside, Alex sees a group of shocked men staring at him, their faces full of panic.

Alex doesn’t hesitate, activates Ren and draws his smaller, more maneuverable [Draining Meteor Sword], while also conjuring Mustrano’s Malice Mauler.

Reacting as fast as he can, Alex presses forward, stabbing his sword into one enemy and piercing it straight through his stomach.

You have dealt 75 damage to Billions Agent

You have caused bleeding

Billions Agent has lost 3% of his maximum resources

He then drives Mustrano into another, aiming for the throat—Mustrano, as if guided by fate itself, piercing right through the center of it, instantly killing the agent.

You have dealt 67 x 3 = 201 damage to Billions Agent

You have killed Billions Agent

“Hehe, always wanted to do that,” Alex says.

Now to finish it...!