Between Two Worlds: Nen and Haki

"Ifrit, I have said it many times! I have never used Dance Powder. The drought in this country was investigated long ago; it was the secret work of Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords. His only goal was to steal our nation. Stop being so deluded!"

King Cobra had naturally arrived at the city walls early on.

Standing with the Royal Army in person, Cobra heard the shouting from the man ahead and immediately shouted back in rebuttal.

Ever since Vivi returned to Alabasta, she had already told Cobra everything regarding Crocodile and Baroque Works.

This wasn't even the first time Cobra had offered such an explanation.

However...

"What nonsense! Sir Crocodile is the hero of our nation! He has wiped out countless pirates for us! Now, just to keep your throne, you would actually slander a hero? You are absolutely despicable!"

Ifrit, the new leader of the rebel army and a plant Crocodile had previously embedded within them, didn't flinch. He retorted even louder with righteous indignation.

'Lord Crocodile... Crocodile is already dead. Now I'm the one in charge. As long as I can overthrow this old man Cobra, I can become the new King of Alabasta.'

Beneath his shouting was an ambitious, cold smirk.

"Sir Zane, my father is already with the Royal Army. If you need any arrangements, I will contact him immediately to coordinate with you."

Seeing Ifrit's stubbornness below, Vivi—unaware that the man was a plant Crocodile had placed—sought Zane's help in a fit of anger.

Glancing at her, Zane's gaze returned to the hundreds of thousands of rebels outside the walls.

"Vivi, how long do you think it will take to suppress these hundreds of thousands of rebels?" Zane asked suddenly.

Though surprised by the sudden question, Vivi thought for a moment before answering honestly, "With your strength, Sir Zane, I imagine it would take a month or two at most!"

A month or two to suppress hundreds of thousands of rebels.

This was Vivi's perception of Zane's power.

And that was even considering the assistance of the Royal Army.

Otherwise...

"Vivi, aren't you underestimating our Captain a little? Numbers are meaningless before him." Nico Robin, who had been listening to their conversation, let out an elegant chuckle upon hearing Vivi's answer.

The rebel army was massive, numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

To an ordinary person, such military might was terrifying.

But to Nico Robin, who understood Zane, a rebel army of this scale wasn't even worth mentioning.

Numbers were meaningless?

Robin's chuckle left Vivi stunned, and even the Straw Hat Pirates, who had been eavesdropping, wore expressions of shock.

"He's bluffing, right? Even with a ten-billion bounty, it's impossible for one person to defeat an army of hundreds of thousands."

Usopp, unable to outargue Nami, cowered behind Zoro. As a master of tall tales, he judged others by his own standards and couldn't help but mutter with a pout.

'Is this guy really that strong? Even Hawkeye would probably find it difficult to handle an army of hundreds of thousands.'

Zoro stared at Zane, his brow furrowed.

'What an arrogant assessment. I wonder if it's true or false.'

Sanji lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. As he exhaled a cloud of smoke, he sized Zane up with an inquisitive gaze.

'How terrifying. Is this what a ten-billion bounty represents?'

Nami shrunk her neck, but she couldn't help stealing a glance at Zane.

"Hey! I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the man who's going to be King of the Pirates! How did you get your bounty so high?"

Standing in front of Nami, Luffy suddenly put his hands on his hips and shouted directly at Zane.

"Hey!!!"

The rest of the Straw Hat Crew and Vivi were startled, their eyes widening as they looked at Luffy.

Nami was so anxious she grabbed Luffy by the neck, as if trying to stuff the words he'd just shouted back into his throat.

"It's simple. You just need enough strength!" Turning to look at Luffy, who was still looking at him defiantly despite being throttled, Zane suddenly laughed.

Pushing off slightly with his feet, Zane soared into the air, appearing dozens of meters above the city walls.

Rumble: Thunder Wing Sky Drive!

Magnificent wings of lightning unfurled from his back, making Zane look like a god descending upon the mortal world.

Thunder Treasury!

The third eye on his forehead opened. In a majestic posture like a deity gracing the world, Zane spread his arms wide.

A curtain of lightning spread across the void. One by one, weapons of lightning condensed and instantly bombarded the dense mass of rebels below.

The first to be hit was Ifrit, who had been arguing with Cobra.

With no time to react, the man was instantly reduced to charcoal by a bolt of lightning, leaving only a crater where he had stood.

Then came the members of the rebel army who also belonged to Baroque Works, along with other ambitious troublemakers.

Zane had always been a thorough man.

After the agreement reached between Vivi and Nico Robin, he had already begun to view Alabasta as his territory.

Whether by listening with his Observation Haki or peering with his God's Eye, he found the truth.

He easily identified who in the rebel army had been coerced into joining and who were the true traitors.

The former could be forgiven; the latter had to be eliminated.

Boom, boom, boom!

It was like a sweeping storm of ten thousand thunderbolts.

Bolts of lightning weaponry fell into the crowd, immediately triggering a continuous chain of explosions, making the traitors vanish from the world one after another.

"Is this... a god?"

"Lightning? How can a human possess such power?"

"You've got to be kidding me!!"

"..."

Mid-bombardment, the crowd finally reacted.

On the side of the rebel army, facing the barrage of lightning weaponry, they didn't even think of resisting; they immediately fell into utter chaos.

Within Alubarna.

Many watched in awe as Zane unfurled his lightning wings. Some were so moved they knelt in excitement, as if worshipping a god descending to earth.

On the city walls.

Vivi, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, and Nami—all of them had their mouths hanging open in disbelief.

'Now, have a nice long sleep.'

The lightning bombardment didn't last long. Having finished purging the traitors, Zane looked down at the hundreds of thousands of remaining rebels, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Boom!!!

Accompanying the sweeping lightning was a surge of Conqueror's Haki that seemed capable of shattering the very air.

It was like a violent gale sweeping across the land.

The near-tangible pressure swept over the hundreds of thousands of rebels like a tidal wave.

Everywhere the pressure passed, members of the rebel army rolled their eyes back and collapsed into unconsciousness.

In just a few breaths, not a single one of the hundreds of thousands of rebels outside Alubarna remained standing.

Closing his God's Eye and dispersing his lightning wings, Zane descended from the sky and landed calmly between Nico Robin and Vivi.

"Alright, have your people go out and clear the battlefield. I've already dealt with the problematic figures among the rebels. The rest were just coerced. You can focus on comforting and reintegrating them now."

Looking at Vivi, whose mouth was still agape in total shock, Zane chuckled and reached out to pinch her pure, youthful face.