At the peak of Alubarna's massive clock tower, the turning gears sounded like a countdown from the Reaper itself. Every click-clack hammered against Usopp's heart.
Usopp, Chopper, and the now-defected sausage-dog gun, Lassoo, were the first to arrive. Though they had successfully defeated the pair of agents guarding the tower (Mr. 7 and Miss Father's Day), they were now faced with an even deeper despair.
The massive bomb, capable of obliterating everything within a five-kilometer radius, was on a mechanical timer! The ignition device was designed with such intricate precision, encased deep within a heavy shell, that any attempt at forceful dismantling would trigger the fuse instantly.
"AAAAHHH!! We're gonna die!! We're gonna die!!" Chopper shrieked, seeing the countdown drop below one minute. He collapsed, snot and tears streaming down his face.
He rushed to the railing, crying out to the tiny figure desperately shouting below the clock: "VIVI-SANN!! RUN!! THERE'S NO WAY TO STOP IT! IT'S GONNA EXPLODE!!"
Beside him, Lassoo the dachshund was trembling on all fours. Having been threatened by Usopp's hammer—"Either be my pet or become scrap metal"—the dog had submitted to the Long-Nosed God out of pure survival instinct, letting out a mournful "wuu-wuu."
"SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU, SHUT UP!" Usopp's face was drenched in sweat, his hands shaking as he gripped a screwdriver and pliers. He was trying to find a sliver of hope within the complex clockwork.
"You can do this... Usopp... you're a brave warrior of the sea..." "Calm down... just snip this wire..."
SNAP!
A screw sheared off, and the countdown actually jumped forward by a second.
"AAAAHHH!! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!! YOU IDIOT USOPP!!" Usopp clutched his head in a total breakdown, his tools clattering to the floor. "Waaaaah! I can't do it! I'm a sniper, not a bomb disposal expert!!"
Thirty seconds remained. In the plaza below, hundreds of thousands of Royal Army and Rebel soldiers were still locked in a blood-frenzied slaughter, completely unaware that the Reaper's scythe was poised above their heads.
"EVERYONE!! PLEASE STOP FIGHTING!!!" Vivi stood beneath the tower, screaming until her voice cracked. But her voice was too small, instantly swallowed by the deafening roar of cannons and war cries.
In that moment of absolute hopelessness—
WHOOSH—
A white silhouette tore through the sky and landed atop the clock tower. It was Pell the Falcon, the Vice-Commander of the Royal Guard, battered and bloodied. He looked at Usopp, who was still trying to dismantle the bomb through a veil of tears, and a flash of gratitude crossed his eyes.
"There is no more time, outlander." Pell clutched his wounds, his voice calm and gentle. "Thank you... for everything you have done for this country."
"Eh?" Usopp froze.
In the next heartbeat, Pell's muscles swelled, his arms transforming into wide, powerful wings as he shifted into his massive Falcon form.
Without a single trace of hesitation, the Guardian Deity of Alubarna extended his sharp talons, gripped the massive timed bomb, and dived out of the tower.
"HEY!! BIG BIRD! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!" Usopp screamed over the railing, a long trail of snot hanging from his nose.
Pell didn't look back. Gripping the dying sphere of death, he put every last ounce of his strength into his wings, soaring straight into the heavens.
In the rushing wind, Pell looked down at the city he had protected his whole life, and at Princess Vivi, whom he had carried on his back since she was a child.
"Princess Vivi..." Pell's lips curved into a smile of quiet resignation. "Serving the Nefertari family... has been the greatest honor of my life."
5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Pell became a mere speck against the high altitude.
"BOOOOOOOOM!!!!"
A massive fireball, brighter than the sun, suddenly erupted in the skies above Alubarna. The terrifying blast shattered the clouds, sending a violent shockwave sweeping across the horizon. For a moment, the entire city was bleached white by the light of this second sun.
Everyone stopped. They looked up, dazed, at the horrific light in the sky.
Pell...
The aftermath of the explosion blew away the haze that had hung over the city. But though the bomb was gone, the people remained in a state of frenzied confusion, weapons still raised, the momentum of slaughter carrying them forward.
At the edge of the Palace Plaza— Flash.
A dark shadow landed. Viktor, carrying the unconscious King Cobra on his shoulder, Robin in one hand, and Luffy tucked under his arm, landed firmly on the ground. He set them down and looked up at the fading fire in the sky and the still-parched earth.
"That was... Pell? Damn, I was a step too late." Viktor's eyes flickered. He glanced at the staring, hostile crowds. "Crocodile is gone, and the Dance Powder's control over the weather should be fading..."
Viktor felt the water molecules beginning to stir in the atmosphere. A smirk touched his lips. "In that case, I'll give it one last push."
Viktor took a deep breath and stepped onto a high platform overlooking the plaza. He slammed his hands together, his fingers flying through an incredibly complex series of seals.
The chakra within his body surged like a floodgate opening; this time, he mobilized every drop of his remaining energy without reservation.
He looked up at the clouds roiling from the explosion's shockwave.
"COME DOWN!!" "Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!!!!"
ROOOOOOAR————!!!
It wasn't an attack. A gargantuan water dragon, dozens of meters in diameter, erupted from Viktor's mouth. It roared and wound its way into the high sky.
Upon reaching the clouds, the dragon didn't fall; instead, it burst into a massive mist of water vapor, acting as the perfect condensation nuclei.
This instantly triggered the rain clouds that had been building for years but were unable to break.
The sky turned dark. One drop. Two drops. Cool liquid fell onto the face of a soldier who thought he was going to burn to death.
"This is..."
SPLASHHHH!!!!!
A torrential downpour, like the heavens themselves had broken, fell without warning! This rain didn't just douse the fires of war; it extinguished the blinded madness and hatred in the people's hearts.
"Rain...?" "IT'S RAIN!!!" "IT'S REALLY RAINING!!!"
A Rebel soldier reached out with trembling hands, catching the water and bringing it to his parched lips. The long-lost sweetness brought him to tears. "The water of Yuba... it's back!!"
The rain hammered down, washing away the blood and the vengeance from the earth. Within this curtain of water, Vivi finally climbed to the top of the clock tower.
She grabbed the intact megaphone. Her voice, which had been drowned by war, finally rang out clearly across the plaza, accompanied by the rhythm of the rain:
"EVERYONE!!!!" Vivi's voice carried a sob, yet vibrated with the power of rebirth. "STOP FIGHTING!!!" "THE NIGHTMARE IS OVER!!" "THE BATTLE... IS FINISHED!!!!"
CLANG. A longsword fell onto the wet cobblestones. Then a second, then a third...
Countless soldiers and rebels dropped their weapons. They fell to their knees in the rain, looking at the "enemies" beside them—only to realize they were their own countrymen, neighbors, even family.
"Waaaaah..." Crying broke out in the rain. People embraced, their tears mixing with the downpour, washing away three years of suffering and sin.
The nightmare of Alabasta had finally reached its end in a long-awaited rain.
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