Leaving Alabasta was, naturally, because the matter had been settled.
Rewind the clock to two days before the news broke.
The transaction in Alabasta had come to a complete end.
In Robin's report,the senior agents of Baroque Works that had been dispatched—along with Nami, Nojiko, and Zoro—had all executed their missions beautifully.
As each key point in the massive network was systematically taken down, changes followed like ripples in the sand.
The entire Baroque Works organization was like a towering fortress made of stacked blocks.
Its foundational beams were being pulled out one by one.
The only reason it hadn't yet collapsed was due to its sheer size—but inertia could only keep it standing for so long.
Robin, ever decisive, accelerated the pace by handing over a thick list of personnel to the royal family.
The first phase of cleansing began in the capital itself.
Holding the list, Igaram watched Robin's departing figure with a conflicted expression.
After learning about this woman's past, everyone in the royal palace understood well the disaster that had once befallen Alabasta—
—and how at least one-third of it could be traced back to Robin.
Even so,
Igaram said nothing. He was a soldier, not a policymaker.
His resentment and hatred toward Robin would not translate into reckless action.
But—
The same could not be said for those Baroque Works agents who had been abandoned.
The royal guards burst openly into the mansions scattered across the capital, arresting people according to the names on the list.
Some had hired bodyguards and tried to resist.
Igaram answered them with the miniature cannons hidden in his hair.
For several days, explosions and fires left the capital in chaos, but once the royal family stepped forward to explain and reveal the conspiracy,
the desert citizens began to cheer for the miserable downfall of those who had sold their country for profit.
"I knew the king would never do such a thing! So all those rumors—it was you scoundrels after all!"
The Baroque Works agents stationed in the capital soon learned what it meant to face the wrath of the desert's people.
Countless residents joined the purge, determined to cleanse the capital completely!
And the capital was only the beginning.
Once those twisted parasites were cut down by royal authority, similar events began to unfold across the kingdom.
At this stage, the total eradication of Baroque Works was merely a matter of time.
Of course—
This development did not escape the notice of the higher-ranking agents.
Among those who acted as the organization's sharpest blades, the one with the keenest intellect—Galdino—was the first to sense something amiss.
He went to confirm things with people he trusted.
And soon uncovered a terrifying truth.
Baroque Works was walking toward its death—and the one who set it on this path was their very own BOSS!
It sounded absurd, but the evidence was undeniable.
Naturally, knowing this didn't mean Galdino understood everything that had happened.
He was missing too many pieces. Much of the crucial intelligence had been sealed off by higher clearance levels.
So,when he convinced Marianne and happened to run into Mikita, he gave an example:
"If the company were functioning normally, why would someone I personally know to be reliable be marked by you, Mikita, as a target for elimination?"
After realizing something was seriously wrong, the three of them began investigating other missions—
—and found the same pattern everywhere.
Under Robin's manipulation, senior agents and field operatives had been cross-assigned to assassinate each other's networks.
It was complicated, but in short—
Galdino's analysis led to a grim conclusion:
they were slaughtering one another without even realizing it!
Mikita's first instinct was that "Miss All Sunday" had gone rogue, and she wanted to return to Nanohana to report.
But Galdino was certain that Ren was not the real boss anymore.
Whoever had taken control of Baroque Works had used means far beyond his comprehension, seizing the reins of the organization and driving it mercilessly into self-destruction!
Marianne chose to believe him.
Mikita, meanwhile, thought of her missing partner—one for whom Miss All Sunday had never given a proper explanation.
While chaos grew, "Miss All Sunday," acting under the Baroque Works name, issued an urgent summons to all surviving agents scattered across the kingdom:
Gather in Nanohana to discuss how to counter the purge.
When they received that order,
Galdino made a simple decision—he grabbed his things and ran.
He persuaded Marianne and Mikita to flee with him.
Because everything about the situation reeked of a trap.
Perhaps ordinary members, confused and desperate, would follow orders blindly.
But veteran agents like them knew the company never operated this sloppily.
"Nanohana is a trap," Galdino declared firmly. "Someone will be waiting there—someone we cannot possibly defeat.
Either it's Ren, who killed Crocodile and now intends to erase Baroque Works itself…
or it's a mysterious figure who can kill Ren, seized the organization, and forced Miss All Sunday to cooperate!"
That reasoning—and their own findings—was more than enough to convince the other two.
For instance,the commanding officer at Whiskey Peak was named Vivi, a very beautiful young woman.
And the Alabastan royal family had a missing princess named Vivi—
—just as beautiful.
Coincidentally, the two looked exactly the same.
Mikita even recalled seeing that same girl once at a tower hotel.
At that point, no further proof was needed. The only option left was to run.
Meanwhile, Robin, realizing something was off, used Revolutionary Army channels to locate the trio.
But she didn't send assassins.
Following Ren's instructions, she sent them a Den Den Mushi.
Robin's control over Baroque Works had waned with the collapse of its structure, but Galdino and the others had been far too conspicuous.
She reported the matter immediately to Ren.
Ren was slightly surprised—but found it understandable.
"Third Brother" wasn't stupid; he'd just been blindsided by an information gap.
Given time and the right signs, anyone that sharp would notice the inconsistencies.
Ren contacted Bonney—or more precisely, the Revolutionary Army behind her—and made arrangements.
He wanted to ensure that Galdino didn't do anything rash.
A man with brains like that would be much more useful under the Revolution's banner.
Thus, Bonney's voice came through the Den Den Mushi,
inviting the trio to join the Revolutionary Army and escape Ren's subsequent purge.
It was a delicate proposition.
The three exchanged uneasy looks, unsure of how to decide—
—but at least they had a choice.
The rest of Baroque Works wasn't so fortunate.
As Robin's plan advanced, those agents who'd noticed something wrong but still obeyed the company's summons had all gathered near the outskirts of Nanohana.
Warehouses lined the city's edge—perfectly hidden, yet all within striking range.
That day, rain fell again upon Nanohana.
The Magical Clima-Tact, channeling mana, stirred the skies into turbulence—transforming gentle drizzle into a swelling tempest.
White clouds gave way to rolling black thunderheads, and the heavens grew dim and oppressive.
From afar, the horizon seemed to tremble with the onset of a storm.
Bolts of silver serpents slithered across the heavens, their thunder shaking the world.
Gales howled and sheets of rain lashed through the city, prompting cheers from the citizens below.
But—
Joy was not shared by all.
For those Baroque Works members confined within the warehouses, the storm felt more like an omen.
Everything had changed too fast. The almighty company they once served now seemed fractured beyond repair.
Bound to its bloody chariot, there was no getting off.
And anyone who had tried had long since vanished.
Now, all they could do was cling to the hope that the meeting called by "Miss All Sunday" would somehow change their fate.
In truth—Ren did intend to change their fate… from life to death.
High above the storm-torn clouds where no eye could reach, Ren hovered beneath the thunderheads, wrapped in a mantle of lightning.
His form was shrouded in crackling radiance as he entered the state of the Armor of Glory—
—and unfurled six wings behind him.
The first pair belonged to the armor itself—decorative, but grand.
The second pair were Phantom Wings created by the Phantom Wing Flight technique, normally violet but now turned gold by the armor's aura.
The third pair were Mutated Elytra, whose adaptive nature caused them to glow with a golden sheen as well.
He had become a six-winged angel.
And he wasn't here to show off—he was testing the Elytra's capabilities.
If this experiment succeeds… should I call it the Thunder Jet? Ren mused as he raised his hand.
The lightning spears dancing through the storm converged upon him, gathering into a single colossal column of light.
BOOM!
Thunder roared—but the warehouses below were not obliterated.
The divine bolt had struck Ren himself—
—or rather, his third pair of wings. The Elytra's indestructibility and the Thunder Spirit's precise control allowed the violent energy to be absorbed and refined.
The heavenly thunder was drawn in at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Then—
Energy Conversion!
Countless blades of lightning materialized around the six-winged angel, their gleaming edges aimed downward like instruments of judgment.
Inside the warehouses, the waiting agents—restless and uncertain—finally stepped outside, drawn by the deafening roar.
When they looked up, their breath froze.
Their minds went blank, seized by primal terror.
Above them, thousands of thunderblades hung suspended in the heavens—
—a spectacle of divine retribution.
"What… is that?"
Someone whispered. No one answered.
Only the six-winged angel stared down coldly, his descending hand delivering the decree of death.
"I shall command the thunder to shake the lands beyond!"
Ren recalled the line from a tale he'd once read—and swung his hand down like a blade.
No sword cry, no warning—only the wrath of thunder tearing apart the darkened sky.
Beams of light rained down in torrents of destruction.
In an instant,those who had stepped outside vanished within the storm, their lives devoured by lightning, leaving behind only scorched remains.
Within seconds,the endless blades of thunder shredded the warehouses, bestowing equal annihilation upon every Baroque Works member within.
By the fifth second,the thunder ceased. Below lay nothing but smoldering ruins—
—and thousands of charred corpses.
Even the few who had survived the first strike were trapped within the electric graveyard Ren had prepared for them.
Far beyond the rain,
Zoro strode across the battlefield, blade in hand, his killing intent rising like a storm of its own.
At his flank, Nojiko rode a massive bear wreathed in fire, silently watching as her flames devoured the screaming foes.
No one pitied them. These were villains who had earned every ounce of their fate.
Even Robin could not deny her own past sins—how could these wretches expect mercy?
The operation went smoothly; Baroque Works no longer had any enemy worth fearing.
When the cleanup was complete, Robin submitted her report:
Total haul—1.5 billion Beli.
Of that, 1.3 billion came from seized liquid assets, and 200 million from valuables—gold, silver, weapons, and other treasures.
After some thought, Ren allocated the 200 million worth of goods to the team's fund, as Alabasta couldn't possibly pay such value in cash.
They'd convert it during future voyages, distributing part of the proceeds as bonuses—and keeping some for group expenses.
Nami and Nojiko were already browsing for materials to refurbish the Enlightenment.
The ship had always been rather bare inside, filled mostly with cheap furnishings.
Now that they were wealthy, it was time to give their home some style.
Everything was proceeding smoothly.
The time for Ren to leave Alabasta drew near.
Across the kingdom, results began to show.
Coastal cities finally saw rainfall; Dance Powder vanished from the markets.
The royal family spearheaded an anti-corruption campaign while issuing bounties on Baroque Works remnants.
The newly-formed rebel army wavered,
amid rumors that King Cobra himself had visited their camp to speak with their leader, Koza.
Good change was coming to the once-shattered kingdom.
It was during this time that the news broke—
—and the world trembled.
The name Demon Ren spread across the seas on the wings of seagulls.
Pell fulfilled the agreement, delivering 300 million Beli as payment for bringing rain.
He also brought Vivi's message—a question from the king himself.
Once Ren confirmed Vivi's resolve, Pell left Karoo behind and prepared to depart the Enlightenment.
But—
Ren, harboring suspicion, stopped him.
(End of Chapter)