One Piece: Wild Hunt

Chapter 87: Wrapping Things Up

After administering Cobra the antidote, Thomas took advantage of the fact he still had the EMIYA Card installed to check the condition of the King's body. What he found were several 'specks' that he assumed to be tumors in the middle-aged King's lungs. He didn't know whether it was cancer or something else, but it wasn't a good sign.

Unfortunately, as Reinforcement Magecraft was nearly impossible to use on other people, not without risking extreme harm, Thomas had no way of treating Cobra himself. Instead, he decided to wait a month or two before summoning Asclepius to treat him directly.

Retracting his hand from Cobra's chest, Thomas looked to the nearby Doctor and his team of Nurses, asking, "Are the five of you affiliated with Baroque Works, or was Crocodile forcing you against your will?"

Answering on behalf of his team, the elderly Doctor raised his hands and exclaimed, "We didn't have a choice! SirI mean, Crocodile would have killed us if we didn't follow his orders!"

With Benienma remaining silent, Thomas gave a curt nod and said, "Very well. I'll have you and your team carry the King to the surface. After that, you should flee the Capital or lie low for a while."

Exhaling sighs of relief, the medical team complied with Thomas's orders by gently transferring Cobra to a stretcher. Two of the Nurses were fairly burly men, so they had no problem lifting the somewhat emaciated Cobra and transporting him to the surface. There, they found Astolfo, Vivi, and a large contingent of Royal Guards waiting for them.

Seeing Thomas, Vivi's expression visibly brightened before turning into one of horror as she noticed her father's condition. His wounds had been treated, but he was incredibly thin, and his palatial robes were ragged and bloody.

"Father...!" shouted Vivi, alerting the few guards that had yet to notice the group's return.

Rushing over to her father's side, Vivi grabbed his left hand, squeezing it tightly as she began to tear up. Before the waterworks could truly begin, Thomas remarked, "He'll be okay. He just needs to rest and recuperate a bit."

Trusting Thomas's words, Vivi closed her eyes and muttered, "Thank goodness..." in a sobbing yet relieved tone. At the same time, Chaka and several of the most senior Royal Guards made their way over, their eyes widening when they saw Crocodile, bound in chains, being dragged by Caenis.

Recovering from his momentary stupor, Chaka met Thomas's gaze as he asked, "What's the situation? The Princess informed us that a number of explosive charges had been strapped to the pillars supporting the city. Is that still the case?"

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Nodding his head, Thomas explained, "We disabled the detonator and neutralized the explosive charges beneath the palace and the Central City Square. However, as there's a chance Crocodile prepared a backup detonator to be used by someone else, we'll need to be cautious until all the explosives have been dealt with..."

Before Chaka could respond or ask for his assistance in dealing with the remaining explosives, Thomas gestured to Benienma, prompting her to stand next to him as he added, "This is Benienma. She has the unique ability to ascertain whether or not a person is telling the truth. Before we do anything else, you should have each of your men affirm their loyalty to the Nefertari Family and the Kingdom of Alabasta. The last thing we need right now is traitors and saboteurs trying to undermine our efforts."

Looking down at Benienma, Chaka's brows creased. However, instead of challenging Thomas's claims, he gave a curt nod and said, "Very well. I'll leave the Princess and His Majesty in your care until we can ascertain our people's loyalties..."

Immediately following his words, Chaka shifted his gaze to the guards accompanying him, ordering, "Affirm your allegiance to our King."

Though most of his men had no issue affirming their loyalty to Cobra and the Kingdom, two of Chaka's senior guardsmen attempted to protest the vetting process, citing that it was an insult to their honor. When Benienma pointed out this was a false statement, Chakra promptly drew his sword on the men, forcing them to choose between revealing the truth or being cut down.

Seeing their fellow agents exposed, several other traitorous guardsmen took up their arms while others attempted to vacate the room discreetly. A conflict immediately broke out within the chamber, but it didn't last as Robin used the power of her Hana-Hana-no-Mi to grapple and break the bones of those who incited the conflict...

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While Benienma accompanied Chaka and the Kingdom's loyalists to sniff out the Baroque Works members that had infiltrated their ranks, Thomas asked Astolfo to watch over Vivi and her father. He would have liked to accompany them to assure Vivi that everything was okay, but so long as the explosives remained, the Capital was still in jeopardy. Thus, alongside Caenis, Robin, and Artoria, Thomas returned to the underground to begin the arduous process of removing each set of explosives. It took a total of twenty-seven hours, but it was worth it to ensure the people of Alubrana could sleep in peace...

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[Five Days Later]

Standing on the balcony of the room he had been given, Thomas stared out over the city of Alubarna with a faint smile. It was drizzling outside, but the streets were alive with a festive atmosphere as people celebrated the end of the drought.

Though some initially refused to believe that Crocodile was the culprit behind the drought, viewing him as a Hero, the rainfall that followed his downfall was more than enough to convince most. It would take months for things to return to normal, but so long as a gentle rain continued to fall over the parched Kingdom, it was only a matter of time.

Breaking Thomas from his reverie, Caenis asked, "How much longer are you planning to take a break? Didn't you want to expand the raincloud to cover the entire island...?"

Exhaling a faintly exasperated sigh through his nose, Thomas turned around to returned to the bed he and Caenis had been sharing for the past three, going on four days. It hadn't even been fifteen minutes since he got up to stretch his back and legs, but he had a 'duty' to fulfill and intended to follow through on it.

Fortunately, just as Caenis pinned Thomas to the bed and hopped on top of him, a gentle rattle echoed from the room's entrance, followed by the voice of Vivi asking, "May I enter...?"

Clicking her tongue, Caenis briefly looked like she was going to tell Vivi to fuck off. Instead, she looked down at Thomas, adopting a predatory smile as she cut his chest with the nail of her pinky finger and mused, "It looks like the Princess has come to your rescue..."

As the shallow cut on his chest rapidly healed, Thomas raised her from his body as he replied, "I'll return as soon as I can."

Rolling onto her back, Caenis waved Thomas off as she said, "Yeah, yeah. Have fun talking to your father-in-law..." before issuing a prolonged yawn. It had been a few days since she slept, and while it wasn't necessary, she had gotten used to it while traveling with the Straw Hats.

Seeing Caenis yawn, Thomas's expression softened until she noticed his reaction and abruptly kicked him in the face. There was very little power behind the blow, but it was enough to knock him off the bed, producing a loud crashing sound that prompted Vivi to shout, "I-Is everything okay in there!?"

While rubbing the top of his head, Thomas replied, "Everything's fine. And you can come in or wait outside. I'll be out in a minute."

Since she was well aware of the relationship between Thomas and Caenis, Vivi didn't hesitate to open the door and enter the room, briefly looking toward the bronze-skinned woman waving at her before directing her gaze to Thomas and asking, "What happened?"

Rising to his feet, Thomas answered, "I fell," in a flat tone that compelled Caenis to adopt a sly grin. Vivi's brows briefly furrowed when she saw this, but she didn't press the matter. Instead, she revealed, "My father is feeling well enough that he wishes to speak with you."

Adopting a wry smile, Thomas asked, "Is there anything 'particular' he wishes to discuss...?"

Blushing every so slightly, Vivi lowered her gaze as she admitted, "There is the matter of the Enma-tei, but he also wishes to discuss the specifics of our future engagement. Now that you have a Bounty, things are a little more complicated..."

With Vivi reminding him, Thomas couldn't help exhaling a sigh. Despite his efforts to have his Bounty inflated, his initial listing was a mere 71,000,000 Berries. This was even less than Crocodile and the Bounty that Robin had as a child, so he was admittedly a little butthurt.

Unfortunately, while many within the palace knew of his involvement in Crocodile's defeat, Thomas had chosen not to publicize it. Doing so would make it more difficult for him to open and operate an Enma-tei within the nation's borders, so he let the Royal Guards and the Marines take credit for the former Shichibukai's downfall. He even went as far as threatening to expose Crocodile's 'secret' if the latter talked, so the only people who knew the truth were those directly involved in the incident.

Shaking his head, Thomas set aside the matter of his Bounty, took a quick shower, and got dressed. Then, alongside Vivi, he made his way to her father's healing chamber, the same location where they had encountered Mr 2, Bon Kurei.

Seeing his daughter, Cobra couldn't help smiling. His feelings toward Thomas were a lot more conflicted, however, so it only lasted for a brief moment before he got serious, exuding a kingly aura as he said, "Thank you for coming to meet with me on such short notice, Sir Thomas. I know you have been...busy as of late..."

Understanding that Cobra was referring to his relationship with Caenis, a wry smile developed across Thomas's face. If he were in Cobra's position, he might have pulled out a gun and told him to stay the hell away from his daughter. Instead, the middle-aged King had no choice but to tolerate his presence, not just because they had recused him and saved the Kingdom, but because Vivi had 'forced' him to accept their relationship.

In an effort to ease tensions, Thomas explained, "So long as no more Dance Powder is introduced into the environment, it should only take a few weeks for things to stabilize. After that, we just need to restore the flow of the Sandora River, and Alabasta should be well on a path toward recovery."

Latching onto Thomas's segue, Cobra asked, "And opening this 'Enma-tei' will help with that...?"

Though he nodded in affirmation, Thomas clarified, "Not directly, but it will help us maintain the river's flow over time. It will also-"

Before Thomas could get into the specifics, Cobra raised his hand in a silencing gesture, calmly asserting, "My daughter has already provided me a cursory explanation of your background, plan, and intent. I called you here for three reasons. First and foremost, to give you my permission to expand your operations to Alabasta. Secondly, to permit you and that woman, Nico Robin, to access our ancestral Poneglyph..."

Shifting his gaze to his daughter, Cobra found Vivi staring at him with an uncharacteristically serious expression on her face. Thus, even though he was 'extremely' unwilling, he exhaled a sigh that appeared to age him by several years as he appended, "Lastly, I have agreed to let you marry my daughter. However, before that-"

Interrupting her father's words, Vivi promptly pounced on and hugged him, exclaiming, "Thank you, thank you, thank you~!" in an overly excited tone. She truly was excited, but it was obvious to everyone that she was attempting to prevent him from listing out terms. Thus, while directing a fatherly glare at Thomas, Cobra embraced Vivi and grumbled, "Anything for my daughter..." in a begrudging tone.

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(A/N: If looks could kill, Thomas would be dead a thousand times over at this point xD...)