Seeing that everyone is looking at him, Alex carefully thinks about his next words.

Now, I need to make clear that I’m on their side, but I also need them to listen to us. Why is Benezia always quiet when it matters? Damn, slave driver loves giving us orders, but when others are involved, she leaves it all to me. Why did I take her with me then?

Okay, enough complaining. I’ll just speak from my heart and argue as best as I can.

“We need to stop Baroque Works,” Alex commands, his voice now louder and more determined. “Aside from the bomb, we need to take care of their key Officers and maybe even a few Frontier Agents. It’s a little unexpected, but if they are not here yet, that gives us a great opportunity to ambush them. So it’s best to position ourselves around the city and stop them from arriving to support their boss. I guess Luffy already wants to take care of Crocodile, so he’s out. I’ll help him and make sure nobody interferes, which means I won’t be helping out either. That means the rest of you need to fight. Baroque Works still has powerful enemies left that we need to take care of. Everyone needs to split up to take care of the Agents, the bomb, and other threats, as well as try to escort Vivi towards the rebel leader, if possible, though I honestly think Crocodile takes precedence.”

“Benezia…” Alex says, staring at the Asari. “The situation is a little different than anticipated. It’s not us trying to get into the city, it’s us preventing our enemies from approaching. Does that change anything?”

“Yes,” Benezia instantly replies. “It actually makes things simpler. We just have to position ourselves strategically, close to the entrances, and then engage them in battles favorable to us. Should they arrive together, we need to quickly regroup before we commit, so as not to be at a disadvantage. At the same time, we need to be wary of getting ambushed ourselves. We don’t know all the ‘players’ involved in this battle and what they want to achieve. We need to be cautious, and we can’t proceed without carefully considering all potential dangers. In any case, we need a way to quickly travel from entrance to entrance. Tereza can’t carry us all.”

“I can help with that,” Vivi notes cheerfully. “Karoo and the other members of the super spot-billed ducks can get from entrance to entrance in just a few minutes. They’re back at the palace, but I can request that they help us again. I still know a few loyal people inside.”

“Great,” Alex says. “You need to be careful. Some of the Agents are quite powerful… especially if they’re supported by the people we’re at odds with.”

“Who are those supposedly powerful enemies?” Zoro asks, grinning slightly. “By now, we’ve taken care of Mr. 5 and Mr. 3. Without their annoying tricks, I have to say I wasn’t that impressed.”

“Yeah! I even punched a giant!” Luffy declares with a wide grin.

So they did arrive there… since Chopper is with them as well, as I thought, the timeline hasn’t changed much. It takes a lot of determination and force to change it, it seems. Anyway, they’re getting too cocky.

“Well, Baroque Works has some strong agents, so underestimating them is a bad idea. Mr. 4 and his partner, Ms… Ms… Ms… Miss Happy Holidays, for example.”

“Miss Merry Christmas,” Benezia corrects him, her voice containing a hint of mockery.

I always confuse those two...

“Ah, right,” Alex says. “Wait, does Christ exist in this worl—no, it doesn’t matter!”

I can’t get sidetracked.

He continues, trying to focus. “Miss Merry Christmas is a strong Zoan Devil Fruit user who can transform into a powerful giant mole with deadly sharp claws. However, if she can’t dig into the ground, she’s rather helpless, as she relies on her ability and does not have strong martial arts and combat abilities. Fight her inside the city and not outside—the solid pavement will slow her down. Her partner, Mr. 4, is stupid, but extremely bulky and strong. He has a special dog that ate a Devil Fruit, making it a dog that shoots explosive baseballs. He’s strong at ranged and melee, but his attacks are easy to predict and easy to evade. He’s also slow, physically and mentally.”

“Wrong again,” Benezia interjects once again. “We are facing a gun that has absorbed the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Dachshund.”

“Sorry,” Alex admits, rubbing his head. “Give me a break… will you?” He mutters silently.

“That sounds wrong,” Nami chimes in, a little confused. “Isn’t it the other way around, like he said? Are you sure Alex isn’t correct?”

“Thank you!” Alex says, smiling at Nami. “Seems like you get it.”

Benezia merely glances at her, causing the orange-headed navigator to shriek back. “Of course, you are right, Lady Benezia. I am sorry. Yeah, you are wrong, Alex, just listen to Benezia, okay?”

“Damn spineless, scared cowar—” Alex comments, while Nami glares at him, causing him to shut up.

Why the fuck don’t I command respect? Is that some kind of different Aura? Am I lacking something? Fuck this! CHA is not working. Bugged piece of shit system.

Princess Jewel thinks Soulmate is too nice and caring. She suggests that Soulmate ignores anyone else, especially these peasants, and focuses only on the most important person in his life.

Let me guess… that’s you.

Of course❤️ Who else?!

... Well, when everything else fails. Whatever... At least it feels nice to always have someone backing me up.

“She is scary… The Night Demon is scary…” Usopp mutters silently, his lips moving on their own, as he slowly backs up until he’s standing behind Sanji.

“She is so mesmerizing…” Sanji says at the same time, staring at her with a crazed expression.

Ignoring their reactions, Alex continues, trying to act like he doesn’t care. “Anyway, their combination is dangerous, but if you are fast on your feet and prevent that old mole lady from having an opportunity to dig under you, they can be taken care of relatively easily.”

“I’ll take them on,” Sanji says. “It’s best if I can’t get distracted by my opponents. They seem to be pretty stupid, so I’ll be able to do it.”

“Not a good idea,” Alex says. “They have stronger opponents. Like Mr. 2. He is not just a Devil Fruit user, skilled at deception—his special… whatever Kempo it is, it’s quite deadly. He can kick holes through walls.”

One final nudge.

“Only a really strong, noble, and determined fighter will be able to take him down,” Alex suggests, doing his best not to distort his face or show his inner disgust.

“You are right! I’ll take care of that vile asshole, who stole Nami-san’s appearance and plunged Vivi-swan’s kingdom into civil war…” Sanji declares proudly, with everyone staring at him with pitiful eyes.

“Just… don’t get distracted. Mentally prepare yourself to fight him, even if he looks like Nami, never forget that it’s just a weirdo who’s deceiving you,” Alex reminds him. “Maybe... you can also reason with him. I don’t think he’s pure evil... he’s just under Crocodile’s control... despite what he did. It’s all Crocodile’s work, after all.”

“These people don’t sound strong, Luffy. Switch with me, I want to fight Crocodile,” Zoro demands.

“No way! He is mine!” Luffy states without pause.

“Ever heard of Daz Bones?” Alex asks, looking at the disappointed swordsman. “He was killed. He was a frighteningly strong opponent—completely immune to most attacks. His body was made of swords because of his Devil Fruit. You could call him a living blade. Whoever killed him is bound to be really strong… you best not underestimate your opponents.”

Zoro grins. “Finally, someone who might give me a challenge.”

“You look like you just had a challenge that was too much for you, moss-head,” Sanji says with a grin, pointing at his cheek. “Someone that strong might be too much for an underachiever like you.”

“I’ll kill you, shitty cook!” Zoro barks back, walking up to him and pressing his forehead against Sanji’s. Sanji doesn’t relent, pushing back just as hard.

“Children…” Benezia intervenes yet again, using her Biotics to forcefully separate the two and throw them against the walls of the tower. “Cease this foolishness… now.”

“Wow…” Nami mutters. “She is kinda cool… I kinda admire her.”

Not another girl falling for Benezia. Fuck off!

“Not helping, Benezia, stop confusing the ladies. Anyway…” Alex says, exhaling through his nose as he tries to stay focused. “I’m not sure if the partner of Mr. 1, or Daz Bones, made it, but she has eaten a powerful fruit as well—and she can turn her entire body into dangerous spikes. Her name is Miss Doublefinger. She is a fairly balanced fighter and shouldn’t be underestimated. Also, she is fucking hot, so Sanji needs to stay the hell away from her.”

“Definitely!” Usopp, Chopper, and Nami say at the same time.

“I’m loyal,” Sanji claims, crossing his arms. “These accusations are terrible.”

I don’t think so.

“Let’s summarize,” Benezia declares in a voice that immediately grabs everyone’s attention, even Luffy’s.

Over the next two hours, the group decides on various strategies and multiple different strategies.

Princess Jewel objects! She wants to fight with Soulmate!

“Jewel… I’ll be fine. You have your own role, one that’s very important! You do trust me, don’t you?” Alex asks, staring at her, causing Jewel to slightly blush and lower herself as close to Alex’s head as possible, evading his eyes.

❤️ Fine… Princess Jewel trusts Soulmate.

The group spends the night together, eating a few snacks, drinking whatever they can find, and exchanging stories.

The Straw Hats share stories from their entire journey, giving Alex a real first-person view of their adventures.

They also go over their time on the Grand Line, telling him all about Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, the Drum Kingdom, and even what happened with Miss All Sunday. Overall, there are differences, but they aren’t major, giving Alex some feeling of security.

Alex, Tereza, and Menchi share a few of their experiences themselves, Alex narrating an abridged version of what happened in Water 7 and Mock Town, Menchi talking about food and complaining about various shopkeepers and the general prices.

Even Benezia offers an old Asari poem about justice, which Alex can’t bear to listen to.

Finally, everyone dozes off and falls asleep.

With Jewel tightly pressed against his chest, Alex relaxes and readies himself for the deciding day—ready to risk his life once again, for the mission, the rewards, but also a personal sense of justice.

[Main Quest Phase 4:

Mission: Help your chosen faction to succeed in their goals for the Battle of Alubarna.

Reward: ???, ???, ???, Increased Mission Rating

Time Limit: 2 hours, 17 minutes, 51 seconds...]

The group slowly wakes up, and Sanji and Menchi are already cooking for them.

After a relaxed, but slightly tense meal, the group prepares to leave, but Zoro stops them.

“There is one thing I thought of. Since Mr. 2 can impersonate people, it’s best to add a sign, something he can’t imitate,” he suggests.

A few minutes later, the entire group, including Alex and his friends, is wearing a white bandage on their arms, with a black circle beneath it.

Best not to take any risk and change it from the standard cross....

Under the burning sun of Alubarna, the group leaves, walking together into the city.

This is it… the final phase!