With the three agents in front of him still struggling in the Singularity, the shockwave Benezia threw at them at the very start of the battle finally reaches them and throws their bodies backwards, smashing them away with brutal force, causing them to painfully crash onto the ground and nearby buildings. A few Marines are also affected and thrown aside, without suffering too grievous injuries.

Meanwhile, Alex decides to aim for Jabra, the strongest Agent out of the remaining three, adjusting his path, deciding to target him specifically.

As he is about to hit him with a powerful overhead strike, he sees Smoker engaging him in battle from the side, managing to intercept him.

Smiling, Smoker confidently throws himself against the blade, turning his body into smoke.

Heh, are you sure about that?

Alex, at the last second, switches from Ren to Ko, focusing all of his Aura into the blade.

As Alex’s colossal blade makes contact with the intangible smoke body of Smoker, instead of cutting through the smoke, Alex feels the smoke getting pushed back, slowly morphing under the force, vibrating and twitching, as if alive.

“What?!” Smoker yells in horror, his eyes trembling in panic.

A second later, through the vibrating smoke, Alex feels his sword strike something tangible, finally forcing Smoker back. Smoker’s body is pressed backwards just a little, his legs sliding through the dirt, desperately stretching out one of his hands holding something metallic, his body still surrounded and partially transformed into smoke, barely able to keep standing.

You have dealt 21 damage to Smoker

You have caused bleeding (chest)

It worked... just a little, but it worked! Nen can counter even Logia fruits! Incredible.

“Heh... you monster... how can you wound me with my Logia abilities?” Smoker says, grinning with his lit cigars still in his mouth, his face sweating like crazy. “I haven’t felt this for a long time... so this is what it feels like to be cut... to knock on death’s door. You are incredible, but I’m afraid... this is your loss.”

“Why is that?” Alex blurts out, still smiling.

Suddenly, he notices a little bit of pressure on his chest, finally realizing that a small cloud of smoke is still connected to him. Underneath, he can vaguely make out a thin, long object, and he finally recognizes it as Smoker’s Nanashaku Jitte, a short staff created to disarm opponents. Alex knows that the tip of that Jitte carries a small Seastone, Smoker obviously assuming that he is also a Devil Fruit user.

I see... this is actually a chance. Now... acting... I practiced a lot during my travels... lying comes as easily as breathing to me. This will be fun, hehehe.

“You... no!” Alex exclaims, dropping onto one knee, his face twitching, looking like he is genuinely shocked.

Meanwhile, he sees Benezia and even Zoro and Sanji fighting against the three Agents, Benezia doing her best to quickly finish off Jabra, who’s desperately dodging and delivering speedy attacks towards Benezia, while Zoro is fighting Kumadori, delivering sword slashes that his opponent desperately blocks with his Khakkhara. Finally, Sanji furiously kicks Fukurou, who is using Tekkai and Kami-e to either block or dodge. Even the other Straw Hats are still engaged in battle with the elite Marines that accompanied the Agents.

All of his allies, especially Benezia, are at an advantage, causing Alex to focus his attention on Smoker, not letting himself get distracted.

The still shocked Smoker presses Alex onto the ground, pressing his Jitte against his body, while also taking out a pair of Seastone handcuffs, already moving to clamp them on his arms.

You have received 2 damage

I can’t afford to be caught... Seastone doesn’t work against me, aside from making my spells and skills a little less effective and disrupting them somewhat. However, that isn’t the issue, these handcuffs are.

I can’t uncuff myself and would be permanently handicapped since Seastone is durable as fuck. If those damn things lock in place, I’m fucked.

Now I’ve tested it before... there is one thing that is not affected by Seastone... namely... Nen!

Alex pretends to groan in pain as his body is still pressed onto the ground, the Jitte pressing between his ribs, digging deep into his chest.

You have received 2 damage

Using his full concentration, Alex conjures Thorian’s Domination skillfully, applying In, which takes up most of his concentration, to hide his terrifying helmet.

As Smoker leans down to cuff him, Alex quickly conjures Mustrano’s Malice Mauler again, also hiding it with In.

I don’t have any grudge against you... but you are in my way... die!

Alex prepares to use Unleash Spores, aiming it directly at Smoker’s face, but before he can execute it, he suddenly sees a shadow rush toward him.

Tashigi desperately runs towards Smoker, screaming, her eyes filled with genuine regret and panic. “Smoker-san! No! He is deceiving you!!”

Damn pest! I need to hurry.

Alex’s helmet twitches, the helmet turning alive, spitting a wave of spores towards Smoker—but Tashigi shoves him to the side, making the ability hit her instead, fully engulfing her.

“Tashigi!” Smoker yells, his face filling with panic.

I don’t fucking care. I’ll kill both of you! I’ll cleave you apart.

Quickly getting up, Alex slashes his sword toward Tashigi, using Ko again to drastically enhance its lethality.

However, Smoker, as Tashigi did before, gets in the way and blocks the attack. This time, he barely manages to transform into smoke, his body receiving noticeably more damage and impact compared to earlier, forcing him back, causing him to fall onto the ground.

You have dealt 37 damage to Smoker

“I need blood... kill... human... kill! Fresssssssh blood!” Mustrano hisses, and the now confused Tashigi is unable to react, dodge, or flee, barely even registering what is happening, her body trembling in panic.

As Alex’s face turns cold, he immediately follows up with Mustrano, aiming his claw at Tashigi’s throat, before thrusting as hard as he can.

Smoker yells, “NO! Tashigi!” unable to come to her rescue, barely managing to stand up and stumble forward.

Just as his attack is about to land, Alex hears an ear-shattering shout from far away, snapping him back to reality. “CROCODILE!!!”

The voice carries pure rage and determination, deeply affecting Alex for some strange reason, his body slightly shaking.

... Luffy! What... what is going on? What the fuck am I even doing here?! I need to fucking focus on the important thing... I need to use my head and not give in to rage. This situation is all wrong. I can do better than this.

Alex reacts, stopping Mustrano as it is about to pierce through Tashigi’s throat. Instead, he wraps his claw-hand around her throat, yanking her to him, while he puts his [Executioner’s Blade R2] to her throat.

“Stop!” he yells at Smoker, who is already charging at him, almost in his reach.

“Stop or she dies!” Alex repeats, his face full of determination, activating [Shepard’s Promise R2], stopping Smoker’s approach with authority, before his face softens noticeably.

“I’m here to stop the war, save this kingdom, and kill fucking Crocodile, who is responsible for this civil war. What the fuck is your job as a Marine?! Hunting pirates when innocent soldiers and desperate rebels fight each other to the death, their families dying because of the drought here?! Become the pet dogs of corrupt government agents? Protecting Crocodile, who is behind all of this?” Alex asks, causing Smoker’s willingness to fight to almost fall apart.

“You Marines are not my enemy! These Agents are rotten to the core, working for the World Government to only enrich the fucking disgusting World Nobles... and now even you are serving under them? I’ll make you an offer... I’ll let you decide the fate of everything. This war, this kingdom, this island... millions of lives! Just leave these Agents alone, you don’t need to serve them, their commanding officer is dead anyway. I leave it all to you. Back off, take your Marines and the girl with you, and stop the battle and save civilians... save lives... save this country...”

Alex offers, before his face warps into pure insanity, his eyes turning red as his expression twists into one of raw hatred. “Or I’ll kill her right now and fight you all to the death! Decide now!”

“I... I...” Smoker stammers. “How can I trust you?! You are a murderer, the Butcher! You will kill her anyway?! I can’t trust you!!”

“Human... jussst kill them all... you need to kill them all!” Mustrano whispers, his face twisted into something just as deranged as the words he’s spewing. “Take their ssssspoilssss from their dead bodiesssss.”

Right... I just need to kill them all and collect chests... screw Crocodile and Luffy. Profit over everything else! Safety and decent profit, this is good enough... right? Yeah, this is the best solution...

However, as Alex is about to kill Tashigi, he remembers Luffy’s voice, his body stops, and he shakes his head.

No... this isn’t it. That’s just stupid! That’s what a fucking bloodthirsty and short-sighted snake would do.

“Shut the fuck up for a second, snake, I am negotiating here,” Alex yells at his left claw-hand holding onto Tashigi, before looking back at Smoker. “You are unable to trust me? I don’t lie, I don’t need to!”

He then shoves Tashigi forward towards Smoker, who catches her in complete surprise.

“There you go! Now fuck off with your Marines and save lives! Do your job, chain smoker.”

“Smoker... san,” Tashigi stammers, clinging to him.

“Men... we are leaving... now!” Smoker yells with all of his might.

The remaining Marines belonging to Smoker’s unit, who are engaged in battle with the rest of the Straw Hats, immediately stop.

With Smoker in the lead, they withdraw from the battlefield.

“YOYOI, traitors!” Kumadori yells, looking genuinely panicked now.

“Chapapapa...” Fukurou mutters, blood running from his mouth after receiving Sanji’s kicks, turning the zipper on his mouth bloody.

“Alex, leave now,” Benezia orders. “We’ll deal with these pests and back you up in a minute.”

“You arrogant wench,” Jabra mutters, wounded all over, trying to pierce her with his razor-sharp claws.

Benezia smiles, blinking behind him with her Asari sword and landing a beautifully arced slash onto his back, a line of blood splashing through the air, as Jabra howls loudly. “Awoooooo!”

No... I’ll kill them. This will just take 10 seconds! Together, we can overwhelm Crocodile far more easily.

Alex fires another Warp at the wounded Jabra, intending to kill him, but two of the special Marine soldiers that the Agents brought with them and are still fighting block the attack, the Biotic projectile hitting both of them, thus reducing damage.

You have dealt 61 damage to Marine Ensign

You have dealt 59 damage to Marine Lieutenant Junior Grade

“Fuck...” Alex mutters, Benezia glaring at him for a second before she continues her battle with Jabra.

These are soldiers associated with the CP9... probably from Ennies Lobby... they are strong.

More and more Marines approach Alex, closing in towards him, trying to surround him.

“Fine...” Alex yells, “you better hurry the fuck up!” he adds, focusing his Aura onto his legs and sprinting towards the western part of the city, towards the Tomb of the Kings, easily evading everyone trying to half-heartedly block him.

Eating a [Superior Dish (Fried Squid Balls)] and a [Superior Dish (Dragon Skewer)], which is inferior to the [Infused Exceptional Dish (Dragon Skewer)], but still more than enough to heal his minor injuries, Alex hurries up.

You will recover 50 HP over 1 minute

You will recover 100 HP over 10 minutes

After a few minutes of rushing through the city, seeing dead soldiers, rebels, and destroyed, burning buildings all over the place, he feels genuinely sick from all the carnage.

These are NPCs, but at the same time... they are alive. They think and feel the way normal humans do. This is just one version of reality... they all have the potential to leave this world. This is genuinely sick. Still... I need to focus on what matters.

Finally, after sprinting at full speed, easily running five to six times faster than a trained athlete, Alex reaches the Tomb of the Kings, exhausted, but not too much, thanks to the dish he just consumed that restores his stamina.

Are they here...? I need to risk it... I don’t know where else they could be....

In front of him is a vast Egyptian-style temple, beautifully decorated, with a garden full of palm trees next to it. Alex, after walking around a little, sees the open entrance to the secret underground chamber, which leads downstairs, deep into the underground.

It’s open! I’m right, they are here!

Alex immediately rushes downstairs, using Zetsu to try to stay undetected.

This is it... this is the end. I’ll fucking loot that fucker for all he’s got.