The grand banquet hall echoed with the sounds of clattering plates and boisterous laughter. The Straw Hats had descended upon the royal feast like a swarm of locusts, their table piled high with Alabasta's finest dishes.
King Cobra watched in mild horror as Luffy inhaled an entire roasted peacock in one bite. "P-Perhaps pace yourselves? The food isn't going anywhere..."
"LIES!" Luffy declared, sauce dripping down his chin. "Vivi promised unlimited meat! Unlimited means UNLIMITED!" He immediately began stacking three whole hams onto his already overflowing plate.
Across the table, Robin elegantly speared a date with her fork, turning to Nolan beside her. "Would you like me to feed you?" she offered with that mysterious smile of hers.
Nolan considered this seriously for a moment before Nami's palm connected with her forehead. "For heaven's sake, can we have one meal without you two flirting?"
Nearby, Usopp and Chopper were engaged in a covert food war, each trying to steal morsels from the other's plate when they weren't looking. Zoro and Sanji's usual bickering had escalated into a full-blown chopstick duel over the last piece of desert pheasant.
Vivi sighed at the familiar chaos. "Father, this is... normal for them," she explained weakly as a flying bread roll nearly took out one of the royal guards.
King Cobra took a deep breath before bowing his head deeply. "Please accept my deepest gratitude for saving our kingdom. We are forever in your debt."
The entire royal court gasped at the unprecedented sight of their king bowing to pirates. But before anyone could protest-
"Eh? Debt?" Luffy spoke through a mouthful of food. "We just helped our friend!"
Sanji swooned dramatically. "For our dear Vivi-chwan, we'd storm heavens itself!"
"Speaking of which," Nami interjected sharply, "about that billion berry reward-"
Their overlapping responses made the king chuckle. "Truly, thank you for being Vivi's friends. If there's anything you desire, name it."
The table fell silent as all eyes turned to Nolan, who had unexpectedly raised his hand.
"What?" Nolan blinked at their surprised stares. "I have arms, don't I?"
King Cobra leaned forward eagerly. "Yes, my friend? What would you like?"
Nolan shrugged. "Wanna see your vault. Might be something interesting there."
The king clapped his hands. "Certainly! We'll visit after the meal." He missed the way Nami's eyes immediately lit up with berry signs at the word "vault."
As the feast continued, the palace staff exchanged nervous glances. One particularly brave servant whispered, "Your Majesty... should we... hide the national treasures first?"
The banquet had ended with the Straw Hats rushing off to the baths, leaving only Nolan and Robin to accompany King Cobra to the royal vault. Nami had protested being left behind, but Nolan had firmly blocked her path - they both knew exactly what kind of financial devastation she'd wreak in a treasure vault.
As they walked through the palace corridors, Nolan turned to Robin with a tired blink. "Why... exactly are you following me?" His words came slow, weighed down by both exhaustion and genuine curiosity.
Robin's lips curved into that enigmatic smile Nolan was coming to recognize. "Do I need a reason?" she countered, her tone light but leaving no room for argument.
Nolan sighed. In the short time since joining, Robin had become inexplicably attached to him - a level of interest he'd never seen from her character in the anime. He stole a glance at her calm expression. Did his Divine Allure actually work on someone like her? The woman who found ancient ruins romantic and considered zombie islands "charming"? Her standards for beauty were... unconventional, to say the least.
"We've arrived," King Cobra announced, gesturing to the massive vault doors before them. The royal guards snapped to attention, opening the sealed entrance without question - absolute trust in their king's judgment.
Nolan paused, noticing the king made no move to enter with them. "You're... not coming?" he asked, scratching his head. "Aren't you worried we'll steal something?"
King Cobra laughed heartily, though his eyes held complete sincerity. "My boy, if you asked, I'd give you the kingdom itself." The weight behind those words made it clear - this was no exaggeration.
As Nolan and Robin stepped into the vault, Igaram turned to his king with raised eyebrows. "This is a first, Your Majesty."
"Oh?" Cobra feigned ignorance, though he knew exactly what his advisor meant.
"I never thought you'd approve of someone for the princess so readily," Igaram finished.
Cobra shook his head with a wry smile. As if anyone in their right mind would reject that young man. He suspected even the Celestial Dragons would wage wars over someone like Nolan.
"He won't stay," Cobra mused, watching the vault doors close. "Men like that aren't meant for palaces." His gaze grew distant. "Still... if I could at least connect them before they leave..."
Inside the vault, Robin found herself transfixed. Bathed in the golden glow of treasure, Nolan's features seemed almost ethereal. His usual lazy demeanor had given way to focused intensity as he examined artifacts, making it impossible for her to look away.
Then she saw it - his eyes lighting up with an otherworldly shimmer as he lifted two objects. A simple sand trident and...
[Ding! Congratulations host for successfully triggering 1,000 times critical hit...
Sand Trident is currently going on an upgrade...!
Ding! Sand Trident has been successfully turned into Poseidon's Trident!!]
[Item: Poseidon's Trident!
Description:
What was once a simple sand trident has been reforged by the cosmos itself—now a living artifact of divine authority, thrumming with the raw power of the ocean's wrath and the desert's unyielding will. Its three prongs crackle with liquid lightning, each point humming with the gravitational pull of a collapsing star. Merely holding it makes the air tremble, as if reality acknowledges its bearer as a true sovereign.
Abilities:
1. Absolute Terrain Subjugation
- "Dunes to Tides" – The trident rewrites geography on an island scale. Stab it into the ground, and deserts become oceans, wastelands bloom into forests, and mountains shatter into floating islands—all at the user's whim.
- "Sandstorm Genesis" – A single twirl summons a city-sized hyperstorm, with each grain of sand moving like a guided missile, shredding armies or carving fortresses in seconds.
2. Unbreakable Rule Enforcement
- "Law of the Trident" – Anyone who hears the user's decree while the weapon is held must obey, their free will crushed under the weight of divine mandate. Resistance feels like drowning in an abyss.
- "Tide of Allegiance"– Those who oppose her rule experience existential erosion—their memories, strength, and even sanity dissolving like sand in a rising tide.
3. Celestial Cataclysm
- "Tsunami of the Firmament"– A full-power strike parts the sky, summoning a 100-kilometer-high hydrostorm that crashes down like the fist of an angry god.
4. Omniscient Rule
- "Eyes of the Leviathan" – The user sees and hears through all water in her domain—every tear, every drop of sweat, every hidden aquifer becomes her spy. ]
The transformation was instantaneous. The mundane weapon warped and reshaped itself, its new form radiating palpable power. The air itself seemed to vibrate around the trident, its three prongs crackling with blue energy.
Nolan stared at the weapon now resting in his palms, a single bead of sweat trailing down his temple. "Well... this is terrifying."
Nolan hefted the trident in his hands, feeling its unnatural weight - not physical, but the weight of responsibility it represented. With a lazy flick of his wrist, he gave an experimental swing through the air.
The effect was instantaneous.
A visible shockwave rippled upward from the trident's prongs, slicing through the atmosphere. The parched sky above Alubarna split apart with a sound like tearing fabric, revealing dark rain clouds that hadn't been seen in years. Then the heavens opened.
Fat raindrops began falling, first in scattered patches, then in a steady curtain that quickly became a proper downpour. The scent of wet earth rose from the streets as the desert kingdom drank its water greedily.
Outside the palace gates, a fruit vendor dropped his wares as the first drop hit his sun-leathered face. "I-It's...?" He touched his cheek in disbelief before turning his palms upward. "RAIN! IT'S RAIN!"
His cry sparked a chain reaction through the capital. Market stalls were abandoned as merchants and customers alike ran into the open, arms outstretched. Children shrieked with laughter, spinning in circles with their tongues out to catch droplets. Elderly citizens wept openly, the wrinkles on their faces becoming waterways for their tears.
"Praise the gods!" an old woman cried, kneeling in the suddenly muddy streets.
"The drought... it's really over!" a young mother whispered, clutching her baby as they both got soaked.
Near the palace barracks, a group of rebel and royal soldiers who had been awkwardly sharing space during the ceasefire all looked up simultaneously. The tension between them seemed to wash away with the rain as they shared identical looks of wonder.
In the palace gardens, Vivi let go of her father's arm and stepped out from under the covered walkway. The rainwater plastered her blue hair to her face as she laughed - a bright, unburdened sound that King Cobra hadn't heard since she was a child.
Meanwhile, back in the vault, Robin watched the scene unfold through a high window, her usual composure shaken. The trident's power was one thing, but Nolan's complete nonchalance about wielding it was something else entirely. He stood there yawning, leaning on the divine weapon like it was a walking stick.
"You just ended a five-year drought with a wrist flick," Robin observed, her voice carefully neutral.
Nolan blinked sleepily at the trident, then out at the celebrating city. "Huh. That's... convenient." He turned to her with sudden interest. "Think this thing can make a hammock appear too?"
Robin's laughter echoed through the vault, rich and genuine - a sound even rarer than Alabasta's rain.
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