One piece : A Lotus

At the back of the palace, in Princess Vivi's room, who is Cobra's daughter, Igaram and the King tried to calm the princess...

"Vivi, don't be afraid, everything is fine now."

"Father is a jerk! Brother is a jerk!" Vivi squatted down and cried, "Today is my fourteenth birthday."

But the two she was cursing had completely forgotten about it.

Igaram felt a bit awkward and stepped aside, because even he hadn't thought of it.

No wonder Vivi was so angry today, but with Crocodile's visit and Ezekiel's disappearance, it clearly wasn't the time for a celebration.

A strong tremor rippled through the entire palace.

Cobra was shocked. Could it be that Crocodile and the Marine had a fight?

He and Igaram exchanged glances, told Vivi not to worry, and ran out the door together towards the palace hall. The earthquake in the palace also caught the attention of the Marines stationed nearby. Soon, Momonga stormed into the palace. He was obliged to protect the royal family.

"Damn it, could Crocodile actually dare to deal openly with the royal family of Alabasta?!" Momonga thought angrily. He had seen Crocodile enter the capital, but after all, Crocodile was a Warlord, and the Marines had no reason to arrest him. But Momonga did not expect him to dare to take such a rebellious action. Now, even if he's a Warlord, there are clear reasons for arrest!

The first to arrive was Cobra, and the sight in the hall truly shocked him.

He saw that the entire hall had turned into an icy castle, with walls adorned with exquisite ice reliefs, and in the middle of the hall stood lifelike ice sculptures... Including Crocodile himself, all five of his subordinates he had brought were frozen. The ice sculptures were immobilized in various poses!

The floor bore traces of immense forces, sand and dust had rushed in and been frozen by some unknown power. This scene appeared as a magnificent and incredible spectacle, where human endeavor clashed with the irresistibly majestic forces of nature.

At this moment, Cobra saw Prince Ezekiel, who seemed surprised, and Pell, who also remained silent. Cobra was momentarily speechless and didn't dare think that this was done by Ezekiel . Cobra and Igaram simply could not comprehend what was happening, or who was responsible. They had a feeling it might be that person...

At this time, Momonga also arrived at the scene with other Marine officers. When he saw Crocodile frozen as an ice sculpture, his expression was one of satisfaction. The initial thought of capturing a Warlord with Marine forces and Justice was completely lost.

Everything before him was clearly the work of an Admiral. After all, in his opinion, only Aokiji possesses such an ability. Although he had heard that Admiral Aokiji had arrived in Alabasta, he never thought he would directly confront Crocodile! Yet, Admiral Aokiji was nowhere to be seen.

Cobra's knowledge was also quite advanced, at least the scene before him gave a clear indication of who must have done it, so he silently glanced at Momonga, then irritably turned his head to Will and said:

"Bastard" "Where have you been? You've gotten yourself in trouble again! Go to your room."

He absolutely didn't want his children involved in this matter, not even indirectly. After all, this was a battle between the Marines and the Warlord, between Admiral Aokiji and Crocodile; clearly, a child had no place here.

"Father... It's terrible..." It seemed Ezekiel wanted to say something.

"Shut up! To your room, quickly!" Cobra interrupted him. "I'm sorry, Vice Admiral Momonga, for my son causing you trouble..." Cobra added, looking at Momonga.

"Relax, Your Majesty, I understand," Momonga nodded prudently, knowing that Cobra did not want to interfere between the Shichibukai and the Marines. Moreover, it was the Admiral's responsibility in the first place, and Cobra couldn't let Alabasta take Crocodile upon itself.

Pell looked amazed and said nothing, just listening to King Cobra's words. Meanwhile, he slowly approached the prince. His face slightly twitched.

"Your Majesty, you truly don't know what kind of son you have!" Pell thought.

He had just witnessed with his own eyes that His Royal Highness, merely fifteen years old, used the power of the Freezing Fruit to easily defeat Crocodile and his crew.

"This wasn't some random attack, it was a decisive victory! The prince is the true guardian saint Alabasta has eagerly awaited for centuries!" Pell's eyes were burning with this thought. He swore his loyalty. Not even to Cobra could he afford to speak the truth. In the end, he followed the young man silently, like a mute servant.

If the World Government forbids Ezekiel from using his abilities, it will be problematic. Perhaps the spread of mobile phones would be banned worldwide. Therefore, he doesn't want anyone to know the secret of his fruit, especially if it becomes known that he can replicate other fruits.

Crocodile and the others were captured by the Marines right in their icy sculptures. And since the ice didn't melt, they were placed near the Marine base.

As for this incident, Momonga reported it to no one, not even Sengoku. Because he personally felt extreme disdain for Crocodile. And since there was no corpse, there was no need to report it. The fact that the Warlord were given the right to kill and arrest did not mean that conflicts couldn't exist between them and the Marines.

......

In the dark night, the blocks of frozen ice sculptures shone under the moon. Real people were frozen within them.

A woman dressed in jeans, a fitted little top, and a wide-brimmed cowboy hat, arms crossed over her chest, greeted the Marine. Due to her striking beauty, the young Marine was too shy to look directly at her. He simply bowed his head to show her the way.

"This person is here. Please take him away quickly."

The woman slightly lifted her hat and saw a stout man with grim eyes in the frosty mist under the moon. He was indeed frozen into an ice sculpture.

The woman smiled, touched the gun at her waist, and finally hesitated before lowering her hand.

She knew that even though he was frozen, due to the power of the Devil Fruit, he couldn't be easily killed.