Half an hour ago.
The sea breeze was suffocatingly hot. The sun beat down on the Grand Line without a single ounce of mercy.
Just as Portgas D. Ace was about to leave on his small boat, trouble appeared on the horizon.
Seven or eight large galleons approached from the distance. Their massive sails caught the desert wind. Judging by their distinct, cross-bone flags, the people on board were all Billions. They were the elite, cold-blooded agents from the Baroque Works organization.
They were loud. They were incredibly arrogant.
Judging by their clamor echoing across the waves, these buffoons actually threatened to capture Ace. They shouted insults. They waved their weapons. They wanted to use the renowned pirate's severed head to raise their rank in the underground syndicate.
Truly, they were a group of people driven utterly mad by the desire for a promotion. They had absolutely no idea what kind of monster they were sailing toward.
If the Sand Crocodile saw this scene, he would surely feel gratified. He would be proud to have such fearless, ambitious subordinates working under his command.
But if one actively seeks death, they will surely find it.
Ace expressed great, theatrical emotion regarding these fearless warriors courting their own demise. He sighed deeply. He shook his head at their utter, blinding foolishness.
Then, he kindly granted their dying wish.
Ace planted his feet firmly on the deck of his Striker. He pulled back his right fist. The air around his arm began to shimmer. It distorted wildly from a sudden, massive spike in temperature.
Flames ignited out of thin air. They coiled around his arm like a roaring, crimson dragon. The heat was instantaneous. It was absolutely suffocating.
"Fire Fist!"
Ace threw the punch forward.
A single, massive pillar of pure, superheated crimson fire blasted across the ocean surface. It tore through the air with a deafening, apocalyptic roar. The seawater directly beneath the flames instantly vaporized into thick, hissing white steam.
The fire swallowed the small fries. It swallowed their massive galleons whole.
There were no screams. There was no grand battle. Everything was turned into ash, blackened splinters, and burning debris in an absolute instant.
Even from a great distance away, the Straw Hats standing on the deck of the Going Merry could feel it. An oppressing, terrifying heatwave washed over them. It singed their hair. It instantly dried the sweat on their skin.
The massive pillar of fire scorched the very sky. It left a towering, ominous trail of black smoke against the bright blue horizon.
Ace's signature move demonstrated the raw, terrifying destructive power of a highly developed Logia-type Devil Fruit. It was exactly like witnessing a natural disaster unfold.
Afterward, Ace slowly retracted his arm. The blazing flames flickered and died out, leaving only smoking ruins in their wake.
He coolly pushed up the brim of his cowboy hat. He didn't even bother to look back at the destruction he had caused. He sped away on his small boat. The engine roared, powered entirely by the Flame-Flame Fruit.
(Act cool and run, so damn exciting.) "Incredible... Luffy's brother," Zoro muttered under his breath.
The swordsman gazed at the burning wreckage floating on the sea. The dancing flames reflected brightly in his single visible eye. He clicked his tongue in secret, profound amazement.
"Is this the power of the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates? A crew that stands at the very summit of the world?"
"Yeah," Sanji puffed on a cigarette nearby. He exhaled a thin cloud of smoke. He rarely agreed with the moss-head, but he couldn't deny what he had just seen with his own eyes. "The shitty old geezer once told me. The strong in the Grand Line are as numerous as the stars in the night sky."
In truth, Sanji, Zoro, Luffy, and Kai would have had no pressure dealing with those shiploads of weaklings. They could have dismantled the Baroque Works ships piece by piece without breaking a single sweat.
But to wipe out so many enemies in one clean, effortless breath? That was an entirely different league. That was a monstrous level of power.
"Hey, hey, hey," Usopp's face suddenly looked extremely grim. The color drained from his cheeks. His knees began to knock together in absolute, uncontrollable terror.
"You guys said Crocodile is a Logia user just like Ace, right?"
Everyone slowly turned to the sniper. The heavy implication hung thickly in the hot air.
"He wouldn't happen to be as strong as Ace too, would he?!" Usopp shrieked, grabbing his own head.
As soon as Long-Nose finished speaking, the atmosphere on the ship shifted dramatically. The awe vanished. A cold, harsh reality set in.
Nami, Vivi, and Chopper's expressions changed drastically. Pure, unadulterated fear crept into their eyes. They were going to fight a Warlord of the Sea with that kind of untouchable, god-like power?
"Shishishi! So what?"
The idiot captain smiled confidently. His grin stretched from ear to ear. He stood proudly on the wooden railing. He struck a heroic pose that screamed, 'I am very strong.'
"Don't we already know his weakness? I'm definitely going to send that bastard crocodile flying!"
(You said that before, but weren't you beaten like a dead dog by your brother just ten minutes ago?) Everyone silently retorted in their hearts. They didn't bother pointing out his foolishness. They simply sighed.
Nanohana..
Smoker and his group of Marines had been fully intercepted by Ace's towering wall of fire. The narrow sandstone alleyway was a blazing, superheated furnace.
The scorching flames made it utterly impossible for them to take a single step forward. The stone cobblestones were literally melting into glowing slag beneath their heavy military boots.
By the time the flames finally, gradually died down to embers, the Straw Hats had long since vanished without a trace.
Smoker sat heavily on the stone steps of a ruined, scorched building. His face was ashen. His pristine white Marine jacket was covered in dark soot and gray ash. He puffed furiously on two cigars at once. The thick smoke billowed angrily around his head.
"Portgas D. Ace... why did he come here? And why did he go out of his way to help Straw Hat?"
The White Hunter frowned deeply. The creases on his forehead deepened. He was deeply puzzled. The pieces of this chaotic puzzle simply didn't fit together.
"And that blue-haired girl running with them seemed to be this country's princess. Nefertari Vivi. Why is she mixing with the Straw Hats? Looking at her body language, she didn't seem to be held hostage at all. She was running with them willingly."
Thinking of this strange anomaly, Smoker looked over at his naturally airheaded female subordinate.
Tashigi was sulking in the corner. She hugged her precious sword tightly to her chest. She was deeply depressed because she had let the infamous pirate hunter slip away from her grasp yet again.
"Tashigi, what do you think?" Smoker barked, his voice rough like gravel.
"...Huh? Captain Smoker, what did you just say?" The blue-haired girl with glasses looked entirely bewildered. She blinked owlishly. She had not been paying attention to his mumbling at all.
Smoker rolled his eyes toward the sky. He let out a long, exasperated sigh. He was forced to repeat his question.
Tashigi stared at him with her big, round eyes. She thought for a good, long while. She rubbed her chin, trying desperately to look like a serious military strategist. Then, she answered solemnly.
"Um, Captain, I think there's something fishy about this!"
"Idiot! Do I need you to tell me that?!"
Smoker shook his head in absolute disbelief. Waiting half a day only to get such a blatantly obvious, useless answer gave him a massive headache. He felt that asking his female subordinate, whose brain was filled exclusively with trivia about famous swords, wouldn't yield anything useful for this investigation.
"Ugh..." Tashigi's fair cheeks flushed bright red. She lowered her head in deep shame. She really wasn't good at analyzing complex political problems or pirate motivations.
The surrounding Marines looked like they desperately wanted to laugh at her. But looking at Smoker's terrifying, smoke-shrouded scowl, they absolutely didn't dare make a single sound.
Just then, a Marine ran over from the communication outpost. He was in an absolute panic. He was completely out of breath, panting heavily as he stopped before Smoker.
"Captain Smoker!!" he shouted loudly for all to hear.
"Report," Smoker growled, chewing on his cigars.
"Sir! We just received word! That Mr. 11 from Baroque Works has been rescued! Someone broke him out!"
Smoker's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What else?"
"Also, the classified data we collected on the Sand Crocodile these past few days has all been stolen from the office! Oh right, and a massive amount of food and drinking water is entirely missing from the garrison's kitchen too!"
The surrounding Marines were first in an uproar. Then, they were filled with righteous, burning indignation.
Holy crap, this thief was simply too audacious! Stealing right from the Marines' headquarters! Do they think the Marines don't exist? Is there no law in this desert? Where is justice? Where is the dignity of the Marines?
"The answer is obvious," Smoker gnashed his teeth. The cigars nearly snapped in half. "The only ones who could do these things silently in the middle of this chaos are those damn pirates."
Veins popped violently on Smoker's forehead. Thick, gray smoke rose and rolled aggressively around him. He resembled a terrifying demon from the abyss baring its fangs and claws at the heavens.
He took a deep, rattling breath. The two cigars in his mouth burned down rapidly, glowing bright, angry orange.
"Fine. I was just worrying about how to find you in this massive desert. But I didn't expect you to deliver your intentions right to my doorstep..."
The White Hunter forced himself to calm down. Anger clouded judgment. The white smoke wrapped around his broad shoulders gradually dissipated into the hot desert air. After pondering the tactical map in his mind for a long moment, he stood up.
"Tashigi!"
"Yes, Captain Smoker!" The blue-haired girl with glasses hurriedly stood at attention and gave a standard, stiff military salute.
"Go immediately and have all Marines gather at the docks. Board the ships. We are setting sail to Rainbase at once!" Smoker ordered with a deadly serious face.
"Rainbase? But sir..." Tashigi hesitated.
"Since they are so interested in Crocodile's files, they will definitely go straight to his lair!" Smoker declared, his voice leaving no room for argument.
"But Captain!" Tashigi protested loudly. "Pirates will always just be pirates. I don't believe that a vicious, greedy pirate crew would come all this way to save innocent people! They must be after his treasure!"
"It doesn't matter what they are after," Smoker growled, turning his back to her. "It just so happens I can use capturing Straw Hat as a perfect pretext to take a good, hard look at what kind of dirty tricks that Sand Crocodile is truly up to!"
After Tashigi took the order and led the group of Marines away to prepare the fleet, Smoker let out a long, heavy sigh. He sat back down on the stone steps alone.
He looked out over the smoking ruins of Nanohana. The Warlord system was flawed. The World Government was blind. But he would find the truth. He would find it in Rainbase.
The Grand Line was truly a terrifying place, but he would not back down.
The West Bank of the Sandora River. After several hours of sailing inland from the hidden coastal inlet, the Straw Hat Pirates finally arrived at the west bank of the massive Sandora River.
Zoro and Sanji jumped off the ship. They expertly moored the Going Merry to a large, dead, sun-bleached tree root protruding from the sandy bank.
The crew immediately began moving the heavy supplies off the ship. The desert sun was already beating down on them mercilessly. The air was thick and shimmering with heat.
Zoro and Sanji carried the heavy wooden crates filled with dry rations. They hauled massive, sloshing barrels of fresh water onto the sandy shore. They prepared themselves mentally and physically for the long, grueling trek ahead.
However, just as the fully prepped Straw Hats were planning to head out into the dunes, the sand near the riverbank shifted.
A large group of strange, peculiar creatures suddenly popped up from the dirt.
They weren't very big. They looked very much like seals. Yet, bizarrely, they carried hard, green turtle shells strapped to their backs. They stood completely upright on their hind flippers. They looked quite cute and entirely harmless.
"What on earth are these creatures?" The long-nosed brother walked up curiously. He leaned in, peering at them closely.
"Don't, Usopp!" Vivi turned pale with absolute fright. She waved her arms frantically. "Those are Kung Fu Dugongs! They love to fight!"
"Vivi, you're too late..."
Nami, Zoro, Sanji, and Kai watched the brutal scene unfold in dead silence.
A single, small Kung Fu Dugong stood triumphantly on top of a bruised, battered, and groaning Usopp. The other Dugongs cheered loudly. They waved their small, stubby fists in unison to celebrate the swift victory.
"Usopp, so pitiful..." Chopper wore a look of utter shock. His jaw hung open.
The innocent little reindeer really hadn't expected that the loudly self-proclaimed "Invincible Captain Usopp" would have less actual combat power than a single adorable sea mammal.
"It doesn't matter," Zoro smirked, crossing his arms and pointing at the center of the herd. "Luffy has already avenged him."
"Yee-haw!" Luffy let out a massive roar of triumph.
The rubber boy stood amidst a towering pile of completely unconscious Kung Fu Dugongs. He laughed wildly, wiping a speck of dust from his nose. He hadn't even broken a sweat.
Princess Vivi's mouth twitched a few times. She frantically explained the local customs to everyone, "Even winning against them is no good! Kung Fu Dugongs are incredibly strict martial artists. If you defeat them in combat, they will acknowledge you as their absolute master! They will follow you forever!"
Ten minutes later, her panicked words were proven completely true.
A massive army of bruised but eager Kung Fu Dugongs sat perfectly cross-legged on the sand in front of Luffy. They stared up at him with glittering stars in their eyes. They waited for his orders like loyal, disciplined soldiers.
Although the dim-witted captain thought having so many Kung Fu Dugong disciples was a very interesting and fun thing, the group simply didn't have time to delay. They had an entire country to save from civil war.
In the end, with Chopper acting as a translator, they stepped forward to negotiate with the cute little things.
It cost them dearly. It cost half of their freshly bought, precious food supplies just to get them to stop pestering Luffy and following them into the deadly desert.
At the same time, this group of Kung Fu Dugongs—whose combat power completely eclipsed Usopp's by a wide margin—was charged with the heavy, sacred responsibility of protecting the safety of the Going Merry while they were gone.
The Great Desert.
The scorching sun hung high overhead like a giant, watchful eye of pure fire.
Endless, rolling yellow sand swirled and flew under the blowing of the fierce, monotonous desert wind.
This was the absolute life-forbidden zone within the kingdom of Alabasta. The Great Desert.
The Straw Hat crew trudged slowly through the boundless sea of sand. They were dressed in their lightweight, desert-style clothing. Every single step was a massive struggle. Every step kicked up layers of hot sand waves, leaving a long, winding trail behind them that was quickly erased by the wind.
Walking was an absolute nightmare.
"Phew~ It's so hot..." Usopp complained bitterly, wiping sweat from his brow.
Rolling waves of intense heat lashed at his face. The long-nosed brother quickly felt his mouth go completely dry. His tongue felt like rough sandpaper scraping against the roof of his mouth.
If you're thirsty, you simply have to drink water. So, Usopp hurriedly shouted at the dim-witted captain walking at the very front of the line.
"Hey, Luffy! Hurry up and give me the canteen! I'm dying here!"
"Wait, let me take one last sip!" Luffy yelled back.
After saying that, Luffy sucked incredibly hard on the canteen's straw. Because he was made entirely of rubber, his mouth instantly expanded in an exaggerated, massive manner. He drank half the canteen in a single, monstrous gulp.
This blatant act of cheating using the Gum-Gum Fruit's ability immediately made the sniper explode with uncontrollable rage.
"You bastard! Is that one sip?! That's almost twenty of mine! Give me the canteen!"
After screaming, Usopp reached out and violently yanked Luffy's black hair. The two idiots began brawling and rolling around in the scorching hot sand, wasting even more precious energy.
"Honestly, can't these two behave a little?" Zoro shook his head helplessly. He didn't have the energy to separate them.
Then, he looked down. He looked at the little reindeer dragging his heavy hooves through the sand. Chopper looked terrible.
"Chopper, are you okay?" Zoro asked with rare concern.
"I'm not okay... I just feel too hot. I... I'm going to die of heat..."
Chopper stuck his blue tongue out weakly. He panted heavily. His eyes were half-closed. He looked like he was on the absolute verge of death.
Everything in this world has two sides. As a reindeer who lived his entire life on a freezing Winter Island, Chopper's thick fur allowed him to easily ignore biting cold winds. But it also left him with zero biological resistance against scorching hot environments. He was literally baking alive inside his own fur coat.
"So pitiful, Chopper."
Nami couldn't bear the sad sight. She sat down on a nearby sand dune. She picked up the little reindeer and gently rested his small head on her ivory-white thighs. She hoped providing a soft lap pillow would make Chopper feel more comfortable.
Unfortunately, this was just wishful thinking on the Navigator's part.
Not only did the little reindeer not feel any better from the oppressive heat, but he was also choked by the strong, sweet perfume sprayed on Nami's body. Who told his reindeer nose to be so incredibly sensitive? He coughed and wheezed miserably in her lap.
Seeing this scene, a certain love-struck, curly-browed cook immediately lost his cool completely.
(Ahhhh, Nami-san's lap pillow!! I'm so envious... Why do you still look reluctant, you stinking reindeer!!! Damn it, I... That's right! I can do that too...) A brilliant idea flashed through Sanji's mind like lightning. He smiled lewdly. He immediately feigned an expression of unbearable, agonizing suffering from the heat. He dramatically placed the back of his hand against his forehead and swooned.
"Ah~~ Nami-san, your brave knight is also dying of heat..."
Sanji fell toward her. His right eye had already turned into a massive, pulsating heart shape as he leaned toward Nami with an utterly perverted look. "I need your comfort, Nami-san. A lap pillow will save my life..."
Bang! "Then just die of heat!"
Nami's face turned completely dark with annoyance. She unceremoniously bashed the love-struck cook squarely on the head with a solid fist. It caused a massive, smoking lump to form instantly on his skull. Sanji collapsed face-first into the sand.
Princess Vivi, who was sitting quietly next to Nami, smiled awkwardly at the chaotic display.
Zoro curled his lips in absolute disdain. "This Ero-Kappa's love-sickness is truly incurable..."
Dr. Chopper stuck out his tongue and nodded his heavy head in deep agreement.
After a while of walking through the endless, rolling dunes,Vivi suddenly stopped in her tracks. She pointed a trembling finger toward the hazy, heat-distorted horizon.
"Look, everyone! That is Erumalu. The place I mentioned."
Kai and the others stopped and turned to look. Through the intense heat distortion, they discovered a vast expanse of building ruins looming in the distance.
Judging from the massive scale of these crumbling stone structures, it wasn't hard to see how prosperous and grand a city this used to be. It must have housed thousands.
But now? All that remained was sky-filled yellow sand and a haunting, terrifying, lifeless silence.
As they slowly walked closer to this abandoned, dead city, the expressions of Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and the others grew increasingly serious. The joking stopped completely.
They had heard Vivi say before that Erumalu used to be a vibrant, green oasis. It shined like a brilliant emerald diamond in this harsh, unforgiving desert. It was full of life, flowing water, and the laughter of children.
But now? Where was there anything even remotely related to green? It was nothing more than a sprawling graveyard of sand-blasted stone.
They arrived before a massive central building that had been eroded completely out of shape by the relentless wind and sand over the years.
They decided to take a short, much-needed rest among the ruins to escape the direct sunlight.
Princess Vivi wandered slowly through the dead city streets. Her originally bright, hopeful eyes were filled with profound sorrow. Looking at the empty, dark doorways, she seemed to vividly see the despairing expressions of her people when they were finally forced to abandon their beloved homes due to the utter lack of water.
"Vivi-san, what exactly happened here?" Sanji walked beside her. He lit a fresh cigarette, his voice unusually soft and incredibly respectful. "Wasn't this an oasis?"
The tragic, desolate scene made the usually upbeat, energetic cook feel exceptionally depressed. It was a tragedy on a massive scale.
Recovering her senses, Vivi took a deep breath and calmed herself. She stood in the center of the ruined, sandy square. She began to slowly recount Crocodile's various, unseen evil deeds to the group once more.
She explained the horrific mechanics of the Dance Powder. She explained how it artificially stole rain from the rest of the country, causing a devastating, unnatural drought.
She explained how Crocodile meticulously framed the King, planting the powder and staging evidence in the royal palace to destroy the King's reputation.
She explained the inevitable, tragic rise of the angry rebel army, born from starvation and betrayal. And finally, she explained how the Sand Crocodile manipulated public perception at every turn to become a "National Hero" while secretly tearing the entire nation apart from the inside out.
"...Why did that guy have to do this?"
Vivi became more agitated as she spoke. Her voice trembled with raw emotion. By the end, she could no longer control her feelings. She began to shout loudly at the empty, broken walls, venting her absolute, crushing despair to the silent city.
"What wrong did my father ever do?!"
"What did the innocent people of this country ever do to him?!"
"Why must my people suffer like this?!"
"Why must my people kill each other over a lie?!"
"Why is that bastard, the culprit behind it all, worshipped as a savior by the very people he victimized?!"
At this point, the blue-haired girl's legs gave out entirely. She dropped heavily to her knees on the scorching sandy ground with a look of utter misery.
She gripped the hot sand tightly in her fists. Her entire body trembled violently from pure, unadulterated anger and grief. Tears streamed down her face, falling from her chin and disappearing instantly into the dry, unforgiving earth.
"I will absolutely never forgive him! Crocodile!!"
Woooooo~~ Suddenly, a gust of wild, lonely wind rolled up countless grains of flying sand. It whistled violently past the group and swept through the surrounding broken walls.
Under the blowing of this fierce wind, the hollow, ruined buildings emitted a low, haunting sound like ghostly weeping. The sorrowful echoes reverberated through the empty streets.
That extremely desolate sound was as if the city itself was sobbing. It was telling the visitors of its deep pain at being swallowed completely by the wind, the sand, and the greed of one man.
(Vivi...) Luffy, Kai, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, and Chopper looked at the blue-haired girl's total loss of composure.
They didn't speak a single word. They didn't offer empty, meaningless platitudes.
They all wore expressions of unbearable pity, which slowly, inevitably hardened into looks of absolute, quiet, murderous fury.
The Warlord had to fall. And they were going to be the ones to bring him down.