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"You said there's a drought in Alabasta, yeah?" Bai Ye repeated.
"That's right... what are you getting at, Mr. Bai Ye?"
"Just call me Bai Ye," he said casually.
"If our captain decided to help you, then you're already a friend of the Straw Hat crew."
He glanced at Luffy, who was absentmindedly picking his nose, and went on:
"These talismans—think of them as the Straw Hats' first gift to you."
"With these, we can at least ease the drought in Alabasta for a while."
"Because honestly, that Crocodile guy? Who knows what he'll pull next."
With that, Bai Ye handed the talismans over to Igaram.
"Uhh…"
Vivi and Igaram stared at the yellow papers, looking puzzled.
"Don't worry, Vivi," Nami said, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "Bai Ye's talismans really work."
"Yeah, remember what saved the old man before? That was one of Bai Ye's too," Usopp added.
"Hahaha! Bai Ye's got new tricks up his sleeve again?" Luffy laughed, eyes full of curiosity. "Lemme see, Bai Ye!"
"Hey, Luffy, those are supposed to help with Alabasta's crisis—don't be so casual about it," Sanji sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Well, since Captain's insisting, guess I'll show you a quick demo," Bai Ye said, a little helplessly.
Zoro stayed behind to watch over the unlucky duo who had been knocked out (plus Explosive Guy), while the rest followed Bai Ye outside.
By now, the sky was getting dark. Everyone stood in a circle around Bai Ye.
He didn't look nervous at all—actually, he seemed to be enjoying the spotlight.
With a flick of his wrist, he held up the talisman.
[Rain Summoning Talisman]
As the name suggests, it's a talisman that can call down rain.
Basically, it activates a formation inscribed on the paper, pulling moisture from the air to make it rain.
Bai Ye pinched the talisman between his fingers and tossed it high above his head.
"[Rain Summoning Talisman—Activate!]"
"HAHAHA! IT'S REALLY RAINING!"
Luffy jumped up in excitement, mouth wide open trying to catch raindrops to see if they tasted good.
Even though Nami, Usopp, and the others already knew what the talisman could do, they were still amazed by how effective it was.
Vivi and Igaram, though? They dropped to their knees.
Not just because they were stunned—but because for the first time, they saw hope for Alabasta.
Soon after, everyone went back inside. No one wanted to stand around getting soaked—except Luffy, who had to be dragged in by his collar by Bai Ye.
Once inside, a new incident broke out: Sanji got into a fight with Zoro for calling him a "wet dog," and Nami had to step in to settle things.
At that moment, Vivi suddenly remembered something Bai Ye had said earlier.
"Bai Ye, why did you say Crocodile might 'make a move'?"
Hearing that, Bai Ye shrugged. "Just a guess—but based on your intel, it's a pretty solid one."
"He's spent years hiding in the shadows, trying to take control of Alabasta."
"And now, right when his plan's almost complete—you show up."
Bai Ye paused, then continued:
"A guy like him? Of course he's gonna send killers after you ASAP to eliminate the threat."
"But he's also the type to make backup plans."
"If you didn't die, or someone else caught wind of what he's doing, then all his effort would be wasted."
"So what does he do?"
"He kills you as fast as he can—and speeds up his entire plan."
Of course, Bai Ye was basing all this on what he remembered from the manga's future plot.
"So what's he gonna do exactly?" Usopp, fully hooked now, took on his usual sidekick role.
"No idea for sure. Maybe he'll trick the royal army into joining the rebels, or maybe he'll frame the royal family."
"Point is—he'll want to stir up as much chaos as possible."
"And since he can't make a public move, he'll make sure more and more people die to push things over the edge."
Vivi gasped and clamped her hand over her mouth.
"So the talisman—it's to ease tensions between the rebels and the royal family?"
Nami had pieced it all together.
"Exactly." Bai Ye nodded. "And to give Crocodile a headache, too."
"In this whole mess, Crocodile's hiding in the shadows while the royal family is in the open."
"But now—we're the ones in the shadows, and Crocodile's the one exposed."
"If it suddenly starts raining again in Alabasta, he's bound to get suspicious and start investigating."
"And while he's wasting time on that, he'll hold off on making his next move."
"Of course, it'll only buy us a little time."
Bai Ye ended with that conclusion.
"That's enough. Even a little time can change everything," Vivi said, looking at Bai Ye with real gratitude.
Maybe his plan really could work.
It was the first time she'd allowed herself to feel even a little hope.
"Hahaha, told ya, Bai Ye's plans are always awesome!" Luffy grinned, munching on meat while praising Bai Ye—despite not understanding a single thing.
Vivi looked at Bai Ye seriously and nodded."Yeah… he's really reliable."
"Not just reliable," said a smooth, unfamiliar female voice from outside the room, "he's also a pretty scary guy~"
Creaaak—
The door opened.
A mature, dark-haired woman with slightly tanned skin strolled in.
She smiled and continued:
"No wonder they put a 100 million bounty on you right off the bat, Heavenly Master Bai Ye."
"Miss All Sunday!!!"
Vivi's face changed instantly, yelling in shock.
Nami immediately realized what that name meant:
"She's with Baroque Works, right? Who's her partner?"
"Mr. 0. Also known as their boss—Crocodile."
Luffy piped up beside them, shocked."She's a bad guy?!"
Vivi tensed up, eyes still on the mysterious woman, and kept talking—
"I only figured out who Crocodile really is by following her."
"To be exact, I was the one who told you to follow her," Miss All Sunday said with a slight laugh, her cold elegance catching Sanji completely off guard.
"Now that I look closely, you're actually a stunning lady!" Sanji was practically starstruck.
Luffy clapped his palm with realization. "Ohhh, so you're a good guy!"
Vivi was stunned for a second, then quickly caught on.
"In that case... you're also the one who snitched to Crocodile, aren't you?"
Miss All Sunday nodded. "That's right."
Luffy: "Oh—so you're still a bad guy then!"
Zoro: "Can you shut up for once?"
"....."