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On a Navy battleship somewhere on the Grand Line—
"Captain Smoker! We picked up a strange signal!"
A Marine ran up and handed a wiretap Den Den Mushi to Smoker.
He listened. His eyes immediately narrowed.
"Mission... Princess Vivi... Mr. 0... Alabasta..."
Smoker clenched his cigar between his teeth and yelled toward Tashigi, who was standing nearby:
"Tashigi! That swordsman we caught a few days ago—he was called Mr. 11, right?"
"Yes, Captain! During interrogation, he admitted he works for Baroque Works."
"And the boss of that organization goes by the codename Mr. 0."
Smoker rubbed his chin."Baroque Works... a crime syndicate, huh?"
"And Princess Vivi... if I'm not mistaken, she's the missing princess of Alabasta."
A moment later, Smoker made his decision.
"I do want to catch the Straw Hats, but something like this... no way I can ignore it."
He turned to another Marine.
"Hey, contact HQ. Request an Eternal Pose to Alabasta!"
Then he stood at the ship's bow, looking out into the distance.
Straw Hat Luffy... and Bai Ye... you two get a free pass—for now.
"Man, it's a good thing Bai Ye was with us."
Luffy slapped Bai Ye on the back, grinning.
Aboard the Going Merry, docked at Little Garden—
Just the night before, both Vivi and Nami had come down with high fevers.
Thankfully, Bai Ye had some Detox Pills that helped them recover fast and spared them a lot of pain.
Sanji lit a cigarette and added,"Yeah, but moving forward, we really gotta find a proper doctor for the crew."
Like Bai Ye had said earlier—he could treat people, but only after symptoms showed up. That was too risky.
Plus, his pills weren't a perfect fix. He couldn't replace a real doctor.
"If it's a doctor you're looking for, I might know a place."
Dorry thought for a second and said,
"There's an island near the route between Little Garden and Alabasta—called Drum Island."
"It's known for its medical skills. You'll probably find a good ship doctor there."
"Alright! It's settled then!" Luffy clapped his hands.
"We're going to Drum Island to get ourselves a doctor!!!"
Unlike in the original story, Vivi didn't argue this time.
She'd just read a newspaper from the News Coo, and it said that the royal army and the rebels in Alabasta had agreed to a ceasefire.
Plus, the recent illness had left her genuinely shaken.
So both emotionally and logically, she wasn't going to stand in the way of the Straw Hats finding a doctor.
And so, the Straw Hats got ready to set sail again.
Luffy stood at the ship's bow, waving enthusiastically at the giants.
"See you, guys!! Keep that duel of yours going strong!!!"
Usopp, a little more emotional, wiped tears from his eyes.
"Master Dorry! Master Brogy!!"
"I swear I won't let you down! I'll become a brave warrior of the sea just like you two!!!"
Sanji didn't say anything.
He just quietly turned and went into the kitchen to start making lunch.
Zoro was glaring at the two giants, and there was a hint of killing intent in his eyes. Apparently, he'd heard that these two had chugged down quite a lot of Bai Ye's precious spirit wine.
As for Bai Ye, he was busy waving goodbye to Miss Goldenweek.
"Don't go around painting on people like that anymore, okay? It's super rude."
Goldenweek just pouted and waved him off, muttering, "Like I care what you think!"
Meanwhile, the Merry had already reached the exit of Little Garden.
Dorry and Brogy were standing tall on each side of the shore, boldly shouting to the crew:
"From here on, charge straight ahead!"
"We, in the name of Elbaf, will clear the way for you!!!"
Just as they finished speaking, massive waves surged up ahead. A gigantic goldfish opened its gaping mouth and lunged toward them.
This was the Island-Eating Goldfish — a monstrous creature that devoured entire islands. Even its poop was island-sized.
Seeing this beast, Luffy didn't hesitate for a second. He shouted, "Full speed ahead, guys!"
Like the goldfish in front of them didn't even exist.
The Straw Hats didn't argue — after all this time traveling together, their teamwork was rock solid.
Only Usopp muttered to himself, "Giant goldfish? Why does that sound so familiar...?"
As the goldfish got closer and closer, Dorry and Brogy's massive weapons — sword and axe — suddenly became wrapped in a mix of red and blue-colored Haki.
When their fighting spirit hit its peak, they swung their weapons forward with all their might.
"Hakoku!" (Sovereign Nation!)
The red and blue Haki waves tore straight through the giant goldfish, blowing a massive hole in its body.
Riding the wave that followed, the Merry successfully escaped the prehistoric island.
Luffy burst out laughing.
Usopp was bawling his eyes out.
Bai Ye, on the other hand, was deep in thought, still feeling the effects of that last move.
That must've been an external release of Armament Haki...
Damn, that's seriously terrifying!
According to the info Dorry gave them, Drum Island was right along their route — a Winter Island, no less.
With that in mind, the Straw Hats had a clear goal now: stick to their general course, but head toward wherever it felt colder.
This is where Nami's unique weather sense came into play again.
Not only could she predict huge tornadoes and typhoons before they formed and direct the ship to safety, but she also used tiny changes in the air to pick out the right direction.
It wasn't long before they entered a region of icy, wintry sea.
"Hey!"
Zoro, up on the lookout, put down the binoculars that were already dusted with snow.
"Do you guys think it's possible for someone to stand on the ocean?"
"Are you dumb? Who the hell can stand on water?" Sanji shouted up.
"Yeah! Zoro's an idiot!" Luffy made a face at him too.
Zoro: You're the last person who's allowed to say that, dammit!!!
After the usual banter, Zoro pointed straight ahead.
"Then tell me — what am I looking at?"
Everyone turned to look — and sure enough, there was a guy standing on the sea, carrying a giant bow.
He even greeted them: "Bit chilly today, huh?"
Luffy nodded. "Yeah, it is kinda cold."
Then...
A long, awkward silence followed.
Suddenly, a massive submarine surged up from under the man, sending waves crashing all around them.
The swell was so big that it nearly tipped the Merry over.
When the submarine was fully surfaced—
Usopp's eyes immediately locked onto the flag flying at the top.
It was a pirate flag — with a skull wearing a crown.
"....."