Far off the coast of Arabasta, a massive fleet was slowly moving in, preparing to dock along a sparsely populated stretch of shoreline nearby.
Only…
What had once been a desolate coast where not a soul could be seen for miles was now packed tightly with ships and vessels.
Simply because, at this moment, there was hardly any empty coastline left around Arabasta.
People from all over the world—some sincere, others merely curious—had swarmed toward this once-obscure nation on the Grand Line after the Hero Academy's announcement spread across the globe.
At the very front of the fleet, a ship nearly half again as large as the others forced its way inch by inch into the harbor.
A row of rope ladders was lowered by the soldiers aboard.
Cobra slowly descended from the high deck, staring in disbelief at the coastline beside him—where stalls selling trinkets, snacks, and drinks had sprung up one after another.
Arabasta's guardian spirits, Chaka and Pell, stood firmly at Cobra's side. Yet they, too, wore expressions as though they had seen a ghost, gazing at an Arabasta utterly unlike the one they remembered.
In Cobra's hand was a crumpled newspaper, clenched so tightly it was nearly torn.
He had learned of Arabasta's dramatic changes at the very first moment.
At first, Cobra believed it was merely a plot between Crocodile and that other Warlord who had appeared out of nowhere—Luffy.
After reading the news, he had assumed those two villains had coerced his daughter, Princess Vivi, in preparation for some even more terrifying scheme.
Yet as time passed, through his own observations and the continuous reports sent back by his agents, it became clear—Arabasta truly was undergoing something miraculous.
And during his absence, not only had his daughter, Princess Vivi, quelled the rebel army, she had also brought new life to the entire nation!
All of this left him deeply confused, which was why he had remained away for so long—only returning today.
Even so, he trusted that his daughter would never do anything harmful to the people.
As a descendant of the Nefertari family, a lineage passed down since ancient times, Vivi possessed that integrity.
Only…
He had never imagined that his daughter would join hands with outsiders and expose the greatest secret of their family.
…
Yuba.
Once a dreamland and oasis of the Arabasta Kingdom, located in the southwest.
Due to Crocodile's secret and extensive use of Dance Powder in the past, this former paradise had long since turned into a silent land of despair.
Yet hidden within this place was an unknown secret.
Within the royal tomb of the capital, Vivi had led Luffy and the others to view the Poneglyph safeguarded by the Nefertari clan for eight hundred years.²
After Robin's translation, a secret that had slept for nearly eight centuries—or even longer—was finally revealed once more to the world.
The vanished ancient weapon, Pluton, lay buried beneath this desolate desert.
Robin and Nami walked at the front of the group, each holding a document—one the translated Poneglyph, the other a complete topographical map of Arabasta.
The two visual standouts of the Starry Sky Pirates carefully cross-checked the materials in their hands.
After a long while, Nami suddenly lifted her head, pointed at a massive sand dune ahead, turned back, and said with a confident smile:
"Luffy~
It should be right there. No mistake!"
"Is that so?"
Luffy stepped forward, glanced at the map in Nami's hands, then at the spot she indicated.
Though he clearly didn't understand any of it, he still wanted to look again. He didn't know why.
Following Luffy's steps, Crocodile left one excited footprint after another in the sand, his gaze fixed on the red circle marked on Nami's map.
Unlike Luffy—illiterate and devoted purely to strength—Crocodile's navigation skills ranked among the very best in this world.
A mere terrain map posed no challenge to him at all.
After all, a crocodile bold enough to roam the seas alone would have been swallowed long ago by the merciless ocean if he lacked true ability.
The climate of the New World was no joke.
Guided by Nami, the rest of the Starry Sky crew quickly turned their gazes toward the target location.
Luffy raised a hand to shield his eyes from the blinding sun, peering into the distance as he said to Crocodile:
"Hurry up and dig it out!"
"Understood!"
At Luffy's command, Crocodile—who had already been teaching at the Hero Academy for some time—responded immediately.
In the next instant, his entire body rode atop a cloud of sand and shot into the sky.
Pluton!
Even though he had already decided to serve under the Starry Sky banner from now on, he had never once abandoned the idea of excavating the ancient weapon.
Because—
This was the greatest proof of the time he had shared with Olvia!
"Olvia! Let the world witness the secret treasure you uncovered!"
From an angle no one else could see, tears—gentle enough to be called tenderness—quietly welled up in Crocodile's ferocious eyes.
These were a crocodile's tears, and his final solace to the past.
With Crocodile's soft murmur, a storm that shot straight into the heavens suddenly appeared before everyone's eyes.
Beneath the raging storm, Nami lightly raised a hand. A mysterious, transparent wall of air instantly formed in front of her, Robin, and Vivi.
It shielded the three beauties from the sand and dust filling the sky.
At any time, appearance and elegance came above all else.
That was womanhood!
As for the rest of the Starry Sky crew—aside from the invisible air wall that suddenly appeared in front of Luffy—Zoro, Sanji, and the others had no choice but to endure the raging sandstorm, their faces repeatedly pelted and dirtied by flying grit.
Above, sand continued to gather in the sky, while below, a massive pit gradually took shape.
Yet beneath that pit was still nothing but endless yellow sand, with no sign of the ancient weapon whatsoever.
Usopp raised an arm high, watching as the distant sand dunes were flattened bit by bit, then carved into enormous ravines. Unable to hold back his curiosity, he asked:
"Is it really here? Could we be wrong?"
However, with everyone's attention fixed on the depths of the pit, no one answered Usopp's doubts.
As time passed, faint traces of curiosity appeared on everyone's faces—as if silently asking why there was still no sign of Pluton.
Only Crocodile, hovering high in the air, continued to drive his powers relentlessly, controlling the sand without the slightest hint of giving up.
He firmly believed that Olvia's conclusion had to be correct!
Therefore—
Pluton had to be hidden within this sea of sand!
If it wasn't here, he would overturn the entire desert of Arabasta!
After all, he had all the time in the world to waste now!!!
Everyone waited there in silence.
Time slipped by bit by bit, and the pit grew deeper and deeper.
One hundred meters…
Two hundred meters…
Three hundred meters…
One thousand meters!
Two thousand meters!!
Three thousand meters!!!
…
When they had arrived, the sun had only just reached its zenith.
Now, even the moon in the sky was about to set!
Dawn of the next day was fast approaching.
Sweat drenched Crocodile's forehead, yet he persisted without hesitation.
Pluton meant far too much to him—more even than his own life!
A streak of greenish dawn light appeared on the distant horizon.
Just as everyone was truly about to give up, Luffy—standing at the very front—suddenly smiled faintly and murmured in an incredibly soft voice that somehow reached everyone's ears:
"It's out."
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100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter
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