Listening to Cobra's words, tears quickly welled up in Vivi's eyes.
She really wanted to go out to sea with Luffy and the others, but she also couldn't bear to leave this country.
At this moment, she heard Cobra continue to say.
"Don't worry!"
"After this incident, I have also reflected."
"Although Crocodile was the culprit who destroyed this country, he also taught me many things."
"Just as Crocodile said at the time, I was too foolish in the past."
"I only thought about protecting the safety of my citizens, but I overlooked the fundamental reason and did not consider the inner thoughts of the citizens."
"Ultimately, it led to so many citizens having to take up arms to resist me, their king."
"So I have decided that from now on, I will carry out reforms in this country. Besides protecting the safety of the citizens, I will also interact more with them to understand each other, and no longer let this country be easily provoked and disintegrated as before."
"So go with them with peace of mind. This time, I will definitely manage this country well!"
Hearing Cobra's words, Vivi's eyes filled with more tears, and she choked out.
"Thank you, Father!"
"If this country needs me, please contact me anytime, I will definitely come back!"
Cobra smiled and nodded, then turned and left.
After turning his back, Cobra's eyes suddenly gushed out a large amount of tears, filled with reluctance.
....
The next morning was the day Luffy and his group departed.
Vivi had already decided to set sail with Luffy.
At this moment, she was making her final goodbyes to Cobra and the others.
Inside the Royal Palace.
Vivi and Luffy and the others stood together, while Karu carried a large bag of luggage on his back.
"Goodbye, Father!"
"Goodbye, Igaram!"
"Goodbye, everyone!"
"Everyone, take care!"
Vivi's face was beaming with joy, full of anticipation for future adventures.
"Gah!"
Karu also let out a cry from the side, bidding farewell.
Cobra and the others also showed happy expressions for Vivi, speaking words of blessing.
"Take care of yourself, Vivi!"
"Please take good care, Princess Vivi."
"Have fun, Princess Vivi."
"Karu too, protect Princess Vivi."
"Straw Hat, I entrust Princess Vivi to you."
The two groups of people smiled and said goodbye to each other.
However, the moment they turned their backs on each other after saying goodbye, tears streamed down their faces uncontrollably.
...
After leaving the palace, Luffy and his crew rode a peculiar local animal of Alabasta, a giant crab called the "Moving Club," and headed west towards Alubarna.
Along the way, the Straw Hat chatted and laughed, sharing various interesting stories.
As they were nearing the coast, Zoro, who had been sitting quietly to the side, suddenly called out.
"Hey! Luffy! There are Marines!"
The laughter on the crab's back ceased abruptly, and everyone looked towards the bank of the Saint Dora River.
Next to the merry go, a Marine warship was docked.
"Why are the Marines next to the merry go?"
"Can our ship be found even though it's hidden so secretly?"
"Look, there seems to be someone on the merry go's deck!"
Usopp, wearing his homemade binoculars, was the first to spot the figure on the merry go's deck.
However, the moment he saw the figure clearly, he exclaimed in surprise.
"That… that guy is that Smoker the Captain!"
Hearing this familiar name, everyone was deeply surprised.
At the same time, they showed helpless expressions.
Especially Zoro, after the figure of the female swordswoman beside Smoker appeared in his mind, he felt even worse, gritting his teeth with a particularly resistant look.
Vivi looked at their reactions and immediately asked curiously.
"What's wrong? Everyone seems to dislike this Navy Captain very much!"
Robin also looked puzzled at this moment.
Luffy glanced at the two of them and explained helplessly.
"It's not that we dislike them! It's just that they've been chasing us ever since East Blue, and even though they're not our opponents, they just keep hounding us."
After hearing Luffy's explanation, both of them, including Karu, looked enlightened.
As they were speaking, Luffy and his crew had already been delivered to the coast.
As soon as they reached the shore, Luffy clung to the side of the ship and climbed onto the merry go.
He looked at Smoker, who was sitting on the deck smoking a cigar, and said helplessly.
"I say, you're too persistent!"
"You can't catch us, go find other pirates!"
Smoker stared at Luffy quietly and slowly said.
"I'm not here to catch you this time!"
As soon as he said this, Luffy and everyone else who had just boarded the ship were stunned for a moment.
They looked at Smoker in confusion.
Then Smoker called out to Tashigi and gestured.
"Tashigi!"
Tashigi nodded, took a white envelope, and handed it to Luffy.
On the envelope, there was a World Government logo.
Luffy took the envelope, and everyone else immediately gathered around curiously.
At this point, Smoker continued.
"Although I really don't want to do this kind of errand, since I happened to have something to find you for, I brought it along."
Saying that, Smoker suddenly frowned and said in a deep voice.
"How will you choose, Straw Hat?"
"Accept this invitation and become a Shichibukai!"
"Or refuse the invitation and continue to be a wanted criminal?"
Upon hearing Smoker's words, everyone present was stunned, their expressions astonished.
"Shi… Shichibukai?!"
"The World Government inviting Luffy… This is truly unexpected!"
"The World Government acts really fast! Has the news of Crocodile being defeated by Luffy reached the World Government so quickly?"
Sanji frowned and asked.
In fact, everyone present had questions in their minds.
Because the World Government's actions were simply too fast.
Only three days had passed, and they had not only received the news of Crocodile's defeat but also taken countermeasures in such a short time.
Noticing the confusion on the Straw Hat's faces, Smoker was also puzzled at this moment and asked.
"Don't you know that your live broadcast was broadcast worldwide?"
As soon as he said this, everyone in the Straw Hat fell silent for a moment.
Everyone turned their heads in unison, staring blankly at Smoker.
The next second.
"What did you say?!"
"Our… our live broadcast was broadcast worldwide?!"
"Doesn't that mean the whole world saw us?!"
Smoker took a puff of his cigar, nodded calmly, and replied.
"You Straw Hat are now famous worldwide!"
"It's likely that all forces have already noticed your existence."
Upon hearing this, Nami, Chopper, and Usopp, the cowardly trio, immediately hugged their heads and cried bitterly.
"Oh no! We're going to be hunted by even more people now!"
"Wuwu… My face has been revealed too, there's no hiding anymore."
"Am I going to be hunted as soon as I set sail? The sea is so scary! The sea is so scary!"
While the three were crying, Smoker completely ignored them and turned to look at Luffy.
"So… how will you choose? Straw Hat!"
Immediately, everyone's attention was focused on Luffy.
Luffy merely smiled faintly, then tore the letter in his hand into pieces and said.
"I am a free pirate, I don't want to be a dog of the World Government!"
Seeing Luffy's actions, the corners of the mouths of the rest of the Straw Hat curved slightly upward.
None of them were willing to obey the World Government's orders either.
And Smoker seemed to have expected it, showing no surprise.
"Tashigi!"
He called out to Tashigi again.
Then, Tashigi brought over a stack of wanted posters and handed them to Luffy.
As she walked over, she also gritted her teeth and glanced at Zoro, her eyes seemingly filled with strong unwillingness.
At this point, Smoker continued.
"The Government said that if you refuse, then these are the Straw Hat's latest wanted posters."
"Next, these wanted posters will be sent worldwide."
"You Straw Hat will… all become wanted criminals!"
While Smoker was saying these words, Luffy and the others were already completely captivated by the wanted posters.
The first wanted poster Tashigi handed over was Luffy's latest one.
Monkey D. Luffy, bounty, 500 million Berries, dead or alive!
The photo on the wanted poster was one that was secretly taken by someone at some unknown time.
In the photo, Luffy was smiling, looking harmless.
And the first time everyone saw this wanted poster, they all exclaimed in surprise.
"sugei! 500 million Berries! This is a bounty only those super great pirates have!"
"This way, our pirate crew will be targeted by even more people! After all, we have such a valuable Captain!"
"Hey! That Smoker just said we're all wanted! Let me see, how much is mine?"
"I want to see too!"
Soon, the entire Straw Hat fell into chaos, and everyone found their own wanted poster from the stack in Luffy's hand and admired it.
Luffy, meanwhile, stared blankly at his own wanted poster in his hand.
He knew in his heart.
At this stage, having this bounty was already very high for him.
After all, bounties are determined by the Government based on the threat posed by pirates.
They were just a group of pirates who had just set sail, and no matter how great their threat, it couldn't compare to great pirate crews like the Four Emperors.
Moreover, the opponents they had encountered so far were not enough to demonstrate their true strength.
So, this bounty was already enough to show the World Government's Pay attention to for them.
While Luffy was thinking, the others were doing something else.
Zoro held his wanted poster, a smug smile on his face, and laughed.
"Oh! 320 million Berries! Not bad!"
Hearing this number, Sanji, who was standing nearby, immediately shouted unhappily.
"Why are you, that bastard, so high?"
"Why am I only 200 million Berries?"
Zoro glanced at Sanji and smiled smugly.
"Isn't that normal? After all, I'm stronger than you, you perverted cook!"
Sanji immediately got angry upon hearing this.
"Bastard, do you want to fight?"
Beside the two of them, Usopp trembled, holding his wanted poster, his eyes filled with fear, and he said tremblingly...
"1… 1… 160 million Berries!"
"It's over! Now my head will be targeted too!"
"Noooo…"
There was another person who was as distressed as Usopp.
Nami said with a bitter expression.
"Seriously! Why am I wanted for as high as 135 million Berries?"
"This is not good at all!"
"My cute face will definitely be remembered by those terrifying bounty hunters."
Suddenly thinking of something, Nami turned her head and asked Nojiko.
"Nojiko, what about you? How much is your bounty?"
Nojiko took out her bounty poster and said calmly.
"A little lower than yours, 130,000,000 Berries!"
The two then curiously went to look at Robin, who was standing beside them.
Robin proactively handed over her bounty poster.
"Mine is 179,000,000 Berries!"
Currently, Robin's overall combat power might not be as good as Nami's or Nojiko's, but bounties are mainly determined by the threat a person poses to the World Government.
Therefore, it was reasonable for Robin, as the only person who could read the Poneglyphs, to have her bounty increase by 100,000,000 Berries after joining the Straw Hat.
"Robin's is that high too!"
"We're really in danger!"
Nami and Nojiko lamented, then asked Uta.
"What about Uta?"
Uta looked calm, held up her bounty poster, and smiled slightly.
"400,000,000 Berries!"
In an instant, everyone on the ship was stunned.
"4… 400,000,000?!"
"So high! It's even higher than Zoro's!"
"In that case, Uta is now the second highest bounty on our ship."
Just as everyone was exclaiming, they suddenly heard a crying sound.
"Waaahhh…"
"Why?!"
"Why?!"
Everyone looked over at the sound and saw Chopper sitting on the deck, looking heartbroken and crying.
Usopp, who was closest to him, was the first to walk over and ask with concern.
"What's wrong, Chopper?"
The rest of them also stared at Chopper with confusion.
Then, everyone saw Chopper pick up the bounty poster in his hand and cry, saying.
"Why did I try so hard?"
"But my bounty is only 50 Berries?!"
"Why?!"
"Waaahhh…"
Immediately, the entire deck fell silent.
At this moment, Smoker spoke from the side.
"As a pet, you wouldn't normally be given a bounty."
"But given that you are also part of the Straw Hat, the Government decided to give you a 50 Berries bounty!"
After Smoker finished speaking, the air fell silent for a moment.
The next second.
Chopper lay on his back, crying sadly.
"Waaahhh…"
"Waaahhh…"
At this moment, Nami suddenly noticed that Luffy still had two bounty posters in his hand and immediately asked in confusion.
"Huh? Luffy, why do you still have bounty posters in your hand?"
Luffy looked at Vivi and said.
"These are Vivi's and Karu's bounty posters!"
"Although I don't know why they would also be given bounties, there are indeed their bounty posters now."
Everyone present was stunned upon hearing this.
Vivi also looked confused and said.
"Mine and Karu's too?"
Luffy nodded and handed over the bounty posters.
The top one.
Nefertari Vivi, Bounty: 100,000,000 Berries, Dead or Alive!
Just as everyone was looking at Vivi's bounty poster in confusion, Smoker once again explained from the side.
"After investigation, we found that Princess Vivi of Alabasta left the kingdom three years ago and joined Baroque Works."
"She then stayed with you Straw Hat."
"So the Government has already deemed Vivi a criminal who voluntarily left her country, and this time she even brought you Straw Hat back to her country, causing an event with a negative impact on a global scale."
"Given her actions, even if her strength doesn't match, the impact is profound."
"Therefore, she and her pet have also been given bounties as part of the Straw Hat."
Everyone nodded in understanding upon hearing this.
Only Chopper suddenly stopped crying and turned to look at the bounty poster in Vivi's hand.
"Pet?!"
"Does that mean Karu's bounty is the same as mine?"
"Great, finally someone to accompany me!"
"Waaahhh…"
Chopper cried tears of joy, his heart filled with gratitude for Karu.
With Karu there, he wouldn't be at the bottom anymore.
At this moment, Vivi's somewhat awkward and stammering voice rang out.
"Uh… that… Chopper!"
Hearing Vivi call him, Chopper looked over in confusion and asked.
"What's wrong, Vivi?"
Vivi had an embarrassed expression on her face and slowly held up Karu's bounty poster, saying.
"Karu's bounty is… 100 Berries!"