Alright, let's sync up all our intel, Sanji said, lighting a cigarette.
"Going up against a Warlord of the Sea isn't going to be easy. To reach Rain Dinners, we'll need to cross the Sandora River and trek through the desert. I've already stocked food and water.
"But there's another problem—the civil war. How do we stop it? Right now, the rebels' emotions are at a peak. Even if we expose the truth, it might not be enough."
Sanji's low voice cast a heavy shadow over the group.
"I want to try talking to Koza at Yuba Oasis," Vivi said quietly. "He and I grew up together. Maybe I can convince him."
But silence followed. No one agreed.
"Vivi… do you really think he'll listen?" Rainer broke the quiet, meeting her eyes directly. "He's carrying the hopes of seven hundred thousand people. You think a few words from you will make him abandon that?"
Everyone knew the answer. Impossible.
Rainer sat cross-legged, ruffling his blond hair.
"Without proof, it won't work, Vivi. Childhood friends or not—even if you were his father, it wouldn't convince him."
And his father had tried already… without success.
A war on the scale of a million people—just lining them up could fill Alubarna to the brim.
The problem wasn't only Koza. Even if he trusted Vivi completely, what about seven hundred thousand fervent rebels? What could sway them?
Unleashing Baryon Kingdom?
"Pirates defend the crown, rebels die for their cause?"
That wasn't persuasion—that was force. And Rainer didn't have the stamina for "seven rounds in one night." Two was his limit.
Plan A… scrapped.
"But what else can I do? I can't just stand by and watch a war break out," Vivi whispered. Her voice grew weaker until she collapsed to the ground with a thud. "That's a million lives… what should I do?"
"Ah, here comes the tears again," Rainer sighed, resting his chin on his palm.
Cry, Vivi, cry. Maybe then Crocodile would taste the true weight of the Will of D.
"Rainer, this isn't the time for that," Nami scolded, twisting his cheek hard.
Rainer thought back to the original timeline. He vaguely remembered the two armies already clashing… and then a rainstorm put an end to it.
Rain…
"Wait—I just thought of something. Maybe there is a way to sway the rebels."
At his words, Nami released him. Everyone turned to listen.
"Right now, the rebels won't hear reason. But what if we could calm their fervor? The rebel army is basically commoners, bolstered by defected royal troops.
"Their reasons boil down to two things: one, they can't survive without water. Two, they believe the king stole it from them. Am I right?"
Everyone nodded.
"So the rebels have united around one thing."
"Water," they all said together.
"Exactly. For them, this war is about rain. So the fastest way to calm their emotions… is also rain. If it rained outside the capital—or even directly on the rebels themselves—it would at least shake their resolve."
Even now, many rebels still struggled to believe the king capable of such cruelty. There was doubt—enough to exploit.
Sanji quickly caught on. "One rainstorm won't end the rebellion. But it could lower their morale, maybe even snuff out some of their will to fight. If we add pressure at the right time, we could influence them. It's not impossible."
"I get it," he continued. "But here's the real question: how do we make it rain?"
"Dance Powder!" Rainer blurted.
Everyone stared at him blankly.
"What? You think I can summon rain on command?"
What, was there some patent on it? Crocodile could use it, why couldn't he?
Vivi had explained Dance Powder back on the ship, but Rainer hadn't paid much attention—until now.
"But Dance Powder is banned by the World Government…" Vivi trailed off as the others all started to grin mischievously.
Heheheheh… like the Government ever approved us becoming pirates.
"So our job is to hit the rebels' base and burn Dance Powder, huh?" Sanji said. "The rest will depend on you, Vivi—on whether your father's image is still strong enough in the people's hearts."
"Don't worry. If not for Crocodile's schemes, my father would be the most trusted man in the country," Vivi insisted.
"But… where do we find Dance Powder?"
"That's easy," Rainer shrugged. "No way Crocodile and his top agents are doing it themselves. They must have left it to the Millions or Billions.
"Show your face in the streets, Baroque Works goons will come to us. Then we just grab one and ask."
"Besides," he added, "remember those ten ships of Billions we saw earlier? I bet they're carrying plenty."
"Yosh!"
Luffy slammed his fist into his palm, eyes shining. "I don't get it, but it means we get to fight, right?!"
"Not bad, Four-Eyes," Zoro smirked. "Didn't think you had it in you."
"Eh, low profile, low profile." Rainer grinned. Thank you, meta knowledge.
He then explained what he'd learned in town. Nami checked the map and concluded the rebels had likely shifted from Yuba to Katorea.
That explained why the Straw Hats missed them in the original story. And Katorea was… right next door.
Rainer ruffled Chopper's fur. "Thanks to your nose, we won't make the same mistake."
"Eheheh~ even if you say that, I'm not happy at all, you jerk!" Chopper danced side to side, clearly pleased anyway.
With their plan set, the crew split up again into two groups, this time with Luffy joining Vivi's side.
Rainer, meanwhile, summoned undead and marched along the coast toward the Billions' ships.
When they arrived, the enemy was in the middle of a feast. Cheers, singing, laughter—wait, what was that sound?
"Rainer… you sure about this?"
"There are two hundred billion here. Can you handle them?"
"Vivi said they're candidates to replace the Officer Agents."
The weakling trio muttered nervously, making Rainer scratch his head. He pointed at his undead.
"Ask them, not me."
A moment later, the Saw Demon charged in, with Blue Oni and Red Oni right behind. Best to get it over with quickly.
Rainer and the others crouched behind a boulder, just their heads peeking over.
"Whoa! They sank a whole ship!"
"Blue Oni and Red Oni are monsters!"
"Rainer's undead are insane…"
On the ships, chaos reigned.
The Saw Demon and the Wolverine Demon cut through enemies like dragons through reeds, blades flashing as bodies dropped one after another.
Blue Oni and Red Oni were even simpler—one strike sent crowds flying.
When another ship drew near, Red Oni slammed his shield into it. The hull cracked, split clean in two, and sank before their eyes.
The Billions' ships were bigger than the Going Merry, but compared to the sea kings once hunted by Elbaf's giants, they were toys.
In no time, ten ships were devastated. Those who jumped into the sea were quickly finished off by Rainer's fishman undead.
He left only a few survivors alive long enough to extract information. Sure enough, the ships carried Dance Powder.