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Chapter 104: Setting Sail Again
Night hung high in the sky.
On the dim surface of the sea, only a few faint glimmers of moonlight remained. The water churned with a restless whoosh, far from calm.
Waves slapped against the hull one after another, causing the entire ship to sway gently in the darkness. Thick clouds blanketed the night sky, allowing only the occasional silver beam to slip through the gaps, barely outlining the silhouette of the pirate ship.
This was the first time the Going Merry had set sail at night.
The reason for their hasty departure was a newspaper that had arrived out of the blue.
That newspaper was currently spread out on the dining table, pinned down by a slightly trembling hand.
Vivi kept her head lowered, her long hair sliding off her shoulders to obscure her profile.
The headline on the front page was printed in bold, black type: "300,000 Alabasta Royal Army Soldiers Defect to the Rebel Army."
According to Vivi, the situation in Alabasta had originally been a standoff: 600,000 Royal Army soldiers against 400,000 rebels. Although the Royal Army had the numbers, the Rebel Army held the support of the populace, keeping the conflict in a deadlock.
However, the defection of these 300,000 soldiers had completely shattered the balance.
Now, the Rebel Army held absolute superiority. The kingdom's instability could no longer be contained; a nationwide war could erupt at any moment.
Once an all-out war began, regardless of the victor, rivers of blood would flow through Alabasta.
Upon learning this news, Vivi had nearly cried on the spot. She begged the Straw Hat Pirates to hurry and take her back to Alabasta, hoping to use the intelligence she possessed to save her country.
Naturally, the Straw Hat crew did not refuse this request.
Luffy had already promised Igaram that he would safely escort Vivi back to the Alabasta Kingdom.
Furthermore, before they left, they had received another piece of information.
It came from an ordinary civilian in Big Horn. He held a note left by a young man named "Ace"—who had dined and dashed—asking him to deliver it to a young man wearing a straw hat.
The content of the note was simple: "Luffy, I will only wait for you in Alabasta for ten days."
The Straw Hats were both confused and surprised. This man named Ace seemed to know their captain.
Luffy, however, grinned broadly when he saw the note. He tucked it into the band of his straw hat and patted the top, as if afraid it might fall out.
Anyone could see that this person was very important to Luffy.
.....
Early morning, two days later.
Ganyu opened her eyes in the bed, her long eyelashes fluttering a few times.
She rubbed her eyelids and yawned. Her inadvertent movement caused her to brush against the people sleeping on either side of her.
She turned her head to look. To her left was Princess Vivi, still sleeping soundly, though her brow was furrowed with worry, likely due to the turmoil in her country.
To her right was a little girl who was already awake and staring at her eagerly—Marianne.
Ganyu looked at her for a moment, then reached out and gently booped the girl's small nose with her index finger.
"When did you wake up?"
"Just now."
Marianne blinked, her voice carrying a bit more emotion than when they had first met.
After spending several days with this gentle and powerful big sister, she had completely lowered her guard and had even become quite attached to her. Perhaps this was the reason she hadn't chosen to disembark at Drum Island.
"It seems my getting up woke you then." Ganyu smiled apologetically, her voice soft. "You can sleep a little longer."
"Mm." Marianne responded obediently.
Ganyu patted her head, then extracted the arm that had been hugged all night from a certain princess's embrace. She carefully got up and climbed out of bed.
Since they were on the ship and she had just woken up, Ganyu was naturally wearing her sleepwear.
It was an oversized, long white T-shirt that loosely draped over her upper body and reached down to her thighs.
As she stood up, the hem of the shirt rode up slightly, revealing her snow-white, voluptuous long legs in their entirety. She slipped her fair, tender feet into a pair of slippers by the bed, leaving her calves exposed without her usual black tights—a breathtaking sight.
She stood slowly on the wooden floor and stretched, the fabric of the shirt pulling tight to outline the slender curve of her waist.
She glanced at the hammock on the other side of the room. The orange-haired girl who usually slept there was gone; only a set of pajamas remained.
Ganyu wasn't surprised.
She had actually sensed Nami leaving early, but since Vivi and Marianne were still asleep, she hadn't wanted to get up and disturb them. She knew they were getting closer to Alabasta, so as the navigator, Nami had surely gotten up early to check the ship's course and sea conditions.
"Ganyu... is it morning already?"
Suddenly, a voice heavy with sleep came from the bed.
Vivi had woken up at some point and was rubbing her eyes as she looked at Ganyu.
"Yes, it's already past eight."
Ganyu smiled gently at the newly awakened princess and pointed to the clock on the wall.
The hands were indeed pointing to eight-ten.
"It's that late?!" Vivi immediately grew anxious, throwing off the covers in a panic. "No, I have to get up quickly. I need to see if we're almost there..."
As she spoke, she took off her sleepwear right in front of Ganyu and Marianne—a pale purple silk nightgown—her movements so hurried they bordered on clumsy.
The corner of Ganyu's mouth twitched, though her gaze remained calm.
After so many days, she had gotten used to it. Especially since Nami often dragged her to bathe together; she had seen everything there was to see of both her own body and Nami's in the bathtub.
However, seeing Vivi start to change reminded Ganyu that she needed to get dressed too.
She was certain that if she went out wearing this, a certain lecherous cook on the ship might suffer a health crisis.
What Ganyu didn't notice was that as she took off the T-shirt and began to put on her daily attire, both Marianne and Vivi's eyes brightened, filled with admiration.
That skin, that figure... how did she grow like that? It's almost too perfect.
"Hey, Vivi, aren't you in a hurry to go out? Why did you suddenly space out?"
Ganyu went through the effort of putting on her tight-fitting black bodysuit, then layered the blue-and-white qipao-style outer garment over it.
She tied the sash around her waist and looked up, only to see the two on the bed staring blankly at her body. Her face flushed slightly, and she spoke with amused exasperation.
"And you, Marianne. If you don't want to sleep, get up quickly. Sanji has probably already made breakfast."
"Uh, right, right! I almost forgot!"
Caught in the act, Vivi's ears turned red. She hurriedly pulled on her clothes, jumped out of bed, and rushed out of the room.
Evidently, just like every other day, she was going to the deck to gaze toward her homeland.
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