Ace came aboard as a guest. He was very curious about Luffy's crew, and with no sign of Blackbeard for the moment, spending some time with Luffy wasn't a bad idea.
Then he saw the ship spirit Merry and exclaimed in surprise, "Your ship already has a Klabautermann?"
Luffy said, "Yours doesn't?"
"Please have some tea." Sanji served tea and snacks.
"Thank you." Ace picked up his tea, looking at Merry, who was sitting on Luffy's shoulder with her chin resting on his head. "I've heard Pops mention them, but I've never seen one."
The Moby Dick was known as the King of Ships, the symbol of the Whitebeard Pirates. The ship itself, along with its captain Whitebeard, was renowned far and wide.
"So Merry is rare?" Luffy laughed. "Then I really have to thank Uta. I met her in the East Blue, and it's all thanks to her Uta Uta no Mi."
"Your childhood friend?" Ace asked. "A Devil Fruit user too."
The Uta Uta no Mi... he hadn't heard of that one. It could make a Klabautermann appear? There really were a lot of strange people around Luffy. If people in the New World knew about someone like that, they'd go crazy.
A Klabautermann's boost to a pirate crew was undeniably significant.
"Luffy has a childhood friend too?" Vivi was hearing this for the first time.
"Mhm, a musician. She sings really well," Nami said, thinking of her first romantic rival.
But, rivals come and go, Nami remains! She was always there!
Vivi was currently teaching Luffy about music, as she really didn't know what else to teach. She couldn't very well dance a pas de deux with Luffy in front of everyone, could she?
That would be too much like public humiliation.
With Crocodile defeated, Vivi seemed somewhat more relaxed. Now they just needed to stop the rebel army and expose Crocodile's conspiracy to end this war, right?
But... Vivi still felt restless.
"The war Crocodile started will be very hard to stop now. I've heard the numbers of the rebel army and the royal army have reached a million."
Ace spoke up. "On a battlefield with that many people, you need a decisive event to settle things."
Why were the forces of kingdoms so powerful in these seas?
Numerical superiority was one of the most important reasons.
Wars erupting within a kingdom could be on a scale of millions in minutes, whereas a pirate crew with over five thousand members could already be called a grand fleet.
"So we really do need to find Crocodile. Sorry, Vivi, I let him get away back then," Luffy said, feeling a bit embarrassed.
It was all that damn plan's fault for coming at the wrong time!
"It's not your fault." Vivi had seen how hard Luffy fought. She had no right to blame him.
The immediate priority was to get to Alabasta's capital, Alubarna. Upon first arriving in Alabasta, Vivi had sent Carue ahead with her letter. As one of the elite Super Spot-Billed Duck Squad, Carue was the fastest-running animal in Alabasta.
He had probably arrived by now.
As Luffy and the others hurried towards Alubarna...
The war engulfing all of Alabasta had already begun.
Aside from the agents Crocodile had led, Baroque Works had many others who had infiltrated the rebel army, inciting the war.
Robin moved quickly. Having spent years in Alabasta, she knew the fastest routes to Alubarna. She had to get there before Luffy and the others.
No matter what, everyone had their own goals. What she sought was knowledge of the Poneglyph hidden in this country.
Deep within the Alabasta Royal Palace, the atmosphere was heavy. King Cobra listened with a deep frown as his guard captains, Pell the Falcon and Chaka the Jackal, reported the increasingly grim situation on the front lines.
Every casualty figure was like a blunt knife cutting into this benevolent king's heart.
"This can't go on any longer."
Cobra slowly stood up, a look of grim resolve appearing on his weary face. "I will go to the battlefield myself. If my presence and my life can make them stop, then it's worth it."
"Your Majesty, that's far too dangerous!"
"Please, leave this to us!"
Pell and Chaka cried out simultaneously.
Just then, Nico Robin's voice echoed in the empty throne room. "Going now would only add a king's corpse to the count, King Cobra."
The three men started, turning sharply. From the shadows in a corner of the palace, Nico Robin gracefully emerged.
"Miss All Sunday?!"
Igaram exclaimed. It was with Robin's help that he had managed to return to the palace early to deliver the message. He couldn't help but shout, "Why are you here?"
His feelings were extremely conflicted, unable to tell if the woman before him was friend or foe.
Ignoring Igaram's question, Robin's calm gaze settled on Cobra. "King Cobra, your daughter, Princess Vivi, and her companions have defeated Crocodile. The senior officers of Baroque Works have also been mostly dealt with by the Straw Hat crew."
"Vivi... she's safe?"
A flash of joyful light burst in Cobra's eyes, his tense shoulders relaxing slightly. But his long experience as a ruler made him calm down immediately. His sharp eyes scrutinized Robin. "You came specifically to tell me this. You must have another purpose."
"Speaking with intelligent people is easy."
Robin smiled slightly, though the smile didn't reach her eyes. "My purpose is simple. Take me to the place in this country where the Poneglyph is recorded."
Cobra's brow furrowed deeply. "Why would you want to see that?"
The smile faded from Robin's face, her tone taking on a hard edge. "I don't wish to harm you, King Cobra. So, please don't ask pointless questions. Just lead the way."
Cobra was silent for a moment. His kingly intuition allowed him to keenly grasp the leverage in her words. "Since Vivi is returning to end this war, my greatest worry is gone. So, why do you think I would be coerced by you into revealing the Poneglyph's location?"
"I know one thing. Before Crocodile left Rainbase to intercept Princess Vivi, he planted a large number of explosives in this palace and key areas throughout Alubarna. This was his final act of madness for the Utopia Plan, decided long ago.
This is my bargaining chip. Tell me the location of the Poneglyph, and I'll tell you where the bombs are."
Cobra's pupils contracted sharply. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "May I know your name?"
"Nico Robin."
"Nico Robin... So it's you. The Demon Child of Ohara."
As the ruler of a nation, Cobra was quite aware of some notorious pirates.
Holding the citizens hostage? Not exactly. This was a transaction Robin was offering.
***
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