Chapter 58 Luffy and Ace reunite and confront CrocodileSmoker's face instantly turned ashen upon hearing this: "Do you even have conclusive evidence of Crocodile's crimes?"
"He's not only a government-approved Shichibukai, but also a national hero! If you take action against him without solid evidence, you'll be in deep trouble!"
Luffy gave Smoker a look as if he were an idiot: "Looks like you still don't quite understand my background."
"I'm the Navy's biggest 'third-generation official'! Forget finding evidence, even if I killed him without any reason, I'd be fine, you believe me?"
Hearing this, Smoker's eyes twitched violently.
Looking at this arrogant and domineering guy, he suddenly felt a deep despair for the Navy's future cause of justice.
"I'm going to investigate Crocodile's situation myself. I will not collude with you until the facts are clear."
Smoker took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, "Orders have been given that the Navy is not allowed to intervene in the internal strife in Alabasta. That's the bottom line!"
With that, he ignored Luffy's reaction, walked to the side, grabbed Tashigi who was still unconscious on the ground, and shook her violently.
"Hey! Wake up! The sun's high in the sky! Get up and get to work!"
"Go wake up those shameful bastards. We need to head to Rain Country immediately!"
Tashigi groggily rubbed her head and got up, her glasses askew: "Huh? Colonel Smoker? W-what happened?"
Smoker glared at her and repeated the order.
Tashigi then snapped out of her daze and hurriedly ran to wake up the soldiers who had been knocked unconscious by Conqueror's Haki.
Luffy, seeing this, didn't insist.
Anyway, Smoker is a stubborn guy, but he's bursting with a sense of justice.
As long as he sees Crocodile's true face, Luffy won't even need to lift a finger; he'll turn against the World Government himself.
"In that case, I'll head over first. My crew's here."
Luffy pointed to Zoro and his group, who were panting as they ran towards him, waved casually at Smoker, and turned to greet them.
"Hey, you guys are so slow! Are you tortoises?"
"You're the slow one! What have you been doing all this time?"
"What was that noise just now? Was it an earthquake?"
A group of people swarmed around him, asking questions all at once.
Although they complained, they couldn't hide the concern in their eyes.
After all, the commotion over there was really huge—flames and giants—it was terrifying.
Looking at his companions, Luffy felt a warmth in his heart.
Whether they're pirates or marines, these guys are always the most reliable support.
Luffy grinned at everyone, a mysterious expression on his face: "Nothing much, just met a relative."
"What?!?"
Everyone's jaws nearly dropped to the floor.
"Luffy's brother is actually the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates?!"
On the deck, everyone sat in a circle, stunned and speechless after hearing Luffy's story.
The Whitebeard Pirates! The undisputed strongest pirate crew in the world!
Captain Edward Newgate is even hailed as the strongest man in the world!
Luffy, a fully-fledged Marine Commodore, has an older brother who's a high-ranking official under one of the Four Emperors?
Isn't this plot development a bit too surreal?
Luffy scoffed, "Tch, you're making a fuss over nothing. If I told you my cheapskate father is the head of the Revolutionary Army, you'd all go crazy!"
Of course, he only thought this to himself, not daring to say it aloud for fear of scaring them to death.
"So, you were fighting him just now?"
Usopp swallowed hard, asking curiously.
"That's right," Luffy nodded. "Back then, I was young and foolish, insisting on setting sail to find some One Piece. He set sail three years before me, and I wanted to advise him to turn back."
"Being a Marine is so comfortable, with all the benefits, food, and lodging provided. If he wanted to find the One Piece, he could have just applied for a company-funded trip. Why did he have to become a pirate? He was really out of his mind."
Everyone rolled their eyes at Luffy.
Yeah, right!
"But… even you couldn't defeat him, is he really that strong?"
Zoro, holding his sword, asked with a furrowed brow.
In his opinion, with Luffy's monstrous strength, capturing a division commander would be a piece of cake.
Luffy shook his head helplessly, his expression turning serious. "Don't be so naive."
"Those guys who rule the New World are far too powerful for you to imagine. With your current strength, if you went to the New World, you probably couldn't even beat the grunts on their ships."
"What?!"
The others immediately frowned, displeased. "Hey, Luffy, are you kidding? We've been through countless battles, okay?"
Luffy shrugged helplessly. "You're like frogs in a well… You'll see when you get to the New World."
Then he muttered under his breath, "Maybe we won't even need to go to the New World; you'll see what happens at Marineford."
Just then, Usopp, who had been keeping watch, suddenly pointed ahead and shouted.
"Hey! Luffy! Look over there! What are those persistent guys doing here?"
Following Usopp's finger, five massive ships were seen lying across the bend in the river ahead.
The conspicuous logo on the sails was unmistakably Baroque Works!
"Strange, didn't Luffy send them off to find Ace?" Usopp asked, puzzled.
"Look closely! There's something small ahead of the big ship!"
Zoro, with his sharp eyes, suddenly pointed and exclaimed.
Ahead of the massive fleet, a small, single-person boat resembling a kayak was drifting with the current.
Sitting on it was none other than Ace, who had recently parted ways with Luffy.
Judging by this, the Baroque Works were clearly pursuing Ace.
"Sigh, you guys are really persistent."
Ace sat in the small boat, looking helplessly at the relentlessly pursuing fleet, and sighed.
"Men! The master has ordered! Capture Fire Fist Ace! Present him to the master!"
The leader, an elder of immense stature, stood at the bow, brandishing his weapon and shouting loudly.
Yes, Your Highness!!
The henchmen behind him, their eyes bloodshot, glared at Ace like brainwashed fanatics, roaring at him.
Luffy, watching from the Going Merry, rolled his eyes.
Clearly, these dim-witted henchmen had misunderstood his orders.
They thought he was going to capture Ace for a bounty or to claim credit.
Just then, Ace, who had been impatient, seemed to finally lose his patience.
His small boat suddenly spewed out two jets of flame, using the power of the Flame-Flame Fruit to accelerate instantly, shooting towards the side of the Baroque fleet like an arrow.
"Since you're so eager to die… then so be it!"
Ace's lips curled into a cold smile, and he swung his right fist, instantly igniting flames.
"Fire Fist!!"
To the utter shock of Zoro and the others, a terrifying pillar of fire, several times larger than the Going Merry, roared towards the unfortunate ships.
The scorching heat was so intense that you could practically feel your eyebrows being singed from a distance.
The ships were about to be reduced to rubble by this devastating attack.
Suddenly!
An invisible, terrifying repulsive force erupted from the opposite direction of the fiery fist, striking the pillar of fire with pinpoint accuracy.
"Shinra Tensei!"
BOOM—!
The sky-filling flames were forcibly dispersed, scattering into countless sparks across the river surface—a truly spectacular sight.
Ace froze for a moment, then looked in the direction from which the force had come, quickly spotting Luffy standing on the water as if it were solid ground.
"Luffy?! What are you doing here?"
"If I hadn't come, you would have ruined all the connections I'd painstakingly built up!"
Luffy rolled his eyes at Ace, clearly annoyed.
"Develop a network of subordinates?" Ace scratched his head, looking bewildered. "What do you need these weaklings for? They're too fragile even as cannon fodder!"
Do you think everyone's a freak like you?
Luffy explained, utterly speechless, "Don't young people these days know the value of money? When we get to the New World, won't we be collecting protection money?"
"I need to earn some extra income! How can I support these gluttons and spendthrifts on board with just the Navy's fixed salaries?"
The crew of the Going Merry were speechless: 凸(艹皿艹)!
"Your biggest expense is clearly your food! You bastard!"
"Lord Luffy!!"
The millions of elders who had narrowly escaped death saw Luffy and were immediately moved to tears, shouting wildly.
Luffy waved his hand impatiently, signaling them to get lost, continue their covert operations, and not get in the way or alert the enemy.
After dealing with his underlings, Luffy turned to Ace.
Ace's expression immediately changed, his face clearly showing his frustration, and he assumed a defensive stance:
"Hey! Little brother, you're not going to fight again, are you? This time, I really won't hold back!"
"Alright, alright, stop being so self-righteous."
Luffy waved his hand helplessly. "Come on a ride. You're going to Yuba too, right? It's on my way, I'll give you a lift."
He couldn't beat him in a fight, and he couldn't keep him around, so he might as well let the story unfold as it is.
I can also use this opportunity to buy myself some more time to develop.
With a stroke of luck and a powerful template, or more time to develop the Nika Fruit, reaching the level of a Yonko (Emperor of the Fifth Division) from the original story would be just around the corner.
Then, many plans could be implemented without restraint.
Ace gave Luffy a strange look, seemingly surprised that his persistent younger brother had given up on capturing him so easily.
However, avoiding a fight was naturally the best outcome.
Ace immediately beamed, pushing the small boat alongside the Going Merry, and with a light leap, like a nimble cat, jumped onto the railing.
"Hello everyone!"
Ace removed his hat and bowed politely to everyone.
Zoro and the others quickly returned the bow: "Hello, hello..."
Then, everyone looked at this terrifyingly powerful Second Division Captain with curiosity, as if he were a rare animal.
Ace bowed deeply to everyone again, speaking sincerely:
"My brother has always been well taken care of by everyone. This kid has never been well-mannered since he was little, and he's always been reckless. I'm sure he's caused you all a lot of trouble, right?"
Everyone quickly waved their hands in unison: "No, no, no, not at all..."
However, their inner monologues were already flooding the screen:
"Holy crap! Luffy's brother is actually this normal?!"
"Is this really that bastard Luffy's older brother? Did he have a genetic mutation?"
Luffy, watching from the side, twitched his lips: "Hey! What's with those faces?! Do you want to die?"
"Anyway, please take care of me on this journey ahead."
Ace said with a smile.
As he spoke, he casually snapped his fingers, a small flame appearing at his fingertips, and lit a cigarette for Sanji who wanted a smoke.
Looking at Ace, so sensible and understanding, no one could reconcile him with the infamous, ruthless pirate known throughout the seas.
Usopp exclaimed, "Wow, that's really surprising..."
"I thought Luffy's brother would be even more eccentric and difficult to deal with than Luffy himself."
"Watch out, or I'll beat you up! What's so eccentric about me?"
Just then, a whirlwind arose.
Amidst the swirling sand, Luffy's figure instantly appeared in the center of the deck.
Sand Instantaneous Movement!
"Wow! That's amazing!"
Usopp and Chopper's eyes lit up instantly, staring intently at Luffy, their eyes filled with admiration.
"Luffy! When did you learn such a cool move! Teach me!"
"Well, I just learned it, it's basic."
Luffy stroked his chin, pretending to be nonchalant.
"Come on! To celebrate our brotherly reunion! Let's have a feast!"
"Awooo!! A feast!!"
Everyone cheered instantly.
Luffy suddenly leaned close to Chopper's ear and whispered, "Chopper, do you have any medicine that can instantly reduce a Logia-type Devil Fruit user's fighting power to zero? Like a super laxative or something?"
Ace, who was about to grab a wine glass, trembled: "..."
"Hey! I heard you! Are you trying to murder your own brother?!"
It has to be said, the physical constitution of people in the One Piece world is truly outrageous.
Especially Logia-type users, they're practically cheating.
Laxatives and sleeping pills are completely ineffective against them.
Come to think of it, their bodies can turn into fire and sand; do you expect poison to kill a ball of fire?
This also explains why Blackbeard's entire crew was easily defeated by Magellan later. Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Fruit, while a Logia-type, has a huge side effect—it prevents him from transforming into an element, and the pain he experiences is doubled.
Watching Ace down a large glass of beer laced with a special drug, yet still bouncing around like nothing happened, Luffy gave a wry smile.
Plan succeeded… my foot!
Meanwhile, the Going Merry was sailing on the wide inland river heading towards Yuba.
The sun was scorching, and the river shimmered.
In the kitchen, Sanji was busily preparing special bento boxes for their desert crossing.
Chopper lay comfortably on the deck, enjoying the breeze created by Zoro's frantic weightlifting: "Ah~ so comfortable~ is this air conditioning?"
"Although I know Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords, is based in this country,"
Ace yawned, leaning lazily against the railing, "I really didn't expect a pirate to try and seize power through a coup?"
"That's a really cruel joke,"
Luffy glanced at him, munching on an apple as he said, "That's why it would be so much better if you became one of the Seven Warlords."
"Neither the old man's side nor Whitebeard's side should object to this suggestion, right?"
Luffy thought to himself: Whitebeard probably still won't agree, after all, he genuinely wanted Ace to be the next Pirate King.
"Stop joking," Ace waved his hand, his eyes resolute. "I've already said it, I'm going to put that man on the Pirate King's throne!"
Luffy rolled his eyes helplessly, mercilessly exposing him: "Come on, Whitebeard doesn't have that intention. He just wants to be the strongest 'godfather' on the entire sea."
"A pirate wanting to anchor and settle down in one place? Is this guy planning to retire on the king's throne? Hahahaha!"
Ace laughed heartily, his tone full of mockery of Crocodile's behavior.
For pirates who yearn for freedom, such behavior of wanting to rule a country is simply unproductive, even somewhat degrading.
"No."
Luffy shook his head, his smile fading. "His ambitions are far greater."
"He plans to find the secret hidden in this country—the legendary warship 'Pluton,' one of the three Ancient Weapons!"
Seeing Ace's stunned expression, Luffy suddenly chuckled: "Then he'll sail that invincible warship back to the New World to cause trouble for your Whitebeard Pirates."
"What?" Ace raised an eyebrow.
Luffy looked at Ace with amusement, his eyes playful:
"He still remembers his crushing defeat against Whitebeard back then. I wonder if he was also beaten up by Whitebeard back then, and then asked, 'Be my son?' Hahaha!"
Ace: "..."
This conversation was going nowhere.
Meanwhile, in Rain Country, at the largest casino, "Rain Banquet."
In a dimly lit VIP room, Crocodile drew back the heavy curtains, looked at the endless yellow sand outside the window, and pondered:
"Alabasta, the land of sand...this ancient kingdom built upon the desert, even after thousands of years of weathering, still exudes the sweet scent of death."
Then, he turned to look at the tall woman who entered the room—Nicole Robin.
"Miss, all Sunday, have the reports from the agency decreased lately?"
Robin, upon hearing this, recalled the Straw Hat Pirates she had encountered on Whiskey Mountain. She replied calmly, "Perhaps it's because the 'Utopia' project is progressing too smoothly; there's nothing particularly noteworthy to report."
"Is that so?" Crocodile's eyes flickered slightly, then he impatiently tapped the table. "The Poneglyph is still missing?"
A barely perceptible hint of disappointment flashed in Robin's eyes. She shook her head. "Probably… only the Alabasta capital's royal burial hall hasn't been thoroughly searched yet?"
Crocodile took a deep drag on his cigar, exhaling a thick cloud of smoke. "Speed things up! Also, have Mr. 1 deliver the secret weapon he bought from Joker (Doflamingo) to the rebels as soon as possible! I want this fire to burn even brighter!"
Robin nodded, turned, and left the room.
Watching Robin's departing figure, Crocodile snorted coldly and picked up the latest newspaper from the table.
The front page headline boldly proclaimed:
[Shocking! Monkey D. Luffy defeats a Supernova pirate with a bounty of 130 million Berries on Drum Island!]
And…
[Naval Commendation: Commodore Luffy annihilates Baroque Works' senior agent, Mr. 3!]
*Snap!*
The cigar in his hand was snapped in two.
"Monkey D. Luffy…"
Crocodile's face instantly darkened, his eyes flashing with murderous intent.
"Robin…have you already betrayed us?"
…
A few days later.
The Going Merry finally docked beside a secluded river bend and reef, and the crew prepared to abandon ship and go ashore.
Everyone changed into sun-protective robes suitable for walking in the desert.
Sanji, seeing Vivi and Nami bundled up completely, instantly broke down, grabbing his hair and wailing:
"How could this happen! Where's Nami's sexy dancer outfit! Where's Vivi's revealing outfit! What kind of crazy outfits are those?!"
Thump!
Nami, unable to bear it any longer, punched Sanji hard on the head, slamming him onto the deck.
"Are you an idiot?! Exposing your skin in a godforsaken place like the desert will instantly give you a sunburn and cause your skin to peel!"
Sanji, sporting a huge bump, slumped on the deck, looking utterly hopeless: "How could this happen... My paradise... is gone..."