Chapter 300: Crisis and Preliminary Plans
Vivi's eyelids drooped heavily.
They trembled every few seconds as though fighting to stay open, while dark circles had formed beneath her eyes from sheer exhaustion.
Yet despite how tired she was, sleep refused to come.
She glanced toward Axel.
The pale, slender youth was stretched out comfortably on her small bed, sleeping without the slightest concern.
This was Whiskey Peak, a town filled with bounty hunters.
And yet he slept as though he were somewhere perfectly safe.
Was it absolute confidence in his own strength?
Or was he simply shameless enough not to care?
Vivi did not bother thinking about it for long.
What truly troubled her was what Axel had said the night before.
If someone like him joined Baroque Works, the consequences for Alabasta could be disastrous.
Her identity might be exposed.
Worse, Crocodile would gain another terrifying piece on his board.
It could accelerate Alabasta's destruction.
A noise outside the room immediately pulled Vivi from her thoughts.
She forced herself upright.
Ever since the Unluckies had left, she had been waiting nervously for another messenger from Baroque Works.
And if the next messenger arrived carrying Crocodile's answer...
Would that also be the moment Axel agreed to join him?
A voice came from outside.
"Breakfast has been prepared for Lord Axel."
Vivi relaxed slightly.
Just another bounty hunter.
She glanced back at Axel.
Still asleep.
Not even a twitch.
With a quiet sigh, Vivi answered for him.
"Bring it in."
The bounty hunter entered carrying a tray of food.
His eyes briefly passed over Vivi, but most of his attention remained fixed on Axel.
Even while holding the tray, his posture was tense.
His arms were positioned in a way that suggested he could attack at any moment.
Still, he did nothing.
Perhaps Axel's completely defenseless sleeping posture seemed too suspicious.
Or perhaps the four-hundred-million-Berry bounty had stripped away whatever courage the man originally possessed.
He placed the food down and left.
Only after the door closed did Vivi release the breath she had been holding.
If that bounty hunter had attacked, she honestly did not know what she would have done.
Help Axel?
Or stand aside and watch?
She knew the attack probably would not hurt him.
Part of her even wished she could hit him herself.
Because if Axel accepted Baroque Works' invitation, he would become another threat to Alabasta.
And Vivi would never willingly allow something that endangered her country's peace to remain unchecked.
Still, just like the bounty hunter, she had done nothing.
The reason was painfully simple.
She was too weak.
By the time the sun had risen high overhead and bright sunlight poured into the room, Axel finally stirred.
He sat up slowly and yawned.
His red eyes opened only halfway.
The long sleep did not seem to have refreshed him at all.
He looked dazed, almost as though his thoughts had not caught up with his body yet.
Then he noticed Vivi still sitting in the chair.
"Aren't you going to sleep?"
Vivi stared at him.
For a moment, she had no response.
The sheer nerve of the question left her speechless.
"You still haven't answered mine."
Axel scratched his head.
"What question?"
Vivi sighed.
"Are you going to join Baroque Works or not?"
That was the question that had kept her awake all night.
She needed an answer.
Axel barely seemed interested.
"Don't know."
Vivi's expression stiffened.
His sleepy face, his careless tone, everything about him made it obvious he had answered only because he could not be bothered to think.
That was precisely what made it worse.
Was that a yes?
A no?
Could he at least make up his mind?
Of course, that problem belonged entirely to Vivi.
Axel clearly did not care.
She pressed on.
"Then what would make you refuse Baroque Works?"
Her original goal was still to persuade Axel to help her.
But before that could happen, she at least had to make sure he did not join the organization she was trying to destroy.
Otherwise, even that tiny possibility would disappear.
For once, Axel seemed troubled by the question.
His brow furrowed.
The movement pulled slightly at the scar across his face, making the wound appear even harsher.
Anyone seeing it might have imagined the pain that had created it.
After several seconds, Axel answered.
"Food."
Vivi blinked.
"What?"
"I think answering difficult questions requires energy."
He rubbed his stomach.
"My brain needs sugar."
"So I should eat first."
Vivi stared at him.
She understood perfectly well what he meant.
And she did not believe a word of it.
This was clearly an excuse.
He was exploiting the fact that she needed something from him so he could order her around while avoiding the question.
Unfortunately, knowing that did not give her much leverage.
She really did need his help.
Vivi picked up the breakfast the bounty hunter had delivered and held it out.
Axel did not take it.
Instead, he slapped the tray from her hands.
The food crashed onto the floor.
Vivi froze.
"The food is cold."
Axel spoke like an entitled young master dissatisfied with his servants.
"Go prepare another serving."
For the first time, genuine anger appeared on Vivi's face.
Her people were struggling.
There were places in Alabasta where food itself had become precious.
And this person had just knocked an entire meal onto the floor because it was cold.
She wanted to argue.
But in the end, Vivi clenched her teeth, nodded, and walked out.
The moment the door closed behind her, Axel's sleepy expression disappeared.
He climbed out of bed.
Then he walked over to the scattered food and crouched beside it.
Hidden beneath the tray was a small device.
Axel picked it up and examined it.
After spending time around Vegapunk, he recognized its function immediately.
"A high-explosive device?"
When Vivi had brought the tray toward him, Axel had already sensed hostility from outside the room.
A moment later, he noticed something abnormal hidden among the food.
That was why he had knocked it away.
The meal itself had nothing to do with it.
If the device exploded, Axel was confident he could protect himself.
Protecting Vivi at the same time was another matter.
His control was not as precise as it once had been.
Only recently, while trying to move a single cup, he had accidentally disturbed several others.
Under those conditions, he could not guarantee perfect control over an explosion at close range.
So he had chosen the easiest solution.
Get Vivi away from it.
Axel turned the device over in his hand.
There really were some remarkably bold bounty hunters in Whiskey Peak.
Did they actually believe an explosive like this could kill someone with a bounty in the hundreds of millions?
Were they brave?
Or simply stupid?
Axel did not bother thinking about it for long.
He walked out of the room.
Roughly ten seconds later, he returned.
His expression had not changed.
It looked almost like someone had stepped outside, reconsidered, and immediately come back in.
Only one detail was different.
A few fresh stains of blood marked his hands.
He had dealt with the source of the hostility.
Axel climbed back onto the bed and settled down as though nothing had happened.
The bounty hunters themselves were not his real concern.
The Marines were.
If someone here had been bold enough to attack him, there was a good chance someone else had already sold information about his location.
And if the Marines sent the wrong person...
With his body in its current condition, Axel could not predict how troublesome things might become.
He had no desire to repeat what happened several years earlier.
Unfortunately, leaving Whiskey Peak immediately was not an option.
He still needed the Log Pose to Drum Island.
And Axel believed Crocodile was bold enough to respond to his demand, regardless of whether the answer ultimately came in the form of cooperation or hostility.
Only after entering the Grand Line had Axel fully appreciated how troublesome navigation here really was.
Knowing where an island existed was nearly useless.
Ordinary compasses could not guide ships properly through the Grand Line's magnetic chaos.
Most people depended entirely on Log Poses.
There was no simple matter of stopping someone and asking which direction to sail.
That was exactly why Axel had spent so long drifting across the sea without reaching Drum Island.
And Drum Island was where he needed to go.
An island famous for medicine.
Axel leaned back against the bed.
"What a pain."
Then the corner of his mouth rose slightly.
"Still... having a little maid around does make things less boring."
....
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