Forest City's Transformation!

The landscape of Alabasta seems unchanged for centuries. Here, the sky is exceptionally blue, and the land is predominantly yellow. It's rare to see any other colors besides these two. If you do see a splash of green, it's probably a place where people live.

Vidal rode the camel that Brian had specially brought, leading a large group of people behind him, and crossed a vast sea of sand under the scorching sun.

The subordinates who accompanied Vidal to Forest City this time consisted of only one hundred marines and a few people who were being groomed as his core members. The rest stayed on the warship to guard it, and were also given a short leave, allowing them to move around in the Konoha Port.

Fortunately, they were heading in the right direction, and soon they saw a long green shadow appear in their line of sight.

Upon seeing it, Vidal smiled with satisfaction.

"Arrive!"

"That must be the windbreak you created yourself, isn't it? It's magnificent," Nacil said with a smile, gazing at the green line.

She was busy cultivating herbs in the Forest Palace at the time and didn't see this grove, or rather, very few people had seen it back then.

Behind him, Isoka, Rabani, Akibi, Longo, Weini, and the others who had come with the group were all astonished when they heard that the long, seemingly endless forest in the distance was created by Vidal.

However, the moment the group passed through the woods, a huge city suddenly appeared in their field of vision. Due to the high elevation, they could see from above that the city was dotted with greenery, and a yin-yang symbol that looked like it was made of sapphire was embedded in the ground.

Continuing forward, after about ten minutes, Vidal and his group arrived at the foot of the city wall. There were three city gates open. Judging from the flow of people, the left gate was for entering the city, and the right gate was for leaving the city. Both gates were guarded by many burly Royal Army soldiers holding long axes.

Between the two doors is another tightly closed door, which looks much more luxurious in terms of its patterns, colors, and textures. Above this door is a fine relief of the name "Forest City".

"Please wait a moment, the door will open for you shortly," Brian whispered from the side.

"Hmm?" Vidal nodded, puzzled.

Suddenly, upon seeing Vidal, the Royal Army guards forcefully and slowly pushed the city gates open, creating a passageway that attracted the curiosity of the surrounding crowd.

"Hey, that navy officer, doesn't he look like Lord Vidal!"

"It's true, it's Lord Vidal!"

"Yes, yes, yes, it's said that this Forest City was built by this very man, and he's also an Admiral Candidate!"

"What? Marine Admiral?"

On the other side, Brian continued to explain, "This gate is specifically for receiving royalty, nobles, or for hosting large celebrations, and you are an honorary member of Alabasta's royal family, therefore you are fully qualified to enter the city from here."

"Oh, I see." Vidal also remembered that he had this other identity.

Vice Admiral Vidal is a member of Alabasta's royal family?!

This information once again shocked the naval officers and soldiers, and Lieutenant Isoka instinctively covered his mouth.

Dr. Nacil stared intently at Vidal's profile. Although she was actually quite old, she always believed that as long as one's body remained youthful, age was of no significance.

"Alright, let's enter the city."

Vidal did not object to such a ostentatious display, because according to his public image, he should enjoy such a luxurious pomp and circumstance. This was also why he would bring a hundred marines with him when he returned to his own territory.

"This road is so wide!" Rabani exclaimed, looking around as he rode his camel. "And there are so many people!"

Longo and Akibi beside him nodded repeatedly. They came from the first half of the Grand Line, to a small island called Ruluka, which was only the size of a town. Therefore, they were very interested in large cities like this one. Just like the avenue that Rabani mentioned, it was as wide as three or four roads from their hometown combined.

"Mind the image of the Navy!" Isoka whispered a reminder.

At the forefront, Vidal surveyed the trees and greenery between the buildings, finding them thriving and their abundance making him even happier. The city's environment seemed completely out of place in the desert outside.

As the group arrived at the foot of a wooden building, the blue 'yin-yang fish' they had seen outside the city finally appeared before them.

The towering bull statue in the center of the lake particularly caught the attention of all the marines, while a large number of men, women, and children gathered around the lake.

The sounds of children playing and the soft chanting of the elderly as they prayed, accompanied by the shimmering surface of the lake, brought a sense of inner peace and joy.

"This Apis Divine Lake, and this Forest Tower used for governance are both masterpieces of Your Excellency~" Dr. Nacil said with a charming smile to Lieutenant Isoka beside her.

"Amazing," Lieutenant Isoka muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, Vidal was receiving the steward of Forest City, a position roughly equivalent to that of a mayor. This middle-aged nobleman, who called himself Tabo, was very respectful and treated him as royalty.

"Sir, would you like me to arrange accommodations for your men?" Tabo asked softly, his hands clasped in front of him.

Vidal thought for a moment, then looked at his steward and asked, "Will the territory be suitable for me to stay?"

"Yes, there are plenty of empty rooms in both the retainers' quarters and the servants' quarters," Brian replied immediately.

"Hmm," Vidal thought for a moment, feeling that it was somewhat inappropriate to have his subordinates live in the quarters of retainers or servants.

Although it's just a nominal issue, it's better to be cautious about such matters. Otherwise, people might accuse him of using the navy as his private army, even though many branch and sub-branch base commanders do indeed behave this way.

However, it wouldn't be appropriate to let them live alone in the city; after all, they are an army.

"I remember there are still quite a few empty plots of land in the territory, right?"

"Yes, besides the greenhouse, orchard, and medicinal herb garden, there's only a servants' quarters and a large open space to the east."

Vidal nodded. That's fine. As long as there's open space, things are easy. Buildings and such are just a matter of taking a quick picture; it won't take more than a few minutes.

The group continued their journey, and soon they left the city limits of Forest City and arrived at the other side of Apis Divine Lake. From here on, it was all the territory of the Forest family, and anyone who trespassed had the right to be arrested, or even killed.

"What are those! People? But why are they green-skinned, and they don't seem to have legs?" Second Lieutenant Longo, with short, light brown hair, took a deep breath of the scorching air and pointed at two figures not far away.

Rabani and the others looked over and indeed saw two burly green figures guarding a courtyard gate on the other side of the right wall.

At that moment, Vidal chuckled softly.

"Those are Boxing Cabbages, creations of my Devil Fruit power. If you're interested, you can spar with them later; they're quite strong."

"Wow!"

The little manatee lying in his arms nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, looking very much in agreement. Back in Marineford, it used to spar with the cabbage every day.

Dr. Nacil stretched and yawned, touching her sun-baked hair, and smiled meaningfully at Vidal.

"Finally here~, I want to take a bath and relax."

Vidal's thoughts, however, were entirely focused on a man who had returned alive.

"We've finally arrived! I really hope it's you, Lily."