"What?! You guys are Ace's friends! That scared me to death! You're incredibly strong! Hehehehe~"
After receiving the Vivre Card, Luffy resumed his carefree and playful antics.
"What? Is it all a misunderstanding?"
Zoro then used his sword to support himself as he stood up, his hands and feet still trembling. Although he had been hit by a lightning bolt, he had at least avoided a lot of trouble.
"Nami- san~ Vivi- chan~ Quickly praise how cool I was just now~"
After the crisis was over, the lecherous cook resumed his obsessive behavior.
"So... those people from Baroque Works aren't Cifer's subordinates?!"
Nami immediately grasped the key point; she already felt that the other party wasn't the kind of villain they had imagined.
"What Baroque Works... do they even deserve to be included by God? They just happen to be in the God's path!"
Enel quickly denied it, refusing to be associated with that group of trash who could be wiped out in a single move.
"Then why are you looking for Crocodile? Are you here to defeat that guy too?"
Luffy felt like his brain wasn't working properly.
"I just came to ask him for something. As for defeating him... he doesn't deserve to use that word in front of me, and besides, I have no intention of dealing with him."
"As for why I know about Princess Vivi... don't underestimate a Shichibukai's intelligence-gathering ability!"
Cifer then answered Vivi's first question, though he rambled on, he had to at least pretend.
"Take your target for this trip, Crocodile, for example. I think he will soon find out that you are here."
Cifer's words poured cold water on Luffy and his crew. In Luffy's eyes, there was no way to save the country without defeating Crocodile!
But if they are exposed too early, they will face a series of troubles.
"It's alright! We just need to stop the Rebel Army; we don't necessarily have to confront Crocodile head-on!"
Vivi was filled with despair at this moment; defeating the Shichibukai was indeed just a fantasy.
She simply couldn't imagine how they could possibly defeat such a powerful opponent as the person in front of them.
But she continued to comfort herself and everyone else.
As long as the Rebel Army can be stopped, there is still a chance. As long as the country is at peace, Crocodile's plot will not succeed!
"Cifer, Crocodile as strong as you guys?"
Nami then asked the question that everyone was most concerned about: Enel was his companion, and from their conversation, it was clear that Cifer was stronger.
Enel alone could easily defeat the Straw Hat Pirates's three strongest fighters, so Cifer's strength must be even more terrifying!
Crocodile, on the other hand, was a powerful member of the Shichibukai, just like Cifer!
"That guy... is no match for Enel!"
To be honest, it's hard for Cifer to judge Crocodile's strength, but a rough estimate is that he's far from being as strong as Enel is now.
"Eh~ Stronger than the Shichibukai?!"
What they didn't expect was that one of Cifer's combatants was actually stronger than their target.
But it was as if they had been given a shot of adrenaline; as long as they weren't monsters like them, there was still a chance!
"Just how strong are you, Cifer?!"
Luffy's injuries from Enel's attack weren't serious to begin with, and he was now much more curious about Cifer's strength.
"You'll be qualified to ask questions when you catch up with this guy."
Cifer pointed to Enel, who was picking at his ear and pretending not to hear. After all, he couldn't just say he had knocked him down with two punches in front of outsiders!
"Then Princess Vivi, please point in the direction of your capital!"
Once you have a direction, getting there is incredibly easy.
Princess Vivi was puzzled, but she still took out a map from her bosom and pointed out a general direction to Cifer based on the layout on it.
"Well then, until we meet again, everyone."
Following her pointing finger, Cifer lightly tapped the space, and the space was torn open, allowing them to enter one after another.
"What kind of ability is this?!"
The Straw Hat Pirates was shocked.
"Hey Cifer! You still haven't told me how to use this paper!"
Seeing the space closing, Luffy disregarded everything else and quickly asked a question.
"Ace has also come to this country. The Vivre Card will guide you to meet."
The space was completely closed off, as if the four people did not exist there at all.
"Ace! It's Ace! He's here too!"
Luffy jumped up excitedly.
"Wow~ Is this the capital of Alabasta?!"
Chopper, looking like a country bumpkin visiting the city, ran briskly with his little backpack on his back, while the three of them followed slowly behind him.
"There seem to be quite a lot of bugs here."
"After all, this is the territory of someone who only knows how to scheme, so it's normal to have a few more needles."
As they walked down the street, they were constantly being stared at with strange looks, and nothing escaped their notice.
"Miss, would you like to take a look at this golden apple? It's an incredible treasure discovered in ancient ruins!"
A street vendor immediately recognized that Cifer and his group were outsiders, and walked up to Nolan with a glittering golden apple, boasting about it.
"I'll just tell you a secret: they say if you eat one bite of this apple, you can live to be 1000 years old!"
"1. 1000 years old! Is that true?!"
Chopper and Nolan were both astonished, their mouths watering as they looked at the golden fruit before them.
"Of course it's true! Since you two are destined to meet, you can buy it for only 1000 Belly!"
The boss wore a pained expression, but inside he was overjoyed; these days, it's rare to find a fool like that.
"Are you two... idiots?!"
The large bag was smoking on Nolan and Chopper's heads as Enel carried them forward.
"Guests! 100 Belly! 100 Belly will do!"
The stall owner watched them leave, then shouted while holding the golden apple.
"We're just out having fun... 100 Belly is no big deal."
Cifer estimated that the treasure on the ship alone was worth two or three hundred million. As long as they weren't ripped off too badly, he didn't care what the crew bought; as long as they were happy.
"That's right!"
Nolan and Chopper both agreed.
"Ha~ You don't care about something that's obviously a rip-off?"
Enel looked helpless, but when he looked down again, he saw that both of them had expectations in their eyes.
Never mind~
A moment later, Chopper and Nolan each held two golden apples in their hands, and the boss was all smiles.
"Here you go, Cifer!"
Chopper handed one to Cifer, his face showing an irresistible cuteness.
Similarly, Nolan offered another one to Enel.
"Yay~ Hahahaha~ I just can't do anything with you guys."
Enel accepted the golden apple, and his slight dissatisfaction with the stall owner vanished completely at that moment.
Alabasta, the Rainland, at the Kingdom's largest casino, "Rain Dinners".
"What did you say? That madman has come to this country?!"
The man with a horizontal scar on his face and a cigar in his mouth had a livid face.
The dark-skinned woman wearing a hat and a crop top stood silently to the side.