Vivi's Enemy

"Ouch..." Luffy, who was sitting on the railing, was startled and tumbled onto the deck.

"An enemy?" Seeing this, everyone was on high alert until the pockmarked Freckled Youth uttered those words...

"Ah! Ace, what are you doing here?" Luffy's excited shout dispelled everyone's doubts, and they all breathed a sigh of relief. After all, no one had noticed his approach before, which showed that he was definitely not a simple person.

"Hmm? Didn't you come here after hearing the rumors on Drum Island... Ah, never mind, it's not important."

Luffy then remembered and patted Ace on the shoulder, introducing him. "This is my Ace. He set sail three years earlier than me. He's very strong. At least I never beat him when we were kids."

"Luffy, could it be that your brother is also Devil Fruit User?" Nami exclaimed in surprise.

"Not when I was a kid, but I am now." Ace flickered a flame from his right index finger and lit a cigarette for Sanji.

"This is... the Logia, which is said to be the strongest among Devil Fruit!" Zoro exclaimed in surprise.

"So the monster's brother is still a monster after all!" Chopper muttered to himself.

"He defeated Luffy when he was still an ordinary person, so he must be incredibly strong now!" Sanji exhaled a wisp of smoke.

"You... the symbol on your back should be the Whitebeard Pirates, right?" Vivi said excitedly.

"That's right, this is my pride. Whitebeard is the strongest pirate I know, and I will help him become the Pirate Kings, not you, Luffy!" Ace laughed.

"It's alright, we can just have a duel then!" Luffy laugh.

"Hey, let's talk inside. There's tea and snacks." Sanji suggested.

"No need, it's not important. Compared to that, I'll deal with these annoying little bugs for you first." After saying that, Ace did a backflip and jumped onto his small boat, speeding towards the large ship in the sea behind.

"Oh no, he was too impulsive! How could he go all by himself!" Usopp exclaimed in alarm.

"It's okay, if it's Ace, he can definitely do it." Luffy said with his signature "D" smile.

"That's right, if it's him, there's definitely no problem!" Vivi nodded, her tense face relaxing.

"Vivi, are you still going to keep this from us? You're not a princess at all, are you? Those people behind you don't care about your safety at all," Nami said with some dissatisfaction.

"Aren't we partners? Partners should be honest with each other!" Luffy said seriously, though he was a little embarrassed.

Vivi smiled wryly, glanced at Ace on the sea, took a deep breath, and then bowed and apologized, "Everyone, I'm sorry, I did conceal some information, but please believe me, I had absolutely no ill intentions. If you know too much about some things, it will be very dangerous, and I really don't want to involve you in danger."

"I believe you!" Luffy laughed.

Nami and the others quickly expressed their support, bringing tears of emotion to Vivi's eyes.

"Actually, I am indeed the princess of Alabasta, and I haven't lied to you about that," Vivi said with a wry smile.

"How is this possible?" Nami was the most unable to accept it. In her mind, shouldn't a princess live in a beautiful Royal Palace and control a fortune that could rival that of a country? This was the first time she had ever seen a princess living such a miserable life.

"I understand. There must have been a rebellion in your country, and your royal family was exiled and hunted down by the rebel forces, right?" Usopp nodded in deep agreement.

"Um... no, the current king is my father." Vivi was a little embarrassed to say it.

Everyone was dumbfounded. A father sending men to kill his daughter? What irreconcilable hatred could there be?

"I know! Your father must have found you a wicked stepmother. That stepmother secretly sent people to hunt you down in order to seize this country!" Nami's eyes lit up, sensing the gossip.

"Ahem... No, I don't have a stepmother. My father has always been the one in power in this country."

Everyone felt awkward again, and the one with big eyes couldn't say a word to the one with small eyes.

In the end, Vivi herself revealed the answer, "Actually, the reason I was being hunted down was because I violated the most serious and absurd law in this country, which was to openly advocate resistance against the Phantom Sword Pirates."

"Wait... what does this have to do with pirates?" Now it was Luffy to be dumbfounded.

"Because the Phantom Sword Pirates are actually the de facto rulers of this country. My father even publicly proclaimed that everything in this country, and even the lives of every citizen, belong to the Phantom Sword Pirates. In other words, if the members of the Phantom Sword Pirates wanted to, they could instantly overthrow the government of this country and even destroy Alabasta!"

"This is too absurd. Could it be... could it be that the Navy and the World Government won't step in to deal with this?" Although it was a bit strange for a pirate to say such a thing, Usopp couldn't help but ask.

"It's no use. The Navy and the World Government don't dare to interfere at all, because the captain of the Phantom Sword Pirates is one of the Shichibukai, a great pirate named Nightmare!"

"Nightmare!" Nami and the others exclaimed almost in unison.

"Nightmare? If it's him, then it's not surprising." Ace reappeared on the ship at some point, with a sea of fire faintly visible behind him.

"Nightmare? That name sounds familiar. I must have heard it somewhere recently!" Luffy said in deep thought with a solemn expression.

"Are you an idiot? Isn't Nightmare the vicious, cruel, and tyrannical pirate that your grandfather specifically mentioned back in Cocoyasi Village?" Nami couldn't help but grab Luffy's neck again in her excitement.

Luffy, on the other hand, skillfully lengthened and thinned his neck, breaking free from Nami's clutches. He clapped his hands and exclaimed, "So it was him! I remember now."

"Now you should know why I didn't want to involve you. That kind of enemy is one that even the Navy doesn't want to provoke!" Vivi felt like she had been forcing a bitter smile all day.

"Originally, I planned to try to wake my father again after returning to Alabasta and make a final effort, but now I've changed my mind." Vivi looked at Ace with hopeful eyes. "Brother Ace must be the Fire Fist Ace who is the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Four Emperors. If it's you, you must be able to help me deal with the Phantom Sword Pirates and get rid of the threat from Nightmare."

Ace: "(⊙o⊙)???"