A Turn for the Better?

"Resurrected...? Could it be that the monster is unkillable?" Sanji was so shocked that he dropped his cigarette without realizing it. He simply couldn't imagine how such a thing could be done by a human.

"Are you... are you kidding me? Are we really going to fight this kind of monster? I can't take it anymore, I have a disease that kills me when I see Nightmare!" Usopp's voice trembled, and his legs began to shake.

Vivi, on the other hand, was completely numb, like a walking corpse, devoid of vitality and soul. The most painful thing in life is not despair, but the process of falling from heaven to hell again after seeing hope. This process was indeed somewhat cruel for Vivi, who was only 16 years old.

Seeing Vivi's miserable and pitiful state, Nami and the others felt bad too, and even resented Ace for speaking too harshly, leaving her with no hope at all.

Ace seemed to realize he had gone too far and wanted to say something to make amends, but he couldn't find the words. After all, in his opinion, the Nightmare was far more terrifying than he had described, and it would be better to put an end to Luffy and his crew's crazy idea sooner rather than later.

After thinking it over, Ace had no choice but to forcefully change the subject, "By the way, I just got back quite late and only overheard the last few sentences you were saying. How exactly did Vivi get involved with a monster like Nightmare? Although it sounds harsh, the truth is, if she really did get involved with Nightmare, he wouldn't even need to lift Nightmare. His vast power, which spans the entire Grand Line, would follow his will and bring Vivi to Nightmare in the shortest amount of time. There wouldn't be any time for you to react."

Although everyone harbored resentment and were somewhat dissatisfied with Ace's cold-hearted approach, he was, after all, their captain's brother, and they still had to give him face.

Therefore, Nami quickly replied, "Vivi is the princess of the Alabasta Kingdom. In order to help her country break free from the control of the Nightmare, she set sail alone in hopes of finding a way to save her people."

Ace's lips twitched a few times. Well, he knew it. How could these rookie pirates with a bounty of only 30 million and the down-on-his-luck runaway princess possibly provoke a monster like Nightmare? Turns out, it was just one of his outposts.

Ace took a deep breath and said to Vivi, whose eyes were unfocused, "Vivi, if you want to seek revenge on Nightmare, I really can't do that, and I'm afraid there aren't many people in the whole world who would dare to say that they can definitely do it. However, if you just want the Alabasta Kingdom to break away from the Phantom Sword Pirates, it might not be too difficult."

Upon hearing that things had taken a turn for the better, Vivi instantly revived and excitedly said, "As long as we can save everyone and let everyone return to where they started, that's enough. I never thought about revenge!"

Ace sighed, feeling a bit annoyed, and said, "Since you guys weren't planning on dealing with that kind of monster, why did you all seem to be discussing it so enthusiastically when I came back?"

Vivi blinked her adorable big eyes. "But how can we liberate Alabasta if we don't solve the Nightmare?"

Ace rubbed his face and sighed, "Most of Nightmare's forces are in the New World, the latter half of the Grand Line. He pays very little attention to the first half of the Grand Line. Moreover, kingdoms like Alabasta are nothing under Nightmare's control. As far as I know, not only Nightmare, but not even one of his top executives or Senior Executive is on this island."

"The one who actually controls this country is just an ordinary officer under Nightmare, the Carrion Vulture. That guy is only a newcomer who joined the Phantom Sword Pirates a year ago. After making a mistake, he was exiled to the first half of the Grand Line, and that's how he took over the power of Alabasta."

"Brother Ace, you know so much!" Chopper's eyes sparkled with admiration, which pleased Ace greatly.

"Haha, actually, I only learned about the surrounding forces in order to bring back a certain guy."

Vivi was somewhat embarrassed. Although she knew that the Phantom Sword Pirates were the actual rulers of the Alabasta Kingdom, she didn't know much about them. She thought their Phantom Sword Pirates would be stationed in the kingdom, but it turned out that the other side didn't care about them at all, and the one left in the kingdom was just an insignificant little leader under their command.

She felt both frustrated and relieved. Frustrated because her cherished homeland was treated like trash by the other side, but relieved because the other side didn't value her homeland. Otherwise, according to Ace, she would never have been able to change the future of Alabasta in her lifetime.

"So he was just a small fry, how boring!" Luffy was like a deflated balloon, listless.

Usopp instantly revived, jumped onto the barrel and struck what he thought was a very cool pose, saying, "Haha, I am Captain Usopp with 8,000 men under my command, how could I be afraid of a little minion?"

"I thought I was finally going to meet a heavyweight enemy, what a pity." Zoro was also somewhat disappointed.

Ace said with a helpless twitch of his lips, "Hey, I'm telling you guys, don't underestimate the enemy. Although he's just an insignificant ordinary officer under Nightmare, he had a bounty of 100 million Beli before joining the Phantom Sword Pirates. For you rookie pirates who haven't been at sea for long, he's definitely not an easy enemy to deal with."

Bang!

Usopp lost his balance and fell off the barrel. "1...100 million Beli? This kind of big pirate with a bounty is just a small boss under his command. Is the Grand Line really this scary?"

"If I defeat him, will I be able to raise the bounty to 100 million?" Luffy exclaimed excitedly.

"This sounds interesting." Zoro's fighting spirit was also rising.

Ace: "..."

Boom!

With a deafening roar, the city wall collapsed, the ground caved in, and the battle finally came to an end.

The notorious pirate Carrion Vulture, with a bounty of 100 million, was buried under the ruins, his fate unknown. Meanwhile, the three strongest members of the Straw Hat Pirates stood side by side, blood dripping from their faces, looking rather disheveled, but their spirits were exceptionally high. This was the first time they had defeated an enemy with a bounty of over 100 million, and they were indeed not in the same league as the likes of Krieg, Buggy, Arlong.

"Is this considered a success? That guy should be powerless to fight now." Sanji smoked a cigarette, leaving Vivi with what he considered a mature and reliable back view, wondering if the legendary scene of sacrificing oneself for someone else was about to unfold.

"Unforgivable, unforgivable! You bastards, you've truly enraged me!" A blood-soaked figure shakily rose from the ruins, wiping the blood from his face, and said with a fierce but weak voice, "If you leave now, I can pretend nothing happened. Otherwise, you will definitely regret what you've done!"