The Ninja Joins

Ryokugyu ultimately believed Crocodile's words, mainly because there was no conflict of interest between the two sides. On the contrary, the Straw Hat Pirates posed a greater threat to Crocodile.

Even if he loses, it's just a wasted trip. But if Crocodile loses, Alabasta's foundation will completely collapse.

And...

Looking at the faint trail of footprints on the sand dune, Green Bull Aramaki's expression turned grim. This place was only a few hundred meters away from the Oasis they had just left. Logically speaking, with his Observation Haki, he should have been able to spot someone in this location.

However, now, a slap in the face is happening right in front of him. While he was fighting, he didn't even notice that there were two other people watching!

Clearly, the combat strength of the owner of these two footprints is hard to say, but at least their ability to conceal themselves is certainly unquestionable.

"What should we do next? Do you know who our opponent is?"

"It can't possibly be someone from Alabasta. I've been here for quite a while now, and Alabasta doesn't even have a single person with the Haki, let alone someone hiding right under our noses watching the fight."

"So the most likely candidate is someone who's with the Straw Hat Pirates! Didn't you say that Straw Hat is Dragon's son? The Revolutionary Army leader's subordinates are quite powerful, so it's perfectly normal for him to send some hidden figures to protect his child."

Ryokugyu frowned slightly. As the World Government's ace, he knew a little about the leader of the Revolutionary Army. This leader of the Revolutionary Army shouldn't be the kind of person who would do such a thing, right?

However, Ryokugyu only knew a little about dragons. Theoretically speaking, what Crocodile said was the most likely, so he didn't dwell on it too much and just assumed that Shackleton was someone sent by the dragons.

"Is that so... Well, let's just assume they were sent by Dragon! But you, a dignified Shichibukai who dared to challenge Whitebeard back then, are you actually scared by two cowardly fellows?"

"Don't try to provoke me, I know exactly what I need to do!"

Crocodile glanced at him indifferently and said coldly:

"The next time we meet, it will definitely be a fight to the death!"

Hearing this, Ryokugyu nodded in satisfaction. Although he felt there was something strange about what he was saying, it at least showed Crocodile's determination.

"So thirsty, so tired, so hungry, I feel like I'm going to die~~"

Under the scorching sun, the golden Desert radiated an intense heat, and the Straw Hat Crew looked like they were about to turn into dried-up corpses.

Well, at this moment, the Straw Hat Crew's captain has become a dried-up human body. The side effects of the Nika Fruit Awakening, coupled with not eating or drinking, have caused Luffy to curl up into a ball, looking like a piece of rotten rubber that has been exposed to the scorching sun for several years.

"Damn it, we haven't gotten any supplies from the Oasis at all!"

With her lips chapped and her face pale, Princess Vivi gritted her teeth and said, "Getting lost, coupled with the Straw Hat Pirates' gluttony, has meant that their supplies have long been exhausted. This time, they haven't been able to get any supplies from the Oasis, making it even more difficult to get out of this Desert."

"Luffy's condition is very serious. He seems to have suffered from dehydration and heatstroke!"

Usopp frowned, looking at Luffy whose soul was Luffy out of his mouth, his face full of helplessness.

Although the people in the Pirate World are very resilient— Sanji and Red Leg Zeff were able to endure dozens of days on the island—it doesn't mean they would never die from hunger and thirst!

"What are we going to do? We've run out of food and water. Luffy might die!"

Chopper, the Straw Chopper Straw Hat Pirates' doctor, looked panicked, while the others frowned, unable to come up with any good solutions.

In fact, they had already been cut off from food and water for quite some time before they even reached the Oasis. Now that the Oasis had been completely destroyed in the battle between Ryokugyu and Luffy, there was no need to worry about supplies anymore.

Princess Vivi bit her lip anxiously. It would take at least seven or eight days to reach the nearest Oasis.

Moreover, because it hadn't rained for three years, many small Oasis had withered away, and she herself couldn't guarantee whether that Oasis still existed.

Under these circumstances, Vivi really had no confidence that she could lead everyone out of this Desert.

Seven days passed quickly. Although Luffy looked like he was about to die, for a monster in this world whose vitality far surpassed that of cockroaches, seven days only made his condition worse.

But...

"The Oasis... has dried up..."

Princess Vivi looked at the Oasis with a face full of despair. Her dry lips and skin prevented her from shedding tears.

The rest of the Straw Hat Pirates were also quite silent. No matter how resilient the monster was, it was starting to break down at this point, and they had no confidence in finding another Oasis.

After all that effort, they couldn't even capture Marine Admiral, and now they're going to die of thirst and starvation in the Desert? That would be a rather shameful way to die.

In the midst of this silent atmosphere, the sound of rustling footsteps suddenly came. Sanji and Zoro were slightly startled and quickly turned their heads to see two people wearing Akatsuki cloak walking over.

"Aren't these two hot dressed like that?"

Just then, the dazed Chopper suddenly spoke up, saying that he, a reindeer, was already hot enough in this Desert with his fur, but now he saw two guys wearing black coats, which seemed even worse than him!

The two ninjas who were walking towards them paused slightly, then continued walking forward as if nothing had happened.

Are the people in this world really... all incredibly thick-skinned? If you see two suspicious-looking people in the Desert, your first thought is, "Aren't they hot wearing all that?" Don't you realize they're not someone to mess with?

Look at that green-haired swordsman, his expression is so serious and focused...

"Gentlemen, are you here to ask for directions?"

Zoro looked at the two Akatsuki and asked a question, Kisame and Kakuzu immediately fell silent.

Why would I ask an idiot like you for directions?! Even if ninjas are far more survivable than pirates, if they followed behind this Green Algae Head, they'd probably be sunburnt to death in this Desert!

Having followed the Straw Hat Pirates for so long, the two of them had naturally seen through Zoro's true nature as the King of Lost Directions; his level of terrible sense of direction was practically a curse.

Fortunately, the ninja possessed Water Release abilities, and both of them had received comprehensive wilderness survival training, enabling them to find animals like lizards, snakes, and scorpions hidden underground in the Desert. Otherwise, even if they had followed the Straw Hat Pirates, they probably would have died in the Desert.

Forget it, why bother arguing with this bunch of idiots? These pirates have no idea what they're thinking, they're completely different from normal ninjas!

"We don't need to ask for directions... I think you need some help!"

Kisame raised his straw hat and looked at the group. Upon seeing Kisame's appearance, Usopp and Chopper were startled and immediately hid behind Zoro and Sanji.

"Wow, what is that? A shark?"

"The devil shark has become sentient!"

Kisame's smile froze instantly. You two, one Long Nose Monsters and the other Raccoon Dog spirit, what right do you have to laugh at my appearance?

In a world like Hokage where everyone looks normal, people laughed at me. Now that I've come to a world like One Piece where everyone looks casual, you still laugh at me. Did I just waste my time traveling to this world?

Are you... Fish-Man?

Princess Vivi does have some sense; after all, she is a princess and was born in the Grand Line, so she is not easily frightened.

Kisame does indeed resemble Fish-Man in appearance. Of course, upon closer inspection, subtle differences can be observed. However, in the Pirate World, few people are observant enough to mistake Kisame for Fish-Man, so it's not a big deal.

In any case, Kisame, like Fish-Man, also has the ability to breathe in the sea.

"Fish-Man... you could call them that. You all seem to be in a bad situation. Do you need my help?"

Kisame had no intention of explaining the difference between himself and the Fish-Man to them. Instead, he looked at the group of people and was a little surprised.

Honestly, these guys are incredibly resilient! Even a ninja of my caliber wouldn't last three days in the Desert without water or food, yet these guys managed to endure seven days without losing consciousness.

If it were a strongman like Luffy, it would be one thing, but the fact that even a young girl like Princess Vivi could withstand it is simply astonishing.

The differences between the two worlds' human races were starkly displayed before Kisame. Although humans in the Ninja World were much stronger than normal people, with twice as many body cells, if the Chakra factor were removed, they would be far inferior to the people in the Pirate World.

The key point is that Chakra is not as difficult to obtain as Haki in the Pirate World. As a special bio-energy used for some kind of alien colonization, Chakra can be easily transferred to others. Basically, anyone at the Jonin level can condense Chakra Seed and transfer it to others.

Even ordinary Genin, as long as they are willing to put in the effort to continuously transfer Chakra to ordinary people, without needing any Chakra Seed, can have ordinary people possess Chakra constitutions in a few years, automatically mixing spiritual energy and physical strength to create Chakra.

Haki, however, is a special ability that only people in the Pirate World can use. If they hadn't undergone Vegapunk's human modification, they would never have been able to develop such a thing, no matter how hard they practiced.

Upon hearing Kisame's words again, Princess Vivi immediately reacted. She looked the two of them over, not seeing any burdens on them, and asked with some confusion:

"You two want to help us? But you don't seem to have any supplies on you!"

"And... don't you two want to ask who we are?"

"No need to ask, I know you better than you do who you are."

Kakuzu spoke calmly, formed Hand Seals, and suddenly opened his mouth:

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"

A large amount of clear water was summoned by Kakuzu. Although the Oasis had dried up, it still retained its original dry riverbed. With the abundant water, it quickly turned into a small lake again.

Although Kakuzu's Water Release technique is not as good as Kisame's, it is still among the top ten in the Ninja World. After being modified by Vegapunk and possessing the physique of a human in the Pirate World, his Chakra reserves have been further increased. Even in the Desert, his Great Waterfall Technique is performed at a level far exceeding that of an ordinary Jonin.

"Water, water, it's clean water!"

"Haha, now we're saved!"

Looking at the small lake in front of them, the entire Straw Hat Pirates were overjoyed. Luffy, who was almost turned into a dried-up corpse, was immediately thrown into the lake. After a short while, he started to bubble up. Just by soaking in the water, he had already recovered most of his health.

"I'm so hungry! Huh, what's going on?"

Luffy, who had been completely dried up and was somewhat dazed, only came to his senses after being submerged in water. He looked at his companions, thought for a moment, and then spoke:

"Everyone, is there anything to eat?"

"Here's some dried roasted lizard..."

Kisame took out some food he had collected in the Desert, but before he could finish speaking, Luffy's head had already stretched infinitely, and he devoured all the lizards in one gulp.

"It tastes good, is there any more...?"

Kisame was silent for a moment. Now he understood why the Straw Hat Pirates, with their strength, had almost died in this vast Desert.

A carefree, gluttonous glutton who knows no thrift, and a cursedly bad navigator with a mysterious overconfidence when it comes to finding his way around, yet he still dares to come to the Desert under these circumstances. It can only be said that the Straw Hat Pirates are indeed very confident—or you could say that these idiots simply haven't considered this kind of problem at all.

A dozen minutes later, the Straw Hat Pirates had recovered considerably. Although they were still somewhat weak due to insufficient food, they had recovered about 70-80% after replenishing their fluids.

Kisame and Kakuzu originally planned to spend some time gaining the trust of these pirates, but in reality, they were accepted by the Straw Hat Pirates as soon as they finished their introduction.

"Hahaha, so you're ninjas! The legendary, mysterious ninjas!"

"Can you become invisible? Can you Clone Technique? Can you use Substitution Technique? Can you use Kunai and shuriken?"

Seeing the Straw Hat Pirates' enthusiastic group, Kisame's smile froze, while Kakuzu utterly helpless. What was wrong with these pirates? Did they have no sense of caution at all?

Hmph, if this kind of person were in the Ninja World, he would be fooled a dozen times in a minute. It would be a miracle if he had lived this long!

"I've made up my mind. Kakuzu, Kisame, you two will be my companions!"

While Kakuzu and Kisame were still grumbling to each other, Luffy had already extended an invitation to them.

The two ninjas exchanged a glance, feeling that the plan was far too easy and lacked any challenge.