Shopping

"This is the Grand Line. As an essential item for pirates, these things are naturally sold in abundance, so the prices have dropped." Vivi got down from the carriage as well.

"Ha ha ha ha! Surely nobody actually goes to the official shops in Loguetown to get ripped off, right?" Several pirates burst into laughter when they overheard their conversation.

When they saw Nami's figure, accentuated by her clothes, several fat, greasy pirates started drooling.

"There are only two shops openly selling Log Poses there. Nobody actually buys them from those places, do they?"

"But making it here after getting through the Marines' trap means you've got some skill. Hey, little lady, wanna run with me? Our pirate crew is one of the most prestigious around here!"

Several pirates had already surrounded Nami.

"Are all pirates this blind?" Nami's gaze sharpened, and visible blue arcs of electricity flickered over her body.

Bzzzt...

"W-What the hell? So she's a Devil Fruit user. How boring. Another one of the sea's lucky ones."

The pirates' expressions changed, and they left while grumbling curses.

Ordinary pirates who had suffered enough beatings knew perfectly well that if they lacked strength, they should never provoke a Devil Fruit user. They were all cheaters.

"Cowards!" Nami unclenched her fists, and the arcs of electricity vanished beneath her smooth, pale skin.

"That was amazing! Nami, are you a Devil Fruit user too?" Vivi stared at her in shock.

"I'm not. I have the captain to thank for this power..." Nami instinctively recalled those electric massage sessions. Her ears reddened as she picked up several Den Den Mushi and asked the shopkeeper for their prices.

Vivi instinctively looked toward Ling Donglai, who was reading in the carriage by the entrance.

If one ignored all those muscles, his refined appearance truly made him look like an aristocrat. Yet Alabasta had no noble as elegant and fond of reading as him.

Judging from his appearance, he really did not resemble those vicious pirates.

Could this man grant his power to others?

"Captain, I bought the Den Den Mushi. Look at this..." Nami placed a pile of Den Den Mushi on the carriage. Then one camera Den Den Mushi aimed at Ling Donglai as he looked up. After a flash, it spat out a photograph.

"This camera Den Den Mushi is really fun!" Nami held up the photograph and laughed at Ling Donglai's image on it.

"So this is the pirate world's Polaroid?"

Ling Donglai was also amazed by Den Den Mushi technology. Through his vague senses, it seemed that some sort of synthesis had taken place inside the Den Den Mushi's body, allowing it to directly produce a photograph.

"The downside is that it can only take ten pictures a day, and it needs careful feeding." Nami looked through another Den Den Mushi care manual.

"It's still inferior to pure technology." Ling Donglai played with another camera Den Den Mushi. There was very little biological energy inside it, which meant its endurance was lacking. More importantly, Ling Donglai had no way to directly recharge it.

That made him think of Enel. As the wielder of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, despite losing to the child of destiny, he was unquestionably a genius. He had manually built an electrically powered ark and generated his own electricity to fly to the moon.

At the same time, he had used electrical currents to reactivate the moon, which had lost its energy source.

As for Ling Donglai... honestly, he had already forgotten some of that knowledge. If he had the materials, he could still make some intimidating homemade bombs, but without materials, he really had trouble turning that knowledge into anything useful.

At present, the only relatively simple thing he knew how to do was make glass.

"Electric-powered things are still more convenient. Then we could be self-sufficient, and even build an ironclad warship..."

Ling Donglai missed things like mobile phones. But it was fine. Some of the technology in the pirate world might be strange, but its cutting edge was still incredibly advanced. If he gave those scientists the design concepts, they could probably make things like mobile phones.

"Clothing Den Den Mushi, these necessities, and various seasonings. That should be enough to set out again for Alabasta."

"For you, wouldn't stocking up on food be the biggest priority?" Vivi asked doubtfully.

"Our refrigerator is packed with Sea King meat, so there's no need to buy any food. We only need some seasonings," Nami explained.

"By the way, when you go to Alabasta, can I come with you? Don't worry, I won't cause trouble. I can help with chores." A lingering shadow filled Vivi's eyes.

Robin, the Child of Devils. That bounty was not something that could be explained by an ordinary pirate wanted poster.

Alabasta was a member nation of the World Government and knew many secrets very well.

The ancient history the World Government did not want people to know about, the origins of the Child of Devils...

They were all secrets that could not be spoken of.

Once they leaked, beings on the level of Marine admirals would be dispatched directly. Alabasta had no power capable of opposing Marine admirals who could destroy an entire nation.

"Do you miss home?" Nami glanced at Ling Donglai, then looked at Vivi.

"Of course you can. On the way, we'd also like to learn about Alabasta. When I was reading the newspaper before, I saw the huge story about the princess's disappearance. It made the country seem pretty unreliable."

Vivi raised her head. "It's not like that. Alabasta is a great ancient kingdom with a long history. Our lives have always been peaceful. It was only after one of the Shichibukai, Crocodile, came to our country that everything started becoming different. Before he arrived, all kinds of strange things had begun happening in Alabasta, and Crocodile would always step in to solve them, becoming a hero in the hearts of the people of Alabasta..."

"But everything in Alabasta kept getting worse. I was fortunate enough to hear about the secret organization Baroque Works, so I found a way to join it. Then I discovered that the company's goal was to overthrow the king's rule and establish a new country. Everyone in it was an agent. They did not know each other's names and addressed one another by code names.

"I had only just joined, and my rank was too low. I could only do ordinary work and had no access to the higher-ups, so I couldn't gather any evidence. I could only suspect that Crocodile was Baroque Works' supreme leader."

Nami was curious. "Then how does your Baroque Works organization operate?"

"Generally speaking, it is divided into low-ranking agents and high-ranking agents. The people at the very top always carry out missions in pairs, forming partnerships.

"And I'm one of the lowest-ranking independents. I do have a few companions, but we aren't allowed to work together."

"There's one more thing... If Crocodile and Baroque Works are working together to overthrow Alabasta, I'm not sure whether the Marines would step in to help..."