The vast desert stretched beneath a pitch-black sky, where the bright moon hung high and spilled silver light over the sands.
A brown falcon spread its wings wide and cut through the night sky at tremendous speed.
Lina sat cross-legged on the falcon's back, his golden hair whipping wildly in the wind as his blue shirt flapped noisily.
He was heading for Rain Country, a dream city in Alabasta—the only city untouched by drought and war.
Crocodile's casino, Rain Dinners, was also one of the city's greatest attractions.
"Are we at the Santo River already?" Lina gazed out at the river, its far bank nowhere in sight.
Moonlight spilled across the water, shimmering brightly as the moon's reflection wavered on the surface.
The Santo River flowed into the sea. Beginning just west of the port city of Nanohana, it stretched across half of St. Din Island.
It split the Kingdom of Alabasta in two. Many cities had been built along the Santo River, with canals dug to connect them to its waters.
But years ago, Crocodile had secretly ordered members of Baroque Works to blow up all the major canals.
Rain Country, the dream city, and the royal capital of Alabasta faced each other across the river. Yet almost no one traveled between them by crossing the upper reaches of the Santo River.
That was because the river was up to fifty kilometers wide, and it teemed with all kinds of enormous beasts. Lina had been stunned when Vivi told him about it.
It would take several islands the size of Little Garden, lined up side by side, just to fill the river.
Lina stared into the dark expanse ahead and steered the falcon straight across.
They had barely reached the skies above the river when a dark shape gradually