On the second day after leaving Drum Island, the Merry sailed across the calm sea as usual.
After leaving the Winter Island climate zone, the weather began to clear. Chopper quickly settled in aboard the ship. Besides being looked after by the two girls, he got along well with Luffy and Usopp, and was currently chatting with Run Fast.
On the aft deck, Vivi and Nami sat on deck chairs, reading a newspaper. It seemed to have published some shocking news, and neither of them looked happy.
"Th-this... Is it true?"
"What's wrong?"
"Look." Nami sat up and unfolded the newspaper.
Seeing this, Lina, who had been exercising nearby, put down her dumbbells and came over. He took the newspaper, sat cross-legged on the ground, lit a cigarette, and began reading.
In the most prominent spot at the upper left was a picture of a battle. Judging by its scale, there were probably hundreds of people on each side. The headline read: [Frontline Report: Latest News on the Alabasta Civil War].
As Lina read on, his brows gradually knitted together.
"How did more than three hundred thousand soldiers in the King's Army defect in just one month?"
The King's Army had originally numbered six hundred thousand against the rebels' four hundred thousand. In the blink of an eye, the numbers had become seven hundred thousand rebels against three hundred thousand soldiers.
Lina had never seen a war on a scale of a million people, and couldn't even imagine one. The number was so enormous that it was far beyond anything he could picture.
He couldn't help glancing up at Vivi. She must be frantic with worry by now.
"This news is already a few days old. The decisive battle in Alabasta probably isn't far off."
"Lina, couldn't you say something