"All right, let's go over what we know." Sanji lit a cigarette and spoke up.
"Going to war with a Shichibukai won't be easy. To reach Rainbase, we'll have to cross the Santora River and then make our way through the desert. I've already prepared food and water.
"There's one more problem: the civil war. How do we stop it? The rebels are already at the height of their fury. Even if we reveal the truth, I doubt it'll make much difference."
Sanji's solemn tone made everyone grow serious.
"I'm going to Oasis Yuba. I've known Kuzan, the rebel leader, since we were kids. I want to try to talk him out of it," Vivi said.
But...
The room fell silent. No one spoke.
"Vivi... do you really think he'll listen to you?" Lina looked straight at her and bluntly shattered her hopes. "He has seven hundred thousand people counting on him. Do you think a few words from you will make him give up?"
Everyone knew the answer: no way!
Lina sat down cross-legged and scratched his blond hair.
"We don't have any evidence, Vivi. Forget being childhood friends—even if you were his father, it wouldn't work."
His father had actually tried to talk him out of it. It hadn't worked.
A war on this scale—hundreds of thousands of people. They could fill the entire Capital Alabasta just by lining up.
The rebel leader wasn't the only problem. Even if they were close, and Kuzan trusted Vivi without question, what could they say to persuade the seven hundred thousand rebels, all worked up into a frenzy?
Use Hakoku?
Pirates guarding the country while rebels die for it?
That wasn't persuading anyone. Besides, Lina didn't have the stamina to pull off seven rounds in one night. Two would do him