Ballistic Adjustment

Having more experiences was never a bad thing.

Especially for a little princess of the royal family.

Cobra himself, along with Igaram and the other guards, cared deeply about their little princess, but they wouldn't keep her locked away in a tower.

That had made the little princess strong-willed, laying the groundwork for her to infiltrate Baroque Works in the future and step forward to stop a civil war.

But when the breeze from a butterfly's wings blew through, what would become of Vivi's fate this time?

At any rate, Dalton's fate had already changed.

He was a Devil Fruit User who had eaten the Ox-Ox Fruit, Bison Form, and the captain of the Drum Kingdom's guard. He had been serving the old king since he was young.

After the old king's death, the spoiled Wapol took the throne and began his cruel reign.

Although Dalton served under Wapol, he had always opposed the latter's brutal rule.

In the future, after a series of twists and turns, Wapol would be driven out of Drum Kingdom by the Straw Hat Pirates. The mild-mannered Dalton would then be chosen as king by the people, rename the country the "Sakura Kingdom," and later attend the Reverie as its representative.

Back to the present.

At this point, Dalton should still have been serving as captain of Drum Kingdom's guard. His conflict with Wapol hadn't yet escalated, and the two were merely dissatisfied with each other.

That was what puzzled Lindsey.

As the old king's aide, Dalton commanded great respect throughout the country. Wapol was deeply displeased with him, but for now, there was little he could do.

But why was Dalton so badly wounded? And why had he fled to Alabasta aboard a warship from Drum Kingdom?

What's more, the warship he'd come on had its keel snapped by cannon fire, and its hull was riddled with holes. It was already on its last legs and could sink at any moment.

"Phew..."

His arms still wrapped tightly around the front of the warship.

A few wisps of white smoke curled from between Lindsey's teeth. He twisted at the waist and used his incredible strength to lift the entire warship slightly, turn it around, and set it down securely on the shallow beach.

"Heave-ho!"

Vivi let go of the horns on Lindsey's head, then hopped lightly onto the warship's deck.

Seeing Dalton badly wounded, blood pooling around him, Vivi wasn't frightened. She went straight over, intending to bandage his wounds.

But just then, a wary voice rang out and caught Vivi's attention.

Several people climbed up from the cabin. They didn't look like soldiers, and most of them had some sort of injury.

The young man at the front warned her, "Don't come any closer! Or else..."

He stopped short.

The person before him wasn't some fierce, menacing enemy, but a little girl with blue hair.

Facing Vivi, the boy couldn't bring himself to act tough. Exhaustion washed over him, and his eyes rolled back as he fainted.

"You..."

Vivi noticed that apart from the few people who had climbed onto the deck, there seemed to be many more inside the cabin. Every one of them looked utterly exhausted.

Ding-ding-ding-ding!

The shrill alarm interrupted Vivi's thoughts.

A second alarm had gone off at Nanohana Port!

It was the tail end of dusk, and the sunset had grown ever redder and more dazzling.

Looking into the light, they saw several more warships approaching across the sea, looking as if they meant business.

A heavy cannon was wheeled out on the leading warship and aimed at the ship on the shallows. It fired.

Whoosh—BOOM!

The first cannonball hit the water near the shallows, kicking up a huge spray of seawater and sand.

The second shot followed after a slight adjustment to its angle!

Whoosh—

"Huh?"

Seeing trouble, Vivi called for everyone aboard to take cover as quickly as possible. But the cannonball was moving so fast that there was no time to get off the ship.

She turned around instinctively—and ran straight into a huge, burly black figure.

It was Dalton, transformed into a bison-like man!

"Ugh..."

Before Vivi could react, Dalton wrapped his arms around her and turned, facing the direction of the incoming cannonball with his back.

"Ugh!"

Dalton's mind was foggy; he hadn't even figured out what was happening. But deep down, he didn't want a little girl to get hurt right in front of him.

BOOM!

The cannonball struck the deck and exploded, but the excruciating pain Dalton had expected never came.

He turned his head and saw an even larger black figure standing in front of him and Vivi.

It was a giant "monster," with thick limbs and dark green horns. It was a creature Dalton had never seen before!

The cannonball had hit him in the face, but all it left behind was a little black gunpowder soot.

"Hmph!"

He casually snorted through his nose, blowing the soot away without a trace.

"..."

"Your Highness!"

Jaka had stayed behind to protect Cobra. On the other side, Bepo spread his wings in Falcon Form, darted onto the warship's deck, and hurried over to Vivi.

Seeing that Vivi was unharmed, Bepo finally let out a sigh of relief. He looked toward the warships in the distance and asked in surprise, "Those are all ships from Drum Kingdom. Why are they attacking you?"

"I..."

Dalton tried to explain, but the strength he'd just regained had already run out. He couldn't get a single word out.

With no other option, Bepo looked up at Lindsey, who stood not far away, and shouted, "Mr. Lindsey, let's get out of here first!"

"..."

Lindsey didn't reply.

Bepo was about to say something else, but Crocodile at the port noticed several ragged black strips of cloth slowly floating around Lindsey.

Ancient Armament Haki!

Realizing what mattered, Crocodile immediately shouted, "Forget that primitive man! Get the valuable people out of here first!"

"Oh, right!"

Bepo froze for a moment, then twisted his Zoan Transformation body and slashed a taloned foot across one side of the ship.

Talon Strike!

Whoosh—CRASH!

With a single slash, the Falcon Form's talons ripped a huge hole through one side of the ship.

Taking advantage of the opening, the people hiding inside were finally able to escape the warship and reach the land of Alabasta.

"Mr. Lindsey..."

Bepo noticed that something was wrong with Lindsey. Their eyes met, and Bepo shivered for no reason.

Seeing that Lindsey seemed to be waiting for him to leave too, Bepo simply grabbed Vivi and Dalton, spread his wings, and flew away from the deck.

The instant he moved away from the warship, Bepo's keen eyes in Falcon Form seemed to catch sight of something.

A black strip of cloth was floating in midair.

But it changed at a visible speed, gradually taking on a sharp quality until it became a hard "scale"!

A scale?!

Bepo didn't understand why. He only felt the pressure from behind growing more and more terrifying, so he flew away even faster.

Crocodile was bolder than Bepo.

He simply grabbed one of the "scales," feeling the Armament Haki within it. His pupils contracted slightly.

This had to be another property of Ancient Armament Haki!

When Aiven Lindsey was in his normal state, the Ancient Armament Haki looked like ragged strips of cloth.

But when he activated his Devil Fruit Ability, those strips transformed into different properties to suit Lindsey's current state!

Looking up, Crocodile saw that he was right.

Aiven Lindsey's limbs had grown long again. A few emerald-green scales had appeared along his spine, mingling with the black Ancient Armament Haki like some sort of irregular rust.

On all fours, he sent several spikes bursting up from the ground. They pierced through the battered warship, giving Lindsey a firmer foothold!

He opened his fanged mouth.

Aiven Lindsey took a deep breath...

[Earth Fiend Howling Wind] Composite Form!

Roar!

"ROAR!"

An invisible current of air left a streak across the sky.

Gusts, shattered rocks, Ancient Armament Haki...

All of them mixed together into a devastating current of air, which Lindsey roared out in one blast toward the fleet in the distance!

Whoom!

The lead warship saw what was happening, but it was already too late to dodge.

The next second—

CRASH!

The current struck the top of the mast, snapping it instantly and blasting it into countless fragments.

"Ha!"

Seeing this, Crocodile couldn't help laughing. "Looks like this is your first time using that move. Your aim's not so great!"

At that, Lindsey's roar didn't stop.

"Ha!"

He laughed loudly as Crocodile looked on in surprise, then jerked his head sharply downward.

Whoosh!

The destructive shock wave shifted downward with Lindsey's movement and struck the hull of the lead warship in the blink of an eye!

CRASH!

The keel inside the warship was destroyed. The ship fell apart at once, and splintered planks scattered across the sea!

"..."

Crocodile watched the scene, the corner of his eye twitching slightly.

He could adjust the trajectory too?