Momousagi was deeply moved that Shiryu agreed to accompany her on the inspection tour of Alabasta, and concluded that Shiryu was indeed kind-hearted despite his cold exterior...
After Momousagi ordered that Alabasta be the target of their voyage, Colonel Big Nose was startled and wanted to ask a question, but Momousagi glared at him and he had no choice but to agree.
The Lodestar Island, where Alabasta is located, covers an area of 180,000 square kilometers. Although most of it is desert, it is the largest country on the Grand Line and the only one with a population of over ten million.
The country lies roughly along a north-south central axis, bisected by the Saint-Do River, which originates at the Saint-Do mountain, almost at its northernmost point. The Saint-Do River flows from north to south, reaching a width of fifty kilometers at its southern estuary, and typically five or six kilometers wide, exceeding one kilometer in most places...
Therefore, there is no shortage of fertile land in central Alabasta, along the banks of the Santo River.
If it weren't for the vastness of Alabasta's territory and the immense costs of desert transportation, it wouldn't suffer from frequent famines due to drought.
In terms of the distribution of oasis cities, the Eastern Continent, separated by the Santo River, is significantly more prosperous, with the royal capital "Alubarna" located almost in the center of the east.
Although not located along a river, Alubarna a rare oasis city in Alabasta, a country that is almost entirely desert. It receives abundant rainfall year-round and is the country's largest oasis city.
Overall, the population density of the Eastern Continent was also much higher, twice that of the Western Continent... at least three years ago.
In the original work, when the rebellion broke out in Alabasta, their main base was also in the Eastern Continent...
Crocodile's stronghold, known as the "Rain Dinners" or the Dream City, is located on the Western Continent, almost in the very center of it!
The same is true now...
A year ago, Crocodile was completely expelled from the New World. His base in the New World was destroyed by Whitebeard, and he shifted his focus entirely to Alabasta.
However, he had been operating Alabasta for more than just one year; he had been making plans for it for at least three years.
Now that "Rain Dinners" has been built, it houses the largest casino, Rain Banquet, along with various extravagant entertainment venues, making it arguably the wealthiest place in Alabasta.
At this point in Alabasta, differences had already begun to emerge between the East and West...
The Nefertari Royal Family did not sense any crisis. In fact, King Cobra supported and appreciated Crocodile's actions, believing that he had brought stability and prosperity to the Western Continent of Alabasta.
Especially since two years ago, Crocodile has built a miraculous seawater desalination plant, which has brought life to the West Blue. Many people in the Western Continent regard Crocodile as a "god".
If any Mink Tribe happened to come to Alabasta, they would definitely find this seawater desalination device very familiar—it was the very seawater Purification plant that Sig gave Crocodile the blueprints for the Purification device that Violet had drawn in the Mink Principality!
Unfortunately, this Purification device requires seawater to maintain a certain kinetic energy to operate, just like in the Mink Principality, where the Purification is done on the seawater sprayed into the sky by Zunesha...
The equipment that Crocodile copied required even greater demand, was less efficient, and consumed more energy. Fortunately, a significant amount of coal resources were discovered in the northwest, in the western mountains of Santo Do, which enabled it to operate.
Cobra pleaded with Crocodile, but unfortunately, the Eastern Continent lacked the conditions for transportation and construction. Forcing construction would incur higher operating costs than diverting water from the Central Continent. Even the Western Continent could only sustain itself due to other "unexplained income"...
After the Western Continent became richer in recent years, it not only attracted the covetous eyes of many pirates, but also experienced frequent internal chaos. However, with the Shichibukai in charge, its military strength is quite stable.
With popular support, and six months after Crocodile defeated a large pirate alliance, Cobra, responding to the people's demands, appointed Crocodile as the Governor-General of the Western Continent...
Although there were doubts in the royal court about Crocodile, his achievements, strength, and even reputation had reached their peak, so he had to acknowledge it.
Momousagi gave Shiryu a copy of the Alabasta intelligence, but Shiryu only glanced at Momousagi carefully prepared information before saying, "Let's stop on the West Blue and then head straight for Rain Dinners to catch them off guard!"
Upon hearing this, Momousagi quickly advised, "No! Alabasta is one of the most important Affiliated Nation of the World Government, and the Nefertari Royal Family... has a long and distinguished history. If we want to dock at Lodestar Island, we must first issue a notification."
"Tch, troublesome." Shiryu scoffed, then shoved the documents onto the table and said, "Then you arrange it!"
"Well, we'll land at a port on the Eastern Continent and go visit His Cobra first..." Momousagi took the documents, opened them, and began explaining to Shiryu.
Anyone who didn't know better would think that Momousagi was Shiryu's adjutant and secretary.
October 23, 1515, noon.
When Momousagi's flagship was within 200 kilometers of Lodestar Island, the regular Den Den Mushi were already working, and Momousagi called Alabasta to express her intention to visit.
Momousagi came here not for a surprise inspection, but to see how Crocodile, one of the Shichibukai, bullied Alabasta!
As for whether Crocodile might actually be up to no good?
Momousagi thinks this is absolutely impossible!
After all, Crocodile debuted early, rising to fame twenty years ago and now being the only surviving member of the original Shichibukai. How could Momousagi not know him?
However, since they had come to Alabasta, there was no reason for them to go against the wishes of the Nefertari Royal Family, so they "applied for a stopover" in advance.
Afterwards, Momousagi specifically ordered a slowdown. Six hours later, when the warship arrived at the port, Alabasta's guard captain, Igaram, arrived from Alubarna, riding Karoo.
The flagship carrying Momousagi docked at Tamarisk, the largest port city on the eastern coast of Alabasta.
Upon seeing the enthusiastic welcome from Igaram, Momousagi also greeted him politely and exchanged pleasantries.
The World Government's navy and its Affiliated Nation are not theoretically in a hierarchical relationship. Some small countries have naval forces stationed there, which are theoretically only responsible for capturing pirates.
Although there are cases of small Affiliated Nation being extorted by the navy, Momousagi has seen quite a few times along the way, large countries like Alabasta only have coastal ports and some naval liaison stations. When the navy really needs to be deployed, they still need to contact the nearby naval branch.
Now, as the captain of Alabasta's guard, Igaram undoubtedly welcomes the Navy, even more so than Cobra.
Because Igaram had long been wary of the ambitious Crocodile, but Cobra still trusted Crocodile, Igaram hoped that the Navy could discover Crocodile's conspiracy!