The temporary pier in Alabasta is not on any official nautical chart. It is located in a natural lagoon area and was originally a wild harbor where local fishermen sought shelter from the wind.
The Uchiha Trading Company leased the lagoon three months ago and built three simple piers on the inner side of the lagoon using White Wax Wood and precast steel plates, which can accommodate four medium-sized cargo ships at the same time.
At the end of the pier lies a leveled sandstone plateau, where rows of prefabricated houses stand with roofs covered in white cloth that reflects sunlight. From the sea, they blend almost seamlessly with the surrounding desert cliffs.
There weren't many people at the dock. The Uchiha Trading Company followed an elite route, and this temporary base only had fewer than thirty people stationed there. They were all veterans carefully selected by Koldo from the headquarters in Water 7. Some could read nautical charts, some could repair ships, and some could navigate in the desert.
As Barlow and his two companions descended the gangway, a line of people was already standing on the pier. Leading them was a young female administrator in a sand-colored uniform, with Gunbai Brooch pinned to her chest. Her hair was wrapped tightly in a headscarf, revealing only her eyes, which were squinting in the sea breeze.
"President, Supervisor Rosa is waiting for you at headquarters." She spoke very quickly, without any unnecessary salutes or pleasantries.
As Barlow walked past her, she turned and followed half a step behind, beginning to report the basic situation: how long the supplies in the temporary warehouse could last, whether there were any unidentified ships in the nearby waters, and the weather in Alabasta.
As Barlow walked and listened, he didn't stop. When he passed the checkpoint at the end of the pier, the staff at the post saw Barlow and instinctively raised their hands to salute, Barlow waved them off.
Seeing his expression, the staff member naturally withdrew his arm, turned around and opened the checkpoint fence. Roy, who was following behind, grinned at the guard as he passed the post, while Mila remained silent and continued walking.
The duty officer waited until the three siblings' figures were out of sight before taking his hand off the fence, thinking that the chairman was really anxious this time.
The command post was located in a large rectangular building at the innermost part of the prefabricated housing area. The gaps between the prefabricated panels of the exterior walls and the roof were sealed with clay unique to the desert to prevent sand from entering.
In the center of the room was a long, pieced-together table with a map of the entire Alabasta spread out on it. Rosa stood in front of the map, holding a charcoal pencil with the tip hovering above Alubarna's position.
She wore the standard dark blue uniform of the Uchiha Security Force, with a duty armband on her left arm. Her hair was cut very short, and her expression remained constant—calm, focused, and able to turn any unexpected event into a checkbox on her to-do list.
"Koldo and Joey will remain in Water 7. The Third Company of the Guard Corps and the Logistics Company have been reorganized and are ready to move at any time."
Rosa placed the charcoal pencil beside the map, turned to face Barlow, and said, "We've gathered intelligence on the rebels."
Barlow walked to the long table, with Roy and Mila standing on either side of him. All three of them looked at Rosa at the same time.
"The leader of the rebels is Nefertari D. Prince, the eldest son of the Nefertari Family," Rosa said.
"A rebellion started by the eldest son of the Nefertari Family?" Roy looked up from the map, his brow furrowing. "Rebellion against their own family?"
Rosa nodded, pulled several sheets of densely written intelligence records from a folder on the corner of the table, and spread them on the table in front of Barlow.
"The intelligence has been cross-checked. There's more than one source. The natives of Rainbase saw Prince appear in the rebel-occupied square, removing his hood in public. He has a faint scar below his left eye, which perfectly matches the portrait of the prince preserved by the Nefertari Royal Family. The king announced Prince's death from illness three years ago, and the national flag was flown at half-mast. Since he appeared in Rainbase, it means there was more to the story."
"Have you finished investigating the supporters of the rebels?" Barlow asked.
Rosa picked up another document from the corner of the table, opened the first page, and found the keywords arranged by threat level.
"The three forces, the first being Fisher, whose full name is unknown, is a bald, veteran pirate who has been on the Grand Line for twenty years and is known as the 'Living Sea Chart.' He had originally been semi-retired."
After the Rocks Pirates rose to prominence on Hachinosu, Fisher set sail again and has now taken command of one of Rocks' fleets.
Rosa pointed to the Rainbase area on the map with her finger.
"Although Rocks' focus is on the New World, Alabasta is the most populous superpower in the first half of the Grand Line, and its strategic value cannot be ignored. Rocks, who wants to rule the world, also wants to take over this place, so Fisher brought a force of mercenaries and pirates."
Roy cracked his knuckles.
The Rocks Pirates —this name appeared more and more frequently in the Marine Headquarters' intelligence briefings; Damian mentioned this pirate crew every time he returned home.
Rocks now has several terrifyingly powerful executives, and its sphere of influence is visibly expanding outward from the New World.
If Fisher is merely a finger that Rocks extends toward Alabasta, then that finger must also be cut off.
"The second party, Dorovich, is the leader of the 'Sand Ant Gang,' a local force in Alabasta. They primarily control the casinos and spice smuggling in the Rainbase. Before the Uchiha Trading Company entered Alabasta, the Sand Ant Gang monopolized the protection fee business for desert caravans in the first half of the Grand Line."
"Over the past few years, the Uchiha Trading Company's expansion in Alabasta has directly squeezed the Sand Ant Gang's commercial interests. In the first month after our spice transshipment station in the Rainbase opened, the Sand Ant Gang's spice shipments decreased by one-third. Dorovich's willingness to support Prince is most likely due to the promise of restoring the Sand Ant Gang's monopoly after the war, or something more."
Barlow tapped his fingers on the edge of the table. He didn't know Dorovich personally, but he knew people like Dorovich— local tyrants who made their fortunes by monopolizing underground channels, whose sphere of influence didn't extend beyond the coastline he could see.
We've encountered this type of person far too many times during the Uchiha Trading Company of Commerce's expansion, and the outcome is usually either being recruited or eliminated.
"The third party, Charles, whose full name is Charles Ram, was the former captain of the Alabasta Kingdom Guard. He served in the military for seventeen years, rising from a low-ranking soldier to the highest commander of the guard. On the night of Prince's uprising, Charles immediately led nearly half of his guard to defect and join the rebels. Charles is now in charge of all the rebels' military training, siege tactics, and supply line management, which is the direct reason why the rebels were able to capture multiple cities and important strongholds in a short period of time."
"The captain of the Royal Guard has betrayed us?" Roy looked up from the map. "He served the king for over a decade, and he betrayed us the moment Prince started his rebellion. This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision; it was pre-arranged."
"What exactly happened with Prince?" Mila finally spoke, turning to the last page of the weapon source tracking report in her hand, closing it, and placing it next to the map.
She needs to understand Prince as a person to judge what his next move will be.
Barlow Rosa answered, straightening up from the long table and scanning the map from Rainbase to Alubarna, and then to the boundary of the rebel-held territory.
Let the king answer us himself.
Roy and Mila both looked at him.
"Everything's set up here. Rosa is in charge of the Guard Corps's combat readiness, Koldo is in charge of the logistical supply line in Water 7, and Mila is in contact with Rosa for intelligence. There's not much to discuss on the tactical level; the rebels want to attack Alubarna, and we need to prevent them from doing so."
Barlow withdrew his hands from the table, straightened his cuffs, and said calmly, "But before that, I need to know who Prince is, why the king declared Prince dead, and why Prince returned to rebel against his father. Prince himself won't answer these questions, nor will his three supporters of the rebels. The only person who can answer them is sitting in the Alubarna Palace. I'm going to see him."
"Second brother, you're going to Alubarna?" Roy took a step forward. "Alubarna is the rebels' next target. Charles is already mobilizing troops. You're going now..."
"Now is the perfect time to go. The royal family is facing a rebellion, the captain of the royal guard has defected, and apart from the capital, all the other major cities have fallen into the hands of the rebels. Even a king would need to find allies in this situation."
Barlow had already turned and walked towards the command center entrance. "And we, the Uchiha, happen to have a private armed force that isn't under our control, happen to have an intelligence network that isn't under the World Government's control, and happen to have a Marine Vice Admiral who can intervene at any time under the pretext of 'fighting pirates.' We happen to have everything they need. This door can be opened."
Mila walked over to Rosa and handed her the weapons tracking report from the East Blue intelligence network that she had brought. She whispered, "Several clues here match the specifications of Fisher's mercenaries' weapons. Keep digging. I'm going to the capital with him."
Rosa took the document and nodded.
Roy watched Barlow's retreating figure as he walked towards the entrance of the command building, grabbed the sword leaning against the table leg, and chased after him in a few steps.