"Where are they now? Let me think." Haisoken studied the sea chart, then pointed to one corner. "If they haven't stopped or suddenly sped up, they should be here by now. At our speed, we can catch up in a month at most. By then, they'll probably be around here."
As he spoke, Haisoken traced a straight line across the chart and tapped a spot.
Loa saw where he was pointing and nodded, his eyes narrowing. "I see."
That spot was only a few days' sail from Alabasta. If things worked out, Loa suddenly had a bold idea.
Several weeks later, in the first half of the Grand Line.
Near Alabasta, the Desert Kingdom.
Sitting atop Pipi Shrimp, Loa gazed at the faint outline of desert in the distance. A slight smile touched his lips.
"I really am no good at schemes. This is much more my style!"
Zephyr had been tracking Crocodile for so long that it was time to close the net. Then Moria had barged in and thrown their plans into disarray. Loa strongly condemned that behavior—and was delighted to see it.
Once Loa learned that Moria would appear near Alabasta, he secretly contacted Jones and ordered him to change course toward Loa's position.
He also notified Zephyr, who had been lingering near Alabasta, and had the Pirate Guerrillas head this way.
The question was, once the three of them joined forces, what trump card could Moria possibly have left to stand against them?
Loa had no idea why Moria was so interested in Jones that he would leave his Zombie Army behind and sail out to deal with him. But that did not stop Loa from making arrangements to take Moria down as well.
Yes, that was exactly why Loa had chosen this location!
He intended