Rowit was a journalist. People called him a damn paparazzo and a stalker, and someone had even dumped cow dung outside his home. But he still loved his job. He braved every hardship to capture precious photographs, compile them, and share them with the world.
When he heard that Cobra, the King of Alabasta, intended to hand the Poneglyph over to the World Government, he immediately sensed the story's value. Then again, who wouldn't?
That very value was why hardly any newspapers dared send reporters to Alabasta.
The Navy still lacked the manpower to establish a safe area where civilians could settle, just as it had when Loa evacuated people during Aokiji's test. Across Alabasta, vast uninhabited stretches and remote towns had all but become a paradise for pirates.
Pirates didn't care whether someone was a journalist. To them, newspapers were flush with money. If they spotted a reporter, they would swarm in, rob him, and kill him.
So although Alabasta had captured the world's attention, reports from within the country were still limited to Alubarna and the area around Nanohana, where the Navy was stationed.
Rowit had landed at Nanohana too. Journalists in the One Piece World were a pack of mad dogs, willing to take on the World Government and the Navy as readily as the Yonko and pirates. They were not people to cross lightly. So the Navy Staff Officer handling registration hadn't restricted Rowit's movements, so long as he didn't wander into trouble.
That gave Rowit an opportunity...
He wanted firsthand material. He wanted a career-making scoop!
What story could stir up more outrage than the Navy failing to protect civilians who were suffering under pirate oppression?
So Rowit took his companions and slipped past the Navy's defensive line at night. They followed the coast toward