At the Royal Palace gates, Dino asked cautiously, "Boss, am I going to keep following the princess?"
Rubick thought it over. He still needed people under him, so he said, "Come back and work for me. I'm the king, and I'm short a Division Commander of the guard."
Dino broke into a grin. With Vivi, he'd had to watch his every step. Wherever he went, someone kept an eye on him. Bellemere and Chaka didn't like him either. Every day had felt like a year.
After all, he had once worked for Crocodile. Even switching sides hadn't put Alabasta at ease.
Rubick opened a Portal. "Come with me."
They stepped through the Portal, and the air turned much cooler. The sky was clear, with clouds drifting so low they looked close enough to touch.
"So this is Sky Island?"
While Vivi and the others were still marveling at their surroundings, Foer and Kapa arrived, with Lan Zhan and Liu Zhuozhi behind them.
Rubick introduced everyone, giving all three parties a chance to get acquainted.
Vivi had already taken stock of Sky Country's strength. She was more interested in the mysterious Dragon Kingdom soldiers in green uniforms. "Rubick, are they from your homeland, the Dragon Kingdom?"
"That's right."
Rubick said proudly, "Those green outfits are military uniforms. They're all Warriors. They may not be very strong, but they have iron wills and a deep love for their country."
"I'll have Conis show you around," Rubick said. "We'll be visiting Alabasta in a few days. If anything interests you, we can talk about it then."
Vivi contained her excitement and, with Conis leading the way, boarded the new Waver Pagaya had developed at Rubick's request: the Boxcar Series.
Put simply, the Boxcar Series looked like a tricycle without wheels. It came in