Arrival in Alabasta

With Chopper now part of the Straw Hat Pirates, the Going Merry finally continued toward Alabasta under Nami's direction.

To welcome Chopper aboard, Sanji prepared a lavish feast during the voyage, and everyone began partying. Liu Qing even plied Chopper with several bottles of alcohol. The feast lasted until nightfall.

The night passed without incident.

By noon the following day, after more than a day at sea, the Going Merry finally reached the coast of Alabasta.

Seeing that she had finally returned to her own country, Princess Vivi grew happy as well, because her country could now be saved.

What they did not know, however, was that hardly any of the Rebel Army remained. The country could now be described as perfectly normal, without the slightest sign of rebellion.

A group of powerhouses had kept watch over Crocodile every day for twenty whole days, leaving him not a single opportunity to pull any tricks. He was so anxious he was almost in tears.

Meanwhile, with Luffy's group.

The moment everyone stepped ashore, they felt the full force of Alabasta's unusual, year-round summer climate.

Yellow sand filled their entire field of vision, and the dry, hot wind made it impossible to keep their eyes open.

Under the blazing sun, the whole earth seemed to have been roasted hot. Every step into the fine sand burned their feet painfully.

Luffy looked around and said, sounding rather bored, "Why isn't there anything here? It's nothing but sand."

Vivi's expression darkened, and she sighed softly. "This used to be an oasis. Not long ago, this was still a thriving city."

Zoro gave Vivi a speechless look. "Are you sure you've got that right? This place full of crumbling ruins was an oasis not long ago? That's one hell of a change."

Vivi nodded slightly, her tone heavy. "Although rain was rare here even before, people would store every precious drop to keep the city alive. But for some reason, it hasn't rained here in three years."

Sanji's hand paused slightly as he held his cigarette, its smoke dissipating beneath the blazing sun. He frowned. "Three years? That long?"

"Nothing like this has ever happened in Alabasta's history! The only exception is the capital, Alubarna. It gets even more rain than it used to," Vivi said through gritted teeth.

"My undercover investigation revealed that all of this was caused by the Shichibukai Crocodile's prolonged use of Dance Powder."

Zoro and Sanji both frowned. What the heck is that? Never heard of it. Better keep quiet so nobody calls us ignorant.

Nami spoke up. "Dance Powder is also called the powder that summons wind and rain. It gathers the surrounding moisture in one place and makes it rain there. In other words, artificial rainfall."

Sanji asked in confusion, "Wait, that sounds like something valuable. How could it cause all this?"

"Sigh... That was true at first. When the country that invented Dance Powder received rain, the people danced with joy, which was how it got its name. But... it has a fatal flaw." Nami sighed.

Everyone turned toward Nami, waiting for him to clear up their confusion.

Seeing the curious looks from Luffy and the others, Nami continued, "Dance Powder doesn't create rain out of thin air. It just 'steals' rain from other places, making the places it steals from unusually dry."

Liu Qing smacked his lips. "So... this stuff is a double-edged sword."

Vivi gave a bitter smile, filled with helplessness and bitterness. With that smile, her expression grew even heavier. "When word spread that large quantities of Dance Powder had been secretly shipped into the Royal Palace, people all over the country fell into despair."

Her voice was somewhat low, as though it carried the pain and grief of the entire nation. "Everyone believed the king was using Dance Powder to steal their rain and turn their homes into desert."

Vivi's words echoed in the air with a heartbreaking force.

At this, Luffy's brows knitted tightly, anger appearing on his face. He pointed angrily at Vivi and shouted, "What the heck! Vivi, your dad's in the wrong here!"

Before he could finish, however, a foot suddenly flashed toward him like lightning and struck him hard in the head.

The kick was tremendously powerful. Luffy staggered and nearly fell to the ground.

"You bastard! What nonsense are you spouting, you idiot?!" Sanji's furious roar rang in Luffy's ears. His face was full of anger, and he was clearly very unhappy with Luffy's words.

"How could Miss Vivi's father ever do something like that!" Nami said, punching Luffy in the head as well.

Vivi smiled bitterly. "Of course he wouldn't. My father has no idea how that Dance Powder got into the Royal Palace. That means there's a traitor inside the Royal Palace."

Zoro folded his arms and said gravely, "This is all Crocodile's plan. But what's he after? Even if he steals your country this way, what use would it be? By then, this whole place will be dead land."

Vivi said helplessly, "I don't know. I can't think of any reason he would do this."

Everyone then left and continued toward the kingdom's capital.

When they reached another city, Usopp pointed toward the corner of a wall and called out, "Look! There's someone over there."

Everyone turned to look. There really was someone there, and they hurried over. Only after reaching the wall did they realize it was a desiccated corpse. Dressed in rags and shriveled like a skeleton, it seemed to have slumbered amid the yellow sand for many years.

"What did we ever do wrong? Why treat my people like this? We already live in the desert, struggling desperately to survive every day. Why do this to us...?" Looking at the corpse, Vivi finally could not bear it any longer and broke into heart-wrenching sobs.

Luffy looked at Vivi with determination and said loudly, "Vivi, let's hurry. I can't hold back anymore. I'm going to crush that Crocodile."

One day later, in Nanohana.

Sunlight spilled over the streets of Nanohana, Alabasta's port city, as Princess Vivi led everyone slowly along them. The city brimmed with life and vitality, its streets lined with shops offering a dazzling array of goods. People bustled back and forth, making it extraordinarily lively, nothing like the two ruined towns they had seen at the start.

Thanks to Liu Qing's specific instructions, Luffy did not wander off alone as he had in the original story, instead sticking close to the group.

They strolled through Nanohana's streets, admiring the city's beautiful sights while asking around for news about the kingdom's rebel army.

What puzzled them, however, was that no matter whom they asked, the answer was the same—the Rebel Army had abandoned its rebellion against the king several days earlier, and everything in the city was changing for the better.

The news took everyone completely by surprise, especially Liu Qing, whose reaction was the strongest. "The butterfly effect is this big? Does Crocodile not want Pluton anymore? Why would he suddenly stop inciting the people to rebel?"

Everyone exchanged looks, unable for the moment to understand the reason behind it.

They discussed it in a corner for ages without reaching any conclusion, but Luffy began clamoring for food.

"Ah... I'm hungry. Let's eat first! Once we're full, we can just go to the Royal Palace and find out, can't we?" Luffy rubbed his stomach, sounding listless.

Having heard the news, Princess Vivi was now visibly much more at ease. She said brightly, "Come on. There's a pretty good tavern over here. Let's eat there."

Vivi headed toward the tavern first, with Luffy and the others close behind. Before long, they arrived and began ordering food and eating.

Elsewhere...

On the street where Luffy's group had just been discussing matters, a fruit seller had stopped a man and was trying to sell him fruit. The man wore an orange cowboy hat with "smiling" and "sad" badges pinned to its brim, along with a dangling skull tag. A red bead necklace hung around his neck, and his left arm bore an "ASCE" tattoo with the "S" crossed out. The emblem of the Whitebeard Pirates was tattooed on his back. He usually kept a dagger at his waist, and he also carried a backpack.

"Hey, handsome young man! Haven't seen you on this island before. First time in Alabasta, right?" The fruit seller held Ace back with the smile of a crooked merchant.

Then he raised the golden apple in his hand and launched into his pitch. "See this apple? I'll let you in on a secret. It's an incredible treasure I discovered when I snuck into the Ancient Ruins. Just one bite of this miraculous golden apple, and I can live for ten thousand years. Want to buy one?"

Ace looked at the seller in exasperation and said flatly, "Sorry, I'm not interested in living for ten thousand years. Living in the present is enough."

With that, he ignored the seller and looked around.

"Huh? I thought I heard Luffy's voice. Why don't I see him? Was I imagining it?" Ace said in confusion.

Then he headed straight toward the establishment where Luffy and the others were eating.

Just after Ace left, two more people appeared in front of the fruit seller.

One was a burly, muscular man with short silver hair, two cigars in his mouth, and a Jitte on his back. The other was a large-busted woman with long purple hair, red rectangular glasses, a red short-sleeved shirt, and a long sword at her waist.

They were none other than Smoker and Tashigi.

The seller repeated the same spiel he had given Ace, giving the pair his whole sales pitch.

"Do we look like idiots to you?" Smoker said. Then he caught sight of Ace's retreating figure and recognized him instantly. Ignoring the seller, he called Tashigi along and went after Ace.