Leaving Alabasta

With Crocodile under arrest.

At the entrance to the Funerary Hall in the Royal Tombs, the Royal Army soldiers threw down their weapons and cheered excitedly.

Princess Vivi and King Cobra stood to one side, watching their cheering subjects with gentle eyes.

Luffy and the others smiled too, immensely proud to have taken part in such a historic moment.

Just then, Nami, Usopp, Chopper, and Liu Qing arrived from Nanohana.

"Hey~ everyone~" Chopper pattered over to Luffy and the others, looked them over, and asked, "Nobody's hurt, right?"

Zoro picked Chopper up and set him on his shoulder, chuckling. "Don't worry, Chopper. None of us are hurt."

"I'm hungry! Let's have a banquet, Vivi!" Luffy rubbed his stomach and called out casually.

Before Vivi could answer, King Cobra shouted, "My people, let the whole nation celebrate! Let's have a banquet!"

His voice was so loud that everyone heard him clearly.

"Whoo~ hoo~~ A banquet!" the Royal Army roared in unison.

Behind a distant stone pillar, Nico Robin, who had emerged at some point, watched the scene enviously and murmured to herself, "What a lucky princess, to have met companions she can treat with sincerity." With that, she left for where the Going Merry was moored without looking back.

Inside the Royal Palace's reception hall...

Igaram pushed a serving cart up to Luffy and the others' table, followed by hundreds of servants carrying dishes.

"Mmm~ delicious, delicious!" Luffy's hands were practically a match for his Gum-Gum Gatling.

"Hey, Luffy, leave some for us!" Usopp shouted as he watched Luffy rapidly demolish the food.

"Yeah, yeah! Slow down, Luffy! I can't compete with you!" Chopper looked aggrieved. With his short little legs and arms, how could he possibly beat the others to the food? He felt terribly wronged.

Princess Vivi sat down beside Chopper and held him. "I'll help you grab some."

Chopper nodded, and the girl and reindeer joined the fray.

Beside them, Liu Qing and Zoro sat drinking together. They drank faster and faster, occasionally glancing at each other as they quietly competed.

Sanji was in the Royal Palace's kitchen, preparing food alongside the palace chefs.

Before long, over a dozen more serving carts rolled out of the kitchen, laden with all kinds of food that instantly filled the table.

As the atmosphere at the table grew livelier, the four of them, Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper, excitedly jumped onto the table, stuck chopsticks up their noses, and danced strange dances with winnowing baskets in their hands, making everyone laugh.

Watching the lively scene before them, Vivi and Cobra smiled happily as well.

Cobra watched everyone goofing around and murmured, "What a strange bunch of pirates."

Princess Vivi heard him from beside him and said with a smile, "They're wonderful companions. Though they're unreliable most of the time, they take serious matters seriously."

Elsewhere...

High in the sky, a house hung beneath a massive hot-air balloon airship.

It was Big News Morgans's base, the headquarters of the World Economy News Paper.

This mobile base could relocate at any time and was extremely secretive, allowing Big News Morgans to control the world's news coverage.

At that moment, Big News Morgans was inside, directing his subordinates as they worked overtime producing a new newspaper.

While he was busy working away, the Den Den Mushi beside him rang.

"Rrring~"

"Hello~ Who is it~? I'm busy right now." Big News Morgans did not even look at the Den Den Mushi, continuing to print newspapers.

"This is Fleet Admiral Sengoku. I need your help distributing the Straw Hat Pirates' wanted posters."

Big News Morgans paused his work and said, "Ah, Fleet Admiral Sengoku~ Wanted posters? Easy enough~~ Will you supply them, or shall I print them? If you supply them, delivery costs one Beli per poster. If I print them, I'll give you a discount-twenty Beli each."

"What? You charge even if I supply them?"

"What, don't my albatrosses need to eat? Do you want them delivered or not? If not, I'm getting back to work. I'm incredibly busy right now."

"Yes. I'll supply the posters. Uh~ twenty million for each person, then, totaling one hundred and forty million. Send someone to Marine Headquarters to collect them. I'll hand over the Beli with them."

Big News Morgans rubbed his hands excitedly. "You got it, boss! My people will be right over."

"Albatross One through Albatross Ten, head to Marine Headquarters. Everyone else, keep picking up the pace with the printing. Let's finish before tomorrow morning. You'll all get bonuses then."

"Whoo~ hoo~~" Hearing there would be bonuses, his subordinates grew enthusiastic and sped up.

At the Royal Palace in Alabasta.

The banquet continued into the night, leaving the Straw Hat Pirates well-fed, satisfied, and in high spirits.

Cobra brought everyone to the hot spring bathhouse. The lights came on, illuminating a pebble-lined pool surrounded by palms and date trees.

Several stone Death God Dog Heads statues surrounded the hot spring pool. Hot spring water flowed from the dog heads' scepters into the pool, sending ripples across the water as mist swirled above it.

Vivi took Nami to the women's bath, while Igaram led Luffy and the others to the men's bath.

After soaking for a while, Sanji heard the girls giggling next door and began looking lecherous.

Seeing Sanji's expression, Cobra gave him a knowing look between men. Both grinned lewdly and crept to the wall to eavesdrop.

"Vivi, we're setting sail tomorrow. Will you... come with us?" Though Nami knew Vivi could not possibly abandon her homeland to adventure with them, she could not help asking.

Vivi fell silent and said nothing.

Nami hoped Vivi could keep traveling with everyone. Seeing her dilemma, she added, "You can think it over some more, Vivi. We're not leaving until noon tomorrow. Just decide before we leave."

Before they knew it, the next day had arrived.

Princess Vivi and King Cobra accompanied Luffy and the others as they packed the supplies they needed in the Royal Palace.

Just then, a soldier suddenly ran in. "Your Majesty! A large number of Marine warships have appeared off the coast of Nanohana. They're approaching the Straw Hat Pirates' ship!"

Zoro sprang up from the ground with a kip-up, while Usopp and Chopper trembled.

"What? It must be that damned white-haired Marine! He must've already planned to arrest us when he left yesterday," Sanji said through gritted teeth.

"Luffy, we need to leave as soon as possible. We can't let the Marines destroy the Going Merry," Nami urged anxiously.

"Then~ everyone, grab the supplies. We're heading out!" Luffy grinned broadly and called for his companions to leave.

Everyone raced toward where the Going Merry was moored.

But when Luffy and the others reached Nanohana's shore, the Going Merry was nowhere to be seen.

"Which of you moored the ship? You didn't forget to drop anchor and let the waves carry the Going Merry away, did you?" Nami eyed the men suspiciously.

"Impossible. I dropped anchor when I moored her. Could the Marines have arrived before us and sailed her away?" Sanji said, taking a drag on his cigarette.

"I see the Going Merry! Out at sea! There are over a dozen warships behind her! What do we do? They're about to catch up!" Usopp adjusted his telescope and shouted to everyone, pointing at a cluster of black dots out at sea.

"Who~? Who stole our Going Merry?" Luffy yelled, then looked around. His eyes lit up when he spotted two huge rocks.

"Everyone, come over here." Luffy pulled everyone together.

"Just stand like this. Don't move."

Luffy grabbed the boulders with both hands and walked backward, stretching his arms out a great distance.

Zoro's expression changed drastically, and he reached out with an Erkang Hand. "No~!"

"Gum-Gum Angry Birds!"

Whoosh, whoosh~

"Ah~~ Ah~~ Damn you, Luffy! I'm going to cut you into pieces!"

Luffy catapulted everyone into the air together, sending them flying toward the Going Merry.

In the distance, aboard the Going Merry, only a few cross-dressers were steering the ship to evade the Marines' pursuit.

Thud, thud, thud~~

A series of heavy objects struck the wooden deck.

"Damn you, Luffy! Just give me a chance, and you're dead~!" Zoro, at the very bottom, said through gritted teeth.

Just then, a pair of big, hairy legs appeared before them.

"Oh~ Straw Hat boy, you're finally back," Bon Clay said.

"Ah~ Aren't you with Baroque Works? Did you steal our ship?" Luffy shouted.

"No, oh~! Do you know your ship would've been sunk by the Marines without me? I saved your ship, oh~~!" Bon Clay explained.

Sanji looked unconvinced. "How can we trust you? You're an accomplice of the people who wanted to destroy Vivi darling's country, and you stopped us from fighting Crocodile."

"I didn't know what was going on then, either. That's why I made a mistake. Baroque Works is gone now. We're not enemies anymore." Bon Clay grew sad.

"Isn't it a little early to talk about that? The Marines behind us are catching up," Liu Qing interrupted.

No sooner had he spoken than-

Boom, boom, boom~~

The pursuing Marines began shelling them.

"Quick, quick, quick! Stop the attack!"

"One Sword Style: Dragon Blaze!" Zoro flashed forward, intercepting every incoming cannonball.

At the same time, the Marine warships began spreading out, closing in to surround them.

A familiar voice came from a distant warship.

Kuro strutted along with a catwalk gait, his hand held in Orchid Fingers, and picked up a megaphone, calling in a shrill voice, "Straw Hat Pirates, you won't escape! After what you did to me, I won't let you keep sailing the seas this time! Fire! Attack with the cannonballs made using Captain Hina's ability!"

"Yes, Lieutenant Kuro!" A Marine soldier saluted, then ordered, "Fire~!"

At Lieutenant Kuro's command, the Marine warships began attacking with cannonballs Captain Hina had made using her ability.

"Wood Release: Multiple Wood Locking Walls!"

Thump, thump, thump~

A series of wooden impacts rang out. The Going Merry was protected, spared the extensive damage she had suffered in the original story.

"I'm only protecting the Going Merry. You handle the Marines," Liu Qing said.

"You don't need to fight. Leave them to us," Zoro said.

"I'll help you, Straw Hat," Bon Clay called back.

With that, he leaped toward one of the opposing warships.

Bon Clay, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji charged straight onto the warships and began attacking.

Nami and Usopp provided ranged support from the Going Merry.

The few cross-dresser underlings were responsible for steering the Going Merry forward.