Alabasta Royal Palace.
Crocodile's defeat meant that the Alabasta resistance was quickly crushed by the royal army led by Vivi.
To thank Luffy and his crew for their contributions, the celebration banquet at the royal palace lasted all night.
Luffy piled up the food into a small mountain: chicken legs, roasted meat, fried rice, bread, fruit, you name it, and it was taller than him.
He sat in front of the hill, his mouth never stopping, his cheeks always bulging, chewing so fast that the royal attendants beside him were dumbfounded.
What is the structure of this pirate's stomach?
He has already eaten the equivalent of three adult men's meals, and he's still eating.
Chopper lay on the edge of the table, his little hooves holding a piece of cake bigger than his face, happily taking small bites.
Nami changed into a refreshing outfit and finally relaxed. She held a wine glass and chatted with Vivi. The laughter of the two girls echoed softly in the banquet hall.
Zoro leaned against the corner with his eyes closed, seven empty bottles in front of him, and an unopened eighth bottle beside him.
Sanji was exchanging culinary tips with the royal chef in the kitchen, and his eyes lit up when they got excited.
Usopp boasted to several palace guards about his heroic exploits on the battlefield, gesturing more dramatically than anyone else.
This was the most relaxing night the Straw Hat Pirates had had since they set sail.
But dawn will always break, and farewells will always come.
The next morning, before the fog had even lifted from the port of Alabasta, the silhouettes of Marine warship were already visible on the horizon.
Three medium-sized warships lined up in a row, blocking the port's only outlet to the sea.
Vivi stood on the dock, biting her lip, desperately trying to hold back her tears.
She wore a white gown typical of Alabasta royalty, her hair neatly styled, and she looked every bit the princess.
But at this moment, her fingers were gripping the hem of her skirt so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.
"You..." Her voice choked, "Do you really have to leave?"
Luffy stood on the gunwale of the Going Merry, tilting his head to look at Vivi, as if he were pondering a very complicated problem.
After thinking for a long time, he grinned:
"You're our partner. Partners don't need to say goodbye."
Vivi's tears finally fell.
King Cobra walked to the very front of the dock.
Overnight, his hair turned quite a bit white, but his spirits were much better than during the Civil War.
He looked at these young pirates who had sailed all the way from the East Blue into the Grand Line to help his country regain peace, remained silent for a long time, and then bowed deeply.
" The Alabasta Kingdom will forever remember your kindness."
Zoro, unusually, stood up straight and nodded to Cobra.
Sanji stubbed out his cigarette by the side of the ship and bowed his head slightly.
Nami and Usopp stood side by side on the ship's gunwale waving, Chopper lay on the edge of the gunwale, his little hooves raised high.
"Set sail—!" Luffy commanded.
The sails of the Going Merry were billowing in the sea breeze, and the white ram's head cleaved through the calm waters of the harbor as it sailed out to sea.
Vivi's cries were carried away by the sea breeze, but she never lowered her raised hand.
Behind her, Karoo the Duck craned its neck and let out a long cry that lingered over the harbor for a very long time.
Just as the Going Merry was about to leave port, three Marine warship on the horizon opened fire.
The shells trailed white smoke as they streaked across the sky, exploding in several columns of water in front of the Going Merry.
The closest shot came less than ten meters from the bow of the ship, splashing seawater all over Luffy's face.
" Gum-Gum-- "
Luffy took a deep breath, ready to retaliate, when Fire Pillar swept past his head.
Orange flames stretched into a straight line in the air, forming a wall of fire that separated the warship from the Going Merry.
Ace stood at the end of the harbor breakwater, his cowboy hat slightly tilted up by the sea breeze, his fingertips still warm from the flames.
His shadow stretched long and straight across the sea, extending right next to the Going Merry.
" Ace--!" Luffy clung to the ship's railing and shouted towards the breakwater, his voice almost cracking.
Ace did not reply.
He took off his cowboy hat and waved it in the direction of the Going Merry. The gesture wasn't large, but Luffy saw it.
He grinned more broadly than ever before, waving frantically in Ace's direction until the Going Merry sailed out of the harbor.
Until Ace's figure became increasingly blurred in the mist, until nothing could be seen at all.
The Going Merry broke through the waves, and the coastline of Alabasta gradually shrank behind it.
The Straw Hat Pirates huddled at the stern, watching the land recede into the distance, and no one spoke.
Nami leaned against the ship's railing, Chopper lay at her feet, Usopp sat on a pile of ropes at the stern, Zoro leaned against the mast, and Sanji stood by the ship's railing, silently lighting a cigarette.
"He's really gone?" Usopp suddenly blurted out.
"Mmm," Nami responded softly.
Just then, Zoro's ears twitched. His hand moved with lightning speed to the hilt of his sword, and his gaze shot towards the cabin door like a blade.
That action alerted everyone else, and Sanji and Nami simultaneously followed Zoro's gaze.
The cabin door creaked open.
Behind the doorway, a tall figure gracefully stepped out. She wore a cowboy hat, had long black hair, a purple dress, and a composed smile on her lips.
"Hello everyone, we meet again."
Nicole Robin adjusted her hat brim, her tone as calm as if she had just had a cup of tea in the cabin and casually pushed open the door to get some fresh air.
She still carried the dry scent unique to the desert, and a few grains of sand clung to the corner of her clothes that she hadn't had time to brush off.
Zoro already has his sword in his hand. "What are you doing on the ship?"
"They came in."
Robin smiled and said it, his expression so open that it left one unsure whether to be angry or amused.
"To be precise, he came up here when you were having your victory celebration banquet."
You were all drinking at the time, and no one noticed me. Your security awareness needs improvement.
Zoro's lips twitched, but he didn't lower the tip of his sword.
"Let me join you."
Robin gently raised his hands to indicate that he was unarmed. His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clearly audible to everyone on the deck.
The sea breeze ruffled the stray hairs on her forehead, revealing a pair of deep and serene eyes.
There was a full three seconds of silence on the deck.
Then—almost everyone screamed at the same time.
"What?!"
"You are the vice president of Baroque Works!"
"You even tried to kill us before!"
Why do you want to join us?
"This is highly suspicious!"
Luffy stood in the middle of everyone, tilting his head, blinking, his mouth still in the chewing position—no one knew when or where he had pulled out the jerky.
He looked at Robin for a long time, then nodded very casually.
"OK."
The other crew members all turned and glared at Luffy, shouting, "You just agreed like that?!"
"You should at least ask her why she wants to join!"
Nami grabbed Luffy's shoulders and shook him violently, her voice cracking.
"You should at least consider whether she's a spy sent by the enemy!"
Usopp covered his head with his hands, his expression one of terror as if he had seen a ghost.
"How terrifying--" Chopper thought for a long time but couldn't think of anything to say, so he could only continue to lie on the ship's side and tremble.
Luffy's head was shaken back and forth, but his expression remained completely unmoved.
"She helped me, so she's a good person."
He looked at Nami, his tone flat, as if he had simply said that one plus one equals two.
Nami stopped.
She looked into Luffy's eyes and realized he was serious. He wasn't joking, nor was he unsure; he genuinely had made that judgment.
Usopp opened his mouth, then closed it again. Having Luffy for so long, he knew that his captain was more reliable than anyone else when it came to these kinds of things. It was the same back in Cocoyasi Village, on Drum Island, and it was still the same in Alabasta.
Robin watched the group of clowns causing a ruckus, a smile playing on his lips.
Above the clouds, Roy observed everything about the Going Merry below. Seeing Luffy agree, he knew that Robin joining the Straw Hat Pirates was a sure thing.
Roy withdrew his gaze from below and turned to fly towards the Grand Line.
There was something more important waiting for him there— Ace had already left the Alabasta waters and was chasing after Blackbeard.
He had to keep up and make sure the chase didn't deviate from its intended course.
On the deck of the Going Merry, Luffy had already sat back at the bow, his legs dangling over the outside of the ram's head.
The sea breeze made his Straw Hat stick up slightly.
"Set off--!"