Pirate: I was just slacking off, do you really think I'm bad?

Alabasta, the capital of the Kingdom of Alabasta.

This is the economic and political center of the entire Alabasta Kingdom, where the Nefit clan, who voluntarily gave up their Celestial Dragon status, holds the reins of the nation's destiny.

The current king, Neferutali Cobra, is a monarch who loves his people dearly and is devoted to them.

However, in Raleigh's opinion, the king's methods were ultimately lacking.

It's important to know that the Kingdom of Alabasta possesses a standing army of 60.

That's equivalent to the entire population of some small countries.

Moreover, it has the support of the people.

A king like that should theoretically be able to perfectly control Alabasta.

But it was this very king who was completely manipulated by Crocodile, which puzzled Raleigh greatly.

He and Gion rode on desert camels, the camel bells jingling, slowly making their way towards Arubana. He wanted to know why.

"Raleigh, how much longer until we get to Arubana?"

Gion asked in a muffled voice.

She had already changed her clothes.

The original clothes were somewhat exposed and could easily get sunburned if exposed to direct sunlight.

So when they passed through a small town, they both bought white clothes, which are quite common in the Kingdom of Alabasta.

Gion's face was also covered with a white veil.

Raleigh looked up and activated his ability to probe for information.

"It's about another 60 kilometers, which would take three to four hours by camel."

The desert may seem empty, but in reality, many dangers lurk in its unseen corners.

For example, quicksand.

Although it did not harm Gion or Raleigh.

However, once a camel falls in, it is very difficult to get it out of the water.

By the way, you warned Crocodile during the Rain Banquet. Could the events in Alabasta be related to him?

Gion suddenly remembered what she had said in Crocodile's office at Rain Banquet. One seemingly insignificant sentence, which she remembered, stuck with her.

"I'm not entirely sure if Crocodile did it, but this guy is very untrustworthy, so I'll still issue a warning."

In fact, Raleigh knew that Crocodile had done all of this.

How to replace a highly respected and popular king?

That is to use despicable means to bring this king down from his pedestal.

First, he used his abilities and "dancing powder" to gradually reduce rainfall in the Kingdom of Alabasta.

When the survival of the people is brought to the forefront, the king of Alabasta is ultimately responsible for whatever he does.

Because it happened during his time in office!

If the problem remains unresolved for a long time, it's like putting a black pot on his head.

Raleigh wasn't going to expose Crocodile's actions.

He just wanted to see Vivi, the future queen of the Alabasta Kingdom. At this moment, in the palace in Alabasta, the young Corab was playing with his daughter Vivi. Recently, the internal affairs of the Alabasta Kingdom had put him under great pressure.

Fortunately, I have such a lovely daughter who can cheer me up.

"Your Majesty, this is a letter of greeting from the Navy."

The man with the bizarre hairstyle is none other than Icarus, the current captain of the King's Guard.

He was not only responsible for the safety of the royal palace, but also reported all matters, large and small, that occurred in the country to Cobra.

Ikaram directly addressed the Alabasta people's discontent with King Kobra.

"Navy, it seems like nothing has happened lately that would warrant the Navy's attention, has it?"

Cobra didn't understand why he had received a letter from the Navy.

Because he believed he had governed the Alabasta kingdom very well!

Although it doesn't bring happiness to the people right now, Kobra believes it's all temporary and will be fine once the extreme weather passes.

"Icarum, please invite the navy to the drawing room. I'll be there shortly."

After Cobra finished speaking, he patiently explained to his daughter in his arms that he needed to give the navy some face.

Young Vivi's big, bright eyes darted around; she didn't understand what Cobra meant.

But she knew that Cobra was going to leave her.

"Daddy, waaaaaah!"

Kobra hurriedly called over the nanny and began to comfort Vivi.

The royal reception room was decorated in a style that didn't even look as nice as Crocodile's office at the Rain Banquet.

That's understandable, though. First, the Kingdom of Alabasta isn't a very wealthy country, and second, Cobra isn't a monarch who craves luxury.

Raleigh and Gion sipped their specialty drinks and waited patiently.

After a long while, Cobra, whose clothes were somewhat wrinkled, hurriedly arrived.

"I apologize, Lieutenant General Raleigh and Major General Gion, I was held up by some matters."

Cobra immediately offered a sincere apology upon arrival.

Raleigh waved his hand, indicating that Cobra was not important, and then spoke;

"Lord Cobra, we've only come to check on Crocodile's situation and ask if they've followed the World Government's orders."

Cobra breathed a sigh of relief; he had thought something serious was going on.

Lord Crocodile is very popular in our country, and he has led his men to repel many groups of pirates who attempted to rob the people of Alabasta.

Lord Crocodile just took action again the other day, eliminating hundreds of pirates.

Raleigh and Gion exchanged a glance; they naturally knew what had happened.

Crocodile must have eaten at Raleigh's place, and in order to vent his anger, he went after those Sea Rings.

Raleigh spoke directly:

"Lord Cobra, although we knew Crocodile had a high reputation in the Kingdom of Alabasta, we didn't expect such high praise."

"However, our Navy is not entirely at ease with Crocodile; this guy has always harbored ambitions."

"You can speak directly about anything. After all, you are a member state of the World Government, and the Navy unconditionally stands with the member states of the World Government."

Cobra hesitated and said:

Strangely enough, according to some people's accounts, the abnormal weather in Alabasta occurred precisely after Lord Crocodile arrived.

Of course, we're not saying that Lord Crocodile is necessarily involved in this matter; we're just speculating.

Raleigh smiled.

He knew that the entire Kingdom of Alabasta couldn't all be fools.

Cobra and the ministers in the kingdom must have discovered something was wrong, but the World Government and the Navy ignored it, leaving Cobra to deal with it on his own.

However, Cobra's level was not enough to pose a threat to Crocodile, so things ended up as they were in the original story.

"Rest assured, Lord Cobra, we will do our best to investigate the cause of these problems in the coming days."

Raleigh assured Cobra that Alabasta held many secrets that he needed to uncover himself.

The entrance to a new world, Fishman Island deep in the ocean.

Recently, the fish-men have frequently discovered that some unusually large sea kings are roaming outside Fish-Man Island.

Fearing that the giant sea king would pose a threat to Fishman Island, they reported the information to their king.

The king sent his son to handle the matter, but because they dared not anger the super sea king, the matter ended with the sea kings leaving en masse.

What they didn't know was the whispers among the sea kings.

Is this our king?

"Our long-awaited king has finally arrived. We can't wait for him to summon us."

"Let's go, everyone, and stop disturbing the King's life."

"That's right. The king's status here is also very high, so he doesn't need our guards for now. When the king awakens, he will naturally summon us."

Neptune had some suspicions about the arrival of the Mega Sea King, but he dared not tell anyone his thoughts.

This legend has only circulated among a small number of members of the royal family, and is unknown even to many members of the royal family.

Poseidon's poem about the Celestial Dragons' holy land, Jomari.

From among the layers of corpses, a hand suddenly reached out.

A fish-man with thick curly hair and blast wounds on his neck crawled out of the crowd.

He reached out and grabbed the collar that was tightly around his neck, and pulled hard.

Carbohydrate.

The collar was broken.

He held the remaining collars in his hands, his eyes filled with hatred.

"Freedom" will eventually change everything that has been tainted!

He was a fishman, a fishman slave captured from Fishman Island by human traffickers.

Human traffickers sold him to the Celestial Dragons, the world's nobles, at a high price, so that he could be used by them.

He was then forced to wear a slave collar and lost his freedom.

However, not long ago, his collar exploded, and the Celestial Dragons thought he was dead, so they casually had their guards throw him there.

Fortunately, the fish-men had strong physiques, which prevented him from dying instantly in the violent explosion.

"I will be back!"

He gave Mary Geoise, which looked like paradise, one last angry look.

Only those who have been slaves know that the Holy Land of Mary Geoise is the closest place to hell in the world.

He crawled down the Red Earth, his body covered in wounds and his heart filled with hatred.

The natural hand structure of the merfolk made it possible for him to leave this place.

When I return, I will bring you a different kind of fear.

No one in Mary Geoise knew about it, and no one cared.

A fish-man who was supposed to be dead somehow managed to climb down the Red Line with his bare hands using his own strength.

After a long time, the fishman finally returned to his hometown - Fishman Island.

"Finally, finally back!"

When Fisher-Tegger set foot on this land again, it heralded his triumphant return.

He did not stop, but walked resolutely toward the palace.

Meanwhile, people on the street recognized Fisher Teig.

Lord Tiger, is that you who's back?

Lord Tiger, where have you been all this time? We've all been very worried about you.

Lord Tiger is back.

Lord Tiger is back!

People along the way expressed their excitement to Tiger. Tiger didn't linger; he simply answered a few questions from the crowd and headed straight for the palace.

Since Tiger disappeared, the forces in Fishman Street have been roughly divided into two categories.

One side is the fish-men led by Arlong. They hate humans and believe that fish-men are the most superior race in the world.

The other side, led by Jinbe, argues that no race in this world is superior to others, and that humans and fish-men can coexist.

But just as their argument was reaching its most intense point, a loud shout suddenly interrupted them.

Tiger has returned and is on his way to the palace.

Arlong and Jinbe were taken aback at first, then their expressions changed drastically.

Their faces showed a mixture of shock and joy as they looked at the other mermaids who were walking towards the palace.

"Big Brother Tiger!!!"

In the underwater palace, King Neptune and Queen Otohime sat listening to reports from their subordinates.

Because it was Fisher Teig, the most famous traveler on Fishman Island, who requested an audience, they had no choice but to come here and wait.

Soon, Fisher-Tiger, covered in wounds, arrived before King Neptune and Queen Otohime.

He knelt on the ground and bowed to King Neptune and Queen Otohime.

Tiger, where have you been all this time?

We haven't heard from you in so long. If we didn't believe in your abilities, we would have thought you were never coming back.

Fisher-Teg said in a muffled voice:

Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty, but I truly did almost not make it back.

Otohime frowned, looking at the scar on Fisher Tiger's neck, and asked, "This scar doesn't look like a battle wound. What caused you to have this scar?"

Fisher-Teg pointed to the scar on his neck and said expressionlessly;

This scar was caused by a bomb called a slave collar. After I left Fishman Island, I was mistaken for an ordinary fishman and sold to the Celestial Dragons by human traffickers.

That period was like being tormented in hell; it's a nightmare I dare not recall.

Besides myself, I saw many other fish-men in Mary Geoise. They, like me, had become slaves of the Celestial Dragons, utterly devoid of human rights. The Celestial Dragons killed them whenever they wanted.

Neptune stood up angrily:

"How could such a thing happen? The Celestial Dragons, the world's nobles, are treating our people like slaves."

The princess quickly comforted her husband while turning her gaze to Fisher Teig.

Tiger gave a bitter look, and then said:

"Actually, it's not just us fish-men; other races, even humans, were their slaves."

"In their eyes, no creature other than the Celestial Dragons deserves to be called human; they should all be their slaves."

Neptune stared at Tiger and asked:

"Tiger, what do you want to do?"

Fisher-Tiger raised his head, revealing his crimson eyes, and said…

"I want to free Maria's slaves!"