Pirates on Rocks' Ship 996

"Damn it! I left Hawkeye at the port!" After thinking for a while, Ace finally remembered that he had left Hawkeye at the port.

"Well, whatever... he won't be in any trouble anyway, I can just apologize to him next time we meet!" Seeing that he was already more than halfway there, Ace decisively gave up on going back.

Little did he know that Robin had just arrived in the port city.

However, after inquiring and learning that Fire Fist Ace had already left, Robin decided to ignore Ace for the time being.

Since Crocodile's plan is now in its final stages and will soon be coming to an end, she still wants to see how it will ultimately end.

However, just as she was about to leave, she noticed that the navy here seemed to be acting strangely.

After making inquiries, she learned that Admiral Aokiji and Shichibukai Dracule Mihawk had also arrived in Alabasta.

To Robin's astonishment, she realized that something she didn't know was about to happen in Alabasta, otherwise it would never have attracted the attention of a Marine Admiral and another Shichibukai.

It's important to know that even the Seven Warlords of the Sea have their own territories, and Alabasta is Crocodile's territory. Under normal circumstances, a Warlord of the Sea wouldn't go to another Warlord of the Sea's territory unless there's a reason, let alone a Marine Admiral.

It was only then that she realized that perhaps the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates had not come to find her, or rather, that his purpose was not her, but rather that he wanted her to provide him with some assistance.

Robin, who thought she had figured out the situation, immediately headed back towards Albana. Firstly, she and Reina had agreed that if they couldn't meet at the port, they would meet in Albana.

In addition, she also needs to report the unusual situation here to Crocodile. In this way, she can use Crocodile's intelligence network to find out what happened and provide Ace with more help.

Robin had no idea that it was all just a coincidence.

Meanwhile, on a small island not far from Alabasta.

"Captain, is there some kind of error? Why hasn't the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates arrived yet?" Idal, with a fierce look on his face, asked Blackbeard Teach beside him.

"Hahahaha... Fate's arrangements are inescapable! Don't worry, don't be too anxious!" Teach said confidently, "I have reliable information that Fire Fist Ace definitely knows of my existence. Anyone from the Whitebeard Pirates who knows about me would want to capture me, so just wait patiently!"

"Captain..." At this moment, a burly man with a full head of purple hair, even his beard was purple, and he was wearing a wrestler's mask ran over to Teach and said, "We have news. Fire Fist Ace has appeared in the port city of Alabasta, and he doesn't seem to have any intention of continuing to look for us!"

Faced with such a swift rebuke, Teach wasn't embarrassed at all. Instead, he stood up and said, "Hahaha... In that case... men... let's go find him! Whether we succeed or not depends on this operation!"

At this time, about a day's journey from Alabasta, Reina was fishing idly on the deck.

He wouldn't go fishing unless he was really bored. He rarely fished after catching too many fish with special bait a long time ago.

Unfortunately, the voyage took much longer than he had anticipated, and the crew had been replaced three times.

The sailors responsible for the voyage weren't hired by him; those guys were even more arrogant than Reina himself, so Reina fired them all.

Now this group of real pirates—yes, a bunch of unlucky guys—wanted to rob Reina. Reina, who was just looking for someone to help him, immediately captured them all and made them his ship captains.

If it weren't for these guys, Reina's arrival in Alabasta would probably have been delayed even further.

So he came to the conclusion that in this world... it's best not to spend money if you can avoid it!

Alabasta, the port of Elmaru, Luffy and his crew have crossed the Santo River and arrived here.

"Is this Yuba? There don't seem to be any rebels here!" Luffy said, looking around after disembarking.

"No, Luffy, this is the Almaru Oasis. If it's Yuba, we still need to travel northwest along the desert for half a day!" He shook his head slightly and said.

"Huh? This is an oasis? There doesn't look like there's a single green leaf here!" Luffy said with a sullen face.

“Yes, this place has only recently become so desolate!” Vivi nodded and replied, “It used to be a beautiful oasis!”

"Huh~ What's that? It suddenly appeared and startled me! A turtle? Or a seal?" Usopp, who was looking around, was startled by the creature that suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Usopp... watch out, don't get close! Those are Kung Fu Dugongs!" Weiwei shouted anxiously to Usopp, "They're really strong!"

Before he could finish speaking, Usopp had already been knocked down by the Kung Fu Dugong. Zoro shook his head, thinking that he was too weak to even beat such an animal.

On the other side, Luffy has already defeated a Kung Fu Dugong, but Vivi says that defeating it is not enough, because the Kung Fu Dugong is a martial arts school, so after being defeated, he will have to become its disciple.

However, her words came a little too late, because Luffy had already defeated a large group of kung fu dugongs and started teaching them how to punch.

"You should tell me about something this important earlier next time!" Nami sighed and said helplessly.

Finally, through Chopper's persuasion, they sacrificed a day's worth of food to escape the group of kung fu manatees.

On the way to Yuba, Weiwei explained the course of the national rebellion to everyone.

For three whole years, Alabasta experienced no rain except in the capital. Two years ago, dancing powder was discovered at the port and was being transported to the capital, which enraged the people, who believed that the king had concentrated all the country's rainwater in the capital.

So a rebellion was launched, but Vivi, as a princess, knew that the king had never used the dancing powder; it was all Crocodile's conspiracy.

"Things went as he hoped, and soon a rebellion broke out! Cities were destroyed, people were starving, and the enraged rebels were killing each other with innocent people... Although the kingdom had a powerful army, my father knew that it was all a misunderstanding, so he ordered that no fighting be waged against the rebels, which caused the rebellion to escalate!"

The nation's peace, the king's prestige, and even the nation's rain... innocent citizens sacrificed their lives! The one who made this country so utterly ruined... is that man... Crocodile! What right did he have to do such a thing? I... can never forgive that man!

Weiwei knelt on the ground, holding the withered bones by the roadside, and roared out the anger and resentment in his heart.

After hearing what Weiwei had to say, Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp, enraged, destroyed the surrounding buildings.

"Let's go! I can't contain my anger any longer!" Luffy said in a deep voice after venting his anger.

When the group finally arrived at Yuba, they found that Yuba was deserted and deserted. Apart from a thin old man who was holding on there, the place had become a ruin.

"You are... Uncle Doto? How could this be..." Weiwei covered her mouth, looking at the frail old man in front of her in disbelief, not daring to compare him to his former obese appearance.

"Don't you recognize me? No wonder, I've lost some weight, haven't I?" Uncle Doto said with a smile through his tears, "Weiwei, I believe in the King! I've always believed in the King... He's definitely not the kind of person who would betray the kingdom! I believe in him!"

Seeing Uncle Doto's firm tone, Weiwei also shed tears.

"Those rebels... what kind of rebellion are they doing... they're just making a mess of things. The only one who can stop them now is you! Weiwei... please, you must stop them!"

"Uncle Doto... don't worry... I... I will definitely stop the rebellion!" She smiled slightly and slowly wiped away Uncle Doto's tears.

Her smile was infectious, as if she really could do it all.

The next morning, Luffy and his crew set off with a small bottle of water that Uncle Doto had dug up all night. They were heading to the rebel army's headquarters in Catrea.

However, on the way, Luffy told Vivi that this wouldn't work. Even if they found the rebels, they might not follow their orders. The best way was to directly eliminate Crocodile, the mastermind behind it all, and carry out a decapitation strike.

A method like Vivi's, which doesn't want anyone to get hurt or die, won't work.

But Vivi, in anguish, loudly questioned Luffy, asking what was wrong with her desire to prevent anyone from dying? She had no other options but to gamble with her own life!

"Then what am I supposed to gamble with?" Vivi grabbed Luffy's collar and shouted, "I have nothing left to gamble with!"

"Then let's gamble with our lives too! We're partners... aren't we?" Luffy's answer stunned Vivi, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

"Your tears have finally fallen... Stop pretending!" Luffy slowly sat up and said to Vivi, "Actually, you're very unwilling, aren't you? You really want to beat that guy far, far away, right? Then do it! We'll be with you!"

"Waaaaah..." Weiwei knelt on the sand and cried her heart out.

“Mr. Luffy…I…” Vivi turned her head and looked at Luffy, saying, “What should I do?”

"Now tell me... where is that guy...? I'm going to beat him up!" Luffy stood up and asked.

Chapter 286 Heading Towards Albana

After Luffy and Vivi finished their conversation, the crew changed their destination again and headed towards Albana, the capital of Alabasta.

Because through Robin, Vivi already knows that the headquarters of Baroque Works is in Albana, and the gathering point on the surface—Rainfield—is actually just a front.

After Crocodile fought Reyna, he learned the principle of not putting all his eggs in one basket, so he moved the headquarters directly from Rainfield to Albana.

However, he did not abandon the rainy area; instead, he used it as his official headquarters and continued to use it.

When Vivi followed Robin and learned Crocodile's identity, she also learned the location of their headquarters from their conversation.

In fact, Vivi has what she considers to be a powerful force—Luffy's crew. Why don't they just go to Baroque headquarters and take down Crocodile first?

Besides not wanting Luffy and his crew to suffer any casualties, she also understood that although Crocodile was the mastermind behind the rebellion, he was not the direct instigator of the uprising, and the rebels were not under his command.

Even if Crocodile is killed, the rebellion cannot be stopped.

Therefore, Vivi abandoned the strategy of "capture the king first" and instead addressed the immediate difficulties before dealing with the root causes of those difficulties. This demonstrates her strategic thinking and also reflects her remarkable judgment.

While at the port, Vivi gave Karu the instructions for Crocodile's plot to take to the capital, Albana. She planned to operate on two fronts: she would stop the rebels herself and force her father to break ties with Crocodile.

If the rebels are persuaded and the old man learns of Crocodile's plot, then the combined forces of the rebels, the King's army, and Luffy and his crew can launch a full-scale attack on Crocodile. This would be her ideal strategy.

But now, Luffy tells her that it would be more suitable to go directly to the capital, take down Crocodile first, and then go find the rebels, because they might not be able to persuade the rebels now.

Moreover, by this time the rebels should have been desperate and could launch a final attack at any moment. If they rushed there and the rebels had already launched their attack, then they would have been chasing after the enemy's tail the whole time. As a result, the war broke out, but they did nothing!

It would be better to go to Albana now, deal with Crocodile, wait for the rebels to come to us, and then tell them the truth.

Meanwhile, Ace, who had already arrived in Albana, found that he was also unable to contact Robin. Albana was much larger than the port city, and he was completely lost and couldn't find his way around.

However, he already knew from Luffy's previous crewmates that Robin was at Baroque Works, so if he could find the people at Baroque Works, he might be able to find Robin.

However, before he could even take any action, someone had already come knocking on his door.

"Hello, are you Portgas D. Ace, the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates?" Wearing an Arab-style turban, with dark purple four-pointed star makeup around his eyes and dressed in a white robe, Bell led a squad of Kingdom soldiers to Ace.

"Who are you?" Ace looked at the person in front of him curiously. He didn't seem to recognize the person, and the person didn't seem to be here to cause trouble.

“I am Bell, the adjutant of the Royal Guard of the Kingdom of Alabasta! I have met Mr. Reina a few times before, and we had a very pleasant conversation. I also greatly admire Mr. Reina, so as soon as I learned that you had come to Alabasta, I couldn’t wait to come over. I hope I am not being too presumptuous!” Bell said with a smile and a bow.

"Ah~ So you're the first mate's friend! You should have said so earlier~~ Honestly, we almost misunderstood!" Ace said with a big laugh.

“If you don’t mind… would you like to come to the palace with me? His Majesty the King wishes to meet you!” Bell replied with a smile.

After thinking for a moment, Ace nodded, agreeing to Bell's request. In any case, he couldn't find Robin for the time being. After all, this was Alabasta, and perhaps the King would have some news.

Just as Ace and Pell were heading to the palace, Aokiji and Smoker had already received information about his appearance in Albana, so the two of them led a portion of the Marines directly to Albana.

However, not long after they left, a dog-headed naval warship docked at the port of Alabasta.

"So this is Alabasta, the desert country? It's really hot!" Garp said casually, taking off his dog-head hat.

"Vice Admiral Garp...!" The navy personnel at the port were somewhat bewildered. Why was even the naval hero, Vice Admiral Garp, here?

First came Colonel Smoker, then Admiral Aokiji, and now even Garp has arrived, leaving the naval soldiers who were originally stationed here completely baffled.

"Who is your superior?" Garp nodded and asked.

“Um… our commander has gone to Albana, the capital of Alabasta!” the sergeant replied, saluting.

"Huh? Why did he abandon his post? Is there something important going to Alba?" Garp asked instinctively, startled.

"Well... he went to guide Admiral Aokiji and Colonel Smoker!" the sergeant said somewhat awkwardly.

Although this is a normal operation, it is still considered dereliction of duty. If Garp investigates, their superior will not be able to escape punishment.

"Who? Who did you just say?" Garp's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he asked incredulously.

When he received the message from Sengoku, Sengoku clearly said that he couldn't contact Aokiji, which is why he was asked to come over. Well, now Aokiji has already entered the capital. Isn't this just messing with him?

"Admiral Aokiji and Colonel Smoker!" The sergeant had no choice but to repeat himself.