Check out advanced Chapters on : patreon/Veni_V
---------------
Vivi, Sanji, and Nami exchanged puzzled glances as they listened to Ikki and Conan's cryptic conversation. Another world? Ti travel? None of it made much sense to them, but one thing was clear: Conan, despite his mysterious origins, was now their companion.
Noticing Conan's uneasy expression, Nami stepped forward and gently patted his head in a gesture of comfort.
Ikki froze, his expression turning sour. The sight brought to mind soone he disliked intensely: Momonosuke.
His irritation bubbling to the surface, Ikki blurted out, "Nami, Vivi, you don't need to comfort him! Even if he looks like a kid, he's actually about the sa age as you two! So don't even think about doing sothing dumb like taking a bath with him!"
Sanji, who had been silently observing, froze mid-thought. Nosebleed trickling from his nostrils, he quickly wiped it away and pulled Ikki aside, whispering, "Hey, Ikki... do you think there's a way to turn into a kid? Please..."
Though Sanji kept his voice low, it wasn't low enough to escape Nami's sharp ears. Without hesitation, she activated her Haki and sent Sanji flying with a single punch.
"You idiot! Even if he's a kid, I wouldn't ever take a bath with him!" she yelled.
Conan, overhearing Ikki's words, suddenly recalled an awkward mory of himself and Ran bathing together in the past. His face turned bright red, and to his embarrassnt, a trickle of blood flowed from his own nostrils.
Vivi, watching the scene unfold, couldn't help but laugh cheerfully. For the first ti in days, she felt a sense of relief. The tension in her heart was lifting. The Revolutionary Army's problems had been solved, and now all that remained was to defeat Baroque Works and end the crisis in Alabasta once and for all.
As Ikki and the others shared a mont of levity, a massive sandstorm suddenly descended upon the Revolutionary Army, tearing through their ranks.
The swirling winds knocked soldiers to the ground, and before long, nearly half of the Revolutionary Army was buried under waves of yellow sand.
Flying above the chaos, Ikki's sharp eyes narrowed. The unnatural nature of the sandstorm imdiately reminded him of Crocodile.
But instead of chasing after the Warlord imdiately, Ikki focused on protecting the soldiers below. Raising his hands, he summoned a wind barrier, calming the violent storm. As the winds died down, the sandstorm dissipated, leaving the Revolutionary Army shaken but intact.
"A sandstorm is just sand carried by the wind," Ikki muttered. "No wind, no storm."
Once the situation below was stabilized, Ikki began scanning the area for Crocodile. He searched high and low but found no trace of him.
Unbeknownst to Ikki, the sandstorm had simply been caused by Crocodile passing through the area—a stark reminder of the gap in power between ordinary soldiers and the truly strong in the pirate world.
As Ikki prepared to land, his attention was caught by a flash of light streaking across the sky. Within the glowing trail, he caught a glimpse of a strange creature.
Ikki squinted, his mind racing to identify it. The creature seed familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. Then it hit him.
"Wait a minute... is that wtwo? Or... a dragon-type wtwo? What the hell is going on?"
The thought sent a chill down his spine. "Does this an there are other travelers in the pirate world?!"
Determined to uncover the truth, Ikki took off in the direction of the mysterious figure.
The "wtwo" Ikki saw was, in reality, Sabo.
Having completed his investigation into Crocodile's cris, Sabo had left Rainbase in pursuit of the Shichibukai. While he had gathered the evidence Smoker needed to bring Crocodile to justice, there was one thing that still eluded him—Crocodile's true purpose.
Flying at high speed using wtwo's telekinetic powers, Sabo couldn't help but marvel at how convenient the ability was. The sheer speed and control made traveling effortless.
"Honestly," he thought, "I wouldn't even mind staying in this form if it wasn't for the energy drain." The only drawback was the toll it took on his stamina, but the benefits far outweighed the costs in situations like this.
Just then, Ikki caught up to him, flying alongside.
"Hey... are you wtwo?" Ikki asked, his tone a mix of curiosity and suspicion.
Sabo's voice echoed directly in Ikki's mind, courtesy of telepathy. "No, I'm Sabo!"
"S-Sabo?!" Ikki blinked in confusion. The na sounded vaguely familiar, but he didn't rember any ntion of Sabo during the Alabasta arc.
Thinking it over, Ikki realized it wasn't entirely implausible for Sabo to be here. After all, this was a revolution, and it made sense for the Revolutionary Army to investigate. The reason it wasn't in the original story was simple: the focus had always been on the Straw Hat crew.
"Are you Luffy's companion?"
Sabo's voice sounded again.
When Luffy was chatting with Sabo and Ace before, he described the appearance of his companions. Although the description was very abstract, Sabo still guessed his identity.
"I am Luffy's companion! So, have you t Luffy?"
Before Ikki could finish, Sabo interrupted, "We don't have ti to chat. I need to capture Crocodile."
With that, Sabo accelerated toward the royal capital, sensing Crocodile's presence there.
At the capital's central square, the scene was grim. Bodies of Alabasta's strongest warriors lay scattered across the ground.
Captain Igaram, Bell in his falcon form, Chaka in his jackal form, and the elite Bird-Claw Forces—all of them had fallen, their fates uncertain.
King Cobra, ruler of Alabasta, was pinned to a wall by two long nails, blood dripping from his wounds. He was alive but utterly helpless.
Crocodile, standing tall in the chaos, pressed his foot down on Bell's head, grinding it into the ground.
"King Cobra," Crocodile said with a mocking tone, "take to the Poneglyph. Show where it's hidden, or... every one of your loyal soldiers will die."
He smirked, then added, "Oh, and by the way... the so-called Revolutionary Army you're so proud of? I've taken care of most of them for you. Tens of thousands, wiped out. You should be thanking . After all, they were causing chaos in your kingdom."
Cobra's fists clenched as anger surged through him. Tens of thousands of his people—slaughtered like they were nothing. But his fury was powerless against the overwhelming force of the Warlord before him.
He glanced at Bell and the others lying motionless around him, conflicted and desperate.
If Crocodile's demand was simply to read the Poneglyph, Cobra might not have cared. After all, it was written in an ancient language he couldn't understand. But the presence of Nico Robin, who could read it, made the situation dire.
Cobra knew exactly what the Poneglyph contained: the location of Pluton, one of the three Ancient Weapons capable of mass destruction.
As he wrestled with the decision, Crocodile's patience wore thin. With a wave of his hand, he unleashed a Desert Spada, slicing off the head of one of the Bird-Claw soldiers.
"Well, King Cobra? How many more will die before you decide to cooperate?" Crocodile asked coldly, raising his hand to strike again.
Before Cobra could respond, another soldier was cut down by a second Desert Spada.
Blood stained the ground, and Cobra's heart broke with every loss. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he shouted, "Stop! Don't kill any more of them! I'll take you to the Poneglyph!"
Crocodile smirked in triumph. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"
But his cruelty wasn't sated. With a casual wave, he executed the last mber of the Bird-Claw Force.
Reviews
All reviews (0)