Nefertari Vivi: [Non-Devil Fruit User, Bounty: 0; Combat Power: 245 - ???]
Kuke looked at her information.
A combat power of just over two hundred.
In other words, just an ordinary person who has trained a little.
Not much combat capability.
But there was also a question mark at the end.
The sa as Princess Shirahoshi.
Her own combat power was negligible.
But both had question marks.
For Princess Shirahoshi, the question mark signified her yet-to-be-awakened power as the Ancient Weapon, Poseidon.
So what did the question mark in Princess Vivi's combat power an?
Kuke had every reason to believe it was directly related to the Ancient Weapon, Pluton.
"Ancient Weapons... now it can be confird—they are not rely weapons in na but sothing inherited or passed down?"
Kuke was convinced that his speculation was close to the truth.
A smile unconsciously appeared on his lips.
Both the Ancient Weapons, Pluton and Poseidon, were now in his hands.
The last bit of caution Kuke had toward Im had completely vanished.
Princess Vivi averted her gaze, secretly stealing glances at Kuke.
She noticed the smile on his lips.
"Is he happy because I joined?" she thought to herself.
...
That night.
The royal family of Alabasta had prepared the grandest banquet ceremony to welco the Sun and Moon Pirates.
Kuke wasn't particularly interested.
But when he caught sight of Princess Vivi secretly looking at him with expectant eyes, he nodded in agreent.
This small gesture filled Princess Vivi's heart with warmth.
The other mbers of the Sun and Moon Pirates also arrived at the banquet.
For the first ti, Princess Vivi saw all her future crewmates.
So many figures she had revered and admired.
At first, she felt uneasy.
She had no idea how to interact with such powerful figures like Gion and Charlotte Linlin. She was nervous, and her father, King Cobra, was also worried for his daughter.
He feared she might be mistreated on the ship.
But soon—
Gion and the others welcod her like gentle elder sisters.
Their welco was genuine and sincere.
This made the last traces of fear in Princess Vivi's heart completely disappear.
She quickly bonded with Pudding and the others, who were around her age, chatting and laughing together.
Amidst the lively banquet.
King Cobra, holding a wine cup with a slightly hesitant deanor, approached Kuke from behind.
"Lord Kuke, would it be possible for Alabasta to beco an affiliate of the Sun and Moon Pirates?" King Cobra gathered his courage and made his request.
Over the years, other allied nations had been envious of Dressrosa.
Though Alabasta had vast territory and a large population, it lacked powerful warriors.
Additionally, it was situated in the early seas of the Grand Line.
With the Navy constantly hunting down pirates, many still ended up in Alabasta, causing destruction and casualties.
The Navy's reinforcents always arrived too late—barely enough to prevent Alabasta from falling under permanent pirate occupation, but never in ti to stop the damage.
Not far away.
Princess Vivi, who had been chatting with Pudding , perked up her ears when she heard her father's voice.
She pouted.
"How could Father do this?"
She felt uneasy about it.
Wasn't this just asking for favors?
She couldn't help but stand up, wanting to stop him.
But Nico Robin held her back. "Leave it to the captain. You don't have to worry. The captain is very kind to us."
"Mm-hmm! The captain is really nice!" Pudding nodded enthusiastically.
The younger Flampe blurted out, "But the captain is a little biased! If Nico Robin gets sick, the captain stays in her room for days to take care of her. But when I got sick, he only checked on once! Nico Robin, the captain stays in your room for days and nights, and—"
Nico Robin imdiately used her ability, sprouting an extra hand to cover Flampe's mouth.
Her usually cool and elegant face turned slightly red.
The younger Princess Vivi didn't notice.
She kept eavesdropping on Kuke's conversation.
Kuke looked at the visibly anxious King Cobra. "Sure."
He agreed.
Alabasta was allowed to raise the Sun and Moon Pirates' flag.
King Cobra was so overwheld with emotion that he almost dropped his wine cup. "Then, Lord Kuke, how much wealth will Alabasta need to offer the Sun and Moon Pirates each year?"
Many kingdoms and islands in the sea were under the protection of pirate crews.
And in return, these nations had to offer large sums of wealth annually.
For Whitebeard's territory, the offerings weren't too extre. But so pirate crews demanded nearly all of a nation's wealth, leaving them destitute.
"You don't need to offer anything."
The Sun and Moon Pirates didn't have many mbers and had little need for resources.
They had long surpassed the stage of pursuing wealth.
"This? This?" King Cobra stared at Kuke in disbelief. "Nothing at all?"
How was that possible? How could this be?
"Your daughter is already one of us. There's no need to feel any pressure. This is sothing our comrades should naturally enjoy," Gion assured King Cobra.
Princess Vivi, still eavesdropping.
When she heard Kuke agree—
She couldn't help but smile like a crescent moon.
Now she was even giggling to herself.
Once again, she felt from the bottom of her heart how wonderful it was to join the Sun and Moon Pirates.
"You're so naïve," Flampe scoffed at Princess Vivi. "There are way more perks to being on this ship! This is nothing. You'll see—following my captain is the happiest thing in the world."
"What do you an your captain? He's our captain!" Pudding corrected her indignantly.
There was no way she'd let Flampe monopolize him.
"Bleh! I'll be the captain's favorite crewmate soday!" Flampe made a face, full of confidence.
"In your dreams! Even Mama couldn't do that. It's impossible for you! The captain likes the most! He said he loves my eyes the most!" Pudding argued back.
Nico Robin and the other elder sisters watched the two little troublemakers bicker over sothing that had beco a daily routine.
In their hearts, they couldn't help but wonder.
They stole glances at Kuke.
Who did the captain like the most?
It must be Gion, right? That was what most of them thought.
"Obviously, he likes the most," the soft-spoken Princess Shirahoshi murmured under her breath.
...
Now that Princess Vivi had been confird to be connected to the Ancient Weapon, Pluton, the primary purpose of visiting Alabasta had been fulfilled.
"Violet, have you found Crocodile's whereabouts?" Kuke asked.
The Sand-Sand Fruit was also one of his objectives.
"I'm still searching."
Violet shook her head.
"No rush. Once we locate him, he won't escape."
Princess Vivi and her father, King Cobra, both widened their eyes in shock.
Crocodile was their worst nightmare.
He had brought so much suffering to Alabasta.
Even after joining the Sun and Moon Pirates, Princess Vivi had hesitated to ask the captain for help in avenging her fallen comrades.
She never had the courage.
But now, Kuke had brought it up himself.
Princess Vivi looked at Kuke, then up at the bright moon in the sky.
Her eyes beca misty, and deep within her heart, a small sprout of hope grew—
"This is wonderful."
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DONT FORGET POWER STONE
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