After finishing her words.
Bura: Karina seemed to suddenly think of something and turned her gaze toward Vivi and King Cobra.
"If my guess is correct, our captain must already be on his way here."
"So if you trust us, you can leave the rebels within the kingdom entirely to us to handle."
Upon hearing this, Nami's eyes immediately lit up, and she quickly chimed in to add:
"That's right, that's right! All you'll need to do then is give us just a 'tiny bit' of extra payment. Don't worry, it won't be expensive at all!"
As she spoke, she raised her hand and pinched a tiny gap between two fingers to illustrate.
Though Vivi still wore a smile on her face upon hearing this, a trace of worry flickered in her eyes.
King Cobra, on the other hand, couldn't help but stroke the beard on his chin, a helpless smile crossing his face:
"First, as king, I am truly grateful for your assistance in successfully thwarting Crocodile's scheme."
"So rest assured, on behalf of this kingdom, I promise you a generous reward."
"However, regarding the rebels… please give us a little more time to discuss it before Captain Will arrives."
Nami and Karina exchanged glances, not quite understanding what there was to discuss about dealing with rebels.
But since the other side had already said so, they couldn't press further and simply nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, aboard a ship on the Sandora River.
After watching Will abruptly end the call.
Robin smoothly put away the Den Den Mushi, then turned her eyes toward him and asked:
"BOSS, I didn't expect you to have connections within the Navy."
"And from the tone just now, it seems they bear no hostility toward you—in fact, they trust you a great deal."
Will smiled at that, picked up the sherry on the table, took a sip, and sighed with deep meaning:
"Not everyone in the Navy is beyond redemption."
"You agree, don't you, Robin?"
Hearing those words that seemed to carry a hidden implication.
Robin instantly recalled her childhood experiences, and her expression gradually grew complicated.
"Indeed…"
Seeing her suddenly fall silent.
Will didn't pay it too much mind and continued on his own:
"Whether it's the Navy or pirates."
"A person's goodness or evil, their virtue or vice, can never be judged simply by their profession."
A few hours later.
Will and the other two finally reached the opposite shore by boat.
After disembarking and switching to a mover crab, the three raced through the desert toward the capital, Alubarna.
En route, Will had already contacted Nami and the others via Den Den Mushi.
So by the time the three arrived at the stairs below Alubarna.
Karina, Nami, Chopper, and Vivi were already waiting there for quite a while.
"Will!"
The moment they saw Will leap down from the giant mover crab, the four immediately rushed over.
"You're not hurt anywhere, are you, Will?" As the ship's doctor, Chopper circled around him once.
Only after confirming there were no injuries did he finally relax.
Will couldn't help but smile at the sight and reassured him: "Don't worry, Chopper."
"That guy Crocodile may be strong, but he's nowhere near capable of actually hurting me."
At that moment, Karina suddenly noticed that besides Robin, another stranger—a man with his eyes closed—was standing beside Will. Curiosity piqued, she asked:
"Captain Will, who's this?"
"Oh, right." Will remembered and immediately said solemnly:
"Let me introduce you. This is a new crew member I recruited in Rainbase—his name is Issho."
"Don't let his blindness fool you; his strength is extraordinary."
Hearing Will say this, Karina, Nami, and the others were visibly surprised.
Issho's lips curved into a gentle smile upon hearing the introduction:
"It seems Mr. Will's crew are all fine people."
"Please take care of me from now on."
He sensed no negative emotions from any of them and quietly felt relieved.
After all, he didn't want unnecessary conflicts with Will's other crew members on the journey ahead.
Fortunately, they were even easier to get along with than he'd imagined.
"Welcome aboard! Just call me Nami, Uncle Issho."
"Um… I'm Chopper, and I welcome you too!"
"I'm Karina. With you on board, Uncle, our captain finally has someone to share the load."
Seeing how polite and gentle Issho was, Nami and the others warmly responded, chatting away.
Feeling the positive emotions radiating from them, Issho couldn't help but show a heartfelt smile.
Once everyone had been introduced, Will immediately shifted gears:
"Alright, now for the serious stuff."
"Besides the rebels still in the kingdom, there are also those chief officers Robin has already summoned back."
"Once we deal with those guys, we can finally rest properly here."
On the way over.
Robin had already confirmed via Den Den Mushi that the chief officers had mostly returned to the workers' union headquarters.
So after saying this, Will prepared to assign tasks and wrap up these tedious matters quickly.
"Wait!"
But before he could continue.
Vivi, who had been smiling quietly beside them, suddenly stepped forward, her expression clearly conflicted.
"Um… Will… I…"
Will frowned slightly at her obvious hesitation.
"What is it, Vivi? What do you want to say?"
Vivi took a deep breath, then spoke earnestly:
"Will, I hope you won't hurt the people in the rebel army."
Will's expression immediately turned puzzled:
"You mean we should just ignore them and let them march right in?"
"No, no!"
Vivi quickly waved her hands, her tone growing hesitant again:
"What I mean is, we can find the rebel leader first, lay everything out in the open, and do our best to persuade them."
"That way, we can stop them from continuing down the wrong path."
"Wouldn't that prevent a war and keep anyone from getting hurt? Isn't that better?"
Hearing this.
Everyone present immediately understood Vivi's thinking and fell into thoughtful silence.
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