Chapter 58: Mysterious Kingdom of Sand
In the vast, boundless desert, a bright moon hung high in the pitch-black sky, scattering a silvery luminescence.
A brown falcon soared, its wings spread wide, cutting through the night sky at extreme speed.
Reiner sat cross-legged atop the falcon, his golden hair whipped wildly by the wind, his blue shirt flapping noisily.
He was heading towards Rainbase, located in the city known as Alabasta's dream, the only city untouched by drought and war.
Crocodile's casino, Rain Dinners, was one of this city's most distinctive features.
"Reached the Sandora River already?" Reiner gazed ahead at the river surface stretching endlessly before him.
Moonlight scattered upon the water, creating sparkling ripples, the reflected moon shimmering gently.
The Sandora River flowed into the sea. Starting west of the port city Nanohana, it snaked its way through half of Sandy Island, dividing the entire Kingdom of Alabasta in two. Many cities were built along its banks, digging canals to draw water into the cities.
However, years ago, Crocodile had secretly sent Baroque Works agents to destroy all the major canals.
The dream city Rainbase and the Royal Capital Alubarna faced each other across the river. But almost no one traveled between the two cities by crossing the upper reaches of the Sandora River.
This was because the river reached a maximum width of 50 kilometers here, and it teemed with various giant, ferocious beasts. Reiner had been shocked when Vivi described it.
It would take several islands the size of Little Garden placed side-by-side to barely fill this river.
Reiner gazed into the deep darkness ahead and directed the falcon to fly straight across the river.
Not long after entering the airspace above the river, a dark shadow gradually surfaced in the water below.
SPLAAAAASH—!
The river surface abruptly broke open, and a worm-shaped sea beast, over ten meters in diameter, drilled out of the water, soaring straight up.
Its bloody maw opened wide, revealing circles of spirally arranged sharp teeth, aiming to swallow both Reiner and the falcon whole.
However, as it straightened its body fully upright, it saw two rifts inexplicably appear in the sky above it.
From within, grim, deathly pale spears emerged, emanating a majestic aura.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
The next instant, like two thunderbolts tearing through space, they arrived in a flash, piercing into the sea beast's mouth with sickening sounds, then bursting out the other side trailing flesh and blood.
The immense inertia carried by this tremendous force sent the ascending sea beast reeling backward violently, crashing heavily onto the river surface and throwing up massive splashes.
Reiner merely glanced down briefly, but still directed the giant falcon upwards, significantly increasing their flight altitude.
This river... something is very wrong.
Reiner frowned slightly. Ever since entering the river's domain, he had faintly sensed an ominous aura.
He had initially dismissed it as his imagination and hadn't paid it much mind, but now...
Reiner looked down again at the corpse of the worm-shaped sea beast floating on the river surface.
Right next to the carcass, a massive figure stood strangely upright like a human, its upper body exposed above the water.
It's making eye contact with him?!
A yellow, oval body, covered in orderly layers of fish scales, but bizarrely topped with a cat's head.
Reiner had never seen such a creature before, but he knew of it.
The animal considered sacred in Alabasta – the Sea Cat. He recalled the famous scene in the original story involving Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji.
Its likeness appeared in the murals and statues flanking the Poneglyph in the Royal Tomb.
Yet, the eerie part was that it was staring at Reiner with a stiff, fixed smile. The sight made his hair stand on end.
Observing it for a moment, he noticed a golden earring in the Sea Cat's left ear. Is it owned by someone? Raised? Reiner found that unlikely.
This sea is far less simple than I remember. Even Devil Fruits are products of subjective belief; any strange or bizarre thing is possible.
Looking down again, the Sea Cat on the river surface, seeing him fly higher, slowly submerged back into the water. The dark shadow gradually shrank and sank towards the riverbed.
"Thinking back now, a 50-kilometer-wide river really is ridiculously excessive."
He had originally thought the Grand Line was just full of wonders, but now it seemed...
Recalling the Sea Cat's anthropomorphic, sinister smile, Reiner still felt a lingering fear.
The Kingdom of Sand, with its millennia of history and heritage, seemed far more mysterious than he had imagined.
Is this an aura of death?
Seems like there's something terrifying hidden at the bottom of this river... Might be worth coming back for another look someday, if I get the chance.
After a while longer, Reiner had completely crossed the Sandora River. He had to admit, the falcon summon's flight speed was truly impressive.
Crossing the full fifty-kilometer width of the Sandora River took less than fifteen minutes.
Flying for another half hour or so across the desert, Reiner finally saw the brightly lit city in the distance.
This city that never slept stood out somewhat incongruously against the barren land. Rainbase truly deserved its title as Alabasta's city of dreams.
The city shines generously bright all night, like youth unafraid of the passage of years.
Reiner flew directly over the bustling streets, heading straight for the Rain Dinners casino.
Arriving above the casino, he recalled the hawk summon and leaped down from the sky, landing in an empty, deserted area.
Why is it so desolate?
The entrance to the casino was a scene of utter chaos, various broken debris scattered everywhere.
Despite the surrounding area still being lively, this distinctive casino, usually bustling with gamblers coming and going, was completely deserted.
Reiner looked at the empty casino with a strange expression. Although Crocodile had been defeated, his identity as the boss of Baroque Works wasn't widely known.
Logically, the casino should have continued operating. Even if the mastermind vanished, it shouldn't collapse in a single afternoon, right?
He took out a cigarette from the pocket of his blue shirt, lit one, and held it in his mouth.
Puzzled, Reiner stepped inside. The interior was even more chaotic.
Various gambling tables were smashed to pieces, and numerous bloodstains marked the floor and walls. The faint smell of blood hung in the air, indicating a battle had taken place recently.
Just then, a sneaky-looking brown-haired man emerged from the back of the casino hall, carrying two suitcases, moving furtively.
The moment he poked his head out, his eyes met Reiner's directly.
Seeing this, Reiner instantly understood.
"Damn it, Smoker!"
Reiner cursed under his breath through gritted teeth. Clearly, the Marines had already raided this place. Biting down hard on his cigarette butt, he walked straight towards the brown-haired man.
"Who are you!? Don't come any closer!" The man dropped one suitcase, pulling a pistol from his coat and aiming it tremblingly at Reiner.
He was originally the manager of this casino. Earlier that evening, just as customer traffic was beginning to peak, a large wave of Marines had stormed in.
They arrested people on sight, smashed everything they saw – practically acting like thugs!
What kind of self-respecting Marine commander leads soldiers like that?!
Even invoking the name of his boss, a Warlord of the Sea, had been useless.
Seeing the situation turn bad, he had immediately rushed backstage, grabbed some cash, and hidden in a secret room. He hadn't dared come out even when things quieted down outside.
Only now had he crept out from the secret room, preparing to flee, only to run into someone still here, just his luck!
The gunman's hands trembled visibly; he clearly hadn't recovered from the shocking encounter that evening.
Watching the golden-haired man approach slowly with an expressionless face, the manager grew increasingly panicked, his finger tightening on the trigger.
"Don't come any closer!!!"
BANG—!
A gunshot rang out. A spray of blood erupted from the brown-haired man's shoulder, splattering onto the ground.
"Ahhh!!!" The manager wailed, clutching his shoulder as he collapsed to the floor.
Reiner holstered the pistol at his waist. It was a flintlock pistol he used to use.
Although his aim was poor, it was still very effective for sneak-attacking people at close to medium range.
Despite his Devil Fruit Awakening making his physical constitution completely surpass Luffy's, he still preferred the Usopp-style fighting method.
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