"Father!" Stomp and Dip cried, looking at their father. But Scorpion's expression was grim, and the Super Fire Gun in his hand was aimed at Ace.
"Dip, Stomp, you remember this," he said, his voice a low growl. "As long as you have the determination, you can challenge even the world's greatest hero. This is what it means to be a man!" With that, he charged. He wanted to fight like a man.
The outcome was, of course, a foregone conclusion. Ace was the user of the Flame-Flame Fruit; how could he be harmed by fire? He easily defeated his opponent.
"You are very strong," Ace said, looking at Scorpion with a serious expression. "But you are no match for me." He nodded, acknowledging his strength. Though he was an ordinary man, to be able to push him this far was amazing.
"Fire Fist Ace actually acknowledged my father's strength! My god, this..."
"Father!" Stomp and Dip gritted their teeth. Their father had been defeated; they could not escape. But to their surprise, Ace had actually recognized his strength. They looked at their father with a newfound ecstasy.
"Keep working hard," Ace said, turning around. "Since you are a man, don't give up. Surpass me." His goal was Blackbeard, and now that he knew this was just a ruse, there was no point in staying here. After saying his goodbyes to Luffy and the others, he floated away. He had come gently, without attracting anyone's attention, and he left just as smartly, without a trace of dust.
"Fire Fist Ace... he's worthy of his reputation," Zoro said, a flash of admiration in his eyes.
"Indeed," Sanji agreed, taking a long drag from his cigarette. "Luffy, you have a good brother."
"Fire Fist Ace... safe travels," Usopp said, waving his hand, a look of admiration in his eyes. After meeting a sea warrior like Dorry, Ace was the second man he truly admired.
"Goodbye," Luffy said simply. He understood Ace.
At that time, Scorpion and his sons had also reconciled. He had taught them a lesson, and they now knew how a man should live. He invited Luffy and the others to his village. When they arrived at the so-called "Badland," they were shocked by the scene before them. There were broken walls everywhere; the once-good town was now a ruin. It was hard to imagine how Scorpion and his sons had survived.
"Originally, the village was fairly peaceful, and everyone could survive," Scorpion explained with a wry smile. "But since the country's civil war, everything has changed..." Though he didn't finish, everyone understood, and a heavy feeling fell over them. They stayed for a while, then said their goodbyes and left.
The group continued on towards Yuba. But when they arrived, they found that Yuba was an empty city, with dry ruins everywhere. There were no rebels. There was only a pile of dirt and an old man in a hat, digging the ground with a shovel, trying to find water. As long as he could find water, he could change the environment of Yuba.
The crew couldn't help but ask, but when Vivi saw the old man's face, her heart trembled. She quickly stepped forward. "You are... you are Uncle Toto!"
"Are you Vivi? Did the King send you? I knew it! I believe the King would never do that kind of thing, right?" Toto also recognized her, and he couldn't help but burst into tears.
The crew later learned that Toto was the father of Koza, the leader of the Rebel Army, and the uncle Vivi had met in the palace when she was young. He did not believe that the King would betray them. He persisted in digging for water here. He firmly believed that one day, when he found water, the King would come to rescue them, and Alabasta would recover.
Thinking of how young and handsome Toto had been when she had last seen him, but now with gray hair, Vivi couldn't help but cry. All of this was because of Crocodile. She looked up at the sky and shouted, "Crocodile, you bastard!"
"Vivi," Toto said quickly, "Koza has left here and is heading to Katorea. You must stop him." If anyone in the world could stop Koza, it had to be Vivi.
"I will. I will," Vivi said, her gaze firm. She looked at the others, and they all nodded and quickly left. As they were leaving, Toto gave Luffy a jar of water. It represented his faith.
"Uncle, don't worry," Luffy said, taking the jar, a heavy feeling in his heart.
The group left. On the way to Katorea, Luffy suddenly stopped and sat on the ground. "I'm not going," he said.
"Luffy!" the others all looked at him.
"Even if you get to Katorea and stop the rebels, so what? Can you really save the country?" he asked, his eyes burning as he looked at Vivi. On this journey, he had seen and experienced a lot. Even if they stopped the Rebel Army, could they really change all of this? Could they stop the civil war? The answer was no.
"I know," Vivi trembled, "but... but at least I don't want to see anyone die. What's wrong with that?"
"But people will die," Luffy sneered disdainfully. "Depending on what you can do, die?"
"You bastard! What are you talking about!" Vivi was furious and punched him. "Even if I can't stop it, these are my citizens! They are bleeding and fighting! How can I turn a blind eye? How can I..." She burst into tears, looking at him and shouting hysterically, "I have nothing to bet on! Except for this life, I have nothing!"
"Then please bet our lives too!" Luffy shouted, pushing her away. "Aren't we companions?!"
"What..." Vivi's body shook, and she covered her mouth, muttering.
"Yes, Vivi, we are companions, sailing on the sea together," Nami said with a soft smile.
"The root of all this is Crocodile," Sanji said, taking a deep breath. "Luffy is right. Even if you stop the rebels, what's the use? If Crocodile is not dealt with, everything is meaningless. Instead of wasting time here, we should go and send Crocodile flying. Only then can your country be saved."
"That's right," Usopp nodded.
"None of us have any objections," Zoro said, his hand on the hilt of his sword.
Moonlight nodded. At the critical moment, Luffy was not ambiguous. Ace also nodded in relief. This younger brother had finally grown up.
"Okay," Chopper said, nodding heavily.
"Everyone..." Vivi suddenly burst into tears.
"Vivi, hurry up and lead the way," Luffy shouted. "I'm going to send Crocodile flying!"
"Okay," Vivi nodded vigorously and took out a map. "The place where Crocodile is is called Rainbase. We set out from here, cross this desert, and we'll be there soon. Karoo, time is short, so I have something to ask of you. My father and the others are still in the dark. You will hand this letter to him as quickly as possible. The rest of us will set off as soon as possible. We must deal with Crocodile before the rebels reach the capital." With that, she handed a letter to Karoo, who nodded quickly and ran off, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye. Karoo was said to be the fastest creature in Alabasta.
Luffy and his party moved forward quickly, heading towards Rainbase. But the desert was vast and the weather unpredictable. After a sandstorm, the group was once again dispersed.
"Anyway, everyone's goals are the same," Moonlight said to himself, looking at the empty desert before him. "So as long as I get to Rainbase, I'll be able to see everyone." He also had been separated. But there was only one way to Rainbase; as long as he went west, he would get there eventually.
At that time, in Rainbase, a group of uninvited guests arrived at the Spider's Cafe.
"I didn't expect everyone to come," the proprietress, Paula, said with a smile, waving to the three men and one woman who had just appeared before her.
"Mr. 1, Daz Bonez; Mr. 2, Bon Clay; Mr. 4, Babe; and Miss Merry Christmas, Drophy."
"It's really rare, Miss Doublefinger," Mr. 2 said with a smile, looking around at the others. "Although we're all senior agents of Baroque Works, this is actually the first time we've met."
"You're too noisy. Be careful, or I'll kill you," Miss Merry Christmas frowned, putting down her red wine glass and glancing at Mr. 2 coldly. There was no harmony among the members of Baroque Works.
"Come on, you want to kill me?" Mr. 2 sneered.
The two of them were about to fight, but Miss Doublefinger suddenly picked up a phone snail. "It's enough. The boss is calling." Hearing this, everyone quieted down. This was the legendary Mr. 0, the real boss of Baroque Works. They all wanted to see what kind of person they had been serving.
"Good, good, good," Miss Doublefinger said, nodding. She then looked up at everyone. "Now, all of us are to go to the Rain Dinners to gather. The boss wants to see us."
"Can we finally see the legendary Mr. 0?" Mr. 2 was the first to get excited, and he began to dance.
"The meeting place is in Rainbase? Interesting," Mr. 1 said, nodding dully. Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas sneered, a look of anticipation on their faces. They, too, wanted to see who this sacred Mr. 0 was, the one who was hidden in layers of mist and existed only in legend.
So, the group of five left the Spider's Cafe and walked towards the most prosperous casino in Rainbase. At the same time, Luffy and the others finally crossed the vast desert and arrived. Before them was a city that was the complete opposite of the desert, with tall buildings, bustling streets, and a noisy casino. It was a completely different world from the deserted ruins they had seen before. And the entire city, as its name suggested, was shrouded in a layer of rain, like a city in a dream.
But all of them were in a solemn mood. Because the legendary Warlord, the mastermind behind Baroque Works, Crocodile, was somewhere in this city. And they had come with the purpose of defeating him.
"Is Moonlight lost?" Luffy asked. In the vast desert, the climate was truly unpredictable. They had encountered another sandstorm, and though Moonlight had predicted it in advance, no one could escape. When they had all opened their eyes, they had been separated. Thinking of what Vivi had said, they had gritted their teeth and finally made it to Rainbase, where the group had gathered again, only to find that Moonlight was missing. Though they were very worried, they all shook their heads when they thought of Moonlight's terrifying skill. He would definitely be fine, but he must have been delayed because of something. After all, the desert was so big; who knew what would happen next?
"The weather in this desert is really terrifying," Usopp said, his heart still lingering with the fear of the endless desert. "No matter how powerful a person is, he can't conquer the desert. By the way, Chopper, you were the closest to Moonlight at the time. Did he tell you anything?"
"When Moonlight and I were separated," Chopper recalled, "he told me to just walk forward, and that's how I was able to get to Rainbase. He said he would arrive as soon as possible to meet everyone." He hadn't seen Moonlight since. "Could it be that he was blown away by the sandstorm?"
"Don't worry," Zoro said, shaking his head, his trust in Moonlight absolute. "A mere sandstorm can't do anything to him, but it will definitely take some tricks to get out of."
"Yes, a man who can cut through a sandstorm with a single sword, how can a sandstorm do anything to him?" Sanji said, taking a deep breath. "He must have gotten lost, just like someone I know." He curled his lip and glanced at Zoro.
"Then let's find a place to hide first and wait for Moonlight to come," Nami suggested.
"No," Luffy said, shaking his head as he looked at the city shrouded in rain. "Since he's Moonlight, there's nothing to worry about. And now, I'm going to send Crocodile flying." Remembering what he had seen and heard along the way, and thinking of all the evil things Crocodile had done, a fiery flame began to beat in his heart. He couldn't wait any longer. He was going to beat him right now.
"Hey, Luffy, that's a Warlord!" the others all shouted. But Luffy was already gone, running into the rainy city. Seeing this, the others quickly followed. But not long after they had entered the city, they saw that the streets and alleys, the hidden corners, were all filled with sturdy, ugly-faced men, all holding their pictures in their hands and looking at them with gloomy eyes. Some even took out their weapons and rushed over. In a short moment, they were surrounded.
"No, these are the mid-level agents of Baroque Works, the Million-Elders," Vivi reacted immediately. "Damn Crocodile! We're probably already wanted." She then shouted to everyone, "Run! We can't get bogged down with these people here!"
"Go!" the others all shouted, and they began to run. But three minutes later, on a rainy street, Luffy and his party actually ran into the Navy, led by Smoker and Tashigi. The two groups froze for a moment, then stared at each other.
"Why are you here too?" Luffy asked, confused.
"Straw Hat boy, it's you. What a coincidence," Tashigi said, pushing up her glasses.
"What do you mean, a coincidence? Seize them for me!" Smoker's face went dark.
"Run!" Luffy shouted, and they all took off again, this time with the Million-Elders of Baroque Works in front of them and the Navy, led by Smoker, chasing them from behind.
"Go to the Rain Dinners!" Vivi suddenly shouted, pointing to the largest and most prosperous casino in the middle of the city. "It's the largest casino in the city, and it's protected by Crocodile. The Million-Elders of Baroque Works won't dare to cause trouble in there, and the Navy won't be so presumptuous either."
"Alright," the others all agreed, and they immediately fled towards the casino. Sure enough, after they had gone inside, the only person who followed them was Smoker. The others were all blocked at the door. Then, under the guidance of a waiter, they were led to a senior VIP box. The next moment, they all fell into a trap.
At that moment, somewhere in the desert, in an underground space, Moonlight was looking at a huge stone carving, his face filled with an excited excitement. This was one of the only Poneglyphs in the world that recorded the true history, and it was also one of the two most difficult to find, besides the nine known specific locations. When Luffy and the others had fallen down, they hadn't cared much and had just left. After that, the vast desert had changed a lot, and it would have been as difficult as reaching the sky to find it again. He had never expected to come here by accident.
This made him excited. The moment he had stepped into Alabasta, he had had this plan, even if he had to waste some time, he had to look for it. As far as he knew, the specific location was somewhere in Yuba. And now, his efforts had paid off. This was a Poneglyph. It recorded the truth of history, what had happened in the hundred years since it had been erased by the World Government and disappeared. All of it was recorded in these historical texts. What was the world's history? The answer was here.
Of course, he couldn't read it. In today's world, only Nico Robin could. But he had a way. He took out some rubbing paper from his pocket, which he had always kept with him for this very purpose. Now, it finally came in handy.
He began to make the rubbing, and it took him a full half a day before he was finally finished. After repeatedly confirming that it was completely correct, he immediately jumped back up to the surface and ran towards Rainbase. Now that he had the rubbing, all that was left was Robin.
"Robin, I must have you," he thought, a look of determination in his eyes as he looked ahead.