In a hidden spot in Nanohana...
After Ray mind-melded his theory to Chouchou, the dog relayed everything to the crew.
The possibility that Crocodile was setting a massive trap made the atmosphere super tense.
Vivi looked grave.
Her plan had been to find Koza, tell him the truth, and make peace.
Now... that seemed impossible.
"Based on this," she said slowly, "if I can just reveal Crocodile's plot while my father and Koza are negotiating, maybe that's enough?"
Nami nodded.
It sounded plausible.
Expose the villain, unite the leaders, save the kingdom.
But... if Crocodile was pulling the strings, would it really be that easy?
Vivi, however, was already getting excited, seeing peace within reach.
"Then my father and Koza will definitely team up to beat Crocodile! We can avoid war and defeat the bad guy! That's wonderful! Thank you, Ray!"
Seeing her sudden optimism, everyone except Chopper and Chouchou frowned.
Sanji spoke first.
"Vivi-san, I think we still need to consider other options."
Zoro started to agree, but Vivi was too desperate.
"There's no time!" she insisted. "I have to leave now! Koza and my father left yesterday, moving stealthily, so they can't be going fast. Karoo and I can run back quickly! We can make it!"
Before anyone could argue, the determined princess hopped onto Karoo.
"Thank you all for bringing me back! After I sort this out, I'll thank you properly! Let's go, Karoo!"
"Quack!"
And just like that, she was gone, riding her duck off into the desert.
Everyone: (ΩДΩ)...
Zoro's mouth twitched. "Why does it feel like her IQ just dropped to Luffy's level?"
The dog-deer duo: "?"
'What's wrong? Seemed like a good plan to us!'
Nami just patted their heads, sighed, and glanced at Ray.
Ray leaned against the wall and sighed too.
"Hey," he said, nodding towards Usopp, "let the big liar on our ship explain it."
Usopp bristled.
'Big liar? Please, call me the Great Strategist!'
He cleared his throat. "Okay, look," he began, "if I were Crocodile, setting up fake peace talks, my real goal would be to make them fight. How? Create conflict they can't ignore. How? Deaths. Kill a leader, or kill a bunch of soldiers. Either way, once blood is spilled, the truth doesn't matter. The war fuse is lit."
As he explained, Usopp started sweating.
"Man, that Warlord is sinister. He probably knows the rebels' secret routes and has traps waiting. And assassins at the negotiation site."
Suddenly, Sanji's eyebrow twitched.
"Wait! Then Vivi-san could be walking right into a trap?! No! I must save her! Vivi-san, your knight is coming!"
And just like that, Sanji zipped off into the distance, following Vivi.
Within minutes, three members of the crew were gone.
Zoro just cursed.
"Pervert cook... frog prince...."
But then he stood up too.
"That idiot cook definitely can't outsmart a Warlord. I'm going to help him."
He started to head off, but Chouchou blocked his path.
Ray just watched him coldly.
"Don't run off," Ray said flatly. "This country is huge. Chouchou and I might not be able to find you if you get lost."
Nami sighed, looking exasperated.
"Seriously? Everyone is so willful. Speaking of willful guys, where the heck is Luffy?"
They searched all over town, but Luffy was nowhere to be found.
They needed to talk strategy with him!
…
Two hours earlier...
Luffy had wandered off into the desert looking for food and stumbled upon some Dance Powder (artificial rain stuff).
Eventually, the smell of food led him back to town.
Now, he was standing outside a restaurant, peering in.
Inside, Smoker was facing off against a shirtless, muscular guy with freckles – Ace, the commander of Whitebeard's Second Division.
Tashigi stood nearby, looking worried.
'How did we run into him right after arriving?! This country definitely has problems.'
(Why were Smoker and Tashigi even here? One, intercepted intel suggested something big was about to happen in Alabasta. Two, Vice Admiral Tokikake had summoned them for backup – mostly just to look good.)
…
Smoker watched Ace cautiously.
But he couldn't just back down from a pirate.
Just as he was about to attack...
"GUM GUM ROCKET!"
Luffy, still 100 meters away, launched himself towards the restaurant food.
He crashed right into Smoker (who didn't see him coming), sending him flying into Ace (who was stunned by the familiar straw hat), sending him flying too.
Luffy, completely oblivious, landed at the table and started stuffing his face.
Smoker immediately got up and started chasing him.
Not wanting trouble, Luffy ran.
Ace jumped in and intercepted Smoker, injuring the poor White Hunter with a blast of Haki.
While escaping, Luffy spotted Ray and Zoro and came charging towards them, Marines hot on his tail.
Everyone cursed.
'Damn it, exposed already?!'
To avoid more trouble, Ray's 'large scarf' (tail) shot out, scooped up Luffy and Chopper, and the rest jumped onto the giant demon-Chouchou, flying back to the Going Merry.
…
Aboard the ship now, minus Vivi and Sanji, they had one extra person: a guy who was way more polite than Luffy.
Ace bowed deeply.
"My brother really causes you all trouble. You've all worked hard."
"No problem," the crew replied, "It's our duty."
After brief introductions, Ace turned to Ray.
"Ray, the 'Cold Prince'. I've wanted to meet you for a long time."
Ray just leaned calmly against the railing.
"What do you want?"