Vivi looked up...
Uvogin, Nobunaga, Phinks, and Feitan were excitedly playing rock-paper-scissors to distribute the hunting rights for the top-ranked agents. Uvogin and Nobunaga were already fiercely arguing over who would fight Mr. 1, almost coming to blows.
Pakunoda and Shalnark were looking at the map of Alabasta, discussing the invasion route. Listening to them, they were actually considering whether to take out the Rebel Army first, Baroque Works first, or go straight to Crocodile...
Franklin and Bonolenov were patting their chests, saying something about Billions and Millions, and that they would handle the small fry.
Nami and Machi were discussing what to wear in the scorching desert below, and had already started conducting various outfit experiments on their tool-person, Shizuku.
As for Bonney... she was even more direct... She lay on the railing, drooling at the desert oasis below, reciting dish names endlessly like a menu...
"Hand-grabbed mutton... Tandoor roasted camel meat... Clay pot rabbit... Braised ribs... I want to eat... I want to eat them all..."
Watching this scene, Vivi had a blank look on her face. That's a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea...
Why did this group of people look so nonchalant, as if discussing what to eat tomorrow...
Didn't they know fear?
Chrollo watched this scene with amusement. He helped Vivi up from the ground, patted the dust off her clothes, and narrowed his eyes, saying: "Sorry, my companions are a bit unconventional. They don't care who the opponent is~ Did they scare you?~"
"Are you really not afraid?" Vivi asked in disbelief.
"You haven't read the recent newspapers... and you don't know who exactly we are..." Chrollo smiled and didn't explain much.
How could they be afraid...
Except for Bonney, no one in the Troupe knew who the Seven Warlords of the Sea were.
Even if they knew, they would just laugh and ask how many Warlords there were? Enough to fight?
As for Bonney... after witnessing Chrollo hunt the Golden Lion and go head-to-head with Kizaru for ten minutes, she had a complete understanding of Chrollo's combat power...
What Crocodile or whatever... is he as powerful as Shiki? Or as fast as Kizaru?
He doesn't have that ability, you know...
And Chrollo certainly wouldn't be afraid...
Chrollo already knew the intelligence Vivi mentioned, and at this stage, Crocodile had a huge weakness: he was afraid of water...
The problem now was how to find him. As long as he was found, Chrollo was very confident in defeating him.
After sorting through the map over the past few days, Chrollo recalled that Crocodile's base was in Alabasta's Dream City—Rainbase.
With Vivi leading the way, it seemed they could finally go there smoothly.
But Crocodile wasn't an idiot. Now the wanted posters of the Phantom Pirates were all over the streets, and Rainbase was full of Baroque Works people. Moreover, the Black Whale was a huge target. After discovering that a large pirate group like the Phantom Pirates was heading to Rainbase, with Crocodile's suspicious personality, he would soon realize that Chrollo and the others were there to hunt him, and flee.
Although Chrollo was confident that Crocodile couldn't escape his grasp, he only had three days now.
In three days, even if he caught Crocodile, the Door-Door Fruit would have refreshed...
So this method wouldn't work.
And... just hunting Baroque Works wouldn't maximize the reputation points gained.
Based on past experience and the system's nature, Chrollo guessed that only by completely solving the riot problem in Alabasta could he obtain the maximum reputation points in the system's rating.
So he needed a more direct method... one that could quell the kingdom's riots and also force Crocodile to show himself.
Most importantly, he could also gain favor with Nico Robin and get her to successfully join the crew!
Thinking of this, Chrollo looked at Vivi and said: "Miss Vivi, as the princess of Alabasta, you must know which flight path allows us to pass through towns suffering from drought and water shortage, while also leading directly to the capital, Alubarna, right?"
"I do know..." Vivi looked a bit confused. She could understand going to Alubarna. The Rebel Army was gathering to march on Alubarna, and the Royal Army had been waiting there for a long time. A great battle was about to break out.
Therefore, to stop the war, they must arrive in Alubarna before the two sides engaged and stop them.
As the princess of the kingdom, Vivi believed she could persuade her father and the Royal Guard.
On the other side, the leader of the Rebel Army was her childhood friend Koza. She believed that as long as she met Koza and told him that all this was Crocodile's conspiracy, Koza would stop the attack.
But...
"Why pass through those dried-up towns along the way?"
Chrollo patiently explained: "The most fundamental problem of Alabasta's civil strife is the shortage of water resources..."
"Even if Crocodile's conspiracy is exposed and we stop this riot, there might be another ambitious person in the future who uses the water shortage to make trouble."
"Therefore, if we want to solve the problem once and for all and minimize the possibility of civil strife in Alabasta in the future, the most important issue is..."
A sharp look appeared in Chrollo's eyes. "Solving the problem of water shortage~"
Hearing this, Vivi looked shocked. Like a drowning person, she grabbed Chrollo's hands excitedly. "You say you have a way to solve the severe water shortage in Alabasta?"
Then she suddenly calmed down and smiled self-deprecatingly. But how was that possible...
Alabasta was located in a desert zone. The water shortage was caused by the hilly terrain; it was a natural landscape.
That was... a true natural disaster.
Unless it was a god... otherwise, how could human power solve it...
"God? No... But we have Nobunaga."
Chrollo had his signature profound smile on his lips. "Nobunaga hasn't been idle these past few days; he's been exhausted."
He raised his hand and pointed with a smile to the sky above the Black Whale.
Vivi looked up, her gaze piercing through the clouds...
Then her face became incredibly shocked, seeing a scene she would never forget:
In the clouds directly above the Black Whale...
Streams of seawater hung upside down in the sky, like a floating ocean, filling the sky. And below that seawater... soil, tender shoots, green trees, young crops, countless desert water-storing items soared in the sky like birds.
Vivi covered her mouth forcefully with her hand, losing her voice instantly.
Tears full of hope flowed silently. The scene before her was too dreamlike.
She pinched herself hard, cried out in pain, but didn't care at all.
Her eyes radiated a dazzling brilliance...
With these... with these...
The kingdom of Alabasta was truly saved!!!