Taro looked at the empty street in front of him with a look of bewilderment, not knowing what had happened.
Did Crocodile... run away?
Then who was that massive crowd of people rushing this way in the distance?
Taro realized something was wrong, and it didn't seem to be what he had thought. He turned his head to look over.
The figures of a large number of cavalrymen gradually became clear through the yellow sand swirling in the air.
They wore silver-white light armor over yellow short-sleeved tunics, with long white headscarves tied around their heads to block the wind and sand. They looked quite like the dress of people from some oil-rich nations in his previous life.
The Kingdom Army?
Taro's mouth dropped open in surprise as he finally realized what was going on.
Was this a damn misunderstanding?
He looked around blankly, searching for that man's figure.
Crocodile, where are you? Let me explain, this is a mistake!
"Clatter, clatter, clatter."
Most of the Kingdom Army waited outside the town. Only a leading general and a few subordinates galloped onto the street and stopped beside Taro.
"You guys, go into the town and check the situation!" the cavalry leader commanded with a wave of his hand. Then he dismounted and bowed to Taro.
"Sir, may I ask if you saw Crocodile just now?"
Taro looked at the Kingdom Army general with a complicated expression and nodded woodenly.
"Sir, you are a true warrior." The cavalry leader's eyes suddenly lit up. "How may I address you?"
A true warrior? What are you talking about?
However, as a model youth from his previous life, Taro still answered politely, "My name is Taro."
The cavalry leader bowed again and said respectfully, "Warrior Zhou Ze, I am Maga, leader of the cavalry unit under Commander Chaka of the Kingdom Army. It is an honor to meet you!"
Taro nodded. "Hello, I'm glad to meet you too!"
"But, what do you mean by 'warrior'?"
"You faced Crocodile all by yourself and even managed to force him back. What a great feat that is! So, there is absolutely no problem in calling you a warrior!"
"No, you've got it wrong, it wasn't..." Taro's mouth twitched as he waved his hand.
"I couldn't have seen it wrong. I saw it with my own eyes, and they must have seen it too!" Maga interrupted Taro with a grand gesture. "You are too modest. You are not only a warrior but also a gentleman."
"Yes, I saw it too!"
"That's right, I saw it very clearly!"
"He's far too humble!"
"..."
Taro's eyes widened. What the hell! Are you guys all just masters of over-imagining things?
"Did you really see..." Taro still didn't give up and tried to continue explaining.
Maga reached out to stop Taro again and asked softly, "Warrior Zhou Ze, was that Crocodile just now?"
"Yes."
"Were you alone?"
"Yes."
"Where is Crocodile?"
He ran..."
Wait?!! Taro finally understood the point of Maga's questions. He widened his eyes and looked at Maga in disbelief.
Maga had an 'as expected' expression. "See? You also admit that what we saw is the truth."
Ho... ly crap?!
This logic is damn flawless!
Taro was stunned. He opened his mouth to try and explain further, but seeing the cavalrymen's expression of 'Go ahead, keep pretending, let's see if we believe you,' he gave up his resistance.
"Fine, you win!"
Just then, the soldiers who had gone to check the town returned. One of them stepped quickly to Maga and gave a military salute.
"Report, Commander Maga! The pirates in the town have all been wiped out. The residents confirmed that Crocodile was indeed the one who did it."
Maga nodded, his gaze toward Taro becoming even more respectful. "Warrior Zhou Ze, I wonder where you are headed?"
"Oh, I'm going to Capital City Alabasta... huh?"
Taro noticed Maga's eyes light up when he mentioned the capital. He thought to himself, 'Oh no!'
Sure enough, the next second, Maga spoke up. "We also need to rush back to the capital to report. Please, you must travel with us."
Taro's eyes flickered as he thought for a moment. Oh well, he had planned to see the King of Alabasta anyway, so this was just a bit earlier than expected.
"Alright."
Maga seemed quite excited to hear that Taro was willing to travel with them. He called out, "Pass the order, we return to the capital!"
"Warrior Zhou Ze, do you need a horse?"
Taro waved his hand. "No, my f·crocodile is just outside the town. I'll ride that."
...Taro controlled the speed of the f·crocodile and followed the cavalry unit led by Maga all the way to Alabasta's capital, Alabasta.
This was the only city in the entire desert country where it had rained in the last three years, so the scenery was quite different from other places. The vegetation was much more lush, and the buildings appeared taller and more solemn.
Due to the changes in the country's situation, many refugees had flooded into the capital, making it look a bit crowded.
Maga led several attendants and Taro directly to the plaza in front of the royal palace. Alabasta's palace was built on a high platform, with hundreds of stone steps connecting the plaza to the palace gates.
Maga dismounted and said to Taro, "Warrior Zhou Ze, please wait a moment. I will go and report right away!"
He then instructed his attendants, "Take Warrior Zhou Ze to rest for a bit!"
After the attendants obeyed, he ran up the steps. The palace gates opened, and two guards came out to greet him with respectful bows.
"Warrior Zhou Ze, this way please!" Maga's attendant respectfully invited Taro toward the palace.
Taro had thought he was supposed to wait outside. He froze for a moment before climbing the steps... and entering the main hall of the palace.
Maga stepped in quickly, then knelt on one knee and bowed to the King on the throne. "Your Majesty the King, when we reached Nanohana, the pirates had already been completely wiped out by Crocodile!"
The 12th King of Alabasta, Nefeltari Cobra, slowly stood up from his throne and said in a somewhat low voice, "Is it that 'Hero' of Alabasta again?"
"Your Majesty, this kind of thing has happened many times. Crocodile's way of winning people's hearts like this must be hiding some kind of conspiracy," said Chaka, the Kingdom Army commander and palace guard adjutant.
He wore an earth-yellow silk robe with a dark green cloak, his chest slightly open to reveal a strong physique. He was one of the Guardian Gods of the Kingdom of Alabasta.
And the other Guardian God, Pell, who was dressed in white checkered clothes, also spoke up, "The chaos in the kingdom must be related to Crocodile!"
King Cobra nodded slightly and sighed. "At least the citizens were saved, which is wonderful. As for Crocodile..."
"Hmm? Maga, you seem to have more to say?"
Cobra noticed Maga looking at him with burning eyes, appearing as if he wanted to speak but was hesitating.
"Yes, Your Majesty. When we arrived, we happened to find a young man..."
"What did you say?"
Cobra asked in shock.
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