Before you start reading the newest chapter, I'd like to once again remind you that this is the second part of a multi-part series called 'Nakama'. Don't forget to read part one, Long Lost Friends, before reading this. Then you will also understand why Sabo is here. Of course he was in chapter one too but I want to make sure everyone knows what's going on so you can enjoy the story to its fullest.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Another friendly reminder that this story (Nakama in its entirety) was first written BEFORE the Dressrosa Arc happened, even before it appeared in the manga (because I do read the manga and have been for years). That is why Sabo is not in the Revolutionary Army.
Anyways, enjoy!
The Strawhat crew waited with anticipation for their arrival in Alabasta. After they had reunited with Sabo in the Goa Kingdom they'd swiftly made their way back to the Grand Line using Coup-de-Bursts, having to stop a few times to restock on cola. They'd nearly reached the New World again when they'd caught wind of what was going down in Alabasta, meaning it did not take as long to get there as it could have.
After several days of flying with Coup-de-Bursts and restocking on cola, Alabasta's rocky coasts appeared on the horizon.
"We're here you guys! I see Alabasta!" Usopp yelled from the crow's nest when he spotted land in the distance.
"Finally! I'm ready to cut some people up." Zoro said with a smirk, throwing down the massive weight he'd been training with onto the deck with a loud thud, shaking the entire ship.
"We'll be there soon Vivi, we'll help you protect your kingdom." Nami spoke to herself as she gazed at the horizon with a determined glint in her eyes.
"Hold up guys, I see something else!" Usopp butted in again before taking another glance through the telescope in his hands. His eyes widened when he spotted a dark plume of smoke a few miles East from their course. "There's a huge plume of smoke coming from one of the port towns!"
"That's where the enemies are at for sure!" Luffy exclaimed whilst cracking his knuckles. He was clearly itching for a fight. "Let's change course and go over there!" he added as the black column became visible to the naked eye.
Nami quickly stepped in before they could start the move further East. "No Luffy, I don't think that's a good idea. We have no idea how many troops they have or how strong they are. They might have powerful Devil Fruit users with them too for all we know."
Luffy looked like he was going to protest, along with Zoro and Sanji, but the captain looked to his right when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"I agree with Nami-san, Luffy. Going in blind like that is not a wise thing to do." Sabo spoke seriously. "I know you're the type to barge in full-force but this is not a fight like the ones you're used to. We are stepping into a war between two countries, not a battle against marines or other pirates. We have to gather information, prepare ourselves and meet with the king if possible."
After a brief stare-down between the two adoptive brothers, Luffy flashed Sabo a pout. "Alright… But it's no fun like that." He gave in.
The rest of the crew, including Usopp who had climbed down from the crow's nest, gaped at the scene in awe. There was someone on this planet who had mastered the ways of understanding Luffy and keeping him in check? Sure, Nami was able to at times, but she mostly had to resort to brute force and lots of yelling.
"Please teach me your ways…" Nami muttered astonished.
"Hm? What was that Nami-san?" Sabo asked with a kind smile.
"Nothing! I was just thinking of how we'll go about gathering intel." The navigator uttered quickly.
Robin walked closer to Sabo with an amused giggle. "That was very impressive, Sabo-san. It seems your time as children in the Goa Kingdom has given you a solid grasp of our captain's mind."
Crossing his arms, Luffy tilted his head in confusion. "Eh? A what now?" the young captain reacted.
After giving Luffy's back an affectionate pat, Sabo let out a small laugh of his own. "Well I don't think you are wrong. Thank you Nico Robin. I always tried my best to make sure Ace and Luffy didn't do anything too reckless. Both of them tended to get into trouble a lot so someone had to make sure they did not get hurt too badly."
Despite only having been a part of the crew for a few days, Sabo had managed to get settled in easily. He got along well with everyone and did his part. He spent most of his time plotting the ship's course with Nami, training with Sanji or Zoro or spending time with his little brother.
His role on the ship wasn't as specific as the others', but he did his best to help out and had more or less taken on the role of a commander or strategist. He thought up strategies for how to go about their aid to Alabasta and helped to coordinate things on the ship. Sabo was very knowledgeable and a natural leader, so he wanted to put his skills to good use.
A while later they reached a smaller port town a few miles away from the epicentre of the invasion at Nanohana. Once they lowered the anchor and got off the ship the tension taking up the locals' minds was very palpable. The streets were nearly empty and the few people that the Strawhats did encounter made sure to spend only as much time outside as necessary to do what was absolutely needed such as buying food.
The town was still very much intact, meaning the invading forces had poured all of their firepower onto Nanohana to head to the capital as quickly as possible with full strength. They were going for the method of hitting hard, concentrated and fast rather than slow, spread out and steady.
"How are we going to gather information if these people are just gonna hide in their houses all day like a bunch of cowards?" Zoro grumbled as they walked towards the centre of the town, where the marketplace should be.
"These are just normal people, stupid mosshead. Not everyone is a brawny, fight-obsessed gorilla like you are." Sanji reacted with a huff, making cigarette smoke billow in the hot and dry desert air.
Zoro was quick to shoot Sanji an intense glare as he smacked his forehead into the cook's. "HAH?! I dare you to say that again, shitty cook!"
The two rivals butted heads, practically growling at each other and ready to throw punches or kicks. Those intensions were ruined, however, when both pirates were hit in the head by Nami.
Zoro and Sanji's heads smacked into each other more strongly and the two pulled back to nurse the growing bumps on their heads.
"Ah, I am sorry Nami-swan~!" Sanji swooned, being the first to recover from the hit in the head.
"You better be! This isn't the time for one of your stupid scuffles, we have a country and a former crew member to protect!" The red-headed navigator scolded, her eyes alight with anger.
Sabo let out a soft laugh. "You two certainly quarrel a lot." He commented in amusement as the group continued the walk to the marketplace.
Chopper smiled as he walked next to Sabo. "You know, we met Ace here in Alabasta."
"Oh really? That must have been quite the meeting. It's a nice coincidence that the next time you have come here is with me." The newest member of the Straw Hat Pirates responded, returning the smile. His eyes were soft though, as he looked back on his memories of Ace. What had he been like as a pirate? As a young adult? He definitely had to ask Luffy sometime. He had avoided the topic of Ace until now aside from some brief mentions. He did not want to upset Luffy, in whose arms Ace had died after he'd protected him.
"He saved us from some Marines." Usopp spoke up, joining in on the conversation. "He was super cool and super strong, especially when he destroyed all of those ships from Baroque Works!" he continued with sparkles of admiration in his eyes.
Seeing such strong admiration for Ace amongst Luffy's crew, his own new crewmates, filled Sabo with a warm and proud feeling. Even if they hadn't spent a lot of time around him, Ace had definitely left his mark on Luffy's closest friends. Sabo knew for a fact that he had also left an unmistakable mark on the world as Fire Fist Ace, Commander of the Second Division of the Whitebeard Pirates.
At the marketplace, the crew split up the tasks to get everything they needed as quickly as possible. They went out to buy the necessities in pairs in case anything happened. They had to avoid drawing too much attention to themselves by all sticking together, especially with a hostile army just a few kilometres away.
A warm, loving smile was visible on Sabo's face as he watched Luffy eye the various items being sold at the marketplace with childish curiosity. His little brother hadn't changed a bit, even after all of the heartache and strive he'd had to endure over the years. It was an immense relief to him, that Luffy was still able to enjoy such small and everyday things so openly without losing sight of his goals.
As Luffy eyed the exotic wares, Sabo kept an eye out for any suspicious movements in the area. Even if the enemy poured nearly all of their effort into a fast advance to the capital, it was still a realistic probability that they were doing a lot of information gathering and intimidation elsewhere in Alabasta.
It didn't take long before the newest member of the Straw Hats noticed movement in a nearby alleyway. When he fully turned his head he saw two cloaked figures disappearing out of sight, further into the alley.
Could they be enemy spies? Or were they just your average thugs? Would it be wise to investigate further?
Even if it was just for the sake of doing some of their own intel gathering, going after the suspicious men seemed like their best option.
Sabo paid for the last food supplies they needed – though he wondered whether it was really a good idea to assign the food to Luffy of all people – and quickly led Luffy in the direction of the alleyway he'd seen the cloaked figures vanish into.
"Oi, where are we going Sabo? Are you hungry or something? I definitely don't mind grabbing some food on the way back to the ship." Luffy brought out confused. Had his brother seen something of interest?
Sabo remained silent and gestured for him to do the same as they approached a narrow and dark alley. Upon arrival, the pair peeked around the corner.
As Sabo had hoped, the two men were still in the alleyway and were hurriedly scribbling things down while whispering to each other.
"Are they-?" Luffy muttered as he watched them closely from around the corner.
"Spies of the Alharara Kingdom…" Sabo whispered.
"Should we kick their asses?" the Straw Hat captain suggested as he put the baskets of food down next to him.
"No, it's best to follow them and see if they can lead us to their hideout. They might have small bases outside of Nanohana and that's something the government of Alabasta should know about."
Shortly after, the two spies exited the alley in the other direction. Sabo and Luffy silently tailed them from a distance to avoid detection, carrying the food supplies with them as they didn't have the time to drop them off at the Sunny.
It took them a good while before the spies reached their hideout in the outskirts of the town, in a rundown shack that had clearly been abandoned for many years. Luffy and Sabo had managed to remain undetected and watched the two men enter the shack from afar.
Once the shack's door had swiftly yet quietly been closed behind the two enemies, Luffy and Sabo snuck closer until they reached the door. The latter motioned to his younger brother to remain quiet as he rested his ear against the crooked door to listen in on the conversation.
Luffy watched with a slight pout, clearly not very excited about being stealthy, but remained quiet. He trusted Sabo's judgement.
Not even a minute later, the former noble's eyes widened, catching Luffy by surprise. Had he heard something that bad? Did they have to step in and kick those two spies' asses after all?
The pirate captain got his answer when Sabo's gaze turned to him and pointed at the door. Were they going in? It seemed like they were, so whatever the two men inside had said must have been important enough to step in and get as much information out of them as possible.
Slowly and silently, Sabo counted down on his fingers. When he reached zero, he swiftly kicked in the door and shot inside, Luffy following close behind.
"What the-?!" one of the spies exclaimed as he reached for a dagger in his boot. Before he and his partner got the chance, however, they were quickly struck down by their attackers. Sabo and Luffy each took one down with ease, effectively knocking them down and eliminating the danger.
Luffy barked out a laugh as he picked up the supplies he'd left out by the door. "That was fun! Way more fun than following them and being all quiet!"
Sabo remained silent as he tied the two spies up with some old yet still sturdy rope he found lying around in the shack. He then started searching their pockets.
"Whatcha doing Sabo?"
"Searching for more information that could help us figure out the enemy's plans." Sabo answered seriously. "However, it seems we have already stumbled upon something vitally important." He added a bit more quietly.
Luffy tilted his head in confusion. "Hah? What did they want to do then?"
Sabo fished a slip of paper out of one of the unconscious spies' inner pockets, folded it open and read through its contents. "I knew it…" the blonde muttered before handing the slip of paper over to his younger brother. It seemed it had something to do with whatever it was that had made Sabo jump into action.
Luffy frowned lightly, took it between his fingers and glanced at it. The rookie froze as an odd mix of astonishment and anger settled in the pit of his stomach. His fingers clenched the slip of paper tightly, making it tear in the middle.
The young captain then looked up to Sabo with a deep frown on his normally carefree face. "There's no way we're gonna let this happen, not to one of our nakama…"
The torn piece of paper slipped from between Luffy's fingers and slowly, almost ominously, fluttered to the dirty floor, revealing its contents to the world.
'Abduction of the princess is a go. Report to base.'
Meanwhile in the capital of Alubarna, Vivi gazed out at the sunset dyeing the city and its surrounding lands in orange hues. It seemed unsettlingly peaceful, as if there was no war tearing apart her home and killing her people. Almost like the calm before the storm…
Little did she know that the storm was heading right for her…