This is the 28th chapter. I don't own the series of One Piece.
Off to the Desert Kingdom! Rain-Summoning Powder and Rebel Army!
Alabasta, Nanohana
After the Straw Hat pirates formulate the plan against Mr. 2, they were closing in on Nanohana. Vivi is at the front of the ship along with Carue, looking at the view of Nanohana when Nami walk towards her and spoke.
"Well, we're finally here." Nami told her. "I'd ask if you're relieved, but I guess it's too early to know. Do you have any plans for how to deal with the rebellion?"
"Yes, I do have a plan." Vivi replied with a smile, but her expression turns to serious. "But, I don't really know for sure how well it's going to work."
Nami is feeling concern for Vivi's plan, hoping it'll work when they get to the Kingdom. Sanji, Usopp, Zoro, Anna, Ventus, Shanise, and Ivan were gathered at the front of deck while Luffy and Chopper were at the shade. Luffy is holding his sandal on his mouth and Chopper is sweating.
"So hungry." Luffy whines, finding food.
"It's hot." Chopper whines because of the desert heat.
'Please, just hang on a little longer.' Vivi mentally thought, pleading her father to hold on a little longer.
As soon as they made to Nanohana as the far side of the shore without getting caught by either of the Marines or the Baroque Works agents, Zoro and Ventus drop the anchor for them to land. They look at Nanohana from a far distance.
"So, this is an Alabasta city." Usopp muttered with awe.
"It should. This part of the city of Alabasta is called Nanohana, it's a central port city. I've been here during my travels with both my teachers and on my own." Ventus explains with a smile.
"Is there food?" Luffy asks with his mouth all watery.
"Listen carefully, guys, I want you all to do your best to control yourselves while we're here." Nami told them seriously, approaches them while placing her hands on her hips.
"Of course~!" Sanji complies with a smile on his face.
"I don't think it's us you should be worried about, Nami." Anna points out.
"She's right, because the one who needs to hear that warning the most has already abandoned ship." Zoro added seriously, agreeing with Anna.
"NEED MEAT NOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW!?" Luffy yelled when he got out of the ship, quickly rush towards Nanohana.
"GET BACK HERE!?" Nami and Ventus yelled in unison with white eyes and shark-like teeth.
"He doesn't know the meaning of control." Usopp states with annoyance.
"I still don't understand how every one of you put up with that idiot." Ivan said with sigh of annoyance.
"Can't he at least for once in a lifetime stop and think about the situation we're in for one minute?!" Ventus growled.
"What now?" Vivi inquires with worry.
"He's easy to find." Sanji states with a smirk, pulls himself up and jump off the ship. "Just look for the area with the commotion, that's where he'll be."
"He's right." Usopp agrees with a deadpan expression.
"I wish he'd at least remember that he has a bounty of that rubbery head of his." Nami scoffed, placed her hand on her head. "Especially while we're in that big country like this."
"Forget about Luffy, he can take care of himself." Zoro told her, climbs down the ship while Chopper jumps off the ship. "Now lets go find some food, and then we can get to work after that."
"They're all the same!" Nami exclaims with scowl, even more annoyed when she turns away and placed her hands on her hips.
"It can't be help, we all know that Luffy would cause trouble like he usually does." Anna states, earned her attention.
"She's right." Usopp agrees with a deadpan expression.
"I guess I should let you know, Carue and I can't go with you." Vivi told them, earned their attention.
"What's wrong? Don't feel up to it?" Usopp asks with worry.
"I think I have a pretty good idea why." Ventus states, earned their attention. "Alabasta is her homeland. Meaning that it's possible that there are people here who will recognize her and Carue."
"That and there's a possibly that one of those people might be affiliated with the Baroque Works, especially working with Crocodile." Anna added with an explanation.
"They're right. We both be way too recognizable here." Vivi agreeing to their explanation.
"Make sense." Zoro agrees.
"No worries, I'll take care of all your shopping, Vivi, my love." Sanji told her with a smile.
'Now that I think about it, I should bring some of my own money.' Ventus mentally thought, having a feeling that about letting one of them get some clothes that fits the climate of this country. Then again, his body temperature and his metabolism of a dragon can maintain his body between the cold and the hot environment. Even though they're in the desert island, it's proven to be enough to keep his temperature maintain. He turns his head to his crew and spoke. "I need to get something, it won't take long."
"Okay, make it quick, Vivi." Nami replied.
Ventus went into the room and closing the door, quickly went to his safe which he somehow managed to keep it hidden from Nami. Nami is smart enough to remember to never get on Ventus' bad side because of his dragon heritage. He wasn't sure how much the clothes for traveling in the desert cost, so he brought 2 million berries. Even though it's a lot, but they also need something for the food supply since they're low, mostly because of Luffy and his bottomless pit stomach along with Usopp, Chopper, and Carue stoles the food from the storage room which he was lucky that he manages to make do for the Sea King meat. Not to mention, he has to get a perfume for Nami that Chopper's nose can withstand since he's a reindeer and his nose is sensitive to bad odor.
After Ventus closes and hide the safe, he went back on deck to see his crew having a serious expression on his face.
"What's wrong?" Ventus asked.
Carue points his wing at Mr. 3 ship right next at the shore.
"Mr. 3's ship!?" Vivi exclaims shockingly.
"I thought we took care of that creep for good already." Usopp states seriously.
"I'm certain it's him, that ship couldn't even run without Mr. 3's Wax-Wax fruit powers." Vivi states seriously.
"Guess Mr. 3 manage to recover and left Little Garden before we came here." Ventus adds.
"The bastards here." Sanji said seriously.
"This isn't good." Zoro adds. "Cuz' he seen most of our faces."
"Great, the last we want is Mr. 3 give us away from the Baroque Works." Shanise groans with annoyance. "Any ideas?"
"Usopp has a plan." Usopp states with a smirk, thrusting his thumb at himself. "It's gonna be alright."
Ventus was able to come up with a better idea when they noticed Usopp grabbing the brown trap from his bag. They were to wear some disguises to blend in while not getting caught by the Baroque Works. Soon as they're in the clear, they took off the cloaks since the Baroque Works agents didn't notice them.
"This is a better idea then yours, Usopp." Nami told him. "Not only we blend in, but we're also not standing out at all."
"Not to mention we were able to make it out alive." Ivan added with a smile.
"I agree with her there, Usopp." Zoro agrees with a smirk, turns to Ventus. "That was smart thinking, kid."
"Shut up." Usopp refutes, sulking.
"It's a good thing Ventus is in your crew." Vivi said.
"What can I say, I learned how to be resourceful." Ventus said with a modest smile, rubbing his head. "Apparently, it was Usopp's original idea. It was just a better idea when Shanise lent us some of her cloaks than his big tarp."
"I guess that's true." Nami agrees.
"And I'm glad that I manage to get a hold of those cloaks back at Whiskey Peak before we left." Shanise states with a smirk, crossed her arms.
"Well then, it looks like you should be safe from prying eyes for a while, my dear." Sanji told her with a smile, noticed she's been quiet. "Hello there."
"Uh, ah yes!" Vivi exclaims, snapped out of her thoughts as she turns to Sanji. "Sanji what were you saying?"
"What is it, Vivi? Is something wrong?" Sanji asks, feeling worried about her.
It's obvious for Ventus, Anna, Shanise, and Ivan that Vivi is thinking about something which it didn't take long for them to figure it out.
"Sorry for that, but I'm just really relieve now." Vivi told him sadly. "If nothing else, from what I've seen so far, I know that at least this town is doing alright. I can't exactly start resting easy, but it's a good sign..."
"It does seem like this is a really peaceful town." Nami states.
"Vivi." Zoro called her, earned her attention. "You said you have a plan for stopping the rebel army, didn't you?"
Vivi give him a nod with a respond.
"Well, what are you gonna do? What are we need to do to help?" Zoro questions seriously, leaving Vivi surprised. "If you really want to stop this thing before it starts, it's better to act quickly."
"Well, I agree with that, but the only agreement I made was for you to bring me here to Alabasta-"
Nami stops her in mid-sentence by bonking her forehead.
"Quit it! Are you still thinking like that?!" Nami questions with annoyance when Vivi rubs her sore head.
"Nami!" Vivi groans.
"It's true we promised Igaram that we would take you back to Alabasta." Anna states. "However, do you honestly think that Crocodile will still let us go after everything that's been transpired?"
"She's right. We traveled this far together after all. We're not gonna run away and leave you now." Nami told her seriously, agreeing with the ranger.
"Yeah Vivi, come on. You're practically one of us now." Usopp added with his eyebrow raised.
"I want to see this Warlord of the Sea." Zoro told her with a challenging smirk on his face.
"You didn't need to bring that up." Nami growled with a tick mark on her head, then turns to Vivi. "Now listen, we're not going to abandon you."
"They're trying to kill us too, well, everyone except for me." Sanji added with a smirk.
"Yes, but-"
"It's settled then." Sanji states.
"Besides, if this country gets destroyed, then we'll be-OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!"
"Can't you at least for once in a lifetime let it go about the money and think about our priorities first." Anna scolds the navigator with a scowl, pulling her ear.
"She's such a good person." Zoro muttered sarcastically.
"Nami's worse than dragons." Ventus quietly told him, causing Zoro and Ivan to snicker.
Ventus knew that Nami won't let it go about the money nor will she ever drop it. Not wanting to stay any longer, he decided to head to the city to get some supplies when Usopp stopped him.
"Where do you think you're going?" Usopp questions when he placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Where else? Back to the city." Ventus told him. "We need to get some supplies."
"OH NO YOU DON'T!?" Usopp and Nami shouted, dragging Ventus back at the hiding spot.
"I hope you didn't forget one small thing, Ventus! That Mr. 3 might be around here at Nanohana and give the Baroque Works an information about us!" Nami told him, reminded him.
"What if they know where we are?! What do we do if the Baroque Works found us and surrounds us?!" Usopp questions with fright, causing his body to tremble.
"Well, if that happens, we'll just have to fight them and finish off Mr. 3." Ventus told them with a shrug.
It got Nami, Usopp, and Vivi speechless of Ventus statement which he's making a valid point because of how monstrous strong he is.
"That's true." Zoro agreed. "I mean, we did see the whole thing, Ventus was able to not only win his fight, he's able to outsmart him at his own game. Not to mention he kill that Musshuru guy you were talking about back Drum Island."
"But Ventus, at least stay so you'll know what we will have to do." Nami requested which it got Ventus thinking, forget that Vivi didn't tell them what's the next plan. With that in mind, Ventus turns to her.
"A little Northwest of the city we're in now is an oasis called Yuba." Vivi begins explaining. "That's where the rebel army is based at the moment. I'd like to go there first in order to held off the rebellion, but in order to get to Yuba, we're gonna have to get to cross through the desert first. We'll need all the necessary supplies to make it. We can find everything we need easily here in this town, but Mr. 3 is out there somewhere waiting for us."
"If that guy is the only obstacle, we shouldn't have a problem." Sanji told her with a smirk, earned their attention. "He's never seen my face before."
"Yeah, you've really haven't run into many of the Baroque Works agents so far." Nami states with a smile.
"There's someone else, too." Zoro added with a smirk, earned Chopper's attention.
"That's right, Chopper." Nami exclaims surprisingly.
"And let's not forget. The Baroque Works agents are still skulking around in the part of the city of Alabasta." Ivan told them. "But luckily for us, with Ventus' keen sense of smell and Anna's tracking skills, we have the advantage to strike back against those agents."
"He's got a point. I think it'll be best if Ventus and Anna go with Sanji and Chopper." Shanise told them with confirm.
"I'm okay with that. And that'll be perfect, we're gonna have a lot to carry." Sanji agrees, turns to the reindeer. "That alright?"
"Yeah, I got it." Chopper nods in confirm.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Usopp questions.
"Yeah, I'm sure. I want to do whatever I can to help out." Chopper answered when he turns to him, transform into a reindeer form. "I should blend in this form like this, shouldn't I?"
"Alright! Now that's what I call a brave reindeer!" Usopp states with a thumb up.
"I really appreciate your help." Vivi said with an appreciative smile.
"Just leave it to us." Sanji told him.
"I've made a list of everything we need." Vivi told them, extends the list to them. "Oh, and we'll need some clothes too."
"Huh?" Sanji asks in confusion.
"Normal clothes so we won't stand out." Vivi answered, leaving Sanji understands.
"Actually, you can leave it to me, Ventus, and Chopper." Anna whispered to Vivi. "We'll take care of the supplies and clothes."
"And perfume too." Nami suggests.
"Of course, Nami~!" Sanji complies happily.
"And food and water." Zoro added serious when Usopp said 'Tabasco'. "Don't forget the food."
"Who cares about you." Sanji argues, but Usopp repeatedly said 'Tabasco'.
"Shut up about it!" Zoro shouts at the liar.
"Keep an eye out for Luffy." Nami adds when Sanji, Ventus, Anna, and Chopper left the hiding spot. "Dammit! Where could that idiot have run off too now?!"
Somewhere in Alabasta
Meanwhile, Luffy ran off to far at Nanohana, wandering around aimlessly for finding food without thinking things through. Luffy is just standing at the desert, realize that he's lost in the desert.
"Doesn't really seem like there are any restaurants in this place." Luffy muttered. "Oh man! WHERE THE HECK AM I ENDED UP ANYWAY?!"
Apparently, Luffy just rushed off through Nanohana without stopping.
"Oh well, I guess I'll just go back that way." Luffy said as he walk at the opposite direction, but stops when he found a smoke coming from the building at the desert.
'That smoke! If there's smoke, there's fire! And if there's fire...'
"THERE MIGHT BE MEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?" Luffy yelled as he sprint towards the building.
Alabasta, Nanohana
While back at Nanohana, Sanji, Ventus, Anna, and Chopper were at the market district while walking around the city. Along the way, they were trying to get some food supplies and water they need for a long journey along with clothes, but the chef is only sightseeing at the city. Sanji is looking at the kabob at the stall when the owner explains to him that type of meat is venison, causing him to grin mischievously.
"It's venison." Sanji told him, causing the reindeer to shook his head with panic. "That's what's great about traveling around, they have all sorts of interesting ingredients to try."
"Heads up, Chopper!" Ventus shouts when he tossed an apple to Chopper and approaches them along with Anna, causing him to catch it with his mouth and eats it.
However, Chopper is sniffing something in the air, caught a hold of the scent which it got their attention.
"What's wrong, Chopper?" Sanji asks, kneels to his level with concern.
"There's a strange scent mixed in with the smell of food." Chopper clarifies.
"Now that you mention it, I'm smelling something too." Ventus states, sniffing the air.
"In what way?" Sanji inquires, sniffing the air which he's know what that smell is. "Oh, what you guys are smelling is just perfume."
"Perfume?" Chopper repeats.
"Yeah, that shop over there sells it." Sanji answered, pointing at the shop when the two dancers walked out.
"Ugh, I just don't like that smell at all." Chopper said with disgust, sticking his tongue out. "Can we get out of here?"
But Sanji didn't listen to what Chopper is saying and he's next to the two women.
"SANJI!?" Chopper shouts his name with white eyes and shark-like teeth.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Ventus and Anna yelled with white eyes and shark-like teeth.
"Hello, my darling. You're outfits ravishing." Sanji compliments her with flirty smile on his face. "But nothing in the world can possibly compare to your amazing eyes and your beautiful smile. What do you think? We can go somewhere-AAAHHHH!?"
Sanji didn't get the chance to finish his sentence when Chopper accidentally pulled his pants down, revealed his underwear as the girls ran off with a laugh.
"What was that, Chopper?! It was getting good!?" Sanji exclaims with a glare when he pulled his pants up.
"You pretty much deserve that, Romeo. We figured you're flirting with those dancers." Ventus told him with a deadpan expression on his face.
"And besides, what are you doing? We came here to shop for supplies." Chopper told him.
"Yeah, I know that!" Sanji exclaims.
"It's getting to be too much." Chopper groans with his face pale when Sanji softens his expression. "I can't stand this smell anymore."
"Now, now, relax. It's okay." Sanji assures him with a grin. "Just let me take care of the shopping. You guys can wait over there, okay?"
And with that, Sanji decided to rush out of the market district to find the dancers which he was using it as an excuse. Ventus facepalmed his forehead while Anna sighed, feeling annoyed of Sanji's antics.
"Is he actually going to shop?" Chopper questions with a deadpan expression on his face.
"Nope." Ventus answered, turns to him. "Guess we'll have to get some supplies on our own."
"Sure does sound like it. Also, we're gonna have to find some perfume for Nami." Anna added with a sigh. "I can't believe we're gonna waste on money just for some perfume."
And with that, Anna, Chopper, and Ventus went to the market district on their own without Sanji since he's somewhere out there, flirting the girls. They were able to get some supplies for the long journey and some clothes. However Ventus was able to sniff out the perfume which most of them couldn't take Chopper because of his sense of smell, but one of the perfume they manage to find smells really nice.
"Ventus..." Chopper called him, earned his attention. "I'm starting to have symptoms of heat stroke."
"Just hang in there a little longer, Chopper." Ventus encourages him. "And it just so happens we were planning on getting some water."
"Really?" Chopper asks with a hopeful smile.
"Yes, so please bear with us just a little longer. Okay?" Anna told him with a confirm.
And just as they promised, they went to a store that sells barrels of water. Ventus ordered 15 bottles since knowing a certain someone who would drink all of it before they're even halfway to Yuba and two small barrels with a straw sticking out, like Carue's, for Chopper. Anna and Ventus paid for the water and had the bottles in the gallery pouch.
"Ventus. The water's not cold enough." Chopper complains, taking a small sip of water.
"Let me see it for a minute." Anna said, opened the barrel and cast Ice magic to freeze the water inside. "It'll be harder to drink right now, so wait for a minute to let the ice melt."
"Okay." Chopper nods with confirm, continued their short journey to get some supplies.
Meanwhile, Sanji managed to get some supplies while given up on finding the girls, but noticed Ventus, Chopper, and Anna aren't here.
"Where did they go?" Sanji questions himself.
Somewhere in Alabasta
Meanwhile at the desert, Luffy stopped and look at the building that was mostly covered in sand which it's mostly a makeshift home.
"I don't know, this doesn't really look like a restaurant." Luffy states. "IS ANYONE HERE?!"
There's no respond to someone who lives here.
"The fires going, but no one's here." Luffy muttered, scan the area when he noticed the barrels and the wooden bucket next to it. "Hey! Water!"
He then walk towards it, turning the faucet on which there's no water at all, much to his dismay.
"Come on, is a little water too much to ask." Luffy complains, but turns his head and noticed the bags next to the makeshift home. "What are those things?"
He then opens one of those bags, revealed to be some kind of a green powder and the bags have the same substance.
"Just a bunch of green powder. Wonder if it's food? Doesn't look very tasty, that's for sure." Luffy states as he placed his finger on the green powder, licked his finger that has powder. "UGH! That's so gross!? Yuck! Who'd eat this stuff?! It's disgusting!?"
Luffy regrets for trying something that was involved disgusting, but noticed the furnace.
"Oh! It's perfect." Luffy exclaims, begins tossing the bag of green powder in the furnace as it starts burning the bags. He then shuts the door with disgust look on his face. "This stuff is obviously some kind of poison, but now it's gone."
But unknown to Luffy, the smoke is turning to dark green.
"Well, that was a big waste of time, but there's gotta be a restaurant around here somewhere." Luffy muttered as he was about to leave, but stops when he heard the roaring thunder as he looks up when he noticed the clouds at the sky. "What is that?"
After the roaring thunder sound, the rain begins to drop.
"It's rain." Luffy states as the rain drops faster. He then stretches his mouth further to have a cool rain. "Ah! This is good! This some good water!"
The man from the inside of the makeshift home gasp in shock when he overheard of Luffy, opens the door and saw the rain is dropping.
"What's this?! AAAAAAAHHHHHH!? THE BAGS! WHERE ARE THEY?! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO WITH MY BAGS?!"
"What's the problem?" Luffy asks after let's go of his mouth when the man readied his sword.
"SHUT UP AND TELL WHAT'D YOU JUST DID WITH ALL THAT GREEN POWDER?!"
"Oh that? It's all burned up now." Luffy answered simply, points at the furnace where the bags are.
"YOU WHAAAAAAAAT?! My precious Dance Powder! It was my treasure!?"
The man slowly collapses down to his knees in tears and sobbing when Luffy approaches him.
"Hey, what's the matter? What are you so sad about?" Luffy questions when he placed his hands on his hips which it was a dumb question.
The man then got angry when he was about to slash, leaving Luffy quickly dodges by jumping. He then readied his sword.
"YOU BURNT ALL MY POWDER! DO YOU HAVE ANY CLUE HOW MUCH THAT COST ME?!"
"No! And why would you want that poison anyway?" Luffy retorts with a question as the man charges after him, unleashing the flurry of slashes while the rubber Captain dodges.
"THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! NOW SHUT UP AND GIVE ME MY DREAM BACK!"
"Wait, that stuff is your dream?" Luffy inquires when the fight stops.
"That's right! That powder was going to help me achieve all my goals!"
"I'm sorry." Luffy apologizes, bowing to him which he's not convinced.
"SORRY IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH! YOU HAVE TO PAY ME FOR IT!?"
"Can't do that, I don't have any money I can give-"
"BASTARD!?"
The man stopped him in mid-sentence by delivering a head slash, but Luffy quickly ducks.
"I've come so far! I even...built this cabin here..."
"Hey, don't be so down. Can't you just buy some more?" Luffy suggests, tried to assure him.
"It's not all that easy to get! The World Government has outlawed the powder! It's illegal to make it or sell it!"
And that got Luffy's attention when the man blurted out about the Dance Powder is outlawed by the World Government.
"Illegal?" Luffy repeats suspiciously, causing the man to quickly cover his mouth. "Oh really? So, you're a criminal?"
It got him chuckled with a smirk on his face, not afraid to tell him that he's obviously a criminal.
"That's right. NOW YOU DIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!?"
The man grabbed hold on his sword, leaps in midair while raising his sword up when he was about to attack Luffy.
Alabasta, Katorea
At the city of Katorea, the group of rebels manage to get to the city without any problems or getting caught by the guards. Soon as they were able to get to base, one of the rebels noticed the group made it with the weapons they need.
"Well done, men. That took a while."
"Yeah, the weapons dealer raised his prices. So, we had some negotiating to do."
"It makes sense. If he ever gets discovered, he'll be in is much trouble as we will."
"Where's Koza?"
"Inside."
With that, one of the rebels head towards the tent to inform Koza while the other follows him.
"We picked up some food too, it's in the back."
"Got it."
Inside of the tent, Koza is resting while waiting for the news from his men.
Koza is a young man. He wears a purple-tinted glasses and has a scar on his left eye. He wore a blue scarf around his neck, a dark purple jacket that was going all the way down to his ankles, a white shirt with an ornament of some sort hanging around his neck, black pants, and yellow sash around his waist.
"Koza, we were able to get some weapons. A few at least."
"Well done." Koza said seriously. "I know it was a dangerous job to give you."
"It was fine. Koza, there's something the matter?"
"Just the usual, my country is doomed." Koza told him.
"If it doesn't collapse from the inside, one outside attack will finish us. Whatever the case, this peace right now is temporary. Now that 300,000 of the Royal Army have switched to our ranks, we have enough men, but we're still fallen short on weapons to arm them."
"And food to feed them." Koza added, sat himself up. "We're all running out of the strength to fight. There's no reason for shedding anymore unnecessary blood here. We need to settle everything for good with our next attack. This country has got to change and it's up to us rebels."
And with that, the meeting is adjourned as they begin getting the supplies out of the wagon.
Somewhere in Alabasta
After the rain stops, Luffy manage to beat him easily which it left him with bumps and bruises on his face.
"Well, you certainly are a strong one, aren't you?"
"Sure am, no one can beat me." Luffy states proudly.
"Yeah, I'm not surprised. You're fighting style is very unique. Sorry about that."
"Oh no, no, no. I'm the one who burned up your powder stuff." Luffy told him, bows to him. "I'm sorry."
"No! Why don't we just go ahead and say we're even. Oh, and if you think you can avoid telling anyone about the powder, that would be just great."
"Wait, what was that powder stuff?" Luffy asks curiously which it got the man surprised.
"What? You don't know?"
"Well, it sure was gross." Luffy told him with disgust, leaving his flabbergasted and his jaws dropped.
"Well, it isn't food! It's a very special substance called a Dance Powder!"
"What's Dance Powder?" Luffy inquires.
"Well, there's another name for it, it's called Rain Summoning Powder. That's what causes a sudden downpour we've just had. Uh...would you like me to explain more?"
"I wouldn't understand." Luffy told him, refuses.
"I guess you wouldn't, would you?"
They then started laughing for a few seconds when Luffy bonked his head with a scowl.
"Hey, don't be so rude, old guy." Luffy told him.
"Like I was saying, this powder is very special. It can be used artificially produced rain, right?"
Luffy gives him a nod with confirm and this entire conversation about the Dance Powder goes fast forward which he kept given a nod, but basically, he doesn't understand any of it at all.
"Well, does that all make sense?"
"So, it's mystery powder." Luffy guessed when the man faced down while clapping his hands, had a feeling the rubber Captain didn't get it.
"Yes, well done. That's it exactly.
"You being rude to me again, old man?" Luffy asks with a glare, feeling offended. "Why would want to use the powder to make rain in the first place?"
"You don't even know the first thing about this country, do you?"
"Nope, I just landed here by boat." Luffy told him.
"Well, you see here in Alabasta, we're caught suddenly bad drought."
"What do you mean?" Luffy asks.
"Drought is when there's no water in the land, dries up."
"I know that much." Luffy groans, bonked his head.
"Anyway, our country never gets much rain, but it's become more scarce in recent years"
"That's sounds bad." Luffy states.
"And most of the oasis have dried up."
"So, just use the mystery powder then." Luffy suggests.
"That's what you would think, but as I told you the World Government is now made Dance Powder illegal. Use of the powder is a crying punishable by execution. The powder is also supposably what started the countries rebellion."
"Really?" Luffy asks surprisingly.
"I don't know much about that though."
"Oh." Luffy said. "Hey, I think I get it. Was it your dream to help save your country by using that powder?"
"Wha-"
"Earlier, you said the powder was really important." Luffy states.
"Uh...yeah. But that wasn't exactly what I had in mind for."
"Well, what was?" Luffy inquires.
"Well...I thought by selling these waters in these hard times, I can make a lot of money. You know?"
"Yeah, you're right. You must be really smart." Luffy agrees, stands up. "Oh well, I don't really care about that. I just need to find some place to eat."
"B-B-B-B-B-B-But, please don't tell anyone about this? Let's keep it between us, okay?"
"Sure, whatever. It makes no difference." Luffy shrugs without care.
"Please, don't tell! I'll give you anything!"
"Anything?" Luffy repeats with a grin, got his attention.
"Anything at all!"
Of course, Luffy is asking for a food which the man protests, but he did say 'anything' as he give him a small bag of food.
"Well, it was fun and thanks a lot for the food, weird old guy." Luffy thanked him.
"Sure, I only hope you enjoy it."
"Oh trust me, I will." Luffy replied, walked away with a wave. "See you around, rude old guy."
"Remember not to tell anyone, okay?"
"Yeah, you've got nothing to worry about." Luffy told him. "Besides, I couldn't even turn you in if I wanted to. After all, I'm a pirate. See ya! Thanks again for the lunch!"
It got the man stunned of Luffy's statement, but he does make a valid point.
"Hey! Not fair!
Alabasta, Nanohana
Meanwhile, Sanji, Ventus, Chopper, and Anna have made it back at their hideout. Though, it's not exactly what Vivi had in mind when she and Nami were on the dancer attire. Of course, Anna refuse to wear that attire which she would rather have a ranger attire than a dancer attire any day. Shanise couldn't even wear the dancer attire either because of her muscles.
"Wow, this is beautiful." Nami said with a smile, looking at the attire. "Oh yeah, I love it."
'Of course, you do.' Ventus and Anna mentally thought with a sweat drop and a deadpan expression on their faces.
"Uh, well, I know I asked you to pick out some clothes for us, but these are meant for dancer girls." Vivi points out with embarassment.
"Oh Vivi~! You're a vision~!" Sanji and Ivan said in unison, went goo-goo eyes on her.
"But commoners wouldn't wear this." Vivi told him.
"But aren't dancers common~?" Sanji questions.
"We're crossing a desert!" Vivi states, tried to reason with him.
"Hey, don't worry~! If you get tired, my darling, I'll just carry you~!" Sanji told her.
"NO! I will!" Ivan argues with a glare as he and Sanji started arguing each other.
"Don't bother tried to reason with that idiot." Ventus told her. "We figured something like this would happen, so we brought these instead."
"You bought something even sexier than dancing girls, Ventus?!" Sanji and Ivan shouts in unison which they made a big mistake.
"IDIOTS! I NEVER SAID THAT!?" Ventus yelled at them with white eyes and shark-like teeth, burying their heads in the sand. "Anyway, I got these cloaks for you and Nami, for protecting your skin since we'll be on a long journey through the desert."
"Ah! Thank you, Ventus. You're a life saver." Vivi thanked him, accepting the cloaks.
"And by the looks of how Chopper reacts, I figured Sanji would also buy a perfume that doesn't agreeing with his nose. So, I bought this instead." Anna states, toss the perfume to Nami.
Nami sprayed a little on herself and took a whiff.
"Hey, this smells better than what Sanji bought." Nami said with a smile, turns to her. "Guess you do have some girl in you, Anna."
"And just what the hell is that suppose to mean?!" Anna shouts with annoyance, bonked her head.
"You should've chosen your words more carefully." Ventus muttered quietly.
"Yeah, maybe I should." Nami groans with an agreement, rubbing her sore head.
"Aah~! That smells nice~!" Chopper said, liking to that perfume smell.
"Oh? It seems I picked the right perfume." Anna said.
"Yep, cuz' that cook is an idiot." Zoro agrees, causing Sanji to growl at him with white eyes, his veins popped out of his head, and shark-like teeth.
"At any rate, at least we've managed to gather all the supplies that we're gonna need to cross a desert." Usopp states.
"Yeah." Vivi agrees.
"This oasis, you said it's called Yuba, right?" Nami inquires.
"Yes, that's correct. But first, we'll have to travel through the desert." Vivi explains. "That trip will most likely be a lot more difficult than any of you can even begin to imagine. There's no telling what might happen out there. One wrong step at any moment in a desert land like this one, then there's no guarantee that we'll all survive. I'm still a little reluctant about asking you to follow me to such a dangerous place, but more than anything, I want to bring peace back to Alabasta Kingdom. So I guess, I guess I don't really have any choice but to ask...Help me! Please, help me bring peace back to my country! Please help."
"Well, you finally said it." Nami said with a smirk, given her a thumb up. "It's about time."
"There's no telling what might happen on the sea, either. So, we're use to it, am I right?" Sanji added with a smile.
"Yeah, just like any other day." Zoro agrees with a smirk.
"We bought more food and water supplies for all of us anyway. It'd be a waste if we didn't go with you to Yuba." Anna added with a smile.
"Well, we came all this way. There's no stopping us for going any further." Shanise states with a smirk, leaving Ivan nods with an agreement.
"Cool! I can't wait to see the desert." Chopper said with an excited smile when Carue quacks.
"Okay, you guys! Are you all ready to head out for Yuba?" Usopp shouts with a question, smiled.
"YEAH!?"
However, there missing someone.
"Are we missing someone?" Usopp questions which it got them realize who are they missing.
"LUFFY!"
"LUFFY! WHEN I FIND YOU IN THIS DESERT! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!?" Ventus yelled in a dragonic tone with white eyes and shark-like teeth.
That's it for the 28th chapter.