This is the 33rd chapter. I don't own the series of One Piece.
Enter the Desert Pirates!
In three years, not a drop of rain has fallen in the desert kingdom of Alabasta, the Land of Oasis. Desperate for rain and prodded by outside forces, the kingdoms people have taken up weapons, the land is at the brink of war. With nowhere else to turn, the people are turning on each other instead. Meanwhile to reach Yuba, the location of the rebel army, Luffy's group set out in the desert where they faced numerous unimaginable hardships.
Somewhere in Alabasta
Few hours passed since they continued their way to Yuba. They lost sight of Nami, Vivi, and the camel they were on. Currently, they're trying to catch up with them, but neither of them knew if they were in the right direction because there weren't any camel hooves and it's mostly covered in sand. Of course, Anna had a very hard time tracking them when Ventus manage to catch their scent, mostly Nami's perfume which they kept moving while try to catch up to Nami, Vivi, and the camel.
However, Luffy is still walking with his tongue sticking out and keeping himself balanced with his long stick.
"So hot...water..." Luffy complains.
Of course, Ventus didn't trust Luffy for drinking the whole barrel because he begged which the young Dragoon refuses the order. Ventus and Anna were just glad they bought more than one barrel before they began walking in the desert.
"Thanks, Ventus, this heat is too much for me." Chopper thanked the young Dragoon. "Even though, you bought some small barrels of water for me."
"Don't beat yourself up, Chopper, I'm used to carrying you, remember?" Ventus assured him.
"Oh yeah." Chopper said. "And also, I ran out of water in this barrel."
"Hold on a second." Ventus said as he pulls out the small barrel of water out of the gallery pouch.
Chopper caught the small barrel and handed him the empty one, grabbed the small barrel of water. Ventus puts the empty small barrel inside of the gallery pouch.
"Oh! That's handy! When did you learn how to do that?" Usopp asked.
"The dimension gallery pouch is magic item that carries more than one object. Back at Loguetown, Smoker gave me that pouch after given him the letter to him. That pouch made me assumed that it can carry weapons and any other items. And it seemed my assumption is right." Ventus explains.
"Nami, where have you gone~? I even love you when you abandoned me in the desert~!" Sanji shouts, went goo-goo eyes while calling Nami.
"Doesn't he ever give up?" Ivan asks with annoyance. "I know that lovesick idiot likes Nami and Vivi and all, but this is ridiculous."
"Forget it, Ivan, he doesn't take the hint. He's just being a kiss-ass to Nami." Zoro told him, earned a tick mark from Sanji.
"For once, I'll agree with you, Zoro." Shanise agrees, sighed. "But still, it will be a miracle if he ever does find a girl that actually loves him and have him on a short leash."
Sanji felt a jab in a heart, feeling a bit hurt of Shanise's words.
"I don't think it's gonna happen, Shanise." Anna points out. "That lovesick idiot is just gonna do it anyway."
Sanji then felt another jab in a heart, now feeling hurt of Anna's words.
"Truth hurts, doesn't it, Sanji?" Zoro asks with a smirk.
"Shut up, Zoro!" Sanji retorted with his white eyes and shark-like teeth.
"Hey, Ventus. Give me some water..." Luffy ordered.
"No way, Luffy! If I give you some water, you'll just drink the whole thing instead of drink a little and save the rest." Ventus points out, refuse the order.
"But you have more water on you." Luffy complains.
"I don't care! With you, if I just keep giving you water, it will run out before we get to Yuba." Ventus told him. "Besides, I thought I already told that the water is for everyone; not just for you. So shut up and grow some balls. If you can't stand the heat, it will be a wonder on how you'll be the King of the Pirates."
"Ahh..."
Sometime later, they're still looking for Nami and Vivi. Ventus isn't able to catch their scent anymore and Anna wasn't able to find anymore tracks, either. Usopp stops as he turns to Luffy, who dropped his long stick.
"What's wrong, Luffy?" Usopp asked, but only got a silent respond.
Meanwhile, Nami and Vivi are still riding on a camel while getting ahead of the group.
"This is a lot easier thanks to you, Eyelash." Nami said to the camel, causing the camel to go goo-goo eyes.
"But are the others are going to be alright?" Vivi asks with worry.
"Of course, all they have to do is follow our footprints." Nami states.
However, they heard a sound as the two girls look around in the desert and it's starting to get louder, coming their way.
While at the Ventus' side of the desert, Luffy suddenly screams while looking at his crew.
"TSUNAMI!" Luffy yelled, causing Usopp to look at him with deadpan expression. "TSUNAMI IS COMING!?"
"What tsunami?" Anna asks.
"Tsunami? In the middle of a desert?" Shanise asks when she and Ivan glances each other.
"What is it now?" Sanji asks with annoyance.
"What's the matter, Luffy?" Zoro asks.
"Maybe it wasn't really such a good idea." Usopp said.
"What wasn't a good idea?" Chopper inquires.
"I warned him, but he didn't listen and told him what Ventus said earlier before we depart." Usopp told them. "He said he was so thirsty, he couldn't stand it anymore and Ventus was so mean to not give him any barrels, even though what he said about saving it is true, so he chomped down some of the cactus growing back there to suck out the moisture."
"Cactus?" Ventus and Zoro repeats.
"Yep, right there." Usopp said, pointing his finger at the chomped-up cactus. "Those round things."
They all looked pass their crazy Captain to see the cacti he chomped out of. It didn't take long for Anna, Ventus, Chopper, Ivan, and Shanise to figure out what they really are.
"AHHH! You've gotta be kidding!" Chopper shouts with his widen eyes.
"That idiot ate the Mescal Cacti!" Ventus adds. "These cacti are used to make hallucinogenic drugs!"
"WHAT?!" Usopp exclaims.
"UWAAAAAAHHH!? LOOK OUT! WE'RE GONNA DROWN!" Luffy continued yelling. "RIGHT! BRING IT ON IF YOU'VE GOT THE GUTS!"
Luffy took his stick and began to wave it around like a crazy idiot.
"I'LL BEAT YOU!?" Luffy yelled, breaks the stick and starting to go even more crazy.
"Oh, crap!" Zoro exclaims.
"Gum-Gum-"
Before he can use the Devil fruit power, Chopper jumped out of Ventus' arms and took out a syringe from his medical bag and quickly inject a small dose of tranquilizer in him. This tranquilizer knocked him out cold.
"Ha! Knockout!" Chopper said with a proud smirk.
"Way to go, Chopper!" Sanji said, congratulating him while given him a thumb up.
Meanwhile, Ace is also lost in the desert while trying to catch up with Nami and Vivi, which the two were riding on a camel.
"Luffy, Ven, hey do you see Nami anywhere?" Ace asks, but noticed that they're not here. "What the?!"
Meanwhile Zoro is dragging Luffy around and Chopper is back on Ventus' arms, they continued to look for Nami, Vivi, and the camel.
"Damn, they must be miles away by now." Usopp complains.
"I wasn't able to get their scent while we were busy with Luffy." Ventus told them.
"Yeah, and their footprints are disappearing." Sanji adds.
"Guess Nami and Vivi went on ahead without thinking about the dangers ahead of them." Shanise states. "They even got us in the middle of a wild goose chase."
"That, and Nami thinks it's a good idea to go on ahead without us." Anna adds. "Guess she's not thinking about the danger in the desert and forgotten about us."
Luffy is starting to wake up.
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Ace for a while, either." Zoro told them.
"Ah, great. When did he disappear?" Usopp asks with a groan.
"Now that you mentioned it, we did run after Nami, Vivi, and the camel named Eyelash. He probably got separated from us." Ventus said.
'Wasn't Zoro's job to wander himself lost?' Anna and Ivan mentally questions with a sweat drop.
"I betcha he got himself lost." Luffy states when his crews stopped and turns to him with a glare. "Sorry, my big brother is kind of a flake."
And with that, the Straw Hat pirates, except Chopper, starts beating the life out of Luffy. After the beating, they're at least a little satisfied when Usopp and Anna noticed that sound.
"What is it, Usopp? Anna?" Sanji inquires.
"Did you guys hear something?" Usopp asks.
"Yeah, I can. And it's coming at our direction." Ventus confirms, using his dragon hearing. "What you make of it Anna?"
"Something big." Anna told him after stabbing the sand with her sword, placed her ear next to the pommel for hearing the sound. "And it's coming this way fast."
And it seems both Anna and Ventus were right as they, Usopp, Ivan, and Shanise rushed up to get to the higher grounds. The rest of the crew followed them, curious to see what they heard. But what them surprised was a pirate ship that's large grey and brown ship. The front of the ship features a large purple umbrella.
"A PIRATE SHIP?!"
"But that's impossible, no way a ship can sail in the sand!" Ivan exclaims in disbelief. "This has to be a hallucination!"
"You say that, but it's real. I can smell them." Ventus told him, sniffing the air. "And it looks like Nami, Vivi, and Eyelash were captured."
"He's right, both Nami and Vivi have been captured." Usopp adds, agreeing to the young Dragoon. "Oh, and the camel too."
"What?!"
Just when they're about to go after the ship, Luffy went on ahead and charged towards the ship.
"Are you crazy?!" Zoro shouts.
"Hey, Luffy!" Usopp called him which Luffy didn't listen while rush towards the ship.
"Damn, we better go after him." Zoro suggests.
"There's no other choice." Ventus agreed as they charged after him.
"Gum-Gum: Give Me Water" Luffy then stretched his arm and launch towards the main mast, wrapping it around before rocketing towards it.
"He was just after water?!" Usopp exclaims with he and the other face-faulted down to the sand fur to Luffy's idiocy.
"I'm exhausted." Luffy groans weakly.
And with that, Luffy crashed into the main mast. However, the sheer force of that impact caused the main mast to tumble down into the ship and the sand, causing the sand pirates to panic.
Ace continued to look for Luffy and the others, but he heard that loud noise as he look around in the desert.
"Strange, I thought I heard something." Ace muttered.
Until, the sand rises up which it got Ace's attention as something merged out of the sand, revealed to be a Giant Scorpion. The Giant Scorpion readied its pincers and raise its poisonous tail, Ace then glared at it and spoke.
"You asked for it." Ace said.
Meanwhile, Luffy recovered from the stunt he pulled a while ago, the rest of his crew were at the ship. The sand pirates readied their weapons, mostly pointing at Luffy, Ventus kept his lance ready while Shanise, Anna, and Ivan does the same.
"Okay, that was my bad." Luffy said with a groan, sticking his tongue out. "I was just so thirsty, I must've miscalculated. By the way, do you have some water?"
"Hold on a sec, are you saying you didn't come here to rescue us?" Nami questions with an annoyed glare.
"Hey, I was really thirsty, what can I tell you?" Luffy protests, turns to Nami.
"Well, you've got to do something." Vivi told him. "They're going to eat Eyelash!"
"You're kidding? You can eat him?" Luffy asks in disbelief.
Suddenly, a large man arrived at the ship and approaches Luffy and his crew, earned their attention. He looked down at Luffy with a big grin on his face, before the umbrella pops open.
He is a large man with a fuzzy beard and eyebrows. He wears a cloak and like his crew members, a little umbrella on his head.
"We, the Barbar Sand Pirates have a saying." He said.
"Saying?" Luffy repeats.
"With the exception of friends, there's nothing to live in a desert that can't be eaten." He told him.
"Right on, I even eat stuff straight off the ground." Luffy states with a chuckle, causing him to cringe.
"You'll get sick." He told him.
"Hey, I'm careful." Luffy said.
"Sure you are, moron." Ventus, Anna, and Ivan said sarcastically, causing the large man to laugh.
"You're a funny little squirt." He states, causing Luffy to chuckle.
"You're pretty funny yourself." Luffy remarked. "Okay, lets eat."
It got Eyelash crying in tears, afraid he'll get eaten by the group of pirates. Nami however is annoyed of his stupidity as she bonked him in the head with her foot.
"How's that?!" Nami yelled with white eyes and shark-like teeth, along with a tick mark on her head.
Soon after the sand pirates release Nami, Vivi, and Eyelash, the Straw hat pirates were gathered around. The large man laughed as he spoke.
"I am Barbarossa, Captain of the Barbar Sand Pirates." Barbarossa introduced himself. "And your name is Luffy, huh? Please, let me apologize for being so rough with your friends here. It's just that we're all so hungry, we got carried away."
"Aw, I don't mind at all." Luffy shrugs with a chuckle, earned a bonk in the head by Nami.
"That's for your concern!" Nami exclaims with annoyance, showing her white eyes.
Barbarossa then turned his head to Ventus, knew that he recognized him as he spoke.
"Oh? And this is 'Raging Dragon' Ventus Starwind, huh? I've heard of you. In fact, we all have heard of you! Right, men?!" Barbarossa shouts his men, causing them to cheer in reply. "You beat up some pirates and killed Arlong and his entire crew in the East Blue, they say. And for that, you got the highest bounty in all of East Blue! Hahahahahaha! You must be strong from someone from the East Blue!"
"Actually, I was born from Ishgard in the North Blue." Ventus corrects him. "True, I beat up pirates and kill some of them, but only because I've been traveling alone before I became a pirate."
However, one of Barbarossa's crew called his Captain after looking at the broken main mast.
He's a tall, tan, muscular man. He wore a yellow umbrella and tied on his head with a purple string. He has short, dark brown hair and dark colored eyes. He wears a brown scarf, a light gray colored cloak tied around the waist, and black clothing underneath.
"There's a problem, Captain." He spoke. "I've searched the ships storage from top to bottom, and there's just isn't enough spare lumber on board for us to repair the main mast. And without a main mast, this ship isn't going anywhere."
It got the Barbar Sand Pirates to panic as he continues to inform Barbarossa.
"If we don't do something soon, we're gonna wind up dying like dogs in the middle of this desert." He told him.
Now, the Barbar Sand Pirates to cry in panic, but Barbarossa remained calm while kept his smile as he spoke to his crew.
"We Sand Pirates are on board right here on our ships, and we'll die here as well." Barbarossa told them. "A true sand pirate would never think of abandoning ship."
It got them cheered with a reply, agreeing to Barbarossa. It causes some of the Straw Hat crew to sweat drop.
'Talk about a change of personality.' Ventus and Anna thought, watching them cheer.
'Who are these guys?' Usopp mentally questions.
"The mass destruction was an act of fate, and we Sand Pirates will never do anything to defy the flow of the sand." Barbarossa states.
Meanwhile, Ace was able to burn the Giant Scorpion with his Devil fruit power. He then walked away, passing through the dead and burnt scorpion.
"You can't say I didn't warn ya." Ace said, but stopped when he noticed a Giant Gecko in front of him.
Ace scowled at the lizard as he jumped to the right, but the lizard did the same. He then jumped to the left while the lizard did the same.
While at the desert ship, Barbarossa spoke.
"Fate aside, there is timber at the Melias oasis." Barbarossa told them, looking at the view of the desert.
"And where's that?" Luffy questions. "I'll be glad to dash over and get it."
"Bad idea." Barbarossa states with a hum. "The sands have changed lately. It's too dangerous for outsiders."
"I've caused this, I'll take care of it." Luffy told him, causing Barbarossa to burst with a laugh.
'Wasn't he complaining about how thirsty he was a while ago? He can't possibly be telling us that being on a ship or a little sleep is enough to cool him down.' Shanise mentally thought, rubbing her temple to prevent a headache.
"Alright, you're on." Barbarossa accepts when he turns to him.
Soon as the Straw Hat pirates and Barbarossa got off the ship, his crew pulled the sand sled down towards the sand.
"You can use this sand sled to bring back the lumber." Barbarossa told them.
"It looks more like a canoe than a sled to me." Nami states.
"Zaba and Rasa will show you the oasis, they'll be your guides." Barbarossa told them when Zaba salutes, leaving Luffy confused. "Rasa is the best sand sledder on this ship. These sleds carry, who'll you take?"
"Hey, don't worry, I'll be fine alone." Luffy told him.
"Come on now, this is no time to get cocky." Usopp told him when Vivi looks at the sand sled.
"It looks like it might be tough going." Sanji states. "You want me to come along?"
Until, they something strike Vivi when Ventus heard something cutting the air, causing him to tackle her down. A weapon struck the ship, almost spot where Vivi was at. They all look up and saw a girl on the broken main mast.
She wears a white blouse on top of her purple shirt, red scarf, and long crimson pants. She also wears a curved brown boots. She also wears a pink umbrella on her head, but acting as her hair pin.
She jumped down and flip all the way to Vivi and Ventus.
"Very impressive, Rasa." Barbarossa praises her when Rasa turns to Vivi and her umbrella pops open.
"The others, they seem like outlanders." Rasa states, grabs her knife. "But you're from here."
"Ah, how could she tell?" Luffy asks with amazement when Rasa approaches the sand sled.
"I'll wager you have some experience with the sand sled, which means you'll come along with us." Rasa told her with a glare, turns to Vivi.
"No way, it's much too dangerous for Vivi to go!" Sanji protests.
"Yeah, she stays!" Nami agrees.
"Alright. I'll be glad to go." Vivi complies, accepting which it got Rasa smirked.
"Are you sure about this?" Shanise questions, worried about Vivi.
"Yes." Vivi nods, turns to her as Ventus walk back to his group.
"Huh, so these travel on sand?" Luffy asks curiously, looking at the sand sled. "How does it work?"
"I'll pilot the sled, I did it once long ago." Vivi told him.
"It's not too different from a ship. This goes here, right?" Luffy asks, pulled up the sail.
And before they knew it, Luffy and the sand sled took off at full speed, with his screaming. It got them speechless at the event that took place. The next thing they knew, Luffy came back, pushing the sand sled as he returned.
"Okay, I'm back..." Luffy grunts, panting heavily as he collapses down to the sandy ground.
"WILL YOU LET VIVI HANDLE THE SLED FROM NOW ON?!" Sanji, Ventus, Usopp, Nami, and Anna yelled at the rubber Captain with white eyes and shark-like teeth.
Luffy then lies down at the sand sled with a groan, feeling exhausted from the running back to his group.
"You take it easy there, Luffy, alright?" Vivi suggests, then turns to the sand sled. "Now, let's see."
Soon as Vivi pulls the rope while taking control of the sand sled, they were suddenly took off like Luffy did earlier.
"Zaba, let's go!" Rasa ordered.
"Ready, Rasa!" Zaba replied.
And with that, Rasa takes control of the sand sled and took off while try to catch up with Vivi and Luffy.
Vivi and Luffy were far ahead from the two, heading to Melias oasis to get some lumber for the broken main mast. Though, Luffy is having fun while holding the rudder.
"Yahoowwe!" Luffy shouts with an excited smile. "This is loads of fun! We should borrow one of these, we can get to Yuba real fast!"
"I don't know, the sand sleds are hard to control." Vivi states. "Believe me, they're not easily mastered."
"Then how is it you got so good at it so quick?" Luffy questions.
"I used to have one, I got it way back when I was just a little girl, I ride it all the time." Vivi explains while controlling the sand sled.
Meanwhile back at the group, Chopper spoke to the Captain of the Barbar Sand Pirates.
"So, what are we supposed to do while we're waiting for them?" Chopper inquires.
"We can always eat the camel." Barbarossa suggests, causing his crew to cheer.
"Second." Sanji and Usopp said in unison with a smirk, raised their hands while Eyelash cried in tears.
"I'm just kidding." Barbarossa said, causing his crew to groan in disappointment.
"Didn't sound like you were kidding to me." Nami said with a deadpan expression.
While back at the desert, Rasa and Zaba were able to catch up to them, but she was doing something underhanded by hitting the sand sled, causing the sand to splash at Luffy. Rasa then hit Vivi's sand sled, causing them to head down towards the quicksand.
"Hey, guys! What's the big idea?!" Luffy shouts when Zaba watches them sink down towards the quicksand.
"Hey, Rasa, what are you doing?!" Zaba demands with a shout, watching Vivi and Luffy sink down.
Vivi and Luffy are starting to panic when she tried to pull the sand sled, trying to get out of the quicksand, but it only got worse and starting to sink even faster.
"Hey! Vivi! We're getting pulled even further in!?" Luffy exclaims with his eyes budging, panicked.
"It's quicksand!" Vivi points out. "If we get pulled in all the way we'll never get back out!"
Vivi and Luffy are still struggling to get the sand sled out of the quicksand. Rasa and Zaba were now ahead of them, heading to Melias oasis.
"Rasa, wasn't that going too far?" Zaba questions.
"If she's lucky, that spoiled little princess will be fine." Rasa told him while controlling the sand sled, leaving Zaba surprised.
"It sounds as if you know that girl." Zaba said.
"Yeah, I'll never forget her." Rasa told him with a scowl, remembered her home in 10 years ago.
Vivi and Luffy are still struggling to get the sand sled out of the quicksand, but one of the part of the sled broke off.
"Can you bring her around, Vivi?!" Luffy shouts, holding the rudder.
"I can't! It looks like we're done for!" Vivi told him as they sink down. "This is it, Luffy!"
"No! Watch out!" Luffy shouts as he stretched his arm as far as he can. "Gum-Gum"
He then launches his hand right towards the sand.
While back at the desert ship, Barbarossa, Nami, Ventus, and Anna were looking at the horizon in the desert.
"Despite how he seems, you can always count on Luffy in a pinch." Nami states.
"Well, I'm more concerned about the fickleness of the desert." Barbarossa told her, earned their attention.
"What do you mean by that?" Anna inquires.
"You see, the desert can shift moods in an instant." Barbarossa explains. "A slight change in the weather, or people's hearts will effect it greatly."
"A change in people's hearts?" Nami repeats, wondering why.
Suddenly, one of the Sand Pirates was on the lookout and hearing hoof coming their way. He was wondering what's that, but as the sound grows louder, the desert bandits were riding on the camel with their weapons raised, rushing after the Sand Pirates. It causes one of them to panic and inform his Captain.
"Captain, it's them! They found us, off the starboard side! Battle Stations everyone!"
It got Sanji, Zoro, Shanise, and Ivan's attention when they heard the alarm and the Sand Pirates ready to fight as they stop what they're doing while heading at the deck.
While at the desert, Ace tries to walk sideways when the Giant Gecko does the same which he's starting to grew annoyed.
"Do you want to get in my way too, pal?" Ace questions when the Giant Gecko noticed the brunt Giant Scorpion, causes it to cry out in tears with fear.
While at the broken desert ship, the desert riders are heading down the high grounds and heading towards the ship.
"There must be hundreds!?" Usopp exclaims with panic.
"Who are they?" Nami demands.
"They're Desert Bandits." Barbarossa explains. "A desperate band of vermin who're always attacking us. Conflict seems to be in the air today. Everyone in the desert seems to be on edge."
The Desert Bandit leader laughs as he spoke.
"Now that you can't run away, we finally got what we want you!"
"Hear me, men! Don't let a single one of these desert rats escape!" Barbarossa yelled at his crew as the Desert Pirates readied their weapons, roaring with cheering as they ready their guns and cannons, aiming at the Desert Bandits while cheering.
"Yes, hooray, go pirates." Usopp said with dull expression, sweat dropped.
"The desert has pitted against each other." Barbarossa said, raise his arms up. "Now, we will see who the desert will favor! At last, we will end this! Let the desert decide who will be victorious!"
"Fool! Fool! The desert will never choose one such as you!"
Until, the Grand Dung Beetle is crawling up at the higher grounds while pushing the big ball of crap. It got the Straw Hat pirates attention when Nami spoke.
"What's that?" Nami asks.
The Desert Pirates shouted with panic when they saw a Grand Dung Beetle with the big ball of crap at the high ground.
"What's a Grand Dung Beetle?" Sanji asks curiously.
"Beats the hell out of me." Zoro told him.
"They're desert bugs that hauling enormous balls of dung." Barbarossa explains. "Over 100 people a year are squished by the rolling balls of manure."
Suddenly, the big ball of crap rolls down towards the Desert Ship, causing the Grand Dung Beetle to panic while the Desert Bandit leader getting squished by it. The big ball of crap is rolling down pretty fast, heading towards the ship.
"Captain! The huge ball of excrement is heading right for us!"
Barbarossa then leaps off of the desert ship, rushing towards the big ball of crap.
"Leave it to me!" Barbarossa said as he managed to stop the big ball of crap from rolling down, but only to slow it down and his face is turning red, tried to hold it with all his strength. As he was at his limit, the big ball of crap squished him, causing Nami, Chopper, and Usopp to panic.
As soon as the big ball of crap rolls close towards the ship, Zoro quickly grabs their swords and leaps in the air, slicing the big ball of crap into pieces and Sanji leaps and kick what's left of the ball of crap, breaking it into pieces as he then wipes it off against the wooden rail with his foot.
"Thank you...my friends." Barbarossa thanked them with a groan.
The Desert Bandit leader merged himself out of the sand with a laugh, but he was a bloody mess.
"We'll let you off easy, this time! Your lives are spared for now!"
And with that, the Desert Bandits flee.
"What a screwball." Usopp muttered with a dull expression.
"You can that again." Ivan agrees.
Meanwhile, Rasa and Zaba are ahead of Luffy and Vivi while heading to Melias oasis to get the lumber. Zaba is getting worried about them and hoping they made it out of the quicksand.
"Rasa, if that was a joke, it wasn't funny!" Zaba told her. "They're not following!"
"Fine by me." Rasa remarked, earned his attention. "I'm not gonna wait around for her. If she can't keep up, it's not our job to look for her."
Zaba was about to argue, but he decided not to. Suddenly, something burrowing coming from the sand and it got his attention when he noticed, revealed to be Luffy's hand as he grabbed the sand sled, causing Zaba to widen his eyes with his face pale. Suddenly, Vivi and Luffy merged out of the sand and flying in the air, causing Zaba and Rasa to widen their eyes with stunned expression on their faces. Vivi smirked while Luffy grinned and spoke.
"Hope you weren't waiting long." Luffy said.
As Vivi and Luffy lands on the ground while ahead of them, both Zaba and Rasa were wondering how did they got out of the quicksand.
Alabasta, Melias
Soon as they made their way towards Melias, Zaba went to the storage room to get the lumber for the broken main mast. Everything in the Melias oasis is also covered in sand and in ruin, just like Erumalu, the City of Green.
"This whole oasis is covered in sand." Luffy points out.
"Once it was a flourishing city, but now..."
"Have you ever been here before?" Luffy asks.
"Yes, the people of this city gave me a small sand sled as a memento." Vivi told him. "It was a very long time ago, though. I stopped here once with my father when I was little. When he was traveling around the country..."
She remembered when she, Igaram, and Cobra first arrived at Melias, visiting the villagers when the King of Alabasta made a promise and the villagers give her the sand sled while the little girl named Rasa, given her the ring of flowers.
"...And I've been waiting all this time." Rasa cuts in, earned their attention. "Back then, the King made this town a promise, 'If anything should happen to this oasis, I will come rushing to help. The Kingdom won't ignore any voice, no matter how small.'"
It got Vivi realized, looking at Rasa and remembered it was her from Melias oasis who gave her the flowers.
"Then...you were that girl..." Vivi muttered.
"Eventually, this oasis was buried in sand and abandoned." Rasa said. "Every last person in town left, but not me. I stayed behind and waited for you. I believed in you...but...the King never came...and neither did you."
"But that's the same thing was happening to towns and cities all over the country." Vivi points out, tried to reason with Rasa. "And the King was busy everyday, trying to deal with the nation-wide crisis-"
"I don't want to hear your excuses!?" Rasa shouts, turns to her with an angry scowl. "For years, I've waited for you all alone in abandoned city in the middle of the trackless desert! Finally, I couldn't even tell the difference between dawn and dusk. By the time Barbarossa took me in, I couldn't feel anything, but the scorching of the midday sun or the freezing cold of night. The fact that I was still alive baffled me, but the Kings promise continues to ring inside my head."
Vivi widen her eyes in shock, stunned of what Rasa has told her about the promise of the King and her past.
"Til this day, I don't understand it. Life was so difficult, and I was all by myself. So, what exactly was I waiting for? Just what was it that kept me going for all those hard years?" Rasa questions herself sadly, starting to tremor. "Was it hatred?! Anger?! Was I too stubborn or stupid to give up hope?! Why did I stay here?! Somebody tell me!"
Rasa then starts to cry out and Vivi now knew the reason why she was waiting for her to come here in Melias for all these years.
"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry I made you wait." Vivi apologizes with a sincere smile, starts crying in tears.
Luffy decides to give them some time alone since both Vivi and Rasa needed this while waiting for the lumber.
Somewhere in Alabasta
Few hours later, the sun is setting and the pirates are waiting for Vivi, Luffy, Rasa, and Zaba to return with the lumber from Melias which they're taking quite a long while.
"They sure ran off in a hurry." Barbarossa said, watching the sun setting. "It's really too bad. It would've been nice to steal all of their food and water first."
"I guess Sand Pirates have it rough, too." Nami states.
"Every living thing in this desert has it the same way." Barbarossa points out. "You know long ago, I use to feel that the desert belong to everybody, but when I think about it nowadays, I begun to think that was somewhat conceded. When I look at the desert now, I wonder if perhaps a desert really belong to anybody at all. That's why we can live here freely, it belongs to no one and so is free itself."
"Like the ocean?" Nami inquires, turns to him.
"That's a good question." Barbarossa said with a smirk. "I suspect something you'll have to find out yourselves."
Until, Luffy, Vivi, Rasa, and Zaba arrived at the desert ship with the lumber they've got from the Melias.
While at the desert, Ace is riding on the Giant Gecko, looking for Luffy and his crew which he got himself lost, but he kept searching for them.
That's it for the 33rd chapter.