This is the 34th chapter. I don't own the series of One Piece.
False Fortitude!
In three years, not a drop of rain has fallen in a desert kingdom of Alabasta, the land of oasis. With nowhere else to turn, the people are turning on each other instead. As Luffy and company left the Green City of Erumalu for the Yuba oasis, home of the rebel army. They came across the Sand Pirates with whom they quickly set out to forge a new friendship.
Somewhere in Alabasta
The next day, the Sand Pirates are offering the Straw Hat pirates for a ride to the other village since they helped them gather the lumber for the desert ship and the broken main mast, and fending off against the Desert Bandits. Of course, Luffy and Vivi accepted their offer since it's faster than going to Yuba by foot, but they need to get some more supplies since the village isn't too far and they have a few more days to get to Yuba. Soon as they drop anchor, Barbarossa spoke.
"Ahead is a village called Ido, you should be able to get water there without much difficulty." Barbarossa explains.
"Does this mean you're not coming with us?" Luffy questions.
"We Sand Pirates cannot travel beyond this desert realm." Barbarossa told him. "You see, this land belongs to my people, brave souls who've lived and died here for generations."
"Oh yeah?" Luffy asks.
"Yes, the desert is the land of the free, but everyone can survive in this harsh environment." Barbarossa states when Vivi turns her head to Rasa, who's holding on the mast nets while looking at her. "For them, the village ahead provides a better home. One where they can eat out and satisfy a living."
"So, what are you going to do now?" Luffy inquires when his umbrella pops open.
"Nothing much, actually." Barbarossa answered, turns to the rubber Captain. "We've survived freely on this ocean of sand and that's exactly what we planned to keep doing."
"Wow, you sound just like my crew." Luffy states with a chuckle.
'More like you, idiot.' Ventus and Anna mentally thought with annoyance.
"Well than, we're kindred spirit." Barbarossa said as he and Luffy laughed.
And with that, the Straw Hat pirates left the desert ship after saying their farewells to the Sand Pirates. What got Vivi shocked is that Rasa was actually waving, causing her to wave back at her with a smile on her face.
"They were great." Luffy said with a grin.
"Yeah." Usopp agrees.
"They're maybe a bunch of goofballs, but they are fun to be around." Shanise said. "At least they give us a ride to the other village, in order for us to restock some supplies."
"And Ido is just up ahead, like Barbarossa told us." Ivan nods with a smirk. "And we will head straight to Yuba after this."
"By the way, where'd your brother go?" Sanji asks curiously, wondering where Ace could've gone.
"Don't know." Luffy answered with a shrug. "But there's nothing to worry about, he'll show up again sooner or later."
"Another bold claim you can't prove, why do you do that?" Nami asked with annoyance, causing Luffy to shrug.
"Idiot." Ventus muttered with annoyance.
"Anyways, lets get to this 'Udo' village as fast as we can." Luffy suggests, but mispronounces the name of the village.
"It's 'Ido', moron." Anna corrects him.
"'Ido'." Luffy repeats.
"Right." Nami said.
Alabasta, Ido
At the village of Ido, one of the fake rebels was on watch at the top of wall which he noticed something from afar at the desert as he use his telescope to look through. He noticed a Jolly Roger of the Barbar pirates, causing him gasp with panic.
"That wave at the desert is a pirate flag!" The fake rebel exclaims with dread. "Crap! I gotta go tell big bro!"
With that, the fake rebel quickly got up and sprint towards his 'Big Bro' inside of the village.
He's a very tall, tanned man who has a rectangular head, a square nose, large ears, and a diamond-shaped tattoo. On the top of his head, he has short black hair that is flat. He has a rectangular shaped body with broad shoulders and thin limbs. He wears a red armored chest pad over his white long sleeved shirt with wide collar that has a green design, a black pants, and brown shoes. He carries a katana with a purple sheath with him.
Inside of the building at the village of Ido, three fake rebels were eating their food and drinking booze with the mayor of Ido.
The first fake rebel is a tall, lanky-looking man with spiky blonde hair and a large nose. He wears a beige vest with brown shoulder pads and a matching chest pad. Under his chest pad, he wears a striped undershirt. He also wears jeans, dark gloves, shin pads, and a purple head band.
The second fake rebel is a short, tanned man with a round head, small ears, and a side, snout-like nose. He has thick purple lips, rounded teeth, and broad shoulders. He wears pink goggles, a green winter hat, red boxing gloves and a boxing championship belt. He also wears an orange boxing robe with pink edging, a low-cut purple undershirt, red shorts with a green sash, and red lace-up shoes.
The third fake rebel is a very large, deeply-tanned man that resembles a sumo wrestler. He has a very thick neck, a large wide nose, and predominant hair on his stomach that is in a crosshatched pattern. His black hair is in the style of a traditional sumo wrestler. He wears a blue kimono that has a dark blue edges and yellow triangles on it and sandals. He also wears a green sash and a red and beige apron with three light red triangle on it around his waist.
"Ah, soldiers of the rebel army! I salute you all, Camu, my dear friend and ally! Since the arrival of you and your companions, attacks on the village have ceased entirely." The Mayor of Ido said.
"No prob! I have to admit, man or beast alike would have to be utterly insane to take on my men." Camu said with a smirk, though lying. "So rest easy, mayor, and leave the fighting to us."
"Oh, you get no argument from me. I confess, word is spreading that the rebel and royal armies will soon be at each others throats." The Mayor of Ido told him. "Are you concerned that staying here might send out the wrong signal?"
"Nonsense, we could never leave a place to lets us eat as much as we want, whatever we-UGH!?"
"No, our staying here has nothing to do with the fighting." Camu told him after quickly kicked him. "We may be rebels, but we haven't completely given up on the kings ability to make the right decisions for his people."
"Yes, I'm very pleased to hear you say that, Camu." The Mayor of Ido said. "For we too are share your unshakable faith in the King. That's why we are hoping to this unfortunate conflict can preferably be handled with the most delicate touch."
"Please, good Mayor, say no more." Camu said with a smirk, raises his hand. "After a careful consideration, we've decided to take responsibility of keeping you and your village safe. All we ask from you is the simple gift of unlimited food and booze."
"Of course, I will see to it that your needs are met." The Mayor of Ido complies as he pulls himself up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must go."
And with that, the Mayor of Ido left and the second fake rebel groans as he sat up, turns his head to Camu.
"Big Bro, tell it to me straight. Would turning our backs of the King really be such a bad idea?" The fake rebel asked.
"Wake up. Look, we aren't leaving this village until we sucked every last drop of its nectar dry." Camu told him with a smirk after pouring the soy sauce at the fish, and eats it.
Until, the other fake rebel rushed up to him inside of the building and spoke.
"Big Bro! Terrible news, big bro!" The second fake rebel shouts, earned their attention when they saw him.
"Calm down, what do you want?" Camu questions. "I'm trying to eat here."
"Sand Pirates! Sand Pirates are attacking!" The second fake rebel told them, causing them to widen their eyes with shock.
"Seriously? What do we do?" The first fake rebel asks, pulls himself up.
"What do you mean? They're aren't many options. In fact, there's nothing we can do, we can't afford to just stick our tail between our legs and run away again, either." The second fake rebel points out when the third fake rebel walk towards them. "Well, big bro? What's the plan?"
However, what they notice was Camu is tying the bag on the rifle as he stood up, placing his rifle around his shoulder.
"Duh, we're getting the hell out of here." Camu told them seriously.
"WE'RE RUNNING AWAY?!" The fake rebels exclaims in unison.
"But if we leave here, what will happen to us after that?" The second fake rebel asks. "Do we have to go back to starving again?"
"Moron! What's the point of food if we're not allowed to eat it?!" Camu shouts with annoyance. "There are plenty of villages out there, just like this one! Come on!"
Soon as they watched Camu about to leave, it got him stopped and saw the Giant Gecko in front of them which it got his jaws dropped with widen eyes.
"What the?" Camu said in confusion.
"I think I'm about to lose my lunch, you cowards got a lot of nerve calling yourself rebel soldiers." Ace told them while eating, earned their attention as he turns to them. "Not that it's any of my business, but if you ask me, what the four of you are doing is damn despicable."
"Yeah, you're right! It is none of your business! And what the hell are you doing here anyway?!" The second fake rebel demands with a scowl.
"Ya, food thief!?" The fake rebel exclaims.
And they made a big mistake of calling Ace 'food thief' as he makes a quick work of beating those three fake rebels, leaving Camu widen his eyes with stunned expression on his face. Ace eats up the bowl of soup, then extends his bowl to him.
"More." Ace ordered, making Camu snapped out of his thoughts.
"Yes." Camu complies with a nervous smile, grabs the bowl. "I'm so sorry, sir."
"This place has good food." Ace compliments.
"Thanks, I appreciate the compliment." Camu thanked him while Ace continues eating.
Camu then noticed three of his friends were easily knocked out by Ace because they wouldn't stand a chance against the 2nd Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. Camu then kneeled down, getting into a seiza position.
"You have to forgive me, I beg you." Camu pleads. "Clearly, you have extraordinary power. As you can see, we stand no chance against Sand Pirates. Unless we'd help from someone like you, you must rescue us, please!"
"Eh, I'm not against the idea, on one condition." Ace said with a smirk, turns to Camu.
"Yes, anything you want." Camu said with a smile, sat up.
Somewhere in Alabasta
While outside of the village of Ido, Ace grabs the huge load of food and water while riding on the Giant Gecko, noticed the Straw Hat pirates heading towards the village.
"Hey!" Ace shouts, earned their attention. "Hey!"
"It's Ace!" Luffy states, rush towards him.
"So that's where he was?" Nami asks when Ventus flew towards Ace.
"What's this thing?" Luffy asks when he and Ace stops, getting off of the Giant Gecko.
"So, you're the Sand Pirates those flakes were scared of." Ace states.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Luffy asks in confusion. "We left the Sand Pirates a little while ago."
"And where were you all this time?" Ventus questions, lands on the ground.
"I've been searching you guys here and there, but I stopped at some village where flakes are at." Ace explains.
"Luffy told us that you're a flake." Ventus states with a deadpan expression.
"Nope, that's all on Luffy." Ace told him. "He usually gets lost all the time instead of following."
"Well, I wonder why?" Anna rhetorically questions with a deadpan expression.
"Anyway, I've got great news. You want food and water? Because I brought you guys plenty of both." Ace offered, thrust his thumb at the food and water as Luffy quickly head towards the barrel of water.
"Oh, that's much appreciated." Sanji thanked him. "There should be more than enough to last us a good while."
"Ace is one incredible man." Usopp states when Nami got off of the camel.
"Sure is, kind and thoughtful to a fault, unlike someone we know." Nami states with a smirk.
"That's true." Usopp agrees with a deadpan expression.
"Thank you, I'm so thirsty." Chopper thanked him.
"Then drink up." Ace suggests as Chopper and Luffy were about to drink some water.
"Um, excuse me, Ace." Vivi called him, earned his attention when she got off the camel. "I assume that you use other than money to get this. Whatever you did, please don't tell me you stole the supplies?"
"That's not my style." Ace points with his raised eyebrow. "Actually, the rebel army gave it to me."
"The Rebel Army?!" Vivi exclaims with shock.
"You mean these flakes were the Rebel Armies you're talking about?" Ventus inquires.
"The very same, but they're more like fake Rebel Soldiers, Ven." Ace told him, leaving Vivi gasp.
"Fake?" Nami repeats. "What do you mean by that?"
"I was thinking the same thing, but what can you tell us about these fake rebels?" Shanise questions with a ponder.
"Well, they pass themselves off as rebel soldiers in order to get hired by the village." Ace explains. "And the villagers were so grateful for their protection, that they've accepted these hoodlums with open arms."
"I get that they're desperate for help since Alabasta was at the brink of war, but wouldn't they find out that they're being fooled?" Ivan inquires.
"Not necessarily, the villagers know the mere mention of the rebel army is enough to send those bandits running." Ace told him. "It's ingenious, really. A confident swagger with a little misdirection, and the money prestige comes rolling in."
They thought about it for a second, knowing that the rebels aren't the type who would deceive the villagers for money, but only because they have other priorities since the conflict between them and royal guards of Alabasta are about to be at war.
"What do you make it, Vivi?" Anna questions.
"While rebel soldiers aren't hoodlums, nor as their entitlement to serve as some sort of decoration." Vivi points out.
"But still, these fake soldiers are using that as an excuse to get what they actually want and deceiving the villagers." Anna points out with a hum.
"Vivi, I'm sure we'd all be happy to teach these guys a lesson." Sanji told her.
"Yeah? Well, if you're plan for restitution involves duping the villagers, may I point out that's exactly how they were treated by the hoodlums." Ace points out. "At least the way things stand now, the villagers live in peace with their fake protectors. Is this necessary?"
"I understand what you're saying, but you gotta consider this from Vivi's perspective. Surely, you'd like to see those jerks pay." Sanji states.
"Look, Vivi can do what she wants, I was only sharing my thoughts on the subject." Ace points out.
Vivi then remembered the time at Melias, being reminded of what Rasa have told her and being reminded of what has happened to the oasis being in ruined all these years.
"There's no reason you should stick up for those bastards." Sanji said.
"I'm not sticking out for them, I just know you guys are in a hurry to get going, that's all." Ace told him with his raised eyebrow, placed his hand on his hat.
"Fine." Vivi said, earned their attention. "My kingdom is no longer able to protect everyone. So, I find nothing wrong with villages attempting to uphold public safety on their own wherever possible."
"Done." Nami said.
"Now first, I need to put these bandits to the test." Vivi suggests with a smile, turns to them which it got some of them confused.
"A test?" Nami repeats.
"Why?" Ivan asks.
"Because if these imposters are protecting them, even if that protection is nothing more than a byproduct of their rouse, then I really don't care what they pass themselves off as." Vivi told them furiously.
"You want us to find out if these hoodlums have hearts of gold?" Ace inquires with a smirk, putting two and two together.
"Yes, I'm sorry, but this is something that requires everyone's cooperation if we're to pull it off." Vivi told him.
"That's no problem, Vivi." Sanji complies with a smile.
"Alright, now things are getting interesting." Luffy states with a grin.
"What do you mean by 'interesting'?" Chopper asks in confusion.
"Hold on, Luffy! You need to calm down." Nami protests. "This isn't a game, understand?"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Basically, we're gonna track down these fake rebel guys, then beat'em up, right?" Luffy guessed which he doesn't get it.
"He doesn't understand a thing." Sanji scoffed with annoyance. "Someone needs to put him on a short leash."
"Good luck with that, because Luffy is just clueless as ever." Ventus points out with a deadpan expression.
And with that, they follow the tracks that lead straight to the village of Ido.
Alabasta, Ido
Meanwhile at the village of Ido, the four fake rebel soldiers were hiding inside of the big terracotta pots while waiting for Ace to get back, but he's been gone for an hour and they didn't know that he's a friend of the Straw Hat pirates.
"He's been gone too long!" Camu shouts. "First, he says leave it to me and then, he takes off! That was over an hour ago!"
"You saw his strength, I'll bet he's beaten those Sand Pirates up as we speak!" The second fake rebel protests.
"Don't be so sure. Remember, who he's fighting, they might've gotten the jump on him." The fake rebel told him.
"If that's true, that means we're next, huh?" The third fake rebel asks.
Camu groans with annoyance, getting tired of hiding as he revealed himself out of the bot terracotta pot.
"I can't do this!" Camu said, pulls himself out of the pot and rush towards his rifle as they revealed themselves out of the pots. "I'm sure miss these perfect accommodations, but staying alive is all that matters."
"That's for sure." The second fake rebel agrees as he and the others got out of the pots.
Camu then pulled his head out of the entrance, scanning the area and making sure the people of Ido aren't here. And then, he and his group ran towards the door, but little did they know the people of Ido are expecting them. Soon as they opened the door, the people of Ido cheered for the fake rebels which it got them stunned.
"Gentlemen, we're all relying on you." The Mayor of Ido said, earned their attention. "I was just about to come calling for you, but I should've realized you're on top of this situation. Of course you were already aware that the sea pirates are here."
"SEA PIRATES?!" The fake rebels repeats in unison with their faces paled.
"Not Sand Pirates?!" The second fake rebel exclaims.
"Yes, sea pirates." The Mayor of Ido answered. "Far more ferocious and deadly than Sand Pirates. One in particular is classified as a priority capture, and this has 30 million on the bounty and 100 million bounty on the other."
It got their jaws dropped in shock, seeing how much bounties both Luffy and Ventus got and realized how strong they are.
"One we heard you give a 'HI-YAH!' to these gruesome pirates and stop them cold in their tracks, we knew we can rest easy." The Mayor of Ido said when the people of Ido chuckled, but failed to realize that all of what the fake rebels have told them was a lie. "We know you won't fail."
"Good luck, mister."
It got Camu's attention, looked down at the children.
"Show those stupid sea pirates who's boss."
"I'm gonna get strong just like you someday."
Even though, Camu did lie to those children, feeling a little guilty, but his expression turns into serious.
"Let's go!" Camu ordered as he walked away while the others followed him, and the people of Ido cheered for them.
Soon as the four fake rebels were out of sight of the villagers of Ido, one of the fake rebels spoke.
"Hey, big bro, are you serious about this?" The second fake rebel asks, worried.
"Don't be stupid! Of course he's not serious, that's crazy!" The fake rebel protests.
"Shut up, both of you!" Camu told them. "Once out of town, we run into the opposite direction of those pirates, and we don't stop. That's our only chance to get out of this alive, we keep running."
"We understand." The second fake rebel complies with reluctance, but doesn't want to leave the village of Ido.
Little did they know after leaving the village, Ace was watching these four leaving with a smirk on his face as he then leaves the village.
When the four fake rebels left the village, they were walking through the cliff while making their way towards the gates, but what got Camu really annoyed is the people of Ido were following them, causing him to grunt in annoyance.
"Look at them all, following our every step." Camu groans, then scoffs. "Morons! A bunch of mindless sheep!"
Soon as they made towards the gates, Camu placed his hand against it and turns his head to them.
"Stay sharp! We've got one shot at this." Camu told them. "Once outside the gate, we find which direction is pirate free and then we take off as fast as we can. Got it?"
The three fake rebels nodded with a respond. With that, Camu and his friends opened the gates and makes a run for it, but noticed Luffy, Ventus, and Anna are in front of them. They then turned right, but noticed Usopp, Sanji, and Ivan are there, blocking there path. They try by turning left, noticed Zoro, Chopper, and Shanise are also there, blocking their path.
'Oh, crap!?' Camu mentally exclaims when he and the other fake rebels are completely surrounded, sweating bullets.
"Get 'em! Get 'em, invincible rebel army!" The Mayor of Ido cheered.
'He's going to get us killed.' Camu mentally thought with stream of tears in his eyes, trying to find a way out which they completely block the route to escape.
"What's that? You're a rebel soldier?" Luffy questions, earned their attention with a scowl on his face.
"No! Nothing of the sort! We're just simple travelers passing by-"
"Now say your prays! You dastardly sea pirates are dead!" The Mayor of Ido shouts, pointing his finger at the pirates. "These brave rebel soldiers are-"
Ventus stopped the Mayor of Ido in mid-sentence, roaring at him and the villagers which it got them frightened along with the fake rebel soldiers.
"You small fry villagers are a nuisance and not worth our time! Now shut up and stay out of this!" Ventus roared with his dragonic tone, causing the villagers of Ido to back away.
'Crap! This guy just handled these people like nothing! And that roar, it's like I'm seeing some kind of a monster!' Camu mentally shouts with fright.
Nami and Vivi are watching them from afar while hiding next to the big rock.
"Was that really necessary for having him roar at those people?" Vivi questions with annoyance.
"You gotta remember, Ventus has quite a bad temper. So yeah, he does, and they brought it on themselves." Nami told her, changing the subject. "But still, that loser, the guy is spineless as a jellyfish. Completely unreliable."
"Yeah." Vivi agrees.
"Are you sure about letting this play out?" Nami inquires. "It might be better for everyone if we take care of them now."
Vivi thinks about it for a few seconds, but knew that Nami is making a valid point which it would consider a bad idea if the plan didn't go well and having the people get angry at the fake rebels.
"Just a while longer." Vivi told her, hearing the villagers of Ido cheering for the fake rebels. "Let things play out and see how it goes."
The fake rebels turned their attention to the villagers of Ido, whose cheering for them which they want them fight against the Straw Hat pirates.
"Hey!" Luffy called them, earned their attention. "According to the crowd, you guys are the real deal."
"Is it really true or are you just plain fake?" Anna questions.
"No...No, you don't understand!" Camu whimpering in tears.
"We're in trouble, big bro." The second fake rebel told him.
"Dammit! Our one chance to escape is gone!" The fake rebel adds.
Until, Ace appeared inside of the entrance with a smirk on his face, after following the fake rebel army without getting caught as he spoke.
"Long time no see." Ace said, leaving them stop crying as they look for him. "Sorry boys, this is your fight. You're gonna have to try and muscle through this on your own."
"Look Ace, you know we can't handle this alone because we're totally faking it." Camu protests quietly.
"You're pretending to be soldiers." Ace corrects him. "But if that doesn't work, might I suggest you act like men."
Then, Camn remembered why they're here in Ido, remembered the children laughing and playing together while protecting the village. One of the fake rebels turn to Camu and spoke.
"What do we do, big bro?" The fake rebel questions, causing Camu to groan.
"Don't asking me!" Camu exclaims with annoyance, turns to him and then turns to the Straw Hat pirates. "We have no choice. To save our skins, we lie our way out of this; imposter style."
"Imposter style?" The second fake rebel repeats.
"If it's a fight you want, consider yourself warned!" Camu shouts which it got their attention. "Because we aren't the only rebel soldiers around here! And the village there are hundred million more like us!?"
However, neither of them, including the villagers, are buying of what Camu have told them which it's an obvious lie.
"Come on, babies lie better." Usopp said with annoyance.
"You're one to talk." Sanji muttered.
"Does he seriously think we're buying to some cheap trick?" Anna asks with annoyance.
All except one, who's having his eyes widen with his shark-like teeth, budging his eyes.
"100 MILLION?!" Luffy exclaims with shock.
"CAN'T YOU TELL A LIE WHEN YOU HEAR ONE?!" Sanji, Usopp, Anna, Ventus, and Ivan shouts with annoyance while air slapping him, showing white eyes and shark-like teeth.
"That's one of the worst bluffs ever!" Usopp adds.
"Wait, it's a lie?" Luffy asks.
"Obviously!" Usopp answered.
"It's a lie?" Chopper said, wipe the sweat off of his forehead with the sigh of relief.
"Geez!?" Zoro exclaims with annoyance and a tick mark on his head.
"And you believe that lie?!" Shanise adds with annoyance.
"Faker! How dare you lie to me?!" Luffy growled with anger, raise his fist.
"Damn! They know the truth!" Camu exclaims with panic.
"Did you really think that old lie is gonna work?" The second fake rebel asks with deadpan expression.
"Gum-Gum: Pistol" Luffy then stretched his arm, punching Camu and sent him flying as he crashed against the ground.
The fake rebels and the people of Ido are shocked of what they have just witnessed.
"What the hell was that?!" The second fake rebel soldier exclaims with his face pale.
Every people of Ido were extremely stunned of Luffy's Devil fruit powers and how he punched Camu in the face.
"H-He has Devil fruit powers!?"
"One hit knocked him out!"
"Not even rebel soldiers can withstand such power! We're doomed!"
"Luffy, think! It's all over if you knock him out!" Nami quietly protests. "Give it a little more time!"
Luffy then looks at the fake rebel soldiers with a grin on his face as he walked towards them, causing the fake rebel soldiers to panic. It got his crews attention, noticing Luffy about to walk towards them. The children of Ido look at Camu with worry and panic.
"Big Brother Camu!"
"You can do it!"
"The sea pirate is coming!"
The children are pleading Camu to get up and fight back, but he's still in a daze. Then, he remembered the two of the Kings Guards at the village when he and his friends were kids long ago.
'I remember...When I was a kid, I looked up to the warriors of Alabasta. All I ever wanted was to be as strong as them someday.' Camu mentally thought. 'That one dream never left me. Even now, my only wish is to be as strong as those warriors I saw as a child. Someday...How long are you gonna keep stumbling over this petty dream of yours?'
Luffy then cracked his knuckles while approaching these three, causing them to tremble in panic, but Camu managed to stood up and grabbed him by the wrist.
"Big bro!?" The fake rebels exclaims in unison.
Camu pants heavily and the people of Ido are surprised that he was able to pull himself up, barely.
"It's true...We are rebel soldiers, we lied." Camu admits. "All we ever wanted is to be as strong as our childhood heroes, but now we're just a bunch of scoundrels. Even if my hopes never become reality, those dreams we had as kids will never die. Today, I stopped running and face my fear. I may be no match for you, but I'm willing to give it my best shot...My defeat will inspire these children to grow up and fight, I'd rather die as a hero who taught the youth of this miserable world to stand up and raise against scum like you than be remembered as a lying coward who ran away..."
Luffy was about to clench his fist and punch, but not to when he gives a grin as Camu retaliates by punching him in the face, sent him flying and crashed against the ground.
"Big bro!?" The fake rebels said in unison surprisingly, leaving the Straw Hat pirates shocked.
Sanji, Ivan, and Usopp were about to rush after Camu, but noticed the third fake rebel blocked their path.
"What's your deal?" Sanji inquires when Camu turns to him.
"You're not alone, Big Bro, I'll help you fight. We share the same dream...From the time we were little, we've made all sorts of bad decisions I'm not proud of, but no matter what we did, you are always there to protect the weak." The third fake rebel said as he slams his wooden gunbai when Ivan, Sanji, and Usopp quickly dodges, making him missed his target and slams the ground instead. Sanji and Ivan were about to fight back, but noticed the tears in his eyes. "I'll...always be right beside you defending those who're helpless! We'll find redemption together!"
It got Camu and his friends surprised of his words, realizing that he's right and knew what they did to those villagers was wrong. They then decided to fight against the Straw Hat pirates instead of running away like cowards.
"He's right..." The fake rebel agrees as he and his friend turned to them, readied their fighting stance.
"I'm with you guys! What do we got to lose?!" The second fake rebel said with a serious glare. "Let's show 'em what we're made of?!"
"Alright! No more running! This is our time to shine!" The fake rebel adds.
Camu was stunned of his friends being determined to fight those pirates and protecting the village of Ido.
"Yeah, but..."
Nami and Vivi were still watching them which it got the former surprised of the sudden change of the fake rebel soldiers.
"They seem different somehow." Nami states. "Though, this turnaround could have more to do at the fact their backs are to the wall."
"Yeah." Vivi agrees. "But this kind of change can't come from desperation, I doubt it's possible without a genuine awakening in one's heart."
"Then, they're good?" Nami inquires, turns to her.
"Yes, they can go." Vivi answered. "I'll trust them to guard this village for now."
And with that, Nami sent a single to Usopp by using the reflection of the sun to blind him, causing him to blink and turns to the two girls. Usopp noticed the signal as he turns to Sanji and Ivan and spoke.
"Hey, Sanji, Ivan, time to retreat." Usopp suggests, earned their attention.
"Time to go." Anna adds, earned a nod from the young Dragoon.
"Sea Pirates or no Sea Pirates, I say bring it on!" Camu shouts with determination, readied his fighting stance. "If you would ever so much as a step in this village, you'll have to go through us!"
However, Luffy just grinned and laugh it off like it was nothing as he spoke.
"Spoken like a true rebel soldier. Now, I can go and take care of Crocodile without worrying about this place." Luffy said as he stood up with a sigh of relief, leaving Camu confused. "That's a relief, thanks."
"Shut your trap and come on!" Sanji shouts, grabbing Luffy as he and the others flees. "Bastards! That's rebel soldiers for you!"
"I've never seen such a strongest display of strength!" Usopp adds, faking of being scared.
"Whatever, I suck at scenarios like this one." Zoro muttered with a blush of embarrassment.
"Geez, overboard much?" Ventus said with annoyance.
"Hey, wait for me!" Chopper shouts, tried to catch up with the others.
After the Straw Hat pirates were out of sight while leaving the fake rebel soldiers alone, they were all confused and wondering why they were running away, but it got them snapped out of their thoughts when the villagers of Ido cheered for them. Camu couldn't help but smile in tears as he raise his hand, thanking them.
While in the desert, Ace is running while catching up with the Straw Hat pirates.
"Hey, Luffy! Ven!" Ace called them, earned their attention.
"Hi, Ace." Luffy greets.
"How long should we keep running?" Ace asks, causing Luffy to shrug.
"Just as far away from Ido as possible." Ventus told him. "And it seems like they're not following us."
"That's good, and we can drop the act now." Ace suggests.
"This thing was to turn them over into a new leaf was scary." Zoro jokes with a smirk, causing Luffy to laugh.
And with that, they continued to run while making their way towards Yuba.
That's for the 34th chapter.