Why hello everyone! It was been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about that.
I know none of you really care what my reasons are, just that I was gone for months. On top of that, this chapter's been done for like a month and I just haven't posted it. Don't ask me why, I can't answer that. There is no answer. But no worries, I'm back! And we'll dive right into Alabasta!
Enjoy!
It had been four days since any of the Straw Hats had an actual meal. In that time, it was amazing none of them had gone insane. It was possible to hear someone's stomach growling pretty much all the time, but there was nothing they could do. The only food was Marianne's secret cracker cache, but she wouldn't tell anyone where they were. So, most of them were starving.
Until a massive sea monster burst out of the sea before them.
"Yes!" Johnny shouted. "Our first meal in days!"
"Kill that thing!" Yosaku agreed.
"Make sure not to slice it up to bad, I want to try out all the cuts from that thing!" Sanji shouted, a gun in his hand. Luffy was preparing to join his men before Vivi appeared, slamming her fists down on all three of them.
"Don't do anything stupid!" She shouted. "It's a sea cat!" Looking up, Luffy noted that the creature did indeed resemble a cat. It's entire upper half was feline, while it's bottom half was a fish. He watched, stomach roaring, as it disappeared into the sea.
"Why did you do that, Big Sis Vivi?!" Yosaku cried out from the deck. "We're starving!"
"Because sea cats are sacred in Alabasta!" She replied. "I can't let you kill one!"
"Alabasta?" Luffy asked. "Does that mean-?"
"We're close," Nami finished for him, walking up to him. "We're still heading in the right direction, and judging from the stabilising weather we've entered Alabasta territory."
"Who cares?!" Johnny cried as he pulled at Nami's clothes from his position before her. "I'm so hungry, Big Sis Nami! Big Sis Vivi, please just look away and let us have one!"
"No," Vivi replied flatly. "They're sacred, no means no."
"We better have a banquet to rival the Gods once we save Alabasta," Yosaku grumbled as he got to his feet and trudged away.
"That does sound great," Luffy said as his mind filled with images of plated piled to the roof with meats. "How about we skip the whole save Alabasta step and go straight to that?"
"We can eat once we get ashore," Vivi said. "I'm sure there will be restaurants we can go to." Luffy pouted, seriously wondering why none of the girls seemed as hungry as them. Sanji must have been sneaking them food! That bastard, he'd pay for that!
"We're close, you'll survive." Nami said to him, having noticed his expression.
"How close?" He asked weakly. "I'm sooo hungry, Nami."
"Pretty close, I think." Nojiko said. Luffy and Nami both turned to the Quartermaster, who wasn't facing them.
"Why do you say that?" Luffy asked.
"No reason," Nojiko replied as she lifted a finger and pointed behind them. "Might have something to do with those ships." At this, the entire crew dropped what they were doing and rushed to look. Several dozen ships were behind them, all headed in the same direction that they were.
"That mark on their sails, it's Baroque Works!" Vivi said, Usopp, Johnny and Yosaku freaking out. "They must be gathering their forces..."
"That's bad," Marianne said, watching from underneath her hat. "Crocodile really is going to make his move for the country."
"Which means we need to be more careful than before," Nami said, hand resting on the X one her forearm. "Cover up your marks, guys. We're getting close." Luffy did as he was told and grabbed a cloth from Sanji, wrapping it around the X Marianne put on their arms. He had to admit, the smaller girl was really smart to be able to bypass a cool ability like Mr. Two's. He couldn't help but wonder what other abilities agents had, and if they were as cool as his. This was going to be awesome!
"I see Alabasta!" Usopp shouted. Luffy whipped around, spotting a bright sandy beach port welcoming them. He rushed to the head of Merry and hoped on top, watching as the island grew closer and closer.
"Here we go guys!" He shouted. "Next stop, a restaurant! After that, Alabasta!"
Smoker didn't want to believe what he'd heard from the captured agents, but they all guaranteed that what they were saying was legit. But he still needed to run this over in his head one more time.
Baroque Works, an underground bounty hunter association on the Grand Line, was working under the mysterious Mr. Zero to fund the insurgence in Alabasta. They planned on using the civil war to gain control of the country for themselves, making Mr. Zero the leader of the country they planned to create. They claimed that they worked for the man in order to gain a spot in his new country, and that they didn't necessarily believe all of his motives. Smoker personally thought that was a load of shit, but that wasn't the point. They'd given him this information in hopes of being given a reduced sentence, which was what he tried to use to bargain with them. In all honesty, he couldn't guarantee them that. But they didn't know that.
What disturbed him the most, however, was what they said after this. They claimed that the missing Princess, Vivi Nefertari, had gone undercover in Baroque Works in an attempt to find out the truth they had just shared. They said they'd been sent to kill her to stop the flow of the information she knew getting to the King and the leader of the rebels. From what they had said, the Princess was travelling with a group of pirates she had coerced into helping her, and they she would arrive in the country shortly. So, Smoker decided what he was going to go.
"Are you sure about this, Captain?" Smoker turned to look at his Ensign, Tashigi, watching him warily. "Those agents could very well be lying."
"If they are, we'll know." He said. "For now, I want to see if we can spot the Princess arriving here. Is everyone spread out?"
"Yes," she said. "I've stationed our men all around Nanohana. If someone spots Vivi, we'll know."
"And if they're lying?" She questioned. Smoker neglected to answer, deciding instead to keep his eyes on his ship. He didn't know much about Baroque Works, but he knew enough about underground organisations that if word got out those three and Mr. Eleven had snitched, someone would come and try to cover it up. So, he'd decided that for now he'd stay and guard the ship. If those three were targeted, then he'd know they were telling the truth.
"What's with all the shouting?" Tashigi asked, Smoker looking around as the shouting continued. It sounded like a group of men, all shouting at the same time. Looking down the street, he watched as a dust cloud rapidly approached them.
"RESTAURANT! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Smoker closed his eyes as the kicked up dust consumed him and Tashigi, the man in question blitzing past them. After the dust cloud settled two more men, one in a blue sweater and the other in green, also rushed past them.
"Wait up, Big Bro!" The blue one shouted.
"We're hungry too!" The other said. Smoker watched them go, wondering what it was that could have made them so hungry. They seemed to familiar, too...
"C-Captain!" Tashigi shouted. Smoker turned to her as she drew his blade. "Those men are apart of Straw Hat Luffy's crew! I recognise them from Loguetown!"
"What?" He demanded angrily. Tashigi was about to give chase, and for a moment Smoker considered letting her go. He'd come to the Grand Line to find Straw Hat, after all. But now they had a situation.
If he and Tashigi left, he'd be leaving their informants unguarded. Their informants that told them about the criminals about to take over a whole country. Was Straw Hat worth more to him than the millions of people that were in danger because of Baroque Works? Was a personal score a better option than making sure these people stay safe?
"Tashigi!" He shouted as she tried to leave the docks. "Don't. We've got more important things to do."
"B-But Captain!" She shouted in exasperation. "Straw Hat literally just ran past us! We have to go find him and-!"
"Straw Hat will have to wait," he said, nearly biting his cigars in half in frustration. "I hate it as much as you do, but the people of Alabasta staying safe is more important than some kid with a chip on his shoulder. Let him go." Tashigi obviously seemed upset by this, but let it go and returned to him aboard the ship.
"So," Ms. Valentine said from the mast she was tied to behind them. "Can we have some water, or...?"
"Shut your mouth." Smoker said.
"How do we lose track of those idiots the second we get here?" Nami demanded. She was obviously irritated that not only the Captain, but Johnny and Yosaku tore down the street looking for food the first chance they got. They kinda needed them here.
"There's no point in getting upset about it," Nojiko said as she placed her pistols in their holsters. "Best we can do is look for the noisiest spot in town and rein him in once we have everything. Ready to go, everyone?"
"Weren't those two supposed to guard me?" Marianne asked, confused. No one answered her.
"Alright, here's what we do." Nojiko said as the crew gathered around her. "We're going to need a few things for our journey. First and foremost, food and water. Sanji, I'll leave that to you."
"I love when you rely on my, Nojiko-swan!" Sanji shouted happily. "I'll buy some much food you'll never go hungry."
"Chopper, Karoo, go with him." The Quartermaster instructed. "You can help him carry the supplies if it gets to be too much."
"Okay," Chopper said, tongue hanging out of his mouth as he panted. It was pretty obvious the poor reindeer was overheated, as a desert island was the exact opposite of where he was supposed to be. Karoo watched the reindeer worriedly, quacking at him.
"Nami, Vivi, and Marianne will come and with me." Nojiko said. "We're going to go and find ourselves some clothes. We're not dressed appropriately for this place, and it'll help disguise us. Zoro, go with Usopp and scope the place out. See what you can learn. And try to find Luffy while you're at it."
"Can't be that hard," Zoro said. "I'm sure we'll find those three buffoons at the nearest restaurant." With all of this the crew set out, Zoro trailing slightly behind Usopp as they walked in the same direction that the Captain and his apprentices had run.
"Stay right with me!" Usopp demanded, glaring suspiciously at Zoro. "Last thing we need right now is you getting lost for a stupid reason!"
"I don't get lost!" Zoro hissed. At the pair approached a split in the road, Zoro turned right and continued to keep an eye out. He stopped as Usopp grabbed his shoulders.
"We're going straight!" Usopp hissed. "Stay with me, for God's sake!"
"Well say so, then!" Zoro shouted back, irritated that he was being babied. He could find his way around just find, he didn't need this! As he continued trailing behind Usopp, Zoro looked around. The port town seemed to be in good shape, all things considered. You know, the civil war. People were walking through the streets and talking at market stalls, acting like every day people. Had Zoro not known better, he'd say things were fine.
But he knew better.
As they moved in between the buildings, Zoro cast his eyes towards the port, and his eyes widened. Sitting in the port was a marine ship, but that in and of itself was not what concerned him. Sitting aboard the ship, watching the city was a man and woman Zoro could not help but recognise.
Captain Smoker and Tashigi from Loguetown stood on lookout, having a conversation. Zoro quickly moved out of view, making absolutely certain Usopp was still ahead of him.
"Shit," he hissed angrily.
"What?" Usopp asked. "I just said that I wanted to stock up on some local ingredients for my ammo."
"Not that," Zoro hissed. "I just saw Smokey from Loguetown."
"Who?" Usopp asked.
"Just know he's a marine from Loguetown who tracked us here!" Zoro replied. "We have to find those three knuckleheads and get the hell out of here, now!" Usopp, now clearly inspired to get going, ran through the streets with Zoro in close pursuit. Before long the pair made it to a restaurant with the door blown in, and Zoro could hear massive amount of eating from inside. Running to the door, he peered inside and found his Captain and pair of apprentices chowing down at the counter, everyone watching them in shock. Particularly, the man sitting next to Luffy. The man was wearing a sunhat on his head and no shirt, which Zoro figured kinda negated the hats ability to prevent a sunburn. The black haired man laughed as Luffy ate, slamming his fist onto his back.
"You haven't changed a bit, Luffy!" The man shouted. "Still as bottomless as ever!"
"Neither have you, Ace!" Luffy replied with his mouth full. "It's so good to see you!"
"And it was nice to meet you, Big Bro Ace!" Johnny shouted as he ate. Yosaku could only nod as he chowed down.
"You're deck hands are nice guys, Luffy." The man, Ace, said with a snort. "Guess they haven't really learned anything from you yet, huh?"
"I'm nice!" Luffy shouted. "I'm the nicest guy ever!"
"Right. And I'm the King of Pirates."
"You are?!"
"Luffy I was joking! Are you really that stupid still?!"
"Oh. Don't joke about stuff like that Ace! I believed you!" Zoro watched this exchange in confusion.
"What am I watching?" Usopp demanded.
"I have no idea," Zoro said flatly. "Whatever it is, it's weird. Let's just get those morons and go. Luffy!" Calling out his Captain's name made him turn, as well as Johnny and Yosaku.
"Yo, Zoro!" Luffy called. "Come have a seat, I wanna introduce you to someone!"
"We can do that later," Zoro replied. "Smoker is here."
"Who?" Luffy asked, confused. Zoro resisted the urge to punch Luffy in the head.
"The smokey guy from Loguetown!" He hissed. Luffy's face went lax at this.
"Oh," he said, continuing to eat. It took him five seconds to actually react. "Ah! Smokey?! That's bad!"
"We know," he said. "We gotta go get the others and get the hell out."
"Come on!" Usopp urged. Luffy swallowed what he had in his mouth and turned to look at the man beside him.
"Wanna come?" He asked. The man stretched and chuckled.
"I suppose if I can help my idiot brother out of a bind, it's my duty to do so, huh?"
"Wait a minute," Usopp said, Zoro's mind also grinding to a halt. "Did you just say brother?"
"Of course!" Luffy said as he wrapped a rubbery arm around the mans shoulders. "Zoro, Usopp, I want you to meet Ace! He's my big brother!"
"These clothes are beautiful!" Nami sang happily as she perused the racks. The racks were full to the brim with clothes of all different colours, perfect for someone who lived in the desert. She was already calculating how much she could barter these down for. Should she put a small rip or two into the clothes they were buying for the guys so she could get a damaged merchandise discount? Maybe.
"What should we be on the lookout for, Vivi?" Nojiko asked from a few racks over. "Anything in particular?"
"I've been thinking about that," Vivi replied. "I think, with our numbers, our best bet would be to disguise ourselves as wanderers. Maybe have us disguised as dancers. There was some nice outfits over here."
"Are we sure that's a good idea with love cook on board?" Nojiko asked with a weak smile on her face. "We do need him focused on something other than us."
"It would be for the best," Marianne added from the seat she was on nearby. "Alabasta has a lot of wanderers these days. We'd fit right in." Vivi seemed a little unsettled by these words, but she didn't voice her worries. Nami made a mental note to ask later.
"Well what did you have in mind?" She asked as she walked over. She inspected the clothes Vivi was suggesting and knew right away that Sanji would lose his mind. The clothes would leave their stomachs exposed, presumably for some kind of dance. Cultural garb, perhaps? Would definitely help sell the travelling group bit they wanted to go for. She decided to check the price tag.
She growled under her breath.
"And I thought I was a thief," she hissed under her breath. She'd definitely need to up her skills for this one, because there was no way in hell she was paying that price several times over. It was definitely time to put a small rip in their clothes.
"We'll see what we can do, Vivi." She said to the Princess.
"Excuse me, ladies?" Nami turned at this to see a man had approached them. He seemed like any ordinary Joe, but one thing caught Nami's eye.
His Marine uniform under the brown cloak he had on.
"Yes?" She asked in as sweet a voice as possible. If this guy somehow knew her or that they were with Luffy, they were in trouble.
"I couldn't help but over her that you called you friend here Vivi," he said. "You wouldn't happen to be...Princess Vivi Nefertari?"
What happened next happened in an instant.
Nojiko pushed Nami behind her, hand on the grip of her revolver. She watched the marine intensely, and the man began to sweat under her gaze. Marianne was behind him now, a paintbrush coloured green in her hand.
"Y-You must be the protection detail that those Baroque Works agents mentioned." He said meekly. "Please relax a bit, I don't intend to hurt you. I'm here to help you."
"Help us how?" Nami asked, hand itching for the weapon Usopp had handed her back on the Merry. "Explain yourself." The man nodded, gulping.
"I'm here with Captain Smoker of the Marines. We know about the plot to overthrow Alabasta. He wishes to offer his services to Princess Vivi to ensure the country remains safe."
I feel this a good place to end on today. Not only that, but we have a massive deviation on our hands here! What may happen next? Like you guys don't know. I hope you all enjoyed, leave a review!