Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece

The Trip to Rainbase

In the night inside the king's house, Luffy was happily cuddling with Robin. They were both snuggling together on a bed that Vivi offered to them. They were both deeply asleep…

However, years of sleeping in the forest made both of their ears sensitive to the slightest noise. Both of them right now were wide awake as they heard talking coming from the ground near them.

"No, you dumb oaf," they heard an old lady yelling at her companion, "We need to grab the king first, not the girl. She's dangerous. If we don't catch the king, Crocodile's plan will be in danger."

Her assistant replied, "But… she… is dangerous... Take out… first while sleeping… King is… easy…" He stopped before resuming, "Plus… we… kill the boy… He's dangerous… too…"

Robin raised an eyebrow, "Did they really think that I would be some damsel in distress in my sleep?" she smirked, "They're in for a big surprise."

Robin looked at Luffy and said, "Go to the King's room…" The boy opened his mouth to argue, "No, no, no, rather go to Pell's room, and tell him what's going to happen. If they saw you, they might think that you're the one who's trying to kidnap the king."

The boy replied, "But what about you? You could be in danger." The boy saw the girl pouting and looking away, "What did I do? I didn't hurt your feelings, did I?"

The girl laughed a little, "No, but I don't really like it when you downplay my abilities," she pecked his cheek making him look the other way, "but I appreciate your concern."

She then patted him on the back and said, "It seems their argument is coming to an end." She pointed to the door and ordered him, "Now, go wake up Pell to protect the king."

The boy nodded his head and slowly made his way out of the room to tell Pell what they heard.

Robin then heard the woman say, "Fine, we'll grab her first and kill the brat." She hummed a bit, "Perhaps, we can also kill the other brats while we're at it. This will the boss's mission much easier." This made Robin wonder how they knew that she was with Luffy in this room in the first place. The girl shook her head. That was a question for a later time.

The girl quickly went to a dark corner of the room and hid in it. The ground then began to shake as the clawed hand would its way through it. Suddenly a humanoid mole popped from the ground. Robin could tell from its looks that it was an old woman.

She looked around for a moment. Mrs. Chirstmas then yelled, "Didn't you say the informant said she was in this room? Did you get the wrong one, you idiot?"

The woman made her way out of the hole only for another person to exit it. He was a huge man with a cannon and a bat strapped to his back. Mr.4 looked around confused, "I'm… sure…"

Ms. Christmas yelled at him, "You fool. Look around. She isn't…" Suddenly, she was restrained.

Mrs. Christmas looked at her partner to see at least 32 disembodied hands holding him in place. A voice then said, "Both be quiet and good, or else I'll break your backs."

Mrs. Christmas yelled, "Who the hell are you? And let me go, I have a job to do."

Robin retorted, "Consider that your job is done." She tightened her grip on them making their backs twist and bend in horrible ways, "Any suspicious movements from any of you clowns and I'll break your backs like twigs before shattering them to pieces." She gave them a dark look, "Understood?" the two nodded their hands.

Mr.4 tried to reach for his cannon, but a tug on his back made him wince in pain, "Sorry…" he said in pain. He winced even further when 10 more arms appeared on his body and restrained his arms.

Moments later, Pell arrived with the king, Vivi, the crew, and some guards. Both assassins pale, but they still have an ace up their sleeve. If they can play it right, they can at least escape but would have to face the wrath of their boss. It was a lose-lose situation on both ends, but at least they can keep themselves out of prison. Perhaps they can escape, but that would make them on Crocodile's shit list even further than reporting failure.

Cobra looked at them shaking his head, "To think that you try to ruin the lives of millions for money…" he shook his head and ordered his men to take him away.

Mr.4 and Mrs. Christmas were then restrained heavily, but two soldiers put their swords on the woman's neck given that she had a devil fruit. If she tried to make any funny move, she would die or be at least injured severely. "Revert to your human form and no funny movements."

The woman does so and the guards lead them out, but she stops for a moment saying, "Don't think this will stop the boss. He foresaw something like this and he has a backup plan in case." She was then pushed outside causing her to grumble about her being an old lady.

Everyone looked at each other, but Zoro grumbled, "Man, I really wished I can cut them down."

Sanji then mumbled under his breath, "Of course, the moss-head only thinks about killing people," Zoro heard this and a vein popped in his head, but before he can retort to Sanji, the man ran to Vivi with a goofy look on his face, "Vivi-chawn, I can sleep with you at night to…"

He was punched by Nami saying, "No, I'll stay with her tonight. You stay here."

The man whimpered in despair as Zoro shook his head in disappointment.

Pell said, "I'll take the king to my living quarters then. Those agents might be caught, but others might be still lurking around." He then shook his head, "For all we know, there might be spies among the army's ranks on both sides. We have to tread this carefully."

Cobra then said, "Tomorrow morning, we'll see what to do with these two. I personally investigate them to see what information we might get out of them. I also have to know why they wanted to kidnap me."

Everyone nodded. Pell escorted Cobra out, and soon enough the others left.

Once they were alone, Luffy asked Robin, "Wanna cuddle together?" the girl nodded happily.

The next day in the city of Katorea, the members of the rebellion were waiting with anxious breaths to hear the results of their leader's talk with the king. He told them that new information came out to light that made him believe that there was a third party at play. Someone who has been playing everyone around him including himself and the king. They were all worried about the new information. They asked him to elaborate, but he refused to avoid any spies for the third party might tell their leader.

Someone came shouting, "Someone is coming toward the city. Prepare yourself."

Many of the rebels ran to the gate. They looked waiting for some soldier from the king's army to arrive, but only a beat-up man came to them. One of the men yelled, "That was Kozha's driver."

The beaten-up man then said, "They ganged up on us. It was a trap. They tried to kill us."

One of the rebels asked, "Whom are you talking about? Who did this? Where is Kozha?"

The driver then speaks, "It was the king. He knew of his daughter's relation with Kozha." The man whimpered in pain, "So, he sent her here to trick Kozha to go to her father while they prepared an ambush to kill him. I tried to help, but it was so fast. They only let me live because I have no value."

One of the rebels asked, "Are you saying they killed Kozha? That's impossible."

The driver turned his head away smirking, "Yes, they killed him. The other one too."

The rebel then went to the city, "They killed Kozha. The royal army killed Kozha."

This caused a state of anger to arise in the city. Voices rose demanding retribution. They demanded to march to the capital and kill the king. It was a massive struggle to keep everyone in line. Kebi one of Kozha's closest friends came up to the masses and yelled, "Stop! We need to understand the facts first. We can't allow lies to drag us to war."

One of the rebels yelled, "What do you mean? We have an eye witness to the events."

Kebi yelled back, "Don't you remember what Kozha told us about?" the rebels were silent, "How are you so sure that the people who attacked Kozha weren't fake soldiers to deceive us to go to war with the royal army?"

"Shut up," one of the rebels yelled, "The one who brought the information was Cobra's daughter. They planned for this. You're covering for her. Take him down, men."

Another one began to yell in protest then another, and then another. Soon enough all the rebels began to storm him and beat him up. The rebel who started this had some rebels take Kebi to the prison in their base, "Men, we need to prepare for the war the army. Today, we can't attack because they might expect us, but we have to wait for a couple of days to take them by surprise."

The man walked away from the cheering rebels. He took out a Den-Den Moshi and said, "Mr.0, boss sir. The mission is done. The rebels are rallied up."

Back at the castle, Cobra was rubbing his head in frustration. The two prisoners somehow managed to escape. He didn't get the full details, but the man somehow used an explosive even though he was cuffed. He couldn't blame the guards for what happened. They were clearly taken by surprise.

The guards were harmed severely by the explosion, but still tried to chase the assassins in the tunnel that Mr. Christmas used as an escape route. Truly, this was extremely frustrating.

The thing that annoyed him the most was that Kozha haven't arrived yet. He was worried. Could have something happened to him? The fate of the country was hanging in the balance, and if something happened to him right now, everything will go to hell.

Vivi came up to him, "Father, have you heard anything of Kozha? He should have arrived by now."

Cobra shook his head, "I'm afraid not my dear, but do not fret. I will send some soldiers to look for him. Perhaps, his driver got lost in the desert and can't find his way toward the city."

He looked at Pell and the man nodded his head. The man turned into his eagle form. He was the user of the 'Tori-Tori Model: Eagle'. Pell said, "I talk to some soldiers. They will scout the ground, while I will look for them high in the sky."

Cobra nodded, "That would be most appreciated, Pell." The eagle man bowed down before going to do his job.

Vivi smiled, "Thank God. If we can do this, no blood will be slipped. No will have to die."

Cobra smiled, but said, "Vivi, darling. Where there is war, there will always be blood." He rubbed her head, "This is a war. Even, if I stopped the civil war, stopping Crocodile won't be bloodless. Hundreds of people will die in the process. He's a strong warlord of the sea after all."

Vivi shook her head, "No, no, this isn't possible. Innocent people shouldn't die."

Cobra only sighed. His daughter had a very idealistic view of the world. Good people live, and bad people get imprisoned or pay for their actions. He sighed sadly because he knew this type of mindset will lead to death at some point or another. Wanting to keep people safe is a trait of a great leader, but his daughter wanted that without any sacrifices. To her, even the army shouldn't die in any type of conflict.

He looked at his daughter and smiled patting her head. In time, she will learn that death is something that just happens. Death is something no one can escape from. And most importantly, people just die.

He then heard their guests arrive. He smiled. Most kings would be appalled by the thought of having pirates in their castle, but he can tell those children are good people, even if the leader of the bunch says he only helped Vivi come here because she is his friend.

He heard the boy talk to his girlfriend, "Robin, I'm hungry. Do you think I can ask them for food?"

This was followed by a quiet scolding, "Mind your manners, Luffy."

The boy whined, "But, I'm really hungry."

Zoro said, "I'm going to the training area. I heard they had some weights I can use."

Sanji replied, "Go there, you meathead. Lifting things is the only thing that you're good for." This was met by a sword attack from Zoro who Sanji blocked with his leg. The two then began to attack each other, but Nami stopped them with a punch to the head making them groan from pain.

Nami growled, "You idiots, don't you see that we're in someone else's house?" she lifted them by the scruff of their shirts, "Play nice. Don't embarrass us in front of people."

She then kicked them both into a wall. The two were embedded into the wall making Chopper worried about them. The little reindeer began to scream, "They're hurt. Someone, call a doctor."

Usopp came beside him and asked skeptically, "Aren't you the doctor of this ship?"

Chopper stopped for a moment before realization hit him, "Oh yeah, I guess you are right, aren't you?" the crew laughed at this before each went back to their individual activities.

Cobra elbowed his daughter lightly, "Vivi, go to your friends. You brought them here, and you are their host." She looked at him curiously, "You don't want to be a bad host, do you?"

The girl puffed her cheeks like a little child, "Of course, not." She ran toward them.

Hours later, Cobra was sitting on his throne reading the latest reports about the country's status. It was disheartening. Echoes are saying that the rebels are beginning to plan an assault against the castle to dethrone him. This was rather worrisome, but all this can be avoided if Kozha reached the castle in time to discuss a peace treaty to stop the war and explain what is truly happening.

Pell came into the room and he had a grim look on his face. Pell walked up to Cobra rubbing his shoulder, "Your majesty, I don't know what to say, but Kozha's envoy has been attacked."

Cobra was shocked, "How did that happen? And where is he now?"

Pell shook his head, "No idea, sir." He began to explain what he saw, "When I was flying in the air, all I saw was a tipped-over carriage with fresh blood around it. I went down and saw the carriage had the logo of the rebels on it. I then pieced the things together."

He bowed, "What are your orders, sir? Should I send a rescue party to try and locate him?"

Cobra rubbed his forehead, "This is going south further than I expected. No, don't do that." Pell raised an eyebrow, "If the person who did this is the one, I have in mind, he is currently holding Kozha and perhaps Igaram captive."

Pell questioned, "Igaram, sir?" he tilted his head slightly in confusion, "I thought that you said he might be late in arrival due to weather conditions."

Cobra nodded, "Yes, I said so, but seeing what happened now. I wouldn't be shocked if he arrived and was captured by Crocodile once he set foot in Alabasta."

Pell hummed in agreement, "What shall we do now?"

Cobra didn't want to resort to this option, but his hands are tied, "Ready the army to assault…"

A voice cut him off, "Father, what are talking about? Why are you asking Pell to ready the army?"

Cobra looked and saw his daughter looking at him, "Dear, it is something that must be done…" he sighed, "Pell came back from the desert. Someone attacked Kozha's convey. There is a chance whoever did this to him has taken him hostage. I believe Crocodile is behind this. I truly…"

Vivi then argued, "But can't you do this without the army? I'm sure this whole thing can be solved peacefully if we try hard enough. Attacking Rainbase is a huge mistake. It is very populated with people. Even if you succeed father, the aftermath and the deaths will cause people to lose trust in you." Cobra knew this, but things were already beyond a peaceful resolution.

Cobra shook his head, "Vivi, darling. As we speak, the rebels are planning to attack the capital in a few days. If we manage to beat them and take down Crocodile with few deaths, it will be much better than having an all-out war occurring here in the city."

Vivi then said, "Then I'll go talk to the rebels. I have all the evidence to prove that Crocodile is the one responsible for the 'Dance Powder' and its usage. I can stop them…"

Cobra said, "Vivi, you already risked your life enough. I can't allow you to go…"

Viv interjected, "I'll take my friends with me. They'll help me reach Katorea and I'll talk with them…" Cobra looked at Pell who crossed his arms in refusal and shook his head.

Cobra sighed, "Alright if you manage to make them agree, I'll allow it to happen."

Vivi smiled, "Alright, I'll be right back." She ran toward Luffy and the others who were in the dining whole after a long meal talking with each other.

Pell said, "Sir, are you sure? I mean the princess's life might be in danger even with the pirates."

Cobra replied, "I doubt I can stop her. For now, we wait and see what happens."

In the dining room, Vivi looked at the strawhat crew. She asked, "I know that I'm asking a lot, but can you please take me to Katorea? Kozha was ambushed by Crocodile. The rebels are planning to attack the capital in retaliation. I need to go there to convince them that Crocodile is the enemy."

Everyone was shocked, but suddenly Luffy says, "I quit."

Vivi was shocked, but asked, "What do you mean Luffy? I really need your help. What are you quitting?"

The boy replied, "I'm quitting this wild goose chase that will lead nowhere." The boy smacked his fist, "You want to go to a war with no one dying? That's nice, Vivi, but at the same time is unrealistic. This war won't be won without bloodshed."

The boy was shut off by a punch to the face from Vivi, "Stop. Don't say that. Nobody will die as long as I breathe." The girl was thrown back when Luffy punched her back.

He asked her, "And how are you planning to do that, if you aren't willing to risk anything?"

The girl began to punch back, "Why do I need to risk people's life?"

The girl carried to wail on him, "No one deserves to die, especially if they're innocent. Not the rebels, not the army, not the civilians. No one needs to die."

Luffy punched her back, "People just die, Vivi." His statement shocked the girl to the core, "Whether you like it or not; people will die. It just happens. There is no changing it."

Vivi cried, "So, what do I do now? Just lay down. I can't do it. I don't want to risk the lives of innocent people." Luffy grabbed her hands and made her look at him.

Luffy then said, "Then why don't you risk our lives, Vivi? We're your friends, aren't we?"

Vivi looked shocked, "And friends help each other, so are you willing to accept my help?" Luffy finished asking her. This made the girl rethink her whole position. For the longest time, she tried to avoid confrontation, but now even she began to doubt this approach will work.

Vivi sighed, "Thank you, Luffy. Can you please help me take my kingdom back from Crocodile?"

The boy smirked, "Next on the list is a grilled Crocodile." He cracked his knuckles.

Cobra waited patiently for his daughter to come back from her friends' room. He didn't like the fact that she wanted to go to the rebels' base, but he couldn't do much. His daughter was much like her mother. She was a strong-headed woman who always did what she wanted. There was no way of talking her out of something once she put her mind to it.

The door opened revealing his daughter wearing traveling clothes. The girl came up to him, "Father, I changed my destination. I won't be going to Katorea," he can already tell what she was going to say, "I'm going to Rainbase to save Kozha and Igaram if the latter is there."

Chaka, another of the nation's guardians, yelled, "No, I refuse to allow this to happen. I can't allow you to risk your life more than you already did your Highness."

Vivi shook her head, "I'm not going alone." She pointed toward the crew, "They're going with me. We're going to save the others, and defeat Crocodile before he can make his final move."

Vivi looked at the ground, "This is the only way to make sure that no one dies from an all-out attack by the army on Rainbase."

Vivi looked at her father, "Dad, I know that you don't like this, but this is the only way to save as many lives as possible. By now, I'm sure that most of Rainbase is swarming with Crocodile's men. They could attack both the army and the civilians making the death toll even higher."

Cobra sighed, "I accept. I'll allow it to happen, but on one condition," He pointed to Pell, "He will be waiting for you on the other side of the river with Karoo and his duck squad."

Vivi nodded her head, "Yes, Father. I promise that I will be fine."

Cobra looked at Luffy and said, "I entrust my daughter's safety to you."

Luffy chuckled, "I promise you that Vivi will be fine. She's my friend. I will protect her at all costs."

Cobra smiled a little as Vivi and her companions left the castle and went to Luffy's ship.

The crew was sailing down the stream as Luffy said, "Man, it would have been easier if we went to Rainbase the first time we arrived instead of this whole running after our own shadow thing."

Vivi sighed. She knew he was right. Had they gone to Rainbase from the moment they arrived, they would have saved a lot of time, but now Crocodile could be planning to do his move any moment now and nobody has any idea about how to stop him.

Robin said, "True as that may seem, but now we can plan how to defeat him." She then looked at Vivi and said, "Do you know what type of powers he has?" he then made a phantom hand appear on Vivi's shoulder, "A devil fruit like mine."

Vivi took a thinking position, "I think I heard he had a devil fruit that affects his environment, but I'm not sure what it is honestly. I heard that he once turned an entire island into a desert."

Robin paled a little. She looked at Luffy, but he only smirked. She sighed, "Just be careful, Luffy." She went and hugged him from behind, "I don't want to lose my pirate king."

Luffy laughed and kissed her cheek, "Don't worry about that/" he flexed his muscles, "When I'm through with him, he'll be mummified in the desert sand."

Robin laughed a little. They both went to help Nami with navigating the ship. Vivi smiled and looked into the distance, "I will defeat Crocodile. I won't allow him to ruin my country anymore."

It took an entire day to reach the other bank of Alabasta. They hid the ship in a small canal beside the west bank of the kingdom. The crew was now getting ready to begin their march toward Rainbase, but they were faced with a rather silly challenge.

In front of the ship, were a bunch of turtle-like seals swearing it and yelling at it.

Usopp approached Chopper and asked him, "What are their problem?"

Chopper then said, "They say that they want to fight the strongest fighter on this ship," he listened to them talking, "Since we trespassed on their land. They want to beat us black and blue."

Usopp then smirked, "Well, that shouldn't be too hard. I did manage to beat around 70 million dragons once with one shot and freed any army of puppet slaves by shooting their master without looking at them. I just sensed their master and I shoot them."

Chopper's eyes sparkled, "Really? Did you do all Usopp?" the long-nosed boy nodded, "You are so cool! I wish I can be just like you."

Usopp rubbed Chopper's head, "Don't worry about it, Chopper." The boy puffed his chest, "Stick with me, and you'll become someone great like I am. You'll become…"

Luffy snickered from the side and whispered into Usopp's ear, "A great lair."

Usopp unconsciously parroted what Luffy told him, "…a great liar." He then stopped and glared at Luffy and began chasing him around the boat until Nami gave them a dose of her fists.

Usopp then returned to the matter at hand and jumped to face the seals.

Vivi saw them and yelled, "Don't do it, Usopp. They're Kung-fu Dongs, and they're…" The girl wasn't fast enough because Usopp was beaten soundly by the animals, "...strong."

Zoro looked at the boy with a sweat-drop, "Seriously, they defeated you. This is kinda sad."

Luffy then jumped down and said, "It's my turn now." He then went to fight the Dongs.

Vivi yelled, "Don't fight them. If you win, they'll…" The girl wasn't fast enough, the Kung-fu Dongs were now bowing in front of Luffy, "…follow you everywhere."

Zoro said, "You kinda slow on the input, aren't you?" Vivi only chuckled awkwardly, but couldn't deny the accusation because it was partially true.

It was a true pain to get the Dongs to stop following Luffy, but in the end, the crew managed to bribe them with half of their food supply to stop following the crew. The water creatures would die in the hot desert. The walk in the desert was tough, but the girls had it easy.

The camel that Kozha give Vivi only allowed girls to ride on him. The boys looked at him with anger. They were all tried, but the camel refused to even give them a lift for a small minute.

Sanji looked at Luffy, "Hey, Luffy?" the boy looked at the blond man, "You seem deep in thought."

Luffy shook his head, "I'm sorry, but I was wondering if we can eat camel meat today."

Sanji looked back at the camel, "I suppose camel's meat would be fitting for this environment."

Nami yelled, "Hey, stop scaring Eyelashes." She hugged the camel and said, "I won't allow you to hurt him. Just because he's a gentleman, doesn't allow you to be jealous of him."

Luffy groaned in annoyance, but he soon saw something, "I see something in the distance."

He began to run toward it with the crew telling him to slow down. He reached it after a couple of minutes. He looked at it, and he was shocked. It was a city, or at least what remained of a city.

The place seemed vacant. It was covered by sand. It looked like it was frozen in time. every time the wind blew through it, it seemed like they were people yelling and crying in it.

Moments later, Vivi arrived and sighed, "So this is Erumalu's fate. The city known as the 'Green City is now covered in sand. This is the result of Crocodile's handy work."

Luffy sighed, "Don't worry, Vivi. We're going to stop him."

Zoro nodded, "But still… he has some serious firepower to turn this city into a wasteland."

Vivi shook her head, "I don't know if he was the one who made Erumalu into this, but the dance powder played a very deadly role in destroying the once beautiful place."

Robin asked, "I have to ask you Vivi," the blue-haired girl looked at her, "What is dance powder exactly? You told us about it numerous times, but never explained what it is."

Vivi blinked, "I suppose I didn't, did I?" she sighed, "Dance Powder is a special type of fire that allows rain to drop on any place that ignites it but at a cost…"

"The dance powder makes the rain fall instantly on the city that used it," Vivi explained, "But the cities surrounding it are themselves denied from rain. That's why we call it a curse."

Luffy tilted his head and said, "So, it's like a mystery powder that makes mystery rain, right?"

Vivi couldn't help but smile a bit, "Yeah, something like that," she sighed and looked at the sun, "We need at least two days to reach Rainbase or at my calculations a day and a half, so we need to start moving right now."

The crew nodded their heads and continued the walk through the desert with the camel still refusing to allow anyone except the girls to rest on it giving it death glares from Zoro, Usopp, and Luffy. Chopper meanwhile was on a sleigh tied to the camel leg.

A while later, Luffy managed to find a stick and used it as a cane. He was saying, "Man, I think I'm going to pass out. Ahhhh…" he was then hit on the head by a small rock from Robin.

Robin said, "Don't talk too much, Luffy. It will make you feel tired." The boy nodded and continued to walk silently, though every once in a while, he would complain about the hot weather.

Luffy then looked at Chopper and said, "Hey, Chopper. Do you think I can lay in your place for a couple of minutes to cool down? I think I'm about to melt from the excess heat."

Chopper eyed him before saying, "No, I'm too tired, Luffy. I'm good in the cold weather, but in heat weather, I might as well be a sitting duck from the heat."

Usopp made a comment about Chopper wearing a suit causing the reindeer thing to try and attack him. They were stopped by Nami who threw pebbles at their head and demanded they continue the walk to Rainbase quietly.

Luffy then lifted a barrel of water they had and was about to drink when a hand appeared and sealed his mouth. He looked and saw Robin, "Not too much, Luffy. There are others."

The boy nodded tiredly and took a small gulp of water. The boy shook his head and looked at Sanji, "Hey, Sanji. Can you give me some of my food to eat?"

The blond man rolled his eyes and took out a small bento box. He handed the box to Luffy, but Vivi stopped him for a moment, "Is it really a wise idea to eat now Luffy? You should really wait for the next rock we find. If you eat now, you'll be wasting energy and resources."

The boy scoffed a bit, "Did you hear the saying that goes among the lines of 'eat when you're hungry', now that's really wise."

Usopp smacked the back of his head, "I'm sure that you're the one that said that."

Vivi laughed a little, "As true as that seems, you still shouldn't eat now." She clapped her hands, "Look when we reach the next rock, you can eat all you want."

Luffy stared at her, "You promise."

The girl nodded, "Yes, I promise," she bit her lip, "but I need a favor from you."

The boy nodded his head, but moments later he came to regret his decision.

Now, Luffy was dragging the luggage of the entire crew across the hot desert sand. He looked only to see Nami saying, "Be careful with our stuff, Luffy. Don't you dare lose them."

The boy grumbled under his breath only for Nami to say, "And don't complain, Luffy." He frowned a little when he heard Robin giggling, but he then noticed something. He looked in the distance and saw a bunch of rocks.

Usopp yelled, "I see the rocks up ahead." He then felt a breeze pass by him.

The breeze was Luffy launching himself toward the rocks with the luggage with him. Vivi said, "I hope there aren't any burglar birds there. I'm afraid that he might fall for them."

Robin patted her head saying, "Don't worry about that, Vivi. Luffy knows about them, so he won't fall for their trick that easily." Vivi nodded her head although she was still skeptical.

Back with Luffy, the boy sighed in happiness after landing in the shade away from the sun. he looked around him for a bit and noticed a couple of birds laying on the ground tired and injured. The boy walked up to them and poked them a little.

He then turned around making the birds smirk, but their expression changed once the boy turned back and put them all inside a net. The boy ran toward Sanji, "Sanji, I brought you some birds to cook for us."

Sanji nodded his head, "Good job, Luffy. I'll begin to work on them immediately." He then grabbed Luffy and kicked him yelling, "Don't leave our luggage unattended, you fool."

Moments later, the crew arrived to see Luffy buried halfway through the sand due to Sanji's kick. Sanji could practically feel Robin's cold glare on his back, so he said, "Sorry, my bad."

Zoro then took Luffy out of the sand and said, "Anyway, good job Luffy on stopping these birds from taking our stuff. I doubt we would have been able to find food in the middle of the desert."

The crew sat down as Sanji cooked the birds. Luffy decided to go for a small walk, but Eyelashes stopped him and began to talk to him.

Chopper translated, "He's saying that you shouldn't walk alone in the desert since there are monstrous creatures there like Sandora Lizard."

Luffy laughed a little, "I doubt that there are any monsters that can actually stop me."

Moments later, his words came to fruition. A giant lizard appeared from the sand trying to eat the boy, but Sanji and Zoro joined Luffy in fighting it. The lizard was slain in a couple of moments.

Usopp saw that and said, "They are the true monsters here. We should have warned the lizard about them, not the other way around."

Nami nodded her head, "I can't help, but feel bad for it."

Vivi sweat-dropped at their words.

After a small rest, the crew decided to continue their journey toward Rainbase. They walked through the desert for hours on end. Even when the sun has set down, they were still walking. It was closer to the early hours of the morning when they finally reached a city.

Vivi looked at it and said, "Welcome to Yuba."

Author's notes:

Welcome guys to a new chapter of my story. In this chapter, we saw an attempt to kidnap Cobra, the aftermath of Kozha's capture, Vivi's determination to defeat Crocodile, and finally the crew's arrival to Yuba. The next chapter will carry on from there. I know a lot are wondering why alert the king if I wanted to go with canon. The thing about alerting the king was more of Robin's presence given that she's smart enough to foresee that the rebels might change their location. Plus, we need the canon journey, because with it, Luffy was able to figure out Crocodile's weakness, so please, bear with me.

As always please take of yourselves, write a review expressing your opinion about the current chapter, and tell me which arc are you excited about the most.

And finally, I hope you all enjoy reading my work, and see you next time with a brand new chapter.