They stopped along the river so Vivi could send Karoo ahead to her father with the information she found while under cover. Ace stood next to Luna and Zoro before he mentioned it was weird that a war lord would want to stay on land. Luna nodded her agreement while Zoro questioned what Ace meant. Before either sibling could explain Luffy called to set sail. It wasn't long before they made landfall and changed into the clothes bought for the desert. Luna noticed Luffy still in his regular outfit. With a sigh she called over her younger brother. Unknowingly having two sets of eyes on her.
"Lu come over here so I can assist you." The boy rushed over to his sister as she handed him a robe. After he slipped it on, Luna secured his head wrap around his hat and head.
"Hey what are those?" Everyone moved to the side of the ship to look down at the Kung fu dongs. Vivi explain the creatures to the crew while Luna had to hold back a squeal at how cute they were. Usopp jumped down to fight the cuties only to be sorely beaten. Vivi continued her explanation while the siblings watched their younger brother jump down to fight them.
Chopper called out to the princess, "Luffy just beat them."
"What?!? That's even worse!"
Luna sighed as she shrugged, "nothing can be done now. We should head out."
Luffy was showing his new followers how to fight. The group was ready to continue when the Kung fu dongs began to follow. Luna turned and bent down to the creatures, "you would assist us best by staying here to guard the Merry, she's very special to us."
The lead creature nodded as they turned back to the ship. Chopper stood next to her, "that was a good idea Luna."
"It will keep them save as well as leave Merry with protection in case any of the Baroque Works finds her."
The group made there way from shore to a sand covered town, almost completely swallowed by the desert.
"Is this the town of Yuba?" Luffy asked while taking in his surroundings and Vivi shook her head.
"This is Erumalu. It used to be known as the City of Green..." she mumbled, staring around the once great city in though. "This is what Baroque Works has done to this country... what the people of Alabasta are going through..."
She trailed of as the group more into the desolated city, a pained expression adorned her features.
"There's nothing anymore!" Usopp cried out only to receive a hand upside the head by Luna. The woman giving him a glare quieting the sharpshooter.
"Yes. It's a ghost town now, but up until just recently it was a thriving city of greenery."
"This place was?" Zoro questioned as he kicked one of the palm trees which disintegrated upon his touch and earned the same treatment Usopp received from Luna.
"Rain was always scarce, but even so the city was able to manage by saving every last drop of rainwater it could. But the last three years now, not a single drop of rain has fallen in any part of the country."
"Usually environment with limited rain such as Alabasta build around oases. I'm guessing that ravine ahead was once said oasis?"
Vivi smile sadly, "yes. Never in the thousand of years of Alabasta's history has rain stopped completely. But there was one place where the rain fell more than usual... Alubarna, the capital. The city with the King's palace..."
Vivi continued to explain about the discovery of Dance Powder. A scowl crossing over Luna's features, as Nami explained what Dance Powder was to the others.
"Oh, I get it! You mean that mystery powder! I ate some a while back! It taste really bad!" Luffy exclaimed with a sour look on his faced.
Zoro and Nami argued with Luffy before Usopp chimed in, "hold on, wouldn't something like that be perfect for this country."
Nami retorted back, "as the name suggests, the country that developed Dance powder was almost happy enough to dance at first... but there was a catch: the neighboring county had a drought. Understand?"
Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp looked at her confused before Luna cut in, "the powder essentially 'steals' rain from areas around where it is used."
The three youngest all gave a identical 'oh' in response. Vivi continued, "eventually war broke out between the two countries and many lives were lost as a result. Ever since, the World Goverment has put a worldwide ban on the production and possession of Dance Powder."
"Powder that can bring both happiness and dread when used..." Usopp mumbled in shock.
"When all that Dance Powder was brought into the port town, Alabasta was in the middle of a strange weather phenomenon where rain fell nowhere but in the town where the king lives..."
Luffy cut Vivi off, "Hold on, Vivi! That means your dad is the bad guy here!" Sanji slammed his foot into Luffy's head. "You idiot! He was framed! Vivi-chan's father would never do any such thing!"
"Of course, my father had nothing to do with it, but at around the same time, a massive amount of Dance Powder was found inside th palace... The ravine is the destroyed canal that used to bring water from the Sandora River."
The group retook the road to Yuba as Vivi continued her story, "with the canal gone, the City of Green could no longer secure waster. As if praying, the people continued to wait, but the rain never came. Ever since the Dance Powder incident, distrust in the king grew daily."
"I'm guessing Crocodile is feeding that fire aswell?" Luna chimed.
"Then the fighting finally began, to escape the fighting the exhausted people abandoned the city and left for other oases in the search for water." Vivi stopped walking as the others stopped in kind. "And then... The City of Green withered away."
Suddenly the wind whipped around them and started to howl, the power intensing each second.
"Huh? Is that someone's voice?" Luffy called out.
"Is it the rebel army?" Nami cried.
"Don't tell me Baroque Works has been following us!" Usopp shrieked.
Ace finally answered them, "no. It's just the wind."
"It has to be someone's voice!" Argued Luffy to his brother.
"It's coming from all directions! What do we do, Big Brother?!" Usopp panicky cried.
"There's no danger," continued Ace. "It's just the wind blowing across the two and echoing off the old buildings."
The wind became stronger, "it's as if the city of Erumalu is crying..." Vivi muttered. A small tornado started to form, Luna's eyes stand fixated on it. "Prepare yourselves!"
Ace's arm slid over Luna's shoulders keeping her close as the wind and tornado blew over them all. Like Luffy, Luna saw the face of Crocodile inside the tornado. Her dark blue eyes glaring at the figure. Just as quickly as it formed the torndo dispersed. Luffy met Luna's eyes and without a question she nodded to him.
"There's someone who collapsed!" Vivi cried running for the fallen body. Luna took off after the princess and grabbed her shoulder to turn her into a hug. "No Vivi it's not. Don't look." Luna locked eyes with Ace moving them to the fallen body.
Without seeing the horror before them Vivi broke knowing what the older woman was shielding her from, "... My father... What did the citizens of this country ever do? These people have worked so hard to live, being natives of the desert land who are forced to fight nature... yet he distroyes their live! What gives him the right to do that?! Why?" Tears fell like waterfalls from the princess' eyes. "All the while, as one of the Seven Warlords, he pretends to be a hero of the people! No one realizes he's deceiving the entire country! I can't let him get away with this!"
Ace nodded to Luna after finishing the burial, Luna released the crying princess to Nami. Looking over to where Luffy stood near a dilapidated tower, with a loud yell the boy punched the tower collapsing it. Zoro just clicked his tongue, "geez, you're all such kids."
"Vivi! I'm itching to do this now!" Luffy said his determined expression adorning his features.
"Yes. To Yuba." She stood with a determined look aswell.