The monstrous sandstorm had finally passed, leaving a heavy, suffocating silence in its wake. But getting their goofy, rubber-brained captain to sit still and rest was truly a task too difficult for anyone to manage.
It was already pitch black outside. The temperature difference between day and night in the Great Desert of Alabasta was nothing short of extreme. Compared to the blistering, skin-scorching heat of the midday sun, the bone-chilling cold of the desert night was even less suitable for traveling. The wind howled through the ruined, skeletal structures of Yuba, carrying a biting frost that seemed to pierce right through clothes and skin. Thus, the Straw Hats had unanimously agreed to spend the night huddled inside the sturdy stone house and split up for their operations early the next morning.
Kai stepped out of the heavy wooden door of the house, immediately pulling his thick, sandy-tan desert cloak tightly around his shoulders. He adjusted the light fabric scarf around his neck, trying to block the frigid wind from biting at his skin. He exhaled, his breath forming a faint white mist in the freezing air. He looked around the ruined city, the moonlight casting long, eerie shadows across the half-buried buildings.
A rhythmic, desperate scraping sound echoed through the silent night. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape.
He followed the noise, his boots crunching softly against the frozen sand. He walked toward the center of the abandoned town, cresting the edge of a large, wind-scoured dune. Inside a massive crater, Uncle Toto was still digging with all his might. His hunched back appeared quite conspicuous, a solitary figure of defiance under the pale, silvery moonlight.
"You haven't slept yet, Uncle Toto?" Kai called out gently, slowly walking down the slope of the dune so as not to startle the old man.
Hearing footsteps, Toto paused his frantic digging. He turned around, his chest heaving with exhaustion, and smiled kindly. He leaned heavily on a rusty, iron-tipped spear he was using as a makeshift digging tool since his shovel had snapped against Luffy's head earlier that day.
"I am truly sorry," Toto wheezed, his breath rattling in his dry throat. "I was too agitated during the day. I shouldn't have lost my temper. You are all doing this for Princess Vivi's sake, risking your lives for a country that isn't your own. She is so lucky to have met such kind, brave people like you."
Kai smiled, waving a hand casually as he approached the bottom of the pit. "It's fine, really. Don't worry about it. We're a crew, and Vivi is our friend. Helping out is just what we do."
He looked at the old man's trembling, blistered hands gripping the rusted spear. "Also, Uncle, it's incredibly late, and it's freezing out here. Why don't you go get some rest? You're going to collapse at this rate."
"Hehe, I can't rest yet. Because I have to prove it to my idiot son," Uncle Toto said, his wrinkled face suddenly filling with an unshakeable, sheer determination. He gripped the spear tighter, his knuckles turning white. "I want to prove to Koza and the rest of them that Yuba will not lose to the sand! There is still life here. I know it."
His pair of cloudy, sunken old eyes shone brightly in the dark night. That brilliant, unwavering light was named hope.
Kai looked at the old man, profoundly moved. The sheer willpower of this frail, starving man was staggering. He wasn't a warrior, he didn't have a Devil Fruit, but his spirit was as strong as titanium. Kai glanced down at his left wrist, pushing back the sleeve of his desert cloak to reveal the sleek, orange-and-black interface of his Power Watch.
He didn't have world-shattering strength yet. He couldn't split the sky or shatter islands. But he had enough power to help a friend in need.
"Let me give you a hand, Uncle Toto," Kai said gently, stepping up beside the old man.
He tapped the glowing interface of his watch. He synced his neural intent with the core chamber inside the device.
"Elemental Power: Earth!"
A brilliant, heavy yellow light flared from his wrist, illuminating the dark crater. The ambient energy of the earth swirled around his arms. Kai crouched down and pressed both his palms flat against the hard, packed, freezing dirt at the bottom of the pit. He focused his energy downward. He wasn't trying to move a mountain or build a fortress; he just needed to part the heavy layers of compacted sand and rock.
The earth rumbled softly beneath their feet. A deep, smooth crater opened up between Kai's hands, the dirt and sand shifting aside like Moses parting the Red Sea, burrowing straight down into the bedrock. Because he was only at Level One, it took a significant amount of concentration to push the earth so deep, beads of sweat forming on his forehead despite the cold.
"Amazing..." Toto gasped, stepping back as the hole deepened by several meters in mere seconds. "Are you a Devil Fruit user too, young man?"
"Something like that. But hold on, we're not done yet," Kai grinned, standing up and shaking the dirt from his hands. He tapped the watch interface a second time.
"Elemental Power: Water!"
The heavy yellow light instantly shifted into a soothing, brilliant cyan glow that washed over his desert robes. Kai closed his eyes, extending his senses downward. He felt for the deep underground moisture buried far, far beneath the dead oasis. It was incredibly faint, blocked by years of drought and layers of stone, but it was definitely there.
With a forceful, dramatic upward swing of his arms, Kai pulled.
Gurgle... Gurgle...
The distinct, unmistakable sound of rushing water echoed from the pitch-black depths of the newly formed pit.
"Th-This... could it be..." The beautiful sound of flowing water pulled Uncle Toto entirely out of his daze. He stumbled forward, dropping his rusted spear, his eyes wide with absolute disbelief.
Splosh! A clear, freezing spring suddenly sprayed up from the deep pit. The surging water shot into the air like a geyser, instantly filling the depression Kai had made and flowing outward, soaking the surrounding dry sand. The smell of fresh, clean water filled the crisp night air.
The birth of this water well seemed to bring new vitality and endless hope to the city that had long lost its life. Uncle Toto fell to his knees on the wet sand in absolute ecstasy. He scooped up the hard-won water with his trembling, dirt-caked hands, splashing it onto his face and gulping it down in large, desperate mouthfuls.
"This city is still alive! This country is also still alive! You idiot son, why did you..." As the withered old man spoke, he couldn't help but start crying uncontrollably, his tears mixing with the fresh spring water. "I knew it! I knew it! Yuba will not lose to the sand!"
"That's right," Kai smiled warmly, brushing the wet sand off his cloak and letting the cyan light fade from his watch. "This country won't lose. Not while people like you are still fighting for it."
The next morning, the sun rose with a vengeance, instantly transforming the freezing desert back into a scorching, life-draining oven.
Inside the stone house, Nami had unrolled the map across the wooden table once more. The atmosphere was serious. Thanks to the crumpled ledgers Kai and Bot had retrieved from the Baroque Works bounty hunters back in Nanohana, they had a massive tactical advantage. They knew exactly how Crocodile was supplying the Rebel Army to ensure maximum casualties.
"According to these documents," Nami pointed at the map, "Crocodile is smuggling high-grade military weapons to the Rebel Army through three small, concealed port cities on the west bank of the Sandora River: Tolba, Wato, and Solatas. If those weapons reach the rebels at Katorea, the death toll at the capital will be catastrophic."
"Then we stop the boats," Zoro said simply, adjusting his swords.
"Exactly," Nami nodded. "To disrupt Crocodile's plans and delay the massive bloodshed at Alubarna, we're going to split up and strike the transport ships simultaneously before we regroup and head straight for his headquarters in Rainbase."
With their targets set, the Straw Hat Pirates moved out, their resolve hardened by the sight of Toto's unwavering faith.
Tolba Port.
The sun beat down mercilessly on the small, bustling harbor of Tolba. Watching a massive, heavily guarded transport ship slowly sailing out of the port and into the wide currents of the Sandora River, Zoro hid quietly behind a large sand dune on the shore.
He glanced down at the long-nosed sniper lying flat on his stomach beside him. "Hey, Usopp. Is the time bomb you made actually reliable? If it doesn't explode soon, they're going to get out of range, and I'm going to have to swim up there and cut the ship in half myself."
After speaking, the green-haired swordsman tightened his grip on the three sharp swords at his waist, his single visible eye shining with a chilling, predatory cold light like an unsheathed blade.
"Don't be impatient, Zoro! Have a little faith!" Usopp whispered harshly, looking at a tarnished pocket watch he had procured from somewhere. He spoke with a completely calm face, masking his internal terror. "Trust in the brilliant inventions of the great Captain Usopp! My calculations are flawless. There are less than three seconds left until the explosion..."
Three. Two. One.
BOOM!!!! A deafening, thunderous noise rang out, violently shaking the ground beneath them. The huge transport ship that had just left the port suddenly erupted into a spectacular, blinding explosion. A massive fireball ignited on the surface of the Sandora River, sending a towering plume of black smoke into the sky. The violent shockwave sent flaming wooden debris and shattered crates of weapons flying far into the distance, crashing into the water with heavy splashes.
The green-haired swordsman recovered his senses from the bright flash and looked at the long-nose beside him, who was already scared silly by the sheer size of the blast he had created. Zoro raised an approving eyebrow. "Not bad. That was your three seconds?"
"Did I say three?" Usopp laughed sheepishly, wiping sweat from his brow. "I meant to say... exactly on time! Hahaha!"
Wato Port.
Further down the river at Wato Port, stealth was not on the menu. On a huge transport ship currently docked and loading crates, a rubber idiot in a straw hat was engaged in a chaotic, life-or-death struggle with a large group of Baroque Works minions.
Actually, no, calling it a struggle would be giving the minions too much credit. It would be far more accurate to say Luffy was mowing down grass in a video game.
"Gum-Gum... Gatling!"
Luffy's fists blurred into a wall of high-speed rubber projectiles. A massive wave of small fry screamed in unison as they were battered mercilessly and sent flying off the deck, crashing into the wooden docks and the river below.
"What is this kid?!" a massive, scarred pirate yelled, drawing a cutlass. "Shoot him! Shoot him now!"
"Gum-Gum... Spiral Bullet!"
Luffy twisted his arms like tight coils and unleashed a devastating, spinning punch that shattered the pirate's cutlass and launched him completely over the ship's mast. Another wave of small fry screamed as they were sent flying into the sky like Team Rocket.
"Alright, time to finish this!" Luffy laughed, launching himself high into the air above the ship. "Gum-Gum... Axe!"
The moron captain stretched his leg forcefully straight up into the clouds. Then, utilizing the massive elasticity of his Devil Fruit, his foot, clad in a simple wooden flip-flop, smashed ruthlessly down onto the main deck of the transport ship with astonishing, meteoric force.
Creak— SNAP!
The heavy oak keel of the transport ship let out a terrifying sound of being completely overwhelmed. Subsequently, the entire ship snapped violently in two right down the middle. Water rushed in instantly, dragging the vessel and its full load of illegal equipment down to the muddy bottom of the Sandora River.
"Honestly, Luffy is so impatient. I still wanted to test the power of my new weapon," Nami sighed.
She stood safely on the flat roof of a sandstone building in Wato Port, gently caressing the blue Clima-Tact tied at her waist. Watching the transport ship slowly sinking in the distance, she shook her head with extreme helplessness.
"Nami! Help! Save me! I can't swim!" Luffy's panicked, drowning shouts suddenly came bubbling up from the sinking wreckage in the river.
"That idiot..." The navigator rolled her eyes, let out a long, suffering sigh, and face-palmed before running down to the docks to fish out her useless captain.
Solatas Port.
At the final port, the Baroque Works agents were frantically trying to launch their ship early, having seen the smoke rising from Tolba in the distance.
"Hurry it up! Get those cannons below deck! We need to cast off!" the ship's captain roared.
"I don't think you're going anywhere today," a calm voice echoed from the wooden pier.
The captain turned to see a teenager wearing an Alabasta-style desert cloak, his hands tucked casually into his pockets.
"Take this! Elemental Power: Leaf!" Kai shouted, tapping his glowing watch.
Bright, vibrant green vines erupted from the wooden planks of the pier and the muddy riverbank. Because it was a Level One power, he couldn't summon a massive forest, but the vines shot forward like highly precise, incredibly fast whips. They wrapped tightly around the wooden masts, the riggings, and the massive iron anchor of the transport ship, locking the vessel firmly in place.
The vines then lashed across the deck, coiling around the legs and arms of the panicked smugglers, tying them up tightly like neatly packaged presents.
"Nice shot, Kai!" Bot's robotic voice cheered from the watch speaker. "They're totally tangled up! Like flies in a web!"
"What kind of Devil Fruit is that?!" the captain screamed, struggling uselessly against the incredibly tough green vines.
"With this, the Rebel Army will be completely lacking in weapons and equipment. They won't be able to attack proactively, saving countless lives," Sanji said smoothly.
He stepped out from the shadow of a nearby building, lighting a fresh cigarette. He watched the ship get fully immobilized before turning his attention to comfort the blue-haired girl beside him.
"Everything is going according to plan. Your country will definitely be fine, Vivi-chan," Sanji swooned, his visible eye briefly turning into a heart.
Vivi smiled, clutching her hands to her chest in immense relief. The first step of their counterattack was a complete success.
The City of Dreams — Rainbase.
Deep in the luxurious, heavily guarded basement of the Rain Dinners casino, the atmosphere was thick enough to cut with a knife.
"Bastard! Who the hell did it?!"
Sir Crocodile slammed his golden-hooked hand onto his heavy mahogany desk, shattering a crystal glass. His eyes were bursting with astonishing killing intent, resembling a wild, prehistoric beast in a violent rage ready to devour people.
"The weapons scheduled for transport at Tolba, Wato, and Solatas ports were all destroyed simultaneously. Why exactly at this time?! Who leaked the intel?!"
The feeling was infuriating, like meticulously stacking a massive tower of building blocks; just as you are about to carefully place the final piece, a rogue hand suddenly reaches out and pulls a crucial block from the very bottom. Although it was just a small piece of the grand puzzle, it caused the towering, intricate plans to wobble dangerously.
Rustle, rustle...
Under extreme emotional agitation, Crocodile involuntarily activated his Logia Devil Fruit ability, the Suna Suna no Mi. The expensive, polished wooden table in front of him instantly dried up, looking as if it had rapidly aged thousands of years, and gradually crumbled into a pile of useless, fine sand that spilled onto the carpet.
"It should be the work of the Straw Hat crew. Aren't they still alive?"
Nico Robin, operating under her alias Miss All Sunday, sat on a plush velvet sofa not far away. She was holding a thick historical text, answering softly without even bothering to look up from her page. "That group is remarkably persistent."
Waving his hand to disperse the cloud of fine sand before him, Crocodile took a deep, steadying breath to calm himself down. He never imagined that these small fry, who he thought couldn't stir up any big waves in his massive desert kingdom, would actually cause such a major problem for the master plan he had painstakingly prepared for years.
"Useless trash. The Millions and Billions couldn't handle a rookie pirate crew. Feeding them all to the Bananawani in the basement pool would be letting them off easy!" Crocodile leaned back in his large leather chair with an ashen face, his gloomy eyes flickering as he pondered some vicious countermeasure.
A long, heavy silence stretched across the opulent office.
"Kuhahaha... Hahahaha!..."
The Sand Crocodile suddenly laughed inexplicably, the deep sound vibrating in his chest. The laughter grew increasingly rampant, echoing off the stone walls of the basement. That somewhat piercing, arrogant laughter made Robin finally look up, her brow furrowing slightly.
"How naive. Do they truly think destroying a few ships of weapons will quell those people's deep-seated hatred for the King?" Crocodile reined in his smile. His serious expression, combined with the massive, jagged scar spanning horizontally across his face, appeared even more terrifying.
"Didn't you want to stop the war, Princess Vivi? Just this much is far from enough! The spark has already been lit."
Crocodile stood up, his massive fur coat billowing behind him.
"Ms. All Sunday," Crocodile growled, his voice dropping to a lethal octave. "Have Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger execute the original assassination plan on the King. Also, help me contact Mr. 2 privately. It's time we gave the Rebel Army a reason to march without their weapons."
East Bank of the Sandora River.
The Straw Hat crew had successfully reunited after their sabotage missions. However, their high spirits were quickly being ground down by the unforgiving environment.
The scorching sun hung directly overhead, baking the endless sea of sand on the ground until it was scalding hot. The pressing, suffocating heatwave was ruthlessly squeezing out the remaining moisture from everyone's exhausted bodies. With no river to travel on, they were forced to cross the most brutal stretch of the Great Desert entirely on foot.
They trudged step by agonizing step through the endless, rolling dunes, forced to carry their heavy luggage, water barrels, and supplies themselves.
"Water... I need water... I'm dying..." Usopp groaned pitifully. His tongue hung out of his mouth, and his eyes were rolling back in his head. He looked on the verge of total, irreversible collapse.
"Usopp, rather than wasting your precious stamina shouting and complaining, you'd be much better off keeping your head down and walking honestly," Nami admonished him earnestly, adjusting the brim of her desert hood to block the sun.
"You, who are sitting comfortably on top of that thing, are the one least qualified to say that, okay?!" The long-nosed brother pointed indignantly, his finger trembling with exhaustion and rage.
Nami and Vivi were currently riding quite comfortably on the back of a large, two-humped desert camel. This camel had been serendipitously saved by Luffy from the mouth of a giant, terrifying desert lizard earlier that morning on their way to the rendezvous point. Afterward, they discovered this lecherous camel absolutely refused to carry men, kicking and spitting at anyone who wasn't female. Thus, it became Nami and Vivi's exclusive, VIP mount.
"Hehe, there's no helping it." Nami smiled unapologetically and patted the camel's thick, furry neck. "Who told him to only carry ladies?Isn't that right, Eyelashes?"
The lecherous camel, affectionately named "Eyelashes" by the navigator due to his incredibly long lashes, immediately let out an excited, happy cry under Nami's gentle stroking. He simultaneously revealed a swooning, lovestruck face that gave everyone a very strong, very annoying sense of déjà vu.
Zoro wiped sweat from his brow and cast a look full of absolute contempt at the camel. He then deliberately asked the curly-browed cook walking nearby, "Hey. You didn't raise this stupid camel from childhood, did you? Even the ridiculous way it acts when it's lovestruck is exactly like you."
"..." Sanji, behaving extremely uncharacteristically, didn't reply with a kick or an insult. He just kept walking, taking a slow drag from his cigarette, looking incredibly heavy-hearted and lost in deep thought.
Zoro raised his eyebrows, feeling it was very strange. Usually, an insult like that would spark a brawl that would kick up a sandstorm of its own. "Oi, Curly-brows. What are you thinking about?"
Sanji only then snapped out of his daze, blinking against the harsh sunlight. "Hm? Moss-head, did you say something?"
"I said, are you worried about something?" the green-haired swordsman grinned, a hint of genuine curiosity in his tone.
Although these two usually seemed completely incompatible, constantly cursing each other out or exchanging heavy blows, they always noticed when the other was off their game. They were the two wings of the Pirate King, after all.
"Nothing, I just think it's too damn hot..." Sanji smiled faintly, causing Zoro, who possessed incredibly sharp intuition, to frown slightly. Sanji was definitely plotting something, acting as a secret wildcard in the background.
Kai walked near the front of the group, occasionally using a burst of his Level One Water power to cool his own face, wishing he could use it on everyone but knowing it would drain his stamina too quickly. He adjusted the collar of his desert cloak. "Hang in there, guys. Rainbase isn't much further. Just over the next major dune ridge."
"Alright! We walk to Rainbase just like this!" Luffy shouted enthusiastically.
He tightened the thick leather straps of the giant, incredibly heavy barrel of water strapped to his back. Despite the blistering heat, the exhaustion, and the immense weight he was carrying, the rubber captain couldn't help but reveal a massive, wide smile full of boundless, infectious energy.
He looked toward the hazy, heat-distorted horizon where the casino city awaited them.
"...And then, I'm gonna send that bastard Crocodile flying!"