The desert city of Nanohana, Alabasta's key port, simmered beneath the punishing glare of the noonday sun.
Inside a dimly lit tavern, the sound of a wooden cup hitting the counter echoed sharply.
"Five thousand Berries for a single cup of water?" Nami muttered, wiping the sweat from her brow. "That's robbery."
Still, she knew complaining wouldn't change anything. This was Alabasta where rain hadn't fallen for three long years. On this land, water was no longer just water. It was gold. It was life itself.
She stepped out of the tavern and was immediately assaulted by scorching air thick with dust and despair. Her navy coat slightly oversized for her slender frame fluttered in the dry wind.
The people trudging along the streets barely lifted their heads. Skin tanned and cracked, lips parched, eyes dulled by hopelessness. Even when they noticed the Marine insignia on her coat, none saluted or called out. They just turned away in silence.
"Alabasta already has a hero," one of them said coldly. "Sir Crocodile protects us. We don't need the Marines."
Nami frowned slightly but didn't respond. Words couldn't change the hearts of people suffocating in misery.
Her attention shifted when she spotted a group moving through the crowd a dozen men, broad-shouldered and well-fed, their identical uniforms crisp and new. In this city of skeletal faces, they looked like predators among the dying.
Their posture radiated arrogance. Power. Ownership.
These men were trouble.
Nami's instincts as both thief and navigator kicked in. She followed silently, weaving through alleys, her steps light and soundless. The group eventually stopped at an inconspicuous warehouse guarded on all sides.
From the way the sentries stood rigid, alert it was clear this wasn't a place ordinary people were meant to see.
Nami's eyes narrowed. She circled around the building and scaled the back wall with the agility of someone who'd once stolen from pirates to survive. Moments later, she slipped through a broken skylight and landed quietly among the shadows.
A sharp chemical odor hit her nose immediately.
The warehouse was packed with crates some sealed with wax, others leaking faint green dust. She crept toward a small office in the corner, heart steady, eyes sharp.
Inside, a locked drawer caught her attention.
"Too easy," she whispered, pulling a thin wire from her boot. With a quick twist, the lock popped open.
Inside lay a thick stack of documents sealed in a brown envelope. She skimmed through the first few pages, and her pulse spiked.
"By direct order of Mr. 0, Baroque Works will deploy Dance Powder to frame the royal army and incite rebellion. The chaos will allow the president to arrive as a savior and claim the people's trust."
Nami's eyes widened. Dance Powder...
This was the proof. The smoking gun that exposed the entire conspiracy to plunge Alabasta into civil war.
She stuffed the documents inside her coat. But before she could slip out
The door slammed open.
A Baroque Works agent froze in the doorway, eyes wide with shock.
"Hey who are you?!"
Nami didn't hesitate. She lunged forward, smashed through the window, and leapt from the second floor. Glass shattered behind her as she landed, rolled, and sprinted into the maze of streets.
"Thief!"
Alarms blared. The warehouse erupted into chaos as dozens of agents poured out.
"Catch her!"
"Don't let her escape!"
The local commander burst into the ransacked office and saw the broken drawer. His face drained of color. "No... the documents!"
Grabbing a Den Den Mushi, he screamed into it, "Mobilize everyone! Hunt that woman down! Now!"
The chase ripped through the heart of Nanohana. Dust and panic filled the air as Nami darted between crowds, her boots pounding the cracked pavement. She knew she couldn't fight an army but she could outthink them.
As she vanished into an alley, a massive transport turtle ambled slowly down the desert road outside the city.
Inside the shaded cabin atop its shell, a woman in a dark denim outfit sat gracefully, a cup of tea balanced in one hand.
Her long black hair cascaded like silk beneath a wide-brimmed hat that shadowed her eyes, though the faintest smile curved her lips.
This was Nico Robin codename Miss All Sunday the mysterious vice president of Baroque Works.
The soft ring of a Den Den Mushi broke the quiet.
"Buru buru... buru buru..."
Robin set down her tea and lifted the receiver.
"Miss All Sunday!" barked a shrill voice. "It's an emergency! Someone's stolen critical documents from Nanohana!"
It was Mr. 3, his voice trembling.
Robin's smile didn't fade. "Oh? That sounds... troublesome."
She leaned back in her seat, eyes half-closed. "I'll handle it."
Her tone was calm, but in her mind, she already knew what this meant. Someone had just pulled a thread connected directly to Crocodile himself.
And that thread could unravel everything.
...
Far above the seas, a thunderous roar echoed across the sky.
A colossal current of water Knock Up Stream shot upward, carrying a frozen platform of ice upon which five massive Marine battleships rested.
Standing at the prow, Admiral Kuzan surveyed the dazzling expanse of white sea clouds.
"So this is Sky Island, huh?" he murmured. "Peaceful. I like it."
Below, Shandian scouts spotted the impossible sight ships in the sky.
"Vessels! Huge ones!"
Their captain gawked, gripping his spear. "Steel ships on ice... who what are they?"
Then he saw the Marine insignia fluttering in the wind.
"It's the Navy! Like Admiral Hawk's fleet!"
He turned sharply. "Quick! Inform Lord Gan Fall and the Chief!"
Moments later, two figures soared through the clouds Gan Fall, the former "God" and current guardian of Skypiea, and the Shandian chieftain, both arriving astride flying beasts.
They hovered before the fleet, wary yet respectful.
"I am Gan Fall, protector of Skypiea," the older man announced, bowing slightly. "To what do we owe the honor of the Navy's visit?"
Kuzan raised a lazy hand in greeting. "Kuzan, Admiral of the Navy Headquarters. I'm here on... moving duty."
"Moving duty?" the Shandian chief echoed, blinking.
Then realization dawned. "Wait you're here on behalf of Admiral Renn Hawk?"
Kuzan smirked faintly. "That kid... always volunteering his seniors for heavy work."
Gan Fall's stern expression melted into laughter. "Ah, so you're allies! Then please, come in peace."
The tension vanished as the two leaders gestured for the Marines to dock.
Kuzan waved at his men. "Alright, you heard them. Let's start loading the gold."
As Marines began unloading supplies and preparing for transport, the admiral turned back toward the two Sky Island leaders.
"Mind if we talk?" he asked casually, motioning to a nearby tea table on deck. "I'm curious to hear what my overachieving junior has been up to up here."
He smiled cool, relaxed, but thoughtful.
Renn Hawk's name carried far, even to the heavens.
And for the first time, Kuzan wanted to understand just how far that justice of his could reach.
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