Sherlock was a man of his word. After all, as a successful merchant, integrity had to be the foundation of his business.
Therefore, after obtaining the intelligence he wanted, Sherlock did not hesitate to throw Mr. 11 out the cabin window. In his words, that guy had no value left on the Going Merry other than wasting food.
The Sorcerer's somewhat exasperating actions made Sanji and the others involuntarily think back to Miss Valentine. If her Devil Fruit ability hadn't been useful for Zoro's training, that lemon-pie-loving assassin likely wouldn't have met a good end either.
After several hours of sailing, the Straw Hat Pirates arrived at the west bank of the Sandora River.
Zoro and Sanji moored the Going Merry, then began moving the food and water off the ship. At the same time, Sherlock once again demonstrated the unparalleled convenience of the Mirror-Mirror Fruit. With a wave of his hand, he stored the pile of supplies into his Mirror Space, causing Nami to exclaim that this ability was simply too perfect for traveling.
However, just as the fully prepped Straw Hats were planning to head toward Yuba, a large group of strange creatures suddenly popped up from the riverbank. They weren't very big and looked much like seals, yet they carried green turtle shells on their backs. They looked quite cute.
"What on earth are these creatures?" The long-nosed brother walked up curiously.
"Don't, Usopp!" Vivi turned pale with fright. "Those are Kung Fu Dugongs! They love to fight!"
"Vivi, you're too late..." x3
Nami, Zoro, and Sanji watched the Kung Fu Dugong standing triumphantly on top of the bruised and battered Usopp, and they all waved their hands in unison.
"Usopp, so pitiful..." Chopper, who had always been easily fooled by Usopp, wore a look of shock. The innocent little reindeer really hadn't expected that the "Invincible Captain Usopp" would have less combat power than a single Kung Fu Dugong.
Sherlock calmly pushed up his glasses, pointing at the knucklehead captain who had already knocked out a large swathe of the Kung Fu Dugongs. He spoke softly, "It doesn't matter. Luffy has already avenged Usopp..."
"Yee-haw!" Luffy let out a roar of cooperation.
Princess Vivi's mouth twitched a few times as she explained to everyone, "Even winning against them is no good. Kung Fu Dugongs are strict martial artists; if you defeat them, they will acknowledge you as their master..."
Ten minutes later...
Although the dim-witted captain thought having so many Kung Fu Dugong disciples was a very interesting thing, the group didn't have time to delay. In the end, with Chopper acting as a translator, Sherlock stepped forward to negotiate with the cute little things. It cost half of their food supplies to get them to stop pestering Luffy.
At the same time, this group of Kung Fu Dugongs—whose combat power completely eclipsed Usopp's—was charged with the responsibility of protecting the safety of the Going Merry.
The scorching sun hung high overhead. Endless yellow sand swirled and flew under the blowing of the fierce wind—a desolate and monotonous scene.
This was the life-forbidden zone within Alabasta—the Great Desert.
A surprisingly large carpet sped rapidly across this boundless sea of sand, kicking up layers of sand waves and leaving a long trail behind it.
Sitting on the carpet were several people dressed in desert-style clothing. It was the Straw Hat crew, and this carpet was a Magic Carpet generated by Sherlock's Quadruple Mirror Fusion.
Because the load was seriously overweight, the speed of the Magic Carpet was greatly reduced. However, this was still much faster than walking. Vivi had said it would take half a day to walk to Yuba, but riding the Magic Carpet would take less than two hours.
"Phew~ It's a good thing we have Sherlock. Otherwise, traveling under such terrifying sunlight would be a nightmare..." Usopp said, feeling extremely fortunate. Even sitting on the Magic Carpet, the rolling waves of heat still lashed at his face, making the long-nosed brother quickly feel his mouth go dry.
If you're thirsty, you have to drink water. So, Usopp hurriedly shouted at the dim-witted captain sitting at the very front, "Hey, Luffy! Hurry up and give me the canteen!"
"Wait, let me take one last sip!" After saying that, Luffy sucked hard on the canteen's straw. His mouth instantly expanded in an exaggerated manner. This act of cheating using the Gum-Gum Fruit's ability immediately made the long-nosed brother explode with rage.
"You bastard! Is that one sip? That's almost twenty of mine! Give me the canteen!" After speaking, Usopp reached out to yank Luffy's hair.
"Honestly, can't these two behave a little?" Zoro shook his head helplessly. Then, he looked at the little reindeer lying on the Magic Carpet playing dead and asked with concern, "Chopper, are you okay?"
"I'm not okay... I just feel too hot. I... I'm going to die of heat..." Chopper stuck his tongue out weakly, looking like he was on the verge of death.
Everything has two sides. As a reindeer who lived on a Winter Island, although Chopper's thick fur allowed him to ignore biting cold winds, it also left him with zero resistance against scorching hot environments.
"So pitiful, Chopper." Nami, sitting on her knees on the Magic Carpet, couldn't bear the sight. She picked up the little reindeer and rested his small head on her ivory-white thighs, hoping this would make Chopper feel more comfortable.
Unfortunately, this was just wishful thinking on the Navigator's part. Not only did the little reindeer not feel any better, but he was also choked by the perfume sprayed on Nami's body. Who told his nose to be so sensitive?
Seeing this scene, a certain love-struck curly-brow immediately lost his cool...
(Ahhhh, Nami-san's lap pillow!! I'm so envious... Why do you still look reluctant, you stinking reindeer!!! Damn it, I... That's right! I can do that too...)
An idea flashed through Sanji's mind like lightning. He smiled lewdly, then immediately feigned an expression of unbearable suffering from the heat.
"Ah~~ Nami-san, your brave knight is also dying of heat..." Sanji said with his mouth, but his right eye had already turned into a heart shape as he leaned toward Nami with a perverted look. "I need your comfort, Na..."
Bang!
"Then just die of heat!" Nami, her face dark, unceremoniously bashed the love-struck cook on the head, causing Princess Vivi, who was sitting next to Nami, to smile awkwardly.
Zoro curled his lips in disdain. "This Ero-Kappa's love-sickness is truly incurable..."
Dr. Chopper stuck out his tongue and nodded in deep agreement.
At this moment, Sherlock, sitting in the center of the Magic Carpet, noticed Chopper's abnormality. He reached out and lifted the little reindeer from Nami's lap, placing him in his own embrace. Then, with a thought:
—Mirror Reflection.
Ripples instantly appeared in the air on the surface of Chopper's body, forming an invisible force field. A moment later, the little reindeer was surprised to find that the surroundings no longer felt so unbearably hot.
"Thank you, Sherlock." Chopper looked at the Sorcerer with gratitude. "What did you just do? Is this sorcery?"
"It's not sorcery~" Sherlock smiled and pushed up his glasses. "I just reflected a portion of the heat from the outside world away from you."
(I have to say, this guy's fruit ability is just too convenient...) Everyone silently commented in their hearts.
After a while, Vivi suddenly pointed in a direction and said to everyone, "Look, everyone! That is Erumalu, the place I mentioned."
Sherlock and the others turned to look and discovered a vast expanse of building ruins in the distance. Judging from the scale of these structures, it wasn't hard to see how prosperous a city this used to be. But now, all that remained was the sky-filled yellow sand and a lifeless silence.
As the Magic Carpet carried everyone slowly closer to this abandoned city, the expressions of Luffy and the others grew increasingly serious. They had heard Vivi say before that Erumalu used to be a vibrant green oasis, shining like a brilliant diamond in this desert. But now? Where was there anything even remotely related to green?
Arriving before a building that had been eroded out of shape by the wind and sand, Sherlock dismissed the Magic Carpet, planning to take a short rest.
Princess Vivi wandered through this dead city. Her originally moist eyes were filled with sorrow; she seemed to see the despairing expressions of the people when they were forced to leave their homes due to the lack of water.
"Vivi-san, what exactly happened here? Wasn't this an oasis?" Sanji, walking beside her, lit a cigarette and asked softly. The tragic scene here made the curly-browed cook feel exceptionally depressed.
Recovering her senses, Vivi calmed herself and began to slowly recount Crocodile's various unknown evil deeds to the group.
The Dance Powder, framing the King, the rise of the rebel army, and the Sand Crocodile becoming a "National Hero."
"...Why did that guy have to do this?" Vivi became more agitated as she spoke. By the end, she could no longer control her emotions and began to shout loudly as if venting.
"What wrong did my father, or the people of this country, ever do?"
"Why must my people suffer?"
"Why must my people kill each other?"
"Why is that bastard, the culprit behind it all, worshipped as a hero by the very people he victimized!?"
At this point, the blue-haired girl knelt on the sandy ground with a look of misery. She gripped the sand on the ground tightly, her entire body trembling slightly from anger.
"I will absolutely never forgive him! Crocodile!!"
Wooooo~~
Suddenly, a gust of wild wind rolled up countless grains of flying sand and whistled past the group and the surrounding broken walls. Then, under the blowing of this wind, the surrounding buildings emitted a sound like ghostly weeping. Echoes reverberated; that extremely desolate sound was as if the city itself was sobbing, telling the visitors of its pain at being swallowed completely by the wind and sand.
(Vivi...)
The others looked at the blue-haired girl's loss of composure, all wearing expressions of unbearable pity.
(Since you hate the Sand Crocodile so much, why have you never mentioned how to eliminate Crocodile, the root of all evil, in front of us? Instead, you blindly seek that ethereal path of peace?) Sherlock, who had rested enough, slowly stood up and pushed his glasses thoughtfully.
(It seems a "villain" is still needed to wake this princess up from her dream...)
"Gum-Gum... Pistol!"
Boom!
With a loud bang, dust billowed and rubble flew. Several surrounding abandoned buildings collapsed with a crash under Luffy's anger-filled strike. At the same time, the wailing sound that made one want to weep came to an abrupt halt.
Luffy walked out of the ruins expressionless, rolling his wrist. He then swept his gaze over his crew members one by one, finally fixing his eyes on the blue-haired girl who was still kneeling on the sand, looking at him in astonishment.
"Let's go!" The knucklehead captain dusted off his clothes, his face wearing a rare solemnity. Zoro and the others, who were long familiar with his style, knew in their hearts that this was the sign that Luffy was getting serious.
"I can't hold it back anymore..."
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