What's with her?
Her serious tone and raised voice made Nojiko and Genzo exchange looks.
Thinking of Nami's adventure with Ian and the others, maybe she was worried because he was now wanted.
With that thought, Nojiko smiled reassuringly and said: "Don't worry, Mr. Ian will—"
But before she could finish, Nami suddenly broke down and wailed: "The wine just arrived! And now he's wanted by the Marines? How am I supposed to sell it now? I'm going to lose everything!"
"Damn it, I want a refund!"
The entire Cocoyasi Village echoed with cries of frustration and helpless sighs.
...
Kingdom of Alabasta.
Ever since the king of Alabasta made an unexpected decision, the kingdom had no longer been troubled by pirates.
Because they had gained a hero!
In Rainbase, the hero of Alabasta, known as the Desert King, Sir Crocodile, looked at the newspaper in his hand, his eyelid twitching as if he'd found something amusing: "Hahaha, so this guy finally has his turn, huh?"
As soon as he said that…
"Crocodile-sensei."
Princess Vivi, beside him, said helplessly while also looking at the newspaper: "Isn't Mr. Ian your friend? Isn't it bad to laugh at him like that?"
"Hmph, I'm not friends with that guy!"
Crocodile snorted impatiently while flicking his cigar. "And stop calling me teacher, if you do it again, I'll throw you into the sea."
"Okay, Crocodile-sensei!"
Vivi smiled cheerfully, unfazed by his threat. "Please don't feed me to the fish. Don't worry, I won't embarrass you! When I grow up, I'll become a great pirate!"
"Being a pirate isn't some game for a little girl like you. With your strength, you'd just end up being the fish food."
"I'll train hard!"
"The princess of Alabasta wants to be a pirate..."
Crocodile sighed irritably while waving his hand. "Aren't you afraid that Cobra will beat you to death?"
"Father won't! He will definitely support me!"
"I doubt it. Whatever, do what you want, just don't mention my name when you do."
"Crocodile-sense!"
Ignoring Vivi's indignant protest, Crocodile continued to stare at the newspaper. A faintly meaningful light flashed in his eyes as he exhaled a smoke ring and muttered, "So what will you choose this time? To sail... Or to keep playing house as a good husband? Husband of the Devil Child."
…
Meanwhile, as the entire sea reeled in shock over the newspaper headlines, in the West Blue, a large three-masted ship was slowly approaching the harbor of the Sibia River Archipelago.
…
"Finally back?"
Looking at that familiar port, Ian also let out a sigh of relief.
Because he didn't know what kind of madness the Marine Headquarters had gone into, while they could use the official route to enter the Grand Line on their way there, on their way back, they had to rely on themselves to pass through the Calm Belt.
Fortunately, Kuma was there and could use his ability to push the ship forward on the sea; otherwise, they probably would've had to row the ship back across the Calm Belt themselves.
Even though they went full speed all the way and took the Calm Belt express route, by the time they reached the Sibia River Archipelago, it was already the next night.
After the incident in the Kingdom of Dressrosa and an inexplicable fight with the Marines, they spent such a long time sailing through the Calm Belt, even though powerful people at sea could go ten days and nights without sleeping, fatigue still eventually caught up with them once they relaxed.
After arranging for the ship to enter the harbor and park at the Sibia River Archipelago dock, Ian jumped straight off the ship, ready to go home and rest.
As for the others... aside from Law, everyone else was a regular visitor, so he didn't need to arrange anything for them.
However… Ian frowned and glanced around the dock. "Why is it so quiet today?"
"Who knows?"
Zephyr, who had also jumped down, said cheerfully: "Maybe everyone has finished restocking and left already!"
"Finished restocking?"
Ian muttered at Zephyr's words but didn't pursue it further. He decided to ask Village Chief Martin tomorrow.
Turning his head, he asked Zephyr: "How do you plan to deal with the situation with Marine Headquarters?"
"How else can I deal with it?"
Zephyr waved his hand casually. "First, I'm going to get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, I'll call that bastard Sengoku and ask him what the hell he's thinking, ordering them to fire at me?"
"Tomorrow, huh?"
Ian nodded. "Alright then, we will talk about it tomorrow."
He had a feeling things might not be that simple.
After all, Zephyr was the Chief Instructor at the Marine Headquarters. For them to issue an order to attack him without hesitation, something serious must have happened.
But thinking about it, since it was already late at night, there was no need to bring up such unpleasant matters. Better to let instructor Zephyr get a good night's sleep and see what's going on tomorrow.
After greeting everyone, Ian picked up his divine axe, Rhitta, turned around, and walked toward his home.
When Ian left, Zephyr looked over at Ain beside him and said cheerfully, "So, you still chose your original Devil Fruit, huh? I'm starting to believe that theory now, maybe Devil Fruits really do have consciousness and choose their own hosts! Sorry about that! I didn't expect things to turn out this way, forcing you to rush back immediately and disturbing your trip."
"Zephyr-sensei."
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about that."
Seeing his student's helpless look, Zephyr laughed heartily again, then added in a tone of relief: "I didn't expect that you would actually run into Borsalino on the way. You're really lucky! Maybe when you left, Borsalino hadn't received the news yet; otherwise, things could have been dangerous for you."
As he spoke, perhaps reminded of something, Zephyr turned his head toward the two students who had been following him all along. Then he said with a smile, "Ain, Binz."
Hearing their teacher suddenly call them, Ain and Binz looked at Zephyr in confusion, but before they could ask what it was about…
"Never mind, it's nothing."
Zephyr cheerfully waved his hand, interrupting them with a smile. "It's late. I'm going to rest now."
After saying that, he didn't say another word, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked away with a smile toward his temporary lodging in Sibia Village.
Actually, there was one thing he didn't say aloud.
For Sengoku to issue such an order without hesitation, there was only one possibility... That the order had come from the World Government itself.
Although he didn't know what exactly had happened, he knew that if it was as he suspected, such an order wouldn't be easily withdrawn!
"You two should rest well, too!"
Advance Merry Christmas, guys! I'm also releasing the Christmas bonus chapters early.
115 more chapters on my Patreon/SweetestDeath