It turned out Anna was right — Sabo was underground. When he woke, he went straight to Long's office.
Long looked up at the clang of the door, startled from his paperwork. He was about to ask what had happened when Sabo burst in, scribbling furiously on a document he'd pulled from the desk.
"What's the matter? Enemy attack?" Long demanded, alarmed.
"No, it's not that," Sabo panted, hurriedly scrawling another line. "It's… there was a man in my dream. He said he came from heaven and offered us a revelation."
Long frowned. "You must be exhausted. Go rest — take the day off tomorrow." He was half convinced Sabo was simply overworked and was dreaming nonsense because of it.
"No, Chief, I'm serious," Sabo insisted. "He gave me something that might actually solve the food problem in the kingdom we just liberated."
Long's disbelief didn't vanish instantly. "Are you sure it wasn't just a dream?"
"It may have been a dream," Sabo admitted, "but the man framed it as a transaction. He wanted us to help him train and, in return, he gave us knowledge. The content might be useful to solving the grain-price issue."
Long weighed it and realized there was little to lose. "Sabo, do you think this revelation is actually workable?"
"I don't know for certain," Sabo said, "but it sounded promising. We should try."
"Fine." Long rose and issued the order. "Deploy to the Kingdom of Asel and deal with the food problem. Leave immediately."
"Yes, sir." Sabo hurried to prepare and left that night by boat.
On the voyage, the mood was sleepy and tense.
"What are you doing, Sabo? It's so late—I'm nodding off." Kerla lay on the edge of the boat, yawning.
"There haven't been any urgent orders lately. Why did we set out overnight?" Haku yawned too, sitting at the bow and eyeing Sabo with curiosity.
"Remember the grain crisis in the country we liberated?" Sabo asked.
"Yeah, I remember," Kerla replied, pulling out a small notebook and reciting the notes. "Right — the merchants hiked prices. We fixed the immediate problem, but setting a fair price is still an open issue."
"Exactly. We're going to sort that out," Sabo said, energized.
"Calm down — there's no need to rush like this," Kerla murmured, but Sabo only smiled mysteriously. "You'll see soon enough," he said.
—Time returned to the present.
Back in the dream, Anna reconnected with Sabo.
"So, have you decided? Do you want to accept the deal?" she asked.
"Give us a little more time," Sabo answered, hesitant as he regarded the black-robed figure.
"Alright," Anna said, and slipped away from the dream.
She thought to herself that he would probably agree eventually. The Revolutionary Army seemed likely to cooperate — and that meant she might get a chance to learn the Dragon Claw Fist later. She felt pleased.
As she drifted through the dream-spheres, something caught her eye. "Wait — that hairdo! Kuzan? Why's Kuzan here?" she muttered, puzzled.
Kuzan's dream showed him cutting down pirates; everyone in it hailed him a hero. Anna shrugged. Kuzan being near Sabo shouldn't be a problem, she reasoned. As long as the main plot hasn't started, the major characters won't die. So she ignored it.
Still, doubt flickered in her chest. Two peaceful dream-bubbles floated side by side — if something serious happened in the waking world, would they really have time to sleep? She scolded herself for worrying too much, patted her head, and drifted on.
To her surprise, Doflamingo's dream reappeared just to the right.
"Oh god—Dover's dream again? Something must be up." Panic rose in Anna's throat. "I can't avoid him forever. He keeps asking me to confess, and I can't hide this forever. One day we'll meet on the sea for real — how will I explain then?"
Her head filled with two tiny, squabbling voices: one whispered, It's fine, put it off — he can't find you anyway. The other hissed, No, you can't delay it — the sooner you clear this up, the sooner it's done. Delay only makes it worse.
They argued fiercely in her mind until she'd had enough. With an irritated little cry she swatted the two voices away.
"Hmph. What am I even afraid of? I'm famous now — if not Doflamingo, others will come after me. So what? Bring it on." With that, she plunged into Doflamingo's dream.
"Xiao Xiaobai," Doflamingo murmured, "when will your master realize? There's no point in running."
Anna took a deep breath and stepped forward. "I won't run," she said. "Dover… I'll tell you what you want to know."
She reached out and placed her small hand in his.
"Hello. My name is Anna. I come from a little island that makes wine. I may go out to sea someday. I hope we meet out on the ocean — for real — not just in dreams."
Doflamingo didn't offer his hand politely. Instead, he yanked her close and pulled her into his arms.
"You finally said it," he breathed, eyes gleaming. "Since you're heading to sea, would you like to join my crew — the Donquixote Family?"
He looked at her with a hunger neither cruel nor gentle. Anna didn't fool him — he already knew where she lived. What he wanted wasn't her address; he wanted her honesty, a promise of allegiance. He could tolerate little lies. He would pull her into his world little by little and bind her to him forever.