Although the Eternal Pose pointed toward Alabasta, by the time the Traveler finally entered Alabasta's waters, seven days had already passed.
Throughout those seven days, the Traveler had maintained maximum speed, riding the winds and waves without pause.
After such intense sailing, Perona gradually went from being energetic and excited to completely listless.
In the end, she transformed into a human-shaped salted fish whose daily routine consisted of eating, sleeping, waking up, eating again, and then going back to sleep.
Even Kairo was starting to feel the strain.
Whenever the sea was calm and there were no storms, he would simply lie on the deck and sleep.
Seeing Kairo becoming increasingly lazy as well, Perona eventually abandoned her own cabin and started sleeping beside him on the deck.
This caused Kairo no end of trouble.
Because every time he opened his eyes, Perona would somehow be curled up in his arms.
Sometimes she would even roll around happily while using him as a pillow.
At first, Kairo would grab her and toss her aside.
But after Perona repeatedly demonstrated her determination to stick to him no matter what, Kairo eventually gave up resisting.
The result was that both of them became matching salted fish.
Eat.
Sleep.
Wake up.
Eat again.
Sleep again.
Robin, however, was extremely interested in Alabasta.
The closer they got to its waters, the more energetic she became.
A new day arrived.
And at long last, the coastline of Alabasta appeared on the horizon.
Standing on the deck, Robin raised a telescope and looked into the distance.
After confirming what she saw, she immediately turned toward Kairo.
Seeing him still sleeping soundly in a deck chair with Perona nestled against him, Robin couldn't help smiling and shaking her head.
Then she walked over.
"Mr. Kairo."
After calling his name several times, Kairo finally opened his eyes groggily.
"Perona..."
"Why are you in my arms again?!"
Without hesitation, Kairo grabbed the sleeping Perona and lifted her up.
"You have a bed in your cabin, don't you?"
"Go sleep there!"
Still half asleep, Perona opened her eyes slightly and looked at him.
Then she weakly muttered,
"No..."
"I like sleeping with Kairo."
"Kairo's the best."
"Just let me sleep a little longer..."
Before Kairo could respond, she closed her eyes again and instantly fell back asleep.
"Fine."
Kairo shook his head helplessly.
Then he picked her up and walked to the edge of the deck.
Looking toward the faint shoreline ahead, he blinked.
"We've..."
"Arrived?"
Before Robin could answer, Kairo immediately lifted Perona above his head and began shaking her.
"Perona!"
"Wake up!"
"We've reached Alabasta!"
"No..."
"No..."
"I wanna sleep..."
Perona dangled limply in his hands as she sleepily waved her arms.
"Sleep..."
"Hehe..."
Robin couldn't hold back her laughter.
Then she stepped forward.
"Mr. Kairo, give Perona to me."
"I'll take her back to her cabin."
"Wait."
Suddenly, Kairo's eyes narrowed.
His gaze shifted toward the sea on their left.
At the same moment—
Roughly a hundred meters away, a small boat was rapidly approaching the Traveler.
As the distance closed, the figure aboard gradually became clear.
The man wore a fur-lined coat.
His slicked-back hair and the scar running across his face gave him the appearance of a powerful underworld boss from West Blue.
He looked to be around thirty-five or thirty-six years old.
A cigar hung from the corner of his mouth.
"That's..."
After getting a clear look at him, Robin's eyes widened slightly.
"Crocodile?"
Although this was Robin's first time entering the Grand Line, she was familiar with many of its famous pirates.
After all, bounty posters circulated throughout the world.
More importantly, she had previously seen Crocodile's name listed among the Seven Warlords of the Sea during her time in West Blue.
Kairo naturally recognized him as well.
In the original story, Crocodile had joined the Seven Warlords while still in his early twenties, making him one of the longest-serving members.
After suffering a crushing defeat while challenging Edward Newgate, he had laid low for a while.
Then he shifted his attention toward the Kingdom of Alabasta.
Using his status as a Warlord, he constantly hunted pirates and gradually built a reputation as a hero among the people.
Since Kairo wasn't sure exactly when Crocodile had challenged Whitebeard and lost, he couldn't determine whether Crocodile was still in his quiet period or had already begun executing his Alabasta scheme.
The answer came quickly.
Crocodile had already started.
Having arrived in Alabasta a year ago, he had secretly established Baroque Works.
At the same time, he had been using his position as a Warlord to hunt pirates throughout Alabasta's waters.
After only a year, he had become incredibly popular within the kingdom.
The newspapers frequently praised him as a hero.
His life couldn't have been more comfortable.
The reason he had come out alone today was precisely to hunt pirates.
After spending most of the day patrolling without finding any targets, he was about to leave when he spotted the Traveler entering Alabasta's waters.
Mistaking it for a pirate ship, he had immediately moved to intercept.
After all, hunting pirates was one of the easiest ways to build his reputation.
However, once he got close enough to see the words Traveler painted on the hull, disappointment immediately appeared on his face.
Soon, Crocodile's small boat arrived beside the Traveler.
He glanced up at Kairo, Robin, and the sleeping Perona in Kairo's arms.
A trace of disappointment flashed through his eyes before he spoke.
"You people are..."
Kairo caught that look immediately.
From Crocodile's reaction alone, he could already tell what the man had been thinking.
It also confirmed his suspicions.
Crocodile had already begun using his Warlord status to hunt pirates and was actively carrying out his plans in Alabasta.
Thinking this, Kairo calmly stepped forward and smiled.
"My name is Kairo. I'm a traveler. And you would be—"
"Hm?"
Before he could finish speaking, Kairo's eyes suddenly sharpened.
He immediately turned around and looked toward the sea behind the Traveler.
At the same time—
A pirate ship had silently emerged from the dense fog less than a hundred meters behind them.
The instant Kairo turned around, a series of piercing sounds tore through the air.
Then—
Several cannonballs came screaming toward the Traveler.
A moment later, explosions erupted all around the ship.
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