After the Going Merry docked, everyone decided to follow the same route. They didn't split up this time.
For extra security, Vivi wrote a letter and had Karoo deliver it to Alubarna, the capital of Alabasta.
The letter informed her father of Crocodile's true identity and the real cause of this incident.
She also instructed him to avoid engaging with Kosa's army as much as possible—or at least postpone any confrontation until Vivi and the others arrived.
After walking for a while in the desert, Sandy couldn't help but ask, "How far is the next city? We'll have to buy a camel then, since we're walking in the desert!"
Vivi explained, "It's still a bit of a distance from the city."
Luffy shouted from the side, "It's so hot! Ahhh…"
Sandy said speechlessly, "I swear, Luffy, can you stop making that awful sound? It's like wailing."
Nami looked up at the sky. "Everyone, it's getting dark. Let's find a place to rest for the night."
Luffy perked up immediately. "Can we rest? Sanji, bring me some water, I'll just have a sip!"
Sanji frowned. "No way! If you drink like that, we'll run out of water by tomorrow!"
Just then, Ace narrowed his eyes. "Something's coming."
Sandy rolled his eyes at him. This guy really had Observation Haki.
Nami asked, "What's coming?"
Sandy smoothed his hair, waved his hand casually, and said, "Relax, it's just a few tornadoes. Hahaha, today I can finally cut down those annoying tornadoes!"
Usopp shouted, "So you're still holding a grudge over that!"
Zoro asked with a frown, "But those are violent tornadoes. How are you going to do it?"
Sandy struck a pose, full of confidence. "Aren't they just tornadoes in the desert? A piece of cake. Today I'll give you all a real eye-opener. I'll show you what a sword—what kind of sword—it is!"
In the distance, several tornadoes approached, accompanied by a loud roar. Sand and rocks were whipped up into the air.
"Space Field…"
A transparent membrane suddenly expanded from Sandy's palm, spreading rapidly.
The tornadoes were about to enter the space barrier he created.
Ace watched curiously. Sandy's ability was definitely unusual. Just as he was about to observe carefully, he suddenly realized something—his position had changed.
Of course it had. Sandy realized his sword wouldn't stop the tornadoes, so he used his space ability to teleport everyone to safety.
Everyone stared at the receding tornadoes before finally processing what had happened.
Sanji asked in confusion, "Sandy, is that what you meant by giving us an eye-opener?"
Chopper tilted his head. "It seemed like our positions changed just now. Did Sandy do that?"
Luffy said with great disdain, "What the hell, weren't you going to cut the tornadoes?"
The crew couldn't help but complain. Sandy sighed helplessly. If he tried to slice a tornado like Zoro, it wouldn't actually stop it anyway.
Only Ace stepped forward, his interest piqued. "Sandy, your ability's pretty abnormal. What exactly is it?"
Sandy immediately perked up—someone finally recognized his greatness.
He puffed out his chest. "This is my space ability. I'm a Devil Fruit user who ate the Space Fruit. How about it? Isn't it way cooler than your Flame-Flame Fruit?"
"Tch." Ace rolled his eyes. "If you'd let me handle it, it would've been over with just one punch. Your ability's only good for running away."
Sandy snapped, "Didn't we say we'd have a match? It's almost dark anyway, let's go for it."
Ace had wanted to beat Sandy up for a long time. He immediately grinned. "I'll make you beg for mercy later."
Luffy and Usopp's eyes lit up—they smelled a good fight coming.
"I wanna fight too!" Luffy shouted.
Sanji dragged him away by the collar. "Just watch from the sidelines, idiot."
Zoro leaned against a rock, interested to see how far Sandy and Ace's abilities would go.
Nami and Vivi were a bit speechless, but still followed along—they didn't want to miss the show either.
Soon, Sandy and Ace picked their battlefield.
"Who do you think will win?" Usopp asked.
"Of course Ace," Luffy answered instantly. "I've never beaten Ace before."
"I think Sandy might win," Sanji said thoughtfully. "His ability's weird."
After staring at each other for a moment, Sandy asked, "Do we compare physical skills first or just go all out?"
Ace smirked. "I don't care. You choose."
Sandy raised an eyebrow. "Then let's fight."
"Space Field…"
The moment the fight started, Sandy used his ability to envelop Ace.
This was Ace's first time facing this kind of power, and he didn't quite understand it yet. But his instincts screamed danger.
He was right. Before he could react, a stick slammed into his stomach—coated in Armament Haki.
"Ah!" Ace was sent flying.
Sandy threw his hands in the air and laughed. "How about that? I win! Oh yeah!"
Ace rubbed his stomach, dazed. "We just started fighting, how can you say you won?"
"Idiot," Sandy said smugly. "If I had used my sword, you'd already be down for the count."
Ace frowned. "That doesn't count. I wasn't ready, and you just changed my position so I ran straight into your stick!"
Luffy shouted from the sidelines, "Sandy, you're too sneaky! He used that same move on me!"
Sandy rolled his eyes. "This is my ultimate move. If you can't counter it, that's on you. In front of experts, you only have the qualification to compete further if you can handle those ultimate moves. That means strength, speed, and practical experience."
Ace growled, "Again. I won't fall for it this time!"
Sandy sat down shamelessly. "I've already won. I'm not fighting anymore. Hehehe…"
Ace was fuming. This bastard! He hit me once and then quit?
Luffy jumped up excitedly. "Sandy, let's fight!"
Sandy stood, dusted off his pants, and grinned. "Okay, come on."
Sanji muttered under his breath, "So he's afraid of losing. He dares to fight Luffy, but not Ace."
Sandy rolled his eyes. "Do you think I'm stupid? Ace's power is fire. If he lets loose, the damage will be insane. What if someone gets hurt?"
Ace crossed his arms. "I'll control it."
Sandy waved him off. "Nope. If I fight you, I'll have to use my ultimate move. One of us will definitely get injured, so I'm not doing it."
Luffy stood there feeling like the most offended person in the desert. What about my promised match?!
…
Author's Note:
The fanfic One Piece: My Flirtatious System Adventure is first half completed.
The entire story has been uploaded on Patreon as a dedicated collection:
📚 One Piece (Chapters 1–362)
Carefully organized into multiple posts, with several chapters per post for smooth and easy binge reading.
🔗 patreon.com/Shadow_demon_007
Thank you all for your continuous support and love for this journey 💙