As Smoker swung his jitte in anger, I dodged them all and said with a laugh.
"Hahaha, just kidding. More importantly, do we have time for this?"
"Damn it, you bastard! We'll settle this later!"
Smoker and I went outside the casino and headed to the Marines. Smoker immediately gave orders to the Marines.
"Contact all warships currently around the Alabasta Kingdom to assemble here! And notify headquarters too."
"Is it because of the Straw Hat crew? But will they send support for such a small number of pirates..."
Smoker glared at that Marine and said.
"Since when did I care about that? Call them now!!"
"Y-yes, sir! I'll do it right away."
While Smoker was giving orders to the Marines, I thought for a moment. What has changed since I'm on Alabasta's side? First, Nico Robin isn't here. In the original, Nico Robin seems to just follow Crocodile, but she secretly supports Luffy's crew.
And Ace didn't come either. Since Satch didn't die and Teach quietly left Whitebeard, there was no reason for him to come. That means many Baroque Works employees have survived.
'I wonder if Luffy trained in Haki? Come to think of it, there was one more person in the casino... Ah, Mr. 3!'
If left alone, he might not come out as crocodile dung, but he might just die... If he dies like that, Luffy might also die due to the butterfly effect. I had to prevent such a tragedy.
'Goodness... I have to save even that guy.'
As I was organizing what to do, I saw Tashigi running with the Marines.
"Huff huff, Colonel Smoker!"
"Tashigi, you stay here and lead the Marines to stop Baroque Works from inciting war between the kingdom army and the rebel army."
"What about you, Colonel..."
"I have intelligence about 'Dance Powder' that creates artificial rain. I should go check it out."
I thought he should be going the opposite way. After all, Smoker would fight better than Tashigi, right? Or not? I don't know. Smoker seems too weak to tell.
"Nice to meet you. Miss Tashigi, I'm Cassian."
"You're the Merchant King!"
When I offered a handshake, Tashigi blushed slightly, wiped her hand on her pants, and then shook my hand. That was kind of cute.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Sergeant Tashigi. It's an honor to meet the Merchant King."
"You're a cuter lady than I thought."
"Hehe, you think I'm cute?"
Hearing my words, Tashigi laughed and touched her head as if embarrassed. Smoker, who was watching that, frowned and said.
"Hey! Tashigi, move quickly!"
"Yes, sir!"
Tashigi urgently moved towards Alubarna with the Marines. Smoker glared at me and said.
"We're already short on Marine personnel, and you took Hina, and now you're trying to take another one?"
"Whoa~ Smoker, people have freedom of occupation. And many from the orphanage become Marines every year, right?"
"That... is true."
I took out a box of cigars from my inventory and handed it to Smoker.
"Since you've left Loguetown, I don't know when we'll meet again, so I prepared this. Smoke them sparingly."
"Thank you."
"Well then, see you next time."
"Yeah."
I pretended to go to the port but went back into the casino. I took all the money I could gather. There was quite a lot of money Crocodile had hidden, probably because he was running an organization of over a few hundred people.
'Anyway, since Crocodile will be captured and sent to Impel Down, I'll use it well.'
I could make gold, but I couldn't make Berries, and if I left this here, the Marines would take it or Baroque Works survivors would take it. In that case, it seemed better for me to take it.
After that, I went back to where Luffy's crew had been captured and started beating up the crocodiles.
Thump thump thump!
Gurgle!
Thud!
As I beat them hard, one of them vomited a white ball the size of a person. This ball was what Mr. 3 had made with his ability to protect himself when he was about to be eaten by the crocodile, hiding inside it.
In a way, the [Wax-Wax Fruit] was also a cheat ability. Since he could make wax as hard as iron, if this guy learned [Armament Haki], it might become a cheat ability comparable to a Logia. But it was also a fruit that couldn't shine because the user was trash.
"Puhah~ I survived!! I thought I was going to die!!"
The ball split and Mr. 3 came out.
"Gasp! You are!"
"Yes, it's me."
Thump!
To reduce any variables that might occur, I immediately smacked Mr. 3's head. Mr. 3, hit by that, immediately fainted and fell to the floor. Worried this guy might get eaten by a crocodile and die again, I picked him up and threw him into some random room.
"One down. Next..."
I used [Stealth] and moved to the desert where Luffy and Crocodile have their first fight. Luffy stays behind to face Crocodile instead of Vivi, who is taken by Crocodile. But Luffy, facing a Logia ability for the first time, gets defeated miserably and is in danger of dying without even being able to get out of the sand, but Nico Robin saves Luffy. I had to check this too.
"Goodness, there's quite a lot to do."
If Luffy had learned [Armament Haki], he might have won surprisingly easily. What a joke, when I arrived, Luffy already had his chest pierced by Crocodile's hook and was hovering between life and death.
"I didn't expect the Merchant King to be that strong and almost ruined my plans, but since he doesn't seem to interfere with pirate matters, if I become recognized as Alabasta's king, he won't be able to do anything either."
Crocodile continued talking while holding Luffy on his hook.
"Stupid guy, if you had thrown away your useless emotions, you could have lived longer. Huh? Water?"
Luffy was carrying Yuba's water canteen obtained from the desert oasis around his neck, and the canteen also got a hole from Crocodile's strike, dripping down Crocodile's arm.
Drip.
Luffy mustered all his remaining strength, grabbed Crocodile's wet arm, and applied force.
Crunch
"Graah!!"
"Cough! Huff... Gurgle!"
Luffy exhaled with difficulty.
"Tsk! You're still alive."
Crocodile threw Luffy into a quicksand (like an antlion's sand trap) made with his ability.
Thud! Roll roll roll...
Luffy, having no strength left to get out, rolled and fell into the center of the quicksand, screaming.
"Tsk! Graa..."
"Hahaha, you look like you're suffering. But you'll be at peace soon."
Crocodile left like that, and I canceled [Stealth], approached the center of the quicksand where Luffy was, put my hand in, and pulled out Luffy buried in the sand.
Swoop!
"Hey! Luffy, where did you put the 'Armament Haki' I taught you?"
"Ah... Bro... Meat, do you have meat?"
Luffy, his mind hazy, only looked for meat. He really looked in danger.
"Goodness... Wait a moment."
I urgently used Heal on Luffy's chest to stop the bleeding and bandaged it. Then, as he regained some consciousness, he shouted loudly.
"Meat!!!"
I punched Luffy's head.
Smack!
"Ouch!"
"You idiot! Your wound will open. Don't shout."
With this level of injury and bleeding, a normal person would have already fainted or even died, but I don't know where he gets his mental strength and stamina. Anyway, I took out some food from my inventory and gave it to Luffy.
Chomp chomp!
"Tan... woo... do... chompchomp... doba... chomp..."
"Finish eating and then talk."
Luffy ate for a while, had a drink, and then spoke.
"Kyah~ Bro's cooking is delicious as always. Anyway, thanks, I got helped again."
"Luffy, I can't help you forever. You're already a pirate with a bounty. If Marines see this, the Merchant's Island will be in danger too."
"I know. I'll get stronger so this doesn't happen again."
He talks well for someone who doesn't even have [Armament Haki] yet. Luffy finished his meal, got up from his seat, and was about to leave again when I stopped him.
"Wait."
I took out a large water canteen, attached a hose, and tied it to Luffy's back with rope. Then I picked up Luffy's straw hat that was lying far away, brushed off the sand with my hand, and put it on Luffy's head, saying.
"Luffy, hang in there."
"Oh!"
Luffy struck a fighting pose once and started running towards Alabasta's capital, Alubarna. Watching that, I used [Stealth] again and teleported to Alubarna where Luffy's crew was fighting Baroque Works employees.
Here, I planned to evaluate Miss Double Finger Zala, Mr.4 Lasso, and Miss Merry Christmas Dropi and take them as Merchant's Island employees. Mr.1 Daz Bones was also quite tempting, but judging by the original story, he has a quite cruel personality and high loyalty to Crocodile, so I decided to give up.
When I arrived, they were in the middle of fighting Luffy's crew. Something was going boom boom, so it was easy to find. There, Mr.4 Lasso, Miss Merry Christmas Dropi, Usopp, and Chopper were in the middle of combat.
"I'm done! I'll die like this! There's no way we can win against monsters like that!!"
"Usopp?!"
Usopp started running away like crazy. Seeing that, Chopper shouted at Usopp.
"No!! You can't run away from these guys!!"
As if to prove Chopper's words, Dropi quickly moved underground and instantly grabbed the feet of the fleeing Usopp.
Snap!
"That guy's right."
Usopp, who was running away, was quite surprised when his foot was grabbed and screamed.
"Uwaaaaaah!!"
"What? The captain is weak, so the crew are all cowards too?"
Hearing that, Usopp turned back and asked Dropi.
"Huh? Captain? Why would Luffy!?"
"If you mean Straw Hat Luffy, he's already gone to the other world. By the boss's hand."
Usopp was shocked for a moment by those words but immediately refuted.
"Don't talk nonsense! There's no way that guy could die! There's no way he could lose to some sand crocodile guy!!"
"What basis do you have for saying there's no way he could lose?"
"That guy will become the 'Pirate King' someday!! There's no way he would fall in a place like this!!!"
Hearing that, Dropi was dumbfounded for a moment, then laughed loudly.
"Puhahahahahaha 'Pirate King'? Hahahahaha don't make me laugh! Don't ever say such ridiculous things again in the 'Grand Line'! Hmm... Maybe it's better that he's dead? A guy who doesn't know his place."
I was listening to that too. Those two are no good. Seeing them talk like that, they seem like guys who compromise well with reality. That means they might betray depending on the situation.
'Pass!'
Thinking that Usopp and Chopper would win well on their own if nothing special happened, I left them for their growth and went to Miss Double Finger Zala. Zala was fighting Nami as in the original.
"Rain Tempo!!!"
Drizzle drizzle~
When I arrived, Nami was spraying water with the staff Usopp modified and putting on a fountain show. Then she held the staff and spun around once, spraying water around.
"Spring Cooler~!!"
Splash! Splash!
Seeing that, Zala sighed and said.
"Ha... Goodness, giving up? Fine! I'm tired of your little show!"
"No! I'm doing this with a plan in mind!!"
Zala used the [Spike-Spike Fruit] ability to make her hair stand up like a sea urchin.
"Time to stop playing around."
"Sea Urchin! Stinger!!"
Zala charged at Nami with that head.
"Whoa!"
Crash!
Nami quickly dodged to the side. Zala made a hole in the wall and came out again. Seeing how cleanly it went through, it seemed she gave vibration to her hair.
"As a reward for your earlier show, I'll show you something fun too."
Meanwhile, Nami started making something by blowing into her staff.
"Now. Heat Ball!!"
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Pop pop pop!
Regardless of what Nami was doing, Zala made her fingers into spikes and stabbed them into her own arm.
"Spike Doping!!!"
Suddenly, Zala's arm muscles swelled up and became muscular. Observing with [Observation], it seemed she was stimulating the body's pressure points to temporarily boost physical abilities. It didn't seem to last long.
She then transformed that entire muscular arm into spikes and swung it at Nami.
Whoosh~!
"Stinger Flail!!!"
"Ugh!"
Bang!!!
Nami barely ducked to avoid Zala's attack, but the building behind her collapsed from Zala's attack, and she was injured by fragments hitting her leg.
"Kuh..."
Seeing that, Zala made a disgusted expression and said.
"You're really first-class at running away, you."
But Nami wasn't looking at her opponent but up at the sky.
"Ah! It appeared!! It's small, but there's a cloud."
I looked up too, and a small cloud had formed. It was the mystery of the One Piece worldview. Something impossible in reality. Zala, seeing Nami's strange behavior, also looked up curiously.
"What is it? Another strange show?"
"Still too early! Cool Ball!! Heat Ball!!"
Pop pop pop pop pop
Nami split her staff and swung it vigorously. Then white foam started coming out of the staff and merged with the cloud.
"You should stop this now!"
Zala transformed her arm into spikes again and swung at Nami.
"Stinger Flail!!"
Snap!
"Ah!"
Nami somehow barely blocked it with her staff, but due to the difference in strength, she took a lot of damage and fell to the ground.
Thud.
Seeing that, Zala thought it was over and tried to deliver the final blow.
"How about it? Are you prepared?"
Nami smiled and said.
"That's my line."
Nami sent magnetized foam to the grown cloud.
"Thunder Bolt Tempo!!!"
When the foam touched the grown cloud, lightning suddenly struck Zala.
Crackle crackle crackle
"Kyaaaaaah!"
Zala screamed, electrocuted by the lightning. But it seemed insufficient to knock Zala out, as she regained consciousness and glared at Nami.
"Take this!!"
Zala transformed her fist into spike form again and swung at Nami, but Nami's form disappeared. What was there was a mirage Nami had created. Then she appeared behind Zala, changed her staff into a T shape, aimed at Zala, and said.
"Today's weather: humidity and wind are all stable, so it will be clear weather with high pressure. However! Only in some areas, there may be mirages and gusts, so please be careful of tornadoes!"
"You!!"
Zala made her hair into spikes again and charged at Nami.
"Sea Urchin Stinger!!!"
Nami blocked the attack with her staff and one foot, enduring being pierced by spikes, and stopped it.
"Ah!"
Squeak!
"Compared to the pain Vivi felt, this doesn't hurt at all!"
Nami pushed Zala's head away with her staff, pulled out the spike stuck in her foot, and immediately attacked.
"Tornado Tempo!!!"
Then two cuckoo-shaped bird models connected by wires popped out from Nami's staff. Seeing that, Nami was flustered. Perhaps thinking that the last resort Usopp made for one-time use was also something strange this time, Nami's expression darkened rapidly.
"Huh?"
"What! What is this!!??"
Suddenly, the front part of the T-shaped staff started rotating, and the wires of the birds shot forward wrapped around Zala's body, made a loud sound, and sent Zala flying forward. Unexpectedly, it seemed Usopp had put care into making this one.
Whoosh!!!
"Uwaaaaaah"
Crash boom!!
Zala, tied by the wires, couldn't do anything, was thrown into a building, hit hard, and fainted. Nami also tried to roll backward from the strong recoil, but I caught her.
"Kyaah"
Thump!
"Oh, Cassian."
"You fought well, Nami. I was cheering for you."
"What? You were watching! Then you should have helped!!"
"Then there would be no growth. You might fight stronger enemies in the future."
"But to just watch..."
"If you chose to be a pirate, that's natural. Steel your resolve."
I took out medical supplies and treated Nami. I used some Heal on wounds that seemed like they might have aftereffects.
"Done."
I brushed off my hands and stood up. When Nami tried to stand up too, she sat back down due to pain.
"Ugh..."
"Want me to carry you?"
"... P-please."
I carried Nami on my back and moved to where Zala had fallen. Then I sat Nami down beside me and put my hand on Zala's head to read her memories.
'Hmm... Her precious cafe was about to go under, so she joined Baroque Works to earn money. There was definitely a part where the situation and environment made her this way.'
It was a bit ambiguous. When given a job, she turned into a cruel killing machine, but normally she was just an ordinary owner worried about her cafe's future.
"What are you going to do with her?"
Nami asked from beside me.
"I'm thinking of hiring her as an employee on the Merchant's Island."
"What!? Are you joking? She's a cruel killer!"
"Nami, why did you steal?"
"That's... because of Arlong, I had no choice but to earn money..."
"Is stealing bad? Or not?"
"It is bad but..."
"Nami, this woman was also an ordinary cafe owner. Then her precious cafe was about to go under, and she had no choice but to work for 'Baroque Works'. What's the difference between her and you?"
"But I didn't kill anyone!"
"Is that really true? To replenish the things you stole, how many people did pirates kill by attacking other villages? Do you think you can say you're not at fault because you didn't kill directly?"
"..."
Nami couldn't say anything.
"Nami, there are really despicable human scum in the world. But if there's some room for redemption, I think we can give them a chance depending on the situation. There's such a thing as circumstances. Like how you were saved by Luffy."
"Right..."
I know well that I have no right to say such things because I also kill for gain after gaining abilities. But I said this to shape the heroine Nami's values and to recruit Zala.
Anyway, to free both hands, I took out a large cloth, carried Nami on my back again, wrapped her with the cloth, and firmly fixed her to my shoulder. Then I picked up Zala.
"Wow~ Carrying two women like this reminds me of military marches."
"Huh? Military? Were you a soldier?"
Nami, being carried on my back, heard that and asked.
"Ah... I was a soldier in some kingdom's army for a while."
"I see."
I just made an excuse and moved on. I had unconsciously blurted it out, remembering the blisters on my feet during winter training.
"I'm going to sleep a bit. I'm too tired."
"Okay."
Nami, probably exhausted, immediately fell asleep while being carried. It was understandable since she defeated a villain executive for the first time.
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