The Warlord of the Sea, Crocodile…
Was dead.
When Vivi heard the news through the Den Den Mushi, even though she already knew how powerful the Straw Hats were, and had long since witnessed Red's uncanny and overwhelming methods…
When the calamity that had plagued the Kingdom of Alabasta for so many years suddenly died in such a vague, inexplicable way, her mind still went blank for a moment.
After hanging up, she lifted her gaze toward the distant silhouette of the Going Merry.
Right now, they were moored at the central section of the Sandora River, the mother river that ran through the entire Kingdom of Alabasta.
This location was practically the exact center of Alabasta. Whether one wanted to head to Rainbase, the holy capital, or any other city, the distance was more or less the same.
And this was also the territory Red intended to request from the king of Alabasta.
On paper, this position sounded tremendously important.
Yet in the hundreds—no, thousands—of years of the kingdom's history, there had never been any plan to reclaim or build anything in this crucial region.
That was something Red, as a transmigrator, simply couldn't understand.
He couldn't figure it out. There were still so many wild and uninhabited areas along both banks of the Sandora River that didn't lack water or resources…
So why were these people so obsessed with digging for underground water in scorching, dangerous deserts, and using that to build their cities?
"No, I have to report this to Father immediately…"
"And then there's the matter of the rebels…"
Vivi lifted her head and looked toward the horizon, where Ace and Luffy were clashing fiercely.
Endless flames spread across the sky, making the already-scorching Alabasta burn even hotter.
Just then, a pitch-black shadow suddenly flew out from amidst the blazing light.
Luffy bared his teeth in a wide grin, swinging the enormous arm behind him as he punched straight toward the flames.
"Gum-Gum… Gigant Pistol!!!"
Boom!!!
The jet-black giant fist smashed into the blazing inferno, blasting a bare-chested man straight out of the sea of fire.
"What the hell has this brat been eating in the three years I wasn't around!?"
Ace, struck head-on by Armament Haki, crossed his arms in front of him, his face filled with disbelief.
A heartbeat later, his body shot backward like a cannonball, crashing hard into a barren rocky hill.
"As expected, the gap is still huge…"
Zoro, who had likewise awakened Conqueror's Haki, and Sanji, who could already draw out the latent potential in his body, watched the duel before them, their expressions unconsciously shifting.
There were far too many monsters on the Grand Line.
Blackbeard from not long ago, Ace standing before their eyes now…
And Crocodile, whom Red had taken Robin to deal with alone—he was said to be another powerhouse just a step below monsters like them.
"We're still not strong enough~"
Zoro and Sanji's eyes both flickered as they thought the same thing: they were already looking forward to their upcoming fights with Ace.
Under Red's influence, they had learned to seize every opportunity, never letting any chance to grow stronger slip by.
Compared to the original timeline, they now understood clearly just how weak they still were.
And just how terrifying the enemies they would face truly were.
If they wanted Luffy to become Pirate King, if they wanted to achieve their own dreams, then their current strength was nowhere near enough!
While Zoro and Sanji waited for Luffy and Ace's spar to end…
The rest of the Straw Hats were far from idle.
"Usopp, are you sure these bugs can withstand such extreme temperature changes!?"
"These are your carefully cultivated, super-strong stag beetles!"
Not too far from the battlefield, inside a makeshift lab that had been hastily assembled…
Chopper, wearing a white lab coat and thick black-framed glasses, stared at the stag beetles that had just endured the scorching flames of the battle and were somehow still alive. His face was full of distress.
Beside him, Usopp, wearing a monocle, clapped a reassuring hand on Chopper's shoulder.
"Relax, Chopper!"
"Under my careful breeding, these bugs' bodies are brimming with Grass-type energy. Their vitality is ridiculously tough!"
"And it's better to expose any problems now rather than discover them on the battlefield later!"
"…All right!"
Under Usopp's firm insistence, little Chopper finally nodded.
He took a deep breath, looking at the group of beetles whose bodies had been roasted bright red by the flames, then suddenly shouted:
"Icy Wind!!!"
Whooo~!!!
Calm Ice-type Pokémon energy surged through Chopper's body. As his move activated, a frigid gale abruptly howled through the lab in the middle of the blazing desert.
Wherever the icy wind passed, it was as if everything had stepped into a world of bitter snow and deep winter—everything was instantly coated in a thick layer of frost.
The stag beetles that had just been baked by the raging flames were, in that moment, frozen into exquisitely detailed, lifelike ice sculptures.
"Did we fail…?"
Looking at all the beetles turned to ice, Chopper's face crumpled with guilt, as though he'd personally destroyed all of Usopp's hard work.
But just then, the corners of Usopp's mouth lifted into an excited grin.
He happily patted Chopper's shoulder, then laughed proudly:
"How could my masterpieces possibly fail!?"
As he spoke, he suddenly thrust out both hands, a faint green light flickering in his eyes.
Under Chopper's bewildered gaze, Usopp shouted:
"Rise again, my subordinates!!!"
Crack… crack-crack…
As if some switch had been flipped.
The moment Usopp's words fell, the ice encasing the stag beetles started to fracture with a faint cracking sound.
In the next second, countless cracks rang out one after another.
One beetle after another burst out of its icy shell, wings shuddering as they buzzed into the air completely unharmed, flocking together to form the words: [USOPP IS AWESOME]!!!
"Waaah!!!"
Chopper's eyes instantly lit up like golden stars at the sight, looking at Usopp with open worship.
"You did it, Usopp!!!"
"Heh-heh~" Usopp lifted his nose smugly. "Wasn't that obvious!?"
"I am, after all, the mightiest Usopp in the universe!!!"
Seeing the look in Chopper's eyes, Usopp felt a deep, bone-level sense of satisfaction.
But right after that, in the depths of his heart, he began secretly calculating with delight:
"Their speed, strength, resistance to harsh environments… these stag beetles have far surpassed my expectations…"
"Next, I just need to keep them breeding, then pick out even better specimens…"
"The next time we run into an enemy at an ultra-long distance, I won't be helpless anymore!"
Thinking that far, Usopp quietly clenched his fists where Chopper couldn't see.
He had already promised everyone: he would become a world-class sniper who could take care of any long-range enemy for them.
But…
In that battle not long ago, he had been forced to watch, powerless, as his crewmates came under attack from Van Augur, who was sniping them from beyond five kilometers away.
Even though no one had blamed him or held it against him…
Ever since that fight, Usopp had been stuck in a swamp of self-blame and inferiority.
Because of that, he'd barely rested at all lately. Every day, he used Pokémon energy to constantly accelerate the growth and breeding of all sorts of bugs and plants.
And today, his hard work had finally borne fruit…
These as-yet-unnamed stag beetles not only possessed astonishing strength—strong enough to easily lift a full-grown human—but their flight speed was also bullet-fast. Without Observation Haki, it was almost impossible to track their movements with the naked eye.
On top of that, they could withstand both extreme heat and extreme cold…
These stag beetles already possessed the basics of combat capability.
They could totally serve as a standing "army," helping him deal with future enemies.
"What I still need now… is a way to carry insects around with me."
"I wonder if there's a Devil Fruit with that sort of function…"
"I'll have to ask Red later… oh, right, and Sanji!"
"He's read through a Devil Fruit encyclopedia before. Maybe he'll have some good ideas."
"As for the next step…" Usopp's mind was racing. "It's to wait for Wapol to finish reproducing the material of Van Augur's sniper rifle!"
After Van Augur's death, Usopp had successfully inherited his "estate"…
That rifle Van Augur cherished like a wife—Senriku.
And of course…
If you're unwilling to ride your own bicycle, someone else is going to stand up and pedal it into the ground.
The moment Senriku landed in Usopp's hands, it suffered the tragic fate of being completely disassembled.
After a round of intense research, Usopp discovered that every part of the rifle—its firing and cycling mechanisms, even the gas system—was made from strange, special materials he had never seen before.
Even the firing pin, a spring, or a single rubber seal… each one far outperformed anything found in standard firearms on the market.
Superior materials naturally granted the rifle superior performance. Coupled with Van Augur's exceptional sniping skill…
This was what allowed the weapon to unleash such terrifying power.
To forge an even stronger weapon more suited to himself, Usopp recorded all the data on the materials, then sent everything to Wapol.
The once-proud king seemed to have finally realized his current situation.
To suffer fewer hardships, he had gradually started cooperating with Usopp's work.
After all, even in the little world inside Laboon's stomach, a "special talent" like him was still treated quite well.
Aside from losing his freedom, his life wasn't all that different from before.
What's more, Usopp had told him personally…
So long as he behaved and worked hard enough to satisfy Usopp, every so often he would be allowed out for "excursions."
Granted, those excursions would happen under the watchful eyes of Gem the Bomb Man and Mikita of the Kilo-Kilo Fruit.
Under Red's personal guidance, the day Usopp would end up hanging from a streetlamp… was drawing closer and closer~
…
…
Meanwhile—
In another stretch of desolate desert, quite a distance away from where the Going Merry was moored…
A massive ship was cruising through the endless sands as though it were sailing on the open sea.
On the deck, a hulking man with an umbrella stuck in his head bent at the waist, his face plastered with a fawning smile.
"Um…"
"Miss Nami, we're really grateful for the food and water you brought us, but we've been wandering around this desert for almost an entire day now…"
"Are you sure we still need to keep circling like this?"
"Quit whining."
Nami, dressed in Alabasta-style sun-protection clothing, sat in the captain's chair that should've belonged to this ship's original owner. She tapped the armrest with her Clima-Tact, looking deeply displeased.
"I paid you already, remember."
"Or do you all want to experience getting electrocuted again?"
"N-no, no, no…"
The big guy—captain of the Barubaru Sand Pirates, Barubarus—waved his hands frantically.
They'd originally been a band of sand pirates roaming the wild deserts, constantly searching for a way to survive amid the shortage of food and water.
Two days ago, this girl named Nami had suddenly appeared in front of their ship.
And along with her… had come a gigantic sand scorpion bursting up from beneath the dunes.
Just when they thought this poor little girl was about to be torn apart by one of the desert's terrifying predators…
The girl before them had suddenly swung her staff. Thunder bright enough to light up the entire desert exploded, roasting the sand scorpion to a crispy, delicious brown in an instant.
That was how the Barubaru Sand Pirates had managed to secure the food they needed to go on living—and how they had agreed to lend their ship to Nami for a time so she could search for something.
After witnessing her ability to conjure rain out of thin air and her terrifying combat strength, they had readily accepted her terms.
Under Nami's command, they'd sailed in one direction across the sands for a full day.
But by yesterday evening, Nami had suddenly ordered them to change course and head back the way they had come.
The Barubaru Sand Pirates had ultimately followed her instructions, but after traveling without rest for a full day and night…
Everyone on board was already exhausted.
Sailing on sand was nothing like sailing on water.
Not only did they have to handle the sails, they also had to use old-fashioned manpower to heave the ship over dune after dune.
By now, dozens of their pirates had already collapsed from exhaustion.
At that moment, a neat, agile figure suddenly dropped from the sky, spinning several times in mid-air before landing precisely in front of Nami.
This was the only woman in the Barubaru Sand Pirates, and the crew's second-in-command—Rasha.
Facing Nami, whose body was faintly crackling with electricity, Rasha immediately stepped between her and Barubarus and hurriedly explained:
"Miss Nami, please don't misunderstand!"
"We're truly grateful for the ample food and water you gave us, and of course we'll take you wherever you want to go, just as you requested!"
"But at least tell us what you're looking for!"
"That way, the rest of us can help you keep an eye out, so you don't accidentally miss it."
"Please don't worry. We're not the kind of people who'd get greedy when we see treasure!"
Rasha offered kindly.
After all, many hands made light work.
And searching for something in a vast, endless desert wasn't something any one person could realistically do alone.
However, after hearing her out, Nami merely shook her head lightly and gave an answer that left all the sand pirates dumbfounded.
"Hehe~ It's not that I don't trust you."
"It's just that even I don't actually know what I'm looking for."
Her words said one thing, but when Nami raised her head, her eyes were sparkling with thick anticipation—
As though she could already see a mountain of treasure glittering before her.
She went on, "But don't worry!"
"I can feel it… the target is getting closer and closer to us!"
"It won't be long before I find the thing whose presence is even stronger than the last Ability I sensed—something that's completely covering it up…"
"A treasure!!!"
(End of Chapter)