Before long, the rain stopped. The sandy ground was completely soaked. If you scooped up a handful, you could squeeze water from it. The only drawback was the lack of fertile soil. Then again, this was the world of One Piece; science wasn't always a strict rule.
"Nami, Crocus, let's start planting!" Ryuuto called out, taking a handful of Super Rice seeds from Crocus and scattering them across the sand.
"Captain, what kind of seeds are these?" Nami asked, mimicking Ryuuto's actions as she began to sow them.
"Super Rice. It only takes three days to harvest!" Ryuuto replied without stopping, glancing up at Nami for a moment.
"Amazing! They're miraculous seeds!" Nami exclaimed in wonder. "With these, the people here won't have to go hungry anymore!"
Crocus smiled as he watched Ryuuto and Nami. *Our captain is really different,* he thought to himself. *He's not like a pirate at all! Then again, if he were too much like a pirate, it would be boring!*
The 500 by 500 meter plot of sand, a full 25 hectares, was completely sown in half a day thanks to the efforts of the three of them. As they watched, the first tender shoots of Super Rice were already breaking through the soil. The entire area was beginning to take on a faint, verdant hue. This small splash of green brought a much-needed touch of life to the desolate land.
"Not bad at all!" The three of them looked upon the scene with a shared sense of accomplishment.
"Let's let the Super Rice grow in peace." After admiring their work for a moment, Ryuuto turned his gaze to the water jars nearby, which they had collected from the surrounding houses and filled with rainwater. "Crocus, you still got some energy left? We still have several large water jars waiting for us!"
"I'm not so old I can't move, you brat!" Crocus shot back, too irritated to even call him 'captain'.
"Hahahahahaha!" Ryuuto let out a hearty laugh, walked over to one of the jars, and with a grunt, steadily lifted it with both arms.
"Damn kid!" Seeing Ryuuto's display, Crocus grew even more incensed. As if to challenge him, he went straight for the largest jar.
"You two are unbelievable," Nami sighed from the sidelines, completely bewildered. What were these men competing over? Their stupid pride?
Just as they finished lining up the water jars in front of their small hut, Ryuuto noticed the people of Alabasta peering out from their nearby homes, their gazes a mixture of desperation and fear.
"Nami, tell them. Everyone can come and get a flask of water!" Ryuuto said to Nami before tossing the Sandai Kitetsu to Crocus. He then stood on the other side, holding Yubashiri.
A chorus of whispers reached Ryuuto's ears—voices filled with longing and some with malice, but no one dared to make the first move. "There's water!" "Can we really drink it?" "Should we rush them and take it?" "Those two men are armed. They look strong. Are they pirates? Bounty hunters? Either way, we can't afford to cross them!" "They have so much water!" "Mommy, I'm thirsty!"
"Listen, everyone! You can all come and get a flask of water!" Nami's voice suddenly cut through the crowd.
The crowd immediately scattered, everyone rushing back to their homes. Moments later, they reappeared, each holding a water flask, and formed a line before Ryuuto and the others.
The first person in line nervously filled their flask from a jar. Seeing that Ryuuto's group made no move to stop them, they immediately fell to their knees. "Thank you! Thank you! We're saved!" they cried, before quickly scurrying away. One by one, the rest of the people followed, filling their flasks and leaving, each offering their thanks to the three strangers. Before long, everyone had collected their water and dispersed.
"Captain, they're so pitiful." Nami's heart ached as she watched, her eyes fixed on the filthy, emaciated children in the crowd.
"Things will get better," Ryuuto said in a low, reassuring voice.
"They have to!" Nami clenched her fists and nodded emphatically.
The next day, Ryuuto returned to the field of Super Rice to make it rain, just as he had before. After he had summoned the dark clouds, he noticed the townspeople gathering nearby, watching him with hopeful eyes. After yesterday's act of kindness, their fear of the three strangers had vanished. Ryuuto guessed that many of them had witnessed the rain-making process yesterday as well, but had been too afraid to show themselves.
Seeing them, Ryuuto had to issue a warning. "Just be careful not to trample the rice shoots!"
"Okay!" the crowd responded in unison.
After just one day of growth, the Super Rice had already sprouted into seedlings 30 to 40 centimeters tall. The sight of the lush green plants was truly uplifting.
As soon as he finished speaking, the clouds clashed overhead, and a downpour began.
A massive cheer erupted from the crowd as people scrambled to collect the fresh water in any container they could find. "It's raining!" "Real rain! We haven't seen rain in almost a year!" "Thank you! You've saved us!" Children laughed and danced in the downpour.
Watching the scene unfold, Nami and Crocus couldn't help but smile.
"Everything's going to be okay now," Nami whispered to herself.
The Super Rice drank in the rain, its emerald leaves stretching eagerly toward the sky. By the time the rain stopped, the sandy soil was saturated and the people's containers were full. In the eyes of the townspeople, Ryuuto and his crew had become towering figures of hope. They now believed the drought would soon be over.
After making it rain for two days, Ryuuto decided to ask Crocus for some pointers on swordsmanship. It had all started the other day when he'd tossed the Sandai Kitetsu to him. Crocus had asked him why he carried two swords but never seemed to use them. When he learned that Ryuuto didn't know the first thing about sword fighting, Crocus had laughed at him. Although Crocus himself wasn't a swordsman, the old man had seen enough in his lifetime to know a thing or two, and so he began to instruct Ryuuto.
"The foundation of swordsmanship is conviction. You must swing your blade with the absolute belief that you can cut through anything. As for more advanced techniques, those are achieved by imbuing your blade with Haki." Crocus's mystical-sounding lecture left Ryuuto completely baffled.
"What's Haki?" Nami latched onto the keyword, her curiosity piqued.
"Haki is divided into three types: Armament Haki, Observation Haki, and Conqueror's Haki."
"Armament Haki allows you to harden your own body or your weapons, and it can even be used to strike the true bodies of Logia-type Devil Fruit users." As he said this, Crocus held up his own fist as if to demonstrate.