"Yo, so this is Alabasta? But why does it look kind of strange?"
A ship with an aggressive air, one that closely resembled a Marine warship, docked at the shore. A purple wolverine flag fluttered in the wind. A tall figure stood proudly at the bow, and beside him, two towering Fish-Men stood like statues.
The moment the ship came ashore, the three figures vanished and stepped onto the land of Alabasta.
"Big Brother, this kingdom looks pretty good. That guy Crocodile really does have an eye for things!"
Sheen looked around, feeling the scorching heat carried in the air as he gazed toward an oasis far in the distance. His mood was clearly excellent.
"Little Sandy's eye has always been good! Gahahaha! What should I do? I'm suddenly looking forward to this. If the timing is right, Old Man Garp's grandson and that brat Ann should both be in Alabasta too! I'm really curious what those two little brats are like now!"
Roldy wore a long coat. Beneath it were a white shirt and black trousers. There were no excessive patterns on them, yet they made his entire figure look valiant and extraordinary.
"Let's go! Let me see what the little guys of this new era are like!"
The most important reason Roldy had come to Alabasta was Crocodile. The second reason was Vice Admiral Garp's grandson and Teacher Zephyr's son. The meeting between those two little fellows was simply bizarre. Was it because of fate?
Roldy did not think too deeply about it. Some things were simply that mysterious.
With the strength of the three of them, traveling from their landing point to Alabasta's royal capital would only take half a day at most.
At the same time, the Straw Hats had already reached an Alabastan town.
Inside a restaurant.
After the group of seven had wiped out more than a hundred portions of food, Luffy finally patted his round belly and let out a long, satisfied breath.
Ann, beside him, was not much better. However, unlike Luffy, his round belly shrank slightly with every breath he took. In just two minutes, his figure had returned to normal.
Luffy also had this ability, but his digestion speed was obviously much slower.
No matter how great his natural talent was, without a good teacher guiding him, Luffy's current raw strength could not compare to Ann's. Although Zephyr was usually very strict with Ann, in truth, he was proud of his son. After all, Ann was the only newcomer in all of Marine Headquarters who had mastered the Rokushiki. He had now begun to possess the Life Return ability that came after awakening the Six Powers.
"All right! My stomach's full! Next, let's go send that Crocodile guy flying!"
From Vivi's mouth, they had already learned the source of everything. What Crocodile had done might not have been extremely vile on the surface, but stealing a country was something that was destined to be paved with the blood of countless people.
There was no point in investigating such things too deeply.
The current Roldy might not care, but Luffy and the others, who had only just set out into the world, could not ignore it. After hearing those shocking numbers one after another, they were all filled with righteous indignation and swore to drive Crocodile out of Alabasta.
The Straw Hats' morale was soaring.
However, Ann's expression was somewhat subtle at that moment.
He was born in Marine Headquarters and had grown up in Marineford. Although his father would not normally tell him about the past, Ann had still learned many things about the major powers from the colleagues around him.
Among them was a person he very much wanted to meet.
That emperor of the New World.
The man who occupied a vast share of territory, including the Sabaody Archipelago, controlled the entire Underworld , and had more than twenty kingdoms as his vassals — Roldy.
Ann had a very good relationship with an uncle from Marine Headquarters. That uncle was named Chaton, also known as Tokikake, a candidate for the position of Admiral. Supposedly, he was also a good friend of Roldy.
In the past, Ann had once believed that the reason his father was so strict with him was because his father had seen an overwhelmingly brilliant young man before. In private, Ann had also asked his mother about Roldy. However, his gentle and kind mother would fall silent every time. In the end, she would only stroke his head and say that Roldy was the elder brother he had never met.
And Crocodile was one of the highest-ranking officers under that elder brother whom Ann had never met.
That guy's bounty was simply an astronomical number!
After thinking for a long time, Ann looked at the companions beside him, who were discussing the matter noisily. Then his gaze shifted toward Princess Vivi, who was trying to blend in with them.
He was certain he had not seen wrong.
The instant the princess met his eyes, she seemed to realize something was wrong. An unnatural look appeared in her eyes, and in the end, she forced out a faint smile.
So, she knows?
"Luffy!"
Ann suddenly spoke, interrupting the noisy chatter of his companions.
The people in the restaurant had long since fled because they had started discussing Crocodile. At that moment, apart from the Straw Hats, there was no one else inside.
"What is it, Ann?"
Everyone turned their heads in confusion. Vivi's face visibly paled, but she seemed to still hold on to one final shred of hope.
Ann looked deeply at her, then spoke.
"Everyone, I know what Crocodile has done is unforgivable. But before that, there's something I have to tell you!"
"Luffy, do you know what the part of the Grand Line we're currently in is called?"
Ann's sudden question left Luffy stunned. Seeing that everyone looked confused, Ann spoke again.
"The first half of the Grand Line — in other words, where we are right now — is called Paradise! Just like the name suggests, it's a place where a bunch of pirates who can't even make it onto the real stage play house. In the eyes of truly important figures, this place is no different from a kindergarten!"
That truth was rather sharp. For a moment, Luffy and the others found it somewhat hard to accept. Everyone looked at one another until Zoro thought for a moment and spoke.
"Now that you mention it, I think I have heard that name before. Back when I was a pirate hunter, I heard about it. Most of the pirates active in the first half of the Grand Line are rookie pirates like us and small pirate crews. The truly powerful people are gathered in the second half of the Grand Line, in that place called the New World."
"The New World?"
This was the first time that term had appeared in everyone's minds. It had been brought up who knew how much earlier than it should have been.
But Luffy still did not understand what Ann was trying to say.
Ignoring Vivi, whose face had turned ashen, Ann was just about to speak again when a voice suddenly came from the restaurant entrance.
"Moshi moshi, is anyone here? I'm hungry. I need food!"
The sudden unfamiliar voice made everyone turn their heads instinctively.
An inexplicable feeling of familiarity also rose in Luffy's heart.
The instant he saw that figure, his entire body froze.
"You… you're…"
"Ace?!"
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