The scorching desert of Alabasta was so hot that it distorted the air, creating mirages and phantom images.
Anyone without experience, proper preparation, or a guide would inevitably become lost and die within its endless expanse, likely descending into madness first.
But...
None of that applied when you had a damn ship that could sail across desert sand.
"What's wrong, Princess? You look tired," Allen asked.
The shameless man was lounging on a beach chair beneath a sun umbrella on the ship's deck. As if that weren't enough, Mikita stood beside him, fanning him with a handheld fan.
The princess's eyelids twitched as she stared at the surreal scene before her.
She was worried about her homeland, which was sinking into despair because of the drought that, thanks to Robin, she now knew had all been orchestrated by Crocodile.
She was also worried that the Shichibukai, now that he was cornered, would resort to far more violent measures instead of the behind-the-scenes manipulation he had relied on until now.
Despite all that, Allen, the young man in whom she had placed her trust and hopes, looked as though he were relaxing at a vacation resort rather than preparing to face one of the most dangerous pirates on the Grand Line.
"Relax, Princess. Why don't you take it easy?~" Mikita teased.
Ever since she had seen Allen's fight with Ace, Mikita had changed her attitude. She had become much more attentive toward Allen, trying to earn his favor and be accepted into the crew as quickly as possible.
Having a beautiful blonde doing everything she could to please him certainly didn't bother Allen. In fact, he loved Mikita's initiative, because neither Nami, Kaya, Nojiko, Uta, nor Robin treated him like the future King of the World.
The affection and respect they had for him were one thing, but surely there was nothing wrong with praising his glory and perfection now and then, right?! Allen believed that while his crew cared deeply for him, they didn't idolize him nearly as much as they should.
Robin walked over to Vivi and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Princess, I wanted to apologize. I never intended to hand the weapon over to Crocodile, nor did I truly intend to help him take your country. As soon as I had the chance, I planned to betray him. Even so, I can't justify everything I did."
Vivi remained silent. She had been avoiding this subject. After all, even though they had once been enemies, Robin was Allen's sister, and she didn't want any conflict between them that might complicate things.
Vivi had joined Allen's crew, so technically Robin was now her crewmate, and was also Allen's sister.
"Don't worry... Saying I've forgiven everything would be a lie, but I'm not so selfish. If you help me save my country, I'll forgive everything that happened."
As a princess, Vivi knew she couldn't allow herself to be ruled by emotion.
Robin smiled and extended her hand.
"In that case, it'll be a pleasure, Princess... No, Vivi."
Vivi shook her head and smiled.
"I'm counting on you, Miss All Sunday... No, Robin-san."
Allen smiled in satisfaction at the sight. Even though he had never shown it, he knew he would eventually have to deal with this issue. On one hand, there was Vivi, who, now that she was part of his crew, couldn't simply ignore her feelings anymore. On the other hand, there was Robin, who was also part of his crew—and his sister. Resolving their past grievances was bound to be troublesome.
Fortunately, Allen didn't even have to intervene.
[It's nice when the problems in your harem solve themselves, isn't it?]
Allen choked on his drink and burst into coughing after hearing Lenalee's words.
'What are you talking about?!' Allen growled.
"Are you alright, Captain?" Mikita asked, gently patting his back.
[Hehe~ Sure, keep playing dumb, Harem King.]
Allen felt offended.
'Hey, I thought we already cleared that up. I'm a man with a pure and spotless heart, not some filthy degenerate, got it? I—
[Yeah, yeah, sure. It's not like you've already sunk your claws into Kaya, Nami, and almost Robin...]
"..."
Allen froze, then covered his face with one hand as he realized that, in the end, his actions completely contradicted the kind of person he claimed to be.
....
Nami, who had been watching everything from the helm, could only sigh.
When exactly had she fallen for someone so strange...?
'...!'
Nami blushed as she realized what she'd just thought. She quickly looked around, hoping no one had noticed. When she saw that nobody was paying attention to her, she let out a sigh of relief.
However, one girl had been quietly watching her all along.
Kaya.
Kaya felt conflicted. She wasn't foolish enough not to realize that Nami liked Allen, and she herself had never hidden her own feelings.
Part of her wanted to step aside and let Nami have Allen. After all, Nami had helped her before, and she didn't want to fight with her friend. But at the same time, the thought of giving up on Allen hurt.
It hurt so much that she didn't know what to do. As if sensing her hesitation, a parchment discreetly appeared before her.
[Hello...]
"Lenalee...-san?"
[Girl, aren't you torturing yourself for no reason?]
"What do you mean?"
[I mean the boy you like is destined to become a perverted womanizer~]
Kaya widened her eyes in confusion.
Lenalee began explaining the most efficient method of raising the levels of all the girls in the crew, what it entailed, and, of course, its inevitable outcome.
Kaya felt as though she'd been struck by lightning and now everything made sense.
Why had Allen stubbornly refused to recruit any men into the crew?
Why did he always act so strangely whenever leveling up was mentioned, and what was the awkward atmosphere between Allen and Nami?
Kaya lowered her head and trembled before gritting her teeth and walking over to Allen, who had finally stopped coughing but was still kneeling.
"Kaya?" Allen asked.
The girl stood in front of him without saying a word.
Kaya let out a huff, raised her head, puffed out one cheek into a pout, then grabbed Allen's cheek and pinched it.
Allen didn't feel any pain, but he was completely bewildered.
"Pervert..." Kaya muttered before turning around and returning to her cabin.
Allen blinked, completely clueless about what had just happened.
Uta couldn't hold back her laughter. Mikita laughed as well, while Tashigi snorted, thinking Allen deserved it for being such a womanizer.
....
Time passed, and the journey across the desert felt little more than a stroll through the park.
Not only was traveling through the desert aboard a ship unbelievably comfortable, but also because Allen could lower the ship's temperature despite being surrounded by the blazing desert.
Robin was speechless.
She had permitted Allen to use the Hie Hie no Mi, even though she had trauma associated with that Logia.
Instead of feeling afraid, Robin simply laughed, imagining Admiral Aokiji's expression if he ever learned that his proud Ice Logia—one of the strongest Devil Fruits in the world—had been reduced to nothing more than an air conditioner.
It was humiliating for the Ice Logia, but thanks to that, Robin was slowly overcoming her trauma.
"...?"
Allen, who had been playing cards with Uta and Nojiko at the bow, looked up after noticing a massive cloud of sand rising in the distance.
"A sandstorm?" Uta asked.
"What do you think we should do, Vivi? You know the desert better than anyone," Nami asked from the helm, glancing at Vivi beside her.
"Maybe we shouldn't be reckless and try to go through it. Sandstorms are usually harmless if you know how to deal with them, but they're still troublesome to cross..." Vivi said before a bead of sweat slid down her cheek. "Though... I don't know if that applies to a ship that can sail across dunes like they're ocean waves."
Nami laughed, understanding exactly what she meant.
She didn't know what to do either.
She had never imagined the day would come when she'd have to navigate through a desert.
It was as surreal as it was amusing.
While the girls smiled, Allen frowned and stood up.
"Allen?" Robin asked, noticing the serious look in his eyes.
After a brief silence, Allen crossed his arms and smirked.
"Looks like the lizard couldn't wait any longer~"
The sandstorm seemed to have a will of its own as it changed course and headed straight toward them.
The girls watched in astonishment as a gigantic face emerged from within the swirling sand.
"A... just like the mummy," Allen said in amazement.
[That's right...]
"This isn't the time to admire it! What are we going to do?!" Nami exclaimed, about to turn the helm and flee, but Allen stopped her.
"Wait. Keep going straight," Allen said.
Without another word, he walked down the stairs from the bow to the main deck and headed toward the hatch leading below.
Nami was frightened, but she trusted Allen, so she obeyed without argument.
Besides, while Allen was impulsive and often absurd, he never took his crew's safety lightly.
Meanwhile...
The giant face within the sandstorm twisted in uncontrollable fury.
The plan to ambush Allen with the full might of Baroque Works had completely fallen apart.
They hadn't had time to summon all the agents, let alone the ones stationed outside.
They hadn't even managed to gather all the agents within Alabasta.
It made no sense how quickly Allen had crossed the desert!
As expected, both Crocodile and Sengoku had been defeated by something beyond logic itself.
An existence like Lenalee, whose abilities bordered on miracles, rendered plans and strategies meaningless.
Below deck, Allen smiled as he approached the armored cannon—a beast weighing more than twenty tons of steel. Surprisingly, its immense weight did not affect the Black Pearl.
Allen opened the cannon's compartment and whistled when he saw the half-ton metal shell inside.
"Well, since you came all this way, it'd be rude not to give you a proper welcome, wouldn't it, Croco-boy?"
Allen placed his hand on the artillery shell and infused it with Haki.
Perhaps his Haki wasn't strong enough to clash head-on with another Haki user, but nullifying the abilities of a Logia user who lacked Haki? Of course, he could.
The user of the Sand Logia.
The Shichibukai Crocodile.
The King of the Desert.
He didn't hesitate to attack the Black Pearl, his power spread across the sky, blotting out the sun.
The hearts of most of the girls tightened, because standing before them truly was a monster.
Crocodile opened his mouth, ready to swallow the Black Pearl, which seemed utterly insignificant before him. Soon, however, he would realize his mistake.
The figurehead opened, revealing the mouth of a massive cannon.
Even then, Crocodile didn't react... he had become a force of nature. What could a mere cannon possibly do?
DIE, ALLEN WALKER!
"I'd rather not," Allen replied with a grin before firing.
The impact thundered through the heart of the sandstorm, blasting a massive hole through it.
Moments later, as if by magic, the sandstorm vanished, the sky cleared, and the girls stood there in stunned silence.
"What?" Allen asked after climbing back onto the deck, chuckling at everyone's reactions. "Keep moving. We've still got a long way to Alubarna. It's time to save our dear Vivi's father."
Vivi trembled.
She had no idea how her father would react when he learned she had joined a pirate crew and not just any pirate crew. She joined the crew of the rookie monster Allen Walker!
....
"ARRRGH!"
A hundred miles away, inside a secret hideout in Alubarna, Crocodile dropped to one knee, clutching his chest.
"Boss!" Daz Bones shouted in alarm as blood spilled from Crocodile's mouth.
"That bastard..."
Crocodile's expression remained composed, though his heart was filled with disbelief. He had already suspected it, but after feeling Allen's attack, he had confirmed it.
Allen didn't just possess the abilities of other Devil Fruit users. He also possessed Haki, which made him even more dangerous. Far more dangerous.
Because now Crocodile knew with certainty that if they fought, he could die.
Crocodile remained silent. He didn't fall into despair, on the contrary, his mind became colder.
His heart hardened.
His thoughts accelerated.
Then his gaze shifted toward a certain location.
The castle of King Cobra.
What he was about to do might cost him his title as a Shichibukai. But that no longer mattered, because otherwise... Death awaited him.
....
"Not yet?!" Garp growled.
He was desperate to reach Alabasta. He had known it ever since he met Allen. That young man wasn't just another talented pirate. He had come to bring everything to an end.
Don't misunderstand.
Garp despised the World Government just as much as Allen did. But what Garp feared was the unimaginable chaos that would follow if the World Government were overthrown.
Entire kingdoms descending into civil wars, anarchy, revolutions, and pirates running wild without restraint.
The cost of destroying the current system was something Garp couldn't even begin to imagine.
At the very least, he didn't want the end of his own legacy to become the end of the world. Perhaps Garp himself doubted the kind of world someone like Allen would create.
"Garp-san..." Bogard murmured.
Unlike Garp, Bogard saw things differently.
Allen was the inevitable result of a world like this. Of course, that wouldn't change the fact that when the time came, he would stand by Garp's side.
Smoker, meanwhile, remained silent.
Allen's growth was terrifying.
He had only just reached the Grand Line, and he was already targeting Crocodile.
Not only that, but the rumor that he had fought Whitebeard's second division commander was spreading like wildfire.
Smoker had no desire to sigh anymore.
All he could do was pray that Hina and Tashigi were safe.
....
"Hey! What's the meaning of this?!" Tashigi shouted.
She was furious because Allen had taken her pudding and was shamelessly eating it right in front of her.
"What?" Allen raised an eyebrow. "You said you didn't want dessert because I helped make it, so what are you complaining about?"
"That..."
Tashigi couldn't come up with a response.
Out of pure instinct—and as a method of self-preservation—she always found herself arguing with Allen at every opportunity.
That was why she'd refused dessert after the meal.
Vivi remained silent.
Were they really having such a peaceful meal even after Crocodile had just attacked them Wasn't this practically a slap in Crocodile's face? He wasn't even being treated as a nuisance worth acknowledging.
"Isn't this better?" Robin said, offering Vivi a drink.
Vivi looked at the glass, accepted it, took a sip, and sighed.
"How should I put it... It's a little embarrassing. To me, someone like Crocodile was the Demon King, but to Allen, he's just..."
"A lizard?" Robin laughed.
"Pfft, yeah!"
The two women laughed together, despite having been enemies not long ago. There was no need to overthink it.
Sometimes the world brings surprises, and yesterday's enemy could become tomorrow's ally. Of course, that only applied if the enemy was a cute girl.
Otherwise...
You'd better start digging a grave. Just ask Nezumi, Kuro, and Morgan. Later, Nojiko called everyone out onto the deck.
When they stepped outside, they were left speechless.
Alubarna was an enormous city built atop a massive rocky plateau.
Grand white staircases climbed toward the city, and at its center stood the magnificent royal palace, visible even from afar.
Vivi walked to the bow with a distant look in her eyes as she gazed upon her hometown.
She had never expected to return. She knew that what she had done had placed her life in mortal danger more than once.
And yet...
Here stood the princess, armed with the truth and with a champion willing to stand against the Demon King.
Allen stepped beside her and flashed her a confident smile.
Vivi smiled back and nodded.
The time had finally come.
It was time to clash head-on with Crocodile and whatever he had prepared.
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