Gojo didn't respond. He simply remained where he was, relaxed and unmoved. In truth, it wasn't as if he had been wasting his time here. He had been training—constantly. He already had several training regimes prepared in his mind, extreme ones, using the things he had taken from Crocodile's place. With those, he could push himself far beyond his current limits and become much stronger than he was now.
But he had only just set out on his journey. It hadn't even been a full month yet, and he didn't want to immediately throw himself back into another brutal training session. For now, he wanted to roam the seas, to look at the world beyond deserts and kingdoms, and then—when the time felt right—dive back into training with everything he had. Strong enough to face anyone in this world.
And there was another reason.
He wanted to see if, under the right kind of extreme pressure, he could awaken his Conqueror's Haki.
Vivi looked at Gojo and spoke again, her voice more earnest this time. "Can you please listen to me and meet my father once? He really wants to meet you. You'll be given your money there, and after that, you'll be free to leave. I mean… you're free to leave even now, but if you do, you won't get any money."
Gojo let out a quiet breath, then shook his head. "Whatever," he said flatly. "Let's go."
With that, Gojo stood up and walked out of the Rain Dinners Casino with Vivi beside him. Outside, he glanced around the open area in front of the casino. There was no carriage waiting. No horses. Nothing of the sort. Karoo wasn't there either—Vivi's named pet duck—something Gojo had completely ignored the entire time.
(A/N: My bad, I totally forgot about Vivi's pet Karoo. 🙏🏻😅)
Even during their travel through Alabasta, Gojo had refused to let Karoo come with him, knowing full well that carrying the duck would be another unnecessary hassle. On top of that, Gojo had casually threatened that he would cook Karoo whenever he felt hungry. Because of that—and because neither Vivi nor Igaram could bear the thought of eating Karoo, Vivi's loyal companion—they had kept the duck on Gojo's ship instead. But during their travel Karoo left Gojo's ship or to be precise ran away and went to Alubarna.
Turning toward Vivi, Gojo asked, "Where's your carriage or horse or camel or your pet duck? How are we supposed to get back to your father?" As Gojo didn't find Vivi's pet on his ship he assumed it ran away.
Vivi replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "I sent them away." Then she looked at him expectantly. "You'll be carrying me there, right?"
As soon as Gojo heard this, he said, "What? What do you mean you sent them away? And why would I carry you?"
Vivi answered immediately, "It'll be faster for you, right? You can reach the palace as quickly as possible, meet my father, and leave just as fast. Everything will be super fast."
Gojo narrowed his eyes slightly. "I mean, yes, it's definitely the fastest method," he said. "But why do I feel like you're trying to trick me into picking you up in my arms?"
Vivi replied with a completely straight face, "Definitely not. I'm not tricking you into carrying me in your arms. I'm just trying to do what's best for you. You'll meet my father quickly and leave quickly, which is what you want and I want. It's a win-win for you and me."
Gojo stared at her for a moment, then sighed. "Whatever."
With that, he picked Vivi up—holding her like the princess she was—and lifted slightly into the air. In the next instant, they vanished from the spot, shooting forward at an incredible speed, the desert stretching beneath them in a blur.
After a few minutes, Gojo suddenly stopped mid-air and hovered there. "Well?" he said. "Which direction?"
But Vivi didn't respond.
For a while, she said nothing at all—just stared at his face, her eyes fixed on him as if she had drifted into her own world.
Gojo glanced down at her. "Where did you disappear to?" he asked. "Tell me which direction I'm supposed to go."
Vivi snapped back to her senses. She flustered for a second, a faint blush spreading across her face as she hurriedly looked around at the terrain below. "Th-that way," she said, pointing.
Gojo immediately moved in that direction.
As the wind rushed past them, Vivi suddenly buried her face deep into Gojo's chest, pressing herself against him as tightly as she could—almost as if she was trying to drill into his chest and hide there completely.
Gojo shook his head continuously, and a thought surfaced in his mind: Understanding women is impossible for any man. And right now, that felt painfully accurate.
Before long, they arrived in front of a vast city—the capital of the Alabasta Kingdom, Alubarna. From above, the city spread out in orderly patterns, it was located atop a plateau, standing as the heart of the kingdom. Locating the palace wasn't difficult at all. A king's palace was unmistakable.
Gojo descended and landed just outside the palace grounds. There, they encountered Chaka and Pell, who were standing nearby, deep in conversation over some matter related to their duties.
Gojo touched down while still carrying Princess Vivi in his arms.
Under normal circumstances, seeing Princess Vivi in the arms of an unknown man would have immediately triggered hostility. They would have drawn their weapons without hesitation or moved to protect her by force. But they had already heard everything about Gojo from Igaram—his overwhelming strength, his ruthlessness toward enemies, and even Vivi's clear admiration for him.
Gojo gently set Vivi down.
She straightened herself and looked at the two guardians. "Chaka-san, Pell-san, what are you both doing here?"
Chaka answered calmly, "We were discussing the security arrangements of the palace." His gaze shifted briefly toward Gojo. "He is Gojo-san, I presume?"
"Yes, he is," Vivi replied at once.
Chaka and Pell both bowed slightly toward Gojo. "Thank you very much for saving Princess Vivi," Chaka said, "and for destroying the maggots that were eating away at our kingdom—Baroque Works and Crocodile. For that, we sincerely thank you."
Gojo simply nodded in response, offering no further words.
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