The night deepened, dark clouds obscuring the moon.
After the crew had treated their injuries and thoroughly looted this Baroque Works stronghold, Allen set the place ablaze.
The roaring flames shot into the sky, highly conspicuous against the dark night. The nearby residents, however, kept completely silent out of fear, trembling as they peeked from behind their windows.
It wasn't until the pirates had completely departed that the residents breathed a sigh of relief, their hearts still pounding, and came out to extinguish the fire to prevent it from spreading.
...
At the port, the *Freewill* was quietly docked.
"Captain... hm?"
Seeing the people Allen brought back all bearing injuries, Gin frowned in astonishment.
"What happened? Was there a battle?"
"Just a little friction. It's already been handled," Allen replied casually. He walked past Gin toward the captain's cabin on the third floor, instructing them to come over later to discuss their itinerary.
Gin nodded in agreement and soon learned from Sanji about the bounty hunter ambush they had encountered in town.
Following that, several of them arrived at the captain's cabin.
"What a massive loss. This little haul isn't even enough to cover our medical supplies and ammunition consumption," Nami complained with a sigh, taking a seat on the nearby sofa.
A pile of treasure looted from the inn sat on the table. It wasn't much; estimated to be no more than twenty million Berries in total.
With so many bounty hunters entrenched here, they naturally had the ability to make money. However, the money they earned was basically all sent back to Alabasta, where the Baroque Works headquarters was located.
According to the information extorted from Mr. 11, all this money was for a plan called "Utopia."
Allen knew more about this than they did. The so-called "Utopia" plan was actually a scheme to seize control of the Alabasta Kingdom.
Furthermore, Crocodile wasn't trying to build an ideal nation; he was after the Poneglyph guarded by the Alabasta royal family, which contained information about the Ancient Weapon, Pluton.
Allen sat up, picking up an Eternal Pose labeled "Alabasta" from the table, and fell into thought.
"You're not thinking of going to Alabasta, are you?"
Seeing his action, Nami cast him a strange look, her eyes full of suspicion as she said, "That's their headquarters. We just wiped out one of their strongholds. Wouldn't going there now be walking right into a trap?"
"Relax, they don't have the time to care about us right now. The turmoil in Alabasta is enough to keep them busy," Allen said dismissively with a light chuckle.
He had some understanding of the Baroque Works' organizational structure. Crocodile wouldn't pay attention to them just because of a few small fry.
They were just a few executive commanders. If they died, they died; there were hundreds of Billions waiting to take their place.
Even the high-ranking agents who served as core officers were nothing more than pawns in Crocodile's eyes.
Moreover.
Alabasta wasn't the key. Allen's main goal wasn't to pick a fight with Crocodile, but rather...
After filling the Log Pose in Alabasta, their departure route would take them past the Knock Up Stream eruption, which was in the sea area where Mock Town was located.
The City of Gold, Skypiea.
That was his true target!
Allen shifted his gaze to the figure standing by the window. "Sanji, how much food do we have left on the ship?"
"We have enough staple foods to last half a month without any issues, but the fresh vegetables and Sea King meat will only last for two days," Sanji said slowly, exhaling a puff of smoke.
Although the ship had a freezer, they had only purchased a small amount of Sea King meat in Loguetown, and some fruits and vegetables weren't suitable for refrigeration.
The ship was fully stocked with food to ensure they wouldn't go hungry, but if they wanted quality meals, many ingredients needed to be replenished every few days.
Allen calculated for a moment. Three days definitely wouldn't be enough to reach Alabasta from here. Even if they sailed in a straight line using the Eternal Pose, it would take at least a week.
And that wasn't even factoring in the weather. In the Grand Line, sudden blizzards and hailstorms were hardly rare occurrences.
"Let's proceed in the direction of the Log Pose first. Later, depending on our voyage, we can shift our course toward Alabasta using the Eternal Pose."
Saying this, Allen looked over at Nami. "We just got some sea charts from those bounty hunters. I'll leave the specific route planning to you."
"No problem."
Nami cheerfully flashed an OK gesture.
At the thought of holing up in her workroom to chart their course, her eyes showed no trace of fatigue; instead, she grew excited.
After making these simple arrangements, they each returned to their rooms to rest.
Until the next morning.
...
The weather was clear, with sunlight shining down on the small island covered in giant mushrooms.
At the port.
"Warship spotted approaching from the rear!"
"This is bad! The Marines are here!"
"Marines?!"
Hearing the commotion, Nami hurriedly ran out the back door of her bedroom and leaned over the balcony to look into the distance.
On the sea, a dark green warship was sailing straight toward them, looking as though it would soon enter firing range.
Allen also walked out from inside, hopped onto the railing, and gazed out, muttering, "A medium-sized warship. The commanding officer is probably a Captain or a Commodore. The Log Pose should be ready by now, right?"
"Yeah, it finished setting last night."
"Then let's not tangle with them. Prepare to set sail," Allen ordered without hesitation.
Given their current wealthy status, the cost of fighting the Marines was completely disproportionate to any potential gains. There was no need to waste time on these poor bastards.
Soon, under Nami's command, the Third Division crew members busily sprang into action.
The ship slowly pulled away from the shore. Just as it sailed a short distance from the port, the opposing naval guns unleashed a dense, deafening roar.
Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!
Dozens of cannonballs lined up in the air, descending from the sky like a curtain of black rain.
Allen's gaze sharpened. He rested his right hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist and was about to jump when a figure darted out faster than him.
Gin stepped on the railing and leaped high above the ship. The two tonfas in his hands spun rapidly. Locking his eyes on the incoming cannonballs, he struck out continuously with the heavy ball-hammers!
"Demon Tonfa・Chaotic Wave!!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Boom!! Boom!!
Several cannonballs were knocked away on impact, detonating in the air like fireworks.
Allen retracted his sword-drawing stance.
After a round of cannon fire, the *Freewill*'s speed finally picked up, moving faster and faster under Nami's navigational commands.
Before long, the ship gradually escaped the enemy's firing range.
...
On the warship.
"Captain Smoker, the target has left our firing range. Should we continue the pursuit?" Tashigi ran up and asked.
Smoker, biting down on two cigars, lowered his binoculars with a stern face and said in a deep voice, "Contact the nearby base and have them prepare a Log Pose for the next island. We'll head straight there to get it."
"Yes, sir!" Tashigi saluted in acknowledgment, then ran into the ship's cabin.
Wreathed in cigar smoke, Smoker stared with a dark gaze at the shrinking silhouette of the ship.
Ever since he took command of Loguetown, no pirate had ever successfully escaped his grasp.
Yet recently, two had managed to do so in quick succession!
"Demon Lion Allen, and the Straw Hat kid..."
Smoker clenched his fists. "What happened before won't end so easily!"
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