After bidding farewell to Ace, the Straw Hat crew officially set foot into the vast desert of Alabasta, known as the "Sea of Death."
Above them was the merciless, unshielded sun; beneath them was the scorching, shifting sand. The temperature had already soared to a terrifying 50°C.
"I can't go on... I'm going to die..."
On the endless yellow dunes, Viktor was dragging a simple wooden sled. Lying on the sled was a reindeer that looked like it had been flash-dried.
Chopper's tongue was hanging out, his eyes rolled back, and his usually fluffy fur was matted and limp. For a creature used to the frigid cold of Drum Island, this hellish heat was pure torture.
"Someone save me... I see Dr. Hiriluk waving at me from the other side of the river..."
"Hang in there, Chopper! That's the Sanzu River! Don't go toward the light!" Beside him, Usopp was also drenched in sweat. However, he had cleverly placed Klay on his head, forcing the crow to spread his black wings to act as a makeshift parasol.
"Caw... Master Klay is hot too! I'm going to turn into a roasted crow!" Klay protested feebly.
At the back of the line, Luffy dragged his feet like a dying dog, his tongue lolling out as he croaked for water. Zoro and Sanji—rivals who usually couldn't stand the sight of each other—were now leaning on one another out of sheer dehydration, grumbling weakly:
"Shitty Marimo... don't rub your sweat on me..." "Shut up, dartboard-cook... you're the one leaning over..."
In the middle of this purgatory-like procession, however, there was a unique "oasis." Viktor walked at the front, not a single bead of sweat on him.
In fact, he radiated a cool, refreshing aura. Nami and Vivi were glued to his sides, almost hanging off him entirely.
"Phew... so cool..." Nami let out a blissful sigh.
Viktor's hands were constantly maintaining a subtle flow of chakra.
By using Water Style chakra to condense the trace amounts of moisture in the air, he created a thin, misty veil of cool vapor around himself, forcibly lowering the local temperature. This drifting mist was the entire team's only lifeline.
Feeling his chakra slowly drain, Viktor let out a helpless sigh. He looked at the two beautiful women clinging to him. "Hey, I said... I'm the Vice-Captain, not a portable air conditioner."
"Shut it!" Nami hugged his arm even tighter, speaking with total conviction. "This is your duty as a boyfriend! You don't want to see me shrivel up into a mummy, do you?"
Vivi smiled apologetically. "Please, Mr. Viktor. I don't think I can survive if I step away from you."
Viktor nodded resignedly. He turned back to see why the rear of the group had gone silent, only to be startled by the sight of several "human mummies" collapsing in the sand.
Panicking, he quickly performed a Water Dragon Bullet Technique, firing it into the sky. Moments later, a massive downpour of water cascaded from the heavens, rehydrating the nearly-desiccated crew.
After several hours of grueling trekking, they finally spotted a rocky area near the coast.
"Water!! That's the mouth of the Sandora River!"
Just as they were about to rush over to cool off, a group of strange creatures jumped out from behind the rocks, blocking their path.
They had round, seal-like bodies and looked incredibly cute, but their backs featured patterns like turtle shells. They held their short fins up like boxers in a "I'll take on ten of you" stance.
Kung Fu Dugongs.
"Wow! Such cute seals!" Nami's eyes lit up.
"Those are Kung Fu Dugongs, the martial artists of this coast," Vivi explained quickly. "They take winning and losing very seriously.
Be careful... if you meet them, you have to duel. If you lose, you must become the winner's apprentice—"
Vivi hadn't even finished her sentence.
"Move! I need water!" Luffy, driven mad by thirst, ignored the rules. Facing the Dugong leader, he charged forward.
"Gum-Gum... Pistol!"
BAM!
One punch. The lead Dugong didn't even get to strike a pose before his eyes rolled back, and he was sent flying into a rock. The area fell silent for a second. Then...
"!!"
The eyes of the fierce-looking Dugongs instantly turned into stars. They swarmed forward, kneeling in a perfect row before Luffy and bowing their heads repeatedly.
"Aowu! Aowu! (Master! Please accept our bow!)"
"Eh? Apprentices?" Luffy scratched his head. "I don't understand them, but this looks fun!"
Watching these adorable yet martial-arts-obsessed creatures, Viktor found them fascinating. He stepped forward, his Sharingan quietly activating.
Under the insight of his eyes, the Dugongs' seemingly clumsy physical structures and muscle-firing patterns were instantly analyzed.
"Oh? Though the movements are simple, the way they use that specific body structure to generate force... the technique is quite interesting."
Viktor walked up to one of the Dugongs and struck a starting stance. "Aowu?" The Dugong tilted its head.
Zip!
Viktor suddenly struck. His movements were identical to the Kung Fu Dugong's signature style, but he had refined the leverage points to be even faster and more powerful.
"This is your 'Straight Punch,' right? If you lower your center of gravity slightly, the power will increase significantly."
He demonstrated a few more simple strikes—a refined "Dugong Grappling Style" combined with ninja taijutsu. The Dugongs were starstruck. In this human, they saw the pinnacle of martial arts!
"AOWUUUU!!! (Grandmaster!!!)"
The Dugongs instantly abandoned Luffy and mobbed Viktor. Some hugged his legs, others kowtowed; they officially enshrined Viktor as their "Grandmaster," while Luffy remained "Master."
"Hahaha! I have disciples!" Luffy laughed proudly. If it weren't for Nami losing her temper and insisting they couldn't take a massive army of seafood across the desert, the Dugongs might have packed their bags and boarded the Merry then and there.
After bidding farewell to the tearful Dugong disciples, the Straw Hats pushed deeper into the desert. But reality soon dealt them a heavy blow.
"AH!!! OUR SUPPLIES ARE GONE!!" Luffy and Usopp wailed in despair, kneeling in the sand. They had encountered some "injured" birds and tried to help them out of the kindness of their hearts, only for the birds (Swin-birds) to instantly recover and fly off with all their food and water.
"Are you idiots?!" Nami shrieked, pummeling the two of them.
Just then, a cry for help came from nearby. "Save me!!"
The crew ran over to find Chopper being chased by a giant man-eating plant. On Chopper's back sat an incredibly shady-looking camel. After dispatching the plant, Zoro asked, "So, you were being chased because you tried to save this camel?"
"Yeah!" Chopper nodded. The camel had a lazy expression and long, drooping eyelashes.
"Since it's a desert camel, it can be our mount!" Luffy said happily, trying to climb on.
"Pah!" The camel looked at Luffy with pure disdain and spat right in his face. However, when Nami and Vivi approached, the camel's expression instantly turned fawning. He knelt down voluntarily, gesturing for the two ladies to climb on.
"Oh, what a good camel," Nami said, patting its head and sitting down.
Sanji was furious. "This perverted camel!! It only lets women ride?!"
Klay acted as the translator. "He says... 'Men are out of the question, they're too bony. Only soft, delicate girls are worthy of riding me'."
"WHAT?!!!" Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji instantly snapped.
BAM! POW! WHACK! A cloud of dust kicked up in the desert.
Three minutes later, the camel—named "Matsuge" (Eyelashes)—lay on the ground, bruised and tearful. Viktor walked up with a pleasant smile, twirling a sharp black kunai that glinted in the sun. He knelt down, pressing the cold steel against the camel's neck, and asked gently:
"Mr. Matsuge, we're very tired and we need a ride. Would you prefer to be a glorious mount... or would you like to be tonight's grand feast?"
Viktor pointed to a drooling Luffy nearby. "That guy in the straw hat is very interested in seeing what camel meat tastes like."
"Eee-eee!!" Matsuge's fur stood on end. He nodded frantically. "Aow! (I'm willing! I'm a mount! I'm a mount!)"
And so, through a combination of "violent persuasion" and the threat of death, the perverted camel was broken and became their dedicated transport toward Yuba.
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