97 Friends Forever
"Guys..... I quit." Luffy declared suddenly while leaning his back against the sail pole. His words made everybody freeze.
They were currently sailing in The Sandora River which is the largest river in the Alabasta Kingdom.
The river also cuts Alabasta right down the middle from the north to the south, making travel around the country difficult.
"Wh-what?" Vivi stuttered out, feeling absolutely horrified. The Captain's orders were absolute, meaning that if Luffy quit, everyone would follow his lead because he is the captain.
"What do you mean Luffy?!" Chopper shouted at him. Luffy opened his eyes and looked at everybody who gathered around him.
"We're going back." Luffy replied while looking at Nami, Nami widened her eyes in horror.
When Luffy would look at her, it would either be him ordering her to navigate or him asking her if she wanted anything to eat.
"You idiot! This is for Vivi-chan! You're not quitting when you haven't even started yet!" Sanji scolded.
" Vivi. " Luffy looked at her. Vivi gulped.
" Wh-what? "
" I want to beat the shit out of Crocodile and any who dares to destroy your country!! " Luffy declared.
" Your plan is to stop the war without anyone, including us dying! You said that there would be 1 million people in battle and all you want is no one to die!? That's naive and stupid. " Luffy looked into her eyes. Nami wanted to say something but Zoro stopped her.
" He's got a point. " Zoro whispered in Nami's ear.
" You say all you want, but people die Vivi, that's natural." Luffy dodged Vivi's sudden punch.
" Stop talking like that!! That is what we're trying to stop!! " Vivi shouted. Luffy appeared in front of her and threw his fist at her, he stopped when he was about a few centimeters away from breaking her nose.
" Then why do you keep talking about all of this like only you can complete it?! You think risking one life is enough princess!? Why not try risking ours too!? I thought we were friends!!!" Luffy gritted his teeth.
" Did you forget what ship you are on right now?! You're on a goddamn pirate ship! And you're friends with a Pirate crew that has a bounty of over 250,000,000 Belly!! Why do you keep talking about this whole saving your country thing like it's a one man mission?! I'm tired of your cowardly tactics Vivi! " Luffy then suddenly hugged her.
" And now look at you, you're crying. You're the one who wants to kill him the most. I can see it clearly Vivi. But you can't do it, you're weak as shit. " Luffy released the hug and looked at the sobbing Vivi.
"Bastard!! How dare you make Vivi-chan cry!!" Sanji shouted angrily. Zoro smacked the back of his head, shutting the chef up. They ended up fighting on the ship.
" So we're going to do it. No more games, Vivi. Tell me where Crocodile is, right now."
.
.
"This is the oasis called 'Rainbase' which is where Crocodile is, straight to the north of Yuba." Vivi, who has calmed down now, was explaining where Crocodile was while showing the Straw Hat Pirates a map of Alabasta.
Currently, they have docked the Going Merry and were making last minute preparations to deal with Crocodile and the remaining members of Baroque Works once and for all.
Nami and Vivi were wearing cloaks that cover their revealed body, Luffy wanted to object but then he berated himself in his mind.
"So we will pass by Erumalu and Yuba. Then we will arrive at 'Rainbase'." Luffy muttered and looked at Vivi.
" Vivi, can you please explain the reason behind the civil war again? I keep confusing it up because there are so many people involved. " Luffy asked her while grinning sheepishly. Vivi smiled and nodded. She then started explaining from where it all began.
First, Crocodile won the hearts of the people of Alabasta through the use of public appearances as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, becoming a hero to the people by rounding up invading pirates. This made it so that no one suspected that he was the mastermind behind everything.
During this farce, Baroque Works secretly used Dance Powder(a green powder that is used to create artificial rain) to cause the capital city, Alubarna to have abnormally high amounts of rain while the rest of the country suffered endless drought.
The people did not suspect a thing until it was noticed that other cities were getting below normal rainfall.
Baroque Works agents later brought a shipment of Dance Powder into the country and once in the middle of the town of Nanohana, they faked an accident with the delivery cart, causing the citizens to discover the powder.
When questioned, the agents said it was a delivery for the king, making them suspect that their monarch was behind the drought.
When the powder was found, the people were pushed into thinking that the king was behind the lack of rain. The younger citizens of Yuba were even beginning to form ideas of rebellion.
"Who's the rebel leader?" Zoro asked her. Vivi frowned and looked down at the map.
"He was my childhood friend, his name is Koza. He was the leader of the Suna Suna Clan, which was an old friend group I was a part of. He was the leader and I was the vice leader. " Vivi whispered.
" Will he listen to you, Vivi? " Kaya asked her. Vivi shook his head.
" I'm not certain. I understand his reasons for rebelling against dad but..... "
" Your dad isn't like that at all right? Alright, so my theory of Cobra being an imposter is sort of right then." Luffy whispered.
" One of the faces that Okama Bon Clay showed us was the face of Vivi's dad. So it's highly likely that the current Cobra sitting on the throne is Bon Clay and not Cobra himself." Usopp muttered.
" They do not know of Crocodile's role in this. None of them do, I'm afraid what Crocodile would do to conquer Alabasta." Vivi whispered. Luffy patted her shoulder.
" Hey, that's why we're here, to stop him. We need to move now, let's go!! " Luffy shouted. He then pulled Vivi away from the crew.
" Hey, you alright? " Luffy asked Vivi once they were in the kitchen of the Going Merry. Vivi nodded.
"Yeah, thank you for saying that to me just now." Vivi replied back with a smile on her face. Luffy wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in.
"That's what friends are for, Vivi! They stay by your side forever! So what do you say? Friends forever?" Luffy asked while stretching out his arms, wanting a hug. Vivi smiled and hugged him.
" Yeah, friends forever."
.
.
The Straw Hat Pirates started making their way towards 'Rainbase'. Karoo wasn't with them because before sailing away from Nanohana, Vivi sent Karoo towards Alubarna to deliver a message to Cobra explaining the truth about Crocodile.
By the time the Straw Hats arrived in Erumalu, which is their first checkpoint, Karoo should've arrived and delivered the letter.
So now, the target of the rebellion is the King in Alubarna, the target of the Royal Army is Crocodile in Rainbase. The target of Luffy's party is also Rainbase.
By the time they arrived in Yuba, it was already night time. Vivi was shocked at the condition of the town.
Yuba, a recent town, was no longer than 8–10 years old. Its location, at the very middle of the western portion of the Sandora Desert, was strategically decided in order to provide Alabasta with a hub that could act as a rest stop for merchants traveling through the desert.
Yuba was almost as ruined as Erumalu due to the countless sandstorms hitting the place. The oasis where the town was built upon was nearly dried up due to the endless sand brought by said storms.
They met Toto, who is the co-founder of the village. and is now the only one living in the village.
Vivi was shocked to see what Toto looked like now. Originally, Toto was a relatively fat but healthy looking old man.
However due to the three year drought brought about by Crocodile's scheme, Toto's body had completely shriveled up from thirst and starvation to a point that he no longer resembled his former self.
He wears a white wrap around his head, and another grey wrap around his forehead. He wears black robes, that are torn in some places, and a green robe underneath with a dark red lining.
Under that, he wears a vertically striped black and white shirt. He also has a turquoise sash, with blue dots.
Everyone saw Toto desperately digging in the middle of Yuba in search of an underground reservoir.
Luffy seeing this, was enraged along with everyone else. This only made them more determined to take down Crocodile.
Luffy put his foot down and stepped up, offering his help to Toto. "Listen old man! I'm younger and more powerful than you! So you should let me help!" Luffy looked at Toto with a fiery determined look in his eyes.
"No please! You all, especially Princess Vivi must rest after such a long journey! I cannot bear the guilt of keeping you up this late! " Toto argued. Luffy ignored Toto's argument and picked up a shovel.
"Sand cannot defeat me, old man! Gomu Gomu no...." Luffy raised his shovel.
" DIGGER!!!!!! "
Luffy shouted as he started digging up the sand at superhuman speeds. Toto and Vivi watched in awe as the hole in the sandy ground was getting bigger and bigger as the seconds passed by.
Vivi still cannot believe that one man has so much strength. Toto thought that Luffy was a reincarnation of a God.
*PSSSHHH!!!!!*
All of the sudden, a giant burst of water bursted up towards the sky. Everyone cheered at Luffy who stepped out of the giant hole he dug with drenched clothes.
Luffy looked at his clothes. He was wearing desert robes consisting of a dark red robe with three white rings decorated along both sleeves and a light blue wrap over his head.
The clothes Makino made for him were worn under the desert robes. His red coat which he usually draped over his back was kept in Nami's backpack.
Toto had tears flowing down his eyes as he knelt on the ground and bowed at Luffy.
"Thank you!! Thank you so much!! How can I ever repay you?! " Toto asked while raising his head and looked at Luffy who had the moon shining brightly behind him.
Luffy grinned.
"Just give me and my crew some barrels of water! We're thirsty here! Shishishishishi!! "
" It shall be done immediately!! "
To be continued.....
