60 Arabasta's Shield

|In the middle of the desert...|

...

"-Pant, pant-... Ahhhh, so hot... Hey, Zoro, do we still have water?"

"Yeah, but this is for the rest of us. You have already drank half a bottle, Luffy"

"Come on, what's the problem with giving me a little more~? I bet we are going to arrive at Nanohana in a matter of seconds... don't be stinky..."

"I think you mean stingy"

"That too"

"You..."

"Come on, give me some~!!"

"Hey, I said no!"

"Come on, come on... Just a little bit..."

"Stop it you two!!"

-Bonk!!-

"Ouch... Nami, why did you hit me?!"

"Oi Nami, why did you hit me as well?!"

"That's because you were going along with him"

"When in the world did I...?"

"Now now, guys, we still have some extra water that my father gave us for the journey. We don't need to be so tight with it..."

"Oh, you heard Vivi, Zoro. Now gimme that"

-Snap-

"Oi!"

"Both of you... I told you to stop it!"

-Bonk!-

...

Despite the fact that the desert was usually a pretty silent place when excluding the sound of the wind crashing against the sand, this time, there was a lot of noise in it.

And it was coming from no one else but from the Straw Hat crew, and Vivi. Who, after deciphering the Cow-masked guy's identity, decided to go on a quest to find Farid and ask him a lot of questions regarding his identity as the cow-masked guy.

The reason why he had threatened her father, if he was actually who defeated Crocodile, what were his plans on recruiting Nico Robin, what were his intentions on reading the Poneglyph under the Royal Castle, among other things.

She needed to ask these questions as both, the princess of Arabasta, and his childhood friend.

Why did she have to do it personally? She herself didn't know the reason. But she wanted to know the truth one way or another. Otherwise, she felt like she might regret it later.

She already regretted a lot of things. And she wasn't going to have another one added to the list right now.

"Hmm... We should be pretty near Nanohana by now, guys. Make sure to pay attention to the horizon. Maybe within the next few minutes, we should be able to see the city"

""Oh!""

The Straw Hats were accompanying her since they needed to go to Nanohana to buy supplies for the rest of their journey, and because the Going Merry was near there.

A day ago, all of them agreed that they had stayed enough time on Arabasta and that it was time to go back to the sea.

And since their ship was near Nanohana, buying supplies for their next adventure was gonna be like killing two birds with one stone.

Of course, the king would have given them supplies as a reward for helping Vivi instead of letting them buy them on their own. However, transporting them through the desert was a hard and extenuating task. Especially for people that weren't accustomed to the desert.

And when considering how far Nanohana was from Alubarna, it was better if they didn't carry all that on their own.

Offering them a carriage for transporting the supplies was also a possibility, and the king had actually offered it to the Straw hats.

However, since there was the possibility that a certain smokey marine was still wandering around Arabasta looking for them specifically, they decided that a carriage would draw too much attention and that it would be better to lay low.

So, seeing that it was the better option, the king gave them some money so that they would buy whatever they needed on their own.

In Nanohana, they would buy everything while laying low.

Though, whether their plans would go smoothly this time. Only fate knew.

However, what awaited them in Arabasta right now in Nanohana was certainly a big surprise.

...

°

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|A few minutes later...|

...

"Oi Zoro, this fruit looks like you!"

"How the heck does that even look like me...?"

"It's green!"

"..."

A few minutes after they were walking through the desert, the Straw Hats and Vivi managed to arrive at Nanohana safe and sound.

Right now, they were strolling around the market buying everything they needed while doing their best to not gather attention. (Luffy doesn't count)

The crew had divided the task of buying different supplies among each other. Sanji, for example, was given the task of buying food for the rest of their journey.

Nami, on the other hand, was the one in charge of administering the money every member was allowed to spend, while also buying clothes.

Chopper was going to be tasked with buying medicinal herbs and ingredients.

Usopp was going to be in charge of buying ammunition, and new equipment for all the crew.

And finally, Luffy... Well, he was allowed to do whatever he wanted. And Zoro was in charge of keeping an eye on him.

Otherwise, who knew what kind of trouble he might get into?

But well, looking at it objectively, maybe Zoro wasn't the best option either.

"Oi Zoro, where are you going? The market is in that direction!"

"What?! I swore it was this way..."

Leaving that aside, summarizing everything up, all the Straw Hats had left the group to start restocking their supplies, and in the end, they agreed that only once all of them were done would they regroup back again.

However, there was still one person in the group that was busy doing something entirely different from what the crew was doing.

Vivi, as it had been mentioned before, was now investigating the whole matter about the cow-masked guy, and his probable identity as Farid.

Unfortunately for her, there seemed to be very few clues about Farid's current location.

That guy was very slippery when it came to locating him. He only appeared when he desired so and erased his own traces whenever he felt like disappearing.

If he was not, she would have been able to find him easily when he left six years ago.

In fact, the only reason she got to see him again was simply because of a coincidence.

If he had not met Luffy when he was running away from the Marines, both she and he would have likely never gotten to see each other again.

She doubted there would be a coincidence like that again.

Fortunately, the plan to locate Farid didn't stop at simply hoping for a miracle, and Vivi had actually managed to get a few clues from their brief meeting a week or so ago.

The day they met, Farid seemed to be planning on capturing Luffy due to him being a pirate.

This meant that Farid was probably still a bounty hunter as he was when he was a kid. Though, not under the identity of the midget bounty hunter anymore.

He probably acted in anonymity, considering that there was no news about a bounty hunter like him during the six years that he disappeared.

However, no matter how much he had wanted to hide, there were bound to be at least some traces of him if he had captured pirates as a bounty hunter.

Even more, if he was active.

And, as such, Vivi got the idea of looking in the place where it was rumored most bounty hunters reunited to look for objectives here in Nanohana.

If he was still a bounty hunter, then it was very probable that he had been at a place like this.

Of course, there was still the possibility that Farid was just passing by Nanohana at that time when they met, and he actually worked somewhere else. Maybe even on another island.

But it was still worth a try.

And, as such, Vivi was now in front of the running-down tavern where it was rumored that most bounty hunters were. Prepared to ask the people in there if they had seen Farid, or if they had any clues about his location.

...

"Hey, I told you that pirate was mine!"

"Man, it's not my fault that you arrived late. As the saying goes... First come first served"

"I'm gonna serve you a punch to that horrendous face of yours"

"Oh yeah? Bring it on then!"

...

Though, from what she would hear while being outside the tavern, they didn't seem very accessible people.

"Fuh~... Let's hope this place will be the correct one"

However, Vivi knew that there was no time to waste.

She needed to get done with this before Luffy and the others finished buying supplies.

She didn't want to slow them down.

Thus, not wanting to waste more time, Vivi shook her head and walked towards the door impassively. Ignoring the violent atmosphere coming from inside.

-Creaaaaaak...-

And, as soon as she opened the door of the tavern, what came into view was a tavern full of people of intimidating appearance, looking at her straight in the eyes.

Some had scars on their faces, while others had a gloomy air around them that seemed to say "I' have gone through several hardships in my life". Making Vivi unsure of who to ask.

"... -Gulp-..."

Feeling a little anxious, Vivi gulped down some saliva in nervousness, before she looked around in wonder at where to begin. Wondering if she should just ask the bartender.

Though, he looked rather intimidating as well.

It seemed that asking someone was going to be a rather hard task.

-Step, step, step-

Though, fortunately, just as Vivi was getting more nervous due to the constant glances of everyone around, soon a group of men approached her and looked at her with raised eyebrows as one of them spoke up to her with a smirk on his face.

"Hey, Nee-chan. I think you got the wrong tavern. Here, only bounty hunters reunite... If you want to have a drink, I think you should go to the tavern in the other street-..."

However, before the man was able to finish his words, Vivi let out a sigh of relief, before he stopped the man's words midway. Feeling the opportunity to ask about Farid.

"No no, I'm not looking for a drink... I'm looking for a specific bounty hunter"

"Hmm? A bounty hunter?"

Hearing Vivi's words, the man raised both eyebrows in surprise, before he began laughing.

"Hahaha! I wonder who is the lucky bastard? Not every day does one obtain the opportunity of receiving a personal job... Those are quite rare... Hahaha, then? Who is the bastard?"

"Erm... His name is Farid... I don't know if you have heard of him?"

As Vivi pronounced those words, the whole tavern was enveloped in a deep and dense silence. Making Vivi stiffen up as she wondered whether she had said something wrong or not.

'Don't tell me he has a bad relationship with these people...?'

"Err... Is something wro-...?"

-Ahem!-

However, just as she was about to ask what was wrong, a fake cough came from a table in one of the corners of the tavern and sliced apart the endless silence reigning over the tavern. Causing Vivi to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

And just as she was about to turn around to look at who had spoken, she heard the same person say a few words that made her eyes widen in surprise.

"Farid, huh...? That's a name I haven't heard in a long time..."

"You know him?!"

Smiling as she thought that she had found a clue, Vivi raised her voice excitedly as she turned around to ask the person who had spoken.

However, when she saw who it was, she couldn't help but stiffen up a little.

There, sitting with a cool pose, was a short man with messy black hair, that was wearing thick glasses over his eyes, drinking a glass of wine elegantly.

".... Well, I say a long time... But I met him only a month or so ago... That bastard, he said that he would come back in around a month or so... But he had not appeared since then! How does he expect me to gain money if he is not around to ask for information?!"

Sighing as he shook his head, the man gritted his teeth, before he raised his fist in front of his face with a determined expression. Slamming the glass of wine on the table in the process.

-Slam!-

"I swear that once I find him, I will... I will... Err... Well, I will raise my prices. Otherwise, if I dare to punch him, I will be sent to the otherworld in less than a second..."

"..."

Hearing him, Vivi could only sweatdrop a little. Not knowing what to say.

It seemed that finding concrete clues in this place was going to be harder than expected.

"Huff... Anyway. The name's Altair, nee-chan. Tell me, why are you looking for that lazy bastard? If you want him to capture a pirate or bandit for you, you will have to wait until he reappears... Which, honestly, doesn't give much of a clue on how much time that will be..."

However, it was still worth a try.

"Actually..."

...

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|A few minutes later...|

...

"What a good lad you are, nee-chan. Paying for my drink and all that... If only that stupid bastard was as nice as you... Do you know what he said when I asked him to give me a million berries? He told me to fuck myself! I mean, he knew that I was being hunted by Crocodile's loan sharks, and even then, he didn't care!"

"... "

"But well, fortunately, Crocodile's business was ruined a few weeks ago after he was sent to Impel Down. So the loan sharks stopped looking for me since then..."

"..."

"Anyway, you say you want to find that guy to ask him a few questions...? Well, Farid is not really the type to care about such things... I fear that in the worst case, he will just blatantly ignore you, and leave right away...."

"No, he won't such a thing... I think"

"Hahaha! You sound like you know him very well! But well, I will be honest with you miss... I don't have a clue about where he lives"

Shrugging his shoulders, Altair shook his head with an apologetic expression on his face.

"That guy was like a ghost ever since he appeared. At one moment, he would be here to ask for info about pirates, and at the other be gone in less than a second... Honestly, there was even a time when I thought that I was dealing with a ghost rather than a human... Though, when he finally dignified himself to have a proper conversation with me, I confirmed his dubious identity as a human..."

At his words, Vivi nodded his head with an understanding expression.

"Yes, I'm a bit aware of how slippery he might be"

"...?"

However, strangely, once she said these words, Altair frowned slightly, before he raised an eyebrow and leaned forward before asking her.

"You do...? Hmm... Miss, this is just a rhetorical question, but... You would not be whom Farid was hiding from all this time... right?"

Hearing him, Vivi's eyes widened for a brief moment, before she looked down in shame.

"Yes... I think that might have been me..."

-Sigh...-

Nodding his head, Altair let out a long sigh as his face darkened.

"Shit... For him to have the princess of this country looking for him... Just with what kind of Criminal did I partner with without knowing...?"

"Hmm?!"

Hearing Altair's words, Vivi's eyes widened before she lifted her head and looked at him with a shocked expression.

"You... You know who I am?"

"I'm an informant. So, of course I know something as simple as the appearance of the princess of the country in which I live... Though, I didn't know that Farid had anything to do with you or the royalty... Ahem, let me tell you, nee-chan... whatever that guy did in the past, I had nothing to do with it-..."

"You are wrong, he has not done anything bad... He is my childhood friend"

...

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Oh... That's quite a big piece of information... I wonder whom I can sell that to..."

Looking a bit stunned after Vivi's mouth slipped, Altair muttered those words with a greedy look in his eyes, before soon he shook his head and looked back to Vivi, who was looking at him with a confused look in her eyes.

'He will probably kill me before I'm able to sell any information...'

As he finished thinking like that, Altair cleared his throat and spoke.

"Ahem, anyway, as I was saying, princess, I don't really know where he lives. The only thing I can think of is that he lives here in Nanohana, or that he, at least, lives near here... After all, this was the place he frequented the most when it was time to go after pirates, and I don't think he would come back to this place so often if he didn't live at least near this city... Though, with how strange that guy is, I am not so sure anymore about what I just said..."

Shaking his head for a brief moment, Altair sighed, before he crossed his arms as if putting an end to the matter.

"Anyway, just keep in mind what I said. It's a possibility you might want to consider if you want to find him. However, if you want, you can also keep coming to this place to wait for him. He said he was going to come back after his vacation... Though, with how long he is taking, I'm not sure anymore about whether he is really coming back or not..."

As Altair was gritting his teeth in anger while muttering those last words, Vivi tilted her head, as a word she had not heard about before appeared in Altair's mouth.

"Vacations?"

Hearing her question, Altair raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm? Didn't I mention it before...? He decided to take a break from capturing pirates a month ago... Apparently, he had enough of it after six long years of constantly capturing every pirate that he came across... And honestly, I can't blame him. If it were me, I would have given up a long time ago"

Shaking his head with a solemn look on his face, Altair sighed in a disheartened tone.

"Honestly, from the few conversations that we had before he went on vacation, I think a part of why he decided to leave had something to do with him feeling that what he was doing was meaningless. He often mentioned to me that no matter how many pirates he kept decimating and erasing from this world, it felt like they kept appearing again and again"

Altair looked around and laughed a little bit. Ignoring the surprised expression on Vivi's face.

"I would have told him that what he was actually doing was making a difference. After all, almost no pirate approaches Arabasta nowadays since everyone that entered got captured not long after setting foot in this city. However, I felt like a rest for him was necessary... After all, no sane person would do the same task without rest for six years straight... So I kept quiet and just hoped he would get a good rest from all the work"

Hearing that, Vivi looked at him with dumbfounded eyes.

"He... He did so much?"

"I guess you wouldn't know... Actually, here, everyone knows him. Isn't that right guys?!"

""Ohhh!!""

Hearing Altair, everyone in the tavern raised their cups and yelled enthusiastically. Making Vivi surprised.

"Do you know about Baroque Works? That bounty hunter syndicate that was actually under Crocodile's control?"

"Yes"

"Well, to give you an approximation of how much Farid was working, the number of pirates that he caught alone every year was equal to the total number of pirates that the entire Baroque Works caught in a year as well"

"... What?!"

Hearing Altair, Vivi leaned forward in shock. Making the earlier chuckle at her response.

"Surprising, isn't it? The only reason that weird guy didn't get famous is because he often gave the credit to other bounty hunters while giving them a small part of the bounties so that they would keep quiet about him being the one to capture the pirates"

Overhearing Altair's talk, the people of the tavern laughed loudly, as they raised their hands enthusiastically again.

"Yeah, that guy was my monthly income! Without him, now I actually have to work!"

"Without him, we actually have to fight pirates for once..."

"With him, we would just laze around, and only work once every month or so... -Sigh...- He better come back soon"

Smiling faintly after hearing the words of the bounty hunters, Altair chuckled, before he looked back at Vivi and shrugged his shoulders.

"See? Even these guys were getting money in exchange for taking the credit for capturing pirates instead of Farid"

Then, shaking his head with an apologetic expression, Altair looked at the beer jar in his hands, and he took a big gulp of it before continuing.

"... Anyway, that's all that I can help you with... Unfortunately, although he is a big part of this city... no, of this country, we don't know much about him. He is someone who draws a line between work and relationships"

...

"I understand"

Nodding her head, Vivi stood up from her seat.

Then, she bowed slightly at Altair. Making the latter panic a little seeing royalty bowing at him.

"Ah, miss... There's no need to do that-..."

"Thank you for answering my questions"

After that, she turned around and began leaving the place. Biding Farewell to Altair as she did so.

"I'll be leaving now. Please enjoy your drink"

Hearing her, Altair, stared at her for a few seconds, before he then shook his head with a smile on his face.

"I will, I will. Also, I hope you can find that slippery guy... Oh, and if you do, tell him that his poor friend Altair needs him to come back"

Chuckling slightly, Vivi nodded, before she opened the door of the tavern and left.

Though, not before giving the people in there a mysterious look. As if she had a lot on her mind.

And, truthfully, she did.

...

-To be continued-

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(A/N: Well, I suppose I was having a creative block. Which is why I took so long to update the last chapter.

And well, the creative block got really serious this time. I really didn't know how to write this chapter and took way longer than I had expected because of it.

The fact that my family made me go with them on a trip where I couldn't bring my computer also helped to delay this chapter.

But well, I think I'm fine now. At least, I can see more clearly what to write.

I will upload this chapter today, and in a little bit, I will upload the next one.

Sorry for the delay guys)