61 Smoky Trouble

-Sigh...-

As she walked through the bustling streets of Nanohana, Vivi let out a sigh while she looked down at the ground in deep thought.

Altair's words back there at the tavern were something she had not expected to hear.

While she knew that Farid was still a bounty hunter, she didn't know that he was putting so much effort into it.

To equal Baroque Works in terms of efficiency... It was unbelievable.

Sure, she knew to some extent that he was strong. However, being strong had little to do with being able to compete with an entire organization of Bounty hunters in terms of efficiency.

After all, the number of pirates captured every day by Baroque works used to surpass the dozens, and sometimes the hundreds.

She herself had seen it when working under them.

For Farid, a single individual, to have equaled them in terms of numbers... She couldn't imagine how much effort he must have put into it.

And what's more, there was something she couldn't understand about that.

'... If what that man said is true... Then, why would he do it?'

She couldn't comprehend why Farid would work to such an extent.

While she understood that since he used to work as a bounty hunter before, and thus it was normal for him to continue doing it to gain money to subsist, she couldn't understand why he was putting so much effort into it.

If he wanted money, there was no need to go to such an extent.

What's more, if he wanted to hide so much from her or the royal guard, then capturing so many pirates and even paying others to take the credit in his stead was completely unnecessary, as it would risk his location being exposed one way or another.

If he wanted to hide, he only needed to lay low, and that was it.

...

But, he didn't.

He continued doing it for six years continuously, even when there was no reason or need to do so.

...

Then, why?

What were his reasons for doing it?

Why would he go to such an extent, even when there was no need to?

"...?"

As Vivi thought about it, suddenly a memory from the past came back to her mind and made her squint her eyes slightly.

The figure of the once famous bounty hunter that protected the city of Alubarna and captured any pirate that set foot on it, the midget bounty hunter, appeared in her mind.

And, as she thought about it, the figure of that bounty hunter began overlapping with that of the current Farid. Making her widen her eyes for a brief moment in realization.

Wasn't what Farid was doing exactly the same as what he used to do, but now protecting the entire Arabasta, instead of just Alubarna?

As that thought passed through Vivi's mind, another realization came to her mind.

'Were his intentions... Protecting Arabasta?'

Thinking so, Vivi suddenly stopped walking and stood calmly in the middle of the street, before she began watching the people around her with a solemn gaze.

...

"Dad, buy me that toy!"

"Sure, sure. But make sure to make it last, okay?"

"Hmm!"

...

"Have you heard that Yuba is already being rebuilt? Should we move there?"

"Hmm... It's a good idea. I wanted to move there a few years ago, but when it was destroyed because of the sandstorms, I gave up on the idea"

"Then why wait? Let's go! Maybe if we help them, they will give us free residence!"

"That's what you were after, huh?"

...

"These meat skewers are delicious...! Hey, old man, give me the recipe!"

"That's not the way to ask for something... And no, otherwise, my shop will go to ruin"

"Tsk. Well, whatever. Give me five more"

"Right away!"

...

All of them were living happy lives, and they had no fear or worries in their eyes. Contrary to many other places she had visited during her time as a Baroque Work's bounty hunter, where people would panic as soon as a ship appeared on the horizon. Thinking the worst immediately.

There was no day for them when they would feel completely safe.

And it was understandable... After all, it was widely known that one day your life would be turned upside down by a pirate ship passing by the horizon.

Even on islands with great security, life was still uncertain. After all, there were many cases of people meeting by chance dangerous pirates while going on with their daily lives, and angering them by accident.

While hunting pirates at Baroque Works, she got to see a lot of cases like entire villages destroyed, or random people stripped of everything they loved just because of an unfortunate meeting.

Because of that, people around the world were accustomed to living with fear.

And although most of the time they didn't show it in their everyday life, she had learned that most people always have the same fear.

The fear of spotting a ship in the distance and seeing that it has a pirate ship flapping on its mast.

After all, in this world, truly dangerous pirates were devils in human skin.

People who ravaged and pillaged the villages of the innocent, and who took everything they wanted by force.

People who crushed the lives of those weak and powerless, simply because of their own enjoyment...

People who enjoyed seeing the blood of their victims leave their bodies, or watching the flames of the fire created by them consume every bit of the villages they pillage.

Those were the pirates she had seen out there while working at Baroque Works... And those were the pirates that the entire world despised and feared...

...

... And yet, the people here had a completely carefree look. As if they had long forgotten the existence of pirates and the danger they represented to the entire world.

Their existence seemed nonexistent in the mind of the people of Arabasta... And the fear that she was used to seeing almost everywhere... Was nowhere to be found.

As if... They hadn't seen a pirate in a long time ago.

And, if what that man had said was true... Then, it was all thanks to Farid.

He, alone, had managed to make Arabasta into a place where Pirates no longer dare to enter.

A place where her people would live in peace.

"..."

As she began thinking like that, suddenly a certain question appeared in her mind.

A tiny little question... That shook her heart.

'If Farid had not been here... What would have become of Arabasta?'

Would the people in Arabasta be able to smile as happily as they did now?

Would Arabasta really be as safe as it is right now?

Moreover, If Farid was actually the cow-masked man... Then, how would have things gone?

Would have everything gone as perfectly as it went, with neither the rebel army nor the royal army going to war?

Would it have gone as nicely as it went, with no one dying in the process of saving this country?

Would... Crocodile have been stopped in time?

"..."

Vivi pondered about it for a while.

"...!"

However, after a minute or so of pondering it, suddenly she noticed that she had been standing still for too long, and the people around were beginning to look at her weirdly.

Thus, after snapping out of her thoughts, Vivi shook her head to shake away her lingering doubts, before she looked ahead and let out a sigh.

With what she had learned just now, her reasons for finding Farid had just increased even further.

She needed to find him so that all these doubts and questions would go away.

And, fortunately, there was still one last place left to investigate.

The bar where Farid had led the straw hats and her when they met a week or so ago.

The bartender there seemed to be a friend of his. Considering how informally he talked to him as if he knew him.

If he was really Farid's friend, then he was also Vivi's last chance of getting a clue about where Farid lives.

However, whether he would answer her questions or not was still a mystery.

Still, she believed things would go well.

...

°

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°

|A few minutes later...|

...

"... No"

"What? Why?!"

"Huff... Miss. Listen to this old man... Trying to come back with someone you broke up with it's not something healthy... I think you should learn to move on"

"What are you talking about?! It's not like that!"

"Hmph, don't try to fool me miss. I have heard those same words countless times... My age is not just for show, you know? During my life as a bartender, I've seen several cases like yours, and none of them ends well for the people involved... And besides, there are countless people in this world, surely, there's someone out there who you can love and live happily with"

"Ugh...!"

Currently, Vivi was biting her lips in anger as she looked at the old man John with a slight blush on her cheeks.

She had come to ask if he knew something about Farid's current whereabouts.

However, the moment she asked, the damn old man looked at her with a disapproving gaze and jumped to his own conclusions without even letting her explain herself. Believing that she was some kind of indecisive ex-girlfriend or something.

She continued to argue with him since then. But until now, there didn't seem to be any progress in the conversation.

He just refused to listen.

"As I have said for the tenth time, Farid and I are not like that...! I just want to ask him a few questions!"

"Sure... And I'm the greatest hero of the marine"

"Urgh!"

Honestly, she believed herself to be really patient. However, for some reason, this old man was taking out the worst of her today.

"Hmph... Alright, no need to get so angry"

However, fortunately for her, as if sensing Vivi's anger, the old man let out a small snort, before he shook his head as if giving up. Letting out a small sigh as he did so.

Unfortunately, the answer that came after that was not what Vivi was expecting.

"Honestly, miss, even if I wanted to tell you, I wouldn't be able to answer you. That guy is incredibly secretive about his personal matters... The only thing I know about him is his age and his name... And that he has a strange fixation about cows..."

Shaking his head with a slightly upset expression, John looked at the ceiling as he seemingly began reminiscing about every time he met Farid. Soon letting out a few words with a wry expression on his face.

"He is really someone who draws a line when it comes to relating with other people"

"..."

Hearing him, Vivi's angry face turned into a disappointed one. Although, her eyebrows did wrinkle a little bit after hearing that last part about cows.

She was investigating a cow-masked guy, after all.

"Is... Is that so?"

-Sigh...-

However, understanding that she would probably not get any further answers here, Vivi let out a disappointed sigh, before she looked emptily at the air with a blank expression on her face.

It seemed that even her last option turned out to be a failure.

Then, what should she do now?

She couldn't simply give up. She had not even gotten close to discovering Farid's whereabouts, and it was still too early to give up.

However, what was left to try? Farid was nowhere to be found, and no matter where she looked, there were no clues about his location.

In the worst case, if she seriously wanted to find him, she would need to wait at the tavern of the bounty hunters for him to reappear one day as Altair had said.

However, how long would that take? Even Altair said that he was not sure whether Farid would actually come back.

If she stayed there to wait for him, who knew if she would have to wait weeks, months, or even years?

She was really reluctant on staying that much time there. She had duties as the princess, and she couldn't be gone for too long from the Royal castle.

Especially not now that she had just come back after two long years of being infiltrated into a dangerous organization, away from safety.

Leaving right away, when her father had just managed to see her for a few days was something she didn't want to do under any circumstances.

'But...'

... What other option was left?

-Sigh...-

Feeling at a loss about what to do then, Vivi let out a helpless sigh in defeat.

"..."

-Rustle-

However, after a few seconds of silence, suddenly Vivi stood up from her chair at the counter and began picking her things up.

'Nevermind, I can investigate further on another day... For now, I should go back with the guys'

Not wanting to complicate any further, Vivi decided on doing that for now and started leaving the bar.

She had to go back to reunite with the straw hats. After all, they were leaving the country today, and she wanted to bid them farewell before they left.

Farid's matter didn't necessarily need to be solved today.

On the contrary, this was the last time she would see the Straw Hats in a long time. So she needed to be there to say her goodbyes.

'I'll continue investigating tomorrow'

Thinking so, Vivi turned around and began walking away. Of course, not before nodding her head to John in farewell.

"Where are you going miss?"

However, seeing her suddenly leaving in a hurry, John raised an eyebrow and asked her. Stopping her midway.

'Did she actually give up?'

Assuming that Vivi had already given up on finding Farid, John sighed mentally in relief.

He hoped that she would find someone else later on and that everything would go well for both Farid and her. He had seen many other couples like this... End up in rather violent situations.

Though, it was only his misunderstanding.

However, Vivi's response was not what he expected.

"I'll continue looking for him another day, I have to do something else now"

"...!"

Raising both eyebrows at her response, John looked at her for a few seconds in silence, seemingly thinking deeply about something, before he let out a sigh as he massaged his temple. Making Vivi look at him weirdly for a moment, before she turned around and began to leave. Thinking that he was probably just jumping to conclusions on his own again.

And she was not wrong.

Suddenly, as Vivi was about to bid farewell to the old man, John shook his head with a complex expression, before he crossed his arms and spoke to Vivi. Stopping her from leaving.

"Alright, miss... Your determination has convinced me somewhat... It seems like your love for him is the real thing"

"Wha-?!"

Ignoring Vivi's upset cry, John continued.

"I don't know what you see in that rude guy... But, just this time, I will tell you the only thing I know about his whereabouts..."

Crossing his arms as he seemed to start reminiscing about the past, John started telling her a small story.

"A few years ago, when he still used to visit every month or so, Farid passed by my tavern to drink something. Apparently, he had just come back from hunting down several pirates, and he was a bit exhausted... And, maybe because he was a bit drunk, or maybe because his mouth was more loose than usual that day, his mouth slipped a little bit and spoke a little bit about where he lived... Or, well, where his house was located"

"...!"

"Though don't get too excited, he was still vague about it... He only told me that he had built his house somewhere in the desert, between this city and Katorea, in direction of Alubarna..."

Shaking his head with a wry expression on his face, John continued.

"Honestly, that doesn't really help much... But I hope it helped you a little bit, or at least, I hope it will be of use for you in the future..."

Hearing him, Vivi smiled a little bit as she nodded her head with a grateful look in her eyes.

"No, it helped a lot. Thank you"

However, her smile disappeared instantly when John's next words reached her ears.

"I'm glad. But remember well, miss... No matter what happens, remember that there's always someone else out there... Don't be blinded by love"

"..."

At that moment, all gratefulness in Vivi's heart ceased to exist.

...

°

°

°

|A few hours later...|

...

"I think we anchored the ship around here... Do you remember Zoro?"

"Hmm? What?"

"Nevermind... I don't know why did I even ask you..."

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Usopp, do you remember where we anchored the ship?"

"Uh... Well, it was somewhere around the coast... Right?"

"We have been walking around the coast all along... That doesn't help at all"

"Hahahaha, she called you dumb, Usopp!"

"She didn't, you are the only one calling me dumb here!"

...

-Giggle...-

'They are cheerful as always...'

Giggling a little bit as she watched the Straw Hats antics, Vivi smiled in happiness, before her smile began to become more and more nostalgic as she began to get lost in thought.

Currently, Vivi was walking alongside the Straw Hats to find their ship and then bade them farewell.

After her encounter with John at his bar, she left the place and began thinking about what to do with the information he had given her.

However, even after thinking about it for a while, she couldn't find any use for it aside from looking for rumors about a house in the mentioned location, or somewhere near there.

So, knowing that she probably wouldn't be able to get results in only one day, Vivi decided to postpone everything related to finding Farid until she finished saying her goodbyes to Luffy and the others.

After that, she would be able to fully concentrate on that matter. But for now, she had another important matter at hand.

After deciding on doing that, Vivi regrouped with the crew and then left Nanohana together with them to start looking for the Going Merry.

Since then, they have been walking through the coast looking for the ship. However, until now, they haven't found it yet.

Whether they had just forgotten faintly about where it was or they just hadn't arrived yet at the place, they didn't know. However, there were still a few kilometers ahead before going beyond where they felt like they had anchored the ship.

So, for the time being, they still planned on walking for a bit longer.

And as they continued walking while looking for the ship, Vivi, on the other hand, concentrated on reminiscing all the fun memories she shared with the crew.

How they met during one of her missions as a bounty hunter, how they had helped her when the other bounty hunters of Baroque Works wanted to kill her, how she and the others had defeated Wapol and recruited Chopper, and how they met two giants that kept battling with each other at Little Garden... She remembered all of those events.

However, knowing that this would be the last time they would see each other in a long time, she couldn't stop a sad smile from forming on her face.

And, as she looked at their backs from behind, a certain question arose in her heart, as she looked down in thought.

'What am I to them?'

She wondered if they saw her as a part of their crew, or simply as an acquaintance they met during one of their adventures.

She considered them her friends, and she herself wanted to be part of their crew if it was possible... Even if not present... But... with the little time they had spent together... Was it enough for them to consider her a comrade?

"..."

She wanted to ask Luffy... But she was afraid of his answer...

What would happen if he said no?

Vivi didn't even want to think about it.

And besides, she still had a responsibility as a princess. She couldn't simply leave Arabasta to become a part of their crew...

"..."

But, as she thought about the fact that they were just about to leave for good, and they probably wouldn't meet each other for a long time, Vivi began to reconsider her thoughts.

She wasn't going to leave, that was for sure.

But, at least, before they left, she wanted to know if they considered her part of their crew or not.

So, mustering all the courage inside her, Vivi raised her voice as she looked at Luffy, and prepared to ask him her question.

"Luffy-san-..."

"Ohhh, there it is!"

However, before she had the chance, her words were cut off mid-way when Luffy yelled excitedly as he pointed at a ship stationed in nearby waters.

There, the Going Merry was floating calmly in a part of the coast that was covered with a few rocks, making it hard to notice the ship if not looking specifically for it.

""...?""

Hearing him, everyone turned to look in the direction of the ship, before they yelled excitedly as they hurried their steps while walking towards the ship.

"Ohhh, it's true! We finally arrived!"

"It sure took us a while... Hmm, now that I think about it, I bet you ladies are really tired right now, right? I will make a small dish before we leave, what do you say?"

"Yeah, yeah, do whatever you want damn cook, meanwhile, I will take a nap... Wake me up when it's time to eat"

"I was not talking to you, you damn Marimo!"

"Sleep? Zoro, you are very funny"

"... Hmm... What? What do you mean, Nami?"

"You have to organize everything we bought, together with Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp... Only after that, you can sleep"

"Whaaaat?!"

"Ehhhh?!"

"M-me too?"

"Urgh... What?!... Then what about you?!"

"I, of course, will be inside my room, organizing my new clothes"

"Urgh... You...!"

"..."

Watching silently as the Straw Hats quarreled with each other, Vivi couldn't help but sigh mentally.

'I guess I can ask them later...'

Thinking so, Vivi made a wry smile and continued following the Straw Hats from behind.

""...!""

However, just as they were about to reach the ship, suddenly Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy stopped moving and started looking around with serious faces. Making everyone look at them with confused eyes.

"Hey, guys? What's wrong?"

"Come on, why are you so serious all of the sudden? You are scaring me..."

Seeing them suddenly standing still, Nami and Usopp asked them with weirded-out faces.

However, in the end, they were still met with deep silence, as the three just continued looking around with serious expressions and didn't answer.

Seeing them behaving so weirdly, Chopper tilted his head with a worried face, before he approached the three, and asked Luffy.

"Did you perhaps eat something ba-...?"

-Thud!-

However, before he had the chance of finishing his sentence, suddenly Luffy's hand pushed his head to the ground and threw Chopper to the floor.

""...!!""

"What are you doing Luff-...?!"

Seeing that, Nami looked at him with a shocked expression and raised her voice with a tint of anger in it, but before she had the chance to finish speaking, both Zoro and Sanji jumped toward the group and pushed all of them to the ground. Yelling in alert as they did so.

""Get down!""

-BAM!!-

-BOOM!-

-BANG!-

""... H-Hiiiiih!!""

Immediately after that, several bullets flew past the place where everyone had been standing and made Usopp, Nami, and Chopper scream in fright.

However, before they had the chance to ask what was happening, all of the sudden, two voices came from on top of the Going Merry and made Luffy and all the others glance over there with shocked eyes.

What they saw after that, were two familiar figures staring at them from above with obvious hostility in their eyes.

"We see each other again, Straw Hat!"

"Roronoa!"

There, standing on top of their ship with an apathetic expression on his face as he stuffed two big cigarettes in his mouth, was Smoker looking at Luffy with squinted eyes.

And, standing by his side, was Tashigi looking at Zoro with an angry expression on her face as she unsheathed her sword.

"Smokey?!"

"That woman?!"

Widening their eyes, Luffy and Zoro yelled with shocked expressions.

However, the surprise didn't end there. As soon, suddenly from behind the rocks that were covering the Going Merry, dozens, if not hundreds of marines appeared and pointed their guns at the Straw Hats. Making the entire crew widen their eyes in shock.

""...!!""

"..."

Seeing their expression, Smoker grinned a little, before he took out his Sea-stone coated Jutte, and pointed it to Luffy.

"This time, you are not getting away"

...

-To be continued-

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(A/N: Took me longer than expected, but here's the new chapter.

I hope you like it)