When Smoker swung his jutte in anger, I dodged all of it and said with a laugh.
"Hahaha, it's a joke, a joke. But do you even have time for this?"
"Damn it, you! I'll remember this for later!"
Smoker and I went outside the casino and joined the Marines. Smoker immediately gave orders to the Marines.
"Contact all the warships around Alabasta Kingdom and tell them to assemble here in this country! And notify Headquarters too."
"Is this because of the Straw Hat crew? But would they send support for just a handful of pirates..."
Smoker glared at that Marine and said.
"Since when did I care about that? Call them now!!"
"Y-yes, sir! Right away."
While Smoker was giving orders to the Marines, I thought for a moment. What had changed in the Alabasta arc because I was here. First, Nico Robin wasn't here. In the original, Nico Robin looked like she was just following Crocodile, but she secretly supported Luffy's crew.
And Ace didn't come either. Satchi didn't die and Teach quietly left Whitebeard, so there was no reason for him to come. That meant a lot of Baroque Works agents survived.
'Did Luffy train in Haki? Come to think of it, there was one more person at the casino... Ah, Mr. 3!'
If I just left him, he'd probably come out as crocodile dung, but who knows β he might just die. If he died outright, Luffy could die too because of the butterfly effect. I had to prevent that kind of tragedy.
'Seriously... I have to save even that guy.'
As I was sorting out what to do, Tashigi came running with the Marines.
"Huff, huff, Colonel Smoker!"
"Tashigi, you stay here and lead the Marines to stop Baroque Works from inciting war between the kingdom's army and the rebels."
"Colonel, what about you..."
"I got intel about the 'Dance Powder' that creates artificial rain. I'll go check it out."
I wondered if it should be the other way around. No matter what, Smoker would fight better than Tashigi. Or maybe not? I couldn't tell since Smoker was so weak.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Tashigi. I'm Taejin."
"You're the Merchant King!"
When I offered a handshake, Tashigi blushed slightly, wiped her hand on her pants, then shook hands with me. She looked a little cute doing that.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Sergeant Tashigi. It's an honor to meet the Merchant King."
"You're cuter than I thought, miss."
"Hehe, me? Cute."
Tashigi heard that and laughed, touching her hair bashfully. Smoker frowned at that and said.
"Hey! Tashigi, move it!"
"Yes, sir!"
Tashigi hurried off toward Arbana with the Marines. Smoker glared at me and said.
"You took Hina from us because we're already short on Marine personnel, and now you're trying to take another?"
"Whoa~ Smoker, people have freedom of occupation. And every year, a lot of kids from the orphanage join the Marines."
"That's... true."
I pulled a box of cigars from my inventory and handed it to Smoker.
"We don't know when we'll see each other again now that you've left Logue Town, so I prepared this. Smoke them sparingly."
"Thanks."
"See you next time, then."
"Yeah."
I pretended to head for the harbor, then re-entered the casino. I went in and collected all the money I could take. Crocodile had a lot of hidden money, probably because he was running an organization of several hundred people.
'Crocodile's going to Impel Down anyway, so I'll put it to good use.'
I could make gold, but I couldn't make Berries, and if I left it, the Marines would take it or surviving Baroque Works agents would grab it. Better that I take it.
After that, I went back to where Luffy's crew had been held and started beating up the crocodiles.
Thud thud thud!
Gweeek!
Thump!
After beating them hard, one of them coughed up a huge white ball the size of a person. That ball was what Mr. 3 made with his ability to protect himself when he was swallowed by a crocodile β he created a big ball and hid inside it.
In a way, the [Wax-Wax Fruit] was a pretty broken ability too. It could make wax as hard as iron, so if he learned [Armament Haki], it might become as overpowered as a Logia. But the user was trash, so the fruit never shined.
"Phew~ I'm alive!! I thought I was gonna die!!"
The ball split open and Mr. 3 came out.
"Huh! It's you!"
"Yeah, it's me."
Thwack!
To reduce any variables, I immediately smacked Mr. 3 in the head. He got hit and passed out on the floor. I grabbed him so he wouldn't get eaten by a crocodile again and threw him into a random room.
"One down. Next..."
I used and moved to the desert where Luffy and Crocodile had their first fight. Luffy stayed behind to fight Crocodile instead of rescuing Vivi who was being captured. But this was Luffy's first time facing a Logia user like Crocodile, so he lost miserably and ended up unable to get out of the sand, on the verge of death β but Nico Robin saves him. I had to check that too.[Concealment]
"Seriously, there's a lot to do."
If Luffy had learned [Armament Haki], he might have won surprisingly easily. But nope β by the time I arrived, Luffy's chest was already pierced by Crocodile's hook and he was wavering between life and death.
"I didn't think the Merchant King was that strong and almost ruined my plan, but it seems he doesn't interfere with pirate business, so once I'm recognized as the king of Alabasta, he won't be able to do anything about it either."
Crocodile was holding Luffy up on his hook while continuing to talk.
"You idiot, if you'd just thrown away your pointless compassion, you could have lived longer. Huh? Water?"
Luffy had been carrying a water bottle from Yuba's oasis around his neck, and Crocodile's attack had punctured it, so water was trickling down Crocodile's arm.
Grab.
Luffy squeezed out all his remaining strength and grabbed Crocodile's wet arm, putting power into it.
Crack
"Kyaack!!"
"Guh! Haa... Cough!"
Luffy breathed heavily with difficulty.
"Tch! You're still alive."
Crocodile threw Luffy into the quicksand he made with his ability (like an antlion sand pit).
Thud! Roll roll roll...
Luffy had no strength left to escape and rolled into the center of the quicksand, screaming.
"Kuh! Kyaa..."
"Hahaha, you look in pain. But you'll be comfortable soon."
Crocodile left like that, and I canceled, walked to the center of the quicksand where Luffy was, reached in, and pulled Luffy out from the sand.[Concealment]
Swoosh!
"Hey! Luffy, what did you do with the 'Armament Haki' I taught you?"
"Ah... hyung... got any meat, meat?"
Luffy was out of it and just asking for meat. He really looked dangerous.
"Seriously... Wait a sec."
I hastily used Heal on Luffy's chest to stop the bleeding and wrapped bandages around it. Then he seemed to regain some sense and shouted loudly.
"Meat!!!"
I smacked Luffy's head.
Thwack!
"Ow!"
"You idiot! Your wound will open up. Don't shout."
With a wound like that and that much bleeding, a normal person would have passed out or died, but I don't know where this stamina and spirit come from. Anyway, I took food from my inventory and gave it to Luffy.
Chomp chomp!
"Tha... chew chew... tha... mumble mumble... thanks... mumble..."
"Eat first, then talk."
Luffy ate for a while, drank a beverage, then said.
"Kya~ Hyung's cooking is the best, as always. Anyway, thanks. You saved me again."
"Luffy, I can't keep helping you forever. You're already a pirate with a bounty. If the Marines see this, the Merchant's Island will be in danger."
"I know. I'll make sure this doesn't happen again. I'll get stronger."
He doesn't even have [Armament Haki] yet and he talks big. Luffy finished eating, stood up, and was about to leave again, but I stopped him.
"Wait."
I pulled out a large water jug, attached a hose, and used rope to strap it to Luffy's back. Then I went and picked up Luffy's straw hat that was far away, tapped off the sand with my hand, and put it on Luffy's head while saying.
"Luffy, hang in there."
"Ooh!"
Luffy struck a fighting pose once and started running toward Alabasta's capital, Arbana. I watched him, then used again and teleported to where Luffy's crew was fighting Baroque Works agents in Arbana.[Concealment]
Here I planned to evaluate Miss Doublefinger Zala, Mr. 4 Lassoo, and Miss Merry Christmas Drophy, and take them back as staff for the Merchant's Island. I was pretty tempted by Mr. 1 Daz Bones too, but looking at the original story, he was quite cruel and had strong loyalty to Crocodile, so I decided to give up on him.
When I arrived, they were in the middle of fighting Luffy's crew. It was easy to find since things were exploding everywhere. Mr. 4 Lassoo, Miss Merry Christmas Drophy, Usopp, and Chopper were in the middle of battle.
"I don't want to do this anymore! We're gonna die like this! There's no way we can win against monsters like them!!"
"Usopp?!"
Usopp started running away like crazy. Seeing that, Chopper shouted at Usopp.
"No!! You can't run from these guys!!"
As if proving Chopper's words, Drophy moved quickly through the ground and instantly grabbed Usopp's foot as he fled.
Grab!
"That guy's right."
Usopp's foot was caught and he was startled, screaming.
"Uwaaaaaaah!!"
"Your captain's weak too, so I guess the crew are all cowards?"
Hearing that, Usopp turned around and asked Drophy.
"Huh? Captain? Why Luffy!?"
"Straw Hat Luffy is already in the afterlife. By the boss's hand."
Usopp was shocked for a moment at that, but immediately refuted it.
"Don't spout nonsense. There's no way that guy's dead! There's no way he'd lose to some sand crocodile!!"
"What makes you say he wouldn't lose?"
"That guy's gonna be 'Pirate King' someday!! There's no way he'd fall here!!!"
Hearing that, Drophy was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"Puhahahahahaha 'Pirate King'? Hahahahaha, don't make me laugh! Don't ever say that kind of delusional crap in the 'Grand Line' again! Hmm... Maybe it's better he died? Someone who doesn't know his place."
I was listening too. Those two are no good. Saying things like that means they compromise with reality. It meant they could betray depending on the situation.
'Pass!'
Unless something special happened, I figured Usopp and Chopper would win fine on their own, so I left them for their growth and went to Miss Doublefinger Zala. Zala was fighting Nami, just like in the original.
"Rain Tempo!!!"
Drip drip drip~
When I arrived, Nami was spraying water with the staff Usopp modified, putting on a fountain show. Then she spun around with the staff, spraying water around.
"Sprinkler Cooler~!!"
Splash! Splash!
Seeing that, Zala sighed and said.
"Haa... Seriously, are you giving up? Enough! I'm tired of your tricks now!"
"No! I'm doing this for a reason!!"
Zala used her [Spike-Spike Fruit] ability to make her hair stand up like a sea urchin.
"I should stop playing around now."
"Sea Urchin! Stinger!!"
Zala charged at Nami with her spiked hair.
"Whoa!"
Boom!
Nami quickly dodged to the side. Zala went straight through and made a hole in the wall, then came back out. It looked like she put vibration into her hair β it was a clean hole.
"Here's something fun as thanks for the show earlier."
While Zala was distracted, Nami blew into her staff and started making something.
"It's time. Heat Ball!!"
Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
Pop pop pop!
Zala didn't care what Nami was doing and stuck her finger, turned into a spike, into her own arm.
"Spike Doping!!!"
Suddenly Zala's arm muscles bulged and turned muscular. Observing with, it looked like she was stabbing her acupoints to temporarily boost her physical abilities. It didn't seem to last long.[Vision]
With her arm now muscular, she turned the whole thing into spikes and swung at Nami.
Whoosh~!
"Stinger Flail!!!"
"Eek!"
Bang!!!
Nami barely ducked her head and avoided Zala's attack, but debris from the building Zala destroyed behind her hit her leg and injured her.
"Kuh..."
Seeing that, Zala made a disgusted face and said.
"You're seriously first-rate at running away, huh."
But Nami didn't look at her opponent and looked up at the sky.
"Ah! It formed!! A cloud, even if it's small."
I looked up too and saw one small cloud had formed β a mystery of the One Piece world. In reality, that would be impossible. Zala was curious why Nami was acting weird and looked up at the sky too.
"What is it? Another weird show?"
"It's not enough yet! Cool Ball!! Heat Ball!!"
Pop pop pop pop pop
Nami split her staff and spun it powerfully. Then white bubbles started coming out of the staff and merged with the cloud.
"Just stop it already!"
Zala turned her arm into spikes again and swung at Nami.
"Stinger Flail!!"
Crack!
"Aaack!"
Nami barely blocked it with her staff, but because of the power difference, she took a lot of damage and fell to the ground.
Thud.
Seeing that, Zala thought it was over and moved to deliver the final blow.
"So? Are you ready?"
Nami smiled and said.
"That's my line."
Nami fired electrically charged bubbles into the enlarged cloud.
"Thunder Bolt Tempo!!!"
The bubbles touched the enlarged cloud and suddenly lightning struck Zala.
Bzzzzzt-crack
"Kyaaaaaack!"
Zala screamed from the electric shock. But that wasn't enough to take her down, so she regained her composure and glared at Nami, saying.
"This is nothing!!"
Zala again transformed her fist into a spike shape and swung at Nami, but Nami's form disappeared. What was there was a mirage Nami had created. Then she appeared behind Zala, changed her staff into a T-shape, aimed at Zala, and said.
"Today's weather is stable with humidity and wind, clear skies with high pressure. But! In some areas, mirages and gusts may occur, so beware of tornadoes!"
"You little...!!"
Zala turned her hair into spikes again and charged at Nami.
"Sea Urchin Stinger!!!"
Nami used her staff and one foot to take the spikes and stop her, bracing against the attack.
"Aaack!"
Screeeech!
"Compared to the pain Vivi felt, this is nothing!"
Nami pushed Zala's head back with her staff, pulled the spike out of her foot, and immediately attacked.
"Tornado Tempo!!!"
Then two bird-shaped figures like cuckoos, connected by wires, shot out from Nami's staff. Seeing that, Nami panicked. She probably thought it was another dud from Usopp's last-resort gadget that could only be used once, and her expression darkened sharply.
"Huh?"
"What! What is this!!??"
Suddenly the front part of the T-shaped staff started spinning, and the wires from the launched birds wrapped around Zala's body, making a loud noise and sending her flying forward. Usopp seemed to have actually put effort into this one.
Boom!!!
"Uwaaaaaack"
Crash bang!!
Zala was bound by the wire, couldn't do anything, and slammed into a building hard, passing out. Nami also tumbled backward from the strong recoil, but I caught her.
"Kyaaack"
Grab!
"Huh? Taejin."
"You fought well, Nami. I was cheering for you."
"What!? You were watching! Then you should have helped!!"
"If I did, you wouldn't grow. You might fight even stronger enemies in the future."
"That doesn't mean you just watch..."
"If you chose to be a pirate, this is natural. Steel your resolve."
I took out treatment tools and treated Nami. For wounds that might leave aftereffects, I used some Heal too.
"Done."
I dusted off my hands and stood up. Nami tried to get up too but sat back down because of the pain.
"Ugh..."
"Want me to carry you?"
"... P-please."
I picked Nami up and moved to where Zala had collapsed. Then I sat Nami down beside her and placed my hand on Zala's head to read her memories.
'Hmm... Her precious cafe was about to go under, so she joined Baroque Works to make money. The situation and environment forced her into it to some extent.'
It was a little ambiguous. She turned into a ruthless killing machine when on a job, but normally she was just an ordinary owner worried about her cafe's future.
"What are you gonna do with her?"
Nami asked from the side.
"I'm thinking of hiring her as staff on the Merchant's Island."
"What!? Are you joking right now? She's a brutal killer!"
"Nami, why did you steal?"
"That's... because of Arlong I had no choice to make money..."
"Is stealing bad? Or not?"
"It's bad, but..."
"Nami, this one was an ordinary cafe owner too. Then her precious cafe was about to collapse, so she had no choice but to work for 'Baroque Works'. What's different between her and you?"
"I never killed anyone!"
"Really? How many people do you think pirates killed in other villages to restock what you stole? Can you say you're not at fault because you didn't kill directly?"
"..."
Nami couldn't say anything.
"Nami, there are truly inhuman scumbags in this world. But if there's some room for rehabilitation, I think we can give them a chance depending on the situation. There's such a thing as circumstances. Like how you were saved by Luffy."
"I see..."
I had no right to say this, since I'd gained abilities and killed for profit too. But I said it to shape Nami's values as a heroine and to recruit Zala.
Anyway, to free up my hands, I took out a large cloth, put Nami on my back again, wrapped the cloth around us, and secured it tightly on my shoulders. Then I picked up Zala.
"Whoa~ Carrying two women like this reminds me of army marches."
"Huh? Army? Were you a soldier?"
Nami, who was on my back, asked after hearing that.
"Ah... I was a soldier in some kingdom for a bit."
"I see."
I just made an excuse to brush it off. I said it unconsciously because it reminded me of getting blisters on my feet during winter training.
"I'm gonna sleep a bit. I'm so tired."
"Got it."
Nami was exhausted and fell asleep right away on my back. She'd done well enough, being the first to beat a villain executive. See next chapter