In a certain place above the sea water.
Luffy cradled Vivi in his arms, his muscles rippling as they soared through the skies toward the Alabasta Kingdom from an altitude of over 4,000 meters.
With each step, a white flame erupted beneath their feet, propelling them at an incredible velocity, leaving a distinct trail across the heavens.
They maintained this extraordinary speed for a brief moment before gradually decelerating and leaping again, repeating the process.
For the Going Merry and the Thousand Sunny, the journey would span two days and two nights, but with Luffy in his Gear Second form, they would reach their destination in a mere twenty minutes.
Even this was a deliberate reduction in speed, as Luffy could, if he wished, disregard his physical limits and make the trip in as little as five minutes.
"Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah~~~"
Vivi tightly shut her eyes and let out a terrified scream.
She buried her head in Luffy's chest, her voice trembling as she said, "L-Luffy-san, could you please slow down a bit? It's too fast!"
With a playful grin, Luffy responded, "If you don't squeeze me so tight, I can go even faster."
However, he did ease up a little. After all, if the princess wasn't in a hurry, neither was he.
Feeling the wind's force diminishing, Vivi caught her breath and gingerly cracked her eyes open.
The first thing she saw was the face of the man holding her.
His gaze remained unwavering, his forehead glistening with sweat, and his breath slightly heavier from the exertion.
Vivi bit her lip, a tender emotion tugging at her heart. She understood the tremendous danger he was putting himself in. As a Devil Fruit user, he risked falling into the sea if he overexerted his stamina.
The consequences of such a fall would be beyond imagination.
However, despite this dire situation, he hadn't hesitated for a moment. He had carried her away swiftly, selflessly.
"I'm sorry, Luffy-san. I must be causing you a lot of trouble," Vivi said, her voice gentle, like a refreshing spring. "I'm scared myself."
"I'm not tired," Luffy replied with a laugh, shaking his head. He wiped away some sweat from his forehead. The real reason for his sweat was the warmth from their close embrace. Vivi had been holding on tightly, and it was only natural for both of them to feel the heat.
But when Vivi heard his response, it took on a deeper meaning.
["are you trying to be strong, not wanting to worry me."]
Vivi felt deeply touched. If it weren't for her pretense of being preoccupied with national affairs, she would have been even more moved.
["I understand now, I won't be afraid! This height is nothing!" she said, taking a deep breath and sounding more determined.]
"Mr. Luffy, please accelerate to the fullest, I can handle any speed!" she continued.
"Are you sure? Even I might not be able to control it if I go all out, I might end up hurting you," Luffy replied.
"Please accelerate!" Vivi said earnestly.
["If you run out of stamina , I'll carry you!"] she thought to herself. She knew the Moonwalk technique, although she had never tried carrying someone while using it. But if something unexpected happened, she would definitely endure it.
"In that case, I'll speed up," Luffy said.
With a thought from Luffy, Haki formed an invisible shield around him. In an instant, a white flame cloud appeared beneath their feet, larger than before.
Boom!!
After a loud roar, their speed reached a new limit.
The sound couldn't catch up with them at this moment and was left behind.
Supersonic speed!
But it only lasted for less than a second before quickly fading.
Vivi nervously held her breath and looked down at the sea below. In the blink of an eye, the Sea Kings that had surfaced disappeared.
But she didn't feel the wind pressure; it was blocked by Haki.
Vivi's eyes trembled slightly. She gradually withdrew her gaze and stared blankly at the face that was close to her. Then she closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest.
In silence, time passed.
"I can see it, Alabasta," Luffy said softly.
The distant island rapidly expanded in their field of vision until, with a loud crash, they collided with it directly.
To be precise, it collided with a building.
A port city. Inside a restaurant.
Ace suddenly raised his head, his face covered in grains of fried rice from the desert.
He rubbed his eyes and became slightly more awake.
"Not good, I fell asleep again. Huh? Where's the boss?"
Not seeing the boss, he didn't pay much attention and lifted the spoon to his mouth.
While chewing the delicious fried rice, he silently released his observation haki.
He heard many sounds.
The panicked voices of the people, sweet words from some individuals, the sound of the military running in formation, and in the distance, the sound of horse hooves.
"It's really chaotic. When will Luffy come? Maybe he didn't take this magnetic route? Only a one in seven chance."
Departing from wisky peak, among the seven magnetic routes, only one route passes through Alabasta.
"Just a few more days... Huh?"
Ace was about to put away his observation haki when suddenly, a tremendous aura entered his detection range, as if a sun had appeared in the dark night, impossible to ignore.
His eating motion froze.
"What is it?"
He looked up in astonishment, towards the position above and to the side.
In that instant.
Boom!!
The ceiling of the restaurant shattered, and a figure fell, raising a cloud of dust.
Everything happened too quickly.
From sensing the intruding aura with his observation haki, to looking up towards the position above and to the side.
In just that short motion, the other party had already arrived in front of him.
The bar counter in the restaurant shattered from the impact, and the food on the table fell to the ground.
"So fast!!!"
Ace maintained the motion of lifting the spoon, stunned for several seconds before suddenly snapping back to reality, his sharp gaze fixed on the back of the bar counter.
The dust began to settle, revealing the intruders bit by bit.
There were two of them—a man and a woman.
The man held the woman protectively, landing gracefully with slightly bent knees to absorb the impact. Astonishingly, despite the intense force, the ground beneath them remained undamaged.
No, it was more than that—it was as if the ground had temporarily softened. It resembled rubber, yielding to the force and sinking slightly before slowly bouncing back, returning to its original state.
Ace's mouth hung open in astonishment, his gaze slowly shifting upward, all his attention focused on the man.
"Lu...,"
His eyes widened, and he instinctively called out Luffy's name.
But the word "ffy" couldn't come out and he stopped again.
The silver figure resembled Luffy from his memory, but also different.
"?"
Luffy also paused for a moment, only then did he notice someone sitting next to his landing point.
"Luffy?!"
Ace blurted out in disbelief, "Is it really you?"
Luffy was equally surprised to have run into him.
Vivi, trembling with her two delicate eyebrows, slowly opened her eyes and happened to see Ace.
"Mr. Luffy, have we... arrived?" she asked in a low voice, still shaken.
It was only when she spoke that Ace finally shifted his attention to her.
The man held the woman, and the woman held the man.
Anyone would think the same in this situation.
"Is this my sister-in-law?"
Ace was first taken aback, then grinned.
After three years, his idiot little brother actually had a woman, no, it should be said, a woman who liked Luffy?!
Unbelievable!
["As the older brother, it is important to have manners at this time and leave a good impression on my sister-in-law. I can't ruin my younger brother's relationship."]
Thinking of this, he quickly stood up and bowed ninety degrees:
"Hello, I'm Ace. It seems you've been looking after my not-so-competent younger brother."
"hu..."
Vivi looked confused and instinctively waved her hand, saying blankly, "Actually, Mr. Luffy has been the one taking care of me."
After speaking, she cast a bewildered look at Luffy, silently seeking his assistance.
Luffy was silent for a while before speaking:
"Why don't you come down first?"
"Ah, sorry~"
Vivi blushed and quickly got out of Luffy's arms.
"This is Ace. I mentioned him briefly on Drum Island. He is my brother from when I was a child."
Luffy explained to Vivi first, then introduced Ace: "She is Princess Vivi of Alabasta."
Princess?
Pirates and princesses?
Ace looked surprised. Could it be that this guy kidnapped her?
One of the things pirates love to do is go and capture princesses.
It's not uncommon for princesses to be kidnapped by pirates and sold as slaves.
However, upon closer inspection, these two seem to have a good relationship and a close attitude.
["I'm overthinking it.
How could Luffy do such a thing!"]
"Long time no see, Luffy!"
Whether she is a princess or not, it doesn't matter. Ace grinned and reached out his hand.
"Long time no see."
Luffy slapped his hand and shook hands with him.
At the next moment, the two began to compete in grip strength.
But obviously, facing Luffy in his Nika form, Ace was no match at all.
"You've grown, Luffy. By the way, what's with your appearance?"
"It's a long story, and I doubt you're interested."
While saying this, Luffy released his Nika form.
Ace didn't ask further, "I'm tracking a man and happened to stop nearby, so I thought I'd drop by to see you."
["It was you who triggered the Summit War! What kind of strength do you have to dare to go after Blackbeard..."]
Luffy shook his head, "I don't have time to chat right now. There's something important I need to do."
Saying this, he glanced at Vivi.
Vivi, who understood the signal, immediately spoke up, "I'm sorry, Mr. Luffy, Mr. Ace. You've just reunited, and I'm sure you have a lot to talk about..."
She explained the situation in Alabasta.
Ace couldn't bear it when he heard this!
His sister-in-law's matter was his matter!
["Crocodile?"
"A Shichibukai, huh?"]
["What kind of little thief?!"]
"Let's go, Luffy! Vivi! That bastard Crocodile dared to do such a thing, it's unforgivable!"
He took the lead and walked towards the door.
Vivi blinked her eyes, wondering how there suddenly was another helper, and why they were more enthusiastic than her...
"Mr. Luffy, is your brother very strong?"
"He's a Logia user with the Mera-mera Fruit ability, with a bounty of 575 million berries."
Luffy laughed, "He's just average, not as strong as me!"
"I can't just overlook that, Luffy. Once we've handled Crocodile, I'll challenge you to a match to assess how much you've developed over these past three years!" Ace's voice resonated from beyond the door.
"Let's go."
Luffy smiled slightly and pulled Vivi along.
It was a completely subconscious action.
Vivi was completely unaware and naturally followed along.
The three of them walked side by side on the street.
The three of them strolled together down the street. As Ace observed them holding hands, he nodded in silence.
"Hmm, so she must indeed be my sister-in-law. I must have misjudged the situation. This kid wouldn't resort to kidnapping a princess," Ace mused.
"But then again, how did I miss this earlier? This kid possesses such an ability?" he wondered.
"Men truly change after three years apart. I must see him in a new light!" Ace thought to himself.
The sheer strength that had descended from the sky earlier had been enough to astonish him. It was possible that he might not even be able to surpass Luffy at this point.
"So, my brother, you're the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division now, right?"
"That's right, what about it? Do you wanna join too?"
Hearing Luffy's question, Ace smiled and extended an invitation.
["I'm not interested in being someone's son. I already have a no where to be seen dad"]
"Listen to my advice, quickly resign from the position of the Second Division captain," Luffy said seriously.
"Why?" Ace was taken aback.
"Do you know who the previous Second Division captain was?"
"Kozuki Oden."
When Ace first took over as captain, he didn't know who the previous captain was, but he got the info later.
He looked at Luffy in confusion.
"Kozuki Oden. Do you dare to take on this position? This position is cursed!"
Luffy shook his head.
How did Kozuki Oden die? He was boiled in oil and shot.
How did Ace die? In the Summit War, he was punched through the chest by Admiral Akainu while protecting Luffy.
But this is just superficial!
In reality, both of them can be said to die useless or stupid death.
If Ace didn't block that attack, Luffy definitely wouldn't die. How could the protagonist die? Maybe he would awaken the Sun God on the spot!
He doesn't have to die either.
The position of the vice captain of the second team must be cursed.
The two of them chatted along the way, and Vivi just listened silently, not daring to interrupt.
It wasn't until this moment that she realized that Luffy had been holding her hand all along, and her face turned red as she started to daydream, losing interest in interrupting.
"Speaking of which, where are you taking us?"
After walking for a while, Luffy suddenly asked.
"I've only been in this country for a few days too. Where is Crocodile?"
"what the! you don't know the way and still lead us around, Ace, you're an idiot."
"Hahaha, don't worry, that guy's goal is to steal this country, right? He'll definitely show up in the capital. Let's go there directly and wait for him."
Ace laughed, "By the way, we can also meet Vivi's father. You should behave well then, good luck!"
Upon hearing this, Vivi finally came to her senses and immediately remembered her father being assassinated yesterday.
"I'm very worried about my father's situation. If we want go to Alubarna from here, it's in this direction...."
She pointed to the north.
"It's about 220 kilometers to reach the capital. Mr. Luffy, let's go to the capital first!"
Luffy had no objections to this.
"Then let's go."
Immediately, the three of them headed towards the direction of the capital on foot.
Thinking about Vivi's father... Nefertari Cobra.
No, the correct name is Nefertari D. Cobra.
Luffy also happened to have a place he was very interested in and wanted to ask about it.
This question was more interesting than Crocodile.