After some time of flying over the Red Line, Alex saw Baratie in the distance. Suddenly, he noticed a small boat sailing towards the Red Line and decided to check it out.
Mihawk saw Alex approaching his ship from above. Maintaining eye contact, he scrutinized Alex and said, "You recover fast."
"Yeah, I have a strong physique. What about you? Did you enjoy yourself?" Alex replied.
"Yeah, the Straw Hat has potential, and his swordsman crewmate too," Mihawk said, recalling his fight with Zoro.
"You won't have to wait too long to fight someone," Alex replied before flying towards Baratie.
Mihawk, paying no attention to what Alex said, kept going forward.
As Alex finally reached the restaurant, he heard a scream.
"I JUST CAN'T, DON KREIG! I CAN'T KILL THIS MAN!" Gin shouted to Don Krieg while fighting Sanji.
"Oy, what are you doing with my crew?" Alex called out towards the Krieg pirates.
Hearing a voice above them, the Krieg pirates looked up and saw the man who had destroyed their fleet and killed many of their fellow pirates. Fear and panic spread across their faces.
"It's him!" one of the pirates exclaimed, his voice trembling.
"The monster who took down our fleet!" another pirate shouted, backing away.
"Run! We can't fight him!" a third pirate yelled, dropping his weapon and fleeing.
Don Krieg, enraged by his men's cowardice, turned his attention to Alex. "You! You dare interfere with my plans again?" Krieg growled, his eyes filled with hatred.
Alex landed gracefully, his presence commanding and unwavering. "Leave my crew alone," he said calmly, his gaze fixed on Krieg.
"Let's finish this quickly," Alex said to himself as he launched towards Krieg. Krieg, finding Alex in front of him, readied himself to face Alex's punch. Alex used Shigan after kicking Krieg and directly made a hole in his forehead.
The people present looked at Alex, who was standing still, and then at Krieg's figure, who was killed without even putting up a fight. They remembered how Luffy had struggled against Krieg's defenses.
"This guy must be the strongest in Luffy's team, right?" thought Sanji and Usopp simultaneously.
"Captain Krieg?!" screamed the remaining Krieg pirates. Alex, paying them no mind, attacked again using Rokushiki. In what seemed like just a breeze of air, the crew noticed Alex coming towards them. Gin, realizing the situation he was in, ran towards Alex, kneeling in front of him and begging for his life. He looked towards Sanji and then at Gin.
"Since you didn't kill our cook, I'll leave you alive. But you have to work for us and stop being a pirate," Alex said firmly.
"Okay, okay, whatever you say, I'll do it," Gin quickly agreed, slowly standing up.
"Where did you go?" asked Luffy, coming towards him.
"Just some shopping, nothing to worry about," Alex replied with a smile.
"What happened between you and the Krieg pirates?" asked Usopp, curiosity evident in his voice.
"Nothing much. I saw their fleet and decided to exercise a little, so we had a small fight," Alex replied nonchalantly.
"A small fight? Did you destroy their 5,000+ men fleet?" exclaimed Nami, imagining Alex's strength.
"Yeah, anyway, what are you guys doing here, fighting them? And what happened with you guys while I wasn't here?" asked Alex.
Luffy started telling Alex about his journey towards the restaurant, meeting a man trapped in a box on a strange island, then heading towards Syrup Village and meeting Usopp, recruiting him as the ship's sniper after defeating the Kuro pirates, and obtaining a new ship, the Going Merry. They met two bounty hunters, then encountered Lieutenant Fullbody, and finally met Sanji and included him in the crew in the midst of the fight with the Krieg pirates.
"You had quite an adventure," Alex remarked, amused.
"Yeah, you should have been with us. You know, Zoro found his goal—the greatest swordsman. They were just fighting. He's very strong," Luffy said, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Umm, I met him when I was coming here. He said that Zoro could be a great swordsman and he's waiting for Zoro to challenge him again," Alex said.
"He said the same thing here too," Sanji noted, glancing at Zoro.
"Well, now that we're done with the Krieg pirates, let's head towards the Grand Line," Alex declared.
A sudden unease spread across Nami's face as she heard Alex's words. The crew noticed her change in demeanor.
"Nami, is something wrong?" Usopp asked, concern in his voice.
Nami hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath. "It's... my village. It's being controlled by a pirate named Arlong."
"Arlong?" Luffy repeated, his usual carefree expression replaced with seriousness.
Nami nodded, her eyes filled with a mixture of anger and sadness. "He and his crew have taken over my home. They're making everyone pay tribute or face brutal punishment. I've been trying to gather enough money to buy back the village's freedom."
The crew fell silent, absorbing the weight of Nami's words. Sanji clenched his fists, anger boiling within him. "Those bastards... we'll make them pay," he vowed.
"Of course we will," Zoro agreed, his voice steady. "We'll help you, Nami."
"Absolutely," Usopp added, his usual bravado genuine this time. "We won't let them get away with this."
Alex stepped forward, placing a reassuring hand on Nami's shoulder. "You're not alone in this. We'll stand by you and free your village."
Nami's eyes welled up with tears of gratitude. "Thank you, all of you. I... I don't know what to say."
"You don't need to say anything," Luffy said, his grin returning. "We're a crew, and we take care of each other."
Nami continued to tell the crew about how Arlong came to their village eight years ago and forced them to give money for freedom. She recounted how they killed her mother, Belle-mere, and why she joined the Arlong Pirates to collect money to gain her village's freedom.