Five days later, on the outskirts of the capital city of Alabasta.
In a city surrounded by desert and the ruins of buildings, Ain was hiding with a team of five.
The Marines she brought with her this time numbered a hundred, divided into teams of ten, scattered across various cities in Alabasta, searching for any sign of the vampire Gnar.
Logically speaking, as the captain of this Marine team, Ain should be guarding the place where the vampire Gnar was most likely to appear—the port of Alabasta. However, the recent surge in shady activities in Alabasta made Ain suspicious.
Marine intelligence had reported the appearance of many strange ships along the coast of Alabasta in the past few days, and the people disembarking from these ships did not seem like good folk.
Their gathering place was the capital of Alabasta: Arubama.
In a tavern, Ain wore a cloak to conceal her Marine uniform, drinking with her five subordinates, similarly disguised. From the bartender's odd glances, it was clear their hiding skills were subpar.
Despite their training at the Marine academy, as interns, their inexperience was apparent, especially to a seasoned bartender like the one they encountered.
Unbeknownst to them, the bartender was a member of the Baroque Works agents.
A Marine dressed as a civilian walked in and naturally sat down at the table where Ain was.
Seeing this, Ain asked in a low voice, "Have you found out what happened? Where are those people from?"
"Sorry!" the Marine, responsible for gathering information within the capital, replied, looking embarrassed. "Captain Ain, as soon as we entered Arubama, these guys seemed to vanish completely, leaving no trace."
Ain frowned, a bit disappointed, but she said softly, "I understand. Keep looking!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
As the Marine left, the ten Marines following Ain looked at each other. Finally, an older-looking boy spoke up.
"Captain Ain... Our mission this time is only to find traces of the vampire Gnar. Everything else is none of our concern..."
Ain was taken aback but understood his point. However, she was unwilling to give up. She knew that searching for traces of the vampire Gnar in Alabasta was mostly luck and likely to end in failure.
This made her determined to earn Teacher Zephyr's approval. The recent discovery of an undercurrent of activity in Alabasta excited her. Even if she couldn't find Gnar, uncovering the identities of these newcomers might be a significant achievement.
Thinking of this, she spoke firmly, "I understand what you're saying, but how can you be sure that the appearance of these people isn't related to the vampire Gnar? As Marines, our mission is to protect civilians. How can we ignore those guys? Have you forgotten Teacher Zephyr's teachings?"
Her subordinates were silenced by her words and could only nod in agreement.
Suddenly, there was commotion outside.
"Someone's going to duel..."
"Come and see!"
Everyone in the tavern grew curious and headed outside.
Seeing this, Ain signaled her subordinates to follow.
Outside, in the city center covered with yellow sand, a crowd had gathered, mostly children. One of them shouted, "Princess Vivi, go for it!"
Another yelled, "Kosha, don't go easy just because she's a princess..."
"Teach that arrogant princess a lesson!"
Ain was stunned. A princess in a duel? And a boy named Kosha? As a Marine, Ain had heard many stories about nobles. How could a noble princess be dueling a commoner boy?
But as she got closer, she realized it was true.
In the center of the crowd stood a little girl in a beautiful dress with sky blue hair and a confident smile. She looked every bit the aristocrat. Her opponent, Kosha, looked like a commoner boy.
Although it was a children's fight, Ain could see they were serious, using various tactics, including pulling hair, biting, and pinching cheeks.
Soon, both children were bruised and exhausted, lying on the ground and laughing.
"It's unbelievable that a princess from a country would fight a commoner's child like this!" a Marine remarked, voicing Ain's thoughts.
Despite being interns, they had heard countless tales of nobles' misdeeds from their seniors, making the scene before them seem unreal.
Ain's eyes then noticed something unusual behind the ruins of a wall—two figures watching the children's fight.
She quickly recognized them as Alabasta's King Cobra and the guard captain Igaram.
"Did they sneak out here to watch over their daughter?" she wondered. Seeing the king not intervening, even as his daughter fought a commoner, gave Ain a favorable impression of him.
The children's fight ended quickly, both lying on the ground, laughing heartily. Eventually, Kosha stood up, grabbed Vivi's hand, and helped her up.
"From today on, Vivi will be the deputy leader of our Sand Pirates!" Kosha declared.
"Yeah!" the group of children cheered, clearly playing a game.
Watching the children leave, Ain didn't think much of it. But then she overheard something alarming.
"Hey, boss, did you see that?"
"That girl is actually the princess of Alabasta, and she has no bodyguards with her..."
"If we could kidnap her, then..."
"Hey, hey, hey..."
Ain spotted a group of shady men closely following Princess Vivi.
"Pirates or slave traders?" she wondered. She couldn't ignore this. Her hand moved to her sword. As a Marine, she had decided to deal with these scoundrels.
Just as she was about to take action, her phone bug rang.
"Bolulu..."
Answering it, she heard excited and nervous voices.
"Captain Ain, the vampire Gnar has appeared..."
"What! Where?"
"At Nahana, the port of Alabasta. Ten minutes ago, he and Nico Robin, the Devil Child, landed in Nahana..."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you've liked my work so far and would like to support me, your contribution would be greatly appreciated. since this is labor work and I'm not receiving any payment. your support means a lot to me to continue this fanfic. even a small amount, like 10rs. can make a significant difference.
Please consider using UPI id divyrajsinhsodha5167@ybl
Or you can visit my Patreon page:
patreon.com/PhoeniXcel
patreon have 5+ advanced chapters for you guys
Your help will be greatly appreciated.