"Boom!"
With a loud explosion, a peculiar creature erupted from the water.
"Is that… a sea cat?" Sanji asked uncertainly, eyeing the creature before him.
"I've never seen anything like it. I wonder how it tastes?" Sanji pondered.
Sea Cat:!
"If you're curious about the taste, just slice it up!" Zoro said slowly, drawing the knife from his waist.
Sea Cat:!!
"New food? Perfect! I've been tired of dinosaur meat and goldfish every day. I've been wanting a change!" Luffy said excitedly, his mouth watering.
Sea Cat:!!!
"Jie Jie Jie!" The three of them laughed sinisterly, preparing to take down the sea cat.
"What... are you doing!"
Vivi appeared behind them instantly and punched them, her anger evident.
"Sea cats are considered sacred symbols in Alabasta! What are you thinking?" Vivi scolded.
Seizing the opportunity, the sea cat swiftly dived back into the water and fled from the ship.
It's terrifying! These guys want to eat me!
"My dinner!" Luffy moaned, watching the sea cat escape, clearly disheartened.
m9( `д ́ )!!!!
"Bang!" Another thump landed on Luffy's head, accompanied by Vivi's roar.
"Didn't I tell you not to eat it?"
"This part of Alabasta?" Sanji pondered, grasping the significance of Vivi's words.
"Does that mean we're almost at Alabasta, Miss Vivi?" Sanji asked.
"Yes!" Vivi nodded, then continued, "The appearance of sea cats means we're close to Alabasta! We're in the waters near the kingdom!"
At this moment, Chopper on the bow shouted loudly, "Hey, everyone! There's an island over there. Is it Alabasta?"
"Huh?" Vivi rushed to the bow, took the telescope from Chopper, and looked, her face lighting up with excitement.
"Yes, that's Alabasta, the desert kingdom!"
...
"Kai, let's go!" Luffy and the others called out from the shore to Kai on the boat.
"Alright! Wait, I need to take care of something first!"
Kai walked over to Mr. 2, who was tied to the mast, and smiled.
To Mr. 2, this smile looked menacing. He gulped and asked, "Kai… Mr. Kai, what do you want?"
"It's nothing, just time for a nap!" Kai said, then struck Mr. 2's neck with a quick chop, knocking him out.
Not knowing how long their journey might last, it was safer to knock out Mr. 2 even though he was tied up.
Once done, Kai jumped to the shore. As soon as his feet hit the island, the system's check-in sound echoed.
[Ding, checked in at Alabasta successfully. Armament Haki upgraded to Advanced Level!]
Instantly, a powerful force surged from Kai's core, and Armament Haki energy enveloped his arms.
Kai raised his arm slightly, feeling the Haki flow around it.
"Advanced Armament Haki?"
Kai was surprised to check into advanced Armament Haki. He had expected to get Conqueror's Haki first.
It seemed the system had other plans!
Kai was quite satisfied with this outcome. Intermediate to advanced was a significant leap. Conqueror's Haki wouldn't impact his strength as much going from elementary to intermediate.
Because advanced Armament Haki could master Ryuo. This was a skill Luffy only learned after the initial training from Teacher Kaido.
Now, he could even break through defenses against Teacher Kaido, rather than just trying to wake him up.
"Kai, why are you still standing there? Let's go!" Luffy waved and shouted from a distance.
"Coming!"
——
"Everyone, you're all quite well-known among Baroque Works members. For our convenience, we need to dress up a bit!" Vivi said to the group.
"We'll replenish our supplies here and then head to our next destination—Yuba!"
"Chopper, let's go shopping! You find a spot to wait for us. The rest of you have been seen by Baroque Works members, so it's inconvenient!" Kai said to Chopper.
"??"
"Shouldn't you be the one most recognized?" Zoro asked, puzzled.
"Probably!" Kai nodded.
"But I have knowledge, experience, and Haki. What do you have?"
Kai's words left them speechless. They felt a bit uneasy but were even more determined to master Haki.
"See you later, Chopper! Let's go!"
Walking through the city's seed flower streets, Kai couldn't help but gaze around curiously.
It was his first time visiting a desert city, whether in his previous life or now. It had a unique charm!
Kai entered a clothing store. The men's clothes were plain and drab, but the women's clothes ranged from unattractive to the dance costumes Sanji had bought in the original story.
Kai understood why Sanji wanted those clothes. If he were in Sanji's shoes, he'd buy them too. He just liked the look of them!
"Hatchiu!"
At that moment, Chopper sneezed several times, looking distressed.
"Kai... Kai, the smell here is awful!"
"Hmm?"
Kai almost forgot that Chopper's sensitive nose made perfumes unbearable for him.
The dancing costumes were sprayed with perfume, which was why Chopper couldn't tolerate the shop.
After thinking for a moment, Kai told Chopper, "Wait outside. I'll be quick!"
"Okay!" Chopper nodded and walked out, relieved to escape the stench.
Once Chopper was outside, Kai eagerly examined the various clothing styles before him.
He took his time selecting items~
After a while, Kai bought everything he wanted. As he was about to leave, an unexpected event occurred.
With his attention focused on the surrounding shops and not using Observation Haki as he should, he didn't notice—
"Yo, Captain Smoker, what a coincidence!"
-------------------------------
Power Stones would be appreciated if you liked the story.