Two days later—
In the desert along the Yuba route, Luffy and his crew were trudging along.
"So... so thirsty!" Luffy complained, his tongue hanging out.
Yesterday, after pushing themselves to reach Yuba, they discovered that the rebel army had moved on to a city called Nanohana.
Everyone was baffled. What had they been doing for the past two days? Playing?
After some discussion, they decided to head straight to Crocodile's base camp and deal with him directly. If they took down Crocodile, everything else would fall into place.
So now they were on their way back to the Rainbase.
Under the scorching sun, Usopp grumbled, "Kai's absence is a real hassle. No food, no water, and not a cloud in sight! I'm exhausted, hungry, and thirsty after these two days!"
The others nodded in agreement. They really missed Kai's presence.
"By the way, how do you think Kai is doing?" Vivi suddenly asked.
The mood shifted instantly. Everyone fell silent.
After a moment, Luffy spoke up, "He'll be fine. You know how strong Kai is. If anyone can handle it, it's him!"
"But that Marine Admiral is really strong, too. It'll be tough for Kai to handle him. Maybe he's resting somewhere after defeating him with Ace," Vivi said.
No one responded, and the group remained quiet.
After a while, Nami broke the silence with a smile. "Luffy's right. Kai is incredibly strong. He'll be just fine!"
"For us, the priority now is to stop Crocodile's plans. Kai will return once he's recovered."
"Yeah, trust our vice-captain. That guy's ridiculously strong!" Zoro added calmly.
"Exactly! Believe in Kai!" Everyone agreed.
"Let's go! Defeat Crocodile!" Luffy shouted. The crew echoed his battle cry:
"Down with Crocodile!"
...
Half a day later, Luffy and the crew finally reached Crocodile's base—Rainbase!
Upon arrival, instead of heading straight for Crocodile, they first went to a local tavern.
Luffy grabbed a bucket and drank greedily. He was parched!
The others were in similar straits, gulping down water like they were trying to make up for days without it.
"Ah~" Luffy sighed in relief after drinking. For the first time, he found plain boiled water to be incredibly satisfying.
"Alright, let's go defeat Crocodile!" Luffy declared, standing up with renewed energy.
At that moment, everyone in the tavern turned to glare at him.
A man stood up and approached Luffy, asking, "Who are you? What do you want with the hero of our kingdom?"
"The hero of the kingdom? Isn't he a big bad guy?" Luffy asked, puzzled.
His question sparked outrage among the patrons. They all stood up and shouted, "Crocodile is the hero of our kingdom! He's saved us countless times from pirates!"
"You... are unforgivable!"
The crowd surged towards Luffy, looking ready to tear him apart.
Seeing this, Usopp and the others tactfully stepped back from Luffy, their faces saying they had no part in this.
Σ(ŎдŎ|||)ノノ
"It's not… you!"
Luffy's eyes widened as he saw the crowd closing in, but before he could say anything, someone punched him in the face.
Luffy ducked and weaved, but with the crowd surrounding him, he decided it was better to make a quick exit!
As he reached the door, he spotted Zoro and the others standing there, looking nonchalant.
Feeling unbalanced, he shouted, "Zoro, why are you just standing there? Let's run together!" and dashed outside.
Zoro and the others' expressions changed as if they'd tasted something awful. They turned to see the crowd glaring at them angrily.
With Luffy running, the heat was now on their "companions!"
"Run… run!" Usopp yelled, and they all bolted.
The crowd chased after them, their thoughts focused on one thing:
"Luffy, you're going down!"
...
"Huh~"
"Huh~"
In a dark alley, the crew was catching their breath.
"Those people can really run!" Nami panted, hands on her knees.
"Even someone as skilled as me can't keep up!" Usopp agreed.
"It's all Luffy's fault! Didn't Vivi warn us? Crocodile's a hero to the people now, and he still says things like that in public! The worst part is, he's supposed to be supporting us!" Sanji added, still fuming.
"Everyone! Over here!" A voice called from the distance, drawing their attention.
When they saw the source of the voice, smiles broke out on their faces.
"Yeah, we're here!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
...
There were continuous sounds of objects being hit, followed by some screams. After a minute, it all died down.
"I'm really sorry!" Luffy apologized with a head that seemed three times too big.
The crew had greeted a group of five and a reindeer vigorously, but now they were all a bit worn out.
After a short rest, Nami stood up and said, "Let's head to Rainbase and find Crocodile!"
Then she turned to Luffy, her eyes darkening. "Luffy, if you shout like that in the street again, you know what will happen, right?"
Seeing Nami's grim expression, Luffy trembled and quickly replied, "I know… I know!"
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Power Stones would be appreciated if you liked the story.