vncnus Chapter 61: A Gathering of Heroes in Alabasta
Chapter 61: A Gathering of Heroes in Alabasta
Following his finger, everyone looked and saw the other side of the exit of the Upside-Down Mountain.
A massive whale, as large as a mountain and covered in old scars, gazed with its enormous single eye, filled with both anticipation and a hint of wariness, at the new ship descending from Upside Down.
"Woo—!" Labu let out a long, deep cry, as if asking something.
"Wow...it's so big!" Nami and Chopper were also quite shocked.
"A whale?!" Luffy's eyes lit up. "Amazing!"
"Wow, there aren't whales that big in our world." "Hmph, beast..."
Napoleon and Rabindranath II were ready to raise their hands to attack.
Roger looked at Laboon, especially at the crisscrossing scars on its head, a complex look of reminiscence flashing in his eyes.
He recognized the whale: "Crocas's partner... Laboon?"
He raised his hand to stop the two men who were about to attack, despite their initial skepticism.
He didn't pay any attention to it, but just muttered something to himself, his tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible emotion.
"After all these years, are you still waiting...?"
"Crocas?" Luffy's ears perked up. "Who's that?"
"An old friend, and also a skilled ship's doctor," Roger explained simply, without going into detail, since his current mission was the Holy Grail War.
He turned to Raab and shouted in a domineering voice.
"Hey! Big guy! Long time no see! Even though I died once, I'm back! Are you worried your buddies won't come back?"
Lab seemed to recognize the owner of the voice, a glint of light flashing in its huge eyes, and it let out a few gentle chirps.
Its enormous body slowly sank into the water, its mouth wide open as if to swallow them all.
Everyone who had just breathed a sigh of relief was filled with shock, and sweat poured down their faces.
"Feed Uncle Roger! Why is he still trying to eat us?!"
"The whale problem is solved." Roger clapped his hands, completely unconcerned about becoming the whale's meal.
He looked at the Dark Sun Ship: "Hey, Sun King! Are you really willing to let your precious baby go inside my belly? Why don't we wait outside? Let's go see some friends."
Fearing that the capricious emperor might shoot the whale to death, Vivi immediately nodded.
"Alright, Lord Luffy, Lord Sabo, and everyone else! We'll be waiting for you outside... come out..."
Is it even possible to get out?
Luffy immediately stretched out his arm excitedly: "Yo-ho! Into the whale's belly!"
Luffy had no worries or doubts; he only knew that the Pirate King must have his reasons for doing this.
Just as they were about to be swallowed, the other crew members looked at Roger and Luffy, who were laughing foolishly together, and Sanji pulled out his old theory again.
"Aren't these two people father and son?"
Meanwhile, a naval fleet was approaching the area near Diandaoshan in the East China Sea.
A massive dog-headed warship is cutting through the waves.
On the deck, Smoker, the white hunter, was smoking a cigar with a disgruntled expression.
Beside him, Tashigi was nervously wiping her famous sword, "Shigure".
"Colonel Smoker! Why is Headquarters in such a hurry to recall us? And... why are even Lieutenant General Garp and Admiral Aokiji...?"
Tashigi couldn't help but ask.
Smoker exhaled a puff of smoke, his brow furrowed. "Hmph, what else could it be?"
"The Holy Land Mary Geoise was attacked by that 'tyrant,' and that bastard Dilt has exposed the Holy Grail War and the list of the Fourteen Masters! The old men of the World Government can't sit still anymore! This meeting will probably be to decide the Navy's stance and course of action in the Holy Grail War."
He glanced at the old man eating senbei at the bow of the boat and the man with the afro who was fast asleep.
"The same applies to Vice Admiral Garp and Admiral Aokiji... they were probably forcibly dragged there to keep order."
"Especially Lieutenant General Garp, after all, his two grandsons... are both on the list now."
Smoker's tone carried a hint of helplessness. As one of the Black Faction's Masters, his identity had also been exposed, putting him in a similarly precarious situation.
Garp seemed to hear him, paused his chewing, and muttered, "Luffy... Ace... those two troublesome little brats!"
No one noticed that his hand holding the rice cracker tightened slightly.
Smoker took another deep drag on his cigar, feeling the smoke circulate in his body.
"We'll take advantage of this trip to the Grand Line to catch that escaped guy! Now he's not the only one who can summon Servants..."
The Command Seals on his hand flashed, shaped like three joints, which he saw as three cigars.
In the light, he stared at the inverted mountains, the vast ocean, and the towering, endless peaks before him, just like the path of justice he held fast to in his heart.
What exactly is justice? We don't know yet.
But he knew that the road he was on would pass through the sea area near Alabasta.
On the other side, in the waters near Alabasta.
A boat was drifting slowly. Marshall D. Teach sat on a pile of broken barrels, gnawing on a large piece of meat.
"Zehahaha! Alabasta! We're almost there!" The black-bearded man laughed, greasy meat juices dripping down his chin.
"That Crocodile... Zhehahaha! As a fellow Black Faction Master, he's the closest to us! And..."
A cunning and greedy glint flashed in his eyes: "I'm very curious, what kind of heroic spirit did he summon? Perhaps the black sun just now was related to his heroic spirit? Hehehe! Let's go meet him! See if we can... cooperate? Or..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.
The shadow in the darkness, unusually, did not utter his most frequently uttered words, but only exuded an ominous premonition.
"Captain, I heard that Straw Hat Luffy, Revolutionary Army Sabo, and Princess Vivi of Alabasta are also heading to Alabasta."
Van Oka wiped his sniper rifle and calmly reported.
"Hahaha! Isn't that even better!" The black-bearded man laughed even more wildly.
"Red and black are together now! Saves me the trouble of searching everywhere! The Holy Grail... Hehehe! I'm determined to have it! Speed things up! To the Rainlands!"
Poison Q coughed listlessly, Lafitte gave a graceful bow, and Burgess pounded his chest excitedly.
The newly formed Blackbeard Pirates, carrying their ambitions, also headed towards the eye of the storm.
Alabasta, on the edge of a desert oasis.
A small campfire crackled and popped.
Portgas D. Ace was grilling a huge lizard leg, and the aroma filled the air.
Beside him, Karna sat quietly cross-legged, eyes closed in meditation, radiating a faint, warm glow.
"Little Sun, do you think Luffy and the others are almost here?" Ace tore off a large piece of golden-brown roasted meat and stuffed it into his mouth.
Karna slowly opened his golden eyes, his gaze seemingly able to pierce through vast distances.
"Between brothers, everything is arranged by fate. Now that they have successfully escaped the siege of Loguetown, they will surely move forward."
Ace's eyes lit up: "Haha! You're right! Luffy will definitely come here."
"And Sabo! That brat, he wasn't even telling us he was still alive! Honestly, he made me cry for so long..."
Just as Little Sun was about to offer some words of comfort, Ace wiped away the tears that were about to spill from his eyes and burst into laughter.
"Once the three of us brothers are together, we will definitely win this war! Hahaha!"
Karna nodded calmly: "I wish Master's wish to come true, but we still need to be careful."
"Earlier, that pitch-black sun in the sky was extremely high in rank, even... close to that of the main god. It was not to be underestimated."
"The being summoned by the Sand Master seems extremely terrifying. Although it is the sun, its aura is like... a deep black and ever-changing smoke."
Ace grinned, his eyes burning with fighting spirit.
"Who cares about the sun or the smog! Oh, and by 'sun,' I don't mean you..."
"Any enemy who dares to touch my brother, I'll burn them to ashes! Little Sun, let's burn him together!"
"As you wish, Master."
Although Karna lamented his Master's immaturity, he still obediently stood up, his body radiating a faint glow.
"The blazing sun will eventually illuminate the path ahead."
Rainy Day, the top floor of the Rain Banquet Casino.
Crocodile stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the endless night of the desert outside.
The shadow behind him writhed like a living thing, and Tescatlipoca's figure silently emerged.
"Master," the God of Smoke Mirrors said in a deep, magnetic voice with a hint of amusement.
"The light of the crimson sun and the son of the sun is approaching, carrying the aura of fire and change."
"Smoke and darkness are also on the way. The fates of all of them are drawn in... and then converge on the stage, the lineup is getting more and more luxurious."
Tescatlipoca pushed up his sunglasses, a cryptic smile playing on his lips.
"Seriously... sun, smoke, and darkness all at once, are you trying to take me on? Come to think of it, we're missing a leopard. Heh."
His tone was like the whisper of a soldier about to die, without roaring, only a whisper.
"Only this kind of struggle, this kind of battle, makes this business trip somewhat interesting."
Crocodile took a deep drag on his cigar, the crimson flame flickering in the darkness.
His eyes were cold and sharp, like a desert viper eyeing its prey.
"Hmph, the more the better..." He exhaled a puff of smoke, his voice hoarse and filled with murderous intent.
When the belated information about the Servant flooded his mind, he realized just how powerful a trump card he had drawn...
Tescatlipoca, the silent black smoke, the ruler of the Four Leopard Era.
This guy is a god, and a chief god at that! Although, as he said, this body can't exert much power.
So what?
"Hahaha, in this desert... whether it's the sun, the flames, the smoke, or the darkness... all will eventually be buried by the wind and sand!"
"The stage for the trial is ready." Tescatlipoca pushed up his sunglasses, the lenses reflecting the neon lights of the city outside the window, his smile mysterious and unpredictable.
"Let me see who will have the last laugh in this scorching sea of sand... at the very heart of the struggle."
Let me relax a little while my colleagues are still here and work hasn't started.
The New World, a certain sea area, the Red Furs.
The Command Seals on the back of Shanks' hand glowed brightly red. To the astonishment of all the crew members, it seemed that a Heroic Spirit had... delivered itself to their doorstep.