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Chapter 136: Smoker's Decision
Splash, splash—
Torrential rain poured ruthlessly onto the land of Alabasta. The rainwater beat against the gravel, washing away the traces left by the battle.
After their victory, the Straw Hats naturally didn't stand around in the rain. They were soon guided to the palace by people sent by the King and Vivi.
Not long after they left, the massive sand pit formed by the battle began to change under the infusion of rainwater.
Sand mixed with water, gradually turning into thick mud. As water accumulated at the bottom, it eventually formed an expanding muddy swamp. It was foreseeable that in the long years to come, as rainwater continued to gather, this depression in the desert might truly give birth to a small oasis.
Squelch—
A large, mud-covered hand suddenly reached out from the mire, fingers splayed, gripping the relatively solid ground at the edge of the swamp.
Immediately after, a humanoid figure completely encased in dark brown sludge struggled to crawl out of the quagmire.
Even more surprising was that as he climbed out, his other hand was tightly dragging someone else.
That person was in an obviously worse condition, completely unconscious, dragged out of the swamp like a corpse.
After throwing the person he was dragging onto the relatively dry ground aside, he also lay back, his chest heaving violently, gasping for breath, allowing the rain to wash the mud from his face.
Although he was covered in mud and his appearance was almost indistinguishable, the weapon on his back—the "Nanashaku Jitte"—remained conspicuous even when stained with filth, sufficient to reveal his identity.
—Marine Headquarters Captain, "White Hunter" Smoker.
Not long ago.
He had followed Ace into this sand pit. The two had fought while descending, entangled in combat. He didn't know if the other party hadn't been serious before or had been hiding his strength, but on the way down, Ace suddenly erupted with a power Smoker had never imagined, blasting him into the underground with a single punch.
Scorching flames condensed into a crimson fist shadow, blasting Smoker into the soft sand layer with the force of decaying dry weeds.
"That guy... was he actually holding back before?"
After being sent flying by that punch, Smoker's head was buzzing. It took him a long time to regain his mobility. Just as he wanted to continue arresting the pirate, the earth suddenly shook, and countless amounts of soil poured back in, nearly burying him alive...
"So, is all of this your doing?"
After recovering some stamina, Smoker turned his head to look at the man he had just brought out from underground.
While climbing out, he had accidentally encountered this man, who was heavily injured and unconscious. He recognized his identity at a glance: one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, "Desert Crocodile" Crocodile.
Smoker naturally brought him out without hesitation.
He had a premonition that this Warlord was the key to this incident. All his doubts regarding this country, the Straw Hat Pirates, and Baroque Works would likely be answered through this Warlord.
.....
Meanwhile, the Straw Hat group had already been invited to the Royal Capital, Alubarna.
At this moment, the enthusiastic cheers of the citizens swept through the main road like a tsunami. People crowded on both sides of the road, standing on tiptoes, waving their arms, the waves of sound rising higher and higher:
"Heroes! Our heroes!"
"Thank you for saving Alabasta!"
This reception was comparable to the state guest treatment for a head of state.
The members of the Straw Hat crew were all stunned by this scene. On the short journey from the city gate to the palace, they received more gratitude and praise than they had in their entire past lives combined.
For a moment, the usually extroverted and familiar Straw Hats became cramped and nervous, not knowing how to respond to the citizens' enthusiasm.
Fortunately, Vivi didn't let them wait too long. She soon hurried over from the road and led them into the palace.
"Wow, Vivi, your house is really big!"
"Nonsense, this is a palace. Not only is it big, but there must be gold buried everywhere."
"Really? Let's go find it then?"
As soon as they were among friends, the Straw Hat crew returned to their true nature, making a ruckus in the palace.
"Aren't you going to stop them? Luffy and the others are going to dig up your palace, you know?" Ganyu said to the princess in front of her.
Luffy, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper had gone to explore the palace, leaving only Ganyu, Zoro, Sanji, Robin, and Vivi chatting in the room.
This princess's bedroom was surprisingly large, spanning hundreds of square meters. However, perhaps due to Alabasta's financial difficulties in recent years, the room didn't have overly luxurious decorations.
But there were many chairs—various recliners, lounge chairs, and sofas. It was clear that Vivi had long prepared to invite friends over to play.
Ganyu had intended to find a sofa to sit on, but Her Highness the Princess pulled her onto the bed, sitting closely beside her.
"It doesn't matter." Vivi hugged Ganyu's arm, resting her head on Ganyu's shoulder. "You are the heroes of the country. Even if you really tore down the palace, Father wouldn't say anything."
"Besides, I tried digging when I was little. There's no gold buried here at all; I even got scolded by my father."
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