"Godfather, this is the surface! We're on land!" Shirahoshi stood beside Bege, her innocent eyes looking with anticipation at the island's residents. She could sense the goodwill from the crowd, which erased any wariness from her heart, and she was incredibly excited to set foot on the island.
"You'll be spending a lot of time on land from now on," Bege said with a smile.
"Yay, yay! I like the land! I like the sun!" Shirahoshi clapped happily.
The island's garrison arrived to help the Fish-Men with their cargo. Then, Bege led Shirahoshi and the others onto Dragon Fruit Island. The streets were lined with people, all curious about the Fish-Men and Merfolk, but also cheering Bege's name, their eyes filled with respect and admiration.
"Godfather, they really like you," Shirahoshi giggled.
"They are all kind people. They will like the adorable little Shirahoshi, too," Bege smiled.
"Mhm!" Shirahoshi nodded happily and waved to the surrounding people, which was met with a wave of cheers.
Half a month later, Fukaboshi began the return journey with the supplies and wealth he had acquired on Dragon Fruit Island. Bege dispatched several Sea Patrolling Beasts and a number of his officers to escort them, ensuring their safe passage home. Escorting the Fish-Man Island trade caravan would become a regular mission from now on.
The diplomatic visit and trade mission had been a resounding success. The people of Fish-Man Island had witnessed firsthand the kindness of the humans under Bege's rule, and the trade had been hugely profitable. In the future, many more Fish-Men would surely come to his territory to do business. It was a good start.
He left Shirahoshi with Modi to be trained for a while, then set off alone for the Alabasta Kingdom to find its Poneglyph.
The Alabasta Kingdom was a great nation located on Sandy Island in the Grand Line. Its royal family, the Nefertari family, was one of the twenty royal families that had founded the World Government 800 years ago—the ancestors of the present-day Celestial Dragons. However, the Nefertari family had refused to move to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise and become Celestial Dragons. Nevertheless, they still held significant influence within the World Government.
Bege rode a small Waver, speeding across the sea, and quickly reached Sunday Island, a landing point for Alabasta. Before he even set foot on the island, he saw a group of strange, green, turtle-shelled creatures practicing boxing on the beach, letting out rhythmic shouts of "Hey! Ha!" The sight of a group of animals practicing boxing in such an orderly fashion was rather bizarre.
As his Waver approached, the green-shelled creatures' eyes lit up. They stopped their training and swarmed around him.
"Kung Fu Dugongs," Bege smiled. These creatures were indeed Kung Fu Dugongs, fanatical martial arts enthusiasts who challenged anyone they met to a fight. They had a custom of taking anyone who defeated them as their master. In the original story, after Luffy easily defeated them, they had pledged allegiance to him.
One of the Kung Fu Dugongs stepped forward and began speaking to Bege in a series of gurgles. Though Bege couldn't understand a word, its gestures made it clear that it wanted to have a martial arts contest.
"Interesting. I'll play along," Bege grinned.
He had a mind to take these Kung Fu Dugongs with him. There were many strange animals in this world, but in his opinion, the Kung Fu Dugongs ranked in the top ten for potential. In the original story, the group Luffy defeated went on to form the Sea Beast Pirates and set out to sea in pursuit of freedom. In their two years of sailing, they had actually learned to use Armament Haki. Considering that even some pirates in the New World with bounties over one or two hundred million had not mastered it, this alone was a testament to their potential. And they had learned it on their own, without any guidance. With a proper teacher, wouldn't they be even more incredible?
Since he had run into them by chance, he would naturally take them on as his disciples. He already had a plan for them; perhaps in the future, he could train this group of Kung Fu Dugongs into officer-level fighters.
Seeing that Bege had accepted the challenge, the Kung Fu Dugongs excitedly took their stances. Unsurprisingly, they were all knocked down with a single punch from Bege. Immediately after, the entire group lined up neatly before him and bowed in unison. The scene was quite comical.
Just like that, he had easily taken them on as his disciples. They, in their simple-minded way, followed his command and entered his internal castle.
The Alabasta Kingdom was a desert nation with an extremely hot climate. The moment Bege set foot on its soil, he felt the scorching heat in the air, which was quite uncomfortable. He deployed his external space, forming an invisible barrier around his body to block out the oppressive heat.
Where to first? Get the Poneglyph? At this point in time, I wonder if Crocodile has already established Baroque Works in Alabasta. His Sand-Sand Fruit is a must-have ability, and some of his subordinates have decent Devil Fruits as well. I might as well take them all. I wonder if Nico Robin is with Baroque Works yet. She can read the Poneglyphs, and I need that ability. Bege thought as he walked.
The Poneglyph supposedly won't be discovered for another ten years, so there's no rush. I'll go look for Crocodile first. After a moment of consideration, he settled on his target.
Baroque Works.
Baroque Works was a criminal organization founded by Sir Crocodile. Its ultimate goal was "Operation Utopia": to overthrow the Alabasta Kingdom's rule, establish a powerful military force with Alabasta as its base, and find one of the three Ancient Weapons, Pluton, to gain even greater power.
Crocodile was a cruel but meticulous man. His long-running Operation Utopia was a testament to his brilliant strategic mind. In the original story, if not for the interference of the protagonist, Luffy, with his plot armor, he would have likely succeeded in taking control of the kingdom.
Of course, neither the Crocodile of now nor the Crocodile of the future was much of a threat in Bege's eyes. What he was interested in was Crocodile's Logia-type Sand-Sand Fruit. In his hands, that fruit could certainly be used to cultivate a high-ranking officer.
The only uncertainty was whether Crocodile had established Baroque Works in Alabasta yet. If he remembered correctly, Operation Utopia was not set to begin for another seven years. At this stage, he had no idea if Crocodile was even in the country.
A Waver could also be used in the desert. Bege rode it across the sands, speeding toward the heart of the Alabasta Kingdom.
He hadn't gone far before he was targeted by a desert predator. A giant lizard burst from beneath the sand and lunged at him, its massive, several-inch-long teeth clamping down hard on his body.
Bege was completely unharmed. The giant lizard's teeth cracked and shattered, and it retreated in a state of shock. Immediately after, another giant lizard emerged, its tail whipping around like a lash to bind him. Its massive claws struck viciously at his head, but they too were unable to break through his invisible barrier.
With a casual wave of his hand, Bege sent the giant lizard flying more than ten meters away. He recognized these two large reptiles: they were Sandora Great Lizards, the apex predators of the Alabasta desert.
Adhering to his principle of never letting a good opportunity pass, Bege captured both lizards in his internal castle, intending to use them as fusion material for Ben Kosa.