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"You've gotta be kidding me! What the hell is this?!"
When Bai Ye opened his eyes again, he was completely stunned by what he saw in front of him.
"Was that all just a dream?"
Everything in front of him looked so familiar that he froze.
This room—wasn't this his old bedroom, the one he used to sleep in before he crossed over into the One Piece world?
Bai Ye shook his head. He still couldn't bring himself to believe it.
All the memories from the One Piece world started flooding back.
If that whole thing had just been some dream, there's no way he'd remember it all in such detail.
And seriously—who dreams about dying such an epic death?
What is this, a novel?
Bai Ye felt like he had a million things to rant about, but didn't even know where to begin.
Then suddenly, something clicked in his head.
He formed a hand seal—
[Xun Hexagram—Will-o'-the-Wind!]
Silence.
Complete, dead silence.
He couldn't activate his Qimen techniques. Couldn't sense even a trace of his innate energy.
Now Bai Ye was really starting to doubt himself.
Was he really dreaming?
After thinking it over for a while, Bai Ye came up with two possibilities.
One of them was—
Maybe he really had traveled to another world... and after dying, somehow traveled back again?
That thought made Bai Ye wonder—
Luffy, and the others... they'd probably be heartbroken, huh?
"Hahaha! Bai Ye's not dead, that's awesome!!!"
After Ace finished speaking, Luffy looked at the big white cocoon on the ground and burst out laughing.
Then he clapped his hands together and said seriously:
"Well then, let me get you outta there, Bai Ye!"
Just as he was about to make a move—
[Gum-Gum…]
BAM!!!
Zoro, Sanji, and Ace all smacked Luffy on the back of the head at the same time.
"Are you stupid?!" x3
They all shouted in perfect unison.
The three of them even looked at each other for a second.
For some reason, a strange sense of camaraderie sparked between them.
"We should take Bai Ye with us and let Chopper take a look at him," Sanji said. "Even if Chopper doesn't totally get what's going on, it's still worth a try."
Zoro didn't argue—he just nodded silently.
When it came to Bai Ye, even he wasn't in the mood to bicker with the curly-browed cook.
As for Ace, he had no idea who Chopper even was, but he didn't ask.
Instead, he turned his head, held down the brim of his cowboy hat, and said:
"Before that… we've got some trouble to deal with."
Footsteps started echoing in the distance.
The marines that had been knocked out earlier by Luffy's Conqueror's Haki were all waking up and regrouping.
They gathered behind Smoker and Tashigi.
"Straw Hat and friends—you're not going anywhere."
Smoker calmly puffed his cigar as he spoke.
Even a fool could see that the situation was completely against the Navy right now.
But still, Smoker intended to carry out his duty as a Marine.
Seeing this, not only did Ace's smile fade—
Sanji lit another cigarette, Zoro drew his three swords.
Luffy stepped in front of Bai Ye's cocoon, lowered the brim of his hat with one hand, and stared forward with a blank expression.
The tension in the air was palpable—like a spark could ignite a war!
And just when things were about to explode—
A voice suddenly rang out from the sky.
"Stop!!!"
Then came the cry of a large bird.
Looking up, they saw it was Princess Vivi shouting.
Beneath her was a man in full flight mode—it was Pell, the deputy commander of the Royal Guard.
He'd eaten the Bird-Bird Fruit: Falcon Model.
On Pell's back were several more figures.
"Nami! Usopp! Chopper?!"
Sanji looked shocked. He'd specifically told them to take the ship and leave.
Yet here they were—back again—and with Princess Vivi no less.
At that moment, Vivi looked at Smoker and the other Marines and said:
"To arrest a few pirates, the Navy went so far as to wreck an entire city like this?"
Her tone grew more serious, even tinged with authority.
"Are you trying to provoke Alabasta?"
"Here and now, in the name of the Princess of Alabasta, a member nation of the World Government, I declare—"
Vivi's eyes sharpened as she continued:
"You have one hour to leave Alabasta's territorial waters."
"If not, prepare to answer to the World Government."
As soon as she finished, Tashigi spoke up first:
"It's true the Navy acted without consulting the royal family. That was a mistake—Tina admits that."
"But Tina hopes Princess Vivi will grant us a little more time."
She then pointed at Luffy and the others.
"Because we still have to capture these dangerous pirates and bring them to justice."
Before Vivi could respond, Tashigi's expression changed slightly and she added:
"If the Princess refuses, then…
…can Tina assume you're harboring pirates?"
That was a low blow—hitting her right where it hurt.
Just a moment ago, Vivi had invoked her title as a royal of a World Government member nation.
Now Tashigi was using that same authority to box her in.
Tina looked super confident.
From the way she acted, it was obvious she thought Princess Vivi would eventually give in under pressure.
At the same time, Ace and the others were ready to jump in at any moment.
But Sanji and the rest weren't blaming Vivi at all. After all, she was a princess.
With a rebellion going on back home, the fact that she was helping out this much already was more than enough—they were grateful.
But what caught them all off guard was how quickly Vivi responded.
And how firm she sounded:
"That's right!"
Vivi stood tall on top of Pell's back, looking down at Tina and the rest of the Marines like a queen surveying her court.
"So what if I'm covering for them? And what if I'm not? Don't forget—this is Alabasta."
"Here, we have the authority to handle things our way. Got a problem with that?"
"If you do, then go ahead—report it to the World Government. Let them send someone over to talk to us."
Her voice got stronger and stronger with each word:
"Or what? You think just two Navy Headquarters captains are enough to push around the princess of Alabasta?!"
That last line—honestly, it sounded less like a question and more like a warning to Tina.
After all, the Navy was the World Government's military hammer for enforcing justice. And Alabasta? It was one of their allied nations.
To put it bluntly—
The Navy was basically just a dog fed by the member nations.
It's just that, in this age of pirates, the Navy had gotten a bit too powerful for its own good.
That's also why, whenever the Navy had to deal with matters in member nations, they often had to tread lightly.
Tina was left speechless. For a moment, she had no idea how to respond.
She really hadn't expected this young-looking princess to be so sharp.
Not only had Vivi avoided falling into the trap she'd set—admitting ties with the Straw Hats—but she'd flipped the whole situation around by leaning on her status as royalty of a World Government ally.
Tina knew that without orders from Marine HQ, if she kept pushing this any further…
She'd be creating a whole new mess—for herself and for the Navy.
Meanwhile, Smoker was already out of ideas.
He just kept glaring at Luffy and his crew across from him, wondering if he could maybe pull off a quick sneak attack and end this fast.
But after a few seconds, he gave up on that idea.
All he could do now was puff angrily on his cigar like his life depended on it.
"....."