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"Well then, I'll see you at the top, Luffy!"
Ace looked at the grown, more mature version of his little brother, smiling.
"Next time, don't cry your eyes out again, hahahaha!"
"Mm!"
Luffy didn't get annoyed at Ace's laughter. Instead, he nodded hard.
He glanced at the big white cocoon again, then looked down at the gloves Bai Ye had given him.
He clenched his fists, looked up at Ace, and said with determination:
"No one's ever getting hurt because of me again!"
"I'm gonna protect my crew!!!"
Eventually, Ace chose to leave.
After all, he was still chasing down a certain traitor who had killed one of his crewmates.
So, after giving Luffy a piece of his Vivre Card, he said goodbye to everyone and set off.
Oh, and by the way—
Right after he left, some top agents from Baroque Works spotted him.
They charged at Ace's little boat with five giant sailing ships in a full-on suicide mission.
And then got completely wiped out by a single Fire Fist from Ace.
Meanwhile, at Marine Headquarters – Sengoku's Office
"DAMN IT!!!"
A thunderous roar exploded—who else but Sengoku?
He'd just hung up on Smoker's Den Den Mushi.
And after hearing Smoker's report, Sengoku was so pissed his goatee practically stood on end.
Then—
BANG!!!
"You bastard, Garp!!!"
Sengoku lunged furiously at the peacefully sleeping Garp.
"Huh? Sengoku, what the hell? You've gone nuts?"
Even Garp was a little stunned at how hard Sengoku was hitting him.
"This is all your grandson's fault!!!"
Sengoku's roar practically shook all of Marineford:
"Buddha Palm!!!"
That day, the news that the Fleet Admiral beat up the Marine Hero spread like wildfire. It quickly became the juiciest gossip among soldiers—and even some officers.
Also that day, Smoker received a secret mission from the Fleet Admiral: deliver the now-crippled Jaki to a classified location.
At first, Smoker tried to refuse. He said he just wanted to keep chasing down the Straw Hats.
So Sengoku gave him a good old-fashioned beatdown too.
He explained that the Straw Hats had definitely left Alabasta by now.
No one would hang around after beating up a Marine Vice Admiral.
"Ahh, I'm so full!"
In Alabasta's royal palace, Luffy rubbed his belly with satisfaction.
Ever since they arrived on the island, this was his first real meal.
He patted the large cocoon that had been sitting next to him this whole time.
Then, turning to Chopper with genuine sympathy, he asked:
"White Night can't eat like this. Do you think he's starving?"
"Chopper, is there any way to feed him?"
Chopper twitched, dark lines forming on his forehead.
"Is that seriously the priority right now?! Luffy, you idiot!"
"Eh?" Luffy blinked, eyes wide, and looked at the others.
"You mean it's not?"
"Of course it's not!!"
"Alright, guys," Nami finally spoke up, steering the conversation back on track. "Let's talk about what we're doing next."
She looked up at the group and continued:
"We still have no idea what's going on with White Night."
"We don't know if things are going to change drastically."
"So the most important thing right now is to finish up the situation in Alabasta as fast as possible, then head back to Drum Island and ask Doctor Kureha for help."
That's right—none of them were planning to leave just yet.
They were going to handle things here first, then go look for help.
For one, even though Chopper couldn't explain why White Night was in a cocoon, he said the situation was stable for now.
For another, they'd made a promise to Vivi.
After traveling with her for so long, they had already come to see Vivi as one of their own.
And they intended to keep their promise, no matter what.
Besides, they blamed White Night's condition on Crocodile.
If it weren't for him, the Straw Hats might not have even passed through Alabasta.
And if not for his scheming and the rebellion, the Marines wouldn't have sent such high-level enemies.
So yeah.
Screw Crocodile.
Nami broke down their current situation clearly.
And for some reason, while explaining everything, she suddenly thought of White Night.
Her mind drifted a little.
Normally, whenever something unexpected happened, White Night was the one who stood at the front, analyzing the situation.
He'd calmly break everything down in just a few words and assign everyone their tasks.
Every time, he was so confident. So composed.
Every time, he led them through it.
It was only now that Nami truly realized just how important White Night was to their crew.
And she wasn't the only one. Even Chopper, who was still new, could feel it.
They'd all grown used to having White Night around.
Most importantly, with White Night gone, who the heck was gonna keep Luffy in check?
"Alright then, let's stick to White Night's plan."
Everyone was still silent when Luffy stood up, tilting his straw hat and speaking with determination.
"Stick to the plan?"
Even Vivi couldn't believe what she was hearing. Luffy? Following a plan?
This was the guy who'd usually scream "I'm gonna punch Crocodile into next week!" and charge out the door.
Now he was talking about plans?
"That plan's White Night's, right?"
Seeing everyone's stunned faces, Luffy grinned:
"We've made it this far because of his plans."
Then he patted the cocoon beside him like he was patting White Night on the back.
"White Night's sleeping right now, but we can't let his plan go to waste."
His smile was full of confidence and hope:
"After all, he's our vice-captain, right?"
Everyone froze for a few seconds.
Zoro smirked and grabbed his three swords.
"Didn't expect you to say something like that."
"I didn't manage to master cutting steel when I fought that Navy woman. Guess this is my next shot."
Sanji lit a cigarette and blew out a puff of smoke:
"Now you're finally starting to act like a real captain, Luffy."
"Give us the orders, Captain."
Nami, Usopp, and Chopper were practically starry-eyed as they looked at Luffy.
"For some reason, Luffy's actually really cool right now!"
Vivi got swept up in the atmosphere too. She stood up, looking determined:
"As the Princess of Alabasta, I promise I'll do everything I can to help you guys carry out this plan."
Luffy clapped his hands with confidence.
"Awesome! So, uh… what was White Night's plan again?"
Zoro: …
Sanji: …
Nami and the rest: …
YOU IDIOT! Give us back our emotional moment!!!
"....."