Just as Tomioka and Luffy stepped onto the street leading to the plaza, a smiling voice rang out behind them.
"Tomioka, aren't you going to say a proper goodbye?"
Both of them turned around at the same time, only to see Sabo, dressed in a long robe that completely covered him, standing at a nearby street corner, watching them.
He walked over, explaining in a relaxed tone, "There were Marines there just now, so it wasn't convenient for me to show my face in front of them."
"Who is it?"
Luffy tilted his head, looking at Tomioka with curiosity, "Is it someone you know?"
"A traveler I met in Katorea, and he's also here to help Alabasta."
"Oh, so he's a good person too! Hehehehe."
Since the other party was there to say goodbye, Tomioka nodded slightly to Sabo, "Goodbye."
After speaking, he prepared to continue with Luffy to the plaza.
Tomioka didn't notice that Sabo didn't respond, but instead stood frozen in place, his gaze not on Tomioka, but fixed on Luffy, who was wearing a Mugiwara beside him.
Sabo's hand, wearing a brown glove, even unconsciously rose into the air, reaching slightly forward, as if trying to grasp something.
Watching Tomioka and Luffy turn and leave, Sabo finally couldn't help but speak, his voice carrying a hint of urgency that even he didn't detect:
"Wait… wait a minute."
"Huh? What?"
Luffy turned his head back in confusion, his neck twisted at an exaggerated angle.
But Sabo himself was also a bit lost; he shook his head, covering his forehead, "I just feel… a very familiar feeling…"
His voice was even deeper than before, even trembling slightly.
"What?" Tomioka also stopped, turning to look at Sabo.
"I… don't know…"
Sabo's brows were tightly furrowed, and just as he tried to grasp that sense of familiarity, a sharp pain shot through his mind.
In that fleeting moment, he seemed to hear the vibrant laughter of several children, but the sound was blurry and too quick for him to catch.
Just then, the neat footsteps and shouts of a Marine patrol team came from the other side of the street corner: "All teams, attention! Keep an eye out for a woman wearing a white cowboy hat and a white coat! Arrest her immediately upon discovery!"
This sound was like a bucket of cold water, pulling Sabo back to reality from that inexplicable emotion.
His eyes quickly regained their calm, the pain on his face suppressed, and then he pulled out a unique mini-Den Den Mushi with goggles on its casing from his Pregnant, gripping it tightly and handing it to Tomioka.
As he did this, a trace of surprise flashed through Sabo's own mind.
Why would he give such an important contact method to someone he had only known for half a day?
His gaze uncontrollably swept over Luffy's brightly smiling face again, and a thought naturally began to emerge.
I don't know why… but I just feel like I can't leave this guy alone.
"This is a Den Den Mushi that can contact me directly."
Sabo said to Tomioka, "Now Alabasta is full of Marines, it's time for me to leave."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Luffy snatched the Den Den Mushi from Tomioka's hand, holding it in front of his eyes and curiously poking at it, "Wow! Is that so? Tomioka, you made a friend!"
Tomioka looked at his empty palm where Luffy had taken the Den Den Mushi, then looked at Sabo.
Although he had only known the other party for half a day, the experience of going to the Rebel Army base camp together and crossing the desert, as well as the solemn gift at this moment, filled him with an inexplicable joy.
"Are you a pirate too?"
Luffy asked while playing with the Den Den Mushi.
Watching the Marine patrol network gradually increase, Sabo made a nimble leap, landing on the rooftop of a nearby building, and he turned back, taking one last look at Luffy.
"No, my name is Sabo, and I am a Revolutionary Army member."
After speaking, his figure moved several times across the rooftops, disappearing into the complex architecture of Alabasta.
"Revolutionary Army?"
Luffy rested his chin on his hand, a thoughtful expression on his face, and he tilted his head, muttering to himself, "Eh? Why does this name… feel like…"
"Sabo!?"
Tomioka stared at the rooftop where Sabo had disappeared, saying nothing. But his heart, like Luffy's, was stirred by Sabo's last words.
Sa, bo.
He clearly remembered that on that night in Katorea, the name the other person personally told him was…
Sa, er.
He, lied, to, me… As Tomioka and Luffy, each with their own thoughts, arrived at Alabasta's central plaza, they saw Vivi's distinctive blue hair from afar.
She was looking up, anxiously gazing at the towering clock tower in the center of the plaza.
"Luffy! Tomioka!" Vivi saw them and waved, calling out.
"Vivi! What are you doing?"
Vivi pointed to the top of the clock tower, a hint of panic still on her face: "We were supposed to go, but Chaka smelled gunpowder here, and it seems to be right on top of the clock tower!"
"Chaka?"
As if in response to Luffy's question, a wolf's head suddenly peered out from a window on the top floor of the clock tower.
"Princess Vivi! The explosives are confirmed to be here, and they might be about to explode!" Chaka's voice came from above, every word filled with urgency.
"Explode!?"
Luffy's eyes widened instantly.
Vivi looked around; although most of the citizens had already been evacuated, she could still vaguely see some figures, "There might still be some citizens who haven't fully evacuated, what should we do…"
"This kind of thing, can't we just throw it away?"
Luffy mumbled, pushing off with his legs, swinging his arms, and firmly grasping the edge of the clock tower's top, pulling himself up!
Under the gaze of Tomioka and Vivi, Luffy deftly climbed inside, then immediately smashed the ceiling of the top with a few punches.
"Tomioka! Help!" Luffy's voice came from above.
Tomioka tapped his toes, and his lithe figure quickly leaped onto the clock tower, using several points of leverage.
In the narrow space at the top of the clock tower, a huge bomb lay silently. Luffy had his arms wrapped around it, his face flushed red; the thing was indeed quite heavy.
"One! Two! Three!"
With the combined effort of Tomioka and Chaka, the three finally lifted the heavy and dangerous object from inside the clock tower to the already shattered top.
"Rubber!"
Luffy stood steady on top of the clock tower, holding the bomb above his head, and began to spin rapidly like a windmill, "…Bomb toss!!!"
Vivi's heart below almost leaped into her throat. She looked around, immediately pointed to the north of the city, and shouted loudly: "Luffy! Throw it that way! You must throw it out! Be careful!"
"No prob… lem!!!"
Accompanied by a roar of all his might, Luffy's spinning body abruptly stopped, and he hurled the huge bomb towards the north, where Vivi pointed.
The bomb drew a long arc in the air, crossing over shattered rooftops, over empty streets, and finally plunged into the distant desert.
"Boom ————!!!"
A few seconds later, a dull roar came from the north, and even from a long distance, a slight tremor of the ground beneath their feet could be felt.
"Done!"