In a certain airspace.
Luffy held Vivi like a princess and flew swiftly toward the Alabasta Kingdom from an altitude of over 4,000 meters.
Whenever a white flame appeared beneath their feet, it would instantly explode at an incredibly high speed, leaving a streak in the air.
Afterward, the speed would slow, and they would enter the next jump, repeating the process.
For the Going Merry or the Thousand Sunny, the journey would take two days and two nights, but for Luffy in his Gear Fifth form, it would only take twenty minutes.
And that was with him intentionally slowing down. If he ignored his physical endurance and pushed himself to the limit, he could arrive in just five minutes.
"Ahhhhhh~"
Vivi shut her eyes tightly and screamed in fear.
She buried her head in Luffy's chest and said, "L-Luffy, can you slow down a bit? It's too fast!"
"If you don't hold on so tightly, I can go even faster."
He teased, but Luffy still eased the speed a little.
If the princess wasn't in a hurry, neither was he.
Feeling the wind ease against her skin, Vivi took a deep breath and slightly opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was the face of the man holding her.
His gaze was steady, his forehead covered in sweat, and his breathing slightly heavy.
Vivi bit her lip, feeling as if something soft within her heart had been touched.
To him, this journey was extremely dangerous. As a Devil Fruit user, if he ran out of stamina and fell into the sea...
The consequences would be unimaginable!
Yet even so, once he understood the urgency, he didn't hesitate and carried her without a second thought.
"I'm sorry, Luffy. You must be tired." Vivi unconsciously held on tighter and spoke softly.
"I'm causing you so much trouble, and I'm scared myself."
"I'm not tired." Luffy laughed and shook his head.
The reason he was sweating was because it was hot. You're holding on too tightly—anyone would feel warm. But when Vivi heard this, she took it differently.
He was being strong; he didn't want to worry her.
Vivi was deeply moved, and if it weren't for the national affairs she pretended to care about, she would have been even more touched.
"Now I understand. I won't be afraid! This height is nothing!" she said, taking a deep breath, looking more determined.
"Luffy, please accelerate as much as possible. I can handle any speed!" she continued.
"Are you sure? Even if I can't control it, if I give it my all, I might end up hurting you," Luffy replied.
"Please accelerate!" Vivi said seriously.
If you run out of stamina, I'll carry you! she thought to herself. She knew Geppo, though she had never tried carrying someone while using it. But if something unexpected happened, she would definitely endure it.
"In that case, I'll speed up," Luffy said.
With a single thought, Luffy formed an invisible shield of Haki around them. In an instant, a larger cloud of white flames appeared beneath his feet.
Boom!!
With a thunderous roar, his speed reached a new level.
The sound couldn't catch up with them and was left behind.
Supersonic speed!
But it lasted less than a second before fading quickly.
Vivi held her breath nervously and looked at the sea below. In the blink of an eye, the Sea Kings that had surfaced disappeared.
But she didn't feel the pressure of the wind—it was blocked by Haki.
Vivi's eyes trembled slightly. She gradually withdrew her gaze and focused on the face so close to hers. Then she closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest.
Time passed silently.
"I can see Alabasta," Luffy said softly.
The distant island rapidly expanded in his vision until, with a loud crash, they landed directly onto it.
To be more precise, they crashed into a building.
A port city.
A restaurant.
Ace suddenly looked up, his face covered in grains of fried rice.
He rubbed his eyes and became slightly more alert.
"Not good, I fell asleep again. Huh? Where's the owner?"
Not seeing the bar owner, he didn't think much of it and brought the spoon to his mouth.
As he chewed the delicious fried rice, he silently activated his Observation Haki.
He heard many sounds.
The panicked voices of the people, words exchanged between individuals, the sound of the military running in formation, and in the distance, the clatter of horse hooves.
"It's really chaotic. When will Luffy arrive? Maybe he didn't take that route? Only one chance in seven."
Starting from Cape Gemini, only one of the seven magnetic routes passed through Alabasta.
"Just a few more days… Huh?"
Ace was about to deactivate his Haki when suddenly, an aura entered his detection range—like a sun rising in the dead of night, impossible to ignore.
His hand froze mid-bite.
"What is it?"
He looked up in astonishment, toward a spot above and to the side.
At that instant—
Boom!!
The ceiling of the restaurant shattered as a figure fell through, raising a cloud of dust.
Everything happened too fast.
From sensing the presence with Haki to glancing upward.
In that short moment, the other party had already arrived in front of him.
The restaurant counter splintered from the impact, and the food on the table tumbled to the ground.
"So fast!!!"
Ace stood with his spoon raised, stunned for several seconds before suddenly snapping back to reality, his sharp gaze fixed on the bar counter.
The dust gradually settled, slowly revealing the intruders.
There were two of them.
A man and a woman.
The man held the woman, maintaining a landing posture, knees slightly bent, absorbing the shock.
Amazingly, despite such a powerful impact, the ground remained intact!
No—the ground had softened!
Like rubber, it sank, then gradually bounced back to normal.
Ace's jaw dropped, his gaze climbing slowly to the man's face.
"Lu…"
His eyes widened and he instinctively tried to call out Luffy's name.
But the "ffy" didn't come out. He stopped again.
The figure reminded him of Luffy but felt different.
"?"
Luffy also paused, just now realizing someone had been sitting nearby.
"Luffy?!"
Ace blurted out in disbelief. "Is it really you?"
Luffy was just as surprised to see him.
Vivi, still trembling, slowly opened her eyes and happened to spot Ace.
"Luffy, are we… here?" she asked softly, still shaken.
Only when she spoke did Ace turn his attention to her.
The man held the woman, and the woman held the man.
Anyone would think the same in this situation.
"Is this my sister-in-law?"
Ace was first surprised, then grinned.
After three years, his idiot little brother actually had a woman—no, a woman who liked Luffy?!
Unbelievable!
As the older brother, he had to be polite and leave a good impression on the sister-in-law. He couldn't mess up his younger brother's relationship.
Thinking that, he quickly stood and bowed 90 degrees.
"Hello, I'm Ace. Thank you for taking care of my useless little brother."
"Erm…"
Vivi looked confused and instinctively waved her hands. "I'm the one who's always being taken care of by Luffy…"
She looked at Luffy, hoping for help.
Luffy was silent for a moment before saying:
"Why don't you get down first, Vivi?"
"Ah, sorry~"
Vivi blushed and quickly got out of Luffy's arms.
"This is Ace. I mentioned him briefly on Drum Island. He's my sworn brother from childhood."
Luffy explained to Vivi first, then introduced her: "She's Princess Vivi of Alabasta."
Princess?
Pirate and princess?
Ace looked shocked. Did this guy kidnap her?
Pirates love kidnapping princesses.
It's not unusual for princesses to be kidnapped and sold into slavery.
But looking closer, these two seemed close and affectionate.
I'm overthinking it.
No way Luffy would do something like that!
"Long time no see, Luffy!"
Whether she was a princess or not didn't matter. Ace smiled and extended his hand.
"Long time no see."
Luffy slapped his hand aside and shook it.
Next moment, the two locked hands in a grip strength contest.
But clearly, against Luffy in Nika form, Ace stood no chance.
"You've grown, Luffy. By the way, what happened to your appearance?"
"It's a long story, and I doubt you'd be interested, Ace."
As he spoke, Luffy reverted from Nika form.
Ace didn't ask further. "I'm looking for a man named Blackbeard…"
Luffy shook his head. "I don't have time to chat. I've got something important to do."
He looked at Vivi.
Understanding the signal, Vivi immediately said, "I'm sorry, Luffy, Mr. Ace. You two just reunited, and I'm sure you have a lot to talk about…"
She explained the situation in Alabasta.
Ace couldn't take it!
Crocodile, huh?
A Shichibukai, huh?
Let's fight the Shichibukai!
"Come on, Luffy! Vivi! That bastard dared to pull something like this—unforgivable!"
He led the way out the door.
Vivi blinked. How did another helper appear? And why was he more enthusiastic than her…?
"Luffy, is your brother strong?"
"He ate the Mera Mera no Mi, a Logia-type Devil Fruit, and has a bounty of 575 million berries."
Luffy laughed. "Still, he's not as strong as me!"
"I can't help it, Luffy. After we deal with Crocodile, I want to fight you and see how much you've grown in these three years!"
Ace's voice echoed from outside.
"Let's go."
Luffy smiled slightly and took Vivi's hand.
A completely subconscious act.
Vivi didn't notice and followed naturally.
The three walked side by side down the street.
Noticing the two holding hands, Ace nodded silently.
Hmm, so she is his sister-in-law after all. He misunderstood.
This kid wouldn't kidnap a princess.
Then again… did Luffy really have that kind of charm before?
Men really do change after three days apart. I need to see him in a new light.
That overwhelming aura earlier—Ace might not even be able to beat Luffy now.
"I say, Ace, you're the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates now, right?"
"That's right. Why? You want in?"
Ace smiled, inviting him.
"I'm not interested in being anyone's son."
"Take my advice—step down as Second Division Commander," Luffy said seriously.
"Why?" Ace looked confused.
"Do you know who the previous commander was?"
"Kozuki Oden."
He hadn't known at first, but someone told him later.
He looked at Luffy, puzzled.
"Kozuki Oden. And now you? That position is cursed."
Luffy shook his head.
Oden was boiled and shot. Ace died in the Summit War protecting the old Luffy from Akainu.
But those were just surface reasons.
They were stupid deaths.
If Ace hadn't blocked the attack, Luffy wouldn't have died. He might've even awakened his Devil Fruit then.
He didn't have to die.
The Second Division position must be cursed.
The two chatted along the way. Vivi simply listened, not daring to interrupt.
Only then did she realize—Luffy had been holding her hand the entire time.
Her face turned red as she began to daydream.
"By the way, where are you taking us?"
After a while, Luffy asked.
"I've only been in this country a few days too. Where's Crocodile?"
"If you don't know and still trick us, Ace, you're an idiot."
"Hahaha, don't worry. That guy's after the country, right? He'll definitely appear in the capital. Let's head straight there and wait."
Ace grinned. "Oh, and we should meet Vivi's father. You better behave!"
At those words, Vivi snapped out of her thoughts. Her father had almost been assassinated yesterday!
"I'm very worried about my father's condition. If we go to Alubarna from here, it's this direction…"
She pointed north.
"It's about 220 kilometers to the capital. Luffy, let's head there first!"
Luffy didn't object.
"Then let's go."
The three immediately set off toward the capital on foot.
Thinking of Vivi's father… Nefertari Cobra.
No, his real name was Nefertari D. Cobra.
Luffy had something he was very interested in asking.
A question even more important than Crocodile.
(End of Chapter)
Give me some power stones there you go~😉