Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Journey to Raftel! With the speed of Luffy’s somersault clouds, the Straw Hats arrive in Rainbase much earlier than in canon! Crocodile might be expecting some opposition, but he has little to no actual intel on the Straw Hats. Won’t he be surprised when the doors of his casino get kicked in! The Warlord is about to reach the ‘Find out’ part of FAFO. However, Operation Utopia already has the Agents in place to carry out their roles…can the imminent final clash between the rebels and the royal army be stopped?
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So, without further delay, please enjoy.
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Chapter 28 – Casino Raid, Countdown to Operation
“I see it!” Vivi called out as they crested the last dune between them and their destination on Luffy’s magical golden clouds. “That’s Rainbase!”
“Do you think they know we’re here?” Zoro questioned, referring to Baroque Works and their informants all over Alabasta.
Vivi nodded as they group flew closer and closer to the gambling oasis. “It’s possible.”
“Then should we try to sneak into the city?” Carina asked the obvious question. “If the Baroque Works people know we’re in Rainbase, who knows what they’ll do?”
“You did say that a lot of them specialize in assassination.” Reiju said as she scanned the outskirts of the city.
Luffy…and his copies…all looked at his nakama like they were saying something weird. “We just need to find Crocodile and kick his ass!” They declared in unison while punching their right fists into their left palms.
“Were you even listening?!” Nami demanded while face palming at Luffy’s ‘direct method’ approach.
“Actually, Nami…” Vivi spoke up with a determined expression. “I agree with Luffy. We don’t have time to make plans.”
Carina snickered at that. “You’re not afraid, are you, Nami?” She teased her longtime rival turned girlfriend.
“I’m ready to fight!” Chopper declared as he stood atop the somersault cloud that he was riding, his arms raised high.
“I’ll protect the women!” Sanji declared with a large smile. “Just call me Prince Charming!”
Zoro looked at Sanji with a blank expression. “Prince of idiots, maybe.”
“Shut it, Marimo!” Sanji barked back at the swordsman.
The golden clouds landed on the very outskirts of the Rainbase oasis and dispersed, along with Luffy’s copies. The Straw Hats checked their remaining supplies before stashing them in an alleyway and covering them with old discarded barrels and a worn and tattered tarp. They could always come back for them later, and in the event they were taken, nothing much of real value would be lost.
“Where are we headed, Vivi?” Luffy questioned as the group began walking through the main street of Rainbase.
“There,” Vivi pointed to the tallest building in the casino town. “See the building with the crocodile on top? That’s Rain Dinners, Crocodile’s casino!”
Luffy punched his right fist into his left palm. “Right!”
As they walked straight through the main street, Vivi made sure to hide her face and hair with a hood and a cloth wrapped around her lower face. Surprisingly, they weren’t accosted by anyone as they walked. Even those that Vivi quietly pointed out as being Baroque Works Millions that were posted in various places along the main thoroughfare didn’t seem to recognize any of them. It was a boon caused by the elimination of the Unluckies back at the Twin Capes, and one that the Straw Hats would make full use of to close in on Rain Dinners.
The pyramid-shaped casino with the golden crocodile head on top was surrounded by a deep moat of water and lined with palm trees. A large sign bearing the name of the casino stood at the front of the stone bridge over the moat, welcoming customers to play the games within in hopes of winning riches.
The group walked across the stone bridge, but one of the two men in suits standing by the large front doors stepped forward with a customer service smile.
“I’m sorry, valued guests, but we do not allow weapons in the casino.” The man said as he eyed Zoro’s three swords. “We’d be happy to hold them for you until you’re done playing.”
Zoro’s face was stone cold, his eyes fierce as if daring the suited man to try and take his swords from him.
Luffy ignored all of that as he walked right past both of the doormen. “Crocodile!” He bellowed loudly while kicking in the double doors of the casino. The doors went sailing through the air and slammed into the floor a dozen meters away from the entrance.
“We could’ve just walked in normally…” Nami’s exasperation was practically tangible.
“No we couldn’t.” Zoro disagreed as he put his hands on his swords.
Dozens of Millions members that had been stationed around the casino saw the commotion at the front doors and quickly started gathering.
“Hey you! What do you guys think you’re doing?!” One large man with an equally large metal club demanded of the Straw Hats.
“Yeah! Don’t you know who owns this casino?!” A different man with a pistol holstered at his waist yelled.
More and more of the Millions were gathering and the townspeople were scattering, most heading into nearby buildings and peeking out of windows to see what was about to happen at Sir Crocodile’s casino. Luffy had already walked into the casino and Vivi was lightly pushed inside to follow him by both Carina and Reiju as the rest of the Straw Hats were already prepared to ‘hold the line’ and keep the Millions at bay.
There were several screams as many patrons of Rain Dinners backed away from the man that had just kicked in the doors. The floor manager sent security to deal with the ruffian in the straw hat. Three large men in black suits approached Luffy. The young man and the woman right behind him were walking inside as if they were regular patrons, like they hadn’t kicked in the doors for some reason, but the three security enforcers didn’t care.
‘Where are you?’ Luffy tried reaching out with his Observation Haki, but his range wasn’t that great yet. He felt one ‘voice’ that was much stronger than all of the others in the large main room of the casino. It was calm from what he could tell and Luffy decided that a stronger ‘voice’ meant someone that was important. He immediately started heading towards the ‘voice’ on the other side of the huge gambling floor.
“Hey, you think you can just bust in here and damage the casino’s property?” The lead enforcer demanded of the shorter Luffy.
“Move.” Luffy glanced at the three large men and with swift movements palmed the side of each of their heads and shoved. All three men went from trying to intimidate Luffy and Vivi by looming over them to flying through the air and slamming into the far walls. Their limp bodies hit the floor a moment later and made it VERY clear that all of them were unconscious.
The show of violence led to more screams as many patrons began to flee the casino entirely, only to stop at the broken front doors and watch in shock, disbelief, and some fear as the rest of the Straw Hat crew was beating the hell from the Millions in a massive brawl just across the stone bridge, the only way over the moat and therefore out of the casino. The patrons of Rain Dinners now knew what it felt like to be caught between a rock and a hard place. Most just stayed standing where they were, not wanting to potentially leap out of the frying pan and end up in the fire.
Luffy walked towards the strong ‘voice’, taking note of the smaller points of the same ‘voice’ that were watching him from various angles. His Observation Haki might be a relatively new skill, but he was nothing if not a quick learner when it came to anything that caught his interest.
“Sir, you can’t just cause such a ruckus and approach the Manager!” An older man in a similar black suit to the enforcers tried to stop Luffy. He had a receding hairline, but the rest of his hair was styled into five curved spikes that all pointed upwards. Luffy mentally dubbed him ‘Weird Hair Guy’ and in a blur, he was ‘lightly’ tossed across half the casino and crashed on top of a blackjack table, scattering cards and betting chips everywhere. The Assistant Manager, according to the badge on his coat that Luffy had barely glanced at, joined the other employees in unconsciousness.
“And who might you be, valued customer?” Miss All-Sunday asked as she gave Luffy an amused grin once they stood face to face. Of course she knew who this was, Miss Obon had described the entire group that Princess Vivi had taken refuge with as soon as she’d returned to Alabasta. But those accurate descriptions were a secret between them, one that Crocodile wasn’t privy to. Miss All-Sunday was wearing her rather revealing purple corset which exposed her cleavage since it was only held together at the front by strings, her tanned midriff was also shown off, and she wore a matching skirt with white tassels along the bottom. On her feet were a pair of white, low-heeled boots that went up to mid-shin height with fur around the tops. A body-length, long-sleeved, white coat with seven golden buttons and gold thread embroidery was worn over the revealing outfit. Completing her outfit was a matching, white cowgirl hat.
Vivi nearly hissed as she pulled the cloth from around her lower face. “Miss All-Sunday!”
Luffy smiled at Miss All-Sunday. “Hi, Sunday Lady! Take me to Crocodile so I can smash his face in, please!” He felt good about remembering his manners like Makino had taught him, Ace, and Sabo back in the day. He noticed the tanned woman laughing softly and joined in with his own chuckles.
“Well then, Monkey D. Luffy…Princess Vivi, if you’ll follow me to the V.I.P. Room.” Miss All-Sunday grinned at the two as she turned and her white, ankle-length coat swished around from the movement. Luffy followed after her without concern, as her ‘voice’ was honest and his eyes briefly shown with golden flames, proving she wasn’t being deceitful.
The staff gaped as Miss All-Sunday led Luffy and Vivi into the V.I.P. Room after what Luffy had done. But, as she was the Manager, they didn’t say a word and simply opened the door for the trio. The three of them walked down a short hallway as the large doors closed behind them. Miss All-Sunday took the left path and Luffy followed after her without a care, Vivi following just one step behind him. Seeing that there was a fairly long hallway leading to a set of stairs, Luffy struck up conversation.
“I like your coat; it looks nice on you.” Luffy complimented while mentally patting himself on the back. Women liked being complimented on their clothes, something he’d learned from Makino and was reinforced by Nami, Reiju, and Carina after they’d started their relationship. He did think that it was a nice coat, so he was being honest too.
Vivi nearly gaped at Luffy for complimenting Miss All-Sunday. “Luffy…she’s an enemy.”
Luffy looked at Vivi with a wide grin. “But she’s helping us right now, so we should be nice to her, right?”
“Why thank you,” Miss All-Sunday replied with a small smile, barely holding back a giggle at Luffy’s simple mindset. “I’d say the same, but you’re dressed like a vagabond right now.” She teased him lightly, finding the way Vivi’s eyes narrowed on her rather amusing.
“I am?” Luffy looked down at the clothes he was wearing and had traveled through the desert with. “Maybe Sanji was right then?” He shrugged it off and continued to follow after Miss All-Sunday.
“Why do you wish to fight Crocodile, if I might ask?” Miss All-Sunday questioned Luffy as they approached the flight of stairs. “Alabasta has nothing to do with you, does it?”
“It’s Vivi’s homeland, she’s my nakama, that’s all the reason I need.” Luffy replied easily as they began to descend the stairs.
Vivi couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face at that…or the heat that rose in her cheeks, turning them a soft pink color. “Thank you, Luffy…” She said softly, getting a bright smile from the Captain in return.
“That’s it?” Miss All-Sunday looked over her shoulder at Luffy as they reached the first landing. “That’s all you need to fight one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?”
“Yeah,” Luffy nodded immediately to her question. “What other reason do I need?” He looked at her curiously, as if expecting an actual answer.
Miss All-Sunday shook her head at the young man, barely hiding a look of disbelief by years and years of practice. “You’re an odd one, Monkey D. Luffy. You’d fight a man whose Bounty likely exceeds every pirate that you’ve ever met before…just for someone that you’ve known for all of a month?”
Luffy cocked his head to the side curiously. “Yes…is that weird?”
“By most people’s standards? Yes.” Miss All-Sunday informed the Adventurer as they started descending the next set of stairs. “Would you just fight anyone for the sake of your nakama, Monkey D. Luffy?”
“Of course!” Luffy punched his left fist into his right palm. “I’d do anything to help my nakama!”
“Even if their enemy was the entire world?” Miss All-Sunday cocked an eyebrow at him, gauging his response to her question.
“Yep!” Luffy nodded without hesitation. His eyes told the whole story to Miss All-Sunday; a woman who had spent twenty years hiding her past and her heritage from the World Government and who could read most people like a book.
She stared at him as if he was a madman. “You’re serious…”
Luffy blinked at her confused. “Yeah, I said I was. Did you not hear me?”
‘Why is she asking Luffy such questions?’ Vivi wondered internally. Miss All-Sunday’s probing was clearly checking Luffy’s character and beliefs, even if the Captain didn’t realize it. ‘What could she be after?’
“I honestly don’t know what to say to that…” Miss All-Sunday shook her head again. She felt like she was doing that a lot with Luffy around. “Well, just down these next stairs is where Crocodile is waiting. We’ll see how well you two do, I suppose.” She motioned them down the stairs with a calm expression that was just a step up from stoic.
Luffy grinned as he looked at the last flight of stairs. “Thanks for showing us the way, Sunday Lady.”
Miss All-Sunday gave him the tiniest of smiles before turning to head back upstairs. “Best of luck, Monkey D. Luffy, Princess Vivi.”
“Just Luffy is fine.” Luffy waved at the retreating woman.
“I’ll remember that, if we meet again.” Miss All-Sunday nodded to him. She needed to head for Alubarna quickly, since Miss Obon had been sent ahead early this morning. If by some miracle Vivi and Luffy were able to bring down Crocodile here, then she needed to be at the capital before the Royal Army ran into Crocodile’s contingency plan. Only the King knew where the Poneglyph was hidden after all and she’d have him lead her to it. Not once had she ever cared for Crocodile’s goals anyway. Thankfully, she had access to an Accellegator, or F-Wani as it was also called. They were the fastest terrestrial animals on Sandy Island, so she’d be in Alubarna in less than two hours.
“Let’s go, Vivi!” Luffy said to Vivi, a confident smile on his face that did more than any words could to boost her determination.
“Yes. Let’s end this all right now.” Vivi said, an air of royal authority entering her voice.
‘If things play out in your favor, I just might need to hide beneath the protection of your banner, Monkey D. Luffy.’ Miss All-Sunday mused to herself as she headed up the stairs and towards the area that the F-Wani was kept.
-Rain Dinners Basement-
“Welcome, Princess Vivi,” Crocodile smirked at the princess of Alabasta as soon as she walked through the double doors of his spacious basement office and stood at the top of the flight of stone stairs leading down to where he was sitting at a table still partially filled with food from his early dinner. “You’ve arrived a bit earlier than expected, but I hope you didn’t have too much trouble finding your way here.”
“So, you’re Crocodile?” Luffy questioned the man sitting in the chair at the lavish table.
“I am,” Crocodile grinned as he looked down his nose at the younger man. “I understand you’re here to fight me for Princess Vivi’s sake, Monkey D. Luffy?”
Luffy’s eyes were hard as he and Vivi started walking down the steps. “That’s right.”
“Not the dumbest reason I’ve heard for someone to throw their life away, but it’s up there.” Crocodile mocked the straw-hatted Captain.
Vivi glared at Crocodile in fury for what the man had done to her country while acting under the guise of a hero to the people. “Crocodile…”
Luffy’s feet touched the basement floor. “Are you done?” He asked the Warlord, his tone like steel.
“You’re far from the first arrogant upstart I’ve dealt with; you’ll forgive me if I’m not very concerned.” Crocodile chuckled as he lit a fancy cigar. The end of the Ruyi Jingu Bang slamming into his face was Luffy’s only response and Crocodile crashed onto the floor along with his, now broken, chair.
‘Fast!’ Crocodile’s eyes widened at not being fast enough to shift into sand or even really see the attack coming.
“I’m gonna beat you so badly that you’ll wish you’d never come to Vivi’s country.” Luffy promised as he made a fist with his left hand, cracking his knuckles from the force, while resting his staff over his right shoulder.
“One lucky shot and you’ve got a big head, huh brat?!” Crocodile swirled into sand and reformed on his feet several meters across from Luffy. “Desert Spada!” A blade of sand sliced through the marble floor and headed towards Luffy at high-speed.
“Crocodile!” Vivi charged at the Warlord of the Sea with fury and murder in her eyes, two long Peacock String Slashers spinning from her hands as she closed the distance. But Crocodile only smirked as he’d already shifted his body into sand.
“GAH!” Crocodile cried out in pain as two deep lacerations opened up on his body. One across his scarred face and the other across his chest, staining his clothing with his own blood. His eyes were wide in shock at the pain, but he was an experienced pirate that had once even sailed into the New World, so he took in the weapons that were still spinning through the air and now coated in his blood. ‘Ice? WATER!!!’ He nearly roared in his mind as he dispersed into sand and swirled around the room to try an disorientate his two opponents while he reassessed them.
He didn’t even recognize that he’d done the very thing he often chided rookie pirates about when they possessed Devil Fruits. He’d gotten arrogant and complacent about his Logia intangibility in this half of the Grand Line and assumed that no enemy would be able to touch him. Only to have that notion VIOLENTLY torn away as his blood ran down part of his face and soaked into his clothing across his chest.
Crocodile spoke even as he swirled about the large basement as sand particles. “I never expected you to attack me with weapons made from ice, princess. I’ll have to make you tell me just who clued you in to that little secret before I kill you.” He reformed behind Vivi, his right hand reaching for her neck while his golden hook aimed for her left arm.
Psh
Crocodile’s head exploded into sand particles again as the Ruyi Jingu Bang hit him in a powerful swing that kicked up a strong breeze.
“Damn it!” Luffy cursed as his Armament Haki had failed at the last second. He was rapidly improving with it, but it still had a chance of fading when he fought sometimes.
“I’ll deal with you momentarily…GRK!” Crocodile’s threat was interrupted as three Peacock String Slashers made of ice pierced through him from Vivi’s back before he could grab her. Blood dripped to the floor as Crocodile staggered backwards, one Peacock String Slasher pierced through his left side, another had slashed his collarbone, barely missing his neck, and the third ice weapon had stabbed into his right forearm, forcing it back. “What?!” He grabbed the weapon pierced through his side and pulled it out swiftly before turning into sand just in time to avoid being smashed by Luffy’s staff.
The nice table and the marble floor beneath it weren’t so lucky as the Ruyi Jingu Bang shattered both and threw pieces of them through the air.
“Get back here!” Luffy yelled at the sandy cloud that was Crocodile.
Vivi followed right after Luffy, all five of her ice Peacock String Slashers spinning around her. “Crocodile!”
“So, you ate a Devil Fruit while you were away, Princess Vivi.” Crocodile said, seemingly calm despite his injuries…an ability born from his many years as a pirate. “Something ice-based, clearly. That makes you a thorn in my side that needs to be removed.” His right arm turned to sand and he swiped it forward. “Desert Spada!” A super thin blade of sand raced towards Vivi, the clear threat between her and Luffy, splitting the marble floor and everything else it passed through at high-speed.
Vivi’s Peacock String Slashers were cut through like regular snow, as was her body. Crocodile grinned, seeing the princess fall. “Just like so many rookies before you, having a Devil Fruit power made you think that you were invincible.” He shifted himself into sand as Luffy roared at him, nearly a blur as he came at Crocodile with a powerful kick. “Amateur.”
BAM
His notion of who the greatest threat was to him had just been painfully altered as the kick connected and smashed him into the back wall of the basement, spiderweb cracks spreading across the stone.
“GAKH!!!” Crocodile spat out blood and bile as Luffy’s foot buried him into the stone wall. His eyes nearly bugged out from the force of the blow and the pressure it was putting on his body. ‘Why can’t I move?!’ He questioned himself as his body wouldn’t shift into sand.
“Heh!” Luffy had a wide grin on his face as he kicked off Crocodile’s chest and landed lightly upon the ground. “So, if I use the Body-Freezing Spell, you can’t turn into sand!”
Crocodile fell to his knees on the floor with a painful cough that splattered some blood onto the ground. “The…what?” He glared hatefully at Luffy while forcing himself back to his feet. “SABLES!!!” He roared out as he unleashed a powerful sandstorm that howled and tore up everything within the basement, even the large, thick sheets of reinforced glass that held back the water outside began to scratch and crack under the force.
Amid the howling winds and shearing sands, something equally powerful burst forth.
“I WON’T LET YOU!!!” Vivi roared out as her entire body turned to snow and exploded into a blizzard of such magnitude that everything turned white within the basement. The winds clashed and sand was encased in snow while snow was burst by fast-moving sand. The two forces of nature clashed and tore up more and more of the subterranean room.
“Whoa…” Luffy could barely see anything from within the protective circle that he’d drawn around himself, the clashing blizzard and sandstorm piling up against the invisible and impassible wall.
Crocodile reappeared at the top of the stairs with heavy breaths, blood weeping from dozens of open cuts from his previous injuries and new ones gained from the high-speed shards of ice swirling within Vivi’s blizzard. “A LOGIA?!” He shouted, spitting out some blood onto the stairs. Without waiting for an answer a sphere of swirling sand formed from his right hand, the particles shifting and swirling around and against each other at such high-speed that they generated little sparks of electricity. “SABLES: PESADO!!!” He threw the condensed sandstorm straight into the center of the blizzard and a fraction of a second later it went off like a bomb as it rapidly expanded in all directions.
BOOM
The howling wind and sparks of electricity blasted the blizzard apart, shattered the floor, the ceiling, and the thick, reinforced glass.
-In Front of Rain Dinners-
“How many of these guys are there?!” Carina yelled out as her thick chains whipped through the air at such speeds that everything they touch broke.
One of the Millions with a large sword charged at the Chain Woman, only for his blade to snap in half as a lashing chain hit it without slowing down. “AAAHHH!!!” He cried out in terror, his eyes bugging out at he looked at what remained of his sword.
“A lot from the looks of it.” Zoro mentioned as he cut down three men in a fluid movement while only using two of his swords.
Reiju sidestepped a swing of an attacker’s club and slapped him across the face so hard he slammed into the ground with a toxic purple handprint on his skin. “I think this must be the main staging area for Baroque Works.”
Nami’s burning yellow eyes looked at three Millions that had rifles aimed at her. A swipe of her hand and an arc of fast-moving lava nearly hit them. All three men screaming in panic as they scrambled away from the molten earth. They didn’t get far before a volleyball-sized fireball slammed into each of their backs and exploded, launching the screaming men further away as they burned and rolled about on the sandy ground. “Just keep them out of the casino until Luffy and Vivi deal with Crocodile!”
“How dare you aim at the ladies!” Sanji was a black blur as he spun into a handstand and his feet lashed out in devastating kicks that sent five men flying through the air like ragdolls.
“Horn Point!” Chopper had taken a Rumble Ball and his antlers grew massive and sharp like spears. He charged forward with powerful half-human half-deer legs and strong, muscular arms. Every Millions member he hit went flying, some screaming as they were impaled by the sharp antlers, while others were gored and then nearly crushed under hand and cloven hoof as Chopper trampled right over them.
Rmmmbbbllleee
The ground shook and everyone tried to brace themselves against what felt like an earthquake. The shouts of the citizens of Rainbase made it clear that earthquakes weren’t normal here as people tried to get into doorways or hide under heavy furniture. Even the Millions had stopped fighting and were trying to scramble away into an open area where they didn’t have to worry about any of the falling signs and other debris from the buildings.
The way the water in the moat vibrated before violently exploding upwards hinted that something had collapsed beneath Rain Dinners. That was what got the attention of all the Straw Hats as they wondered just what had happened between Luffy, Vivi, and Crocodile. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to charge into the casino. The moment the shaking of the ground stopped, dozens and dozens of new Millions came charging into the open area surrounding Rain Dinners, weapons drawn and roaring to fight for their unknown Boss.
“Will you ALL JUST FUCK OFF!!!” Nami roared out as she turned into her Full Beast Form, her hair looking as if it had grown longer from how thick the flames were, her skin darkening considerably while swirling patterns and designs glowed molten hot on her skin. Heat poured off of her in a thick haze that made the air visibly shimmer while lava began to drip from her hands and the ground at her feet melted into molten stone and glass. A towering column of fire roared high into the air as the charging Millions nearly fell over themselves to stop as the blistering air stung their skin.
A Volcano Goddess had set foot upon the earth and everyone in Rainbase felt the normal desert heat intensify as any traces of moisture in the air from the oasis’s abundant water vanished in seconds.
“Nami-swan, you look DIVINE!!!” Sanji swooned, his eyes heart-shaped even as he broke out into a savage sweat from being near his nakama.
“Not the time, Sanji!” Reiju snapped at her younger brother. Even is she did agree that Nami looked very sexy like this.
Zoro grimaced slightly as his skin stung from the heat rolling off Nami. “Think you could turn that down a bit?” He asked as sweat poured down his body in a futile effort to try and stay cool.
Chopper had nearly collapsed from the intense heat already, his tongue out as he panted heavily. “I’m…gonna…die…”
“Chill out a bit, Nami!” Carina yelled at her girlfriend with a grimace, the very air around her feeling like sharp, hot needles against her skin. “You’re gonna torch all of us at this rate!”
The Millions that weren’t already on the ground in the early states of heat exhaustion and heatstroke were backing up further and further from the enraged Goddess that stood before them. Yet even as they were sweating heavily, trembling in fear, and mere moments away from bolting, they still held their weapons before them. Years and years of promises of high stations in the new country that their boss Mr. Zero would create over the remains of Alabasta had practically poisoned their minds and fed into their greed to the point that many of them were entirely reliant on Baroque Works and the promises given. Their slowly failing steadfastness was born not out of true loyalty, but desperation and greed.
Nami took a breath and exhaled flames. The towering inferno shrank until it was merely a cloak of flames around Nami, then vanished entirely. The heat haze remained as Nami kept her transformation, still standing in the puddle of molten stone and glass. “Last chance…” Her burning yellow eyes glared at the remaining Millions. “Leave or burn.”
-Inside Rain Dinners-
“Hah…hah…” Crocodile breathed out heavily, his own blood still running down his body in rivulets as he watched the windows that made up part of the walls of the basement shatter and flood the place with water, surely drowning both Vivi and Luffy since they were also Devil Fruit users. “Unexpected…but I win. My plans will not…be foiled…by some upstart and the princess of this…crumbling kingdom.”
A swirling gale of snow blasting out from within the water and slamming into him at ridiculous speed proved the Warlord wrong. When high-speed wind scours deep snow, it doesn't just create ice. It erodes and carves the snowpack into sharp, wavelike ridges that point in the direction of the wind, these are called sastrugi. When these sharp, thin ridges break off from the force of the wind, they become like flying blades hidden within the snowstorm. Crocodile got to experience hundreds of these tiny fragments stabbing and slicing into his body as he was blasted backwards through the wooden double doors and hit the ground further down the short hallway that led to the stairs back up into the casino proper.
Vivi swirled into existence in a cloud of snow, standing over Crocodile’s form as the Suna Suna no Mi user was half-buried in snow. “This ends now, Crocodile.” She said coldly, the authority of a monarch clear in her voice.
“Heh…heh…” Crocodile chuckled as he looked up at Vivi, blood coating his face. “Not only did you steal one of my techniques…you left your little friend to drown just to secure your victory.” He breathed out heavily, even that difficult at the moment. “It seems I underestimated you, princess…we’re more alike than I thought.”
“I’m nothing like you.” Vivi denied with a hateful glare at the man that had brought her country to the brink of collapse and ruin. “Luffy is fine.”
Beneath the water that now flooded the basement, Luffy stood within a light blue orb of what could only be described as mystical energy. His left hand was held in a specific way, like a sign or something as some of his fingers were fully extended, others only partially extended, and his thumb was touching the tip of his middle finger to form a circle. This was the Water Avoidance Charm, an ability that allowed the mythical Sun Wukong to be protected even while submerged in deep water. The major downside to it was that Luffy’s speed was reduced to almost nothing while he maintained it.
“Vivi managed to get above the water enough to escape with her powers. That’s good.” Luffy smiled as he’d been the one to toss her high into the air when the water had come crashing into the basement. He’d watched through the water as a powerful burst of snow had covered the surface for a moment before melting away. “That Croc-bastard destroyed the stairs though…” He saw what little remained of the stone staircase and knew without it he couldn’t slowly walk his way up them while maintaining his Water Avoidance Charm. “Good thing I have my staff!” He smiled widely as he put the butt of the Ruyi Jingu Bang on the floor and had it extend, raising him and the bubble of the Water Avoidance Charm higher and higher, until he cleared the surface and let the charm fade, leaving him holding his staff with his right hand, his feet angled to stand on the perfectly upright staff. “Shishishishi!”
A second later and the extending staff tapped the ceiling and Luffy put his feet on the stone. The Ruyi Jinju Bang shrank back to its regular size so quickly that it left a hole in the water for a fraction of a second. In that same time, Luffy kicked off the ceiling powerfully, landing in the destroyed doorway that led back up to the casino.
“Unlike you, I don’t abandon people.” Vivi said as Luffy walked over to her side.
Crocodile glared at both of them, his right palm flat on the floor. “Ground Secco!” He roared out while cracks rapidly spread out in all directions as his Devil Fruit stole every single drop of moisture, no matter how tiny, from within the stone and mortar that made up this area of the building. The floor, walls, and even part of the ceiling cracked and crumbled, collapsing down onto all three of them. “Be crushed to death just as your kingdom will crumble to nothing! Project Utopia will begin in only a few more hours!” He pulled himself out of the snow, regardless of how much his body screamed in pain, and turned into sand, rising up through the collapsing section of his casino to get outside.
“Luffy!” Vivi wrapped her arms around Luffy even as snow exploded from her back. Thick layers of snow, packed tight to the point of becoming solid, layered one after another over the two of them even as the building collapsed.
‘Outside!’ Crocodile roared in his mind. ‘Once I get into the desert I’ll be able to unleash the full force of my Devil Fruit!’ Crocodile thought to himself as he flowed through the air as a sand cloud, emerging from the collapsed section of the roof of Rain Dinners. Looking down and seeing the cloud of dust and rubble below, he wasn’t sure that would actually stop Vivi since she was a Logia user now. “I’ll head straight for Alubarna and rest for a bit until Operation Utopia is in full swing. Then I’ll finally get what I want.” He swirled the sand around him faster and flew through the air heading east.
-Inside of Rain Dinners-
A dome of snow was buried in the rubble of the collapsed section of the largest casino in Rainbase. Within the dome, Vivi held Luffy tightly, her desire to protect him had led to her using her Devil Fruit in a brand new way.
“This is a cool igloo, Vivi.” Luffy complimented the princess with a grin as he hugged her back.
Vivi opened her eyes and blinked as she saw what she’d done with her Devil Fruit. “I…did this?” She hadn’t thought about doing it. But she was glad that she’d managed it all the same. The thick and solid layers of snow had protected Luffy from the falling debris. “Are you okay, Luffy?” She asked him, looking over him as best as she could with her eyes.
Luffy smiled brightly and playfully flexed his arms. “I’m fine! See?”
“I do.” Vivi giggled, unable to hold herself back at the silly response. “We need to get out of here and catch Crocodile!” She snapped herself back into focus, remembering the leader of Baroque Works was fleeing as they spoke.
“Right!” Luffy became more serious too as he placed his hands on top of the ‘igloo’ and turned into his Full Beast Form. His body became covered in fur and he bulked up to a noticeable degree without becoming much taller at all. His face was fully monkey-like now and his tail thrashed behind him as he pushed upwards. The thick and dense igloo didn’t just lift up as Vivi had expected…it flew straight upwards, knocking aside all of the rubble atop it and escaping through the partially collapsed roof in a white blur, disappearing into the sky until no one could see it anymore.
‘I…don’t think I’ve ever seen Luffy’s full strength before.’ Vivi realized as she looked up at the hole in the roof and the igloo that had completely vanished from sight. Something told her that this STILL wasn’t Luffy’s full power either.
In front of Rain Dinners, the Straw Hats and the Millions watched as part of the roof collapsed and dust rose high into the air. Hidden by the cloud of dust, Crocodile’s sand form flew away towards Alubarna.
Only a moment later and Luffy, on one of his golden somersault clouds, flew after the fleeing Warlord. “CROCODILE!!!” He screeched like an enraged monkey, his staff raised high in the air.
Vivi flew out of the roof as well as a cloud of snow, but she floated down to the rest of the Straw Hats, wanting them to know what had happened before she followed after Luffy to finish their fight with Crocodile. The instant she reformed into her normal body she began to speak. “Guys! Crocodile is…”
“Get them!” One of the Millions yelled suddenly, spurring his comrades into rushing the Straw Hats all at once. The large group saw the brief opening as their only chance to win the fight against the group that had attacked Baroque Works’ hidden base.
Ratatatatatatatatatata
The sound of machine guns was heard in the air as over half of the remaining Millions dropped to the ground screaming in pain. Vivi’s eyes widened as she saw the silhouette of a large bird. A smile broke out onto her face when the bird came into focus. It was a massive falcon with clothing on and the princess knew exactly who it was that had come to their aid.
“A giant bird with machine guns?!” One of the Millions cried out.
“Shoot it down!” Another took aim with his rifle.
The giant falcon swooped low and scattered the Millions with a flap of its wide wings. A quick pivot on his heel and the giant bird transformed into a man, standing right before Vivi and giving her a respectful bow.
“It’s good to see you again, Princess Vivi.” Pell smiled at the young woman.
Vivi beamed at the Royal Guardsman. “Pell!”
“A friend of yours, Vivi?” Nami guessed, seeing the smile on her friend’s face.
“Please wait here for a moment, princess.” Pell said to Vivi as he turned to face the Millions as those still able got back to their feet.
“Pell?” One of the Millions questioned curiously.
Another began to shake, his eyes wide. “Wait…Pell the Falcon?”
“The strongest warrior in Alabasta?!” One of the Millions in a wide-brimmed hat looked like he was moments away from pissing himself.
“Tori Tori no Mi – Model: Falcon…” Pell took on his hybrid form, giving him a falcon-like head, feathered wings emerging from his arms, and his hands became wicked talons. He vanished from sight as the Millions tried to raise whatever guns they had. A whistle of wind was heard before Pell’s voice rang out again. “Flying Claws!”
“Aaarrrggghhh!” All of the Millions went flying through the air with vicious slashes on their bodies; all of them had blood spewing from the large lacerations and they hit the ground hard. Groaning and cries of pain from broken bodies were all that remained of the Millions now.
Pell’s hybrid form returned to sight behind the laid out bodies of the Millions. The Royal Guard was quick to return to Vivi’s side in his normal human state only a few seconds later. Vivi hugged him with a bright smile and Pell chuckled as he returned the hug. He’d known Vivi since she was a little girl. He dared to say he’d spoiled her a bit, much as an uncle would to a favored niece as she was growing up.
“Pell! What’re you doing here?” Vivi questioned, wondering why the Royal Guard was so far from the capital.
“We got your letter from Karoo.” Pell informed her with a serious look. “I’m scouting Rainbase in preparation for the Royal Army to march on the city and take down Crocodile and his organization.”
“Wait…the entire Royal Army is going to fight Crocodile and Baroque Works here?” Reiju questioned, not seeing how that would work when the secret organization was spread out all over Alabasta.
Pell gave a short nod to the pink-haired woman. “Yes, before dawn tomorrow Rainbase will be occupied by the entire Royal Army.” He suspected this woman was an ally of Vivi’s given that they’d been fighting together.
“Pell,” Vivi got the man’s attention. “We’re going to deal with Crocodile here and now! We’re going to take him down and stop the rebellion before any final battle can occur!” She said firmly and with such determination that Pell was reminded of King Cobra when he gave orders.
“We need to follow after Luffy. He was chasing Crocodile towards the desert.” Nami told the Royal Guard, having let go of her transformation once the Millions had been wiped out.
Pell shook his head firmly. “Out of the question, I’ll be taking Princess Vivi to safety immediately.”
Vivi proved just how much she’d matured and toughened up in the last three years away when she put her foot down with Pell. “Absolutely not!” She was thrilled to see Pell again, but she wasn’t the same little girl that needed his protection anymore. “I’m going to fight together with Luffy and stop Crocodile once and for all!” Seeing Pell had not only brought a sense of relief, it had brought back many, many memories for Vivi…several of which had been going flying on the Royal Guard’s back with his Devil Fruit. After ‘stealing’ one of Crocodile’s techniques by seeing it up close, Vivi immediately tried to copy something from Pell as well.
Pell’s eyes widened in shock as Vivi’s arms turned into pure white snow, before bursting into clouds that reformed into equally white wings just as large, if not a bit larger, than his owned transformed wings. With a burst of snow from her feet and a powerful flap of her wings that scattered a thick cloud of snow around the area, Vivi flew into the sky.
“I’m going after Luffy and Crocodile! Pell! Help the others follow after us!” Vivi ordered as she flew away with snow blasting from her legs and her wide white wings spread wide, snow trailing her and spreading widely in thick clouds. To the eyes of all the onlookers, it was as if a pure white peacock had taken flight and blessed them with the rare sight of snow in Alabasta, like some mythical creature from legend.
“Was that really Princess Vivi?” One of the citizens of Rainbase asked just loud enough for others to hear.
“Princess Vivi has returned?”
“She was so gorgeous!”
“She took flight and spread snow!”
The fervor of the crowd for the return of their beloved princess was growing by the second.
“Follow me.” Pell wanted to transform and follow after Vivi, but the princess had given him a direct order.
“Vivi is really loved here.” Chopper said, briefly rolling in the piles of snow laying around from Vivi’s sudden take off. He needed to cool down after being near Nami’s insane heat output!
Sanji smirked and nodded. “When the princess is so gorgeous and sweet, how can anyone not love her?”
Zoro was already following after Pell. “Shut up, Dartbrow. We’ve gotta go.”
“What was that?!” Sanji growled as he speedwalked towards Zoro.
“Sanji!” Reiju snapped at him, quickly moving to intervene as the Straw Hats followed Pell.
Carina giggled as she and Nami jogged after the Royal Guardsman. “Ushishi! Things are getting crazier and we haven’t even seen Crocodile yet!”
Nami eyed the descending sun near the western horizon. “At this rate, it’ll be night before we can catch up though. We should move faster!”
As the group followed after Pell, the man speeding up with almost every step he took, they were unaware of the response of the people of Rainbase behind them.
“Who’re these guys?” One woman asked, looking at all of the downed Millions.
“They were fighting the people that went with Royal Guardsman Pell…and they attacked when Princess Vivi showed up.” An older man with a wooden cane said, glaring at the rough-looking men.
Another man, younger this time, spoke louder. “Are they enemies of the princess?”
A woman nudged one of the unconscious men with her foot. “If they are, they need to be arrested!”
“Someone bring some rope! And call the guard!” A different man called out.
“Grab their weapons too!” A burly man said loudly as he picked up the fallen rifle of one of the Millions.
As the people of Rainbase rallied, the gambling town that practically saw Crocodile as equal to or even more respectable than their own king began to shift opinion. The reappearance of Princess Vivi, clearly fighting some hidden enemy living among them all, had brought back a hope that many of the people didn’t even realize they’d lost. Her new power and the almost ethereal beauty of snow, in the eyes of a desert country that almost never saw it, had bolstered the hope and love of the people again.
In only a short time, the people would be calling Vivi ‘Blessed Princess of Snow’ from what they’d seen today.
-End Chapter-
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Damn, Crocodile! You’re gettin’ your ass whooped! GAWD DAMN!!!
The Warlord of the Sea has reached the ‘Find Out’ stage!
Vivi’s Devil Fruit being a hard counter to his own, even if she’s less experienced with it, makes for quite a different interaction from canon! Luffy still hasn’t master Haki yet, so it fails in battle occasionally. However, Sun Wukong has MANY tricks and it turns out the Body-Freezing Spell can keep a Logia user from slipping away as their element! That might come in handy in the future! Crocodile certainly wasn’t expecting a kick that buried him into a solid stone wall, after all! Kek!
Miss All-Sunday is rapidly heading for Alubarna to meet up with Miss Obon…both seem to have their own goals, completely separate from Crocodile’s.
Meanwhile, the other Officer Agents are already in place to start Operation Utopia across Alabasta! There’s less than ten hours before seven am on the day of the operation and everything begins. Can they be stopped before a final clash can occur between the Rebels and the Royal Army?
Keep reading to find out!
Until next time, later!