Tashigi, the only Marine among the pirates, couldn't help but feel uneasy. She knew too many secrets now. Would the Straw Hats silence her? Would they even let her go back?
But more than that, she was shocked by Luffy.
She never expected that he was sworn brothers with Ace, the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, and Sabo, the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army.
If this news got out, it would shake the entire sea.
Her thoughts drifted to the civil unrest in Alabasta.
The Shichibukai, officially recognized by the World Government and Marines, were the ones causing this country's downfall.
And yet, the World Government and Marines continued to turn a blind eye.
The princess of Alabasta had no choice but to turn to pirates for help.
As someone who always believed in justice, Tashigi found herself questioning everything.
What was right?
What was wrong?
She didn't know anymore.
—
While they ate, Carl briefly recounted his battle with the Golden Lion and the events that followed.
He also got a general understanding of what had happened to the Straw Hats in the meantime.
After Carl blocked the Golden Lion, the Going Merry had managed to escape. But along the way, it crashed into floating island debris, causing serious leaks in the cabin.
With no other option, they had to patch it up temporarily. But it wouldn't last forever—it was only a matter of time before it started leaking again.
So, Nami had Moo Moo drag the ship, hoping to find an island where they could repair the Merry properly.
During their journey, they encountered a massive ship.
From that ship, a strange man with a metal jaw suddenly lunged at them—mouth wide open, trying to bite the Merry.
Unfortunately for him, shiki happened to be nearby. With a casual swipe of his claw, he sent the metal-jawed man flying like a shooting star.
It was pure luck for the Straw Hats. Shortly after, they arrived at the Drum Kingdom, a winter island.
Coincidentally, the man shiki had sent flying also landed there. It turned out to be Wapol, the former king of Drum Kingdom.
Wapol had abandoned his people when Blackbeard attacked the island, choosing to flee and become a pirate instead.
Now, upon returning and finding Blackbeard gone, he was trying to reclaim his throne.
His first step? Taking back the castle.
When the Straw Hats arrived, Wapol was already in a battle against Chopper, Doctor Kureha, and Captain Dalton.
Once again, shiki's claws came out.
Once again, Wapol was sent flying—turned into a shooting star for the second time.
Afterward, Luffy became fascinated by Chopper, the talking reindeer.
He kept pestering Chopper to join his crew.
And as everyone knew, once Luffy set his sights on someone, there was no escape.
Chopper, too, had always dreamed of going out to sea.
Doctor Kureha, seeing this, pretended to be angry and drove Chopper away—giving him the push he needed to follow his dream.
Since then, Chopper had become the ship's doctor and the Straw Hats' unofficial animal language translator.
And, of course, one more emergency food supply.
—
Once the Merry's cabin was repaired, the Straw Hats resumed their journey.
Along the way, they accidentally ran into a peculiar ladyboy in a submarine volcano area—someone who could change faces at will.
Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper, being the way they were, quickly befriended this person.
But after a short nap, Mari recognized him—this was none other than Mr. 2 Bon Clay from Baroque Works.
Thus, another enemy agent was captured.
Now, the Straw Hats had already captured Mr. 2, Mr. 3, Mr. 5, and Miss Valentine. On top of that, Miss Goldenweek had willingly surrendered.
Baroque Works had been significantly weakened.
—
The Straw Hats soon reached the port city of Alabasta, Rainbase.
However, instead of Carl, they unexpectedly ran into Ace.
Then, Smoker appeared, demanding Luffy return Tashigi.
Luffy, finding Smoker annoying, simply punched him unconscious.
Afterward, he did talk to Tashigi, offering her the chance to leave now.
But Tashigi refused—she was determined to continue escorting Vivi.
—
The Straw Hats were soon ambushed by the Baroque Works' Billion agents.
Unfortunately for the enemy, they were weak.
So weak that Usopp handled them alone—by simply shooting at the sky.
With the weaklings out of the way, the Straw Hats followed Vivi's plan and headed toward Yuba.
Meanwhile, Vivi sent Igaram back to the capital, Alubarna, using Karoo to deliver a message.
—
As soon as the Merry reached the west bank of the river, Carl, Sabo, and Law finally reappeared.
"I didn't expect so much to happen while I was gone," Carl remarked.
"Not only did you get new crewmates, but you also captured enemy agents.
We're getting stronger, while the enemy is getting weaker.
Next, taking down Baroque Works should be easy."
That's what Carl said.
But in truth, he was worried.
Not about Crocodile—Crocodile wasn't the problem.
It was Akainu.
If Akainu's warships managed to pin them down, the entire plan would fall apart.
And, more importantly, the Merry's safety was at risk.
Sure enough, Akainu was a real pain.
After careful thought, Carl made a firm decision.
"Luffy, everyone, listen to me." Carl spoke solemnly. "I'm going to stop Akainu on the way and prevent him from chasing the Merry!"
"Nani?!"
Everyone was stunned.
Luffy immediately objected.
"Mr. Carl! Why are you staying behind again?! Last time, you fought the Golden Lion—I didn't say anything then, but now you want to stay behind alone again?! I don't agree! The Straw Hats never abandon their crewmates!"
Everyone nodded firmly.
It was one thing to face the Golden Lion before, but this time, it was Akainu.
A Marine Admiral was no joke.
Leaving Carl behind was practically leaving him to die.
But Carl quickly waved his hand.
"Calm down and listen to me first!" he said. "I'm not staying behind to fight Akainu to the death—I'm staying to delay him and the Marine warships.
"If I don't do this, the Merry's safety isn't guaranteed. We won't even be able to stop the ship properly. What's the point of that?
"But I can fly! As long as I keep attacking and harassing Akainu from the air, I can safely hold him back.
"You guys use that time to defeat Crocodile and Baroque Works. Do everything you can to stop the war!"
Silence fell.
Carl's logic was undeniable.
If Akainu pursued them, they wouldn't be able to just leave the Merry in the river—otherwise, they'd be sitting ducks.
Carl's plan really was the best option.
But accepting it was another matter entirely.
Luffy was about to protest again—
But Zoro stopped him.
"Luffy, I know what you're thinking," Zoro said.
"You want to stay behind and intercept Akainu yourself, don't you?
"But that's a bad idea. Your Moonwalk won't let you stay airborne long enough—you can't pull off the same harassment tactics as Carl.
"If you try, you'll end up in a fight to the death.
"And you promised Vivi that you'd defeat Crocodile yourself, didn't you?"
Luffy fell silent.
The others also took Carl's words seriously now.
With Luffy's personality, if he faced Akainu, he wouldn't just run—he'd fight.
And against Akainu, that was a guaranteed way to die.
It was better to let Carl handle this.
Seeing no further objections, Carl felt relieved.
For a moment, he had been worried everyone would keep resisting, and he would be caught in an endless argument.
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