"You idiot," Nami and the others couldn't help but scold. "In this vast desert, where are you going to get a piece of wood that big?"
"You never know," the big man laughed. "If you're looking for wood, you'll find it at the nearby Melias Oasis."
"Melias Oasis?" everyone was startled, and Luffy's eyes lit up with excitement. "Alright, then I'll go to Melias Oasis and find a piece of wood." With that, he was about to set off.
"Wait, Luffy," Nami said, quickly grabbing him. "Do you know the way? And even if you do get to Melias Oasis, how are you going to bring the wood back?"
"Don't worry, you can use this," the big man said with a smile and ordered his men to bring out two sand sleds.
"Whoa, so cool!" Luffy exclaimed, jumping onto one of the sleds and taking off in a flash. But a moment later, he was back, panting and pushing the sled. He couldn't operate it at all. "So tired," he gasped, collapsing to the ground.
"Luffy, don't waste your energy," Usopp said with a sigh.
"Sand sleds are not used like that, Lassa," the big man laughed and shouted towards the ship. A woman in white leaped from the deck, did a somersault in the air, and landed steadily in front of Vivi. Her eyes were cold, and she opened an umbrella over her head.
"Let Lassa take you there. She knows the way," the big man said.
"Lassa!" the other sand pirates all cheered. It was clear that Lassa was very popular among them.
"They are foreigners, so it's understandable that they don't know how to use sand sleds," Lassa said, her gaze fixed on Vivi, a hint of hostility in her eyes. "But you are not. From the looks of it, you should be a local. You should know how to use it." She seemed to have recognized something about Vivi.
"Oh... well, I know a little," Vivi said, a flicker of recognition in her own eyes. She avoided Lassa's gaze and nodded.
"Saba, let's go," Lassa said, getting on a sand sled and speaking to another sand pirate behind her.
"Roger that," Saba replied, and he, Luffy, and the others set off.
"Well, aren't you going?" Lassa asked, a frown on her face as she saw that she was the only one left. She then chased after them.
"Don't worry," the big man reassured Nami and the others, who were looking on with worried expressions. "Lassa is the strongest on our ship and the most experienced in the desert. She has been to Melias Oasis before. There will be no problems."
"I'm not worried about them," Usopp said, a worried look on his face. "I'm just worried about Luffy. It's one thing to go with another person, but to let Luffy go with them... is that really okay?" He was only worried about Luffy. With that guy around, would things really go smoothly? The others all nodded in agreement.
"Hahaha, you guys are really interesting," the big man laughed again. "Everyone is hungry. Let's kill the camel to celebrate."
"I agree," Sanji was the first to raise his hand.
"I have no objection," Zoro added, and Usopp also nodded in agreement. With the exception of Nami and Moonlight, everyone agreed. Lashes immediately burst into tears again. Nami glared at the big man, who just smiled. "I'm just kidding," he said, waving his hand.
"I don't think you're kidding," Nami thought to herself. Lashes, sensing the danger, immediately moved to stand by Moonlight's side. He felt safest there.
"Hey, what's that?" a sand pirate on the observation deck suddenly shouted, looking into the distance with his binoculars.
Everyone's eyes followed his gaze. At first, the vast desert was calm, the air shimmering under the scorching sun. But soon, the sand began to churn, and a group of sand bandits, riding camels and brandishing scimitars, charged towards them.
"It's the sand bandits!" the big man's face immediately grew serious.
"Sand bandits?" Nami and the others were surprised. Zoro was eager to try out his new swords, and Sanji, with a disdainful look, lit a cigarette. He wasn't worried about a few sand bandits. Usopp, however, was trembling with fear, hiding behind Moonlight.
"Men, get ready to fight!" the big man commanded, and the sand pirates on the ship immediately sprang into action, their cannons extending from the hull, ready to fire. The sand pirates and the sand bandits were mortal enemies.
"Hahaha, you damn sand pirates! Today, we'll show you who the real masters of this desert are!" the leader of the sand bandits roared, his full-moon scimitar held high as he rode his white dragon camel, a magnificent and incredibly fast beast. "Yes! Sand pirates, get out of the desert!" his men echoed.
"You insolent sand bandits! You are not qualified to rule this desert! The desert belongs to no one! Men, come on! Let's show these sand bandits the power of our sand pirates!" the big man shouted.
"Yes, sir!" the sand pirates roared, ready to leap down and join the battle.
But at that moment, a huge, black, hard sphere, half the size of the sand pirate ship, suddenly began to roll down from a nearby sand dune, leaving a deep mark in the sand.
"A sandquake?" everyone thought, a look of alarm on their faces. A sandquake was an earthquake in the desert, a natural disaster that could change the entire landscape and bury countless people.
But then, someone pointed to the black sphere and shouted in horror, "It's not a sandquake! It's the super-dung of a Giant Scarab Beetle!"
"What?!" everyone was more surprised than if it had been a sandquake. They all turned and saw a massive, black desert dung beetle rolling its own super-large dung ball down the sand dune. The leader of the sand bandits, who had been charging forward, didn't even have time to react before he and his camel were crushed into the sand.
"A Giant Scarab Beetle's super-dung? It's so big!" Nami and the others were stunned. They had seen dung beetles before, but never one this big, rolling such a massive ball of dung.
"It really is a big world. There are no surprises," Zoro said, a slight excitement in his voice. "Only in the Grand Line could you find something like this."
"It's truly unbelievable," Sanji murmured, taking a deep breath of smoke. "But the more unbelievable it is, the more it proves that the legend of the All Blue is true. Only in a place like this could a miracle like the All Blue be born."
"Don't just stand there sighing!" Nami cried, her own excitement gone. "Look, that super-dung is coming right for us! Not good!" To see an oversized dung beetle was one thing, but to see it rolling a massive ball of feces towards you... just the thought of it was enough to make her go crazy.
"Captain, it's coming right for us!" one of the sand pirates cried out. The massive black ball was crushing everything in its path.
"Yes, in the desert, the dung of the Giant Scarab Beetle is a terrible thing," the big man said. "I don't know how many people have died under it." He leaped down from the ship and tried to stop the massive sphere, but it was too much for him. He was quickly pushed back and crushed into the sand, just like the sand bandits. The massive ball of dung then continued to roll towards the ship.
"Ah! It's over! We're going to be crushed to death!"
"Not just us, but the ship will be smashed to pieces! Straw Hat boy, it's useless to get the wood back!"
"Guests, run away!" the sand pirates on the ship cried out in despair.
At that moment, Zoro drew his swords and, with a series of powerful slashes, he chopped the massive black ball into countless pieces. The fragments rained down around them, and Sanji kicked them away, but some of them were still heading towards Nami and Usopp.
WHOOSH!
Moonlight drew his own sword, and a thick, crescent-shaped wave of energy shot out, shattering the remaining fragments and dissipating them into the air. The sword energy continued on, slashing into the distant sand and splitting it in two.
"Is this the gap?" Zoro's pupils shrank.
"Just a simple swing of the sword, and it has such power," Sanji's eyes narrowed, a new look of shock on his face as he looked at Moonlight. Nami and Usopp breathed a sigh of relief. It was safest to hide behind Moonlight.
And all the sand pirates were stunned. These guys had actually chopped the Giant Scarab Beetle's dung to pieces. And Moonlight... he had sliced the very sand in two.
"I'm sorry to trouble you, guest," the big man said, and with the help of the others, he was finally pulled out of the sand. The leader of the other sand bandits, also having been pulled out, waved his hand and, without looking back, shouted, "This time, I'll let you go! Next time, I'll take your lives!" And with that, the sand bandits turned and disappeared into the desert. The sand pirates all breathed a sigh of relief.
A short time later, Luffy and the others returned, a huge piece of wood in their sand sled. "Uncle, you can continue sailing now," Luffy said to the big man.
"Yes, thank you so much," the big man replied, and the other sand pirates also thanked him. Luffy, not standing on ceremony, just asked for some meat in return.
Nami couldn't help but look at them. Had they forgotten that Luffy was the one who had broken the mast in the first place? Shouldn't it be natural for him to pay for a new one?
Vivi smiled at everyone. When she had left, she had been worried, but now, she seemed to have opened her heart, and she looked much more relaxed and bright.
After the mast was repaired, the crew was ready to set off. The big man didn't stop them and, after showing them the way, he presented them with a sand sled.
They all thanked him and marched off towards Crystal Village. Their food and water had been stolen, and they needed to resupply, or they would never make it to Yuba. Along the way, Luffy was unusually silent, sitting on the front of the sand sled, his thoughts a mystery. The others were surprised; they had never seen him like this before. Vivi seemed to understand something, and her own expression darkened, but then a new determination appeared in her eyes.
With the big man's directions and Vivi as their guide, they soon arrived at Crystal Village. But before they were even close, countless villagers closed the gate and stood on the wall, shouting wildly, "Sand bandits, get out!"
"Hurry up and get Master Camus of the rebel army! There are sand bandits coming!"
"Master Camus is the leader of the rebel army! As soon as he comes, he'll send you sand bandits flying!"
"If you want to live, just get out of here! This is not a place for you!" They were filled with a righteous indignation, as if Luffy and the others were inexcusable evildoers. The rebel army, on the other hand, had become their saviors.