"Bye bye, remember to train properly from now on, or you'll know the consequences when I come back next time!"
On the deck of the Leviathan, Sakura leaned over the gunwale, waving goodbye to the Kung Fu Dugongs behind her.
"Wah wah!"
A large group of bruised and battered Kung Fu Dugongs bowed deeply to Sakura.
Behind her, Kuina, who had collapsed on the ground from exhaustion, rolled her eyes.
Being dragged along to teach swordsmanship to several hundred Kung Fu Dugongs was not a job for humans.
If she and Tiger hadn't stopped her, the maniacal Sakura would have even tried to teach them the Spear of Elbaf.
'Oh God of Elbaf, why doesn't a bolt of lightning strike this woman who blasphemes the legend!'
"We're about to enter the inland through the canal next, get ready!"
Tiger, who had been watching the antics on the ship with amusement, turned the helm and reminded Sakura and the others.
Sailing inland along the river, once the sea breeze was blocked by the cliffs surrounding the island, the climate became scorching hot.
But for the people living here, the sunlight, so intense it felt like it was peeling their skin, had become a routine torture and punishment.
So, to spare themselves from the environmental torment, the people living in this desert nation had the habit of covering every possible part of their bodies with robes when going out.
As for those exotic, cool gauze outfits adorned with armbands and anklets full of gold ornaments, that was a privilege enjoyed only by the upper class.
"So hot, Sakura-nee, help me...."
Moving from the stuffy cabin to the steamy deck, with nowhere to hide, Kuina hung on the handrail, tongue lolling out.
"Hot? I don't feel it at all?"
A certain Odo Odo no Mi user, a Temperature Human, turned her head with a boastful tone.
'-So annoying!'
Seeing her like this, the crew members in various positions on the ship couldn't help but clench their fists.
"Hahahaha!"
Seeing everyone's reaction, Sakura laughed heartily and slowly raised her palm.
She stretched it forward.
As her fingers contracted, a crisp sound emanated from her palm. Like growing ice crystals, the flesh tone rapidly faded, replaced by the pure light of a crystal.
Her arm swept down, and just the right amount of cold air, propelled through Fish-Man Jujutsu's throwing technique, scattered in all directions, bringing a bit of coolness to this baked land.
The rare coolness brought a moment of relief to everyone on the ship, and the boat happened to sail to the deepest part of the inland river.
Further up, the river's depth and width could no longer accommodate a large ship like the Leviathan, so she had to transform into Night Sparrow to carry everyone inland.
Several hours later, the group strolled into a city called Rainbase.
Before the trade center town Yuba, connecting the port city and the capital, was built, this was the largest trade town in all of Alabasta.
There weren't any particularly outstanding scenic spots within the city, but it always managed to make people feel the weight of history.
Ancient buildings, whose ages were unknown, stood interwoven, and the largest casino in Alabasta was also established here.
"Next, I plan to visit the bounty exchange, what about you all?"
Sakura tossed the storage scroll containing treasure in her hand and swept her gaze over the crew members.
Kuina excitedly raised her hand, "I want to go explore the city!"
Leviathan climbed onto Kuina, imitating her by raising a wing, "+1"
"I'll go with you!"
Tiger, being a Fish-Man, was extremely uncomfortable with Alabasta's desert climate. If he strayed too far from Sakura, he was worried he might turn into a Fish-Man jerky.
After agreeing to meet up in the city center in half a day, Sakura let the two youngest on the ship go wild.
Meanwhile, high above Rainbase, a massive hawk soared in.
The clothed hawk, with a sword at its waist, turned its head to complain, "Really now, Princess Vivi, sneaking out again like this, His Majesty the King will complain to me later!"
On its back, a blue-haired girl gripping its clothes tightly poked her head out, grinning as she replied, "Can't be helped! Who told Dad to order Toto-san to develop Yuba? Without Koza in the capital to play with me, I'm so bored!"
"Fine, Rainbase is considered a safe area at least, but you must remember..."
Seeing the girl's carefree demeanor, the hawk, Pell, raised a finger, ready for a long lecture.
"If we encounter sand bandits, we must run fast, right! Pell~"
Vivi spoke first, cutting off what her guard Pell was about to say next.
"Sigh, I really can't do anything with you!"
Pell sighed, folded his wings, and began descending towards Rainbase below.
In an alley, Kuina, who was sharing characteristic desert skewers with Leviathan, had a flash of rainbow light in her pupils.
She looked up to see a giant hawk diving straight towards her.
Seeing this, Kuina instinctively grabbed the Muramasa at her waist, and a chilling aura erupted.
In mid-air, sensing Kuina's unusual presence, and combined with the recent incident of Vivi being kidnapped by sand bandits, Pell, unsurprisingly, freaked out.
"Princess Vivi, we've encountered danger! A fight might break out next, you must hold on tight to me!"
Pell's Zoan body began a partial human-beast transformation. His extended talons grabbed the sword at his waist, and he swung a slash down at Kuina below.
"Pell, wait..."
Vivi didn't have time to stop him before their blades collided in the air.
Clang!
The two long swords collided in the air, and rolling sound waves suddenly spread through the alley.
The pure death energy from the cursed sword Muramasa invaded Pell's arm along his blade, sending chills down his spine.
'Not good, I'm going to die!'
Intimidated, Pell didn't hesitate. Prioritizing protecting Vivi on his back, he abandoned his sword, flapped his wings hard, and gained altitude.
In Kuina's eyes, this move only confirmed her suspicion that the other party was problematic.
After all, it wasn't easy for anyone to swallow their anger after being randomly slashed at on the street, only for the attacker to then abandon their sword and flee.
Especially not for Kuina, who now held Muramasa in her hand.
"Leviathan, chase!"
Bribing the Night Sparrow on her shoulder by stuffing all the food into its mouth, Kuina drew her other sword.
After gulping down all the snacks in one go, Leviathan's body expanded in the alley. Carrying Kuina, it also shot into the sky.
"They caught up so fast?!"
Pell, who had already flown into the sky, looked back to see the black-winged Night Sparrow closing the distance between them at an extremely high speed.
"Pell!"
Vivi, clinging to his back, could barely keep her eyes open against the wind from the high-speed flight.
"Princess Vivi, please endure a little longer!"
As one of the world's top five fliers, he carried Vivi, climbing all the way until he finally broke through the high cloud layer, reaching the sky over 6,000 meters up.
However, what Pell didn't expect was that following him was a Mythical Zoan.
That unreasonable ability to traverse through shadows allowed Leviathan to close the gap in flight speed with the hawk, charging forward.
"Bastard, I finally caught up to you!"
Gnashing her teeth, Kuina crossed her two swords. A swordsmanship technique capable of cutting steel hummed in her hands as she lunged at the lunatic who had attacked her for no reason.
Yet... if nothing unexpected happened, something unexpected was bound to happen.
Just as Kuina's flying slash was about to be unleashed, a massive shadow covered both parties engaged in the aerial pursuit.
Then, an aged but imposing voice reverberated through the sky.
"Hmm, two rare beasts? Interesting, come back with me!"
The next instant, all four individuals in the sky lost consciousness.
Swallowed whole by the enormous silhouette within the clouds, which opened its fanged maw and took them in.