Next Day,

Straw Hats ship reached the shore of the Rainbase. And, as soon as they reached there, Luffy jumped out of the ship and ran.

“Crocodile, I’m coming for you.”

“Idiot, that’s the wrong direction.”

Nami shouted from the ship but Luffy had already gone too far. His idiocy was truly putting the team into problems.

“That idiot.” Sanji’s expression darkened and so did Zoro’s. Luffy going missing would definitely hamper their plan. After all, Luffy would be the one to fight against Crocodile.

“Then, why don’t we wait till he arrives?” Mikita suggested.

Bang!

Suddenly, a cannonball shot next to their ship. The ship lost its balance for a moment.

“Who is shooting us?” Nami shouted as she held the ship tightly.

“Marines! How did they know we are here?” Sanji quickly dashed toward the back and saw three marines ships. As soon as he saw that, he shouted.

“It must be crocodile.” Liam said.

“Wait, you mean they are supporting crocodile?” Vivi asked. She tried to hide her anger but they could still feel it in her tone.

“Crocodile is a warlord, Vivi. Obviously, they would support him. But, I don’t think that’s the reason why they are here. Don’t forget, we are pirates. If marines find us, then they will fight us.”

“Crocodile just gave them the information about us. We are in his territory. Baroque Works are roaming all around this place.” Liam explained.

Hearing his words, Vivi clenched her fist in frustration. This was her country. She was the princess and now it was completely controlled by a pirate.

How could she not feel frustrated by such a thing?

“Then, what are we going to do now?” Nami asked.

“All of you, follow the plan. Find your opponent and defeat them. As for Marines, let me take care of them. As for Luffy, don’t worry about him. He might be an idiot but his instincts are always sharp.”

“It would take a little while but he will definitely find Crocodile.” Liam said.

Hearing his words, Nami shook her head immediately.

“No! Your condition isn’t good. Right now, you need to focus on healing.”

“Nami, don’t worry about me. Besides, if I give up fighting just because I am injured, I will never be able to overcome the dangers in front of me. Before I didn’t know my condition but now I know.”

“I might not be strong as before but I know one thing and that is to adapt. I will adapt to this battle. So, don’t worry about me, and give it your all in this battle.”

“We can’t rely on miracles to win.” Liam shook his head and patted her shoulder as he smiled.

Nami bit her lips as she struggled to agree.

Bang! Bang!

Another two cannonballs struck the water near them. The ship became unstable.

“Now, leave! You must defeat Mr. Crocodile. Follow the plan! That’s the only way we can stop the civil war and Mr. Crocodile.” Liam shouted.

Hearing his words, Zoro jumped down from the ship, followed by Sanji, Mikita, Vivi, Chopper, and Usopp. Nami still struggled to leave directly. She looked at Liam and said.

“If anything happens to you, I will never forgive you.”

“Don’t worry. I might not be the strongest or smartest person but I am very resourceful.” Liam smiled as he patted his chest.

Nami finally jumped down from the ship.

Liam turned around and looked at three marine ships coming toward him. His eyes turned serious as he asked.

“Now, how am I going to fight them?”

……………………..

Somewhere far into the desert,

“Where the hell am I?” Luffy stopped and looked around. He didn’t see anyone following him and all he could see was the desert. He was confused for a moment but eventually, an idea came to his mind.

“Liam told me that if I get lost I must run toward the place where I came from.”

Saying so, he turned around and then started running.

………………..

“Hey, so according to the plan, we must split right now.” Nami said as they started to reach closer to Rainbase.

“Sanji, Zoro, we will leave everything to you.” Nami, Usopp, Vivi, Mikita, and Chopper went a different way while Sanji and Zoro went straight.

After a while, they eventually reached in front of the bridge. Behind that bridge, there was a massive building which was the casino and Crocodile’s base.

“Mosshead, it’s your turn.” Sanji looked at the group of people in front of him and said.

“Then, just sit back and watch, you stupid cook.” Zoro smirked and rushed toward those people. He immediately unsheathed the swords but instead of using the sharp end, he used the blunt end.

“Three Swords Style”

“Tatsu——Maki”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

“Ahhhhh!” “Ahhhhhh!” “Ahhhhhh”

The people who were caught inside the tornado started screaming. But, after the tornado died down, most of the people from the ground started standing up.

“You bastards! Who are you?” One person who didn’t get caught in that tornado took out a sword and rushed toward Zoro while shouting.

Suddenly, Zoro’s eyes glowed. He changed the sides of his swords and with three swords, he once again rushed toward those people.

“Three Swords Style”

“Tatsu——Maki”

Splash! Splash! Splash! Splash!

This time, those who were standing got slashed by his swords. All of them fell down except one or two.

Sanji walked in front of a man who was still standing and said.

“Your boss is inside, right? Go and tell him that Straw Hats are waiting for him outside. In less than half an hour, Princess will spread the information to the whole country.”

The man was trembling when he heard that. He immediately nodded his head and while bearing the pain of the slash on his chest, he ran toward the building.

“Let’s leave, stupid cook!” Zoro put the swords inside the sheaths and ran away.

“Don’t tell me what to do, you bastard. Besides, we are going different ways. Don’t get lost on the way.” Sanji also ran but mid-way, he changed his direction.

“You….” Zoro wanted to curse but Sanji had already left. He looked at the sky and when his eyes fell on small birds that were moving with him, he narrowed his eyes.

At this moment, he started to recall the plan that Liam made in the morning.

“What? You mean if we defeat Crocodile, the rebel forces would stop?” Vivi looked at Liam with shock as she asked.

“Not directly but yes. The reason why they are rebelling against your father is because of the rain. While Crocodile might not be the reason behind the disappearance of the rain, he is the reason why there is no rain in your country for three years.”

“He is monopolizing the entire rain by using dance power. So, our main purpose is to defeat him. Although dance power is causing the rain disturbance, his devil fruit is partially related.”

“So, if we defeat him, then we will be able to destroy the bases that he uses for causing rain. Rebel forces will strike the capital tomorrow. After we defeat crocodile, there will be rain.”

“When it starts raining, you will broadcast everything that Crocodile did to your country and use your forces to capture the traitors in your army. So, if we stop Crocodile today, there will be no civil war and there will not be bloodshed.” Liam explained.

Hearing his words, Vivi’s eyes turned red. The goal that she had been trying to achieve was within her range. In her mind, she would do anything for her country but she will not allow anyone to shed their blood.

But, at this moment, Vivi clenched her fist. Her body trembled a bit as she spoke.

“But…….”

“Vivi, stop!” Luffy suddenly spoke. When he spoke, everyone looked at him with surprise. He looked into Vivi’s eyes and asked.

“Aren’t we friends?”

Vivi’s eyes got moist as she nodded her head.

“Then, why are you afraid of putting our lives on the line?” Luffy looked into her eyes and shouted.

Vivi’s moist eyes started releasing tears.

‘Sigh! He was still ahead of me.’

Liam didn’t see this coming. He totally believed that Vivi wasn’t hesitating anymore. But unlike him, Luffy could still feel her emotions.

“We will follow Liam’s plan. I will kick crocodile’s ass.” Luffy shouted as he clenched his fist.

An hour later,

Luffy completely forgot about the plan and ran off toward the desert on his own.

After another half an hour,

“Didn’t I go back where I came from? Then, why is there no ship here?” Luffy stood at the shores and looked around. He didn’t see the single ship here.

But, suddenly his eyes turned to the stone nearby. At this moment, two marines wearing white shirts came out while holding guns in their hands.

“Monkey D. Luffy, follow us. We will take you to Mr. Crocodile.”

They said and ran toward the Rainbase.

At this moment, Luffy was left stunned and confused.

“Why are marines leading me?”

Two seconds later,

“Who cares? Right now, I need to kick that crocodile’s ass”

“CROCODILE, I’M COMING FOR YOU.”