Chapter 197

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Amidst the fervent and devout farewells of the town's rescued residents, Aqua successfully garnered the first wave of Alabasta followers.

With the giant dragon Kanna carrying them, the crew took off again towards the next severely affected major city.

Alabasta's vast expanse and the dispersed nature of its towns and villages posed a significant challenge. Even with Kanna's speed, achieving "nationwide faith" in a short time was impractical and exhausting, failing to address the root problem.

In Zyhark's plan, he selected only ten large cities to replicate the promotional approach used in Eruma.

These ten cities, inscribed with permanent magic circles, would serve as hubs for a network of interlinked canals, spreading clean water throughout Alabasta.

Because the water would be inexhaustible (unless something happened to Aqua), the surrounding cities and villages would also benefit from the clean and pure water sources.

Creating canals in the desert might be an insurmountable task for ordinary people, but for Zyhark's crew, known for their destructive prowess, it was relatively easy.

As for promoting the Water Goddess Aqua, while word-of-mouth among the populace would help, Cobra's covert support was also necessary.

This was part of the deal between Zyhark and the royal family.

Of course, in a kingdom with a population nearing a million, unexpected issues would arise, such as certain corrupt officials who would feign compliance.

Zyhark didn't consider himself a saint, so to ensure the purity and magnitude of the faith-derived power, he had Aqua add a special property to the holy water.

—Those who drink the water without sincere faith would suffer from diarrhea for a day!

Maintaining these large magic circles with special attributes would consume a significant amount of Aqua's divine power. Previously, she would have been drained instantly.

However, as the name of the Water Goddess spread rapidly across Alabasta, the divine power restored by the vast faith would far exceed the consumption!

Despite the cost, the gains Aqua received from this trip to Alabasta were still overwhelmingly epic! Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

The towns planned for the permanent magic circles were completed, and the interconnecting canals began to take shape.

Countless beams of soft white light rose from various parts of Alabasta, continuously flowing into Aqua in the capital, making her emit an even more divine aura.

Of course, this depended on the silly goddess not speaking or opening her eyes of wisdom.

Witnessing the massive transformation brought to Alabasta by Zyhark's crew in such a short time, Cobra had no more reservations and fully cooperated.

In the face of a team that had surpassed ordinary human capabilities, he had no choice but to give his full cooperation! Now, Alabasta was just one major city away from having the Water Goddess statue erected in all key locations.

That was one of the few areas in Alabasta not affected by drought, Crocodile's stronghold — Rainbase! In the royal conference room.

"Mr. Zyhark, according to intelligence from Rainbase agents, Crocodile is quickly returning to Alabasta upon receiving news. He is a Shichibukai, and our royal family is not in a position to intervene."

Standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, Cobra and Zyhark looked out towards Rainbase across the endless desert. "So, the residents of Rainbase are your responsibility. I hope you can understand."

After spending two days together, Cobra was no longer worried that Zyhark's crew would do something like steal the kingdom's treasures, but compared to Crocodile, they still lacked official legitimacy.

He trusted Zyhark but feared the Marine Headquarters and the World Government even more! "No problem, we'll handle Rainbase," Zyhark nodded.

Besides gaining followers for the Axis Cult, another goal of this trip was to teach Crocodile a lesson, not to mention dealing with his subordinates.

Seeing Zyhark's frown and the expression that didn't match his words, Cobra couldn't help but worry and tentatively asked, "You seem troubled. Is something wrong?"

"Don't worry about it. It just feels a bit too smooth," Zyhark replied.

Cobra didn't understand.

Is it bad for things to go too smoothly?

Just then, Igaram rushed in, looking anxious.

"Your Majesty, an unexpected situation has occurred!"

Glancing at Zyhark beside Cobra, he hesitated.

"It's alright. Speak freely; Mr. Zyhark is not an outsider," Cobra waved.

After organizing his thoughts, Igaram cleared his throat, his face showing some embarrassment.

"It's about Miss Aqua. She wanted to ensure that the residents of the capital could also drink clean water, so she summoned a large flood in the center of the main street, causing nearly thirty million Beli in property damage..."

Summoning a flood in the main street? Cobra's mouth twitched in disbelief.

If he hadn't spent two days understanding Aqua's thought process, he might have thought it was intentional!

"Hahaha, as expected of that fool," Zyhark laughed heartily.

This felt right. With Aqua's way of doing things, not causing a big commotion would be strange.

The frown on his face gradually relaxed.

"King Cobra, I forgot to mention."

With a smile, Zyhark turned to Cobra, "Unavoidable losses are also part of the deal."

Cobra: "…"

You call this unavoidable?! Although speechless, he didn't say much more.

Compared to the changes brought to Alabasta by Zyhark's crew, this level of loss was trivial.

...

At dusk, Aqua, having caused a commotion, sneaked into the royal residence.

If not for the guards already being staunch followers of the Axis Cult, her sneaky behavior might have gotten her caught on the spot! Throughout the journey, Aqua cautiously avoided Kanna and Vivi, who were studying insects in the courtyard, sidestepped Pell learning weightlifting techniques from King, and evaded Brook and Igaram discussing music in the hall.

Just when she finally made it to her room, thinking she could relax, she found Zyhark already lying on her bed, waiting.

"Yo, Aqua-chan, back from promoting the Axis Cult?"

Seeing the startled look on the goddess's face, Zyhark couldn't help but laugh.

"Ah, ahaha, yes. Being a goddess may look glamorous, but it's actually a very tough job."

Aqua scratched her head awkwardly.

"How's the divine power restoration from this round of faith? Should be quite substantial, right?" Zyhark asked casually.

"Of course! This goddess is now a completely different existence from a few days ago!" Aqua proudly puffed out her chest.

Despite causing property damage to the capital, there was still a steady flow of faith's white light pouring into her body from all directions.

Through his crew's reactions, Zyhark judged that only he could see this white light of faith, not even Aqua herself could notice it.

Perhaps it was a special effect of the wishing pool.

"In that case, Aqua."

Zyhark rolled up his sleeves, electric arcs dancing on his clenched fist, "How about a fight?"

Before entering the New World, he wanted to test Aqua's combat strength after gaining millions of followers' faith.

Hearing this, Aqua, who was in a state of pride, froze. Seeing Zyhark wasn't joking, she blinked her wise eyes and coughed lightly, "Well, let's not do that. This goddess doesn't want to kill you right now."

She knew Zyhark's current strength well. Even though she didn't think she'd lose to a mere top disciple, she knew she'd suffer quite a bit if they fought.

She feared pain.

"I heard a certain goddess caused quite a commotion in the capital today, and Cobra estimated the property damage to be around three hundred million."

Seeing the goddess's eyes wandering, Zyhark smiled slyly.

"As a dignified Water Goddess, Aqua, you wouldn't want others, like Eris, to know you can't afford to pay compensation, would you?"

"Nooo, please, Zyhark-sama, no!" Aqua immediately broke down.

As a Water Goddess with a huge ego, she couldn't bear the thought of being ridiculed by her junior Eris.

That would be worse than death!

"Fight me, and if you win, I'll cover the compensation," Zyhark delivered the final blow.

As expected, Aqua, on the verge of collapse, instantly lit up with fighting spirit, her right fist enveloped in radiant divine flames.

"You said it!"

Soon, the news of Aqua and Zyhark's battle reached the crew.

Though they didn't know the details, they were undoubtedly very curious about this fight.

Watching a fight was a natural instinct deeply embedded in human nature.

Seeing the captain and first mate fight? That was even more intriguing!

Even the usually serious King brought a small stool, sitting with Meowth, Kanna, and Brook, ready to enjoy the clash between water and electricity.

To avoid causing destruction to the capital, Zyhark chose a barren desert far from town as the battlefield.

The night desert, in stark contrast to the daytime heat, was chillingly cold with the wind blowing.

Amidst the swirling sand, Zyhark and Aqua faced off.

Before the fight even started, bathed in blue light, Aqua closed her eyes and began a long and intricate magic chant.

"Blessed by goddesses"

"Divine aura"

"Divine Radiance"

"Blessing! Attribute enhancement"

"Blessing! Art enhancement"

"Seal·Goddess Privilege"

"Greater Magic Shield"

…

Layers of buffs continuously stacked on Aqua, making her blue glow turn into a colorful radiance.

Clearly, she was preparing to go all out to avoid pain!

Finally, after a full minute of chanting, Aqua opened her eyes, surrounded by deep blue water currents different from before.

"This is Pure Blue Water, resistant to magma and non-conductive. You can still surrender, Zyhark."

In the center of the blue water, Aqua pointed her goddess staff at Zyhark, brimming with confidence.

"Otherwise, it wouldn't be interesting."

Zyhark didn't interrupt the goddess's shameless stacking of buffs.

The battle was meant to test her current limits.

With lightning speed, his swords Sandai Kitetsu and Shusui were unsheathed, their black blades reflecting the desolate landscape.

The clash between the Evil Thunder and the Water Goddess had begun!

Half an hour later.

The entire desert landscape had changed, replaced by deep blue pools, lava swamps, and charred lightning craters, a scene of utter destruction.

In an inconspicuous corner, Aqua crouched, hugging her knees, her once confident eyes now dim and lifeless, in a state of self-doubt.

Clearly, it was the lightning-fast Zyhark who won the fierce battle between water and electricity!

Although the greatly enhanced Aqua displayed power far beyond before, the result didn't surprise Zyhark, nor did it meet his expectations.

It wasn't that the goddess's combat power was lacking, but her combat IQ was unbearable.

In a life-or-death fight, Zyhark wouldn't even need to show up; he could use lightning strikes and the sword from a distance to toy with the straightforward, easily flustered Aqua to death! However, the attribute boost was truly impressive.

If uninterrupted, with full buffs, even if his Haki was lacking, he could have top-tier combat power to contend with the Yonko and Admirals!

This battle officially marked Aqua as the team's support.

Solo combat was definitely out of the question.

...

The next morning, thunder roared over Rainbase.

Zyhark's crew had just arrived at Crocodile's stronghold, and without much effort, Crocodile's forces surrendered on the spot, fleeing in panic and abandoning the most fertile land in Alabasta.

Aware of the sea's happenings, they weren't foolish; resisting would only hasten their deaths!

In this respect, Crocodile's subordinates were quite sensible.

Or rather, terrified enough.

Thus, the last piece of Alabasta's water coverage was easily secured.

Clear water flowed from the magic circles in ten cities, connecting through canals, freeing Alabasta from its long-standing drought!

The people's faith in the Water Goddess peaked, spreading rapidly across the land.

Meanwhile, on Alabasta's coastline, a city rescued by the magic circle.

Yellow sand filled the sky, forming a terrifying sandstorm.

At the storm's center, a man with a long scar on his face walked slowly.

Listening to the reports on the Den Den Mushi, looking at the goddess statue in the city center, his eyes were cold and dark, radiating an intense, chilling fury.

The Shichibukai Crocodile had finally returned to Alabasta!

(End of Chapter)