Chapter 25 Rasha

It turned out that in the afternoon, while Gnar was heading directly towards Alubarna, the capital of Alabasta, following the compass through the scorching desert, he suddenly encountered a sandstorm.

Of course, this sandstorm wasn't enough to bring any danger to Gnar. Compared to the sandstorms in the Gobi Desert of his previous life, the sandstorms in Alabasta were much smaller in power. The main reason was that the area of Alabasta was too small.

Although Alabasta could be considered a large country with a vast territory on the Grand Line, as an island nation, its area was naturally incomparable to that of a land desert country on Earth.

It only took the Straw Hat Pirates half a day to walk across the entire desert and reach the Alabasta Palace.

If you flew, it would probably take less than an hour to reach Alubarna.

However, Gnar didn't rush. He needed some time for Crocodile to prepare, and he also wanted to appreciate the customs and scenery of Alabasta, so he walked slowly through the desert.

Although this sandstorm was not dangerous, it was still a bit troublesome, so Gnar decided to stop and take shelter temporarily.

But at that moment, he thought he heard the cry of a little girl amidst the flying dust.

"Is it an illusion? Or is it the ghost of a dead child in the desert?"

Gnar raised his head, followed the direction of the sound, and looked carefully into the sandstorm.

Then he saw a sailboat flying in the sky full of yellow sand. A little girl of five or six years old was hugging the mast tightly, not daring to open her eyes, just wailing.

Now that he had seen it, it was impossible not to save her.

So, Gnar rushed into the sandstorm, rescued the little girl named Rasha from the wind and sand, and brought her back to her father's village.

At night, a huge bonfire burned, illuminating the surrounding village.

This was a small village with only a few dozen households, less than a hundred people in total.

After hearing that someone had actually rescued Rasha, the daughter of the village chief Balu Balusa, from the sandstorm, everyone ran out of their homes curiously, wanting to meet the person who could save someone in a sandstorm.

After all, people who grow up in the desert know best how terrible sandstorms are.

After seeing the village chief's daughter Rasha swept away by a sandstorm, everyone thought Rasha was dead.

Unexpectedly, she was brought back by a young man at night.

Next to the bonfire, the giant-like village chief Balu Balusa was crying like a child, holding his daughter in his arms.

"Rasha, you must not act like this in the future. How can Dad live without you?"

Rasha, held in her father's arms, looked shy. "Dad, I...I know. Um, the snot is about to fall from your nose!"

Even though she said this, her eyes were always on her big brother, who had appeared in front of her like a Prince and saved her. Rasha, only five years old, could never forget that moment when this big brother appeared in front of her.

The rude Balu Balusa didn't notice at all. He just wiped his nose and continued to bow to Gnar to thank him. "Please rest here tonight. I must thank you for saving my daughter!"

Rasha also hugged her father's knees and said to Gnar with a blushing face, "Brother Gnar, thank you for saving me."

"In that case, I won't be polite."

Anyway, the original plan was to trade time for space.

Although he had provoked Crocodile through the phone and said that he would come to Alabasta to find him, rushing over immediately would be foolish. He wanted to disrupt the opponent's preparations and affect their arrangements. This was also part of the plan.

Seeing Gnar agree, Balu Balusa and Lasha's faces were filled with happy smiles.

Soon, the banquet started.

However, Balu Balusa looked apologetically at the scarce food at the banquet and said with great guilt, "I'm really sorry. Although you saved my daughter, I can only offer this little to entertain you."

Gnar shook his head. He had noticed it since he came to this village.

From now on, it was incredible that this village could still exist.

The surrounding oases were almost covered by the desert, with only a few green trees growing in the village.

The roofs of buildings and roads in the village were also covered with yellow sand.

This was clearly a village that was about to be submerged by sand.

So, he asked curiously, "No, that's enough. But for you, it seems your village is about to be submerged by sand. Will it get better after the rainy season?"

As soon as Gnar's words came out, the expressions of the surrounding villagers, including Balu Balusa and Lasha, became a little sad.

"What, did I say something wrong?"

The villagers did not speak, but Rasha shook her head and said, "No, Brother Gnar, it's not your fault. But in recent years, Alabasta's climate has worsened. Droughts have become more severe, and the rainy season has come later and lasted shorter.

Many villages have been swallowed by sand, and if the rainy season continues like this, our village may disappear completely."

"Um!?"

This surprised Gnar. Could it be that Crocodile had already started to act?

"In this case, why don't you move to live along the Santo River? Not only would you not have to worry about water, but you also have farmland for farming."

The expressions of the surrounding villagers suddenly froze, and Balu Balusa explained, "We also want to go, but all the land in Alabasta belongs to the royal family. We cannot move without the royal family's permission. Moreover, the Santo River is the lifeline of the entire Alabasta. The royal family does not allow anyone to live near it to prevent it from being destroyed."

"I see. Then what will you do if this place is completely submerged by sand?"

Balu Balusa said with a sad expression, "In that case, we can only go to the palace and pray to the king to grant us another oasis."

Sensing the somber atmosphere, Balu Balusa touched his daughter's head. "Hahaha, it's nothing. Everyone living in this desert is the same. We've been like this for thousands of years. This is our fate."

But Rasha's young face clearly showed a trace of unwillingness.

Seeing this, Gnar's eyes suddenly lit up, and he waved to the girl named Rasha.

Rasha was stunned for a moment, then looked at her father shyly.

Although Balu Balusa was surprised, he nodded and let go of his daughter.

As soon as Rasha walked over, her little head was gently touched by Gnar. This reminded her of the tender feeling of being held in Gnar's arms on the way back to the village, and her cheeks turned red.

At this moment, she heard Gnar say, "In other words, if I give you a better oasis, you can survive, right?"

Balu Balusa was a little stunned but still nodded.

"I understand! Leave it to me. Apart from the existing cities in Alabasta, where is the best oasis you know of?"

Balu Balusa was a little surprised but still spoke with a hint of expectation. "There is an oasis called Yuba. It is still uninhabited. It is a place where many travelers and merchants pass. It is called the crossroads of Alabasta..."

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