Albasta

"We are here at Alabasta!!" Usopp shouted excitedly as I opened my eyes and looked over the horizon, where a vast desert city could be seen in the distance.

Splash!!

"What was that?!" Tony suddenly yelped as something massive emerged from the water.

"It's a Sea Cat!" Vivi exclaimed, pointing at the cat-shaped sea monsters swimming alongside the ship.

"It's food!" Zoro, Luffy, and Sanji declared in unison, their eyes gleaming with hunger and determination. They all prepared to jump in after it, clearly ready to turn the Sea Cat into their next meal.

"Idiots," I muttered, shaking my head as I watched Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji argue about food, their stock completely emptied long ago. Though, in a way, it was their hunger that pushed them to work harder, knowing they could eventually go to different worlds and feast there.

Speaking of progress, all of them had made quite a bit of it during our journey. But none more than Vivi, whose determination to save her kingdom fueled her the most. She was the first to truly master her initial powers, which led to the manifestation of her Momodo—a massive black dragon. At first, I thought she was similar to Nami and me, able to use magic with just tattoos. But when she fully grasped her powers, her Momodo materialized in the real world, lazily sitting on her head in its miniature form. Looking at the cute, black-winged lizard, no one would guess it was the same fearsome creature that had defeated Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy earlier when they tried to fight it.

Not only had Vivi mastered her magic, but she'd also unlocked two more powerful spells. One of them was Dark Sun, a massive area-of-effect spell that impacts and releases an enormous burst of destructive energy. The other, Dark Nova, was a concentrated dark flame attack that shot out with the speed of light, capable of devastating anything in its path. Seeing her growth, it was clear how focused she was on saving Alabasta—and that her powers were growing more fearsome by the day.

Given her powers now, I Know she will definitely win against Crocodile, she now even don't need our help.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

"Ow!" Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji rubbed their heads, looking up at Vivi with confused expressions.

"Why can't we eat it?" Luffy whined, his stomach growling as he eyed the giant Sea Cat.

Vivi crossed her arms, standing firm. "Sea Cats are sacred to Alabasta. You absolutely can't eat them!"

The trio groaned in disappointment, but I stepped in with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. We're almost there, and there's plenty of food waiting for us in the city." I pointed toward the vast desert city of Alabasta that was now visible on the horizon. All of them turned to look, excitement lighting up their faces as they realized a feast wasn't far off.

"Crocodile, I'm coming for you," Vivi muttered under her breath, her determination evident as everyone looked forward to the desert city of Alabasta. Her clenched fists trembled slightly, and even her Momodo, Fafnir, a miniature black dragon perched lazily on her head, raised its tiny head with a sharp grin on its face.

That grin sent visible shivers down the spines of everyone around. They remembered all too well how Fafnir had taken on Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji when they asked it to spar with them—and utterly humiliated them all in the process. No one dared to challenge it again without serious preparation.

Sanji, Zoro, and Luffy all had a sharp gleam in their eyes as they looked at Fafnir. Despite the dragon's dominance in their previous encounter, they were far from discouraged. Each of them had silently vowed to defeat it after all.

Zoro's hand instinctively moved toward his swords, his reiatsu subtly flaring as he imagined the next battle. "I'll cut that overgrown lizard down next time," he muttered, a smirk creeping onto his face.

Sanji, lighting another cigarette, exhaled with a grin. "That thing caught me off guard before, but next time it's dragon roast on the menu."

Luffy, in typical fashion, stretched his arms in the air, laughing. "Shishishi, I'll beat it, no problem! And then he will know who is the Captain!"

The rivalry with Fafnir was real, but so was their determination to grow stronger. While Vivi focused on her mission to save Alabasta, the others were quietly building up their resolve, ready to face Crocodile—and anything else that stood in their way.

****

While setting in a bustling restaurant in the Port City of Nanohana, a young man with a fearsome tattoo of Whitebeard on his back was hunched over, his face buried in a massive plate of food. His presence drew the eyes of many around him, as whispers began to ripple through the room.

"I heard he suddenly collapsed while eating," one person murmured.

"Is he a traveler? Maybe he's from another island?" another questioned.

"Could be, but some folks think he's eaten the 'Desert Strawberry.'"

"The Desert Strawberry?" another customer chimed in, intrigued.

"It's a nickname for that poisonous fruit—it looks sweet, but one bite, and you're dead."

A hush fell over the room, with more and more diners turning their heads toward the slumped figure.

"Poor traveler," someone whispered again, while others exchanged nervous glances, fearing the worst.

Yawn!!

Suddenly, the young man lifted his head, rubbing his eyes lazily as if he'd just woken from a peaceful nap.

"He's alive!!" someone yelled, and the entire restaurant erupted in surprise and disbelief.

"Oh, I see... I must've fallen asleep while eating," the young man mumbled nonchalantly, stretching as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

"You were sleeping?!" Everyone stared at him, baffled and shocked, as they realized they had been worrying over nothing. A mixture of exasperation and relief spread through the room as they glared at him, some even muttering about how strange he was.

The young man, unfazed by their reactions, casually resumed devouring his meal, completely oblivious to the commotion he had caused.

***

Check out my other books while waiting for this one, My new Original : Absolute Cheater & Final Life Online.

These two Novels are in same universe, and much later the ML of my both will face each other.

******

Find more of it and support me at..

patreon.com/Enigmatic_Dream