Sailing: This Bounce-Bounce Fruit is a little different.

"Yeah...I thought so too."

Hai gave a thumbs-up and exclaimed, "You truly understand me!"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Kaya rolled her eyes, her ears turning slightly red.

"That's enough, you two..."

Beside her, Nami glanced at Ino with a hint of displeasure, then turned to Vivi and chuckled like a greedy man, "Let's continue our previous topic..."

"Sorry...that's impossible!"

After wiping away her heavy makeup, Weiwei's fair and beautiful face showed a bitter smile.

"The Kingdom of Alabasta...it was indeed one of the most civilized nations on the Grand Line, and a land of peace and prosperity..."

"However... in recent years, revolutionary tendencies have begun to emerge among the people!"

After a pause, Weiwei glanced at Hai, her mood somewhat downcast: "The people have launched a riot, and the country is in chaos..."

"Until one day, I happened to hear the name of an organization, the [Barot Works]!"

"It turned out that the riots were instigated by that corporation... but apart from that, all other information was unknown, so we were unable to take action against that organization..."

"Therefore, I asked Icarum, who has taken good care of me since I was a child, to infiltrate this [Barot Works] with me and see if we can find any clues..."

··· ·Requesting 0 flowers ········

“I believe this will definitely lead us to the mastermind behind the threat to our kingdom and uncover his true motives…”

"What a brave princess."

Zoro, sitting to the side leaning against the wall, offered a word of praise, then asked with a puzzled look:

"I remember when they invited me, they seemed to say that the purpose of the [Barot Works] was to establish an [ideal state]? Could it be that..."

“Yes! Although the boss hinted to the employees that the company was going to build an ‘ideal state’…” Vivi nodded, her expression grave, “the true purpose of the Barrot Works is to seize the Kingdom of Alabasta!”

"If we don't hurry back to our country to reveal the truth and suppress the national riots, then it's all part of the Balot Agency's scheme!"

"I see..."

... . ...

Nami suddenly realized, "Now I understand what's going on. The country is in turmoil, so they're broke, right?"

Who exactly is the mastermind behind this?

"Don't ask! Don't ask!!"

Weiwei quickly waved her hand and said, "You'd better not ask about the boss's true identity! This is the only thing I won't tell you!"

"Otherwise, your lives will also be threatened..."

"Hasn't Old Sha become the King of Alabasta yet?"

Beside her, Hai looked at Weiwei with a surprised expression.

They had been training at Twin Capes for three months. Was Crocodile in this world not yet as powerful as the Alabasta Kingdom?

That makes sense, after all, that guy's goal is the ancient weapon [Pluto], and maybe [The Ideal State] is just empty promises to his employees...

"Old Sha?"

Without a second thought, Vivi smiled and said, "Screwball Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea? No, we don't know his purpose yet, but he certainly hasn't unleashed his final attack..."

"Gah!" At this point, Weiwei, realizing what was happening, froze on her face with a smile. Her eyes widened in terror as she looked at Hai, and her voice became tense and stammering.

"Old...Old Sha? Could it be...you're related to him...?"

"do not know!"

Amused, Hai looked at Weiwei and waved his hand with a smile, saying:

"To be precise... I've heard of him, but he doesn't know me, so don't be so nervous. I'm not with that guy who's been physically and mentally assaulted..."

"..."

At this moment, in the dark shadows of a rooftop in the distance.

Upon hearing the name Crocodile, the ominous duo hidden in the shadows twitched their beast ears, alertly wrapped up sketches of Ino and his group, and then silently spread their wings and flew into the dark night sky, quickly disappearing from sight... Nine.

Chapter 137 How did you find out about me?

Huh?

Zoro rubbed his eyes, gazing at the distant night sky, and exclaimed in surprise, "Hey! Just now, it looked like a big bird that looked like a vulture flew away. Are all the birds in the Grand Line that big?"

"What?! A vulture!"

Vivi, who was just about to catch her breath, suddenly tensed up and looked up at Zoro. When she saw the empty night sky, her expression immediately became tense and serious.

"Oh no! The one that flew away must be the company's 'punisher.' They must have overheard our conversation... Now, besides us, they'll definitely remember you too..."

"It's alright..."

After pondering for a while, Hai waved his hand.

"I'm also planning to go to Alabasta to see him. It's good to remember him, so I won't have to waste time introducing myself later..."

"..."

Seeing this, Weiwei fell silent.

"I don't think this is a good idea... Although Mr. 5 and Mr. Valentine were defeated by you, Crocodile, as a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, used to have a bounty of 80 million Berries!"

"Moreover, this was after his bounty was frozen and removed when he became a Shichibukai. So many years have passed, we have absolutely no way of predicting just how powerful he really is..."

"Don't worry, I've already made up my mind!"

Looking around at Zoro and the others whose expressions hadn't changed much, Hai revealed a satisfied smile.

"That guy is indeed very strong as a Logia-type, but that doesn't mean he's invincible..."

In his view, anyone who would give up honing their skills for the sake of a so-called ancient weapon is absolutely the most foolish.

It's no wonder, though. In his most youthful and arrogant years, he was defeated by the world's strongest warrior, Whitebeard, whose power shattered his confidence, leading him to seek refuge in legendary objects.

He could understand, but he didn't agree.

After all, this is a supernatural world...

"Princess!"

Without a word, Ikaram changed into the same outfit as Vivi, and appeared before everyone in an extremely jarring way...

Holding several puppets in his hand, Ikarum said in a deep voice, "Give me the [Permanent Pointer] of Alabasta! I'll act as bait to attract the attention of the Batra Organization!"

Do you have absolutely no self-awareness?

Everyone looked away at the woman's burly figure in women's clothing, feeling as if their eyes had been subjected to an unimaginable shock.

"Ikaram... I'm sorry!"

Vivi looked like she was about to cry, and said, "That [Permanent Pointer] was destroyed by an explosion at Twin Capes..."

what? !

Immediately, Ikaram's expression turned to one of utter astonishment.

"Wait... what did you just say?"

Nami asked in confusion, "Isn't it the [Log Pointer]? What is the [Permanent Pointer]?"

"Ah? Don't you know?"

With a bewildered expression, Ikarum listlessly drew the symbol of a permanent pointer on the ground and explained:

"Simply put, this is a permanent version of the [Record Pointer]!"

"The 'Record Pointer' typically guides the ship to the next island, while the 'Permanent Pointer' records the magnetic field of an island, permanently saving all information about that island..."

"No matter where it goes, it will point to that island... just like this [Permanent Pointer], which records the geomagnetic force of the Alabasta Kingdom."

"So that's it..."

Nami suddenly realized.

I haven't learned about this from Mr. Crocus...

This was the first time she had ever heard of the existence of a [permanent pointer].

"..."

Having explained this, Icarum turned to Princess Vivi, looking somewhat listless, and said:

"Originally, I planned to impersonate you, Princess, and take along dolls disguised as them, returning directly to Alabasta... taking advantage of the air raids that distracted the pursuers from Barot Works, I would have you board these people's ships and return home via a normal route..."

"Now that the [permanent pointer] is gone, all we can do is face the trouble..."

"No need for such formalities, I've been wanting to meet someone anyway..."

Hai waved his hand, smiled, and looked up at the gradually brightening sky in the distance.

"Nami! Is the pointer recording complete?"