Uchiha Puppet Master, Starting from One Piece

Everyone was covered in a thick layer of yellow sand. Their hair, collars, and faces were all covered in fine sand. Rangiku raised her hand to wipe her face, only to find her hand covered in sand. Even her eyebrows were stained a yellowish-brown by the sand. She looked at everyone's appearance, paused for a moment, and then burst into laughter: "An unexpected situation has arisen. Everyone is a bit covered in dust."

Upon hearing Rangiku's words, Kanna raised her hand to touch her face, only to find her hand covered in sand. Her brows furrowed even more, and she looked at Shiraha with a wronged expression: "Shiraha, Kanna is dirty..."

Bai Yu looked at her chubby little face and couldn't help but laugh. He then took out a wet wipe and gently wiped her face, saying as he did so, "It's okay, we'll set off again after the sandstorm stops."

Retsuya Unohana took a towel from the doll's hand and handed it to everyone. He then slowly wiped the sand off his face. After the plain white towel was used, everything returned to normal.

Robin wiped the sand off her face, pressed herself against the wall, and listened to the sounds outside. The sandstorm was still raging, with yellow sand filling the sky, and she couldn't see anything outside. She said, "The sandstorm hasn't stopped yet. We have to stay here for a while. Luckily, we prepared enough supplies in advance, otherwise we would be in trouble."

Bai Yu nodded, took out some dry rations, and distributed them to everyone.

"Let's eat something first to replenish our energy, and then continue our journey once the sandstorm stops."

The group sat together, eating dry rations with water, while the sandstorm outside howled like a somber song.

Kanna leaned against Shiraha's chest, munching on pastries, Rangiku ate while complaining about the harshness of the desert, and Unohana Retsu ate quietly, occasionally stroking the fur of the camel beside her.

About two hours later, the wind outside gradually subsided, the yellow sand slowly dissipated, and sunlight filtered through the sand curtain, casting dappled light.

Bai Yu got up and removed his protective gear. He peeked out and saw that the sandstorm had stopped. The yellow sand outside was still endless, but it had returned to its usual calm. However, the familiar sand dune outlines had been completely altered by the sandstorm, and he could no longer find the way he came.

"We're lucky; it wasn't one of those sandstorms that lasts a long time. This was just a small-scale one. Some sandstorms can last for several days. Now that the sandstorm has stopped, we should set off."

Bai Yu turned around and said. Upon hearing this, everyone stood up, patted the yellow sand off their bodies, and led their camels out of the sunken sand dune.

The four camels, exhausted from the sandstorm, still walked gently. The brown camel, in particular, walked up to Retsu Unohana and gently nuzzled her palm, as if it were being affectionate.

Rangiku stretched and looked at the completely transformed desert before her, exclaiming, "This sandstorm was incredible! Luckily we had camels, or we would have really gotten lost in the desert."

Bai Yu glanced at the direction and said, "Luckily we have camels. We'll be able to head towards Albana."

Leading their camels, the group continued their journey through the desert. After being battered by the sandstorm, the air temperature had dropped a bit, and the wind had become gentler. Occasionally, a cool breeze would swirl up fine sand and brush against their cheeks, which was quite pleasant.

Kanna remained nestled in Bai Yu's lap, her usual lively self returning. Her little head darted around, her round eyes brimming with curiosity. Every now and then, she would point to the distant sand dunes and shout, "Bai Yu, look! That sand dune looks like a little cake!"

However, as night approached, several small figures suddenly darted out of the yellow sand ahead. They moved with incredible speed and quickly reached the group, blocking their path.

Upon closer inspection, everyone saw that they were several small creatures, each less than 1.3 meters tall, covered in pale green scales, with lizard-like heads, round eyes, and short but exceptionally agile limbs. They held several sharpened wooden sticks in their hands, striking a fierce and menacing pose, and making squeaking noises as if warning everyone.

"Is this... a lizardman?"

Robin raised an eyebrow, a hint of curiosity flashing in his eyes: "I didn't expect to encounter lizardmen in the Alabasta desert. They're said to be the native inhabitants of the desert, skilled at traversing the sand, and quite lively in nature."

Seeing that the group had stopped, the lizardmen became even more arrogant. The lizardman at the front, with a tuft of red scales on his head, seemed to be the leader. He waved his wooden stick and squeaked at the group.

Kanna's eyes lit up instantly when she saw the little lizardman in front of her. She peeked out from Bai Yu's arms, stretched out her little hand, and pointed curiously at the red-scaled lizardman, asking, "Bai Yu, what is this? Can I eat it?"

As she spoke, she tried to jump off Bai Yu's arms.

When the lizardmen saw Kanna extend her hand, they thought she was going to attack them. They were so frightened that they took a few steps back and assumed a defensive posture. Their squeaks became more rapid, but their eyes were secretly observing Kanna, as if they were curious about the background of this little girl who was about the same height as them.

Rangiku couldn't help but laugh at the amusing scene before her: "I didn't expect these lizardmen to be so timid; they were scared off by Kanna's mere glance."

As she spoke, she tried to step forward, but as soon as she took a step, the lizardmen waved their wooden sticks and squeaked at her, as if in a show of defiance. However, their small bodies, coupled with their fierce expressions, were not scary at all, but rather quite comical.

However, Unohana took out some dried fruit, placed it in her palm, waved to the lizardmen, and made soft sounds.

The lizardmen's eyes lit up instantly when they saw the dried fruit in her palm, and their noses twitched as if they were smelling it, but they remained wary and stood still, not daring to approach.

The red-scaled lizardman took a step forward, then three steps back, looking left and right as if hesitating. Its gaze fell on Unohana Retsu's gentle face, then at the sweet dried fruit in her palm. Finally, unable to resist the temptation, it cautiously walked up to Unohana Retsu, stretched out its tiny paw, picked up a piece of dried fruit, put it in its mouth, and chewed it slowly. Its eyes instantly narrowed into slits, revealing a satisfied expression.

With their leader taking the lead, the other lizardmen lowered their guard and surrounded Unohana Retsu, stretching out their little paws to grab the dried fruit from her palm, chattering as if they were thanking her.

Seeing that the lizardman was no longer fierce, Kanna jumped down from Bai Yu's arms and carefully walked to a small lizardman. She reached out her little hand and gently touched its scales. The scales were smooth, cool, and felt exceptionally good.

The little lizardman stiffened for a moment after Kanna touched his scales, then turned his head and rubbed his little head against Kanna's palm, as if he were being affectionate.

Seeing this, Kanna smiled so much that her eyes curved into crescent moons. She took out a candy from her storage bag, unwrapped it, and handed it to the little lizardman. The little lizardman smelled it, opened his little mouth, and put the candy in his mouth. The sweet taste made him instantly show a happy expression, and he started circling around Kanna.

"These lizardmen are quite interesting."

"That's what Matsumoto Rangiku said."

"Um……"

Unohana squinted and responded with a half-smile.