"Hahaha! Yes, yes, yes! Let them have their fill!"
"Hurry up and leave! Otherwise you won't even get any soup."
"On a dark and stormy night like this, there's no need for this place to exist. For the sake of our lovely Weiwei, you will all become my gifts to her!"
With a whoosh, Mo Mo left the rooftop.
Inside the tavern, the members of the Falling Flower Pirates, who were "unconscious," were in various poses.
After calculating the time, Mo Mo figured the bounty hunters would be about to make their move, so he prepared to go in and wake them up to prepare for battle.
Just as Mo Mo was about to push open the door and enter, he noticed some movement inside the tavern. So, Mo Mo discreetly concealed himself and entered the tavern.
"Wake up, wake up! Those bounty hunters are coming! Hey! Nami, Kaya, wake up!"
"Oh! It's Vivi! What's going on underground? Aren't you going to explain?" Nami asked, yawning, and then rubbed her eyes.
"There's no time to explain. You'd better come with me right now, or it will be too late."
"You should explain first! Otherwise, we won't go with you." Mo Mo took over and slowly walked out from the corner.
Weiwei stared wide-eyed at Mo Mo as he walked out, covering her mouth with her small hand, her surprise evident. Seeing that Nami and the others showed no surprise at all, Weiwei couldn't help but fall silent, clearly she was the only one who hadn't noticed Mo Mo.
Actually, Weiwei was wrong. The others in the room didn't notice Mo Mo either. As for why they weren't surprised when Mo Mo suddenly appeared, it was simply because they were used to Mo Mo's elusive nature and firmly believed that Mo Mo was nearby.
"Are all the people on the island bounty hunters?" Mo Mo asked with a smile as he looked at the silent Weiwei.
“That’s right, they are all bounty hunters, bounty hunters belonging to Baroque Works, and I am also a high-ranking member of the work. I originally thought you were like other pirates, which is why I tricked you into coming here, but I found out you are different, you are good people, so please come with me!” Weiwei pleaded, “I will feel uneasy if something happens to you.”
"You don't need to feel uneasy anymore, because you will die with them. How exciting! To actually kill a princess of a kingdom with your own hands." With the voice, a man wearing a crown with two question marks painted on his face walked in, followed by a pink-haired, muscular woman.
Mo Mo ignored the two people who walked in, walked up to Weiwei as if no one else was around, reached out and lifted Weiwei's chin: "Weiwei, full name Nefertari Weiwei, princess of the Kingdom of Alabasta, joined Baroque Works to save her country, am I right?"
"Don't rush to deny it, and don't ask who I am. I can only tell you that I can save your country, but as a reward, you... must become my woman." After saying that, Mo Mo laughed loudly. "Of course, that's just a joke. But if I save your country, how about you board my ship and become my crew member?" Mo Mo said with a smile, as if he was not saving a country, but just going out for a walk after a meal.
"Of course, I'll show you my strength. Oh, and let me tell you something else. The reason your country is in this state is because of Crocodile, the mastermind behind Baroque Works and one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Little Vivi, just stay with Nami and the others. I'll show you our power."
Under Mo Mo's forceful pressure, Weiwei nodded blankly, which was considered as agreeing to Mo Mo's request.
The outcome was already decided when the Falling Flower Pirates decided to make their move. To everyone's slight shock, the members of Baroque Works were wiped out by Mo Mo in one blow, without any ability to resist. This was inevitable, as one side had the strength of an admiral, while the other side was probably only at the colonel or commodore level. Such an result was not unexpected. In the end, only Miss Valentine survived because she was pretty enough that Mo Mo decided to keep her by his side as a maid. Otherwise, how could Charlia, the only maid on the ship, manage to keep up with everyone?
"How was my skill level? Not bad, right?"
"I...I'm willing to join you. I'll do anything to save our country." Weiwei's eyes widened slightly as she covered her mouth with her hand. It took her a while to come to her senses before she quickly expressed her opinion.
"Alright, it's settled then. You lead the way, and we'll set off tomorrow to rescue your country and, while we're at it, hunt a crocodile."
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 31 Heading Towards Albana
"This is really troublesome!" Mo Mo raised his hand to shield his eyes from the blinding sunlight, looking at the endless, undulating golden sea before him. The sea stretched on and on, seemingly without end, radiating oppressive heat under the sun. Even the space itself appeared to distort, though this was merely an illusion caused by the intense heat. The rapid evaporation of moisture from the desert created rising steam that warped the light, deceiving the eye and giving the illusion that space itself was warping. I believe many people have witnessed similar phenomena, especially above flames, demonstrating just how high the desert temperature was.
“Weiwei, is there no other way? Our ship can’t sail here, even though this is also an ocean, an ocean of sand.” Looking at the golden desert, Nami complained under the clouds she had created, “It’s so hot, and the sun is so strong. I’ll be tanned to a crisp in two days.” Then she leaned close to Weiwei and whispered, “Weiwei, how do you manage to stay so fair after being in the sun for so long? Your skin is so good.”
"Well! Actually, it's like this and that." "Oh, it's that simple!" Then the two slowly walked to the side and began to exchange skincare tips as if no one else was around.
Mo Mo "..."
"Women! It seems I'll have to step in!" Mo Mo sighed, looking up at the sky.
"Captain, do we really have no choice but to abandon ship and walk? I wonder if you could put the ship away, otherwise we'll have to split up?" Kaya, dressed in a snow-white dress and holding a small pink umbrella, walked gracefully towards Mo Mo.
"That's right! We don't want to be separated from the captain!" Noki and the others objected.
“But someone has to sail the ship to meet us!” Kuina voiced her dissenting opinion. As for Robin’s mother and the other older generation, they generally didn’t interfere. Unless it was something very serious, they would just watch with smiles on their faces. As for Charlia and Valentine, maids had no rights. Although the members of the Falling Flower Pirates didn’t treat them as outsiders, the two of them very conscientiously acted as maids. They didn’t object to anything except matters related to them, and remained neutral.
"Stop arguing. If we split into two groups, I and Kuina can sail the ship forward and wait for you, Captains." As soon as Boa Hancock spoke, the women stopped arguing. Hancock was the eldest sister among them, and strength represented status. Boa Hancock's strength was second only to Momo.
"I can't stow the ship because our ship has a built-in array space, and with my current strength, I can't compress it to that extent." Seeing everyone's brows gradually furrowing, Mo Mo quickly said, "Don't worry, I can't stow the ship, and even if I could, I wouldn't, because there's no need! You all know that your captain is omnipotent. You should all know that our ship was built by Tom over two months, but it took me nearly three years to truly complete it after I took it back. And during those three years, I wasn't just messing around; I was genuinely modifying our ship. Let me give you a surprise with the ship I've modified for three years!" After saying that, Mo Mo left the second-floor deck and went to the third-floor cockpit.
"Robin, you and your daughter have been with him the longest, you should know some of the captain's secrets, right?"
“That’s right! You two have been with the captain the longest, so you must know him best.”
"That's right, that's right, hurry up and confess, or you'll be punished according to family rules." Instantly, the women surrounded Robin and Olvia, looking like they would make them regret it if they didn't confess.
"Didn't the captain say he was going to give us a surprise? Just watch, we'll find out soon enough. The captain has already gone to the bridge, let's go up and take a look!" Robin smiled slightly, turned around and left the second-floor deck, heading towards the portal to the third-floor bridge. At the same time, a scene flashed through his mind: "A young man is navigating this strange little boat on the beach. The boat has no sails, but it is speeding across the sea, occasionally even flying off the surface because of its high speed."
"Nami, you're so cunning! You actually sneaked over here with Vivi first, and I didn't even notice." Nojiko was the second to enter the cockpit and immediately spotted Nami and Vivi standing next to Momo.
"You guys are too slow!" he said, making a face at Nojiko.
"Alright, since you're all here, I'll show you a magic trick now. Watch closely, don't be surprised, stand still, get ready to set sail." He said, pressing the red flame icon in front of the ship's wheel.
"Boom!" With a roar and the sound of the propellers spinning wildly, the ship slowly began to move, leaving the sea and sailing to the shore towards the golden ocean.
If someone were above the Goddess at that moment, they would see the Goddess, which was originally quietly docked at the shore, gradually lower and lower in draft until only the bottom of the ship was still touching the water. When the ship stopped rising, the propeller hidden inside the hull spun wildly, making a buzzing sound and slowly propelling the ship forward. Then, with a loud boom, orange-red flames shot out from the stern, and the strange ship shot into the depths of the golden desert like an arrow.
"The ship...the ship is sailing in the desert! That's amazing! The ship can actually sail on land without water! I love you so much, Captain!" Nami exclaimed, jumping up and down. She then hugged Momo, who was steering the ship, and kissed him hard on the cheek before running off the bridge and onto the deck without looking back. The others excitedly followed Nami out of the bridge, and soon only Momo remained. Watching the crowd leave, Momo sighed helplessly, adjusted the course, fixed the rudder, and also left the bridge.
They had been in the desert for three days. The desert was mostly golden, with only a small oasis occasionally visible. What they saw more often was the vast Gobi Desert and endless yellow sand, with the occasional exposed skeletons by the wind. These were animals that had died of thirst or sunburn, or travelers who had not been able to escape or had lost their way. After the initial excitement wore off on the second day, Nami and her friends retreated to the first-floor rest area.
Looking at the boundless desert before him, and thinking of the countless white bones beneath the yellow sand, Momo's determination to kill Crocodile intensified. Watching the anime didn't make it so, but now that he was in the game, he realized that the cruelty of reality was far beyond what the few scenes in the original series could convey. Moreover, in the original series, Luffy only defeated Crocodile without killing him. Although the author may have been setting up Impel Down and the Marineford War, Momo would never let him go, not only to save Vivi's country, but also for the countless innocent people who died because of Crocodile.
"One general's success is built on the ruins of countless others." These seven simple words encapsulate a multitude of joys and sorrows, a cruel reality that can only be truly understood through personal experience. To rulers and unrelated individuals, it is merely a number, perhaps a large one. But for those encapsulated within that number, it represents their entire world, their lives, and the shattering of countless families. Crocodile, for the sake of an ancient weapon whose very existence is uncertain, caused the destruction of so many homes and lives—a sin for which even a hundred deaths could not atone.
Sailing is destined to be tedious and boring. It looks exciting and thrilling in anime because anime shows scenes of battles and landings on islands, while the journey between islands is deliberately omitted. But when you sail yourself, you will understand how tedious the journey is. All you see is the same scenery that never changes, and a single voyage often takes several days or even half a month. Moreover, someone has to keep an eye on you at all times, otherwise, problems can easily arise.
This explains why Luffy and his crew get so excited every time they arrive at an island in the original series. Ordinary people can't stand the unchanging scenery and the lack of anything to do all day, let alone Luffy, who loves adventure and is always active. This is probably why pirates sometimes seem crazy and do things that are hard to understand. Anyone would get exhausted and irritable if they stayed like that for a week or two, or even a month or two.
Of course, things weren't always the same. Mo Mo and his crew stopped midway to dig up some cacti, and coincidentally, there was a man-eating flower nearby. Nami, out of curiosity, almost got swallowed. Startled, Nami immediately manipulated the air to summon a thundercloud and unleashed a furious attack on the man-eating flower. The poor flower was reduced to ashes by the thunder. Not long ago, two giant lizards appeared and tried to attack the Goddess, but Kuina cleaved them in two. Mo Mo originally wanted to follow Luffy and his crew's example from the original series and roast the giant lizards, but the women thought they were too ugly and refused. So Mo Mo had to give up and let them rot in the wilderness, benefiting other carnivores nearby.
"Hmm? That's it!" Mo Mo rubbed his eyes and looked ahead again. He saw that the previously unchanging golden scenery had taken on a slightly different look. As the sailing distance increased, the scenery in the distance became clearer and clearer. It was a huge highland.
The highlands stand like islands in a golden sea. These islands in the desert are almost circular, with wide staircases on all sides leading to the highlands. On the highlands is a city, and the tallest building in the city is a magnificent palace. The palace is built entirely of stone. From a distance, the exact appearance of the palace is not clear, but its round golden roof can be seen.
"Finally here! Albana, the capital of Alabasta, Crocodile, are you ready? Once I've cleared out the traitors here and quelled the rebellion, I'll come and take your head," Mo Mo thought to himself.
As Albanamo drew closer, he spoke into the telepathic array beside him, “Get up and get ready. We’re about to reach our destination, Albana. Time to get to work. Are you all ready? Especially Weiwei, if they don’t understand and your peaceful approach fails to resolve the rebellion, I’ll have to resort to violence.”
Meanwhile, Alba remained as calm as ever, though undercurrents were brewing beneath the surface. At least for now, they maintained a semblance of calm, each restraining themselves and going about their business. Ordinary people occasionally grumbled about things like, "The rebels have attacked there again," or "How cruel the king is," completely unaware that a huge upheaval was about to unfold.
Thank you everyone for your votes and for adding this book to your favorites. For those of you who have already finished reading, feel free to add this to your favorites for future reading. By the way, I think I've already signed a contract, right? I don't really know much about reading...
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 32 Suppressing the Rebellion
A strange, sailless ship was moored at the bottom of the stairs on the west side of Albana. The ship was made entirely of wood but had no mast and therefore no sail. There were also some strange things on the hull, and most importantly, a pirate flag was flying on the ship.
"What's going on with this strange ship? How did it get here?"
"Who knows? I heard it was already parked there when it was found."
"You must be kidding! How could pirates come here? This is a kingdom in the desert, quite a distance from the sea."
"Get out of here immediately! This area is now under martial law. No one is allowed to approach without permission to avoid danger." Upon receiving the message, the royal army quickly imposed martial law on the area and evacuated the people nearby. After evacuating the surrounding area, the royal army quickly surrounded the strange pirate ship.
"Is anyone on board? Please answer if you hear me. You have been surrounded by the Alabasta King's army. Do not put up any futile resistance and disembark immediately, otherwise we will have to board you by force. Do you hear me, everyone on board?"
"Weiwei, are you ready? If you are, let's begin. Otherwise, they might force their way onto the ship. Although they are your citizens, I still don't want them to board, at least not in this manner. To board this ship, they either need an invitation or they need to be strong enough. Otherwise, no one else is qualified to board this ship." Then Mo Mo silently added in his mind, "Or they have to be women and be pretty enough."
"Ready? Let's disembark, Captain. I can definitely save our country, I definitely can!" Weiwei clenched her fist and made a cheering gesture to encourage herself.
Olvia, Bellemere, Makino, Kaya and her daughter, Charlia, and Miss Valentine stayed behind to watch the ship and prepare for any emergencies. Considering that the combat power of those who stayed behind was not very high, although they would be basically safe as long as they did not disembark, Momo still left Hancock behind, while the others went with Momo off the ship to Albana to help Weiwei quell the rebellion.
Under the watchful eyes of the royal army, Momo, Vivi, Nami, Nojiko, Kuina, and Robin jumped off the ship one by one, and then Vivi led the way up the stairs. At this moment, the surrounding royal army finally recognized their country's princess, "Nefertari Vivi".
"Princess, Princess Weiwei has returned."
"What! Princess Vivi is back? Is it true?"
"How could Princess Vivi be with pirates? And these pirates all seem to be women." Then, the royal soldier's eyes widened in surprise as if he had just realized something. "Could it be that Princess Vivi was a pirate during her disappearance?"
"Nonsense, how could Princess Vivi become a pirate? She must have been threatened by pirates to end up with them."
"Alright, everyone, stop guessing. I wasn't kidnapped or threatened. The pirates behind me are actually good people. They came at my invitation to save our country. Where is my father? Take me there quickly; I have important matters to discuss with him." Weiwei quickly explained to avoid any misunderstandings, listening to the discussions among the royal army.
"So you've come to help save our country and quell the rebellion! Welcome, please follow me." A leader of the royal army came over and led the way for Mo Mo and his group.
Following the king's army leader, they traveled through many twists and turns before finally arriving at the training ground. Instead of seeing Weiwei's father, they saw a person completely wrapped in a cloak. Considering that Weiwei had been taken away along the way, Mo Mo could roughly guess what was going on. It was simply that they didn't trust Mo Mo and his group and were preparing to use force to intimidate them into revealing their identities and whereabouts.
Sure enough, as soon as Mo Mo and his group arrived, the guards had already formed a swarm around them, and the cloaked figures had transformed into dog-headed, human-bodied creatures and were closing in on them.
“Pirates, although I don’t know what methods you used to make Princess Vivi believe you, if you think you can rest easy now, you are too naive. You can fool the pure and kind princess, but you can’t fool me. Honestly tell me your origins and purpose, or you’ll be in for a world of hurt.” The dog-headed officer interrogated him.
Looking at the aggressive Jakamomo, he sighed helplessly in his heart, "So, I still have to use force?" But as he thought, force could only be a supplement. After all, Jakamomo had watched Weiwei grow up and was considered one of Weiwei's elders.
"You're Jakka, right? The vice-commander of the Jakka Kingdom's guard. We are indeed here to help Weiwei quell this rebellion and save the country. Of course, Weiwei will also pay a certain reward. As for our identities, I am the captain of the Falling Flower Pirates, a Chaos Devil Fruit user, and six years ago I was a Marine Admiral-level fighter. With my Admiral-level abilities, if I wanted to do something, do you think you could resist me? Here's a piece of information for you: the reason your country has become like this is because of Baroque Works, and the mastermind behind Baroque Works is Crocodile, one of the current Seven Warlords of the Sea. His target is..." Mo Mo deliberately paused here, keeping everyone in suspense.
"What is his goal? Tell me quickly." When Mo Mo suddenly stopped talking at the most crucial point, Jia Ka was so anxious that he almost vomited blood. Looking at Mo Mo slowly refusing to speak, he said, "Let you be so smug. Although I know you are just strong-willed, I am still very unhappy. How dare you make me unhappy. Although I don't want to beat you up because you are Weiwei's elder, I can still make you anxious and angry."
"You little brat, I'll show you what's what, I'll make you anxious." Looking at Jakka's eyes that were practically spitting fire and the Kingdom Guard members around him who were about to burst out with anger, Momo smirked and then glanced around. "Actually, Crocodile's goal is very simple, to become the king of this country. Of course, his most fundamental goal is the Poneglyphs, or more precisely, something mentioned in the Poneglyphs. And he probably isn't even sure if this thing is here."
"What could possibly be so valuable that he'd destroy a nation just to get his hands on it? And something whose very existence is uncertain. If I could, I'd hand it over in exchange for peace." Having learned the truth, Jakka couldn't believe it and immediately knelt on the ground. To destroy a nation for something unknown and whose very existence uncertain—could such a person even be called human?
“Impossible, absolutely impossible to give him anything, not even the slightest clue. Even if this country perishes because of it, that is the meaning of our royal family’s existence and even the existence of this country.”
"Greetings, Your Majesty! Greetings, Princess Weiwei!" Upon seeing Weiwei and the King approach, the guards quickly bowed.
The king had the guards rise and then said to Momo and the others, "Bibi has already told me the general outline of the matter. We'll discuss the rest in detail inside." Momo naturally agreed and followed the king to the living room. Along the way, Nami couldn't help but marvel at the luxury of the place, and even Kuina and the others were amazed. Amidst all the exclamations, Momo and the others arrived at the living room.
After everyone sat down, King Neferutari Cobra couldn't wait to ask Momo what their plans were and how they could help the country overcome its difficulties. Seeing the anxious king, Momo slowly explained his plan.
The plan actually had only three steps: First, to eliminate Baroque Works' agents within the kingdom and the rebels, and then reach a peace agreement with the rebels; second, to appease the people, let them know the truth, and quell their anger; and finally, for me to intervene and stop Crocodile from continuing to wreak havoc on the country. Of course, Momo also truthfully revealed that this plan was actually devised by Weiwei. According to Momo's original plan, the first step was to directly subdue all the rebel leaders and then appease them.
After the negotiations were completed, Cobra began to arrange for people to purge the Baroque Workshop members from within the kingdom. As for the rebels, that was simple. When Weiwei went to negotiate, Mo Mo went along and took care of them with a quick scan using his divine sense. The reason was simple: the Baroque Workshop members all had a tattoo. This tattoo featured a pair of white wings on the outside, a skull in the middle, two crossed swords behind the skull, and the name of the workshop written above the design.
After explaining the situation, Vivi led Nami and the others to a pre-arranged place to rest. After all, they had been sailing for so long, and it would take some time to clear out the people inside the kingdom. Momo, on the other hand, was arranged by Cobra.
The next morning, before Mo Mo even got out of bed, he heard Nami calling outside the door. After getting up and dressed, Mo Mo opened the door and saw that everyone was there. They were probably anxious to quell the rebellion in the country. Last night, apart from Mo Mo and Nami, everyone else, including Weiwei, hadn't slept well. Sure enough, although they tried to hide it, Mo Mo could tell at a glance that they all had dark circles under their eyes.
Looking at the crowd in front of him, Mo Mo sighed, "After breakfast, I will take Weiwei to negotiate with the rebels. At the same time, I will eliminate the Baroque Studio members from the rebels. Of course, I won't kill them, after all, I promised Weiwei."
Seeing the nervous expressions on Weiwei's and her father's faces, Mo Mo sighed again, "Seeing you like this makes me lose my appetite for breakfast. I'll take you there now. Nami, you two guard the capital to prevent the Baroque Works people from causing trouble."
Mo Mo reached out his left hand and took Weiwei's small hand, squeezing it. It was indeed tender, smooth, and soft. Before Weiwei could react, he activated his spatial ability. Since he had never been here before, and the place was full of sand, Mo Mo used six teleportations to reach the rebel camp. One of them teleported him directly to the scorpion's nest, which scared Weiwei so much that she clung to Mo Mo like an octopus.
Finally, they found the rebels. With a sweep of their divine sense, they located Kosha's camp and found all the people from Baroque Workshop. After knocking out more than a dozen rebels, Mo Mo and Weiwei finally sat down at the negotiating table.