The small boat bumped onto the rocky beach. Tall, rocky cliffs nearby made long shadows, but it was still very hot. The air felt tense and smelled like hot rocks.
"Move fast," Nami said, putting her bag on her back quickly. She looked up nervously at the top of the canyon. "Stay in the shadows. Vivi, you go first."
Vivi nodded. She looked worried but strong. "This way," she pointed to a thin crack in the rocks. "It's an old hidden path. It goes through the bottom of the rocks. Safer than walking out in the open." She stepped into the dark crack.
"Go now!" Nami whispered loudly. She started running fast through the fading smoke. Vivi ran right behind her, staying low.
Takuya watched their backs while Mira also kept a serious lookout behind them. They hurried deeper into the twisting canyon path.
After they'd gone around a few bends and left the patrolling people behind, they reached a spot where the path was a little wider, protected by high rock walls. Nami leaned against the cool rock, breathing hard. "Okay... safe for a minute. But we need to be quicker. This path is too slow."
Vivi wiped sweat from her brow, gazing anxiously at the narrow strip of sky far above. "It gets worse further in. Narrower, more treacherous. At this speed... it could take us until nightfall even late if we have to keep talking halts."
Frustration tinged her voice. "If only we'd found the quad sand bikes the traders usually stash near entrances... We could have covered this distance more quickly."
Nami groaned. "Buried bikes now? Great. Any idea where?"
"After those massive sand cyclones?" Vivi swept a hand towards the dunes partially filling the wider end of the crevice.
"Everything's been buried or swept away. Finding a specific stash now..." She shook her head. "It would be pure luck."
Takuya, who had been silently surveying the wind-sculpted dunes at the crevice's mouth using his observation haki, searched for the bikes. His gaze fixed on a specific patch of sand near the base of the western cliff wall.
It looked subtly different – slightly more mounded, less rippled than the surrounding drifts, and as he had thought, he found three quad bikes buried there. Without a word, he began digging with his bare hands, scooping away the loose, dry grains with surprising efficiency.
Nami frowned. "Takuya? What are you—"
Her question died as his fingers scraped against something hard and angular beneath the sand. He dug faster, revealing a curved, sun-bleached handlebar, then a dusty windshield.
Within moments, the sleek, rugged form of a quad sand bike emerged. He shifted slightly, digging beside it, uncovering a second, then a third bike nestled together against the rock.
Nami blinked, stunned. "Bikes? Here? How did you even know—"
"Good Heavens," Vivi breathed, rushing forward, her earlier despair replaced by awe. She knelt beside the nearest bike, brushing sand from its controls. "Like I said, traders stash them... but the storms..."
Takuya stood, brushing sand from his hands with unnerving calmness. He gestured towards the rock face where the bikes had been nestled.
"The big winds reshaped the top layer, but the deep rock doesn't budge." His boot scuffed a half-buried metal ring bolted to the cliff base. "Anchor points. Traders tie stuff down here when storms hit."He slapped the sun-warmed sandstone.
"This side of the rock blocks the wind. Stuff gets dumped here, piled up deep, covering anything right against the wall."
He pointed to the distinct, layered patterns in the surrounding sand, funneling towards their spot. "See how the sand swirls? Wind blows everything else clean or moves it around. But this little nook? It catches stuff and keeps it safe."
Nami followed his explanation, the logic clicking into place. "So you saw the anchor ring?"
"And the sand pattern," Takuya said, already heaving the first bike upright in a shower of grit. "Process of elimination. Vivi identified the route. Traders need hidden but easy spots with anchors, given the deserts usually have sandstorms from time to time." he nodded towards the open dune.
Vivi's eyes shone with understanding. "You looked for the signs of a stash point, not the bikes themselves!"
"Probability assessment," Takuya corrected tersely. He tested the bike's tires. "Three bikes." His gaze flicked past the uncovered machines to the solitary third one where Mira sat, enthusiastically pressing the throttle and making engine noises from her mouth. "Vroom! Vroom!" she grinned, utterly absorbed in her play.
Takuya's expression didn't change. "We're four people. We don't need the extra one," he stated flatly, his eyes resting on Mira's childlike glee, "given this creature here doesn't know how to ride a bike. It's best if we leave it."
Nami stared at the uncovered machines, then at Mira's stupid delight, and finally back at Takuya. The impossible find now made tangible sense – not magic, but reading the desert's hidden language. The bikes weren't stumbled upon; their location was deduced.
"So... you didn't find bikes," she murmured, a reluctant respect coloring her voice despite the practicality of abandoning the third. "You found the place where bikes had to be."
"Everything leaves traces," Takuya stated, handing her the handlebars of the least sand-clogged bike.
Takuya sat on the first bike, having Vivi sit behind him, while Nami swung her leg over the second bike, as Mira sat behind her as they ran the engine rushing towards Alubarna.
High on a sheltered ledge overlooking the spot where the bikes had appeared, Nico Robin shifted position almost imperceptibly.
Her dark clothing blended with the rock shadows as her calm eyes tracked the two departing bikes until their sound faded into the desert.
Only when silence reclaimed the hollow did she emerge fully from her concealed observation point, moving with silent precision down the rock face.
Her gaze lingered for a moment on the lone vehicle left behind in the sandy hollow before turning to follow the distant dust trail of Takuya's group, maintaining her careful, unseen pursuit.
A small, knowing smile touched Robin's lips. 'How very handy,' she thought, her mind moving fast. 'Three bikes pulled from the sand. Two needed. One left exactly here... where someone following might be.'
The chance of him putting three bikes at this very spot, just happening to match the number needed plus one, felt too perfect to be true.
She thought about other ideas: Could he have felt her nearby earlier? Maybe, but not likely from this far and with her skill in hiding. Was it just being extra careful? Possibly. But the exact way it fit bothered her.
'Did he know?' The question hung in the quiet air. 'Did he feel I was here? Or... is this just his very careful way, thinking of every chance, even the chance of someone following?'
The on-purpose act of pulling out a third bike, then clearly saying to leave it behind as 'not needed', seemed less like a spare and more like... a welcome. Or a trick question.
The puzzle got deeper, twisting inside her like a desert snake. Takuya wasn't just someone to watch now; he was a player moving pieces on a hidden board.
This wasn't just being ready; it was a chess move, a quiet way of saying he knew, maybe even a dare. Why leave a fast ride for someone who might be chasing you unless you wanted them to stay close? Or wanted to see what they would do with it?
'He sets the speed,' Robin realized, a flicker of real interest lighting up her dark eyes. 'He makes the rules of the chase. Alright then, Chess Master.' The mystery of Takuya – his tools, his seeing ahead, his maybe knowing about her – caught her interest far more than just watching where his group went.
Could he truly stop the war? That was still the big question. But how he did things, how deep his seeing and planning went... that was the real thing worth watching now.
With the same silent grace she'd used to observe, Robin descended the cliff face. She approached the lone sand bike, its matte-black surface cool under her touch. It hummed faintly, ready. Waiting?
Exactly where someone following might be. Left behind... a welcome? Or a trick question? The questions echoed her earlier thoughts. A gift? A trap? Or simply the tool he'd placed for whoever was clever enough – and close enough – to be following? She didn't know yet. But she intended to find out, and this was the move on the board he'd offered.
Swinging a leg over the seat, she settled onto it, the engine purring to life at her touch. The knowing smile lingered. The phantom observer now had the wheels he'd seemingly left for her. The game between the strategist and the archaeologist had entered its next phase, dictated by his rules, racing towards the heart of Alubarna.
The Marines: Mobilizing for Alubarna
Far to the south, the Marine warship Swift Justice cut through the blue waters of the southern Sandora Delta, its white hull bright against the sea. Smoke poured not just from its funnels, but from its Captain.
Smoker stood on the front deck, his usual cigars jammed in his mouth, fists on his hips. Tashigi stood stiffly beside him, gripping her sword Shigure. The crew stood gathered before them.
"Listen!" Smoker's rough, commanding voice cut over the engine noise. "Reports are confirmed. Rebel Army is gathering near Katorea. Royal Army is digging in at Alubarna. The fuse is lit. Full-scale fighting could start any hour now."
He stabbed a thick finger towards the far-off desert. "Our main job is NOT catching pirates right now. It's stopping a bloodbath. Alubarna is where it'll blow. That's where we head. Full speed."
He turned to his officers. "Standard plan! Lieutenant Gosa! Take your squad. Secure the eastern gates of Alubarna. Set up aid stations outside the city walls. Get civilians away from the fighting area. Use blockades. Only use force to stop fights if regular people are in danger."
"Sir!" Gosa saluted sharply.
"Lieutenant Jango! Your squad. Western gates. Same job. Work with any local army officers who haven't lost their minds. Tell them the Marines are here to stop the killing, not pick a side." Jango nodded, face serious.
"Sergeant Major!" Smoker barked at a tough-looking older Marine. "You hold the ship here. Watch the communication lines. Send updates. Be ready to send backup or fire support from the sea if everything goes wrong."
Finally, he looked down at Tashigi. Her glasses flashed in the sun, but her eyes were focused, full of duty. "Ensign Tashigi."
"Captain!"
"You get a different job." Smoker's voice was tight. He clenched his cigars. "Baroque Works heard our messages. They know the Straw Hats split up. They know that 'that bastard is' heading to Alubarna with the Princess."
He almost spat the words. "Baroque works top agent Miss All Sunday specifically told her agents to watch him... but not touch him. Yet."
Tashigi's eyes widened slightly behind her glasses. "Takuya..."
Smoker's jaw tightened, teeth grinding on his cigars. Smoke billowed around his head like a storm cloud. "Yeah. That drug dealer. Takuya." The name came out like poison.
"Logue Town. Nonohana. Leaves chaos in his wake like a damn hurricane. Now Miss All Sunday's got her hooks in him? That makes him ten times more dangerous and ten times more valuable than whatever poison he's peddling now."
He slammed a fist onto the railing, the metal groaning. "I don't know what Baroque Works wants with a scum-sucking parasite like him, but I do know what happens when Takuya gets involved.
Chaos. Destruction. People caught in the crossfire. Him tangling with Crocodile's crew in the middle of a civil war?" Smoker shook his head, a plume of smoke jetting from his nostrils.
"That's a recipe for a slaughterhouse. I want to drag him back and throw him to the deepest level of Impel Down myself, Tashigi.
Make him pay for every life ruined in his filthy fun." His voice dropped, thick with frustration and the weight of command. "But preventing this kingdom from tearing itself apart comes first.
Alubarna burns, everyone loses. Including the people he's already hurt. Alabasta is one of the twenty kingdoms that has formed the world government, so handling Alabasta's matters takes priority."
He leaned closer, his voice a low, dangerous growl that vibrated in Tashigi's bones. "Take a fast skiff. Take Corporal Ramba and his best squad. Intercept Takuya's group before they reach Alubarna.
Apprehend him. Shackle him tight. I want to know everything. What game is he playing now? Why is Miss All Sunday watching him like a hawk? What does Baroque Works see in a walking disaster zone?
Bring him in. The Princess and the Navigator... protect them if you can. But Takuya?" Smoker's eyes locked onto Tashigi's, burning with intensity. "He is your primary target. He is the unknown variable I will not have messing with a warzone. Understood?"
Tashigi swallowed hard. Images flashed: the shattered port facilities at Nonohana, the reports of addiction spiraling from Logue Town, the events of last night. Takuya's cold smirk in wanted posters.
Personal disgust along with a sudden attraction towards him, that made her unable to deny his commands, one of the reasons why she told Takuya about the intel marines had gotten, all of this was clouding her mind, as she tightened her grip on Shigure until her knuckles turned white.
But orders were clear, the stakes immense. She snapped a razor-sharp salute. "Understood, Captain! Apprehend Takuya. Intelligence extraction priority." Her voice was firm, but a flicker of concern remained. "Sir... the civil war in Alubarna...?"
Smoker straightened to his full, imposing height, plumes of smoke wreathing his head like a vengeful spirit. "Leave Alubarna to me. You handle my problem. Now move! Every second that snake slithers free is a risk!" His voice cracked like a whip.
As Tashigi spun, barking orders to Corporal Ramba, Smoker watched her for a fraction of a second. A grim satisfaction – seeing his orders snapped to with military precision – battled his fury at not being the one to finally haul Takuya in. He saw only the familiar, rigid posture of duty, the unshakable Marine integrity he trusted implicitly.
He saw only the rigid posture of duty, the unshakable Marine integrity he trusted absolutely. The possibility that her resolve was fracturing – that Takuya's secret offer might actually sway her to betray the very institution she'd pledged her life to – lay utterly beyond his perception.
Then he turned, his gaze boring north through the heat haze towards Alubarna's distant spires. His fists clenched, smoke already coiling around his legs…
"Alright, Crocodile," he growled around the cigars, the sound like grinding stone. "Let's see how you like it when the Marines crash your little party."
With a roar of compressed smoke, he transformed his lower body and launched off the deck like a white comet, streaking towards the shore and the looming battle for the capital.
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