"Master Lizard... why does this term sound so familiar to me..."
After leaving the area where the Kung Fu Sea Cows gathered, Vivi listened to the term more and felt familiar, but couldn't recall where exactly she had seen it.
"What's wrong, Vivi? By the way, isn't the capital on the other side of the river too? Have you seen this Master Lizard they were talking about?"
"Those Kung Fu Sea Cows said Master Lizard is a strange figure dressed like a human cowboy, who can cut through rocks with a wave of his hand.
Under Chopper's description, Master Lizard's image gradually overlapped with the little lizard following Robin. She found herself increasingly unable to understand this former teacher.
But this didn't delay their journey. To stop Crocodile's actions, they pressed on through the vast sea of sand day and night.
...
After some time, Yamato and the group had arrived at the Royal City of Albana.
According to Robin, they just needed to wait in the city for a few days. She would deal with some matters and join them soon.
As the royal capital of Alabasta, even though other areas suffered from drought under Crocodile's actions, it still maintained a certain degree of prosperity.
Yet, even the prosperous royal city rarely received such grand customers. They booked the most luxurious hotel at a very low price. In fact, even if they hadn't, hardly anyone entered.
The Rebel Army in Alabasta was active, and coupled with recent slight economic downturn in the country, the capital had few tourists. Yamato, a rich young lady's lavish spending, practically saved this nearly bankrupt hotel, injecting some cash flow back into it.
"Everyone, there's been talk of Rebel Army activity recently, though it's safe within the city. But just in case, it's advised not to go out at night."
Watching the three of them and some strange animals, the tavern waiter left the courtyard of Yamato and her group.
In Alabasta, people here have a strong acceptance for all sorts of strange creatures.
The fastest creatures in Alabasta, the Fast-Running Ducks, are large ducks resembling Land Birds, with a special Fast-Running Duck force in the kingdom.
Symbolically significant Sea Cats, equally fast Water and Land Transport Turtles, along with creatures like the Kung Fu Sea Cow, Banana Crocodile, and Deceit Bird, each with different personalities.
The appearance of Smeargle and Blissey, though unique, looks very friendly. A rich young lady keeping unusual pets is quite common in their view.
....
At this time, Page One was in the room studying the updated games on his Rotom Phone, while Yamato was "moon watching" with Ulti.
"So cold... this country is really not suited for me to live."
As night fell, the daytime heat dissipated, replaced by waves of chill.
Alabasta's air is very dry, with little rainfall and few clouds, unable to absorb the sun's thermal radiation.
During the day, when the sun's light and heat hit the desert, the top layer of sand absorbs heat and releases it back into the air, overheating it, causing temperatures to skyrocket.
At night, most of the heat in the sand quickly dissipates, making the sand and its surroundings become colder.
Temperatures reaching thirty to forty degrees during the day and dropping below zero at night is common in Alabasta.
The arid environment was also one of the reasons Crocodile chose this place, as his abilities are significantly weakened in rainy weather, compared to this, the huge temperature difference is nothing.
But Ulti did not like this climate. This degree of hot and cold couldn't faze her, but compared to the comfortable environments she's used to, the climate here is simply awful.
People might long for winter in the summer, wishing to freeze rather than overheat, but when winter comes, these feelings reverse, with a yearning to overheat rather than freeze.
Ulti was in this state at the moment; the only thing she liked about this country was the various kinds of fruit.
"How did Robin manage to stay here for several years?"
"Hmm... As I recall, she didn't stay here constantly, always exploring here and there in the early part according to her. Spending others' money doing her own thing, this is considered... hmm, what's that word... I can't remember it."
Yamato couldn't recall the word lingering on the tip of her tongue, and eventually let it go.
"Speaking of which, this country really is desolate, I've seen quite a few ruins along the way."
"Whatever, there are many countries in this world. Haven't you seen those worse off in the New World? Can you manage all of them?"
"I can't manage now, but it's uncertain for the future."
"Why didn't I notice you cared about managing so many things before?"
"It's not that I want to manage them, it's just uncomfortable watching it this way. If everything were like Wano Kuni, that would be great. As for before... maybe all I thought back then was about fighting that bastard dad?"
"Be confident, you're still thinking about that now. I'm going to check on Paige, you do as you please."
Saying that, she leaped into the second floor of the courtyard. Climbing through windows instead of doors was almost a skill passed down among the new generation of the Hundred Beasts, except Jack, whose large size and lack of agility prevented it. This skill was all thanks to Kaidou.
After Ulti jumped back inside through the window, a commotion was heard from within. Meanwhile, Yamato looked towards Smeargle painting on the wall, helping Blissey and the Blisseys from Ghost Island set up a video before continuing to study the stars in the sky.
...
After dawn the next day, Yamato wanted to take in the sights of the capital but was interrupted by an explosion sound.
The waiter's words at the hotel were inaccurate. Provoked by Crocodile, a large number of Rebel Army troops had surrounded the capital.
Originally, they were in a stand-off, but members of Baroque Works had long infiltrated the kingdom's military. With a deliberate "slip-up," the city defense cannons roared, marking the outbreak of a great battle.
The tension between both sides was like a powder keg, and this single shot set the battlefield ablaze.
Countless camel cavalry churned up clouds of dust, advancing towards the capital under the kingdom military's artillery fire.
"So this is war; is this the environment Father grew up in?"
Whether it's battles among pirates or clashes between pirates and the Navy, in scale they don't count as full wars. But this time was different, as a big nation, Alabasta has a massive advantage in both land and population.
The number of people affected by this war far exceeded Yamato's previous understanding.
"I really don't like this environment...."
Observing Kaidou's passion for war, Yamato couldn't comprehend why Kaidou was so addicted to war. It was at this moment that Robin sent her a new communication.