A princess?
As the words faded, silence instantly descended upon the warship.
Everyone looked toward the source of the sound. It was a soldier's startled cry.
He had recognized the blue-haired girl's identity, hence his shock.
Meanwhile, Momousagi and Hina, who had been deep in thought, shuddered as a sudden realization hit them.
"Could they have kidnapped the princess of Alabasta?"
Hina's face filled with shock. She gritted her teeth. "Truly the worst kind of pirates. I thought they would be different from the rest since they rejected the Seven Warlords invitation, but it seems I was wrong."
"If this really is the kidnapping of a kingdom's princess, we can't just stand by and watch."
Momousagi's expression turned fierce. "All hands, turn the ship around! We are heading into Alabasta!"
"Yes, ma'am!" the Marine soldiers answered in unison.
The two warships changed direction simultaneously, charging full speed toward the coast of Alabasta.
"Alabasta is an affiliated nation of the world government. If their princess is kidnapped by pirates we just tried to recruit into the Seven Warlords, the Marines will lose all face!"
"This is a serious matter," Momousagi said grimly. "We need to report this to Marineford."
"Yes, ma'am!" A deputy received the order and left.
Not much time had passed since Lius and his crew left. If they gave chase at full speed, they still had a chance to catch up.
"They entered the desert. Since they kidnapped the princess, they are definitely heading toward the Royal Capital."
Holding a cigarette between her slender fingers, Hina exhaled a cloud of smoke. She glanced sideways at Momousagi. "Should we notify Garp? We can't be careless and let them slip away."
"Of course we should!" Momousagi nodded and pulled a Den Den Mushi from her coat, dialing immediately.
Seeing this, the soldiers on the warship finally realized what was going on.
No wonder these two beautiful Marines, who utterly despised pirates, had so easily let off rookies who rejected the Seven Warlords' recruitment.
As it turned out, a truly prominent figure was waiting within the borders of Alabasta.
The closest town to the coast of Alabasta.
The appearance of a Marine squad caused the bustling town to immediately fall quiet.
However, this was a country in the Grand Line and an affiliated nation of the world government, so the locals were already used to the presence of both Marines and pirates.
The sun hung high in the sky, baking the desert and sending up shimmering waves of heat.
Outside the town.
Having long since thrown off his shirt due to the heat, Garp sat crouched on a wooden barrel. His robust muscles were fully exposed to the sun.
"Hahaha! I told him so, but that old geezer Sengoku refused to believe me. It would have been weirder if those two brats actually accepted the world government's recruitment!"
The Den Den Mushi morphed into Momousagi's face as she recounted everything that had just happened.
This only earned a loud burst of laughter from Garp.
"You're right about that. But I'm not calling you about the Seven Warlords recruitment this time. It's about something else!"
"Oh? Is it about those two brats?" Garp reined in his laughter, looking quite surprised.
"Yes, it is."
Momousagi's expression turned grave. "I don't know why you are personally pursuing them, but there is a problem now. They kidnapped Princess Vivi of the Alabasta Kingdom!"
"As an affiliated nation of the world government, I'm sure you understand the severity of this matter!"
Upon hearing this, Garp's deputy and the surrounding Marine soldiers dropped their jaws in utter shock.
Garp merely picked his nose, completely unfazed. "And then what?"
"What do you mean, 'and then what'? We obviously have to be careful with the princess being held as a hostage!" Momousagi snapped angrily.
"Ahaha, such a trivial matter..."
"This is not a trivial matter!"
"Let's leave it at that. They're here. As long as I grab those two brats, the hostage problem solves itself."
With that said, Garp hung up the Den Den Mushi and stood up.
Sporting a white mane and beard, his robust, inverted-triangle physique was fully displayed. His muscles coiled like mighty dragons, exuding an aura of explosive power.
He gazed toward the edge of the desert where several figures were approaching. A look of sheer excitement filled his face. "Heh heh, you little bastards. I've finally caught you!"
"Spread out! Do not let those pirates enter the town!"
Seeing this, the deputy immediately ordered the soldiers to spread out and stay on high alert, completely blockading the road leading into the town.
On the other side.
Lius and the others trudged through the endless desert, their feet sinking into the sand with every step as they braved the blistering sun.
"Say, don't you guys have any form of transportation in this desert?" Lius turned to look at Vivi, looking completely listless.
Even though they had only been in the desert for ten minutes, this extreme climate was truly unsuitable for his lazy personality.
Vivi and Igaram were quite used to it, looking full of energy.
Nami was also handling it fairly well.
The amazing one was Ace. Perhaps due to the Flame-Flame Fruit, the scorching sun and dry heat didn't affect his condition in the slightest. Instead, he strolled along leisurely as if he were on vacation.
"Ah, of course we do. We just need to rent them at the town ahead!"
Hearing Lius's words, Vivi perked up and immediately pointed forward.
"Oh? How much longer until we get there?"
Lius rested a hand on his forehead and peered forward with an unfocused gaze.
"If nothing goes wrong, we should see it in less than ten minutes," Nami reminded him from the side.
"Is that so? But I think I already see something. Oh, it's just some silhouettes!"
"It's not strange to encounter travelers in the desert!" Vivi explained.
"They don't really look like travelers. But whatever. Once we reach the town and rent a ride, we'll finally be free!"
The distance was too great for Lius to see clearly, so he simply shrugged it off.
As they drew closer, the outline of the town finally came into view.
However, dozens of figures wearing white cloaks stood firm against the raging desert winds. They completely blocked the only path leading into the town.
When they were less than a hundred meters away, Nami's face paled in shock. "It's the Marines!" she cried out.
"What do we do? There really is a Marine ambush!" Igaram immediately stepped in front of Vivi, prioritizing the protection of the princess.
A confident, wicked smirk formed on Lius's lips. "What else can we do? We charge right through!"
But when the distance closed to less than fifty meters, the smile on his face froze.
Extreme vigilance surged from the bottom of his heart!
"Hahaha, you brats! I've been waiting for you for a long time!"
A hearty laugh rang out. Wearing only a pair of black dress pants that left his muscular torso bare, Garp strode directly toward them.
The Marine soldiers behind him simultaneously raised their firearms, taking aim at Lius and his crew.
Read more in our website :
Chapter 34: Chapter 34: The Kingdom Princess Kidnapping Incident(1,326 words)
Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Ace, Your Grandpa Is Calling You Home(988 words)
Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Outrageous Conqueror's Haki(1,243 words)
Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Garp Shocked: Swordsmanship from the Golden Lion?(1,258 words)
Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Conqueror's Haki Coating, King's Disdain(1,484 words)
Chapter 39: Chapter 39: In the New World, They Are Called the Four Emperors(1,286 words)
Chapter 40: Chapter 40: A Dangerous Rookie Tied to Legends(1,076 words)
Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Heading for the Royal Capital(1,333 words)
Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Do Not Trust a Pirate's Words(1,509 words)
Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Is It All for the Ancient Weapon Pluton?(1,367 words)
Chapter 44: Chapter 44: The Hero of This Country(1,333 words)
Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Seven Warlords Crocodile(1,290 words)
Chapter 46: Chapter 46: You Disappoint Me(1,325 words)
Chapter 47: Chapter 47: It's Too Late to Realize Now(1,274 words)
Chapter 48: Chapter 48: The Voice of the Historical Text(1,157 words)
Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Copy Card and Mythical Zoan Fruit(1,102 words)
Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Celestial Maiden Model(1,349 words)
Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Sacred Power from Another Dimension(1,317 words)
Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Two Variations of the Heavenly Maiden Model(1,323 words)
Chapter 53: Chapter 53: The Monster from Golden Lion Shiki's Tutelage(1,135 words)
Chapter 54: Chapter 54: The Worst Generation, Lius(1,077 words)
Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Contact with the Revolutionary Army(1,109 words)
Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Marine Admiral Aokiji(1,057 words)
Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Red and Blue Face-Off, Flame and Ice(2,682 words)
Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Possessing the Qualifications of an Emperor!(1,827 words)
Chapter 59: Chapter 59(4,017 words)
Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Destiny Chooses Lius to be Emperor(1,887 words)