Several hours had passed since they parted ways with Mr. 2, continuing their journey toward Alabasta, when suddenly a sea monster emerged.
"Something appeared!" Luffy shouted.
"It's a Sea Cat!" Vivi exclaimed as she got a closer look.
"Is that an earring?" Oliver wondered as he looked at it. "Who put it there?"
"It's a sea monster!" Usopp and Chopper screamed in fear as they cried.
"IT'S OUR FIRST MEAL IN DAYS!" Zoro shouted hungrily, drawing his katanas.
"IT'S FOOD!" Luffy shouted, ready to attack it.
"We're on the right path. I hope we arrive soon," Nami said, ignoring them.
"FOOD!" Luffy yelled, losing his mind from hunger.
Obviously, the cat, upon seeing both of them, began to feel intimidated and backed away a little.
"It's backing off!" Zoro shouted.
"TURN THE SHIP AROUND!" Luffy said impatiently.
"W-we can't do that!" Usopp said nervously and scared while Sanji looked at the fish and ran toward where Luffy and Zoro were.
"Don't let it escape! Catch it no matter what! How am I supposed to cook you, feline monster?!" Sanji said angrily, just like Zoro and Luffy.
Oliver watched the three of them in that state.
"What can I do to keep them from devouring so much food?" Oliver said as he saw them like that.
Oliver charged at the three of them, making them crash into the ship.
"Calm down," he told them before looking at the Sea Cat. "Get lost."
The Sea Cat swam away as fast as it could, rubbing its paw on its forehead, relieved it had escaped.
"OLIVER! YOU LET IT ESCAPE!" Luffy yelled at him.
"Of course I did. I recently took out more emergency food, and you all devoured it in one sitting. You need to learn not to eat so much," Oliver told them. "That's why I've been feeding everyone at night—except for you... and Usopp too."
"WHAAAT?! YOU'VE BEEN EATING WITHOUT ME?!" Luffy shouted.
"Of course, and it'll stay that way as long as I'm the one managing the storage and supplies. Besides, that cat is sacred—it can't be eaten," Oliver said, making Luffy sink into despair.
"How did you know it was sacred?" Vivi asked him.
"I heard it somewhere," Oliver replied, looking away.
Meanwhile, Usopp started telling Chopper a story about how he once fought a Sea King.
"I'll tell you the story of when I fought some Sea Kings in the Calm Belt," Usopp lied, but Chopper still believed him.
"Sea Kings?!" Chopper said, impressed.
"They were huge! This big!" Usopp said, stretching out his arms as he told the story.
"W-we lost the food..." Luffy said, crying as he bit the railing.
"Don't worry, Luffy-san. Soon you'll be able to eat until you burst," Vivi said, trying to cheer him up.
"REALLY?! What cat will show up next?!" Luffy asked excitedly, sparkles shining around his face.
"Vivi, it looks like the wind and weather are stabilizing," Nami informed her.
"Yes. We've entered Alabasta's climate zone. The appearance of the Sea Cat is proof of that," Vivi replied.
"And look what we've got behind us... That also proves we're close to Alabasta," Zoro said with a grin as he spotted all the Baroque Works ships.
"That's a lot of ships! When did they get here?!" Luffy asked.
"Hey, all those ships have the Baroque Works symbol!" Usopp said, alarmed and nervous.
"How many do you think there are in total?" Oliver asked, a bit worried by the numbers.
"Their troops have started to arrive... They're probably the Billions, subordinates of the Officer Agents," Vivi said.
"That means we've got at least 200 enemies..." Nami said.
"And they're 200 elite members of Baroque Works. They're not like the bounty hunters from Whiskey Peak," Vivi added.
"The ones from Whiskey Peak were weak, and I guess these are a little stronger. They shouldn't be a problem, but with so many..." Oliver said, considering the numbers. "Let's hope we don't have to fight them head-on."
"What if we take this chance to fire at them?! Let's finish them now!" Usopp shouted, scared.
"It'll take less time if we go over there and attack them!" Luffy yelled, but then his stomach growled. "No, wait. I need to eat first."
"Idiots, don't worry. They're nobodies," Zoro said with a smug grin.
"He's right. If we lose sight of our main goal, it'll be the end. There's only nine of us," Sanji said with a smile.
The crew continued approaching Alabasta, and they were now tying bandages around their left arms.
"Tie it well. Our enemy is full of mysteries," Zoro said, biting down on the bandage.
"I see," Vivi said with a smile as she tied the bandage on Nami's arm.
"With this on, we won't have to doubt our crewmates," Nami said.
"Does the guy with the Mane Mane no Mi look that similar when he transforms?" Sanji asked, curious, since he hadn't seen it.
"He doesn't just look similar—he looks exactly the same! It's a shame you didn't see him. We even danced with him," Usopp said.
"I'm not interested in dancing with a guy," Sanji said while smoking.
"Knowing there's someone like that among the enemy, we can't act so carefree," Zoro said as he finished putting on his bandage.
"What can I do?" Chopper asked Usopp.
"Do what you can do. You don't have to do anything more. It's okay to run from an enemy you can't beat!" Usopp answered, while Sanji looked at him with one eye half-closed.
"Is that your motto, Usopp?" Sanji asked while tying the bandage on Karoo's wing, who squawked.
"What I can do, huh? Alright!" Chopper said.
"ISLAND AHEAD!" Luffy shouted, spotting Alabasta.
"We'll stop in a city called Nanohana. We have to hide the ship," Vivi explained to them.
"Alright! No matter what happens now, what we wear on our left arm is proof of our friendship!" Luffy said as they formed a circle with their left arms. "Let's disembark! TO THE RESTAURANT! And also to Alabasta."
"THAT'S YOUR SECOND PRIORITY?!" everyone shouted angrily at him.
"Luffy, this time the enemy is a band of assassins," Nami said.
"We know what his priorities are—food first, then everything else," Oliver said.
"Of course," Luffy replied with a grin from ear to ear, thinking about how much he was going to eat.
"Try not to act on instinct, okay?" Nami said, treating him like a child.
"Yeah, got it. Yeah, that's right. I got it," Luffy said as Vivi looked at the bandage on her left arm and smiled happily.
[Mission: Help take down Baroque Works]
[Reward: 398,200,000 Berries, Talent Gacha Token, Weapon Gacha Token, Devil Fruit Gacha Token, and Combat Style Gacha Token]
[Remaining: 10/21]
'Mmmm, 11 more and I'll complete this mission'