The crew continued their journey towards Alabasta after celebrating the night before. Now more motivated than ever, they were heading towards Alabasta without anything stopping them this time.
"There's no doubt. The ship is heading to Alabasta," said Nami while looking at the Eternal Pose, which made Vivi happy.
"I'll be there very soon..." Vivi thought to herself, thinking about her kingdom.
"Luffy, do you know what happened to the food?" Sanji asked.
"No, you're mistaken. I don't know anything about that. Not at all. Not me," said Luffy, sweating and looking away while denying everything.
"Eh, why are you looking away? Let me ask you something — how is it possible that the food meant for nine people disappeared so quickly?" Sanji asked while grabbing Luffy by the face. "Resistance is useless. You'd be a terrible poker player. Hey, there's something around your mouth."
"Crap, leftovers?!" said Luffy while wiping his mouth.
"IT WAS YOU!!" Sanji yelled angrily, kicking him in the face.
Meanwhile, Usopp, Chopper, and Karoo were on a ship's railing, eating food while fishing.
"Oh, Nami-san. Can you believe what that idiot did? We really need to buy a fridge with a lock!"
"I'll think about it. Our lives might depend on it... probably," Nami said.
She saw them and also hit them for eating the food.
While all that was happening, Oliver had just finished training after recovering thanks to Chopper's medicine.
'Luckily, I didn't lose my arm.'
He remembered when he had told Chopper about his condition, and Chopper informed him that it was a disease caused by an insect that turned the arm black before eventually making it fall off like a dried raisin.
"Maybe a locked fridge really is necessary. It wouldn't be good if I always had to store huge reserves of food," Oliver said, wiping his sweat and pulling out some meat to give to Sanji.
"I still wonder how much you have in that space," Sanji said while taking the meat to store it.
"I still have plenty left, but it wouldn't hurt to stock up some more," said Oliver, stretching.
Vivi watched curiously as Oliver pulled out meat from seemingly nowhere, not understanding how he did it.
"Oliver-san, may I ask you something?" Vivi said.
"Go ahead, ask whatever you want," Oliver replied.
"How can you pull out so many things? Did you eat a Devil Fruit?" Vivi asked.
"It's not a Devil Fruit, it's magic," Oliver said, pulling a Devil Fruit from his inventory. "I can store anything, except something as big as a ship."
Luffy tried to bite the fruit, but Oliver quickly put it away.
"You've eaten too much already," Oliver said. 'And I don't want to see Luffy explode.'
Usopp, Chopper, and Karoo were still passed out after being beaten by Nami, while Zoro was sleeping peacefully.
Vivi decided it was time to explain a few things she hadn't mentioned until now.
"A hero? Crocodile is considered a hero in Alabasta?" Nami said.
"Basically, the Shichibukai are pirates who work for the World Government. Whether the Shichibukai kill pirates for their treasures or the Marines do it in the name of justice, people's gratitude doesn't change. After all, those who attack their villages are expelled," Vivi explained.
"I see... so people would never imagine that the hero of Alabasta is actually trying to destroy their country," Sanji said.
At that moment, Usopp, Chopper, and Karoo woke up.
"Whatever, I just have to kick that guy's ass, right?" Luffy said confidently, throwing a punch into the air.
"Yes. If we can stop the rebellion and drive out Baroque Works, my country will be saved," Vivi said.
"Wait, wait, wait! I have a question. How exactly does Baroque Works operate inside? Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine... it's very confusing," Usopp asked.
Hearing that, Zoro woke up to listen.
"The system is simple. At the top is Crocodile, Mr. 0," she began explaining.
"The system is simple. At the very top is Crocodile, who goes by the code name Mr. 0. There are 13 agents who report directly to him — 12 people and one animal. They all have code names. Men are numbers, women are days. Each man is paired with a woman equally lethal. Mr. 13 and Miss Friday are special because they serve as executioners who punish those who fail their missions. Agents from Mr. 5 and above are considered Officer Agents; many of them have Devil Fruit powers. They only act when it's an important mission. Below them are the Frontier Agents. They act as leaders to the unranked agents called 'Millions,' and their job is to gather loot for the organization at the entrance to the Grand Line. That is the criminal organization known as Baroque Works," Vivi finished summarizing.
"Oh, now I get it! So all I have to do is beat the crap out of Crocodile, right?!" Luffy said with a grin.
"You didn't understand a single word, did you?" Sanji said to him.
"So that means... if Baroque Works' plan is to take over Alabasta... then all of the officers should be..." Nami said, being interrupted by Vivi.
"Yes... together in Alabasta," Vivi finished her thought.
With thoughts of the enemies they would have to face in Alabasta, they continued sailing onward.
--
--
--
It was nighttime, and as usual, Oliver was exercising with the remains of the Sea King, landing punch after punch until he heard footsteps and stopped.
'Who could it be at this hour?' Oliver thought as he stored away the remains.
He watched as Vivi, wrapped in a blanket, went to the railing and leaned over, gazing at the sea with a long, deep sigh.
"If you sigh any harder, I think your soul might leave your body," Oliver said.
Vivi jumped slightly but calmed down when she saw him looking at her from above.
"Oliver-san! You're awake?" Vivi said, calming down a bit.
"I'm the lookout for tonight, remember? We voted on who would keep watch over the ship today," Oliver reminded her.
"Oh, that's right. I forgot," Vivi said, laughing a little nervously.
Oliver found her behavior odd and jumped down to stand beside her.
"What's wrong?" Oliver asked.
"Eh?" Vivi responded, confused.
"I asked what's wrong," he repeated.
"It's nothing," Vivi replied.
"You're out here so late, staring at the sea like you're trying to forget something or worried about something. So I'll ask again — what's going on?" Oliver said.
"I'm worried. I'm so close to Alabasta, close to stopping all this fighting and saving my kingdom... but I'm scared I won't make it in time and that the fighting will start," Vivi said, clearly distressed, clenching her hand tightly. "With so many rebels, they might attack before we even get there."
"Calm down. Thinking about 'maybe' won't help. Maybe they'll attack early, maybe Crocodile will pull something, maybe the Marines will show up... 'Maybe, maybe, maybe.' Thinking about the 'maybes' will only make you suffer over something that might not even happen," Oliver said, trying to reassure her.
"You might be right, but it's impossible for me not to think about my kingdom," Vivi said.
"Then let's think about your plan to stop all this," Oliver said. "Keeping your mind busy on something else helps too."
"Well, the first thing would be going to Yuba to talk to the leader of the rebels so that..."
And so they stayed up talking through the night, trying to ease Vivi's worries.