I only want to be a Shichibukai when I have Bengyu

Miss Karina, who claimed to be Nami's good friend, was obviously not prepared to take the risk of becoming an enemy of the famous Black Prince to save her good friend. After Rapeseed got off the boat, the thief lady was quick and neat. Say goodbye to everyone in the Straw Hats.

Before leaving, he also took away most of the Straw Hats' reserve funds, which were the agreed rewards. Without Miss Nami, who is good at making money, in charge of the ship's financial power, the Straw Hats' financial situation is deteriorating.

"Luffy, you need to save some money. If you spend all your money, Miss Nami will be furious when she comes back." The chef with curly eyebrows ordered the rare skeleton Yogi in the withered wallet. Such a small amount of money is worth it. He couldn't hold back his captain's black hole appetite.

"Why--!!!"

The captain frowned reluctantly and muttered nonsense like being a cheapskate.

"Stop talking about it. If you want to eat, go hunting in the desert. I've already asked about it. It's not that there are no living things in the desert of the Kingdom of Alabasta. There are many huge beasts here! Catch two and keep them enough for you to eat. .”

Sanji was determined to hold on to the last bit of his family fortune. At least he couldn't just wipe it all out now without leaving some money for emergencies. It would be very difficult in case of emergencies.

The rest of the group had no objections to this. After purchasing the necessary items for entering and exiting the desert, such as headscarves to protect them from the wind, sand and sun, and plenty of drinking water, the group immediately set sail into the desert.

The endless stretch of the desert quickly eliminated everyone's curiosity when they first saw the rolling yellow sand. The hot sand burned their feet, the dry and dusty air, and the boring scenery that saw little change... ····This is both mental and physical torture.

They did not rent any means of transportation and relied on the soles of their feet to walk on the ground. Even though they were physically strong like Luffy and Zoro, they showed deep fatigue when faced with the test of the desert climate.

The only one unaffected was Ace.

As a user with the ability to burn fruits, this dry and high-temperature environment is no obstacle to him at all. On the contrary, his power of burning fruits can be increased to a certain extent here.

However, this journey is not just a rush.

Luffy, who felt deeply that his strength was insufficient, had been thinking about how to become stronger. He competed with Rabu the Whale at the Twin Capes to hone his strength, and defeated a group of bounty hunters who were hunting pirates at Whiskey Peak.

In the small garden of the Ancient Island, I made friends with two giants and learned some fighting skills of the giants. When I arrived at the Drum Island, I defeated Musulu, the person with the ability of the fungus fruit.

He fought all the way to the Kingdom of Alabasta.

While rushing in the desert, he did not forget to study the fighting techniques given to him by the giants. The fighting techniques of the giants were not applicable to ordinary humans. Forcibly learning would only injure himself, but Luffy was a rubber man.

His body is made of rubber. The rubber body has excellent elasticity and ductility. Not only will his body not be harmed by the reaction force, but even most physical attacks (except Haki) will hit his body. Will bounce back or be completely ineffective.

This characteristic allows him to do things that ordinary humans cannot do, and has the possibility of learning the fighting techniques of the giants.

Not only Luffy, but Zoro and Sanji are also working hard on their own. Zoro is recalling the impression of the battle between the Black Prince and the Golden Lion he saw in Rogge Town. The earth-shattering swordsmanship competition is still in his mind. Let him have more ideas about his sword skills.

Sanji's method was more crude and simple. Different from Luffy and Zoro, he took the initiative to carry everyone's luggage and walked staggeringly in the desert. He exercised his leg muscles as much as possible and strengthened his foundation. A solid foundation for learning Armament Haki in the future.

As for Usopp, Robin, and Chopper... their physical fitness and condition were not as good as Luffy's, but they gritted their teeth and followed closely, never falling behind.

"Luffy... you have found a good group of companions!" Ace had a happy smile on his face after witnessing everything.

He didn't do anything extra, just silently followed the team forward, and at the same time let go of his knowledge and Haki, alerting him to enemies that might appear before they reached their destination.

The Black Prince...that is an unpredictable guy, God knows what kind of plan he will make...

Ace suddenly raised his eyes and looked at the sand dunes in the distance. Hearing Se Haki captured two auras coming quickly from behind the sand dunes.

After a while, billowing smoke and dust also appeared in the field of vision.

"Luffy!"

Zoro, who noticed the movement, immediately tightened his grip on the handle of the knife.

"Well, I saw it, everyone, please be careful." Luffy clenched his fists, stopped moving forward, and looked at the approaching vehicle frame.

No wonder they were so careful. In order to reach Albana as quickly as possible, Luffy did not choose the winding road that would pass through several small oases. Instead, under the guidance of Robin and Usopp, he crossed the desert directly and prepared to take the shortest straight distance. , logically there should be no pedestrians other than them here.

A sand bandit?

Or a businessman taking shortcuts?

Or are they the Black Prince's subordinates?

As the smoke and dust approached, everyone finally saw clearly the face of the guy who stirred up the smoke and dust. It was a huge land and water shuttle turtle, pulling a luxurious car frame and running at an extremely fast speed.

"A turtle pulling a cart? He ran so fast!" Usopp's eyes widened.

"Eh? Are there turtles in the desert?"

Chopper, who was so tired that he stretched out his tongue and panted, also tried to raise his neck, and the appearance of the huge water and land transfer turtle came into his eyes.

Robin is also a bit sluggish.

This amphibious turtle... If I remember correctly, it should be the one originally owned by Baroque Works. Its name is Binky. I didn't expect to see this big guy again under such circumstances.

But it’s normal to think about it. The Baroque Working Society was defeated by the Black Prince’s men, Crocodile escaped and disappeared without a trace, and the entire Baroque Working Society’s legacy was taken over by the Black Prince and the Kingdom of Alabasta. It’s normal for Binky to appear here.

I just don’t know who is sitting on the frame now.

The land and water shuttle turtle is the name of the race. They are naturally fond of activities such as pulling carts. If the running duck is the fastest creature in the Kingdom of Alabasta, then the water and land shuttle turtle is definitely the fastest in the Kingdom of Alabasta. Professional transportation.

No one was needed to direct him. Binky slowed down and stopped ten meters away from the Straw Hats without any unnecessary vibration.

It held the pipe in its mouth and slowly lay down. Its eyes, which were as big as the mouth of a water tank, were leisurely looking at the Straw Hats opposite.

The carriage door opened, and what came out was not the vicious enemy as imagined. Fran walked out in a maid outfit.

"Captain Ace, long time no see." The maid greeted politely.

"...Miss Fran?" Ace knew Fran, the maid who followed the Black Prince like a shadow. He had seen her several times before, but this was the first time she spoke like this.

"Captain Ace, my Highness has said that this matter has nothing to do with you, and we have an appointment with Mr. Long. His Highness will not take action personally. If possible... Captain Ace, I hope you will do the same." Don't spoil His Highness's fun by taking random actions." Fran got to the point directly and neatly.

"I don't doubt the credibility of Prince Eleus, but... Prince Eleus doesn't take action, it doesn't mean Miss Fran that you won't take action. If you take action against Luffy and the others... ·To be honest, this is quite bullying!”

Ace wouldn't give in that easily.

He knew very well the current level of Luffy's combat power. Even with the combined efforts of everyone, they all performed exceptionally well, but facing an enemy of Fran's level would not result in anything other than being beaten.

because,

He himself is also in this realm. Even if he takes action, he doesn't dare to guarantee that he can defeat Fran.

Although the maid in front of her is not as active as the three attendants of the Black Prince, but with the intelligence channels of the Whitebeard Pirates, she also clearly knows that the maid in front of her is definitely not a worthless vase, and can serve as attendants. With the Black Prince around, it wouldn't be possible for him to be just a decoration.

What's even worse is that there is a person hiding in the carriage!

That familiar aura made his brain ache.

"Don't worry about this. The agreement between my Highness and Mr. Long of the Revolutionary Army is not that simple. Even I won't take action. The opponent my Highness has prepared for Mr. Luffy and the others is someone else, all of whom were recruited from Paradise. My subordinates have not been to the New World yet.”

"······In this case······"

Ace's head hurt more and more,

What to do at this time?

"His Highness also said that Captain Ace and Mr. Luffy have a close brotherly relationship. He probably won't sit idly by so easily. In order not to embarrass you, Captain Ace, so... Miss Iska, I want to trouble you." After Fran finished speaking, Iska, wearing military uniform, got out of the car.

His sharp sword-like gaze fell on Ace's face, stabbing the famous Fire Fist and twisting his neck uncomfortably.

"Luffy, it seems that I can't go forward with you. The road ahead... depends on you." Ace, who realized the situation, smiled bitterly and scratched his head, but he didn't expect it to happen. You will meet Iska here.

It’s really…annoying!

"Ace, goodbye! Let's go first."

There is no need for the two of them to talk nonsense. After hearing Ace's words, Luffy walked away without hesitation for a second. The Straw Hats who were stunned for a moment also stood up to follow, but Bruno was intercepted by Fran's hand.

"Bruno can't be taken away by you, and without Captain Ace, you can't stand Bruno. Mr. Luffy, you'd better hurry up and leave!"

"Usopp, Chopper, Robin, don't worry about that Minotaur, let's continue on our way."

Luffy made a decision in an instant.

Simply abandoning Bruno, a prisoner who might be of some use, the Straw Hats crossed the water and land transfer turtles and carriages, and ran along the route the carriage came from, their backs quickly disappearing in the smoke.

"I'm very sorry, because of my incompetence. Please, Master Fran, please go there yourself."

Bruno, who easily broke free of the rope, knelt on one knee and lowered his head in shame.

A good mission has turned into this, and even I have become a prisoner. It is really embarrassing!

"After all, it was the Fire Fist...it's not your fault."

Fran didn't criticize Bruno for his failure.

Facing the captain of the second division of the Whitebeard Pirates, few people in the paradise can stand firm. It would be strange if Bruno could fight with Fire Fist for a few times! It would be too unkind to punish his subordinates for this unexpected situation...

"Okay, be quiet! Don't miss the show in front of you."

Fran waved her hand and stopped Bruno's unnecessary words. Her piercing eyes were glued to Ace and Iska. Compared with listening to Bruno's useless nonsense, the collision between these two people was It’s even more interesting!

······

"Ace, I heard that you are hunting down Blackbeard recently?"

"Well, that guy... I have to catch him myself or kill him."

"Blackbeard is not that easy to catch. That damn fat man's fruit ability is very weird. Your Highness said it himself, if he is caught off guard, even the four emperors will suffer a lot..." ·Ace, it’s hard to catch that guy by yourself. If you don’t want to die, just go back to the new world.”

"Impossible! Only Blackbeard... I will definitely kill him."

Ace flatly rejected what he considered to be an unreasonable request.

"...Okay, okay! Then I want to see what confidence Mr. Fire Fist has in chasing that Blackbeard. If you can't even defeat me, I advise you not to die." Aroused with anger, Iska instantly drew her sword, and the clear water-like sword light struck like lightning.

"Ah! It's so dangerous!"

Ace, who elementally transformed in advance to avoid the sword, retreated backwards.

He didn't really want to waste energy fighting with Iska here, but it was obvious that Iska had completely opposite ideas to his. She swung her sword and continued to attack fiercely, as if she was not prepared to give Ace a chance to escape. The densely packed swords The air crisscrossed and weaved into a large net bag with almost no gaps to drill through, and the hood was lowered.

"There's nothing we can do! It's really troublesome... Flame Ring·Fire Pillar!!!"

Ace waved his hands and rotated, and a thick and tall flame pillar rose into the sky. The blazing flames gained an astonishing increase in the desert with too much sunlight. The flame pillar easily broke through the sword energy net, and the elemental Ace appeared in the air, but what was helpless was that Iska took the moon step and chased him through the air. The sword energy that was enough to injure a natural ability user followed closely like a gangrene attached to the bone.

It seems,

If you don't have a good fight, it won't be over!

"Ah! How could it become like this..."

Ace was depressed and wanted to roar. He came to the paradise to hunt down Blackbeard, not to compete with Iska. But now Blackbeard has never been found, but he met Iska unexpectedly. Luck...it's really weird!

"There is nothing we can do. In this case... let's just make a good gesture! It's been a long time since we came to the paradise and haven't had any serious physical activity." Just relying on the power of the burning fruit almost flattened the encounter. enemies, he almost forgot that he could use Haki.