【One Piece】Dawn in the Darkness

"Okay!" Vivi nodded heavily, and then walked towards the square with her father. Usopp was right, she and her father must work together to give an account and explanation to the people again, as well as to the rebels. She knew that they would definitely feel guilty for what they had done, but it was not their fault.

After Weiwei and the king left, they were the only ones left in the deserted backstreet. The next second, they all relaxed and fell to the ground to rest.

Qi watched them fall asleep one after another quickly, laughed in surprise, and then relaxed his body and leaned against the wall behind him to rest.

He felt that he had just closed his eyes for a moment when he was awakened by his observation Haki. A large group of navy were running towards them.

Qi stood up from where he was sitting before and glanced at his companions who were sleeping around. Usually the best solution in this situation was to take them away. After all, this was Weiwei's country and they couldn't conflict with the navy here at this time, but everyone was exhausted, so he would protect them.

Qi turned his attention to the approaching marines, and then he took the initiative to walk out and blocked them at the corner. All the marines had weapons in their hands, and he couldn't let the marines disturb Luffy's rest, he had to get rid of them as soon as possible.

"Pirates! Surrender or we will take you by force!"

A marine standing in front of him was shouting, and he could sense the tense atmosphere across the street.

"You can give it a try." Qi showed a wicked smile on his face. "If you are not afraid of death."

"Prepare!"

Just when the battle was about to break out, a stern female voice was heard, stopping the navy's actions.

"Stop immediately, this is an order!!"

"Sergeant...Sergeant, this is a good opportunity. They are all here, and only one person is still awake! We can catch them all in one fell swoop!" said the navy soldier who had been shouting earlier in confusion.

"I will never allow anyone to take action against those people now!!" Tashigi shouted sternly, staring at the speaking navy with a serious expression.

Although the marines were confused by Tashigi's order, they lowered their weapons as she instructed.

Qi looked at this scene in confusion, not understanding why this woman let them go. He remembered that they seemed to have only seen her in Rogue Town, or because she caught up with them and wanted to catch Zoro.

"Only this time. Next time we meet, I will definitely capture all of you and take you to Impel Down!" Tashigi glared at Qi angrily.

"Thank you, but we won't be caught by you." Qi said with a smile. Although he was puzzled by their behavior, it was good to have a better way to solve the problem. It was time for him to go back and rest.

Tashigi did not respond to the pirates' words. In fact, for the navy, it was a shame to be thanked by the pirates. Tashigi turned and left with the navy.

……

Three days have passed since the end of the war. During this period, the residents of Alabasta have been full of hope to rebuild the kingdom again. The Straw Hat Pirates who stayed in the palace to rest have recovered. Everyone is preparing the supplies needed for the voyage. After all, they have stayed here for three days.

Luffy woke up in the afternoon of the next day, but from the moment he woke up, they had to deal with an extremely excited captain. For Luffy, who loved adventure, it was unacceptable to be asked to stay in a palace all day, so they unanimously agreed to leave Alabasta on the night of the third day. At the same time, as pirates, they had no reason to stay, not to mention that their pirate identities would bring trouble to Vivi.

After leaving the royal baths, they gathered with Vivi to discuss their plans to leave, just then Mr. 2 called and told them that a large number of navy had completely surrounded Alabasta, so he drove their ship upstream of the Santa Dora River.

After hanging up the phone, Sanji asked, "Can we trust him?"

"Let's just consider us friends!" Luffy said seriously.

"I think you will still make friends with him next time you meet him!" Zoro was embarrassed.

"No matter what, we still have to go, after all, our ship is there." Qi said.

"That's true, but if he plays tricks on us, I will cut him into pieces!" Sanji said gritting his teeth.

Then everyone started packing their luggage.

Qi looked at Weiwei and asked, "Weiwei, if you want to join us, tomorrow will be your last chance. You still have one night to think about it."

"That's right, Weiwei, listen carefully. We will pass by Donggang once at 12 noon tomorrow." Nami smiled. "Although we may not be able to dock there, it is your only chance to get on board if you want to continue sailing with us."

"Come on now, Vivi!" Luffy shouted.

"Don't do this, Luffy." Nami stopped him.

"Luffy, this is Vivi's decision." Qi said with a smile, "This is Vivi's freedom."

Then one by one, everyone slid down the ropes hung from the windows with their packed supplies. They said goodbye to Vivi quickly because they knew the navy must be on the way and they needed to leave before the navy completely trapped them in Alabasta.

Qi was the last one who was about to slide down from the window. He looked at the conflicted Vivi and said, "Don't worry too much, Vivi. The answer is very clear. We all know your love for this country, and Alabasta really needs you more now. After all, this kingdom is being rebuilt, and you will never feel at ease leaving anyway."

"And we are indeed real pirates. A princess of a country having a relationship with pirates? This is not a good thing to be sure, especially when the World Government knows about it."

"Odd, we're leaving!"

Luffy's cheerful voice came from downstairs.

"I know, soon!" Qi responded, then looked at Weiwei and grinned, "Of course, whether you decide to join us or not, we will always be partners, but we need your choice tomorrow."

After saying that, Qi left. In fact, he knew Vivi's choice from the beginning, but he didn't have the heart to dampen Luffy's enthusiasm. Moreover, this really required Vivi to tell them her thoughts in person.

After leaving the palace, they rode six fast ducks quickly up the Santa La River, and soon they saw the Merry.

Mr. 2 explained to them that he was no longer a member of the Baroque Studio. He brought Merry here to prevent the navy from destroying their ship. The reason was simply because they were friends.

Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper were quickly convinced by this argument and became friends with him again, even though Zoro reminded them that he was only doing this so he could get away safely.