After Ace's farewell, they were able to calm down a bit after witnessing such destruction from a single man.
"What did your brother give you?" she asked, looking at the piece of paper he was holding.
"I don't know, it's just a blank piece of paper," said Luffy as he flipped it over.
"Just a piece of paper?" Chopper asked.
While they were talking, Oliver was training after witnessing such a display of power.
'Ace lost to Blackbeard despite being pretty strong... I have to become stronger if I want to help Luffy rescue Ace in Marineford,' Oliver thought while working out.
"I don't know what this paper is for, but if Ace gave it to me, I have to keep it close. Please, sew it on tightly," Luffy said to Nami, who took his hat and the paper.
"Alright, I'll sew it onto your hat like a ribbon," Nami said while stitching the hat. "There, all done. Here you go."
"Thanks, Nami! Now I don't have to worry. I'll never lose it," said Luffy with a smile.
"How can you be so sure?" Usopp asked.
"Luffy doesn't even take his hat off to sleep. Do you really think he's gonna lose that paper?" Oliver said, continuing his exercises.
"Put this on, Luffy-san," Vivi said, handing him desert clothes.
"Huh? Why?" Luffy asked, confused.
"You need to cover up because of the heat. In the desert, it can reach about 50 degrees. Your skin will burn if you're too exposed," Vivi explained.
"Then why are you two wearing such light clothes?" Luffy asked Nami and Vivi.
"We're going to wear this kind of outfit too," Nami explained.
"WHAT?! YOU'RE GOING TO WEAR THIS TOO?!" Sanji cried, devastated that he wouldn't see them in their previous clothes anymore.
"Of course we are. Didn't you hear? With that much heat, we could get burned," Oliver said, stopping his training.
"Well, I guess there's no other choice. I'd better put it on," Luffy said as he started changing.
"What?! We're already at the edge of the island," Chopper said, surprised when he saw the sea, but Vivi turned to look.
"This isn't the edge of the island. This is the mouth of the Sandora River. You can see the other side of the island in the distance," Vivi explained.
"Oh, you're right," Chopper said, noticing the other side.
Vivi pulled out a map to show them the path to follow.
"This is a rough map of the area. And this is our destination," Vivi said, pointing at their destination on the map. "It's called Yuba. We'll cross the Sandora River and head there."
"And Yuba is where the leader of the rebellion is," said Zoro.
"So I just have to kick his butt!" Luffy said, determined.
"NO, LUFFY-SAN! I want to persuade the leader of the rebellion to stop the bloodshed!" Vivi explained.
"There are about 700,000 rebels, right? Do you really think they'll stop?" Zoro asked.
"Do I think they'll stop? You'll understand once we reach Yuba. What Baroque Works has done to my country! And how much the people of Alabasta have suffered!" Vivi said, remembering everything they'd been through. "WE HAVE TO STOP THIS SENSELESS WAR! I WON'T ALLOW BAROQUE WORKS TO DO WHATEVER THEY WANT IN MY COUNTRY!"
"A war, huh?" Oliver said aloud, recalling the wars on Earth.
"Alright, Vivi! Let's go, to Upa!" said Luffy, fired up.
"It's Yuba," Vivi corrected him.
"YUBA!" Luffy shouted again.
"Yeah!" everyone shouted together.
--
--
--
They all got off the ship, and Luffy excitedly ran into the city.
"We made it! Yuba!" Luffy shouted happily, but when he looked around, he only saw a ruined city. "Wait a second... There's nothing here!"
"This isn't Yuba," Oliver said.
"What do you mean it's not?" Luffy asked.
"We haven't reached Yuba yet, Luffy-san. We still have to walk northwest through the desert for about half a day," Vivi explained while Usopp looked shocked.
"Half a day?!" Usopp said, surprised by how long it would take.
"Look at the map. We crossed the Sandora River and arrived at Erumalu, the Green City," Vivi explained, holding the map.
"Green City? There's nothing green here," Luffy said, confused.
"Not anymore," Vivi replied.
Just then, a strange seal emerged from the river.
"Whoa! What the hell is that, a turtle?!" Usopp said, startled.
"Aren't those seals?!" Luffy asked, excited to see the odd animal.
"Kung-Fu Dugongs!" said Vivi.
"There really are some strange animals around here," Oliver said as Usopp approached.
"If you want to land, you'll have to beat me first. If not, go to the other shore, cowards. That's what he said," Chopper translated after listening to the animal.
"I can't just stand by when someone calls me a coward. Here I go!" said Usopp, jumping forward.
"Wait, Usopp-san!"
Vivi tried to warn him, but it was too late—the Kung-Fu Dugong had already beaten Usopp up.
"Kung-Fu Dugongs are strong," Vivi said.
"If he had just waited a bit, he wouldn't have suffered like that," Oliver said with pity. "Maybe I could make him do my workout routine."
"What a way to lose," said Zoro, while Luffy yelled victoriously after defeating it.
"We've got a winner," Nami said, pointing out to Vivi how Luffy had beaten the Kung-Fu Dugong.
"Winning against them is also bad!" Vivi yelled as the Dugong stood up and bowed to Luffy, his eyes sparkling.
"What?" Luffy said, confused.
"Their code says that if they lose a fight, they become the disciple of the winner," Vivi explained.
"So, they're really martial artists," Zoro said.
"But they don't seem to know how to fight very well," Oliver added, watching how Luffy was teaching them to fight.
"HOW DID YOU GET SO MANY?!" Vivi shouted.
After a few minutes, they were ready to head to Yuba, leaving the Kung-Fu Dugongs to guard the Going Merry.
"Alright! Let's go to Yuba!" said Luffy with a smile.
--
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I just want to say that I already have the full idea for Vivi joining the Straw Hats.
Now I just hope it comes out well when I write it… And I also already know which Devil Fruit to give her.