BOOM!
Dark clouds swirled in the sky, and thunder roared incessantly!
Drip, drop, drip, drop...
The next moment, a fine drizzle descended from the heavens, creating a dense, pleasant drumbeat as it struck the ground.
"It's raining!"
"It's really raining!!"
In the port city of Nanohana, about five kilometers from the desert where Natsu and Ace had fought, the people had been praying silently the moment they saw the brilliant sun obscured by dark clouds. It wasn't until the winds howled and the heavy rain began to fall that they looked up at the sky in excitement, shouting, "The heavens have blessed us! The heavens have blessed us!!"
"Long live Alabasta!"
"God bless Alabasta!!"
In an instant, thousands of people rushed out of their homes. They brought their children, friends, and families to celebrate together, shouting for joy on this day that rain had once again graced Alabasta.
"This country is doomed!"
Not far from the port city of Nanohana, at the rebel army's main camp, a man with a prominent nose and a vicious scar on his face had just finished speaking when he felt something cold on his neck...
A flash of confusion crossed his eyes. He instinctively looked up at the sky, only to see a torrential downpour descending from above, slamming into his face and leaving him utterly disheveled.
"It's... raining?!"
"IT'S RAINING!!"
This man, who seemed to have endured countless wars and traumas, who had led the rebels through innumerable battles in the short span of three years...
This man, with a will of iron, shed tears for the first time after feeling the heavenly rain on his own cheeks. He muttered to himself, "It's... it's really raining."
"Kohza, it's raining! It's really raining!"
"This isn't just a shower, it's a massive downpour!"
"The canals are saved! Our Mother River is saved!"
"Maybe Uncle Toto was right! We just had to hold on a little longer! The heavens couldn't keep the rain away forever!"
The other rebel leaders rushed into Kohza's tent. They looked at him as he stared at the sky, lost in thought, and cried tears of joy as they shouted.
"Yeah."
Kohza silently pursed his lips. A smile appeared on his face as he nodded. "Perhaps the old man's persistence was right, and we were the ones who were wrong."
Meanwhile.
In Alubarna, the capital of the Kingdom of Alabasta.
"It's raining?!"
"You're telling me that a storm is currently sweeping over nearly half of our Alabasta..."
"A downpour that has enveloped dozens of major cities like Yuba, Erumalu, Nanohana, and Katorea?!"
"Hahaha, HAHAHAHA..."
In the royal palace, upon hearing the report from his subordinates, the current King of Alabasta, Nefertari Cobra, burst into joyous laughter. He declared loudly, "God bless Alabasta! GOD BLESS ALABASTA!!"
On the other side, in the dream city of Rain-Dinners.
"What kind of joke is this?"
"How could it possibly rain in Alabasta?"
"If this is true, doesn't it mean all my years of planning have gone to waste in an instant?"
One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, known as 'Sand-Crocodile', had veins popping on his face after hearing his subordinate's report. His expression was as ferocious as a demon crawling out of hell. He clutched his forehead with one hand and roared, "Investigate this! I refuse to believe this storm is a coincidence."
"Hehe~"
"Perhaps... this is fate?"
"Don't you think so, Crocodile~"
Behind him stood a woman in a cowboy hat. She had skin as white as snow (the anime team gave her dark skin by mistake), an incredibly tall figure, and an intellectual sort of beauty. She chuckled, teasing him with her cool, detached words.
"Fate? To hell with fate!"
"I only believe in absolute power."
"Even if the heavens themselves stand against me, I will fight for what I want."
"The victor is the one who commands fate."
Crocodile scoffed dismissively. He had climbed from a nobody with nothing to his name to one of the Seven Warlords, a legitimate pirate acknowledged by the World Government. He was one of the top pirates just below the 'Four Emperors'. He hadn't relied on fate, but on his own tireless effort and struggle.
In truth, Crocodile's instincts were correct.
This torrential downpour that had saved Alabasta from its crisis was not a blessing from the heavens.
It was Fairy Tail that had blessed Alabasta.
"Spit him out already!"
Unfortunately, while Fairy Tail had blessed Alabasta, no one was there to bless Fairy Tail. The ones who had just caused this major, kingdom-shaking incident, Eden and the others, were desperately hugging Natsu's waist, trying to squeeze Ace out of him.
"Blergh~"
Under Eden's pressure, Natsu did indeed retch towards the ground, but he quickly stopped.
"Did I spit Ace out?" Natsu asked Happy, looking at the puddle of stomach acid on the ground.
"Nope." Happy leaned close to the mosaic of vomit on the ground, inspected it carefully, and shook his head.
BAM! BAM!
The instant Happy finished speaking, Nami's iron fists descended from the sky, landing squarely on Natsu's and Happy's heads. She roared, "You two idiots! Ace is a person! How could he possibly be in your vomit?!"
"Looks like we need to keep going~" Eden said, tightening his grip on Natsu's waist.
"Ow! Ow! OWWWW..."
As Eden gradually increased his strength, Ace, who was trapped inside Natsu's stomach, let out a miserable wail.
"Guh~"
As for Natsu, under Eden's immense force, his eyes completely rolled back into his head as if he had fainted.
"I think Natsu passed out," Happy said, rubbing the large bumps on his head as he looked at Natsu.
"DON'T YOU DARE PASS OUT!"
"If you pass out, how am I supposed to get out?!"
Ace's sharp, panicked voice boomed from within Natsu's stomach. This time, he was genuinely scared.
"Looks like I'll have to use even more force," Eden said after a moment of thought.
"NO MORE FORCE!"
"ANY MORE AND I'LL BE SQUEEZED TO DEATH BEFORE I EVEN GET OUT!" Ace's trembling voice echoed from inside Natsu.
Not far away, Smoker stood under the drenching rain, the cigar in his mouth long since extinguished. He paid it no mind. His gaze was fixed intently on Natsu, Eden, and the others engaged in their useless efforts, seemingly deep in thought.
"Captain Smoker, what's wrong?" Tashigi asked hesitantly, seeing her superior acting so uncharacteristically.
"I'm thinking..."
"Are we really going to waste any more time on these idiots?"
Smoker had finally seen the full picture.
Natsu was an idiot.
Ace, who had been eaten by Natsu, was an even bigger idiot.
Eden was an idiot who somehow gave off a clever vibe.
Nami was originally smart but had clearly been assimilated by the idiocy.
Simply put, the entire group before him was composed of idiots.
As for Happy?!
He was just a pet, not even worth commenting on.
"So, should we head back to the port and continue waiting for the Straw Hat crew?" Tashigi asked.
"No."
"We're going to pay a visit to that bastard Crocodile."
"I'm going to see for myself just what kind of scheme that trash is running in this country."
Smoker shook his head firmly at Tashigi, his eyes filled with a steely resolve. So what if he was a Warlord of the Sea?! If he dared to break the law, Smoker would bring him to justice.
"Captain Smoker, if we're going to investigate a Warlord, don't we need to request permission from our superiors and get their approval?!" Tashigi asked, stunned. The Warlords were major figures.
Theoretically, the Warlords were on par with the Marines, directly subordinate to the World Government... For them, as Marines, to make a move against such a figure, they would need the approval and backing of at least a Marine Vice Admiral, or even an Admiral or the Fleet Admiral himself.
"Heh."
"Since when have I ever listened to my superiors?" Smoker scoffed, a hint of disdain for the hypocritical World Government and Marine command in his eyes. He declared, "All troops, on my command, move out now!"
What Smoker said wasn't an exaggeration... If that man had ever learned to listen to his superiors, he wouldn't still be a mere Captain in Loguetown with his level of strength. If not a Vice Admiral, a Rear Admiral position at Marine HQ would have been no problem at all.
"Yes, sir!"
Upon receiving their orders, Smoker's troops followed him without hesitation, marching towards Crocodile's base in Rain-Dinners.
As for Smoker, his mind was filled with Eden's earlier taunt. If he, a Marine of Justice, was so shackled by the World Government that he couldn't act against a villainous pirate, how could he still call himself Justice?!
Half an hour after Smoker's departure...
"He's still not coming out!"
Eden and the others sat on the sand, looking completely exhausted. Despite their best efforts, they couldn't force Ace out of Natsu's stomach.
"In that case!" Natsu, lying on the ground, suddenly had a brilliant idea. His eyes lit up as he said, "I'll just wait until I poop him out!"
"THAT'S DISGUSTING! NO WAY!"
"IF YOU'RE GOING TO DO THAT, YOU MIGHT AS WELL JUST KILL ME NOW!"
Ace's voice immediately vetoed that decision from inside Natsu's body.
"Besides, 'pooping him out'? Ace would be dead by then, wouldn't he?" Nami interjected with a tone of utter exasperation. "You have to digest things through your gastrointestinal tract before you can excrete what isn't needed, right?"
~# Every 20 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter