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Sabo stared down at the four geese clinging to his legs, deep in thought.
After a moment, he sighed, pulled out his Den Den Mushi, and made a call.
"Hey... I'm afraid I won't be able to return to headquarters for the time being," he said.
The voice on the other end of the line hesitated, confused. "Huh? Is Crocodile after you?"
Sabo glanced at the geese still sobbing at his feet. He shook his head and replied, "No, it's not Crocodile... it's four geese."
Silence hung over the line for several seconds. Then, the voice exploded. "Sabo, are you joking with me?!"
"It's not a joke," Sabo said earnestly. "It's really four geese. They're holding onto my legs and crying. I have no idea why!"
Despite the absurdity of his words, Sabo chuckled, then added, "So yeah, I'm not coming back for now. The appointment can proceed even if I'm not there."
The truth was, Sabo had no intention of leaving Alabasta just yet. He still wanted to investigate Crocodile's true motives, and the geese provided the perfect excuse, ridiculous as it was.
On the other end of the line, the voice sighed, clearly exasperated. "Fine, you can stay in Alabasta, but if the Marines launch an attack on Crocodile, you must evacuate immediately. Understood?"
"Got it. Thanks, Dragon!" Sabo replied with a grin before hanging up the Den Den Mushi.
Turning back to the geese, Sabo noted that they had finally let go of his legs. Still, it was obvious they weren't planning to leave him anytime soon.
"Hey... what's the deal? Why are you following me? Are you hungry?"
Luffy flapped his wings and tried to respond, but all that came out was an excited, "Quack, quack, quack!"
Sabo raised an eyebrow, clearly puzzled. He sighed and began walking toward Nanohana. It had been an entire day since his last meal, and even a Revolutionary needed to eat.
As Sabo made his way to the town, the four geese trailed behind him in a single-file line. He glanced back but said nothing, simply letting them follow.
At the same time...
Under Karoo's guidance, Zoro and the two ducks arrived at Nanohana as well.
"Where did Ikki and the others go?" Zoro muttered, scanning the bustling port town.
Once in Nanohana, Zoro began searching for any sign of his crew. Unfortunately, after scouring the streets for a while, he came up empty-handed.
With a sigh, he rubbed the back of his neck. "Hah... did they get lost? How can you miss such an obvious town? What a bunch of idiots..."
As he muttered, Zoro's stomach growled, reminding him that it had been hours since he'd eaten. Looking around, he quickly spotted a nearby restaurant.
As Zoro entered the restaurant, his eyes were immediately drawn to a figure sitting at a nearby table.
It was a young man, shirtless, with a bold tattoo of the Whitebeard Pirates' emblem—the mark of the World's Strongest Man—on his back.
However, the scene was anything but dignified. The young man's face was planted firmly in his plate of rice. One hand was raised, holding a fork with a half-bitten piece of meat stuck on it, as if frozen mid-bite.
The crowd surrounding him murmured anxiously. Even the restaurant owner looked visibly stressed, wringing his hands nervously.
"Do you think he ate a desert strawberry?" one person speculated.
"Could've been a desert watermelon. People unfamiliar with the desert sometimes run into weird trouble," another added grimly.
Zoro, curious about the commotion, glanced at the man. It was strange to see someone with the symbol of the world's strongest pirate in such a state.
Just as the murmuring reached a fever pitch, the young man suddenly sat upright.
The onlookers gasped and recoiled, some even assuming they were witnessing a walking corpse.
The man wiped his face clean with the hem of a nearby woman's dress, much to her outrage, and muttered with a sheepish grin, "Oh... I fell asleep again..."
The crowd stared, stunned, before collectively shouting: "WHAT?! WHO FALLS ASLEEP WHILE EATING?! WE THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"
The man in question was none other than Portgas D. Ace, captain of the Whitebeard Pirates' second division.
Zoro, watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but feel exasperated by the scene. His stomach growled, reminding him of his priorities. He turned away from Ace and found an empty table. Ignoring the chaos, he ordered a mountain of food and began eating alongside Psyduck and Karoo.
Moments later...
The door to the restaurant opened again, this time admitting a man with four geese in tow.
It was Sabo, who calmly found a table and gestured for the geese to perch there.
The restaurant owner froze in confusion, glancing between Zoro and his two ducks, and now Sabo with his four geese. "What is it with people and birds in my restaurant today?" he muttered.
Sabo, unbothered by the stares, sat down and began to eat while the geese pecked at some food on the table.
At the same time, Zoro noticed the geese and immediately recognized Luffy among them. A grin spread across his face.
"Luffy! I finally found you!" Zoro exclaimed.
Reaching into his pocket, Zoro pulled out the monkey talisman Ikki had given him before they'd parted ways. But in his excitement, he fumbled it. The talisman slipped from his fingers and fell into Karoo's pocket. Zoro didn't notice.
His mission was clear: find Luffy, bring him back, and prove to everyone that he wasn't hopelessly directionally challenged. He felt a swell of pride knowing he'd done just that.
However, when Zoro mentioned Luffy's name, two heads snapped around in shock.
Ace's eyes widened, his fork frozen mid-air. "Luffy?" he repeated, the name sending a jolt through him.
Ace had come to Alabasta hoping to reunite with his younger brother. Now, hearing his name spoken aloud, he turned eagerly, expecting to see Luffy.
But what he saw instead left him speechless. Sitting a few tables away, unmistakably alive, was Sabo.
Ace froze, his jaw slack.
Sabo, meanwhile, raised his head and frowned, sensing someone staring at him. He locked eyes with Ace. For a moment, neither moved, both stunned by the impossible sight before them.
Before either could speak, the door to the restaurant opened again. This time, Smoker entered, accompanied by Tashigi.
Smoker's sharp eyes scanned the room, having tracked Zoro here to exchange information with the Straw Hats and, ideally, force another chaotic pursuit through Alabasta. His ultimate goal was simple: wreak havoc on Crocodile's base in Rainbase.
Even if they couldn't arrest Crocodile outright, they could at least sabotage his operations and gather useful intel.
But as Smoker took in the scene, his brows furrowed deeply.
Sitting in the restaurant were some of the most infamous individuals on the seas:
Fire Fist Ace, second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. Sabo of the Revolutionary Army and one of Dragon's closest allies.
Smoker's gaze finally landed on Zoro. Compared to the others, the swordsman of the Straw Hat Pirates was a relative nobody.