One Piece: Shadow monarch? I'm Just Logistics!

Chapter 39: Arriving at Alabasta

The second day after leaving Drum Island, the Going Merry sailed as usual on a calm sea.

Having left the winter island's climate zone, the weather turned sunny again. Chopper integrated quickly onto the ship; besides having two girls looking after him, he also got along well playing with Luffy and Usopp, and was currently chatting with Karoo.

On the stern deck, Vivi and Nami sat on deck chairs reading a newspaper. It seemed to contain some shocking news, as neither looked pleased.

"Is... is this real?"

"What's wrong?"

"Look." Nami sat up from her deck chair, turning the newspaper around and unfolding it.

Reiner, who was training nearby, noticed, put down his barbell, walked over, took the newspaper, sat cross-legged on the ground, lit a cigarette, and began reading slowly.

In the most prominent position in the top left corner was a picture of a battle, likely involving several hundred people based on the scale. The headline starkly read: [Battlefield Vanguard: Latest Intelligence on the Alabasta Civil War].

As he read further down, Reiner's brow gradually furrowed.

"How could the Royal Army lose over 300,000 defectors in just one month?"

Originally, the Royal Army had 600,000 troops against the Rebel Army's 400,000. In the blink of an eye, it had become 700,000 rebels versus 300,000 royalists.

A war on the scale of a million people... Reiner had never witnessed such a thing, nor could he truly imagine it. The number was staggeringly large, far beyond his comprehension.

He couldn't help but glance up at Vivi; she must be burning with anxiety right now.

"And this news is already several days old. The decisive battle in Alabasta probably isn't far off."

"Reiner! Can't you say something comforting? Vivi is already feeling terrible," Nami shot him a glare, saying irritably.

This kind of situation couldn't be resolved with pleasantries. Reiner waved dismissively. "Besides, Sanji spoke with Crocodile on the phone before. According to his intel, our voyage should get us there before the final battle breaks out."

"Exactly! Vivi, don't worry too much."

"Mm... Sorry. I made you worry."

Vivi wiped her face, forcing a smile. "Everyone is already doing their best to hurry for my sake. Even if I rush, the ship can't go any faster."

"I'm going to wash my face," Vivi said, standing up and walking towards the front of the ship.

"That child... still hasn't asked us for help, even now."

Nami watched Vivi leave, her expression full of concern, then turned back to Reiner. "We will help her, right?"

"Hasn't that been the unspoken agreement among everyone all along?"

Reiner picked up his barbell from the ground. Although Vivi's official request was only to escort her to Alabasta, everyone had tacitly accepted her as a nakama on this ship.

"Anyway, it's just that Warlord guy causing problems, right? We just need to cut him down eventually," Zoro chimed in from his nearby training spot.

"Don't make it sound so simple, idiot! That's a Warlord of the Sea we're talking about!" Nami put her hands on her hips, retorting furiously.

After a while, Usopp and Sanji came over to the stern. "Reiner, Zoro, ready to start?"

"You came just in time," Reiner put down his barbell, pulling the towel from his neck to wipe off his sweat.

Ever since Little Garden, Reiner had begun practicing Haki using the method taught by the two giants. As for his progress...

Practically zero. In any case, he definitely wouldn't master it in time for the fighting in Alabasta.

However, this kind of skill wasn't achieved overnight. On the ship, he, Sanji, Zoro, and Luffy all had the physical conditioning necessary to begin Haki training, so starting early meant learning early.

The method was simple, exactly like how Rayleigh taught Luffy in the original story, and how almost all pirates trained: getting hit while blindfolded.

This trained both Observation and Armament Haki simultaneously. During the process, one had to try sensing the attacker's presence while imagining being clad in invisible armor.

It sounded vague, but trying it made the meaning clear.

Usopp pulled out three black strips of cloth and blindfolded Reiner, Zoro, and Sanji, who were sitting cross-legged on the deck.

"Ready? I'm starting!"

Usopp took out a wooden stick, swinging it twice. The whooshing sound made Nami, watching from the side, shiver involuntarily.

"You guys train... I'm going to find Vivi," Nami said, quickly departing.

"I'm ready."

"Bring it on, Usopp!"

The reason they had Usopp do it was, according to the giant misters, that without serious attacks, novices like them couldn't sense the attacker's presence at all.

But if the attacks were serious, the only people whose hits they could consistently endure were Usopp, Nami, or Vivi.

Clearly, the girls had no interest in this. As for Reiner's undead, they were useless for this purpose – undead lack a life presence.

Thwack—

"Ouch!"

"Ahhh! Sorry, Reiner!"

"It's fine, Usopp, keep going."

Soon, the stern was filled with the sounds of impacts and pained yelps.

Luffy, despite having the highest physical potential, couldn't train this way effectively for now. Because blunt attacks posed no threat to him, he couldn't instinctively raise his guard. And they couldn't exactly use real swords on him.

"Huff... Huff... I can't go on."

After quite some time, Usopp ran out of stamina. Reiner, Zoro, and Sanji were also dizzy and disoriented from the beating, unable to focus. The training session ended.

"Oww~ That hurts... About time, anyway. I'll go start making food," Sanji rubbed his head, shook it slightly, stood up, and left.

The remaining three simply lay flat on the deck, staring up at the sky with expressions of utter exhaustion, as if they had nothing left to live for.

"You guys are monstrously strong. Compared to you, there's no difference between me and a normal person."

"What nonsense. You shouldn't say that out loud; I'm actually very weak."

"Yeah, keep pretending," Usopp said disdainfully, then paused before speaking again:

"Reiner, Zoro... can you teach me how to get stronger?"

Hearing this, Reiner couldn't help but glance at Usopp. "Why the sudden interest?"

He had never thought of forcing others to train. Whether through self-practice or instruction from others, wanting to increase strength primarily requires one's own determination. Otherwise, it's just a waste of everyone's time.

Even the usually carefree Luffy had trained diligently since he was young.

"Our opponent this time is a Warlord! I just hope I can be helpful in some way."

Usopp spoke nonchalantly while looking at the sky, but a flicker of determination flashed in his eyes. Being the straggler didn't feel good; only he knew that.

Moreover, he was the crew's sniper, having joined as a combatant, yet his strength was less than that of a logistics member – a logistics member who actually did real chores at that.

"Well, even so, everyone's path is different," Reiner said coolly.

"I don't know any way for you to drastically improve your strength in a short time. Unless... have you considered a Devil Fruit?"

"A Devil Fruit, huh..." Usopp turned his head to look at him, pondering for a moment.

"Better not. If there are too many ability users on the ship, it'll be trouble if we fall overboard."

"True. In that case, best start with training your body," Reiner chuckled softly, sitting up.

"No matter which path you choose, a strong physical foundation is indispensable."

"Okay. Let me join your training from now on."

"Sure."

"Welcome aboard."

And so, time passed in day after day of training.

On the fifth day after leaving Drum Island...

"Island sighted, everyone!"

From the Going Merry's crow's nest, Reiner shouted down, then turned his gaze forward.

Sandy Island, location of the super-nation with a population in the tens of millions—

—Alabasta.

Looking from afar, the island was an endless expanse of red earth, scorching under the blazing sun. As soon as they entered the nearby waters, the air began to feel heavy and oppressive, making one feel inexplicably irritable.

Hearing the call, everyone came out of the cabin. Vivi, especially, ran impatiently to the bow, leaning on the railing and gazing ahead.

"Where should we dock, Vivi?" Reiner jumped down from the crow's nest, coming alongside her.

"[Nanohana]. It's a port city. The Merry can dock there," Vivi replied, pointing in a specific direction.

"Understood."

The undead began operating the helm and sails. The Going Merry gradually altered course, heading in the direction Vivi indicated.

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