Chapter 350: Chapter 350: The Gathering Rebel Army
Chapter 350: The Gathering Rebel Army
If there was anything more monotonous than crossing an endless blue ocean, traveling through a desert came close.
Sand stretched in every direction.
Occasionally, a bare rock broke the landscape, but there was no grass, no shade, and scarcely any sign of life. Everything had been swallowed by the same dull yellow-brown color.
The heat only made it worse.
The sun beat down relentlessly, while the sand beneath their feet absorbed the heat and threw it right back at them.
For Chopper, the journey was especially miserable.
He was a reindeer from Drum Island, a winter island buried beneath snow for most of the year. His thick fur protected him wonderfully from the cold.
Against desert heat, it was practically torture.
Chopper trudged forward with his tongue hanging out.
"Vivi..."
He panted heavily.
"Are we there yet?"
Vivi looked back at him sympathetically.
"Almost, Chopper. We should reach Yuba in about half a day."
"Just hang on a little longer."
Chopper lowered his head.
"O-Okay..."
"I’ll hang on."
"Hmph. You’re complaining about enduring this?"
A dismissive voice came from beside him.
"I’m the one who should be complaining."
Chopper immediately shifted farther away.
Vivi pretended not to hear.
The speaker was Wapol.
Despite no longer ruling Drum Kingdom, the former king had yet to abandon the attitude that everyone around him ought to serve him.
He still spoke with the arrogance of royalty.
There was, however, one obvious exception.
Axel was lying sideways across Wapol’s shoulder.
Somehow, despite Wapol’s uneven gait, he remained perfectly balanced.
His white hair hung over his eyes, shielding them from the harsh sunlight. The exposed parts of his skin showed no sign of discomfort from the scorching heat.
A thick fur blanket had been draped over Wapol’s shoulder beneath him.
Not for comfort.
Axel simply did not want Wapol’s sweat touching him.
Wapol had just begun muttering something about how a true king should never complain when Axel spoke.
"Wapol."
His voice was flat.
"Be quiet."
Wapol immediately stiffened.
A different kind of sweat appeared on his forehead.
"Y-Yes!"
Silence lasted several seconds.
Then Wapol cautiously glanced sideways.
"Lord Axel..."
Axel opened one eye.
"What?"
"Do you really have the blueprints for Pluton?"
Axel yawned.
"Yes."
Wapol’s breathing grew noticeably heavier.
"Then build it!"
Axel finally opened both eyes.
"How do you know about Pluton?"
He did not reject the suggestion.
He simply found Wapol’s knowledge suspicious.
Pluton was one of the legendary Ancient Weapons.
People with sufficient ambition or access to forbidden information might have heard of it.
Wapol was neither.
Most of his life had revolved around food, luxury, and abusing his authority.
He had no reason to know anything about Ancient Weapons.
Wapol answered immediately.
"Those people from before."
Axel thought for a moment.
"Baroque Works?"
Wapol nodded.
"A few days ago, when those guys came to negotiate, you had me deal with them."
"They kept asking about Pluton, so naturally I asked what it was."
Axel stared at him.
"You were surprisingly clever for once."
Wapol looked proud.
Axel said nothing more.
His eyes closed again.
Without permission, Wapol did not dare continue asking.
Chopper, however, had been listening.
His curiosity quickly defeated his restraint.
He moved closer to Vivi.
"Vivi."
"Hm?"
"What is Pluton?"
Vivi paused.
She had not expected that question.
After thinking for a moment, she answered carefully.
"I don’t know much about it either."
"I’ve only read a few references in old records."
Chopper waited.
"Pluton is supposedly one of the Ancient Weapons."
Vivi’s expression became serious.
"A legendary weapon said to possess enough power to destroy an entire country."
Chopper froze.
"Destroy... a country?"
His eyes widened.
The most destructive weapons he understood were cannons.
Even Wapol’s newly acquired laser could tear through buildings and ships.
But destroying an entire country?
He could not even imagine what kind of weapon could accomplish something like that.
Then another thought occurred to him.
Axel supposedly possessed its blueprints.
Chopper slowly looked toward him.
That somehow made the idea even more alarming.
Axel was not exactly someone Chopper would describe as harmless.
Vivi was troubled for a different reason.
Baroque Works was the organization Crocodile had used to destabilize Alabasta.
And Baroque Works had been searching for Pluton.
Why?
What did Crocodile intend to do with an Ancient Weapon powerful enough to destroy a country?
Vivi could not stop herself from wondering whether Alabasta itself was somehow involved.
They continued through the desert.
The quiet did not last much longer.
Figures began appearing through the blowing sand ahead.
Their clothes were worn.
Their faces were weathered.
At first glance, they looked more like refugees than soldiers.
Chopper squinted.
"Is that the Rebel Army?"
Vivi shook her head.
"I’m not sure."
She had never personally seen the Rebel Army gathered together.
"But judging from how they look... they’re probably people displaced by the drought."
The approaching group noticed them at almost the same time.
Their reaction was immediate.
"Look!"
"That’s Princess Vivi!"
"Princess Vivi!"
The calls spread rapidly among them.
Chopper blinked.
"You’re really popular."
Vivi did not share his enthusiasm.
Her brows drew together.
"That’s strange."
"Koza shouldn’t even know I’m coming."
Axel slowly sat up on Wapol’s shoulder.
He watched the approaching crowd for a moment.
Then glanced at Vivi.
"Are you certain Koza is your childhood friend?"
Vivi frowned.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Wapol picked up a stone from the ground and popped it into his mouth.
Crunch.
"It means they’re about to attack us."
Axel slid down from Wapol’s shoulder.
The moment he moved, Wapol hurriedly removed the fur blanket and folded it away.
Axel pointed toward the approaching rebels.
"Look at their weapons."
Everyone followed his gaze.
The answer became obvious.
The rebels were not carrying their rifles across their backs.
They were holding them ready.
And they were running toward them.
This was no welcoming party.
Bang!
Bang! Bang!
Gunfire erupted before the rebels had even reached them.
A bullet struck the sand directly in front of Chopper.
He jumped straight into the air.
"They’re shooting!"
He scrambled backward.
"What do we do?!"
Wapol continued chewing his stone with complete indifference.
"Looks like their leader made the sensible choice."
Bullets were hardly a concern for him.
Using the Munch-Munch Fruit, Wapol had incorporated metal into his body, forming a layer of armor beneath his exterior.
For practical purposes, he was walking around in a full-body suit of steel.
Vivi glared at him.
"Koza wouldn’t do this."
Her voice was firm.
"He isn’t that kind of person."
The Koza she remembered had once risked himself to protect her.
He was stubborn, passionate, and sometimes reckless.
But Vivi refused to believe he would attack her without even speaking first merely to preserve his power.
He was her friend.
And she trusted him.
Axel looked toward her.
"Believe whatever you want."
"But we still need a decision."
Another volley of bullets flew toward them.
"Fight or run?"
Vivi did not hesitate.
If she had decided to trust Koza, she would trust him completely.
"Run!"
Axel nodded.
That was the answer he expected.
He preferred it too.
Breaking through the rebels by force would have been easier.
But most of the people in front of them were ordinary civilians who had taken up weapons after losing their homes and livelihoods.
Axel’s problem was that ordinary people were fragile.
Too fragile.
Even if he deliberately restrained himself, a careless use of force could kill someone.
A slight miscalculation, an emotional impulse, even a casual strike could turn into unnecessary deaths.
That made fighting large groups of weak opponents far more troublesome than fighting someone like Kizaru.
More importantly, Axel also doubted Koza had ordered this attack.
From what he knew of the man, it did not fit.
Axel’s presence might have changed the course of events, but he doubted it had somehow rewritten Koza’s entire personality.
Crocodile interfering behind the scenes was far more believable.
"Move."
The group turned and fled.
Behind them, the rebels immediately shouted.
"They’re getting away!"
"Go after them!"
"Inform the others!"
Running through desert sand was exhausting.
Every step sank into the loose ground.
The larger the group chasing them became, the worse it got, as hundreds of feet churned the sand into unstable waves.
Axel’s group had better options.
Vivi climbed onto Karoo.
The Super Spot-Billed Duck accelerated across the desert effortlessly.
Chopper shifted into his full reindeer form and ran on all fours. The heat had already drained much of his strength, but he was still considerably faster than an ordinary person.
Wapol altered his legs with the Munch-Munch Fruit.
His feet widened into grooved rollers that skimmed over the sand.
Axel simply hopped back onto Wapol.
Wapol glanced up.
"Why are you riding me again?!"
"Faster."
"That’s not an answer!"
Axel ignored him.
Behind them, the distance widened rapidly.
One of the pursuing rebels slowed.
He reached inside his clothing and pulled out a signal flare.
His hand hesitated.
He had been ordered to fire it the moment Princess Vivi was located.
But Koza was still unconscious.
Launching the flare would alert the entire Rebel Army.
Without their leader conscious to maintain order, mobilizing such an enormous force could easily create chaos.
Yet letting the princess who had supposedly attacked Koza escape was equally unacceptable.
His grip tightened.
Then he raised the flare pistol.
Bang!
A bright signal streaked into the sky.
...
After running for some distance, Axel’s group eventually reached a cluster of rocks large enough to provide shade.
Vivi looked behind them.
No one was immediately visible.
"They stopped following us."
Chopper collapsed onto the ground.
"I’m dying..."
His chest heaved.
He pulled a bottle of water from his backpack and set it beside him while he tried to catch his breath.
Then he heard something.
A weak cry.
Chopper’s ears perked up.
He turned.
Several large birds were lying beneath the shade of another rock.
Their feathers were disheveled.
Their bodies appeared covered in wounds.
Chopper immediately sprang back to his feet.
"Injured animals!"
He grabbed his medical bag.
"Wait here! I’ll treat them!"
"Chopper!"
Vivi realized what they were a moment too late.
"Those are Warusagi!"
Chopper stopped.
"What?"
"They trick travelers!"
"They pretend to be injured, then steal their belongings!"
The birds opened their eyes.
Their disguise had been exposed.
One instantly snatched Chopper’s backpack.
Then the entire group launched into the air.
"MY BAG!"
Chopper stared in horror.
The Warusagi flapped desperately away.
For several seconds, it looked like they would escape.
Then one stopped in midair.
Not voluntarily.
Axel was standing above the desert, suspended effortlessly in the air.
He looked at the bird.
That was all.
The Warusagi found itself completely unable to move.
Axel’s eyes shifted toward the stolen backpack.
"Don’t touch my medicine."
The bird’s expression transformed immediately.
Its face somehow conveyed desperate pleading, as though begging to be forgiven.
Axel sighed.
"All right."
The Warusagi’s eyes lit up.
Axel smiled.
"Just kidding."
The bird froze.
"I’m not nice enough to forgive something that steals medicine."
A short while later, Wapol leaned against the rock and let out a satisfied burp.
"Finally."
He rubbed his stomach.
"Meat."
After spending days chewing rocks, he could barely remember the last time he had eaten anything resembling a proper meal.
His satisfaction lasted less than a minute.
Shouts echoed through the desert.
"Princess Vivi!"
"She’s over there!"
"Kill her!"
Wapol’s face darkened.
He turned toward the distant figures.
"You bastards!"
He stepped forward.
"How dare you interrupt King Wapol while he’s enjoying his food!"
He opened his mouth.
"Fine!"
"Since I’m full now, I’ll let you taste the power of my Wapol Beam!"
Light began gathering deep inside his mouth.
A familiar mechanical hum filled the air.
Then Wapol saw what was coming.
His mouth slowly closed.
The light disappeared.
Across the dunes, rebels were appearing everywhere.
Not dozens.
Not hundreds.
The distant desert seemed to be moving.
Dense ranks of people poured across the horizon like someone had kicked open an enormous anthill.
Wapol’s scalp tingled.
He stared at the massive crowd.
Then swallowed.
"...That’s a lot of people."
....
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