thefictionvixens Chapter 93: All Contestants Arrive, Undercurrents Rage
Chapter 93: All Contestants Arrive, Undercurrents Rage
Chapter 93: All Contestants Arrive, Undercurrents Rage
Alabasta, a border village where Ace and Luffy are hiding, several days after the standoff.
The setting sun made the rainforest even hotter and more humid, and the atmosphere in the village was far from peaceful.
Luffy sat cross-legged on a boulder, devouring meat, but his eyes kept glancing at the silent figure by the campfire not far away.
Ace had his back to everyone, his fingers unconsciously fiddling with the embers of the campfire, his hat brim pulled low, exuding an aloof aura he didn't usually possess.
Since the three-way standoff was lifted a few days ago, an awkward and uneasy atmosphere has been lingering between him and Roger.
Roger himself seemed quite open-minded, or rather, he chose to show his actions instead of his words.
He was enthusiastically telling the village children adventure stories, laughing heartily, seemingly oblivious to Ace's deliberate avoidance.
Little Sun sat quietly to the side, his golden eyes occasionally sweeping over Ace and Roger, carrying a hint of emotion that was hard to detect.
"Hey, Ace!" Luffy finally couldn't hold back any longer, swallowed the meat in his mouth, and shouted loudly.
"When are you going to stop being so stubborn?! Uncle Roger isn't a bad guy!"
Ace visibly stiffened, but didn't turn around, only muttering, "Shut up, Luffy."
"But"
"No buts!" Ace stood up abruptly, his voice tinged with annoyance.
"My dad has a white beard! It has nothing to do with that man!"
He practically shouted it out, and then strode towards the edge of the village, his back looking somewhat disheveled.
Roger stopped telling his story, and as he watched Ace's departing figure, the smug smile on his face faded.
A deep sense of helplessness and guilt flashed in his eyes. He scratched his head, and in the end, all he could manage was a sigh.
Karna stood up, walked to Luffy's side, and said calmly, "Master, we need time. But time is precisely the luxury we lack most right now."
His golden eyes gazed out at the intricate rainforest beyond the village.
"Last night, the announcement of the official start of the Holy Grail War was surely felt by all Masters and Servants. The Black Faction is eyeing us covetously, and the Navy is undoubtedly intensifying its deployments. We are trapped here, like lambs to the slaughter. We must join forces with the other members of the Red Faction as soon as possible and consolidate our strength."
Luffy, unusually serious, said, "Yes! Sabo! Vivi! And everyone! We have to find them!"
Just then!
Ming Yi Yi!
A horn sound from the depths of the ancient ocean pierced the tranquility of dusk without warning, echoing over the village.
The voice carried an indescribable heaviness, causing everyone's hearts to sink.
Immediately afterwards, a slight tremor came from the ground!
"Look! Over there on the other side of the sea!" A villager pointed in terror toward the coast.
The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw a blurry outline slowly emerging on the horizon shrouded in twilight.
The outline resembled a ship, but it had no sails and its hull was broken and looked like it was about to sink.
But it is steadily drifting towards the coastline.
Wherever it passed, it carved a deep trench in the sea, and the waves silently parted to both sides, as if even the sea itself was making way for it in awe.
"What kind of monster ship is that?! How is it moving?" A villager was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground.
"Such a savage aura, something is pushing that ship." Even Karna, the Little Sun, raised his eyebrows slightly.
Luffy's eyes widened, and he stretched out his rubber arm, placing it in front of his forehead to peer into the distance: "There seems to be someone up there!"
He saw a small, pink-haired figure at the bow of the ship.
Ace also turned around abruptly, flames silently igniting in his palm, his gaze fixed solemnly on the strange ship.
Roger walked up to Ace, and this time Ace did not dodge.
Roger watched the giant ship draw ever closer, and when he finally saw the imposing figure struggling to propel it through the water at the stern, his eyes gleamed with astonishing light.
"Oh?! This aura is wild! Domineering! It carries the sorrow and power of ancient heroes! What a berserker! Hahaha, interesting!"
He laughed loudly, as if he had seen another formidable opponent.
Ace glanced at him and snorted, but his gaze remained fixed on the ship and the giant at its stern.
Propelled by Hercules's sheer brute force, the wrecked Bonney, as if lifted by the sea god, broke through the last waves and crashed heavily onto the shore of Alabasta with a crushing force.
Boom! ...
The massive impact shook the entire coastline, sending sand and dust billowing everywhere!
The smoke and dust slowly dissipated.
The battered and wrecked Bonnie lay diagonally on the beach like a stranded whale.
At the bow, the young girl, Joelle Bonney, and a group of crew members carried a huge, wounded, and lifeless body off the ship on their knees.
Her small face was covered in tears and dust, but her eyes were unusually stubborn.
In the seawater at the stern of the ship, the mountain-like giant slowly straightened his body.
The crimson demonic runes flowed with a dark light in the twilight, and the scarlet beastly eyes swept over the astonished crowd on the shore, finally settling on Bonnie and her father in her arms.
He let out a deep, thunderous roar, and the seawater exploded at his waist, forming a huge fan-shaped curtain of water!
That pure, extreme sense of power made the air itself seem to freeze!
Looking at Luffy, Ace, and the others on the shore, Bonney finally saw a glimmer of hope amidst his despair.
She shouted with all her might, "Save him! Save my father!"
Unlike the dramatic landings in the border villages deep underground in Alabasta's Rainfield, the Rainfield is shrouded in humid rain clouds.
Deep underground at the Rain Banquet Casino, in a luxurious room, the atmosphere was so heavy it seemed to drip water.
"General Sakazuki, your new ally—quite ambitious indeed." Crocodile said, a cigar dangling from his lips, the golden hook gleaming coldly in the dim light.
He leaned back in his crocodile-skin chair, his tone laced with undisguised sarcasm.
His gaze swept over Tescatlipoca, who was playing with a crystal skull in the shadows beside him; the guy remained aloof.
Akainu Sakazuki sat opposite him, the power of the Magma-Magma Fruit causing the surrounding air to distort slightly.
His face was ashen, and veins throbbed on his forehead. Arjuna stood beside him, his aura restrained, but his eyes sharp as an eagle's.
Akainu's voice was like a suppressed volcano: "Blackbeard Marshall D. Teach is a traitor to the Black Organization! If I find him, I will punish him severely!"
"Sanctions?" Old Sha chuckled.
"Let's talk about it once you find him. He's still a contestant, and he seems to have some very strange abilities, plus he has a... well, quite a special Heroic Spirit."
He gave Arjuna a meaningful look.
"They actually dared to set their sights on this divinely ordained hero; they certainly have a lot of nerve."
Akainu slammed his hand on the table, instantly melting a palm print into the sturdy stone.
"His betrayal is unforgivable! The most urgent task is to ensure the smooth progress of the Holy Grail War and eliminate the Red faction's traitor!"
On this point, the interests of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and the Navy are aligned!
He stared intently at Crocodile: "Crocodile, I know you have your own plans. Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Rob Lucci of the CPO will be here soon. Maintaining the status quo is in the best interests of both of us!"
Old Sha exhaled a smoke ring, and through the swirling smoke, his eyes were unfathomable.
Tescatlipoca's power is his reliance, and this eerie rainforest environment is Smoke Mirror's home ground.
He needs to use the navy's power to wear down the Red Team and other forces, and ultimately reap the benefits.
Didn't Tescatlipoca's "fair" decision to separate the parties beforehand give him the opportunity to fish in troubled waters?
"Hmph, maintain the status quo?" Old Sha sneered.
"As long as your allies stop causing trouble, I know what to do. However—" he changed the subject.
"Are you sure Sengoku and the CPO people can arrive safely? Don't forget, the monsters of the New World have all caught wind of this."
Where the distant sea meets the sky, an even larger shadow is slowly approaching.
The main ship's silhouette resembled a giant cake castle, exuding a suffocatingly sweet and terrifying aura.
The defeat of Katakuri and Cracker, the main fleet of the Big Mom Pirates, has clearly attracted the attention of the Five Emperors.
Meanwhile, the massive white whale Moby Dick also began to move, after all, the strangeness of Alabasta was already known throughout the world.
How could the white-bearded man possibly put his son in danger?
Akainu's eyes were icy: "Any scum who obstructs justice will be utterly burned to ashes! Including the Five Emperors!"
Arjuna nodded slightly, his voice calm and even: "As you command, Master. My bow and arrows will clear away all obstacles for you."
His gaze, however, seemed to pierce through the thick walls, directed towards a distant direction where his destined rival lay.
There are also the answers he seeks.
Tescatlipoca played with the crystal skull, remaining silent, like a god sitting high on a throne, looking down upon all living beings.
Off the coast of Alabasta, a dog-headed warship has docked.
The atmosphere on the deck was somewhat eerie.
"Hahaha! Kids, get your spirits up! How could we miss out on the excitement in Alabasta!"
A loud and heroic voice echoed across the deck; it belonged to the naval hero, Monkey D. Garp!
He was holding a large bag of rice crackers, his beard covered in crumbs from eating them.
The figure standing next to him made all the naval soldiers tremble with fear, their eyes filled with awe and a hint of bewilderment.
The tall, voluptuous, and stunningly beautiful woman, whose eyes sometimes burned with passion, was none other than Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent hero.
"Hey! You over there! What are you slacking off for! Run for me! A hundred laps!" Quetzal suddenly put his hands on his hips and yelled at a few marines who were slacking off.
The voice was loud and powerful, and the tone was exactly the same as Garp's.
"Yes, yes! Vice Admiral Garp!" The marines stood at attention and saluted reflexively before realizing they had addressed him incorrectly.
Looking at the older sister in front of him who radiated divine light yet spoke Garp's lines, his expression became even more confused: "Ah no!"
Lord Quetzalcoatl!
"Pfft, hahaha!" Garp slapped his thigh and laughed wildly, spraying senbei everywhere.
"How about it, Kuzan! My suggestion worked, didn't it! He knows perfectly well that his name is Quetzalcoatl, but he insists on calling himself Garp!"
"Now that's settled, she's Quetzalcoatl, and I'm Garp! Anyone who dares to call her that will taste my iron fist of love!"
On the other side of the deck, Kuzan was leaning against a huge ice deckchair, his eye mask half-pulled down, revealing several bumps on his head.
"Oh dear—. Mr. Garp, you're making things even more complicated—"
He simply couldn't look directly at this stunningly beautiful woman with a hot body, because the thought of her calling herself Garp made Kuzan unable to help but laugh. Smoker stood next to Kuzan, a cigar in his mouth, his face even darker than usual.
The older sister seemed quite satisfied with the result. She stroked Pia, whom she was holding in her arms, and then looked towards the distant Alabasta, a flash of wisdom and majesty belonging to the feathered serpent god appearing deep in her eyes.
Then his enthusiasm was replaced by a burning desire to try: "A lively place! A place with struggle, that's where he'll be."
Right, Pia?
She patted the dinosaur doll on the head.
Pia didn't say anything, but in the older sister's eyes, that was an admission.
In a sea somewhere in the New World, the Red-Haired Pirates' ship, the Red Voss, was also heading towards Alabasta at full speed. Shanks stood at the bow, the sea breeze blowing as he looked at his red hair.
Merlin leaned against the ship's railing, the crystal ball reflecting the seemingly calm sea ahead.
"It's getting more and more lively," Merlin suddenly said, his voice tinged with amusement.
"The anomalous concentration currently gathered in Alabasta is almost comparable to that of certain Honkai singularities. That sir..."
That's really going big.
Shanks frowned slightly: "Merlin, what exactly did you see?"
Just as Merlin was about to speak, the crystal ball in his hand suddenly began to flash intensely.
"Ah, nothing. I just saw some interesting people in this world heading towards Alabasta. Master, you'd better watch out."
The red-haired man chuckled softly: "No matter who else it is, I will definitely retrieve the Holy Grail for Uta!"