Chapter 193: Alabasta Adventure Chronicles, Part 1
“Mm-hmm······ I see! So the matter in Water 7 is settled!”
“······Franky and the photocopied Pluton Blueprint were both taken away? Whatever······ as long as Mayor Iceberg has no objections······”
“······Mayor Iceberg accepted the Revolutionary Army’s order? That’s not bad······”
“CP9’s captive? Ah······ that one, lock him up first, and take him to Alabasta together when you arrive······”
“My exact location?”
Elus held the microphone, looked around at the endless desert, then tilted his head back to gaze at the sun in the sky releasing endless heat. The intense sunlight scorched the air, causing slight distortions, and the distant scenery looked unclear.
“The desert northwest of Alabasta······ I’m not too sure of the exact location either. Anyway, Fran, when you come to Alabasta, you don’t need to find me. Go straight to the Capital Alabarna. King Cobra will host you. I’ll return once I finish this expedition.”
After chatting a few more casual remarks, Elus ended the call.
He carefully put away the Den Den Mushi. The desert climate was not friendly to the Den Den Mushi, which needed frequent moisture replenishment.
Seeing Elus put away the Den Den Mushi, Princess Vivi patted the neck of her Kung Fu Dugong. The Kung Fu Dugong named ‘Fast Runner’ zoomed over with a ‘whoosh’, carrying Princess Vivi to Elus’s side. When it stopped, the dust lagging behind slowly rose.
“El, setting out now?”
“Looks like everyone has rested enough. Let’s go!”
Elus scanned around.
Everyone was fully geared and ready to continue the journey.
Thus,
The Super Giant Duck Force set off again.
As the fastest animals in the Alabasta Kingdom, they had speed surpassing leopards. If not for the vast territory of Alabasta, which was almost a small continent, they might have already traversed every inch of the kingdom’s land with their speed.
Elus had been in Alabasta for some time.
After obtaining the Slow-Slow Fruit, Elus landed in the Alabasta Kingdom. He didn’t rush back to the New World. In his view, the New World at this time was actually more tranquil than before. Few people wanted to provoke the raging Whitebeard.
No matter how turbulent the undercurrents were beneath the surface, the surface remained calm.
Returning to the New World now had no meaning. Going back would just mean staying in the royal palace developing the Devil Fruit······ Moreover, he would definitely be monitored by various influences upon return. He hadn’t yet figured out how to handle New World matters.
Whitebeard, Navy, World Government······ He needed to think deeply about how to gain sufficient benefits from this vortex.
So,
Elus chose to stay temporarily in Alabasta.
He had great interest in this nation with at least eight hundred years of history, not to mention that the Nefertari Family’s ancestor was one of the twenty kings who founded the Holy Land and World Government. His intuition told him secrets might be hidden in this country.
Not to mention anything else, the Poneglyph in the tomb’s funeral hall of the Western Royal Tombs in the Capital Alabarna Royal Palace recorded the location of the Ancient Weapon—Pluto.
But ordinary people couldn’t read the ancient text on it.
There might not be a second Poneglyph, but Elus believed there were still plenty of similar secrets. They might not be as explosive as Pluto’s location, but they could surely reveal glimpses of the blank hundred years.
As for intelligence on Pluto,
Elus was unwilling to desecrate the tombs of successive Nefertari Family kings. It would be very rude.
Besides, even if King Cobra allowed entry to the tombs, someone would still need to help decipher the ancient text on the Poneglyph······ It was too much trouble. Elus was too lazy to expend so much effort for a Pluto Battleship that might not even sail anymore.
Eight hundred years might have already rendered Pluto completely inoperable. Even if it could still be used······ The ancients eight hundred years ago had Pluto too, yet they still failed. Otherwise, Pluto wouldn’t have been hidden······ Relying on a single warship to dominate the world like Crocodile was purely dreaming.
In any case,
While developing the Door-Door Fruit, in his spare time, Elus toured the streets of Alabarna under Princess Vivi’s lead. Using the Door-Door Fruit’s ability, he really discovered quite a few secret rooms hidden in this ancient capital with over eight hundred years of history.
Most of these secret rooms didn’t have very long histories. The oldest one was only from over six hundred years ago.
However,
The owner of that secret room was a renowned archaeologist in Alabasta Kingdom history.
Elus and Vivi found some unweathered archaeological documents in the secret room, recording information on several ancient ruins within Alabasta, noted as possibly related to the Ancient Warship Pluto. The owner, being elderly and frail, was unable to excavate them and left them for posterity.
They also warned those who found the secret room to keep it confidential and never let the World Government discover their exploration of ancient ruins.
Archaeologists were unwelcome by the World Government in any era.
When seeing the content recorded in the documents,
Elus was initially very surprised, but upon reflection, he calmed down. Over eight hundred years, it was normal for some unconventional geniuses to appear. Even without seeing a Poneglyph, one could still probe indirectly through other information and win by roundabout means.
It was precisely these documents
That gave Elus the idea to explore the ruins. Vivi found it interesting and wanted to join······ In the end, King Cobra simply lent the Super Giant Duck Force to Elus. In this Desert Kingdom, no transportation was more convenient than the Super Giant Duck Force.
Elus brought the maid Clarice. Vivi also brought two royal palace maids. As for guards······ With Elus there, no guards were needed, although Igaram, the kingdom’s guard captain, expressed strong concerns······
But in the end, he was violently suppressed by his wife Tila Gatan.
“Vivi, can I ask you a question?”
The journey was somewhat boring. Under these conditions, Elus couldn’t practice the Door-Door Fruit’s ability, so to pass the time, he had to chat. Among their group of five, only Princess Vivi was a suitable conversation partner.
“What? Ask away, as long as I know it.” Vivi was also bored. The desert scenery was always similar. During travel, aside from spacing out, chatting was the only option.
“Your father, His Majesty King Cobra, is the twelfth king of Alabasta, right?”
“Mm, correct. Father is the twelfth king······ Ah! I get it. You’re wondering why Alabasta, with eight hundred years of history, only has twelve generations up to my father?” Vivi laughed happily. “I asked Father about this before too!”
“So why is that?”
Elus was quite curious.
Eckmond Kingdom was founded only about two hundred years ago, and by Elus’s father’s generation, it was already the sixth king. At this succession rate, if Eckmond Kingdom lasted eight hundred years, it would probably produce nearly thirty kings.
In fiercely competitive countries, kings could change every two or three years. Sibling rivalries, father-son suspicions, clan disputes······ Kings were like weeds after rain, cropping up one after another.
Yet Alabasta had only twelve kings in its history.
This number was simply unbelievable.
“It seems our ancestors were all quite long-lived. The ancestor from eight hundred years ago reportedly lived to one hundred fifty-seven. The third king reigned for one hundred fifteen years······ And Father is only the twelfth king. By family generations, he’s the thirty-third. I’m the thirty-fourth······”
Vivi really seemed to have studied her kingdom’s history seriously.
She could rattle off the reign lengths of past ancestors without thinking.
“······One hundred fifty-seven years old? Truly long-lived!”
Elus sincerely exclaimed.
The conversation flowed from there,
Two Karoo side by side, Elus and Vivi chatting to pass the time.
Finally, before the sun set,
They arrived at the third ancient ruin recorded in the documents.
Called an ancient ruin······ Six hundred years ago, the archaeologist could still find remnants of ancient buildings here. Today, no traces remained. Without a sufficiently detailed map to pinpoint the location, without reference points, it would be impossible to find the ancient ruin in this desert.
“This is the place? It looks······ nothing special.”
The Kung Fu Dugongs stopped at the top of the dune. Vivi looked around—truly rolling yellow sand, nothing remarkable.
“It’s around here, if we didn’t miscalculate the distance.”
“Ancient ruins! Really······ hard to imagine!”
Vivi widened her eyes, trying to spot any clues.
This was the third ancient ruin they sought. Previously, guided by the document’s map, they found two others. One was a city abandoned eight hundred years ago, later buried by sand underground. The other was so ancient—over a thousand years—that it was badly damaged.
In the end, they gained nothing.
Or rather, not being professional archaeologists, what they considered gains differed from an archaeologist’s.
“Pluto Battleship— is this thing really hidden in the desert? Sounds like a massive thing. How did such a huge ship get onto land?” Vivi’s mind was full of questions, her big eyes brimming with curiosity.
“These questions······ we’ll know once we truly find Pluto.”
Elus replied with a smile.
Having stayed in Alabasta for nearly two months, Elus and Vivi’s relationship had grown close. The princess was actually just a girl who had turned sixteen not long ago—gentle, understanding, beloved by the people······
Beyond this well-known side, the girl had strong curiosity since childhood. Her lively and outgoing personality allowed her to befriend anyone.
Elus was no exception.
And for some reason, before Elus himself understood, the honorific “Your Highness” vanished from the girl’s address for him, even his full name gone, replaced by the nickname “El.”
Well, Elus didn’t mind.
It reminded him of his younger brother and younger sister at home.
Elus dismounted the duck. “Clarice, set up camp here. No village nearby—we’re camping tonight······ Vivi, let’s scout around first and see if we can find the ruin.”
Clarice and Vivi’s two maids immediately got to work.
Pitching tents, starting fires, preparing food······
“No matter how many times I see it, it feels······ so amazing!” In the deep green otherworld, Vivi reached to pet Fast Runner’s head, predictably passing through. Fast Runner munched on its habitual “sizzle” moisture supplement.
This otherworld could pull others in besides the ability user themselves.
Vivi had experienced this wondrous journey more than once.
“Let’s go see what treasure lies beneath this desert.” Elus and Vivi sank downward, their bodies sinking into the sand below, vision instantly turning pitch black.
This was a drawback of the Door-Door Fruit.
In the otherworld, one could only see what one could see. Without the ability to see through quicksand or rock, like now, one had to endure boundless darkness. Fortunately, Elus’s mind was clear, remembering directions, occasionally surfacing to confirm position.
It was troublesome, but currently the most effective exploration method.
After all, this was an otherworld where compasses meant nothing, and even Observation Haki was useless. Here, one’s own eyes were the most reliable tool.
This made him think of the Gaze-Gaze Fruit.
Perhaps,
It was about time to act against the Heavenly Yaksha. But moving against him might directly clash with the Holy Land······ Should he use a disguise, like the Straw Hat Pirates or some newbie pirate crew······
“Eh?”
Stray thoughts in his mind were instantly suppressed as the darkness in his vision suddenly receded.
“Ah!! It’s······ light!!!”
Yes,
Underground, they saw light.
Scattered lights on the smooth ceiling dispersed the darkness below, faintly revealing the massive, mountain-range-like terrifying outline. Vivi grabbed Elus’s sleeve; he deeply felt her mix of tension, fear, excitement······ shuddering emotions.
“Phew! Luck······ not bad. Looks like we hit the jackpot.”
Elus let out a long breath.
Truly, they struck gold!
The colossal thing beneath their feet, like a sleeping giant beast, should be Pluto.
“······This surprise came really suddenly.” Elus scratched his head. Finding Pluto was good, but······ if not effectively utilized, good could turn bad.
Speaking of which, the previous two ruin explorations yielded nothing, so he hadn’t expected to actually find Pluto—treating it as a sightseeing trip.
Who would have thought they actually found it.
“······Mm, feels very troublesome! Such a huge thing······ hard to conceal······”
Elus had a headache.
Vivi’s curiosity overrode everything, swimming like a fish toward the colossus below, guided by the sparse ceiling lights.
“······So amazing, this is······ a giant beast born for war!!”
Vivi exclaimed loudly.
The dim ceiling lights couldn’t fully illuminate the colossus’s true form, but the visible parts were enough to astonish. Elus followed Vivi to prevent the girl from straying too far and encountering danger.
He looked up at the astonishingly large cannon in view, the armor reflecting cold, hard gleam······ Vivi was right!
This was a pure war behemoth.
Truly unknown how the ancients eight hundred years ago forged such a fearsome weapon. Caesar and others hadn’t even reached one-fifth progress deciphering the Pluton Blueprint, partly due to mismatched expertise,
But without doubt,
Without a once-in-five-centuries genius like Vegapunk transcending the era, scientists like Caesar were absolutely top-tier—purely by ability.
Their slow progress could only mean too vast a scientific gap.
“Tch!”
How to handle it!
Such a behemoth.
Elus scratched his head vigorously, feeling it wasn’t yet time to expose this thing.
By the time they returned to the surface, night had fallen. The crescent moon leaped over distant dunes into the sky. Clarice and the others had set up tents. A bright campfire held a pot with rice, curry aroma wafting through the camp. Elus heard loud “gurgle gurgle” stomach rumbles.
“Ah!!!”
Vivi vanished from Elus’s side instantly.
The next instant, she appeared by the campfire.
“It’s curry!”
Elus understood. Vivi’s favorite foods were curry and Pudding. Of course she couldn’t sit still smelling curry.
“······Let’s eat first! We’ll think after eating.”
Elus felt a bit hungry too.
The Hogyoku hadn’t yet evolved him beyond human level. Food remained an essential foundation for his survival.
