Zoro climbed to his feet with a grim expression, a few specks of dust still clinging to his forehead. He immediately grabbed Luffy by the collar:
"Luffy, you idiot!!! Don't you even apologize after bumping into someone?!"
Luffy's head swayed from the shaking, but he still laughed lightheartedly: "Hehehe, sorry, Zoro!"
Vivi quickly stepped forward, her tone soothing: "Alright, alright, Mr. Zoro! Now is not the time to quibble."
She turned to Luffy and Tomioka, who had just rejoined the group, a serious expression on her face, "Let's tell Luffy and Mr. Giyuu what happened. You two rushed out too quickly and don't know the situation yet."
Luffy finally broke free from Zoro's grip, tilting his head, a look of pure confusion on his face: "Huh? Did something happen?"
Nami took a deep breath and began to explain: "Just after you two left the going merry one after another, we thoroughly checked the shore where we docked. We found a strange-looking small boat nearby."
She paused, looking at Vivi, "Vivi said that boat is a special vessel that can only be used when Mr.3's Wax-Wax Fruit ability is activated."
"Which means," Nami's voice dropped, "that guy has already returned to Alabasta."
Luffy's mouth formed an O-shape: "Eh!!! That candle guy can come back! He's a tough one to deal with."
"And that's not all," Nami rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on from the news she was about to deliver.
"Also, we saw another ship. Luffy, we've seen him before, can you guess who's here?"
Luffy continued to tilt his head, his entire head drooping to the ground, his voice muffled: "Who?"
Zoro leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms and saying: "It's Buggy the Clown. That guy actually snuck in from the East Blue, and he arrived in Alabasta before us."
Tomioka, who had been silently standing by, heard the name and his eyes flickered.
He remembered him, the pirate with the conspicuous red nose on the execution platform in Loguetown. It was also on that day that he met Luffy and the others.
"Him…" Tomioka murmured.
Vivi looked at Tomioka with some surprise: "Mr. Giyuu, you also know Buggy the Clown?"
Sanji lit a cigarette, took a puff, and looked at Tomioka, complaining: "He doesn't just know him, Tomioka was there. He was the one who personally used his sword to shatter the execution platform where the Kaizoku-ō was executed, right under Buggy's nose."
"Ah!!!"
Vivi covered her mouth, her eyes wide with disbelief and shock. The Kaizoku-ō's execution platform, that was almost a symbol of an era.
Chopper's reaction was even more dramatic; he jumped up directly, his two small hooves clinging to Tomioka's pant leg, his eyes filled with stars of disbelief: "Kaizoku-ō!!! Tomioka!!! What did you do?!"
"Luffy was in some danger at the time."
Tomioka simply replied to Chopper, his thoughts seemingly drifting for a moment. The clamor and lightning of that day in Loguetown replayed in his mind.
But he quickly snapped back to reality; now was not the time for reminiscing.
Tomioka pulled out the folded envelope he had received in the alley from his pocket.
"In the city just now," he began, his voice drawing everyone's attention back, "someone followed me and gave me this."
"What is this?" Nami frowned slightly, taking the letter from Tomioka's hand with a puzzled look. The paper was ordinary kraft paper, rough to the touch.
She carefully unfolded the paper, her gaze scanning the handwriting, and then her expression changed slightly as she read it aloud to the group:
"Igaram is in Alubarna's old town. Someone will tell you where he is when you get there."
"Come alone."
"Otherwise, you know the consequences."
The simple three lines of text made everyone present look a bit grim. The old man they had met at Whiskey Peak was clearly in the enemy's hands now.
"Give it to me!"
Vivi instantly lunged forward, snatching the letter from Nami's hand.
Her gaze was fixed on those lines of text, her fingertips turning white and trembling slightly, as if she wanted to crush the paper.
Her face was filled with uncontrollable anger and panic.
"Vivi, calm down! Calm down!" Nami quickly grabbed Vivi's tightly clasped hand, trying to convey some strength to her, her voice urgent.
"At least, this letter indicates that Igaram should be alright for now! They're still using him to threaten us, which is proof that he's alive!"
Vivi looked up, gazing into the distance, which should be the direction of Alubarna. Her eyes burned with fury, and she practically gritted her teeth as she squeezed out the words:
"It must be Ms. All Sunday… I wouldn't mistake this handwriting…"
The air seemed to freeze.
Luffy, who had just been noisy, also quieted down. Usopp and Chopper both held their breath.
"Everyone, calm down first." Zoro's steady voice broke the heavy atmosphere. Leaning against the wall, he analyzed, "That woman named Ms. All Sunday said that the old man who looked like a cannon is in Alubarna. Vivi, where did you say we were going next?"
Vivi took a deep breath, trying to calm her surging emotions, and replied: "Yuba, that's where the rebel army is currently gathering."
"Are these two places close?" Sanji exhaled a smoke ring, his brows tightly furrowed.
"No, quite the opposite…"
Vivi shook her head, tracing the layout of Alabasta in the air for everyone with her finger, "Yuba and Alubarna are separated by the Sandora River, so they are quite far apart… The main problem is that they are not on the same bank."
Zoro took over, his gaze sweeping over everyone, posing the most crucial question: "The other party specified that only one person should go to Alubarna to rescue someone, while our original goal was to go to Yuba to stop the rebel army."
"Now, what should we do?"
Another brief silence enveloped everyone.
On one side was Igaram, whose fate was unknown, and on the other was the imminent crisis of the rebellion.
Just then, Tomioka, who had been silent, stepped forward. He reached out and gently retrieved the crumpled letter from Vivi's still slightly trembling hand.
"I'll go."
Nami immediately stroked her chin, looking at the letter and analyzing: "The letter indeed requested that only one person go, and the other party specifically tracked Tomioka and handed the letter to him."
"From this perspective, Tomioka going to Alubarna is indeed the choice that best meets their requirements and is least likely to alert them."
However, Nami looked at Tomioka again, her eyes filled with inquiry and a hint of worry: "But… are you really okay going alone? It's definitely a trap there."
Tomioka carefully refolded the letter and put it back into his pocket. He looked up, his deep blue pupils showing little ripple, yet there was a calmness that settled after countless battles.
"Yes."