Chapter 39 – portable villa
When Dante Voss reached the shore where they'd anchored earlier, the Straw Hats were all there.
There was one extra face among them, none other than Fire Fist Ace.
"Hey, Dante Voss!"
Seeing Dante Voss return, Luffy waved excitedly.
The others greeted Dante Voss as well.
If Dante Voss hadn't held the rear just now, their situation would have turned ugly.
After all, that smoke-wreathed Logia Navy Captain was simply impossible to handle.
"Hello, Luffy's crew. I'm Ace, Luffy's big brother!"
Ace bowed politely toward Dante Voss.
Ace's Haki wasn't particularly strong, yet he could still sense that Dante Voss's strength wasn't weak—he even felt a hint of danger.
"Hello, my name's Dante Voss."
Dante Voss nodded, the hood on his head slowly retracting.
"It's you?"
Ace's eyes widened.
He recognized Dante Voss; ten-odd days earlier, newspapers had carried his face on every page.
This was the maniac who'd caused a huge commotion in Mary Geoise!
The last person to make such waves had been the Fishman hero Fisher Tiger.
Dante Voss nodded.
He wasn't worried Ace would leak his info—if word got out, the one in the most trouble would be Ace's little brother, Straw Hat Luffy.
"Hey, Ace, the Dante Voss is super strong—he can swing out a giant blast of light that slices several ships clean in half!"
Luffy excitedly recounted Dante Voss's feats to Ace.
"Oh? Looks like Luffy's found himself a fine crewmate!"
Ace smiled, his gaze toward Dante Voss turning graver.
Among all the Whitebeard Pirates, only Vista could unleash Flying Slashes like that.
"Let's head back to the ship first."
Dante Voss reached the shore and spoke softly.
Ace looked puzzled.
But—
Boom!
A small sailing vessel appeared at the water's edge, startling him for a moment before he quickly composed himself.
In the New World, countless bizarre Devil Fruits existed; he was long used to such sights.
Once aboard, Ace explained his purpose.
"I'm chasing a man named Blackbeard. He used to be a member of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division, but he killed a crewmate and fled."
Ace's gaze chilled.
"As his division commander, I have to find him and deal with him."
"My intel says he was last spotted in Yuba, which is why I came here."
Nami blinked.
"Then our destinations are the same."
Just moments ago, she and the others had confirmed with Vivi that their next stop was Yuba.
With their destination set, the going merry set sail.
Life on deck returned to its peaceful routine. Ace smiled as he watched Luffy's reliable crew, and soon the ship neared Yuba's port and docked.
As they tied up, a band of Kung Fu Dugongs surfaced; after Luffy beat them and taught them some kung fu, the group finally pressed on toward Yuba.
From here they officially entered Alabasta—an endless desert, desolate and bleak.
They wrapped scarves around their faces to keep out the ubiquitous sand and trudged onward.
Along the way they spotted hidden Dance Powder and ever-drier, dustier land, plus restless civilians. Vivi's heart grew heavy with worry for her kingdom.
So they quickened their pace toward Yuba.
Upon arrival, they couldn't find Vivi's childhood friend—Koza, now leader of the rebel army.
Finding no trace of Blackbeard, Ace took his leave.
Dante Voss said nothing; he knew Ace was no match for Blackbeard.
After all, the man wouldn't even listen to Whitebeard, let alone to him.
Besides, Dante Voss wanted the Summit War to begin.
A grand melee between pirates and Marines, the world's finest fighters—prime fodder for slaughter points.
The crew planned to continue to Alabasta, but Luffy refused to move.
"Huh? Hey, Luffy, what're you doing?"
Usopp pointed at him in annoyance.
"What's wrong, Luffy?"
Vivi asked, puzzled.
"I'm out!"
Luffy declared with total seriousness.
Everyone was bewildered, but Dante Voss smiled.
"Finally made up your mind?"
he murmured.
Though usually reckless, Luffy was crystal-clear on the big issues.
Pressed by the others, Luffy chose the direct route: take down Crocodile.
At Luffy's insistence, Vivi tearfully agreed.
She didn't want anyone to die; she wanted to resolve everything peacefully.
But war always claims lives—how could a conflict this vast halt because of one princess?
The group then set off for Rainbase, Crocodile's stronghold.
Thanks to Dante Voss, Smoker and his men hadn't come after the Straw Hats this time.
So when the crew reached Rainbase, they barged straight into the casino and began hunting for Crocodile.
Furious over what Crocodile had done, Luffy charged inside; his worried crew followed close behind.
Dante Voss's eyes flickered, but he didn't go with them.
Everything was unfolding according to the plot, and Dante Voss didn't want to warp it too far and land himself in danger.
He had no intention of confronting Crocodile just yet.
After all, if this Warlord of the Sea with the Sand-Sand Fruit got serious, even Dante Voss the Great Swordsman could die here.
Though Crocodile feared water and Dante Voss now wielded a Sea Stone jitte…
…if the man refused a straight fight and turned into a colossal sandstorm, Dante Voss would have no answer.
Dante Voss quietly slipped out of the casino and headed outside.
Just as he'd expected.
Less than an hour later, he spotted Crocodile and Robin leaving together.
Dante Voss re-entered the casino—and descended to the basement beneath it.
Luffy and the others were locked in a Sea Stone cage; seawater was flooding in, and Crocodile had tossed the key into a Banana Crocodiles's jaws.
Try as they might, they couldn't break out of the Sea Stone prison.
Then, from the Banana Crocodiles's mouth, a huge white sphere suddenly popped out.
The sphere split open and Mr. 3 stepped out.
The supposedly executed Mr. 3 had survived by forming a Wax Ball inside the Crocodile's belly.
Beside him lay a key, which he picked up and examined in puzzlement.
"Hey! Hand that key over—now!"
The Straw Hats lit up at the sight of it.
A moment ago they'd thought they were doomed; now they had a chance.
Seeing their desperation, Mr. 3 smirked.
"Looks like I'm the one calling the shots now."
"Boom!"
The ceiling of the basement exploded, huge chunks of rock crashing down.
A black-clad figure dropped from above, scarlet sword in hand.
The Straw Hats' faces lit up the instant they saw Dante Voss.
They'd thought they'd lost him; his arrival couldn't be better timed.
"Get us out, Dante Voss!"
"Mr. 3's got the key—snatch it!"
Mr. 3 spotted Dante Voss too. Unaware of Dante Voss's strength, he calmly tossed the key toward the other Banana Crocodiless.
"Idiot."
Dante Voss shot him a glance, ignored the key, and lunged, blade sweeping out.
"Ugh…"
The bloodthirsty sword slid through Mr. 3, its keen edge slicing him clean.
Mr. 3's eyes bulged in disbelief.
Who was this guy—and how was he this strong?
He hadn't even seen the strike before it was over.
[Killed a Bounty Hunter: slaughter points +300]
Ignoring the prompt, Dante Voss stared at Mr. 3's body, curious what reward a character with this much screen time might yield.
Under his gaze…
…Mr. 3's corpse glowed pale blue, a mystic energy sphere forming above it.
"Only blue?"
Dante Voss frowned, disappointed.
He'd hoped for at least a Red Tier reward.
Strong as he was in swordsmanship, he still wanted something like Haki to boost his offense.
He tapped the sphere.
[Blue Tier item obtained: portable villa]
Not bad, he thought—useful, if nothing extraordinary.
Ignoring the System, Dante Voss walked up to the Sea Stone cage holding Luffy and the others.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The bloodthirsty sword flashed, and the supposedly unbreakable Sea Stone bars were severed.