"What's wrong?"
Kouta put down his wine gourd and turned to see Kuina staring at him blankly.
He reached out, touched his face, and smiled, "Do I have flowers on my face? You're looking so intently."
"Nothing."
Kuina came back to her senses, her lips curved upwards, and a smile appeared on her face.
She turned her head, looked at the port ahead, picked up her teacup, took a sip, and a flicker of anticipation flashed in her eyes.
"The desert kingdom... it must be very interesting! Hehe!!"
The Freedom was not far from the port. After A'lu furled the sails, although the ship's speed slowed down, it still glided into the port under inertia and docked in the vacant spot between several merchant ships at the pier.
He wouldn't dock his ship in an uninhabited place like Monkey D. Luffy.
This was also why he had A'lu take down the flag.
He had no special feelings for flags.
This way, they could enter and exit the regular port openly. As long as they landed on the island and paid a small docking fee to the port guards, they wouldn't have to worry about the ship anymore.
With guards, ordinary people and pirates wouldn't be able to steal their ship.
Before the ship had even docked, a cry from the Firebird came from the front of the Freedom.
"Silver-haired brother, Kuina big sister, over here, over here..."
"Yo! It's Firebird!"
Kouta leaned forward, rested on the railing, looked down at Firebird and his two deputies, and waved a greeting.
"Long time no see."
"Silver-haired brother, long time no see."
Firebird looked at Kouta excitedly, waving his hands and responding loudly.
"I say."
"What is it?"
Firebird lowered his hand, staring at Kouta in confusion.
Kouta stroked his chin, looked Firebird up and down, and smiled, "You've only been gone for a few months, and you're still in this desert kingdom, yet you've gotten fat."
"Have I?"
Firebird quickly looked himself up and down, then turned to his two subordinates and asked, "Am I fat?"
The two subordinates looked at Firebird and nodded in unison.
"Boss, you... you are indeed much more robust than when we first met."
"Hahahahaha!!"
"Fat is fat, I'm not someone who cares about my figure."
Firebird let out a loud laugh, then turned to look at the Freedom, which had already docked steadily, and quickly walked onto the ship via the wooden plank lowered along the ship's side.
He saw A'hua, the other two, and Indigo emerge from the cabin.
Firebird quickly pulled his two subordinates forward to greet them.
"Brother Luo, long time no see, you're getting more handsome! And Brother Tao is also getting more handsome!"
Upon seeing Indigo, Firebird quickly bowed, "Dr. Indigo, hello."
"Kekekeke!!"
Indigo looked at Firebird, his lips split into a smile, "Mr. Firebird, have these past few months been good!"
He then let out a loud laugh, "Kekekeke!! Looking at you, you must have been living quite comfortably!"
"Kekekeke!!"
"Hehe!! Perhaps the food has been good."
Firebird looked at Indigo, patted his gradually swelling belly, and smiled; "I have indeed gained a little weight, hehe!!"
Just then, A'hua, who had changed out of his usual shipboard chef's uniform and was wearing a t-shirt and shorts, walked out with a protruding belly.
"Yo!"
Seeing Firebird, he stepped forward, passed between A'lu and A'tao, and extended his hand to greet Firebird.
"Isn't this our reporter Mr. Firebird? When did you get here!"
"Hello, Brother Hua, long time no see. I've been waiting for you at the dock since early this morning."
"Oh!"
A'hua nodded.
Firebird's gaze swept over A'hua and lingered on his stomach.
He exclaimed loudly, "Brother Hua, you're getting stronger and stronger!"
"Hahahahaha!! Of course, haven't you seen my bounty?"
Saying this, A'hua patted his stomach.
*Bang bang bang!!*
It sounded like beating a drum.
"Alright, let's go!"
Kouta stepped off the ship's bow, stood by the side, and looked at the bustling and lively streets in the distance, a smile in his eyes.
Perhaps because it was near the sea, this was one of the only three cities in the Alabasta Kingdom at this time that had not been affected by the drought.
The other two were the stronghold of the Shichibukai "Crocodile," Raindin, and the capital of the Alabasta Kingdom, Alubarna.
Raindin, as the name suggests, would never be short of water.
There was a river there that never ran dry.
While other places were troubled by water shortages, Crocodile even used large amounts of water to raise crocodiles in Raindin's casino, Raindin.
Large crocodiles.
...
On the bustling streets.
Kouta and his group were heading towards a clothing store.
They couldn't travel in the desert dressed like this.
The desert was not only dusty but also extremely hot during the day and very cold at night, so people usually wore overcoats.
If you didn't want to get sunburned, you had to cover your head with bandages.
Of course, wearing a hat was also an option.
"Firebird."
A'tao removed the cigarette from his mouth, held it between his fingers, exhaled a smoke ring, and looked at Firebird, who was walking beside them and introducing them to the various cities of the Alabasta Kingdom, and asked.
"Didn't you say it doesn't rain in the whole kingdom? Why does it rain in Alubarna then?"
"No hurry, that's what I'm about to talk about."
Firebird looked around, his gaze fixed on the turn ahead. He strode forward, stood in the middle of the road, turned around, and only lowered his head to stomp his heel on the ground when Kouta and the others approached.
He looked up, met their curious gazes, and smiled, "I wasn't here in Alabasta for tourism these past few months!"
He then puffed out his chest and continued, "Just a few days after we arrived, an event occurred right where I'm standing now, an event that shocked the entire Alabasta. It can also be said that it was from this event that Alabasta truly fell into war."
"Oh! What was it?"
Everyone looked at Firebird, their eyes full of curiosity.
"Four months ago, 'Dance Powder' being transported to Alubarna was discovered here."
"Dance Powder?"
Indigo stroked his chin, thought for a moment, then let out a loud laugh, "Kekekeke!! I think I know why it only rains in Alubarna."
"Oh!" Firebird stared at Indigo, a hint of a mysterious smile flashing in his eyes, "Dr. Indigo, tell me why?"
"Kekekeke!! I'm someone who knows what Dance Powder is!"
As everyone's gazes turned to him, Indigo explained.
"Dance Powder, also known as 'Rain Calling Powder,' appears as a green powder. It was invented a long time ago in a country where it never rained. It can produce mist-like smoke that floats in the air, creating what is called 'artificial rain.' The name comes from the hope that people would dance with joy upon the arrival of rain."
"Artificial rain?"
"Yes! It's artificially made rainwater."
"How magical."
A'lu, hands in his pockets, stood coolly to the side. Upon hearing this, he shook his head and sighed, "Did the king of this country use this Dance Powder to make it rain in Alubarna?"
"That's a good thing! If it can rain, why is it the fuse of war?"