On the road to Alubarna.
A camel caravan of nine camels was moving forward at a steady pace.
Kouta leaned back in the saddle on the camel's back.
Leisurely sipping wine.
Indeed, riding a camel was quite comfortable.
He wasn't going to cross this vast desert on foot, like Monkey D. Luffy and the others.
After all...
He wasn't short on money, was he?
"Haha!!"
Thinking this, Kouta put down his wine gourd, chuckled, turned to the Firebird walking to his left, and asked, "By the way, Firebird, the sacred river of Alabasta, the 'Sandora River,' is just ahead, right?"
"Yes!"
Firebird nodded.
"Then how will we cross the river?"
Firebird looked at Kouta and smiled, "Silver-haired Brother, ahead is Alubarna's famous oasis city, 'Alubarna.' Since we're going to Raindinners, we inevitably have to cross the Sandora River. Originally, we would have taken a boat from Oil Flower and detoured by sea."
"However, because Alubarna has not had rain for over a year, the water level of the Sandora River has dropped severely, to the point where people can walk across."
"Oh!"
Kouta nodded, his gaze shifting forward. They could already feel moisture in the wind blowing towards them.
"Mm!"
Kouta suddenly thought of something and turned to Firebird, asking, "So, the owner of the camel rental shop in Oil Flower doesn't have a route to the other side of the Sandora River!"
"Yes, that's right."
Firebird nodded, then wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. He lowered his hand and said to Kouta, "Originally, the boss's business on the other side of the Sandora River was managed by his wife, starting from Alubarna and ending at Raindinners. This side's starting point is Oil Flower, and the destination is the capital, Alubarna."
"It's just that recently, the Sandora River's water level has dropped severely, so the boss decided to directly open a route from Oil Flower to Raindinners."
"Although Alabasta is a desert country, and it hasn't rained for over a year, Raindinners is a famous bustling city in the first half of the Grand Line. It has the country's largest casino, attracting countless outsiders to visit and gamble in this country."
Firebird paused, then continued, "Because it is the territory of one of the Three Great Powers, the Seven Warlords of the Sea, known as 'Sand Crocodile,' 'Crocodile,' the safety aspect is still trustworthy."
"Crocodile."
Kouta retracted his gaze, glanced at Firebird, and then raised his wine gourd for a drink.
"You've been here for four months! You're also a journalism major, so you must have collected a lot of information about Baroque Works!"
"Yes!"
Firebird nodded and looked ahead, saying, "I have collected a lot of criminal evidence of Baroque Works, but it's all minor matters. The biggest piece of evidence only proves that the Dancing Powder incident at Oil Flower port a few months ago is related to this criminal organization, but it cannot effectively prove that they were truly responsible."
Saying this, he looked back at Kouta, his eyes filled with shame, and said, "I'm sorry, Silver-haired Brother. Due to my limited strength, although I wanted to truly collect criminal evidence of Baroque Works, I was willing but unable."
"I've been staying in Raindinners for the past few months. I've seen many members of Baroque Works, but I haven't found any effective evidence linking Crocodile to Baroque Works. I only know that the external leader and liaison for Baroque Works has always been a woman, not Crocodile."
"It's fine."
Kouta waved his hand indifferently. Alabasta was not Bass; this was a permanent member nation of the World Government.
He didn't need Firebird to report like he did in Bass. He just needed the world to know that the reason Alabasta wasn't raining was because of Crocodile.
Even if there were no reports, it would be fine. Once Crocodile died, Baroque Works would collapse instantly, and the country would return to normal.
He didn't intend to meddle in the affairs of the Nefertari family and the World Government.
After all, the World Government needed an excuse to act against Alabasta. Without a reason, they couldn't do anything. The Nefertari family was one of the founders of the World Government.
Firebird looked at Kouta's indifferent attitude and hesitated to speak.
He thought he might have misunderstood Kouta's intentions.
Four months ago, when Kouta sent him here, he thought Kouta wanted him to collect criminal evidence of Baroque Works and Crocodile.
Now that he thought about it, Kouta might have just been trying to get rid of him.
He shook his head at this thought but wasn't discouraged.
His relationship with Kouta wasn't that deep; they were acquaintances at best, not even friends. He understood this.
It was already good enough that Kouta found an excuse to send him away.
Besides, he was a reporter, and having big news was enough.
He didn't really care about Alabasta's domestic political issues, and the world certainly wouldn't.
Like most people, he only cared about big news from world-famous pirates.
If Kouta hadn't mentioned it, he wouldn't have bothered collecting criminal evidence of Baroque Works. That organization was very famous throughout the first half of the Grand Line, and even the four seas.
Investigating them...
Was very dangerous.
Many times, he had almost been discovered by members of Baroque Works.
This was thanks to his many years as a reporter, which had honed his stealth skills. Otherwise, he might have been dealt with by Baroque Works before he could even see Kouta.
Firebird put away his thoughts. He certainly wouldn't tell Kouta about them.
Telling him would only prove his stupidity and uselessness.
There were no substantial benefits.
He looked up, at the gradually appearing blue waterline ahead, and turned to Kouta, who was leaning back on the camel, and called out, "Silver-haired Brother, we've reached the Sandora River."
"Mm!"
Kouta replied, straightened up, and looked ahead over the camel's head.
Looking at the boundless azure before him, he felt a sense of awe.
"Who would have thought that a desert kingdom, a desert island, would have such a great river over fifty kilometers wide."
If not for the severe sandstorms on this island, Alabasta would probably never have been short of water.
Behind Kouta, Hua and the other two drooped their heads, their bodies slumped on the camels' backs, looking like sun-dried salted fish.
Even though they had camels and didn't lack water.
The extremely dry air of the desert and the scorching sun overhead seemed to have buried their spirits in the desert.
When they heard Firebird announce their arrival at the Sandora River,
Hua and the other two quickly sat up, their eyes shining as they looked ahead.
Although they were all Devil Fruit users and feared water,
They desperately wished for a cold bath at that moment.
"A river!"
"It's really a river!"
Hua and the other two, with their legs straddling the camels, grabbed the reins and shook them.
"Giddy up!"
They quickly sped past Kouta and the others, charging towards the distant Sandora River.