Chapter 382: Onward to Alabasta: Shadows of the Desert

It wasn’t just Luffy—Zoro, Johnny, and even Nami herself all noticed that their appetites were growing day by day.

They’d stocked the ship with enough provisions for 20 days, thinking that would safely carry them to the next island.

But after Twin Cape—and now Whiskey Peak—they still hadn’t found anywhere with enough food.

No one knew how long it would be before they reached another island, which meant they had to ration carefully. Next time, they’d need to buy far more supplies or they’d face another food shortage long before land was in sight.

This kind of trouble wasn’t anything new. Every time a food crisis hit, Luffy and his crew would come up with wild ways to fish or dive into the sea, trying to fill their empty stomachs.

Even Karoo, their trusty running duck, found himself used as bait for sea kings more than once by Luffy.

“Two hundred million Berries might not be enough. If I remember right, Alabasta’s a major kingdom on the first half of the Grand Line—population’s over ten million, capital is Alubarna, boasts a standing army of six hundred thousand…”

Nami hadn’t wasted her time lately—she’d researched every island they might pass next.

Other than a few gaps in the info about Little Garden, their next real stop was Alabasta. She’d managed to piece together quite a bit about the place.

Thud!

“Nani nani?”

“Six hundred thousand?”

“Suddenly, I’ve come down with a mysterious illness that keeps me off the island.”

Usopp practically jumped out of his skin at that terrifying number, tumbling right off his barrel.

He always bragged about his imaginary 8,000 men, but this—six hundred thousand—was something else entirely. He’d never even seen that many people in his life.

“Alright, ignore him. We’ll need at least five hundred million Berries.”

Nami didn’t bother with Usopp’s theatrics. Instead, she held out her palm boldly in front of Vivi, making her demand.

“Deal!”

Vivi didn’t hesitate for a moment—Berries in the hundreds of millions weren’t even a concern for her right now.

She’d already witnessed the Straw Hats’ strength. As far as she was concerned, if they could help save the kingdom, five hundred million—heck, even one or two billion—would be worth it.

“Wait, did I maybe aim too low?”

Nami felt a little awkward after seeing just how quickly Vivi agreed.

“Interesting. This just gets better and better.”

“Hey, Gin, let’s set sail!”

“I’ve never seen a world that’s nothing but desert.”

Luffy pressed down his hat and turned to Gin, who stood nearby. Gin could only shake his head helplessly—he was starting to notice his captain’s goofy side. But he was a pirate now, and the captain’s orders were absolute.

He got up and headed for the helm, ready to prep the ship for departure.

“Ah, this is going to be a wild adventure.” Over in Alabasta, Ye Fan had already prepared a grand surprise for Luffy’s crew—one that would give everyone a worthy opponent.

But Ye Fan wondered whether running into that person this early was a good idea for Luffy.

“I wonder if there are any swordsmen in Alabasta?” Zoro didn’t really care about the numbers—he only trusted his sword.

Ever since his fight with Batonaal, he’d reached deeper understanding of the sword, and now felt he was just one step away from truly becoming a great swordsman.

“Guys! Hey, did you even hear what was just said? Six hundred thousand!”

Usopp climbed out from behind the barrel, frantically running over while hopping around in panic.

Were these people even listening to him? Everyone seemed so fearless—like he was the only one actually scared.

“In that case, there’s no way I’m letting anyone head out hungry.”

Sanji blew out a smoke ring, then stood and walked off toward the galley.

Everyone’s stomachs were still rumbling after that recent fight, and there’s no way Sanji would let his crew set out on an empty stomach.

“Wherever big bro goes, we go.”

“Desert, here I come!”

……

“What’s that? Is that an island?”

Several days into their voyage, just as dusk began to fall, a massive shadow suddenly appeared up ahead, squarely blocking their path.

Usopp now served as both sharpshooter and lookout—despite the fading light, he managed to spot something rising up in the distance that looked as big as a mountain.

Meanwhile, Zoro was on deck, lifting barbells that weighed tens of tons. Honestly, if Ye Fan hadn’t reinforced the ship over and over, the Going Merry would probably be falling apart by now.

“That’s no island!”

After a random bout with Sanji, both Zoro and Sanji unlocked Observation Haki.

Thanks to Ye Fan continually boosting their doses, everyone on the ship had awakened Armament Haki.

Only Johnny, Yosaku, and Gin hadn’t yet gotten a handle on Observation Haki.

The rest had mastered both Armament and Observation Haki, though their powers still needed more experience to really ramp up their fighting strength.

Thud!

Zoro set down his heavy barbells, grabbed the Wado Ichimonji from the wall, and headed straight for the bow.

“Big bro, did something happen?”

“Are we under attack or something?”

Hearing the loud clang of metal, Johnny and Yosaku rushed over, blades drawn, eyes glued to the scene ahead of Zoro.

“Don’t you feel it getting cold?”

Their voices caught the rest of the crew’s attention, pulling Luffy and the others out from below decks.

“Achoo!”

“It’s freezing!”

“Yeah, it really is!”

Luffy and Usopp put on a show, clinging together and shivering dramatically.

Nami picked up the telescope and fixed her gaze on that distant shadow, completely focused.

A split second later, she turned pale and shouted at Zoro, “Zoro, cut it down!”

No wonder Nami panicked like that.

As the ship crept closer, the shape finally came into view—a massive iceberg.

It was at least dozens, maybe hundreds of times bigger than the Merry, blocking their path entirely.

If the Going Merry didn’t steer away—or if this iceberg wasn’t cut down—they’d slam right into it and sink to the bottom of the sea.

“Ah!”

“We cannot let that thing damage our ship!”

“One Sword Style—Lion Song!”

Zoro drew his blade and swung, sending a massive slash of green sword aura roaring forward, swelling to hundreds of meters tall as it scythed toward the iceberg.

He savored the raw power pulsing through that strike, grinning with satisfaction. Even a casual swing was leagues beyond what he could do before; clearly, he was getting closer to the title of great swordsman.

Shing!!!