Chapter 404: Fire, Fate, and Flight in the Desert Town

“Ugh… Is it… cough… over already?” Exhaustion seeped into every inch of his body, his heavy eyelids barely staying open. Just before they closed for good, he caught a hazy glimpse of a wild-haired man with a long nose clutching a spear, stepping into view.

As the last spark of life faded away, Bebe’s limbs went cold. He toppled to the ground, using his final breath just to catch a glimpse of Usopp before the darkness took him.

“Woof! Woof! Woof!”

Seeing its master fall, the dachshund’s pupils turned blood-red. With a savage snarl, it lunged straight at Usopp.

Bang!

“Once you decide to act, you bet your entire life on the line. That’s what being a pirate is all about.”

Usopp’s figure vanished into the dust-filled air, a faint thud echoing behind him.

As the dust settled, the scene grew clear. Crocodile lay sprawled on the sand, arms stretched wide, gazing lazily up at the sun.

“Straw Hat kid, you haven’t tasted the real cruelty of the New World yet.”

“Doesn’t matter how cruel it gets—I’m gonna be King of the Pirates, no matter what!”

“I don’t care what king you want to be. Straw Hat Pirates, you’re mine for the taking.”

“Look, it’s the Navy! They’re here! Run!” The Billion Works Agents and hordes of Million Works Agents, battered and broken by Gin’s attack, erupted in panic.

Spotting the mass of Navy charging their way, they hurriedly propped each other up and bolted toward the heart of the desert.

Smoker didn’t spare a glance at the small fry. His eyes locked right onto Luffy.

“Is that the Navy?”

“Will the Navy really save us?”

“I heard the Seven Warlords are just another branch of the Navy. What if they’re all working together behind the scenes?”

Whispers rippled down both sides of the street. A few townsfolk, crouched behind buildings, watched the chaos unfold.

Earlier, a massive explosion had already claimed the lives of many residents. Now, only a few hundred battered survivors clung to life, hiding within the crumbling remains.

They stared out with cold, empty eyes.

Ever since the King mysteriously changed, hope in this land had slowly faded. Every day was spent lost in numbness.

“Navy! Luffy!” Zoro gave up on his fight with Daz Bones and strode quickly to Luffy’s side, watching this group of Navy officers with wary eyes.

Though Zoro’s outfit had changed, his looks and the iconic Wado Ichimonji in hand made him easy to spot. Tashigi drew her sword and pointed it at him. “You—you’re a pirate! You don’t deserve to wield a famous blade like that!”

Tashigi was nothing if not obsessed with famous swords. Seeing such a treasure in a pirate’s hand infuriated her—she saw Zoro as staining its honor.

“So, what’s the plan, Luffy?” Sanji, abandoning his own opponent, joined the group. Soon, Gin, Ye Fan, Usopp, Chopper and the rest had all rallied to Luffy’s side.

A tense hush fell over the scene. No one could guess what would happen in the next instant.

“Ahahahaha!”

“We’re pirates, aren’t we? Leg it!” Luffy shouted, then suddenly whipped around and dashed straight into the deeper stretches of desert.

Luffy’s cry left Zoro and the others stunned. Their bravado evaporated at once as they looked at each other in confusion.

But seeing Luffy charging off toward the desert, everyone else decided not to stick around to lock horns with the Navy. They raced after him.

“Don’t think you can just run! After them!”

“Fire Fist!”

A massive flaming fist smashed down in front of Smoker, raising a wall of fire that blocked his path.

Flames leapt from building to building, engulfing two whole streets almost instantly.

“Fire—a huge fire! Run for your lives!”

“Help!”

“Somebody save us!”

Cries of pain and terror erupted from trapped residents as smoke filled their homes.

That earlier explosion had already left many homes partially or completely collapsed.

Now, plenty of townsfolk were completely trapped in the wreckage. They’d hoped to rebuild their lives once the fighting ended, but instead—

Caught off guard by a sudden fire, they’d become lambs waiting for the slaughter.

Saving themselves was a fantasy. This was a desert town, its freshwater supplies already nearly gone thanks to Crocodile’s schemes. Even if they wanted to fight the blaze, they had no means to do it.

“Hurry! Save them!”

“Tashigi!” Smoker barked, stopping Tashigi in her tracks as she tried to charge forward.

“You take command. Get those people out of the buildings—now!”

Hearing Smoker’s orders, Tashigi could only lower her sword in fury and sheathed it. “You’d better hope we never meet again,” she spat.

Smoker commanded real respect. The Navy under him was nothing like those corrupt officials—they all had true justice in their hearts.

If any of them lacked that sense of justice, Smoker would’ve kicked them out long ago.

Watching his crew rush to the rescue, Smoker finally looked up to where Ace stood on a rooftop to his left.

“You’re from the Whitebeard Pirates, aren’t you? What brings you here?”

Something about this young man felt familiar to Smoker, but he couldn’t place it right away.

He’d spent years stationed in the Four Seas, and only had a general idea of what was happening in the New World.

He’d seen Ace’s bounty poster and knew about his ties with the Whitebeard Pirates, but after years dealing with East Blue affairs, he hadn’t connected the dots yet.

What clued him in was Ace shifting slightly, making the Whitebeard Pirates’ insignia half-visible on his back.

Smoker had memorized the Four Emperors’ marks—anyone with sense avoided making enemies with them in the New World unless they wanted a world of trouble raining down.

Plenty of pirate crews had tried to challenge Karl’s spot, but every time, bolts of lightning shattered their confidence and dreams.

“How could you stand in the way of a man’s journey?”

Ace had planned to ask Ye Fan for advice about raising his fire’s temperature, but the sudden arrival of the Navy spoiled those plans.

Ace figured, win some, lose some—he’d always taken fate in stride. If things didn’t go his way today, he’d just move on with his hunt for Blackbeard.

“See you around, Navy.” Hoisting a small pack over his shoulder, Ace turned and leapt from the roof, heading in the opposite direction from Luffy’s group.

Since Blackbeard wasn’t on this island, there was no reason for Ace to stick around.

“Commodore Smoker!” Tashigi suddenly appeared beside him, eyeing Ace’s fading figure. “Shouldn’t we…”

Smoker’s brow furrowed as he weighed the risks. After a long pause, he finally said, “Let him go. We’re not chasing him.”

Tashigi wanted to protest, but Smoker’s raised hand stopped her cold.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to chase Ace—but truth was, even if they caught him, they probably couldn’t win. Ace’s bounty was a staggering 550 million Berries. A real fight would get half his unit killed, and even if they pulled it off, it would only enrage the Whitebeard Pirates.