The Grand Line, Albana, the capital of Alabasta.
In the sand-filled city, the passing streets were crowded with people wrapped in scarves and holding signs to demonstrate. The signs were posted with various slogans against the king, and angry abuse was everywhere.
In this arid desert country, except for the capital, there has been no rain for a whole year and a half, and the source of all this seems to be the disaster caused by His Majesty the King using dancing powder.
Dancing Powder, also known as the "Powder That Summons Rain", could be used to summon rain. However, once this powder was used, the city living below would experience a drought. It could be understood that this powder snatched the rainwater and moisture that originally belonged to other areas to its own place.
Otherwise, it can't explain why the whole of Alabasta only has rainfall all year round, and the other cities are about to be swallowed up by the desert, such an extreme natural phenomenon.
The people who were protesting had basically poured into the capital from all over the country. They gathered here like a barrel of explosives that was constantly accumulating power. The scorching heat waves seemed to evaporate the air and scorch the earth dry and cracked.
"Let the king stop using dancing powder!"
"Give us back the rain!"
Waving the slogans vigorously, shouting and swearing in their mouths, more and more people crowded the streets, and the shops on both sides of the street were tightly closed. It was a desolate scene.
Kuang kuang kuang …
The parade approached the direction of the palace, and the garrison troops began to pour out of several intersections, quickly blocking the way forward, holding shields and sticks in their hands and shouting loudly at the parade crowd.
Roars, curses, and even cries were intertwined into a chaotic song, filling every corner of the country.
On the top floor of a tall building not far from the main street, the closed window was pushed open, revealing a face with a horizontal scar on his face. The dazzling light shone on his swept-back hair. He looked down at the scene below, and some fine powder in his five fingers fell silently into the air, and was gently rolled by the wind into the clouds in the sky.
"President, we noticed that someone is investigating the dancing powder, and the Marine seems to have begun to notice." The voice came from behind Crocodile, it was a senior agent of the Baroque studio.
"Finally began to notice!" Crocodile stared at the hot air in front of him, and his hoarse throat spat out a murderous intent. "How many raw materials have you collected?"
"We've stored enough ores to produce at least 300 tons of dancing powder. With the current situation of this country, 300 tons of dancing powder is enough to push this country into the abyss. Other than the capital, Alba, all the other cities will be completely swallowed by the sandstorm." The guy who spoke revealed his appearance. His hair was combed into a "3" hairstyle that looked like it was made of wax. He held a coffee cup in his hand and took a sip before answering.
"How much longer?"
"One to two years!"
Crocodile closed the window, and the sunlight in the room was blocked. He turned around, and his entire silhouette seemed to blend into the darkness. "The fewer people who know the secret, the safer it is. Every link must be cleaned up."
"Understood!" Mr. 3 finished his coffee and gently put it on the table. "The other links are easy to deal with. We can clean up the traces without leaving Alabasta's territory. However, the Longshi Trading Company that transported the ore is in the East China Sea. Do we need to follow them?"
"I'm talking about clean."
"Alright!"
The conversation ended.
On the other side, a group of ships with the Longshi Trading Company logo had just sailed out of the East China Sea and were quickly passing through the entrance of the Grand Line. They were expected to arrive in Alabasta in seven days. Lombardi stood on the main ship and looked back at the seven huge ships lined up on the sea. He couldn't help but smile.
"After this rainbow stone mine transaction, we can lick two more big ships. We even have enough to recruit some really good sailors from the Grand Line to escort them."
Kabar held the rudder with one hand, and the wind blew on the flag. He looked at Lombardi's slanted eyebrows, and he couldn't help but feel uneasy.
These few smooth transactions and the sudden expansion of his capital seemed to have made him complacent and arrogant. He had lost his previous caution and cautiousness.
He felt that Lombardi's state was quite dangerous. It was different from Lombardi's arrogance. The more he interacted with the Marine's 153rd branch, the more he felt that Arlen was unfathomable. That man's mind and skills were above Lombardi's.
"I have to find time to persuade Lombardi to dispel his dangerous thoughts of trying to completely break away from the control of 153 Branch as soon as possible." Kabar thought so in his heart, but he didn't expect that the fierce murderous intent had already opened its bloody fangs at the destination of their trip.
Time always passed very quickly on the sea. In the blink of an eye, the seven-day voyage had arrived at the destination.
In the port off the coast of Alabasta, the ships of Longshi Trading Company sailed into the port one by one and docked. Lombardi stretched his body and watched the boatmen unload boxes of ores into the warehouse at the dock. He breathed in the moist and dry sandstorm and air and said to Kabar, "The sandstorm in this place is getting bigger and bigger. It feels like the whole port is submerged in sand again."
"Maybe the next time we come, the whole port will be buried in sand." A parasol quickly descended from the top of his head. Miss Valentine appeared behind Lombardi amidst an exaggerated and sharp laughter. She covered her mouth and stared at Lombardi's cold side profile. Pity flashed in her eyes.
"Beautiful lady, what brings you here?" Lombardi turned his head with a touch of suspicion on his face. Except for the first meeting, the people sent by the buyer for the next few transactions weren't that important.
The buyer of the colored stone mine was still very mysterious in Lombardi's eyes. He carefully inquired, and only knew that Miss Valentine and Mr. 5 had a relatively high position in the other party's organization.
"This transaction is very important to the higher-ups. There can't be any mistakes." Miss Valentine wanted to say something, but a burst of smoke entered Lombardi's mouth and nose. Mr. 5, who was surrounded by the smell of gunpowder, said.
Lombardi looked at Mr. 5, who had a fierce expression, and instinctively felt that something was wrong. Kabar, who was standing behind him, suddenly changed his expression. He stared at the desolate port and suddenly realized that there were only boatmen loading and unloading goods in the whole port. Those buildings behind the warehouses seemed to be empty and quiet, and people seemed to have been purged …
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