Chapter 115: Hunt Resumed, Ambush (Patreon)

Having achieved their primary objective, the desert expedition set out on the return journey to the royal capital, Alubarna.

However, rather than retracing their steps, they followed Vivi's suggestion and took a different route, one that would loop around several unexplored ruins, maximizing the value of their journey.

For Nami, the main goal of this desert trip had already been exceeded. Those heavy, glittering treasures were like a potent stimulant, instantly dispelling her earlier fatigue and boredom. She was now full of energy, eager to discover even more lost treasures and make another fortune.

For Robin, this desert journey had been exceptionally meaningful. The discovery of the Poneglyph had allowed her to take another solid step toward uncovering the truth of the Void Century.

Add to that the various ruins scattered across the desert, each like a piece of a puzzle, filling gaps in her understanding of ancient Alabasta and the wider history. Throughout the journey, she had been organizing her notes, occasionally discussing details of certain legends with Vivi. She had never once felt bored, only fulfilled, her heart at peace.

Vivi remained the happiest and most energetic member of the group. Exploration, treasure hunting, deciphering mysteries, listening to stories, chatting with the Collector she admired and the interesting older girls, everything felt wonderfully new and joyful.

Yet, as the return journey began, a faint melancholy crept into her heart. She knew that this happy time was now on a countdown.

Once they returned to the capital, Mr. Moren and his group would likely leave. Alabasta was just one stop on their Grand Line adventure, while she would have to remain behind, continuing her life as a princess.

Nami sensed her young companion's dampened spirits. She threw an arm around Vivi's shoulders and consoled her, "Don't be sad, Vivi! We'll come back to Alabasta someday! Maybe next time we'll be sailing in on our own ship, with even more exciting adventure stories to share with you!"

"So for the next few days, instead of sighing, let's make the most of it, create more happy memories for all of us!"

Moren and the others smiled and nodded. Moren, with a magician's flourish, produced a small necklace out of thin air and gave it to Vivi.

Hearing Nami's comforting words and receiving Moren's gift, Vivi felt a warmth in her heart. She nodded firmly, her smile blossoming once again. "Yes! Sister Nami is right! I'm going to treasure every moment we have left!"

But deep inside, a seed had been planted. She too wanted to set sail, to travel the seas freely like Mr. Moren and his companions, to explore the unknown and experience adventures.

Though she knew she was still too young, and her father would never allow it, the wish had taken root in her heart, waiting for the day it would sprout and grow. When that day came, she would sail out in search of Mr. Moren and the others.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the desert, the terrifying sandstorm that had trapped the CP9 Foxhunt Squad for days was finally subsiding. The swirling sand gradually settled, and the darkened sky showed patches of blue once more.

The blazing sun once again scorched the land mercilessly, but for the four who had just endured a days-long storm, the sunlight almost felt welcoming.

They were huddled behind a massive weathered rock, caked in sand from head to toe, utterly bedraggled. Food and water had been lost in the storm, and their stamina was severely depleted.

"Pfft! Pfft! Damn this cursed weather!" The big man, Norton, spat out sand as he growled in frustration. "Our entire plan is ruined! We've lost days!"

Rhine, their leader, sat leaning against the rock. Though silent, his face was dark, and a heavy pressure emanated from him.

As captain, he was usually calm and composed, but the string of misfortunes over the past few days was too strange and too unlucky, even his composure was cracking.

The mission timeline had been severely delayed. The target's trail might have grown faint or shifted. Everything was now uncertain.

Nearby, Ella was carefully re-bandaging Gale's nose. His nasal bone had suffered a minor fracture, but thanks to potent medicine, it was already recovering.

Hearing Norton's complaints, Ella looked up and shot him a glare. "Enough. Save your breath. The sandstorm has passed; that's good news."

She glanced at Rhine's grim expression and offered reassurance. "Besides, Gale's injury is healing. The medicine is working well. In a little while, his nose will be back in action."

This big idiot couldn't tell that their captain was already in a bad mood and was just making things worse.

Gale quickly chimed in, despite the lingering dull pain in his nose. He sniffed demonstratively. "Yes, Captain. I can already pick up some scents again, still faint, but I can roughly determine the target's direction. Give me a little more time to recover, and it won't be a problem."

Hearing Ella and Gale's words, Rhine closed his eyes and slowly exhaled, as if releasing the frustration and anxiety of the past few days. When he opened his eyes again, they had regained their usual calm sharpness.

"Rest a while longer. Replenish your energy and water," Rhine ordered. "Gale, focus on recovering."

The sandstorm had passed, and Gale's sense of smell, aided by the potent medicine and his Zoan-type recovery, was rapidly improving. Soon, they would be able to resume tracking.

Though they had lost a few days, the impact shouldn't be too great. The target group was large and moving in stops and starts through the desert, they wouldn't be traveling quickly.

Rhine tried to reassure himself with that thought. But one question lingered: What had been going on these past few days? One accident after another, could someone be targeting them? Yet it didn't seem like it.

Quicksand, accidental injuries, sandstorms, these were all natural desert hazards. It just felt like they had been incredibly unlucky, and unlucky to an excessive degree.

Still, something felt off. It was all too coincidental, so coincidental that it made him suspicious.

His thoughts drifted to the intelligence reports on the Collector crew. That woman named Baccarat, her Devil Fruit ability was supposedly related to luck. She always won at casinos.

Could it be...

Rhine's heart skipped a beat, but he quickly shook his head, forcing the absurd notion aside.

Even if that were the case, could her Devil Fruit ability really be that terrifying?

Could it actually influence their "luck" from such a great distance, without any contact at all, and cause them to suffer such terrible misfortune?

That was already beyond his understanding of Devil Fruit abilities.

After a moment of turmoil, Rhine shook his head, forcing the wild speculation and doubts aside.

Thinking about it was useless now. Without solid evidence, everything was merely speculation.

Moreover, the most important thing now was to resume their operation.

The plan had already been delayed for several days. From this point onward, they truly needed to be more cautious and careful. They could not afford any more mistakes.

After organizing his thoughts and mindset, and replenishing some water and food, Rhine stood up.

"Gale, how is it?" he asked, looking at Gale, who had removed his bandages and was constantly twitching his nose, trying to determine the direction.

Gale closed his eyes, concentrating completely. After a long while, he opened them and pointed in a direction.

"Captain, I'm ready. The scent is fainter than before, but the direction is correct..."

"Then move out!" Rhine didn't hesitate and immediately issued the order.

"Yes, sir!" Ella, Norton, and Gale responded in unison.

The desert dusk painted the sky in a magnificent orange-red color. The temperature began to drop, and the wind carried a hint of coolness.

Moren's group was riding their super spot-billed ducks toward the next ruin marked on their map, expecting to arrive shortly.

The atmosphere remained relaxed. Vivi was still discussing with Nami and Baccarat where they should go after returning to the capital, while Robin was immersed in the discoveries from the latest small ruin they had deciphered.

At that moment, at the very front of the group, Moren's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

His Observation Haki was like an invisible radar, constantly scanning the surrounding environment.

But just moments ago, he had detected a fleeting trace of unusual presence coming from several weathered rock pillars visible ahead.

"Something's off..." Moren's instincts immediately warned him. He suddenly raised his hand and shouted in a deep voice:

"Stop! Something's wrong!"

Igaram and Pell almost simultaneously pulled back on their mounts. Their hands moved to their weapons as they cautiously looked around.

Nami, Baccarat, Robin, and Vivi immediately restrained their smiles and turned toward Moren.

RUMBLE!

At that moment, a sudden change occurred.

The sand beneath their feet suddenly began collapsing without warning. This was not natural quicksand, but a trap that had been carefully calculated and prepared!

The range and shape of the collapse were extremely precise, perfectly encompassing the middle section of the group, specifically Vivi, Nami, and Igaram riding the super spot-billed ducks.

Beneath the collapse wasn't a sand pit at all, but a deep ruin connected to nearby underground passages.

With startled cries, Vivi and the others, along with their mounts, fell into the darkness below. Only muffled impacts and brief screams echoed from the depths.

"Princess!" Igaram and Pell's cries were swallowed by the roar of collapsing sand and the clouds of dust that rose into the air.

"Vivi! Nami!" At the edge of the pit, Baccarat, who had nearly fallen in herself, cried out in shock.

Everything happened too quickly and too suddenly. The attackers had clearly surveyed the terrain beforehand and used the nearby underground ruin structures to create this trap, designed to split the group apart and create chaos.

However, because of Moren's early warning, the group had slowed to a halt much faster than the attackers had expected, causing the trap's effect to fall short of their original expectations.

The Foxhunt Squad's original plan was to use the trap to completely separate Nico Robin, their most important target, from Moren, who appeared to be the strongest person protecting her. At the same time, they would separate the other troublesome individuals as well.

Then Rhine, their captain, would quickly entangle Moren in battle. Ella and Norton would eliminate the isolated Robin as fast as possible. Gale would deal with the insignificant opponents. Finally, they would join forces and take down Moren.

But because of Moren's vigilance, the group had stopped, causing the trap to activate at the wrong position. The person who should have fallen, Robin, was still above, while Vivi and Nami were the ones who fell below instead.

Before the dust had even fully settled, four figures shot out from different directions like ghosts, landing around the collapsed area and forming a semi-encirclement.

Leading them was Captain Rhine. His cold gaze swept across the scene as he quickly assessed the situation.

Although it was not as perfect as originally planned, it had still served its purpose to some extent. More importantly, they immediately adjusted their tactics.

"Proceed with Plan B," Rhine said in a low and cold voice to Ella and Norton beside him.

"Ella, Norton, go deal with the target and the red-haired woman!"

"Gale, go... keep an eye on the royal group."

"Yes!" The three answered without hesitation.

The next moment, their coordinated attack began!

Ella and Norton lunged toward Robin and Baccarat, who were separated on the other side of the collapsed area and had only just regained their footing.

Their objective was clear. They had to eliminate them, especially Nico Robin, in the shortest amount of time possible!

Although there was one more person than expected, in their eyes, aside from Robin, who required special attention, Baccarat was not worth worrying about. They could dispose of her while they were at it.

Meanwhile, Gale sprinted to the edge of the collapsed pit, his cold gaze fixed downward.

This was also an unexpected development in the plan. They had not expected the princess of Alabasta and her guards to be traveling with Moren's group, and their relationship appeared to be quite close. This made things troublesome.

If they were ordinary guides or mercenaries, they could eliminate them without hesitation to prevent any information from leaking.

But the situation involved the royal family of a World Government affiliated country, especially its princess. The consequences were different.

Killing a country's princess for no reason would bring considerable trouble and investigation, even for Cipher Pol.

Therefore, Rhine made a temporary adjustment. Gale would be responsible for keeping them under control, preventing them from climbing out and interfering with the battle, while also preventing them from witnessing things they shouldn't.

Once the main targets were dealt with, they would handle this side afterward.

The best outcome would naturally be to threaten them into silence or create an accident, making it impossible for them to confirm the attackers' identities. In short, they could not simply "eliminate" them like everyone else.

"You down there! Listen carefully! Stay where you are!" Gale shouted coldly toward the bottom of the pit. "If any of you make a move, I won't go easy on you!"

The pit walls were steep, and with Gale watching them from above, they would indeed have difficulty escaping in the short term.

At the same time, Captain Rhine's figure vanished in a blur as he launched himself directly toward Moren, who stood on the opposite side of the collapsed area.

"Shave!"

"Tempest Kick!"

Rhine appeared beside Moren in an instant. His right leg suddenly swept through the air, sending a crescent-shaped blade of compressed air flying toward Moren's chest.

"Your opponent is me!"

Rhine's cold voice accompanied the attack.