Chapter Sixty-Five: A Chance Encounter with Vivi [Third Update]

If his guess was correct, crossing this desert should lead him to what was once Alabasta’s oasis, Yuba. Yet this boundless desert seemed to stretch on forever, with no end in sight.

Shu Mingyuan didn’t dwell on it. The heat here was nothing compared to the inferno of Impel Down. He walked alone across the sands, and in the distance, a dark shadow appeared, racing toward him at high speed. Behind that shadow, two more figures followed closely.

“The person up ahead, get out of the way!”

The foremost figure ran with astonishing speed, kicking up a vast trail of sand behind it and closing the distance to Shu Mingyuan rapidly.

“This is…”

The young man’s pupils contracted sharply. At such close range, he didn’t need the Sharingan to see clearly: the one running so quickly was the fastest creature in the Alabasta Kingdom, a Karoo duck. On its back sat a beautiful young woman with long, blue hair.

Princess Nefertari Vivi of the Alabasta Kingdom!

What was going on? Luffy should have arrived on this island long ago, but from the current situation, the story seemed to be deviating from its original course. The two figures in pursuit were clearly trying to kill Vivi!

Shu Mingyuan looked behind Vivi, and the two figures gradually became clearer in his eyes. One was a sea otter wearing sunglasses, the other a vulture also wearing sunglasses.

“It’s the Black Friday duo. Could it be that the original plot has gone astray?”

Shu Mingyuan thought to himself. Their appearance now meant that Luffy’s crew had exited the Grand Line via a different route than in the original story, and thus had not arrived in Alabasta to stop Crocodile. The seven magnetic routes ultimately led to the Sabaody Archipelago, but the deviation from the plot was just too great.

“Does everything have to be resolved by me?” A strange idea surfaced in Shu Mingyuan’s mind, but he dismissed it with a smile. “Never mind, I’ll save her first.”

“Karoo, don’t hit the man, go around him!”

Vivi cried out, suddenly seeing the man move—not to step aside, but to rush toward the figures chasing her.

What was he doing? Could it be…

Vivi’s heart skipped a beat, foreseeing a grim outcome. She called out, “Those two are Baroque Works’ enforcers! You’ll be killed!”

“Killed? These two are nothing but paper tigers.” Shu Mingyuan smiled faintly to himself, accelerating suddenly.

“Kid, get out of the way! Or I’ll shoot you dead!”

The vulture, Miss Friday, shouted, only to be met with Shu Mingyuan’s disdainful smile. She felt a chill and, with no more hesitation, opened fire.

A hail of bullets formed a dense web in the air, intended to tear the charging man into shreds. The next moment left her utterly stunned.

Shu Mingyuan moved with mysterious steps, dodging every bullet with agile twists and turns, his speed unflagging. Ever since he had acquired Observation Haki, ordinary attacks like bullets no longer concerned him.

He closed in swiftly and punched Mr. 13, the sea otter, squarely. The force of his punch blew the sunglasses from the otter’s face, and in its shocked gaze, his fist exploded its head.

“Lion Barrage!”

No hesitation followed. As Mr. 13 fell, Shu Mingyuan sprang upward, appearing above the vulture. With a swift whip of his right leg, he struck the vulture’s back hard, breaking both wings. The bird shot down into the sand like a cannonball, its fate sealed, only black feathers drifting slowly from the sky.

All of this happened in an instant; the Black Friday duo died before they could even react.

Vivi, astride the Karoo duck, stared in shock at the man who had dispatched the Black Friday duo in the blink of an eye, disbelief flooding her eyes.

Such terrifying power!

Shu Mingyuan strode toward the disheveled girl, a smile on his face. “Vivi?”

Vivi stood frozen. She couldn’t recall a youth of such strength ever appearing in Alabasta.

“Ah…” She finally came to her senses after several seconds, leaping off Karoo and gazing at him with gratitude. “Thank you for saving my life. I’ll never forget it.”

When she saw the bodies of the two animals, she realized, “You killed them! They’re Baroque Works assassins. If anyone finds out, you’ll be hunted by the entire Baroque Works organization! You must leave now! If anyone asks, I’ll say I did it!”

Her face was resolute.

“Baroque Works?” Shu Mingyuan’s lips curled into an amused smile. He had survived Impel Down; why would he fear Baroque Works? He shrugged helplessly. “Do I look like someone who’s afraid of trouble?”

Vivi now scrutinized him. This youth, about her age, was wearing prison clothes—but not the same as those used in Alabasta.

“Could he be a fugitive from another country, who escaped to Alabasta?”

The thought rose unbidden in Vivi’s mind, and she stepped back discreetly, forcing a smile. “Well… I have some business to attend to, so I’ll be going now. Thank you again for your help.”

A criminal with such formidable strength—she wouldn’t dare get close to him even with a thousand reasons. What if he learned she was a princess and kidnapped her?

Seeing Vivi’s reaction, Shu Mingyuan could only find it amusing; he knew exactly what she was thinking.

A criminal represented evil, violence, cruelty, bloodshed. In this world, probably no one would willingly associate with a criminal.

He feigned anger. “Since you’ve guessed my identity as a prisoner, I can’t let you go! Of course, you can try to escape if you’d like. If I catch you, you already know your fate, don’t you, Your Highness?”

His words exposed her identity, and Vivi’s face instantly turned pale. This unexpected youth gave her an even more mysterious feeling, and she had no idea what fate awaited her. Moreover, she still had her mission: all information regarding Baroque Works had to reach her father.

Vivi glanced at the two corpses nearby. Nefertari Vivi swallowed hard, feeling aggrieved to the extreme. She had barely escaped the clutches of Baroque Works only to fall into the hands of an even more ruthless criminal. Her life as a princess was truly tragic.

ps: [One more chapter to go, updating before midnight. Please support, recommend, and add to favorites.]