First Steps in Paradise

The first step onto the summer island of Alabasta was sweltering to say the least. I was so much more used to the temperature in the East Blue, where things were much more stable. Yet, just on the way to this country, we had passed entire islands made of ice, and one even that seemed to be in a perpetual Autumn. Things were just so different, I was not quite sure whether or not I was truly this far from my old home, or if it was a dream. A single pinch I gave my arm answered that for me. There was no returning to the old sea...

Well, unless I willed it to be normal to take me back, I suppose.

The port that the Marines had landed in was a city known as Nanohana. A market city on the edge of the kingdom of Alabasta. West of its sister city, Katorea, and way south of the capital city of Alubarna, where the fabled King Nefertari Cobra resided.

I had happened to learn a lot from the Marine Captain in charge of the vessel I was on. He was a large man, with long sideburns down the sides of his cheeks, and he looked kind of like a neanderthal, but the conversations we held in his office cabin on the ship showed he was pretty knowledgeable about most things, including geography and history. It took little to no effort for Captain Gorilla to spill all the information he had on Alabasta.

With the statement of, "It's normal for you guys to forget about me after I leave! I'm nobody important to you. It would even be normal not to mention I was on your ship." The effect was instantaneous. As I turned around and disembarked from the ship, the crew that I had sailed with for over a week had no words of farewell.

A couple even turned to their Captain and asked, "Who was that guy?"

Into Nanohana, I glanced around the sea of people and buildings around me. There was so much to look at.

First thing first, a new set of clothes. The Marines had confiscated my colorful Ringmaster outfit and given me a terrible prisoner's uniform, which I had traded out for a Marine uniform upon the day that fool decided he could be in cahoots with the likes of me. The crisp white shirt was a bit stuffy after days at sea, and I would feel nothing to be rid of it. It also reminded me of Petty Officer Tashigi, which was a whole other situation.

That aside, it would've been a simple task to outfit myself with something new. One of the very first shops that I entered into was a simple clothing store, with a man at the helm. I was in and out within thirty minutes, dressed to the nines. I now sported a green coat with a yellow-ish, almost golden design on the front. It wrapped around me and was tied closed with a red sash/belt. I also found a comfortable indigo coat that I was assured would be suitable at night, when the temperature dropped multiple degrees.

All of this for the grand price of zero beli, seeing as I made it normal for shops to offer a free outfit to 'Marines' who were visiting Alabasta for the first time. A gift from them to me!

Now that I was dressed in a non-offending fashion to the culture around me, I had to make a choice. "I could sit tight here in Nanohano, since it is the main port. The Straw Hats would eventually come through here... Or they could bypass this area entirely, meaning I would once again be chasing after them."

Alternatively, I began to consider where else they might show up. There was Alubarna, but from the information Captain Gorilla told me, it seemed like the Capital was not doing so hot. They had been bleeding themselves of money and resources trying to combat a years long drought, as well as dealing with a growing rebel situation that resulted from said drought. That's why the Marines were there, to offer any kind of support to the reigning regime.

In other words, not a great target for the Straw Hat Pirates. A much better target for them would be the radiant oasis city of Rainbase. Out of the way from Marines, plenty of money to go around! There was the slight hiccup of it being close to the hands of Sir Crocodile, who Gorilla explained was a hardcore pirate who worked for the Marines specifically, but I was counting on the Straw Hats not to know about that.

Nowhere else made sense to me. The Straw Hats were pirates, and pirates were in it for the plunder. Not to mention they had Nami on their crew, and she herself seemed to be the most money-grubbing person out there.

That made my destination obvious.

((Hello, felt like continuing on with this train of thought. If these get views [which I certainly hope for], I will see about doing some polls for who might make an appearance. The timeline as of right now will be a week before the Straw Hats make it to Alabasta. The Baroque Works Agents will be arriving at Rain Dinners shortly. Hope you enjoy, and I'll try to be updating once a week.))