Capítulo 57: Deliver Princess Vivi! Strawhat Pirates Depart

Luffy then turned towards the princess, causing her to back away in fright. "Don't worry, princess, I'm not here to hurt you," Luffy said, surprising her.

"Then why are you here?" She asked in a voice filled with fear.

"I'm here to make a contract," Luffy said, confusing him. "You see, Igaram asked me to protect you and return you safely to your kingdom, and in return, I want Alabasta to be my territory," Luffy said, causing the princess's eyes to widen.

"What!" she is screaming.

"Of course, he couldn't promise something like that. So, he told me to discuss it with you. "So here I am," he said as he walked over to a nearby box and sat down.

"And what exactly should we provide in return for your protection?" Vivi asked, causing Luffy to smile.

"Nothing," Luffy said, surprising him. "The fact that I will have a big country like Alabasta as one of my territories will be enough to increase my reputation in the world," Luffy said, making Vivi understand now.

Zoro and the bounty hunter duo couldn't understand why Luffy didn't ask for something else, like money every month or something like that, as payment for his protection.

"It can't be just that," Vivi said, thinking the same way as Luffy's crew.

"You're right," said Luffy, getting everyone's attention. "But that's not a conversation that should be spoken in the open like this," said Luffy, knowing full well that they were being spied on.

"But, do you mind telling me why a princess like you works at Baroque Works?" Luffy asked while looking at the princess. The princess's face looked sad as she looked at the ground before she spoke.

"As you all know, Arabasta was in the middle of a civil war, and one day I came to know of a secret organisation called Baroque Works. I learned that our people were being manipulated by this organisation, but that is the only information I can gather about this organisation.

"I didn't know what to do, so I went to Igaram for help and asked him to help me infiltrate Baroque Works so I could see who the mastermind was behind the scenes and what they really wanted," Vivi said, surprising them.

"Well, you have some guts considering you are a princess," said Nami as she walked out of the nearest alley.

"Where's Igara?" she asked.

"He said he'd be here in a minute," she said as Nami sat down next to Luffy. "Something about business he has to attend to," she said.

"So did you manage to find out what their plan was?" Johnny asked Vivi, causing everyone to look at him.

"Their plan is to create an ideal country," said Vivi, surprising Luffy and the others. "That's what Igaram told me," he said.

"That's just a fake goal the boss used to cover their tracks," Vivi said as she clenched her fists. "Their real goal is to take over the Arabasta Kingdom," Vivi said, causing Luffy to nod his head as that made more sense than making an ideal country.

"I have to go back to Arabasta so I can warn everyone and stop all the wars, because if I don't... The princess said before she started to cry.

"Don't worry, Princess," Luffy said, getting her attention. "If you agree to my terms, I will help you save your country," he said before rising from his seat and looking up at the sky.

"By the way, did you ever find out the identity of that boss?" Luffy asked, which made him panic.

"What? ... the boss's identity? "You shouldn't ask that!" Vivi screamed in panic.

"But you know that right?" Luffy asked while looking at him.

"Ask me anything but that!" Vivi shouted as she waved her hands frantically in the air. "If I tell you, your life will be in danger too," he said, trying to make Luffy understand the danger, while Luffy found this all very funny.

"Yes, I don't want to hear it," said Nami in a scared voice. "This guy is trying to take over a country after all." "I don't want someone like that to come after me," said Nami while sweating a little.

"No, you don't want to," said Vivi in a serious tone. "I don't care how strong you guys are; you have no chance against one of the Seven Shichibukai, against Crocodile," Vivi said, causing everyone to stare at her and blink a few times before Vivi and Nami screamed loudly.

"AHHH!" they shouted.

"You know for a princess you're not very smart," Luffy laughed. Then suddenly Luffy felt someone behind them and spun around quickly, surprising everyone.

When everyone turned around, they saw a vulture and a beaver standing on the roof, staring at them. Then the otter jumped on the vulture, and they flew away.

"What a strange sight to see Luffy," he said in his mind. Nami begins to panic and tries to leave, claiming they have no idea what she looks like, until Otter appears again and brings five pictures of them all drawn, causing Nami to sulk in a corner while Vivi apologises to her.

"Then it looks like the five of us will be sitting at the very top of the Baroque Works quest list," Zoro said, causing Luffy to laugh.

"I guess so," Luffy replied excitedly before he looked up at the princess. "So princess, do we have a deal?" said Luffy, getting his attention.

"Seeing how you've gotten involved because of me, I thought I'd take up your offer," he replied, causing Luffy to smile.

"We're all going to die," shouted Nami, and she rocked herself back and forth, hugging her knees.

"You needn't be afraid!" came Igaram's voice from behind everyone, causing them all to turn around.

When they all turned around, Luffy and the other men immediately wished they hadn't turned back. Standing in front of them was Igaram, who was dressed like Princess Vivi and holding five dolls.

"My eyes," said Luffy while looking at Igaram.

"It—*cough* *cough*—Mamama, it will be fine, princess," he said as he looked at the group. "I've come up with a plan," he added, causing Luffy to raise his eyebrows.

"What salt are you...?" The princess tried to speak but was too stunned by Igaram's appearance.

"I didn't know you were an old crossdresser," said Luffy jokingly.

"Listen to me carefully, Princess Vivi," he said in a serious tone. "Once the Baroque Works intelligence unit finds out about what happened here, agents will immediately be sent after you." And since they realise that you know the true identity of their boss, you should—" he said but was cut off by Vivi.

"Yes, they will send a thousand agents after me," he said, making Nami even more scared.

"So my plan is that, disguised like this, I will pretend to be you," Igaram said while looking at Vivi. "I'll get these three dolls on board, and I'll sail straight for Alabasta," he said, causing Luffy to understand his plan.

"So this doll should be us," said Luffy while nodding his head.

"Yeah," Yosaku added.

"While Baroque Works is busy pursuing me, you all will head to the Alabasta Kingdom following a less direct route," he said, causing Luffy to nod his head in understanding of the plan.

"Wait a moment!" Nami screamed as she got up. "Who said we were taking him with us, and we haven't discussed payment yet?" Nami screamed, causing everyone to look at her like she was crazy.

"Umm, I decided that we will take him, and we have already discussed the payment," said Luffy, looking at him with a confused look. "Didn't you notice before?" he asked.

"But what about the crocodile!?" Nami shouted once again.

"Relax, you don't need to be afraid of a shichibukai," said Luffy while waving his hand in disdain. Now everyone was staring at Luffy like he was growing a second head. "Apart from that, it looks like it will be a fun adventure," Luffy added with a big grin on his face.

"We will forever be indebted, thank you," said Igaram before he walked towards the sea where a ship was anchored and jumped over it. "Now I Vivi will leave here," Igaram said, imitating Vivi, causing everyone to laugh. Vivi and Igaram said goodbye, and the ship sailed off the island.

"He's a good old man," said Johnny, looking at the ship.

"Yeah, right," Zoro added. Everyone stared at the ship as it sailed farther and farther away. When the ship was about half a mile away from the island, it was suddenly engulfed in a gigantic explosion that caused everyone's eyes to widen in shock.

"Holy Shit EVERYBODY GET ON THE SHIP NOW!" Luffy shouted at all of them. "Johnny! Yosaku! Zoro! Get the others! Hurry up!" Luffy screamed, causing the three of them to run off along with Nami.

Luffy looked back at the explosion and spoke. "I didn't expect them to come after us so early," he said before turning to the princess, who was frozen in shock.

Luffy ran up to her and carried her in bridal style before teleporting back to the bar where the others were.