The royal court, once calm, was thrown into sudden panic.
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the marble halls of the palace. A young royal messenger, face flushed with sweat and urgency, burst into the throne chamber where King Nefertari Cobra stood in counsel with Chaka and a circle of vigilant Royal Guards.
"Sire!" the messenger cried out, bowing quickly. "The rebels—intelligence reports say they plan to march on Alubarna by dawn!"
A collective murmur rippled through the guards. Chaka stepped forward, his expression grim. "Your Majesty, we must strike preemptively. Let me lead a detachment to intercept them. If we don't stop them now, the city will fall into chaos."
But King Cobra raised a hand, calm yet firm. "No. They are still our people. I will not spill the blood of citizens misled by suffering and lies. There must be another way."
Before another word could be spoken, the entire room lit up in a blinding flash.
CRACK!
Lightning struck the marble floor at the chamber's center with such force that guards were thrown back in a pulse of electricity. Chaka staggered, sword half-drawn, before collapsing unconscious.
A swirling current of electric energy lingered—and then, it formed into a feminine figure.
She had long black hair that flowed to her buttock, her eyes sharp and glowing faintly with the last traces of lightning. Clad in an elegant dark sarong and tube top, she surveyed the stunned room with cool detachment.
"I apologize for the rough entrance, Your Majesty," she said. "But I needed your full attention."
Cobra instinctively stepped forward, his expression tense. "Who are you? What is the meaning of this?"
The girl bowed politely—surprisingly respectful despite the chaos. "My name is Raki. I serve under Captain Jacob, Embercloud's commander, and Revenants' leader. We know what plagues your kingdom, Your Majesty. And we've come up with a solution."
Lightning still crackled faintly around her fingertips as she continued, "The root of your kingdom's suffering isn't the drought. It's the warlord who calls himself a hero—Sir Crocodile. The Desert King."
Cobra's eyes narrowed at the name.
Raki's tone sharpened. "We know what he's done. How he manipulates both rebels and loyalists to tighten his grip on Arabasta. My captain is prepared to eliminate him… but not for free."
There was a pause. Only the hum of residual static filled the chamber.
"Name your price," Cobra said warily.
Raki offered a small, knowing smile. "We'll discuss details soon. But know this—we have power Crocodile isn't prepared for. What we want... is only fair compensation for saving a kingdom. We want to exchange our gold for berries with equivalent values and would like to exchange much gold in the foreseeable future."
She glanced at the unconscious guards, then back to Cobra. "I'll leave you to consider. But remember this, Your Majesty, I wasn't even the most powerful member in my group."
And with another flash of electricity, she vanished—leaving scorch marks on the polished floor and an air heavy with tension.
Inside the Embercloud, while Raki carried out her diplomatic mission in Alubarna, others on the crew carried out their other mission.
Alvida stood in the navigation room, her palm resting against a polished mirror framed in intricate gold, one of Shandian's treasures. The surface rippled unnaturally, changing into locations. Her Mirror Youkai Devil Fruit powers allowed her to look into distant places through reflective surfaces. Still, this task was quite difficult.
The Nefertari family tomb was ancient, and its location lacked clean, reflective surfaces or any light source. Preparing it took hours, using melted glass, polished obsidian, and precise angles to bounce the shimmer of light deep into the tomb's most secure chamber. Beads of sweat rolled down her temple as Alvida gritted her teeth, focusing every ounce of will on stabilizing the portal.
"Got it," she finally whispered, stepping back. "The portal's stabilized."
Jacob, Carina, and Desire stepped forward without hesitation, their silhouettes framed by the glowing mirror. They emerged from the other side into the musty, dimly lit depths of the Nefertari royal tomb—untouched for generations. Ancient statues lined the chamber, watching silently as the intruders moved with purpose.
"This is it," Carina said, her blue eyes scanning the dark walls, landing on the ancient stone slab carved with mysterious runes. "The Poneglyph."
Desire stepped forward, her card in front of her like a weapon. "Trap-Trap card," she murmured. The card glowed as she flicked it forward perfectly.
The Poneglyph shimmered, then dissolved into reddish light particles—absorbed seamlessly into Desire's card. The heavy presence it once gave the tomb instantly left only emptiness behind.
"Well done, Desire," Jacob muttered, staring at the now-empty pedestal. Let's get back quickly. We need to go to Rainbase after Raki comes back."
"Can't we rest first?" Carina said dryly, adjusting her bikini top for the tenth time. "I don't really fancy fighting in this kind of climate."
They walked back through the portal they went, vanishing into the mirror's shimmer just as silently as they arrived. Alvida closed the gate behind them with a satisfied snap, the surface still rippling from the aftershock.
Jacob turned to the girls and smirked. "One more piece of history stolen. If the world governments knew we would be severely targeted."
Desire gave the glowing card to Carina, the group's treasurer, and returned to the storage room for counting.
The Embercloud floated above the clouds, drifting toward Rainbase in the afternoon sun.
Raki had just returned from Alubarna, brushing sand off her shoulders as she walked up to the bridge. Her eyes found Jacob immediately.
"The king agreed," she said with a small smile. "He's on board with the gold-for-berries exchange."
Jacob nodded, satisfied. "Good job, Raki. That'll be good for now. Oi, Reiju!" he called out across the deck on the neighboring building.
The pink-haired scientist popped her head out from the lab's upper balcony. "Yes, Jacob?"
"If the berries are ready soon, you'll have more for your lineage factor research."
Reiju's eyes lit up. "About time! I thought I'd need more time waiting for the perfect ingredients."
Meanwhile, Carina stood near the navigation station, eyes closed, fingers tapping against the rail as faint soundwaves pulsed from her body like ripples in water. "Rainbase is about 70 kilometers east, no, southeast," she said calmly, then turned to Nami. "You could've gotten this directly from me, you know. By me, downloading the map into your mind would be faster."
"No thanks," Nami said with a frown. "I'd rather not risk brain damage or weird side effects."
"You act like I'm gonna fry your brain," Carina huffed, adjusting her purple bikini top under the intense desert heat.
"Unlike you, I value my brain," Nami chided her. "Even if you pay me a lot of berries, I wouldn't allow you to mess with my brain."
A soft chuckle escaped Jacob, watching the two bicker. He walked over to Kaya in the corner, who had been quietly scribbling notes beside a glass case containing various medical compounds.
"I noticed you fiddled with that thing for months; what are you trying to make?" Jacob asked.
Kaya looked up, her pale blonde hair clinging to her damp forehead. "I've been thinking," she began thoughtfully, "Ever since I heard you mention the rumble balls, I couldn't help but be curious. What if I could develop something like that—not for transforming, but to enhance physical strength."
Jacob gave her a slight nod. "Don't force yourself, though; I didn't know if it would work on non-zoan users. Talk with Reiju—maybe she can help you refine the formula. She's good with genetic science."
Kaya smiled faintly. "I've been talking to her for weeks. She reached your conclusion, but I won't give up."
"If you say so…" Jacob then turned to Porche, who brushed Suu, the fox, as it lay lazily across a sun-warmed crate. "Porche, If I want to give devil fruit to the animals, which animal would you recommend?"
Porche tapped her lip with a finger, deep in thought. "Hmmm… The sabertooth might be too aggressive, but he is intelligent. Maybe the T-Rex? Strong, responsive, and not too wild. Or Suu, if she wants something more agile and… adorable."
Jacob nodded. "If Suu wanted it, I could give it to her."
Kuina appeared beside them, wiping sweat from her brow after another sparring match with the Humandrills. "Actually," she added, "a few of the Humandrills are intelligent enough to perfectly mimic my style. If you want to hand out devil fruits, they're good candidates. Might even follow orders better than some humans."
Jacob nodded. "Now that's a scary thought. Devil Fruit user and a sword-wielding monkey."
Kuina cracked a rare smile.