Start by Eating Jake Jake no Mi

"By the way, what are you going to do with the princess, Masa?" 

When everything was over, naturally, they gathered in the castle and talked about Vivi, who was discovered among all of the robbers. 

"Wait, before that, are you even sure she is a princess?" 

Unlike Carina, who asked what Masa would do, Perona wondered whether the tomboy, who was caught by the cats, was really a princess of the Arabasta Kingdom.

"Don't look at me. I might be an agent, but I am in charge of assassination and have been on the Water 7 all the time." Kalifa felt speechless when Carina and Perona stared at her at the same time. Yes, she was an agent of CP9, a special and strongest agent of the World Government under the CP0, but even so, she was just one among many. Her father might be a member of CP0, and her sister was also an agent, but she didn't have the qualifications to know about the problem in the kingdom! 

"Useless agent." 2x

"...." 

Kalifa took a deep breath, trying to endure her anger so she wouldn't stab them with Shigan. 

"You should ask Masa-sama about this, right?" 

Yes, instead of asking Kalifa, they knew that they should have asked Masa. 

Masa looked at Kalifa and patted her head softly, letting her head lie on his lap. She treated her like a cat, which made her shy but happy regardless. "It might be strange, but she is really the princess of Arabasta Kingdom." 

"Then, why was she there among... what was that organization again?" 

"Baroque Works. It is a bounty hunter organization. If I am not wrong, it is founded by the Shichibukai." 

"Shichibukai? Like Moria-sama?" Perona was dumbfounded. 

"Yeah, his name... Crocodile, yeah, that one." 

"Crocodile?" 3x

"You should have the bounty of every pirate on your door storage, right, Carin?" 

"Wait, let me check." 

Besides being turned into a place to keep wealth, Masa also used her door storage to keep various books that they had collected along their adventures. 

Carina might not have much of an interest in books, but Masa could use that knowledge for money, so she had been collecting all of them privately, too, including all the bounty of the pirates, so they could exchange their money when they met a Marine Base. 

"Let's see... ah, this one! I found it." 

Opening her door, Carina searched for the bounty order until she found the Crocodile. 

The Desert King. 

Crocodile. 

81,000,000 Belly. 

"Ah, his bounty isn't much! He must be weaker than Moria-sama!" Perona was sure, which made Masa speechless, but he couldn't deny it since Crocodile was defeated by Luffy, who hadn't even learned Gear 2nd. 

Or rather, this was the most pathetic Shichibukai as Crocodile was defeated on his home ground, a place full of desert. 

"His bounty might be small, but he isn't that weak. His Devil Fruit is Logia." 

"Logia..." 3x

When they learned this fact, their expressions quickly changed since Masa also ate a Logia type of Devil Fruit. 

"What kind?" 

"Suna Suna no Mi, which turns him into a human sand." 

"Sand?" 

Thinking of the sand on the beach, they felt... it was hard for Crocodile to be so strong. 

"Don't underestimate him, okay? Sand is dangerous." 

"How dangerous is it?" 

"Er... you can be buried by a sea of sand, or all of the moisture on your body be sucked dry, then become old and ugly." 

"..." 3x

Dangerous. 

This Shichibukai is dangerous! 

"But I am stronger; you don't have to worry." 

There was no tension, only calm, that stated the fact that he was better, which made the three smile and hug him. 

"...don't hug me so suddenly, okay?" 

"So, what is the princess doing infiltrating Baroque Works?" 

"Probably... she thought that Crocodile's organization was the one behind all the crisis in her country." 

"Crisis? What kind?" 

"Rebellion, water shortage, dry climate, starvation, poverty, etc." 

"..." 3x

"...isn't this kingdom better than the princess's kingdom then?" 

The Drum Kingdom might have been in the winter all the time, but even so, its condition was far better than that of the Arabasta Kingdom despite having snow all year around.

"That kingdom seems so poor." Carina frowned and quickly lost her interest in the Arabasta Kingdom since this kingdom didn't seem to have much money. 

"Well, you are right." 

Masa didn't deny that the rise of the Arabasta Kingdom was only when the technology developed and the use of oil was discovered. Unfortunately, that future was still long, and there was no doubt the Drum Kingdom was in a better situation, especially when it had more complete resources. 

"This place is cold, but it is good." 

Masa leaned back and said, "Should I build a hot spring resort here?" 

"....." 

"Let's do it!" Carina's eyes quickly turned into a money symbol, and she became excited, thinking of the prospect of building a business. 

Meanwhile, Kalifa and Perona shook their heads, but then again, they thought having a good place to rest was a good thing. 

"Can we build it in a gothic theme?" Perona asked. 

"..." 3x

"Wait! Wait a moment! Should we just end our conversation just like that? Shouldn't we talk about the Arabasta Kingdom more?" Kalifa suddenly asked. 

"Hmm... what do you want to talk about, then? In conclusion, this kingdom is in trouble due to a pirate, that's it."

The Arabasta Kingdom was in a crisis due to the Crocodile, and the princess of this kingdom infiltrated the organization created by this evil pirate to reveal all the conspiracies behind it. 

That was all it was. 

It wasn't something uncommon, or rather, it was something normal in this age where the pirates were on a rampage. 

However, Masa wasn't a hero, and he wouldn't be there when everyone sought hope to help people. 

The three of them knew that as well since what he wished for was something more selfish, yet, they didn't mind it since being selfish and rational was far better than idealistic and moronic. 

"A peaceful life..." Carina murmured.

"What's wrong with you?" Masa looked at Carina with doubt. 

"No, I just remembered what you said before when Moria asked you about your goal." 

"Oh, that one." 

"What is it?" Kalifa, who had only joined Masa recently, didn't know about Masa's goal, which put her in a daze. "A life without the worry of war, starvation, sickness, or being dominated by others." 

Was it even possible? 

Well, it was possible, but only for the leader of this world, the World Noble. 

However, they had made up their minds to be by his side to watch him achieve his ambition. 

Only—

"Ah!" 

Not only Perona but Masa also frowned. 

"What's wrong, Perona?" Carina asked with a doubt. 

"Masa, Dalton has taken that princess and her followers out of the prison!" 

Being called useless by the cats, naturally, Perona was furious, so she had been trying to show that she was useful and started her ghost networks to scout anything that happened on this island, especially on their ship and Vivi, who they had to keep in jail. 

Yet, Masa, who had been waiting for his target, felt glad that he didn't have to wait too long and couldn't help but frown when he heard Perona's report. 

"Bloodline theory..."