Convenience often leads to success, and Vivi was in dire need of a strong expert with extensive teaching experience to provide her with some guidance, as her strongest skill right now was swordsmanship.
Zephyr, including Admirals like Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru, did not usually use swords, but that did not mean they couldn’t; she estimated that their swordsmanship levels could all reach Level 6, and without using Devil Fruit abilities, cutting a mountain in half with a sword would be an easy feat for them.
Now, inviting their teacher to Alabasta to carry out military reforms and, incidentally, teach her, shouldn’t be too much to ask, right?
Daddy slowly shook his head: “I apologize.
I sympathize with what happened in your country, and I admire your…
your courage, being so young and undercover in the enemy camp, but I have been away from the Marine for several years now, and I cannot contact Master Zephyr at the moment.”
Vivi was a bit disappointed, but she maintained her composure: “What a pity…
Then what about you, Mr.
Daddy?”
“What?
What about me?” The middle-aged man was taken aback.
“Would you be willing to come to Alabasta to serve as an instructor?
It is the age of firearms now, yet Alabasta’s 600,000-strong army still uses swords and rides camels in battle.
To maintain deterrence against neighboring countries and those pirates, Alabasta must keep its military size at a high level, which undoubtedly increases the burden on the nation.
If the entire army were equipped with firearms, we might be able to downsize the military and invest the saved funds into national development!”
Vivi said, speaking with great emotion.
The implication that she regarded Daddy as a backup for Zephyr was very clear in her words, but Daddy did not feel any blame or resentment; he did not consider himself stronger than his teacher.
The other party had tried to recruit his teacher first and, failing that, had come to recruit him—this was reasonable, and if he were in her shoes, he would have done the same.
Vivi had conducted some investigations into his life, and she continued, “Many people say that ‘Daddy the Parent’ only dares to target pirates with low bounties, and they think you are a coward.
But actually…
actually, you are afraid that something might happen to you, leaving your daughter with no one to care for her, right?”
She pointed to the surrounding streets: “Loguetown is the place where Pirate King Roger was born and executed, and it is the gateway from the East Blue to the Grand Line.
Is it really safe here?
Just walking here, I saw three groups of aggressive pirates; this place is not safe.
Mr.
Daddy, bring your daughter to Alabasta.
The Nefertari Family has a library with a thousand-year Legacy and a complete education System, and the Royal Family will pay you for your work.
That has to be better than being a Bounty Hunter, right?”
For a man who cared for his family and wished to give everything he had to his daughter, the conditions Vivi offered were not just good—they were excellent!
A stable working environment, an excellent educational environment—Daddy looked at his somewhat dilapidated front door, his heart fluctuating greatly.
His expression gave the answer away.
Vivi did not ask questions like “Are you willing?” anymore.
To prove her identity and to bolster his confidence, she said, “I still need to stay in the East Blue for a while.
You can leave Loguetown on a ship with me when the time comes, or you can go to Alabasta yourself right now…
The situation in Alabasta is not optimistic right now, but generally speaking, it is still a peaceful environment.
You can go and see for yourself.”
Vivi did not sugarcoat the situation.
As the heir princess, she had run out to go undercover, so one could figure out with their eyes closed that the domestic situation was not optimistic.
However, the rebels launching a counterattack on the capital was something that would happen three years later; for now, the general environment was relatively safe.
Daddy pondered repeatedly.
The whole world was a mess, and trying to find a pure land was completely wishful thinking.
One could only compare and choose a place that was relatively less chaotic to settle down in among several chaotic places.
This was his thought process.
For this, he had abandoned his reputation, his future, and many other things.
Settling in Loguetown was a choice made out of helplessness.
If there were a better place, he wouldn’t mind moving with his child.
In Vivi’s description, Alabasta indeed met his requirements very well.
Vivi left her token and then took her leave.
She wasn’t worried that this gentleman wouldn’t find his way to Alabasta.
He was, after all, an elite from Marineford; even if he didn’t have friends everywhere, finding a Marine warship to catch a ride shouldn’t be a problem.
If Daddy accepted the employment, that would be a way to contact Admiral Zephyr.
He wouldn’t make decisions for his teacher, but Daddy would certainly pass on what Vivi had just said through his own channels.
When Zephyr reached a dead end, perhaps Alabasta would be his new choice.
Vivi bought two large bags of East Blue-style dried small fish at a nearby food store, intending to take them back for her pet Duck to eat.
Walking out of the alley and going less than two hundred meters forward, she saw Mr.
9’s back directly ahead.
Mr.
9 was gripping his iron club tightly.
Standing opposite him was a very tall man.
This person was very tall and also very thin, twice as tall as the 1.7-meter-tall Vivi—a 3.4-meter-tall giant.
Looking at him from afar, he looked like a bamboo pole!
The two were facing each other, and the narrow path, only wide enough for one person, was completely blocked by them.
It looked like neither of them wanted to give way.
This 3.4-meter-tall man was wearing a black velvet cloak and had a monocle with crosshairs over his right eye.
His facial expression was somewhat lazy.
He looked down at Mr.
9 from his height.
Vivi approached slowly.
He glanced at her casually, then stared intently at her sword, and Vivi also looked at the long-barreled gun in his hand.
Currently, there were not many things whose inner voices she could “hear” and whose meanings she could accurately interpret.
Setting aside her pet Duck, Karu, the clearest inner voice at the moment was from the famous sword “kazuhou” that she had “borrowed.”
Now, the long-barreled gun in the tall man’s hand also gave her a sense of signal similar in level to “kazuhou.” “kazuhou” was a famous sword; was this gun also a famous gun?
Vivi looked at the long-barreled gun in the tall man’s hand, then looked back at the alleyway where they had come to recruit Daddy, and she seemed to understand something.
“You must be the famous sniper of the East Blue, Van Auger, right?
And the famous gun in your hand is’Senriku’, isn’t it?”
“You know me?
What a strange fate.
I seem to be standing at a crossroads in my life.
What does this mean?
I need to think about it carefully.” Van Auger looked like he was thinking seriously.
Vivi kept her pace steady, neither fast nor slow, walking forward step by step.
She was putting pressure on the other party while not being overly aggressive.
With Daddy earlier, if it came to a life-or-death struggle, she felt she had a chance of winning—at most, she would take a shot or two, but it certainly wouldn’t be fatal.
But this sniper named Van Auger in front of her was hard to say; he gave her a feeling of being very dangerous.
Fortunately, his weapon was a long-barreled gun; the closer the distance, the higher her chances of winning.
Van Auger looked at his long-barreled gun and remained silent for a long time, seemingly calculating something.
Vivi was full of vigilance, and this time, even the hot-blooded youth Mr.
9 could feel that faint, looming murderous intent.