Chapter 215 : Old Man

As Yuta walked alongside the Straw Hats through the scorching desert toward Yuba, finally giving up on stopping Ace from chasing Blackbeard for the time being, Yuta was almost at his edge right now, not becuase of heat or the desert but Luffy...

Luffy kept pestering him for food, this idiot lost all the supplies in the desert, more like stolen under his watch, everyone had to cross that godamn desert without food and water if not for him.

Yuta always has food and other important survival necessities in his system storage at all times. Now he was happy drinking and eating alone but he was travelling with them right now so he had to share.

Taking out food and water out of nowhere was almost like magic to them, more like an angel who came to save them in the desert by how both Nami and Vivi were looking at him.

But Luffy...

"Hey, Yuta! Got any meat on you? I'm starving!" Luffy whined, his voice dragging a bit as he tugged on Yuta's shirt.

'This guy lost his food and now he wants to empty out mine as well.' Yuta calmed himself down somehow.

Yuta chuckled, shaking his head. "I told you, Luffy. We're almost there! You can hold out a little longer?"

Luffy pouted but didn't push any further, instead focusing on moving forward, his eyes practically glimmering at the thought of a meal in Yuba.

Finally, they arrived at Yuba—but the sight shocked them. The town was desolate. No people, no noise, just an empty, silent desert city. Dust blew through the air, and the buildings seemed worn and weathered.

But as they walked in further, they spotted a single figure, an old man digging tirelessly in the sand, sweat pouring down his face despite the blazing sun. He was digging deeply, determinedly, as if his very life depended on it.

When the old man looked up his eyes fell on all of us until his eyes locked on to Vivi. It was like thunderstruck him out of nowhere he was baffled at seeing Vivi.

'I really need to complete that damn manga.' Yuta cursed, sensing from miles away that there was some sort of plot here that he didn't know.

But what else he could do, now he was at the same boat as everyone else.

After a little acknowledgement moment between both Vivi and that old man whose name was Toto, finally, someone asked why he was digging the desert.

"I...there is no rain here, no water, my son...everyone else they are gone. Join the rebels. I tried to stop them, but... but...

This rebellion is ridiculous. Bunch of faithless fools." The man said and completely broke down. There is something strange about a man who was well past his prime and was in his twilight years just outright breaking down in front of you.

Tears trail down of his cheeks as he goes to his knees and explains the situation in Alabasta.

Yuta was not an emotional type, usually, he is a pretty chill guy, the last time he honestly lost it was when he learned about what Shie Hassaikai did to Rika and others. What Overhaul was doing with Eric, a little girl?

He felt something similar here, it wasn't the same thought, back then the anger he had was because those bastards were pulling innocent children into their schemes.

This here was different, how so was hard to say, but something about this situation where this old man who lost everything just because of a certain ambitious man's action and yet even when he was almost at the death door continued to have hope... continue to work and pray to better his country... something inside Yuta was making him uneasy seeing this.

But it was when that old man ended up handing over the small amount of water he worked so hard to dig out that it finally made Yuta snap out.

Luffy was about to deny this as so was Vivi but Yuta quickly said.

"Thank you for your help... here please have this in return..." Yuta took out a bottle of water and some food and handed them over to the old man.

Toto was surprised when he saw the food and water appear out of thin air to even realized that the boy just made him hold both things before he could realize and walk away.

"Yuta..." Vivi called from behind, not sure where Yuta was going leaving everything behind but just as she was calling for Yuta, she saw Luffy also ended up walking behind Yuta, though he made sure that he took the water the old man gave to him.

"Luffy... where are you going..." Nami shouted.

"Where Yuta is going..." Luffy replied.

"And where's that ?"

"I don't know."

"Tch... this idiot, but what with Yuta, hey wait." Nami and others rush after both Yuta and Luffy, trying to stop them.

"What are you thinking, where do you think you are going ?" Nami asked with both confusion and exasperation on her face. She long gave up on getting a sound answer from Luffy anyway so she directly asked this question to Yuta.

Yuta stopped there for a few seconds before finally opening his mind.

"I am going to stop this damn rebellion and find a solution to this drought problem this country suffering from even if that is the last thing I do," Yuta replied with a serious expression on his face.

He didn't mean to take things so fast but there was something about the suffering of that old man and his giving that water to them just moved things inside him.

If earlier he was mostly doing this because of the quest, then now he really wanna take down that crocodile fella himself.

"What ?!... Do you even know where you are going? How are you gonna find those rebels if you don't even know where they are ?" Nami said and others also just stood there.

"Yes, you are not going to find anything like this..." Ussop too added in.

But Vivi, Sanji, Zoro and Chopper didn't say anything.

"So what I am supposed to do, is waste time here and see that old man waste his twilight years digging the ground." Yuta narrowed his eyes and said with a hint of anger in his voice.

Technically he wasn't supposed to know that Crocodile was behind this, the crew never revealed this information to him and he was also keeping his mouth shut, waiting for them to reveal the real culprit. But not anymore.

"And what about you Luffy... why suddenly you are following him..." Nami didn't have an answer to Yuta's question. Apparently, people here have a higher ceiling of how much suppression they can handle due to how rough life in this world is.

But for Yuta, when this world became a reality, it was no longer funny. People are dying, he has the power and even knows who is responsible for their suffering.

He just can't do stand this... maybe if he was a heartless bastard, really didn't know who was behind this drought or rebellion or just outright didn't have the power, then he might not be so frustrated.

But, when he knows that he can make a difference and still doesn't act...

"I am going to make Crocodile fly..." Luffy said with a smile on his face, back to his happy self but there was a steely feeling in his voice which Zoro and Yuta didn't miss.

"What? Where did that come from ?" Nami and others were wide mouth by now.

"Crocodile? What this has to do with him..." Yuta immediately intervened, now was his chance to get some information about the plot, to at least for him to take action in front of them.

"Nothing... he is just rambling...." Vivi immediately covered for Luffy while Nami was choking slamming Luffy by this point.

Yuta didn't ask anymore, though he narrowed his eyes, telling others that he was now suspicious of them.

xxx

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