The Going Merry rocked gently as it pulled into port at Nanohana, one of Arabasta's major cities nestled against the edge of the desert. The scent of hot sand, spices, and grilled meats filled the air as the crew leaned over the sides of the ship, taking in the vibrant sights of the city. Colorful awnings lined the streets. Water sellers shouted to the crowds. Camels passed slowly, led by merchants in flowing robes.
"We finally made it to Arabasta," Vivi said with quiet determination, eyes fixed on the golden horizon. "Now… the real work begins."
"YEAH!!" Luffy shouted, already climbing over the railing. "Time to eat!!"
"Luffy, wait—!" Nami called, but it was too late. Luffy had already sprinted off, yelling something about meat skewers and dumplings.
Sanji sighed, flicking ash off his cigarette. "Should we really let him just run off like that?"
"He always comes back," Zoro said, already yawning. "Eventually."
As the crew began preparing to disembark, Blizz stood near the mast, arms crossed. He was quiet—more thoughtful than usual.
"I'm gonna split off too," he said casually.
Usopp raised an eyebrow. "What, not sticking with us this time?"
"I got some things to take care of," Blizz replied, adjusting the scroll on his back. "Don't worry. I'll be back before we move out again."
Vivi gave him a curious look, but nodded. "Be careful. This place is more dangerous than it looks."
Blizz gave a small smirk. "That's why I'm going solo."
⸻
Once out of sight from the rest of the crew, Blizz ducked into a narrow alley and pulled out one of his storage scrolls. "Can't head into a desert warzone with an empty pantry…" he muttered.
The market was bustling. Spices, grains, meats, and rare fruits—Arabasta had everything, and Blizz had a plan. He bartered fiercely, calling in every coin he had left.
Ten roasted chickens. Four dozen sand-dried fruits. Water pouches. Pickled vegetables. Flatbreads. Salted fish. Rice. Dried herbs. Enough food to fill two scrolls and overflow the third.
By the time he finished, he was broke. Completely broke.
He sat on a crate, chewing a stick of grilled meat.
"Now I'm broke," he sighed. "Totally worth it."
He looked at the scrolls. "Well-stocked. Should last us till the next port… if Luffy doesn't inhale it all in a day."
He adjusted his cloak and made his way back toward the ship. Just as he reached the final alley leading toward the docks—
Boom!
A plume of smoke rose in the distance.
Blizz's eyes narrowed. "That's not random." He didn't break into a run, just walked calmly. "Luffy must've stirred something again."
⸻
Back at the Ship
By the time Blizz returned, the rest of the crew was already regrouping.
"What took you so long?" Sanji asked, his tone annoyed. "We're getting ready to leave."
Blizz gave a knowing smile. "Stocked up on rations. You'll thank me when we hit the dunes."
Usopp was sweating. "You heard what happened? Luffy ran into… Ace. And Smoker."
Blizz's eyebrow twitched. He already knew this part of the story, but hearing it play out in real time was still strange.
"Ace?" he repeated, playing dumb.
"Yeah!" Chopper said excitedly. "His brother! He's on our ship right now!"
Blizz looked out toward the deck, where a figure with a wide-brimmed hat and freckles leaned casually against the railing, chatting with Luffy like it was an ordinary day.
He gave a quiet chuckle. "Guess things are heating up quicker than expected."
The Going Merry gently rocked as Ace leaned against the rail, talking casually with the Straw Hats like old friends.
"Man, you guys are nuts," Ace laughed, watching Chopper show off a weird dance Luffy had taught him. "I leave Luffy alone for a while and suddenly he's got a whole crew of maniacs."
"You're not wrong," Sanji muttered, tossing vegetables into a pot. "Still don't know how we haven't all died yet."
"Pure luck," Zoro replied, half-asleep on deck. "Mostly Luffy's."
Blizz stayed off to the side, arms folded, keeping his distance. Watching. Listening.
Ace caught his eye for a brief second and gave him a nod. Blizz nodded back.
⸻
Later that evening, the crew set sail again. The wind was hot and dry. The sea around them shimmered in the desert sun.
"Next stop," Vivi said, "is Yuba. That's where the rebel army is supposed to be."
"'Supposed to be,' huh?" Blizz muttered under his breath.
He stood near the edge of the ship, eyes scanning the golden sands in the distance.
He already knew. The rebels weren't in Yuba anymore. They had moved on. But Vivi didn't know that — and neither did the crew. And for now, Blizz wouldn't tell them.
Why? Because of one old man.
Toto. Kind. Loyal. Dying of exhaustion in a ghost town swallowed by sand. If they skipped Yuba, he'd be forgotten. Left behind. That wasn't how Blizz wanted this story to play out.
⸻
The Going Merry docked at Elumalu, a village that had once thrived but was now mostly abandoned. The land was cracked. The oasis had dried to a whisper of water. Sand coated every surface.
"It's worse than I imagined…" Vivi whispered.
They gathered supplies and prepared to travel on foot from there. The desert winds were too unpredictable — the ship would stay behind for now.
The desert sun was unrelenting. Sand stretched endlessly in every direction, shimmering with heatwaves that made the distant dunes dance like mirages.
Karoo had already sprinted ahead, on a mission Vivi had entrusted to him — a message to deliver to the king. The kung-fu dugongs that Luffy had somehow befriended were guarding the ship. Now, it was just the crew, trudging under the blazing sun.
"I'm dying," Luffy moaned dramatically, dragging his feet through the sand like a zombie. "I can't even sweat anymore…"
"Could you not pant like that?" Nami snapped, wiping the sweat from her brow. "Just listening to you is making me more tired."
"I'm roasting up…" Usopp muttered, fanning himself with his hands before collapsing face-first into the sand. "Tell my story…"
Vivi walked ahead with the calm of someone who'd done this her whole life. "We're not even halfway to Yuba. This is nothing."
"Nothing?!" Sanji gasped, his shirt long abandoned, clinging a water flask to his chest like it was a lover. "I feel like I'm being cooked alive…"
Luffy clutched the shared water flask and tried sneaking in a full gulp. Nami caught him immediately. "Hey! Just one sip, I said!"
Without hesitation, usopp slapped the back of his head. A full stream of water exploded from his mouth like a broken fountain. It splashed into the sand.
"Luffy!! That was all we had for the next three hours!!" Nami screamed.
Luffy and Usopp started bickering, both accusing the other of sweating too loudly, while Chopper began checking Luffy's pulse like he was already dead. It was absolute chaos.
And all this time… Blizz hadn't said a word.
He walked calmly behind them, looking at the sun, measuring the wind, his cloak flowing behind him. His chakra was perfectly balanced — the heat wasn't even affecting him.
Then he stopped.
With a grin he clapped his hands, performed a quick series of hand signs — the crew didn't even notice until the air around them suddenly shifted.
"Suiton: Waterfall Jutsu!"
A large surge of water burst up behind them from the sand — not as powerful as a full-on waterfall near a river, but enough to make a splash zone and send a light shower cascading down over the crew. Mist rose and droplets clung to their clothes. It cooled the air just enough to make it bearable.
Everyone froze.
"Wait—did… did you just summon a waterfall in the middle of a desert?" Chopper blinked.
"More like a puddlefall," Blizz said with a smirk, "but yeah."
Luffy immediately leapt into the stream and started rolling around. "AAAHHH! THIS IS THE BEST JUTSU IN THE WORLD!"
Usopp dropped to his knees and scooped water into his mouth. "It's cold! It's really cold!"
Sanji raised an eyebrow. "How much chakra did you burn for that?"
"More than I should've," Blizz replied. "But watching you all melt was getting boring."
"Why didn't you do that an hour ago?!" Nami shouted.
"Because watching Luffy nearly faint from panting too hard was comedy gold."
"You are evil," she hissed — but she was already smiling as she soaked her scarf.
The crew finally gathered around the modest stream trickling down from Blizz's Waterfall Jutsu. It wasn't a raging river, but the cool mist, the wet sand, and the promise of hydration worked wonders on morale.
Chopper splashed his face, giggling like a child.
Vivi knelt beside the stream, her expression soft. "This is incredible. You really are full of surprises, Blizz."
Blizz shrugged, kneeling beside her to scoop some water into his canteen. "Call it survival instinct. This isn't my first desert rodeo."
Luffy guzzled mouthfuls from his hands before collapsing into the puddle face-first like a sponge. "This is heaven. Blizz! You're officially better than meat."
Blizz raised an eyebrow. "That's high praise… or an insult. Not sure."
"Definitely both," Sanji muttered, now back to lighting a cigarette. "Still can't believe you pulled a move like that. You've got some tricks hidden in those sleeves, huh?"
"Just a few," Blizz smirked. "Waterfall Jutsu doesn't need a river to work. It draws moisture from the air and chakra — less efficient, but better than dying of thirst."
Nami, now wringing out her shirt, gave him a grudging nod. "Remind me to put you in charge of hydration from now on."
Usopp was busy building a mini sand fort, pretending it was an oasis base. "We should build a camp here and call it Blizzland. Entry fee: five berries."
"Or a bag of meat," Luffy added, licking his lips.
The group took a moment to recover under the temporary shade of the water's mist, and when it seemed the worst of the dehydration was handled, Blizz reached into his pouch and pulled out a small scroll. It looked ordinary, but he held it like it was treasure.
With a simple hand sign, he released the seal.
A cloud of chakra smoke burst out — and in its place, bundles of tightly wrapped food supplies materialized on the sand. Rice balls, smoked meats, dried fruits, sweet buns, and flasks of fresh water rolled out in neat stacks.
"W-WOAHHHH!!" Luffy's eyes went full sparkle-mode. "YOU HAD FOOD TOO?!"
Blizz smirked. "Spent all my money back in Nanohana. I figured the desert would suck."
Sanji whistled low. "You got decent taste for a ninja."
Even Zoro cracked one eye open from where he had been napping against a dune. "Guess you're not just dramatic flair after all."
Vivi smiled warmly. "Blizz… you really thought ahead."
"Yeah, well… I'm broke now. So enjoy it while it lasts," Blizz said, sitting on the sand and unwrapping his own rice ball.
The crew gathered around the spread like kids on a festival night. Luffy, of course, stuffed his face with both hands. Chopper joined him. Karoo waddled in, grabbed a sweet bun in his beak, and flapped excitedly. Nami tried to manage the rations, but failed to keep Luffy from vacuuming most of the snacks.
Usopp lay back, a rice cracker on his chest. "Blizz… you're officially my favorite crew member today."
Blizz chuckled.
By the time they reached what remained of Yuba, the desert had changed character.
The sun was gone, but the cold wind carried whispers of a storm long passed. Sand crunched under their feet as they stepped into the skeletal remains of a town. The moon cast pale light over half-buried buildings, crooked signs, and dunes where streets used to be.
Vivi gasped. "This… This can't be…"
What was once a bustling rebel stronghold had been reduced to a ghost town. Sand had eaten most of the structures. Palm trees were stripped of leaves. Walls cracked and sagged under the weight of countless storms.
They wandered deeper into the ruins.
"It's like this place was swallowed," Sanji said quietly, eyes scanning the debris.
"It was the sandstorms," Vivi whispered. "They've been relentless… It wasn't like this the last time I was here."
"Damn…" Zoro muttered. "If the rebels were here, they're long gone."
As they reached what used to be the town center, they spotted a figure — hunched, slow, determined — digging at the sand with trembling hands.
It was an old man, muscles wiry with age and dirt lining his skin like a second layer. He dug and dug, sweat running down his face despite the night chill.
After every thing played out like the manga everyone went to sleep expect for luffy and me
Toto's hands moved slowly, stubbornly shoveling sand from the same hole he'd been digging for days, weeks—who knew how long anymore. His movements had grown sluggish, yet his resolve remained ironclad.
Across the ruined square, Luffy quietly walked toward him without a word.
Blizz turned. "Luffy?"
But he didn't reply. He just knelt down beside the old man.
Toto looked over, confused. "What are you doing?"
Luffy grabbed a shovel. "Digging."
"I don't need help," Toto said.
Luffy didn't stop.
"I said—"
"I don't care," Luffy interrupted, still digging with sleepy eyes and sluggish arms. "You stayed. So… we dig."
Toto didn't say anything after that. He just kept digging beside the pirate.
Blizzz watched in silence.
It wasn't long before the rhythm of shoveling slowed… and then stopped.
Luffy had fallen asleep mid-dig, his head leaning against the handle of the shovel, snoring softly. The shovel tilted, then collapsed into the sand with a dull thud.
Toto blinked, stunned, then cracked a tired smile.
Blizz approached quietly from the darkness, arms folded. "Typical Luffy. Can't even outlast an old man with a shovel."
The old man gave a raspy chuckle. "Your captain's got a stubborn heart. Reminds me of Koza when he was younger."
Blizz knelt down beside Luffy, gently lifted him onto his shoulder. "I'll take him back to the fire."
Toto nodded. "Thank you."
As Blizz turned and walked Luffy back toward camp, his thoughts stirred. He's already inspiring people… just by being himself. That's Luffy for you.
Blizz returned alone, the stars now blinking brighter in the desert sky.
Toto hadn't stopped. He was still at it. Still digging.
Blizz didn't speak right away. He just watched him — an old man against a sea of sand.
After a moment, Blizz walked over and crouched down.
"You know," he said calmly, "you don't have to do this alone."
Toto shook his head. "I appreciate it… but this is my fight. My duty."
Blizz smirked. "Yeah. I figured you'd say that."
He stood up, then formed a hand sign. The chakra in his body surged low and quiet, humming through the sand around his feet.
"Doton: Hiding Like a Mole Jutsu."
He sank silently into the ground, the sand parting around him like water. Beneath the surface, he tunneled rapidly, pushing away layers of dense earth. His chakra guided each movement, sharp and deliberate, like a blade through the earth.
A few seconds later, a rumble echoed from the hole.
Toto stumbled back in shock as a geyser of water burst from the pit. A deeper cavity had suddenly opened beneath the surface, dug out faster than any hand could ever manage. The stagnant water buried far below had been disturbed — and now it gushed upward, sparkling in the moonlight.
Blizz emerged from the edge of the hole, drenched but grinning.
"There," he said simply, brushing sand from his shoulders. "Not a river, but enough to prove it's still here."
Toto fell to his knees beside the edge, eyes wide, disbelief etched across his face. "All this time… I wasn't wrong."
Blizz crouched beside him with a smile. "You weren't. You just needed someone to dig a little faster."