The hot desert sun was super mean—like, "melt-your-socks" kind of hot! The Straw Hat pirates were tired and sweaty. Luffy flopped down in the shade of a big rock, spreading out like a sleepy jellyfish.
"Yay! Shade!" he cheered, tossing their stuff into a messy pile.
"Hey! Be careful with that!" Zoro shouted—but then—WHOOSH!
Raja zoomed in on his flying hoverboard, water spraying from his wand like a wild sprinkler! He spun in the air, wearing a sparkly cape, and shouted, "FULL MOON PARTY, BABY!" in Burning afternoon.
He danced across the sand, singing, "Stay cool and drink water, team!"
"Stop it, you glitter goofball!" Sanji said, ducking from the spray.
"My goggles!" Usopp cried, soaked and spluttering.
"At least he's doing something helpful," Nami said with a smirk, enjoying the cool splash.
But then—FLAP FLAP! A bunch of silly-looking birds flew down—Warusagi Birds! They wiggled their tails like they were dancing.
"Aww, pretty birdies!" Luffy smiled—until the birds stole their food and gear!
"MY MEAT!!" Luffy screamed, chasing them through the sand like a rocket.
Soon, he came back dragging a camel—and behind him? A huge desert lizard was chasing them!
"AHHH!" everyone yelled, running around.
Raja grinned and—POOF!—turned into a cowboy, hat and all! "YEE-HAW!" he shouted, jumping on the giant lizard's back like a rodeo star.
"I'M RUDRA D. RAJA, LIZARD COWBOY EXTRAORDINAIRE!"
Zoro got his swords ready. "Let's slice it!"
Sanji's foot lit up. "Let's cook it!"
Luffy stretched his arms and—BAM!—punched the lizard!
Raja jumped off, casting a fire spell—FWOOSH!—and roasted it like a BBQ!
"DINNER TIME!" he laughed, making a picnic table appear, full of yummy sauce and snacks.
The crew dug in, happily munching.
The camel (Nami named him Matsuge) gave Nami and Vivi a wink and let them ride him.
"Only the ladies get to ride," Nami declared, climbing up with Vivi.
Raja gasped and—POOF!—put on a judge's wig. "That's not fair! I want equal camel rides!"
He zapped up a sign that said "HUMP JUSTICE NOW!"
Sanji puffed his smoke. "Back off, creepy camel."
Usopp waved his fork. "Hey! I could ride too!"
But Matsuge ignored them and strutted on.
Raja sulked. "Fine! I'll hoverboard in style while you all walk!"
In a secret café called Spiders Café, some sneaky people from Baroque Works snuck into a casino to meet their boss, Crocodile. They were planning something really bad... but they didn't know the Straw Hats were already making a mess in the desert!
The Straw Hats finally reached Yuba, thinking they'd find rebel fighters—but nope. It was empty and full of blowing sand.
An old man named Toto came out. "The rebels moved to another place. Sandstorms keep wrecking Yuba."
Raja jumped on a broken wall—POOF!—wearing a sad mask. "We missed the war! So dramatic!"
Nami bonked him with her fist. "Stop being so dramatic!"
Vivi ran over. "Toto? Koza's dad?"
"Yep!" he smiled. "Glad to see you, Vivi."
That night, Toto gave them water and beds.
Raja waved his wand—ZAP!—and made a sparkling pond appear!
"BEHOLD! MAGIC WATER!" he said proudly.
Toto fell to his knees. "A miracle!"
Raja bowed in a gold robe. "I am your Water Wizard King!"
Nami and Vivi both punched him. "Knock it off!"
Vivi paced. "We need to stop the rebels before war starts!"
But Luffy shook his head, serious. "No. It's Crocodile who's the problem. We need to stop him."
Raja flew in on his board with a megaphone. "THE RUBBER HERO SPEAKS! Crocodile is the real baddie! Let's take the fight to Rainbase!"
He zapped a Crocodile-shaped sand statue and—BOOM!—it exploded in sparkles.
"TO RAINBASE!" Raja shouted.
"But the people—!" Vivi cried.
Luffy grabbed her. "We have to stop him!"
Raja popped up a boxing ring—DING DING!
"Fight time! Princess Punch vs. Pirate Power!"
But Vivi finally nodded. "Okay. To Rainbase."
Raja knelt with a knight's helmet. "Don't worry, princess! I'll charm the rebels myself—no fighting needed!" He gave her a rose. She smiled a little. "We'll see."
In the basement of the casino, Crocodile told his evil team their plan to take over Arabasta. Mr. 3 ran in, nervous. "Uh... the Straw Hats ditched me…"
Crocodile smirked—SNAP!—and fed him to his pet crocodile!
"Anyone else want to fail me?" he growled.
He gave the team photos of the crew. "Find them. Forget the pet reindeer."
Elsewhere, Vivi's old friend Koza got the rebels ready to attack the capital. At the palace, King Cobra got a letter from Vivi—via duck delivery!
The letter shouted, "CROCODILE'S THE BAD GUY!" so loud it made his ears ring!
Then—POOF!—Raja's magic message popped up.
"HELLO, KING DAD! Straw hats off to defeat Crocodile with sparkles and sass!"
The king stood up. "Soldiers, to Rainbase. We'll save Arabasta!"
To Be Continued...