Moderates?
Cobra found this somewhat absurd.
Although he was not a king famed for his personal martial strength, he understood well enough what the recent events represented.
Alabasta's most elite guard unit had been completely overpowered by Shinryu (Dragon).
The other party hadn't even made a noticeable move, and the battle had ended silently.
This was a blatant display of force.
Yet Cobra was certainly not a king who would be cowed by such threats.
He cleared his throat, preparing to speak.
But before he could...
"An organisation? You have an organisation? And you have a leader?" Vivi's voice rang out before his.
The princess clearly hadn't been frightened by what had just happened. Instead, she asked, sounding both vigilant and curious.
"Vivi!" Cobra rarely scolded his daughter. "You promised me earlier that you would only observe and not speak."
He was naturally worried about her sudden action, although what she asked was indeed what he himself wanted to ask. Speaking rashly in front of such a monster was inherently dangerous.
"Yes, Princess."
To Cobra's surprise, Shinryu's (Dragon) attitude towards Vivi could even be called gentle.
"Our organisation is called the "Twelve Zodiac"."
"As for our leader…"
At this point, Shinryu's tone became solemn, as if he held the 'leader' in great respect.
"I cannot disclose any information about him, but suffice it to say that we genuinely wish to cooperate with you and bear you no ill will."
As he spoke, he casually set down the empty cola cup in his hand.
"If I truly harboured malicious intent, I wouldn't have chosen to land at Erumalu. I would have come straight to the capital."
"The rain along the way, that was my "sincerity", King Cobra."
The metal cup in his hand appeared to melt under the intense heat, releasing wisps of white smoke before transforming into a pool of crimson molten iron, which dripped down and instantly pierced the ground.
It was as if he were silently telling everyone present that, if he wished, he could easily storm the royal palace and kill the king and princess.
"..."
The guards' expressions darkened with anger.
King Cobra, however, remained silent. Yet shock was unmistakable in the depths of his eyes.
After a long while, he finally spoke. "Two things."
"First, you say you want to cooperate. Then I need to know what you want from Alabasta."
"Secondly, you still haven't provided sufficient evidence, so I cannot trust you yet. The story you told would be just as valid if the so-called 'mastermind behind the scenes' were replaced with your organisation."
He showed no fear at all at the power that Shinryu (Dragon) had displayed, instead remaining calm and composed.
"If I don't understand these two matters clearly, then even if you take my life here, I will not agree to anything."
As he said this, he glanced subtly at Igaram and made a small hand gesture.
Igaram naturally understood what it meant, if the situation turned bad, he was to spare no expense to ensure Princess Vivi's escape.
"..."
Igaram's expression became even more resolute.
At that moment, upon hearing Cobra's words, Shinryu (Dragon) let out an admiring sound. "Truly worthy of being Alabasta's wise king. Your will and courage are admirable."
"But I've already said... that I am a merchant. I will of course answer the requests you've raised one by one."
He leaned forward slightly and raised a finger.
"First question: what do we want?"
"The answer to that is very simple: We want Beli.
He said this... And King Cobra's expression changed instantly.
"Beli?" Just Beli?" The king spoke with clear disbelief.
He had considered many possibilities: perhaps they wanted to force Alabasta to sign an agreement of some kind, or they wanted Alabastan territory, or perhaps they wanted the long-hidden secret within the 'Royal Mausoleum'.
But he had never imagined that the other party would want only money.
It wasn't that Beli wasn't valuable, but money was often not the most urgently needed resource for certain organizations.
"Just Beli. Of course, other assets of equivalent value are also acceptable."
Shinryu (Dragon) said with a smile. "I'm a very straightforward person, so my prices are clear. I can bring rainfall to Alabasta on a per-city basis. Each rainfall costs Two Billion Beli."
"In addition, I will deal with the mastermind behind this incident for you at a cost of 5 Billion Beli. What do you think?"
'What did he think?'
"That's a serious problem, Sir Shinryu (Dragon)." Cobra spoke decisively.
"Two billion Beli for a single rainfall is far too high. Even transporting water directly from neighboring countries would cost far less than that."
"The most I can accept is three hundred million Beli per rainfall."
"And as for the mastermind… although I don't know who it is, 5 Billion Beli is excessive. You're not going to tell me Whitebeard is hiding in Alabasta, are you?"
"The most I can offer is 2 Billion Beli."
He stated firmly.
Hearing this, Shinryu (Dragon) slammed the table.
"That's absurd! 3000 Million Beli? Using my ability consumes stamina too, at the very least, it has to be 700 Million per rainfall!"
"As for the mastermind, he isn't Whitebeard, but he's still a troublesome opponent. This concerns the fate of the entire country. You pay over 10 Billion Beli every year as Heavenly Tribute, yet you're only willing to pay two billion to save your nation?"
Cobra refused to back down, replying in a deep voice: "Since you know about the Heavenly Tribute, you should also know that we've already paid it this year. The national treasury has practically been drained dry. And that's not even counting the cost of resettling refugees once this crisis is over."
The two argued back and forth, neither willing to give in.
In the end, however, an agreement was reached.
According to the finalized plan, Shinryu (Dragon) would bring rainfall to the cities of Alabasta at a cost of 500 Million Beli per occurrence.
As for eliminating the mastermind behind the incident, Alabasta would offer a bounty of 3 Billion Beli.
Only once the terms had been agreed did Cobra look at Shinryu (Dragon).
"However, sir, although the terms have been agreed, you still haven't provided any proof." He spoke solemnly.
Hearing this, Shinryu (Dragon) smiled.
"That's not difficult, King Cobra."
He raised a second finger and pointed at himself.
"I can bring rain. That's now common knowledge throughout Alabasta, and it's something the mastermind absolutely cannot tolerate."
"All I need to do is stay in the royal palace while you spread the rumour that 'Alabasta will soon see rain'. He'll naturally send people to assassinate me."
"At that point, Your Majesty will see the proof for yourself."
His tone was relaxed, almost tinged with excitement.
Cobra's expression froze instantly, his gaze towards Shinryu (Dragon) growing heavy.
Clearly, he hadn't expected Shinryu to use himself as bait.
"Are you sure?" He asked.
"Of course." Shinryu (Dragon) answered calmly.
Information flickered across the light screen in his eyes.
[Roy Amos (Fragmented Clone – Shinryu (Dragon))]
[Devil Fruit Slots: 3]
[Currently Equipped Fruits: Magma Magma Fruit LV.3, Ice Ice Fruit LV.3, Slice Slice Fruit (unavailable)
"I'm sure."
With those words, the agreement was sealed.
Cobra said nothing more. Instead, he simply instructed Igaram to arrange accommodation for Shinryu within the royal palace.
After that, he quietly watched the mysterious guest depart.
Once Shinryu had left—
"Father…" Vivi, who had been wide-eyed and disbelieving since earlier, looked at her father.
She had never seen him like that before. For a moment, he hadn't seemed like a king at all, but rather a shrewd merchant haggling over prices.
More importantly, she still couldn't understand it.
"His identity and true purpose still can't be confirmed, and his companions include wanted criminals who stole the "Heavenly Tribute". We're a member nation of the World Government, why would you be willing to cooperate with him?"
At that moment, Cobra looked at his daughter.
She was brave enough, but still far too young.
"Vivi, there's something I need to teach you. Sometimes, don't judge a person solely by what they say. Judge them by what they do." The king spoke earnestly.
"What they do?" Vivi frowned slightly.
Cobra replied softly, "He truly brought rain and resolved Alabasta's crisis."
"He clearly has the power to kill us both, yet he never made a move. Most importantly, he could have used the entire country to threaten me and force me to accept a higher price."
"Although the treasury is empty, if we were to impose forced taxation across the entire nation, we could still raise a considerable amount of money."
Cobra continued quietly, "But he didn't. Vivi, why do you think that is?"
"..."
Vivi fell silent for a moment, then came to a conclusion naturally.
"Because a lot of people would die."
After seven months of devastating drought, this year's harvest in Alabasta had already been extremely difficult.
If the people were forced to pay additional taxes, large-scale famine and death would be almost inevitable.
And at that point, Vivi understood.
"If he and the 'Twelve Zodiac' were truly the culprits behind the lack of rain, then he wouldn't care whether the people lived or died. But he chose to back down at that step, so… he isn't the mastermind?" Vivi said in surprise.
Cobra looked at his daughter with clear satisfaction on his face.
But soon after, Vivi grew worried again.
"But the World Government…"
"We are the kings of Alabasta, Vivi." At this moment, Cobra spoke softly, yet firmly. "We chose to remain in this country. Therefore, we are only responsible to the people of this country."
"You only need to remember that."
Author's Note – Q&A for Readers:
The core theme of this book is Devil Fruit abilities, not Haki.
The protagonist will strengthen his physical body, because that benefits Devil Fruit usage.
However, Haki is a completely different category of power, and the protagonist will not obtain it through conventional training.
But! But! But!
This does not mean the protagonist will never have Haki in the future.
What does that mean?
It means that even if the protagonist eventually possesses Haki, it will definitely be because of Devil Fruit abilities (lol).
(End of Chapter)
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