Poneglyph and Seawater Desalination

"This way, Mr. Roman."

In the royal mausoleum to the west of the palace, Vivi's father, the middle-aged King Nefertari Cobra, was waiting solemnly.

"King Cobra, please do not use the title 'sir' or anything like that. Just call me by my name."

In response to Roman's words, the middle-aged man opposite him nodded gently, instantly transforming from a dignified king into a friendly neighbor.

"Roman, you must call me 'Cobra' or 'Uncle Cobra' too—it seems too formal to keep calling me 'King' all the time."

"That's true,"

"Well then, Uncle Cobra," Roman readily agreed, "Regarding what I proposed..."

"Hmm, your intelligence is very 'accurate'."

It was even too accurate!

Knowing that Nefertari possessed the 'Pluton' instruction manual, and even knowing that it was located in the tomb, besides the Nefertari royal family, only those...

"This is it."

As the middle-aged king touched an inconspicuous statue decoration in the tomb, a passage leading underground appeared in the previously empty floor.

"That 'historical monument' is inside."

"Very good," Roman remained unmoved in the face of the legendary warship 'Pluton', which was said to destroy an island with a single shot. Instead, Guotou to look at the tombstone pillars next to him.

Nicole Robin.

"As you can see, I have kept my promise."

Tap tap tap,

A tall figure in a white trench coat and white cowboy hat emerged from behind the stone pillar; it was Miss. All Sunday, the highest-ranking executive of the Baroque Works.

"This is..."

"Yes, that's your target: the historical monument."

Roman stepped aside and gestured for the passage below to proceed.

The sophisticated woman named Nico Robin gave Roman a deep look before stepping down into the passage. Whatever awaited her inside, this was the closest she'd ever been to the 'Poneglyph'! She couldn't give up.

········

Aren't you going down to take a look?

As Nico Robin entered the underground tomb, King Cobra, who was guarding outside, chatted casually with Roman.

"What are you looking at? A big, unfamiliar rock?"

Roman leaned nonchalantly against a nearby stone pillar. "I know what you're worried about, Cobra."

"It's nothing more than 'Pluton' falling into the hands of an ambitious person, and then this and that..."

"To be honest, I was quite surprised that you didn't have three hundred Ax Hand lying in ambush around here."

Although in the original story, the man standing before Vivi, the King of Alabasta, was renowned for his wisdom and virtue, however—

Faced with events that could plunge the world into chaos, a wiser king is always more decisive! Judging from the fact that the opponent didn't hesitate to blow up the tomb in the original story, they are definitely not a naive or foolish person...

"Heh heh heh, Roman, you bastard."

"So young yet so cunning, why can't you be as frank as everyone else?"

Roman rubbed his forehead in response to the teasing from the middle-aged man next to him.

"Sorry, I have to take care of this ship full of naive guys... especially our captain, who has to consider all the issues that should be theirs all by himself."

"However, you can rest assured."

"I have no interest in Pluton," Roman said, pointing to the tunnel next to him with his thumb. "The woman inside has no interest in Pluton either. You might not believe it, but she's just a simple archaeologist."

Therefore, there's absolutely no need to Human Annihilation.

—Although Alabasta doesn't have any 'masters' capable of taking down Roman or Nico Robin.

Tap tap tap.

Soon, Nicole Robin emerged from the secret passage, her face filled with disappointment:

"What a surprise! I thought there were already three hundred elite troops waiting for me outside."

······

"I really want to have you,"

Roman rolled his eyes, surprised that someone else thought exactly the same thing as him.

"I'm enough on my own!"

"Then..." Nico Robin spread her hands, "Should we do it?"

······

"Let's go, let's go, I've fulfilled my promise."

After King Cobra turned the mechanism to close the tomb, Roman and the middle-aged king decisively turned and left, leaving Nicole Robin looking bewildered.

"Of course I believe you, Roman."

"But that woman named 'Nicole Robin'..."

After emerging from the royal tomb, the two headed north towards the palace. Compared to the deserted west, this area was swarming with guards every five or ten steps! There were even soldiers lying prone, listening for those with burrowing abilities. Although such defenses would be futile against true masters, but—

"Your His Majesty the King, please show the password."

"Newborn."

"Please proceed, Your Majesty."

Well, Roman wouldn't say something as unromantic as 'you're just wasting your time' when faced with such earnest soldiers.

"Don't worry,"

Roman picked up where King Cobra left off.

"I know Nico Robin quite well. As I said before, she's not an ambitious person, just a simple archaeologist. Besides—"

Considering his own hint, and given that woman's obsession with the 'Poneglyph,' she'll most likely still choose to Luffy's crew...

"It won't be long before the uncle sees the news of her joining the Straw Hat crew in the newspaper."

???

"Okay, I believe you."

Although such emotional behavior is not the behavior of a king, Nefertari Cobra was a great monarch who loved his people and was devoted to them.

"Your His Majesty the King,"

"Mr. Roman,"

As Cobra and Roman entered the heavily guarded building, Igaram, the captain of the royal guard with blond curly hair, greeted them. Yes, this was Mr. 8 Baroque Works executive they'd met at Whiskey Peak. He'd been ostensibly blown into the sea by Robin, but in reality, Robin had spared his life.

The room was filled with all sorts of experimental equipment, huge water tanks, and various pipes!

"Someone once said that 'technology is the primary productive force,'"

Roman arrived in front of a container that had already been built according to his requirements. With a wave of his hand, sheets of special white paper fell into it, dividing the container into two sides.

Even in this world...

Roman nodded to the elderly men beside him—more like craftsmen than scientists. As they pulled the valve, a massive amount of water poured into the container, seeped to the other side, and finally flowed from the tap.

"Clear water!!"

"Is this really drinking water??"

"My God, this is a miracle! This is a gift from God—"

In an instant, the old men seemed to be possessed, laughing and jumping, and even the usually composed Igaram began to tremble. He stepped forward, took a glass of water, took a sip himself, and then presented it to King Cobra.

"Your Majesty, really—"

Glug!

He snatched the water glass and drank the liquid inside in one gulp!

After silently sensing the situation with his eyes closed for a while, the middle-aged king suddenly opened them! He turned to face Roman—

Thump,

He knelt down.

"Mr. Roman, on behalf of the millions of people of Alabasta— "

"Thank you! Thank you so much!!"

The only thing that could excite a monarch like this is:

Seawater desalination technology.

"Hey, hey, get up," Roman said, forcibly helping the other person up. He smirked. "If Vivi sees me like this, she'll beat me up!"

Of course, it was just a joke.

"Science and technology are the primary productive forces," Roman snapped his fingers as he faced the reverse osmosis seawater desalination unit ahead. "If we don't have enough technology, we'll make up for it with fruit."

Splash splash~~

Sheets of white paper flew out from Roman's body, folding into neat squares around the room. Everyone around looked at these sheets of paper as if they were gold!

Paper Dance - Pure Water (Chapter Seventeen)

In fact, Devil Fruit aren't just for fighting; their application in everyday life is practically game-breaking! What was originally a method Roman used to purify seawater on the Golden Merry could be incredibly powerful if used on a large scale in Alabasta ...

"However, I cannot stay in Alabasta for long."

"So you still need to experiment to find the right filter material yourself. — Until then, you can use the paper I made as a temporary solution."

Roman then pointed to another 'disc solar distiller' next to him, "Solar energy, with your vast Alabasta and abundant sunshine, is actually the simplest and most convenient method for seawater desalination."

"While I don't want to question your traditions, simply waiting for the rain is not the attitude that humans should have."

With these, even if some Crocodile were to cause trouble again, things wouldn't have turned out this way.

Human determination can conquer nature!

That is the secret to humanity standing at the pinnacle of all things.