We Only Recognize Money, Your Majesty!

Moderates?

Cobra found it somewhat absurd.

He was not a king known for personal combat prowess, but he at least understood what had just transpired.

The entire elite guard of Alabasta—the kingdom's finest—had been utterly helpless before the Dragon of the Chen. The enemy hadn't even made a move, and yet the battle had ended silently and without a trace.

This was clearly a show of force.

But without a doubt, Cobra was not a king who would be intimidated by such threats.

So he cleared his throat, preparing to speak.

But before he could—

"An organization? You have an organization? And even a leader?"

Vivi's voice rang out before his.

The princess had evidently not been frightened by what had just happened; instead, she asked with a mix of wariness and curiosity.

"Vivi!"

Cobra rarely raised his voice at his daughter. "You promised me earlier that you would only listen from the sidelines."

He was naturally worried about her sudden interjection—though the question she asked was exactly what he wanted to know, speaking rashly in front of such a monster was dangerous in itself.

"Correct, Your Highness."

But to Cobra's surprise, the Dragon of the Chen's tone toward Vivi was rather gentle.

"Our organization is called the 'Twelve Zodiacs.'"

"As for the leader—"

At this, the Dragon of the Chen's words grew solemn, as if he held great respect for that 'leader.'

"I cannot disclose information about him—but in short, we sincerely wish to cooperate with you, with no ill intent."

With that, he casually set down the empty cola cup in his hand.

"If I truly meant harm, I would not have chosen to land at Elma; I would have come straight to the royal capital."

"The rain along the way was my 'sincerity,' King Cobra."

The metal cup in his hand seemed to melt under extreme heat, emitting white steam before turning into a pool of red-hot liquid iron that fell, instantly piercing through the floor.

It silently told everyone present—if he wished, he could easily storm the palace, even kill the king and princess.

"..."

The guards' expressions darkened with fury.

King Cobra fell silent.

But beneath his calm exterior, there was unmistakable shock.

After a long moment, he finally spoke. "Two things."

"First, you say you want to cooperate—then I need to know what you seek to gain from Alabasta."

"Second, you still haven't provided sufficient proof, so I still cannot trust you. That story you told—if I replaced your so-called 'mastermind' with your own organization, it would hold just as well."

He showed no fear of the power the Dragon of the Chen had displayed, remaining steady and composed.

"If these two matters are not clarified, even if you take my life here and now, I will not agree to anything."

With that, he glanced briefly at Igaram beside him and made a small gesture.

Igaram naturally understood the meaning of that gesture—if things went wrong, he was to protect Princess Vivi at all costs, no matter what.

"..."

Igaram's expression grew even more resolute.

But at that moment, upon hearing Cobra's words, the Dragon of the Chen let out a note of admiration. "As expected of the wise king of Alabasta. Your will and courage are worthy of respect."

"But as I said, I am a merchant."

"I will, of course, answer every request you make."

He leaned forward slightly and raised a finger. "Your first question—what do we need?"

"The answer is simple. We want Belly."

The moment he said this—

Cobra's expression shifted instantly.

"Belly? Just Belly?"

The king asked in disbelief.

He had considered many possibilities—perhaps they wanted to force Alabasta into some treaty, or claim its land, or even the long-hidden thing within the 'Royal Tomb.'

But he had never imagined that all they wanted was Belly.

Not that Belly wasn't valuable, but money, for certain organizations, often wasn't the most urgent resource at hand.

"Only Belly. Of course, I'll also accept other equivalent treasures in exchange."

Dragon of the Chen smiled and said, "I'm a straightforward man, so I'll set clear prices—I can bring rain to Alabasta, covering one city, at twenty billion Belly per rainfall."

"Beyond that, I'll deal with the mastermind behind this incident for fifty billion Belly. What do you think?"

What did he think?

"There's a big problem, Your Excellency Dragon of the Chen."

Cobra spoke up decisively at that moment.

"Twenty billion Belly per rainfall is far too high. Even transporting water directly from neighboring countries would cost far less than that."

"The maximum I can accept is three billion Belly per rainfall."

"As for the mastermind—though I don't know who he is—fifty billion Belly is still too much. You can't tell me Whitebeard is lurking in Alabasta, can you?"

"My highest offer is twenty billion Belly."

He said firmly.

Hearing this, Dragon of the Chen slammed the table: "Ridiculous! Three billion Belly—using my ability takes stamina too. At the very least, seven billion Belly per rainfall."

"As for the mastermind, even if it's not Whitebeard, he's still a troublesome opponent. Besides, this concerns the fate of an entire nation. You pay over a hundred billion in Celestial Gold every year, yet you're only willing to give twenty billion to save your country?"

Cobra refused to back down, his voice equally low: "Since you know about the Celestial Gold, you must also know we just paid it this year. The national treasury is practically drained, not to mention the costs of resettling refugees after this is resolved..."

The two went back and forth, each holding their ground in a heated debate.

In the end, a plan was finally settled.

According to their final agreement, Dragon of the Chen would bring rain to Alabasta's cities at a price of five billion Belly per rainfall.

As for dealing with the mastermind behind the incident, Alabasta would offer a bounty of thirty billion Belly.

Once the specific numbers were finalized, Cobra looked at Dragon of the Chen: "However, Your Excellency—though the plan is set, you still haven't given me proof."

He spoke solemnly.

Hearing this, Dragon of the Chen smiled.

"That's not a difficult problem, King Cobra."

He raised a second finger and pointed at himself: "I can bring rain—that's a well-known fact in Alabasta now, and it's something the mastermind absolutely cannot tolerate."

"So I just need to stay in the palace while you spread word that 'Alabasta is about to receive rain.' Naturally, he'll send someone to kill me—and then, you'll see your proof."

His tone was light, even carrying a hint of excitement.

Cobra's expression froze for a moment, and his gaze toward Dragon of the Chen grew serious.

Clearly, he hadn't expected Dragon of the Chen to use himself as 'bait': "Are you sure?"

"Of course."

Dragon of the Chen answered calmly.

His eyes caught the content displayed on the Light Screen at the edge of his vision.

[Loi Amos (Slice Clone - Dragon of the Chen)] [Fruit Slots: 3] [Currently Equipped Fruits: Magma-Magma Fruit LV3, Freeze-Freeze Fruit LV3, Slice-Slice Fruit (Unavailable)]

"I'm sure."

With those words, the agreement was sealed.

Cobra said nothing more, simply ordering Igaram to arrange a residence for Dragon of the Chen in the palace.

Then, he quietly watched the mysterious guest leave.

After Dragon of the Chen had gone.

"Father King."

Vivi, who had been wide-eyed and utterly astonished since the beginning, couldn't help but look at her father.

She had never seen her father act like that before—he seemed less like a king and more like a shrewd merchant.

What's more, she still couldn't understand.

"His identity and motives can't be truly confirmed, and his companion is a wanted criminal who robbed the 'Celestial Gold.' We're a member nation of the World Government—why would you agree to cooperate with him?"

At that moment, Cobra looked at his daughter.

She was brave enough, but still far too inexperienced.

"Vivi, let me tell you a lesson."

"Sometimes, don't judge a person entirely by what they say, but by what they do."

The king spoke earnestly.

"What they do?"

Vivi frowned slightly.

Cobra, however, spoke softly: "He did bring rain and resolved Alabasta's most pressing crisis."

"He truly possesses the power to kill you and me with ease, yet from start to finish, he made no move."

"Most crucially, he could have threatened me with the entire nation to demand a higher price—though the treasury is indeed empty, if we forcibly taxed the whole country, we could still squeeze out some money."

Cobra said gently, "But he didn't. Vivi, why do you think that is?"

"..."

Vivi was silent for a moment, then naturally reached a conclusion: "Many people would die."

Under the disaster of a seven-month drought, this year's harvest in Alabasta was already extremely difficult.

If they forcibly taxed the people again, large-scale famine and death would be nearly unavoidable.

And at this point, Vivi understood.

"If he and the 'Twelve Zodiacs' he belongs to were truly the ones behind the country's lack of rain, then he certainly wouldn't care about the people's lives."

"But he chose to yield on this step, so... he's not the mastermind?"

Vivi said in surprise.

Cobra cast a gratified glance at his daughter.

But then Vivi grew worried again: "But what about the World Government..."

"We are the kings of Alabasta, Vivi."

At this moment, however, Cobra only spoke softly yet firmly.

"We chose to stay in this country, so we only need to be responsible for its people."

"You just need to remember that."

Author's Q&A:

The core theme of this book is Devil Fruit Abilities, not Haki.

The protagonist will strengthen his body, because it benefits the use of his fruit ability.

But Haki is a different kind of ability altogether; the protagonist will not obtain it through normal training.

However! However! However!

This does not mean the protagonist won't have Haki in the future.

What does that mean?

In other words, even if the protagonist gains Haki in the future, it will definitely be because of his Devil Fruit Ability (laughs).