Welcome

"Since we can't escape anyway, why don't we just open the castle gates and welcome Slayer? No matter what he wants, as long as we have it, we'll give it to him. If we're this obedient, then no matter how brutal he is, surely he won't kill us."

"Hehehe... Once Slayer leaves satisfied, no matter how much you lose, King Wapol, we can use the excuse that the kingdom was plundered by Slayer to raise taxes on Drum Kingdom's residents. And perhaps Slayer won't even ask for much. Not only will you avoid losing money, but you can squeeze a huge sum out of those commoners," Cromalimon said with a malicious grin.

"You really know what you're doing. Just as expected of the administrator I appointed. Hmph, no matter how much Slayer plunders, I'll squeeze even more out of those commoners. Mooo-loh-hahaha..." Wapol laughed loudly.

Cromalimon hurriedly flattered him. "King Wapol, you are absolutely right. We need to squeeze them hard, and this is the perfect chance to remind Drum Kingdom's residents that no matter what happens, you are still the king of Drum Kingdom."

On the icy, snow-covered road leading to Drum Kingdom's castle, two sturdy bulls carried Rody's group forward at top speed toward the royal castle.

"Dr. Kureha, aren't you going to drive the carriage and show them the way? Is it really all right to let those two bulls take us there on their own?" Nami asked in surprise from inside the carriage.

"Ehehehe... Don't worry. Those two bulls and this carriage belong to Dalton. Back when Dalton was still captain of the royal guard, he often drove this carriage back and forth between the royal castle and all parts of Drum Kingdom. They're extremely familiar with the road to the castle, so even without anyone driving them, as long as they know they're headed for the royal castle, the bulls will pull people there by themselves."

"I remember now. Dalton—I met him when I attended the World Conference with my father as a child. I remember Mr. Dalton seemed to be the captain of Drum Kingdom's royal guard."

"But you said 'back when'? Does that mean Mr. Dalton no longer serves as the king's guard?" Vivi asked doubtfully.

At that, Dr. Kureha fell silent for a while. She sighed before slowly speaking. "A few years ago, Wapol enacted the inhumane law of hunting doctors, causing what was once a great medical nation to gradually decline, until it reached the point where ordinary people had no one to treat them when they fell ill."

"Dalton rose up against Wapol because of his brutal rule, but his rebellion failed. Wapol had him thrown into prison. Then, not long ago, the Blackbeard Pirates attacked Drum Kingdom. Yet Wapol, as king of Drum Kingdom, chose to flee out to sea with his trusted subordinates and become a pirate."

"It was precisely because Wapol and his men fled that the people of Drum Island had the chance to rescue Dalton from prison. But Wapol had been a pirate for less than a month after fleeing Drum Island when he actually returned, hoping to become the king of Drum Kingdom again."

"How can someone like that be king? A king should be someone who brings peace and hope to his people!" As she listened to Dr. Kureha, Vivi was filled with indignation.

In Vivi's mind, a king was someone who brought hope, happiness, and peace to the nation and its people—someone who bore the weight of all the people's beautiful wishes and kept moving forward.

"Oh? To possess such conviction and awareness, and to have attended the World Conference as well... it seems this young lady's identity isn't so simple."

Hearing that, Vivi, who had been furious just moments ago, fell silent as well. Her expression dimmed as she said, "To be honest, Dr. Kureha, I am the princess of Alabasta. But my country is currently still in the midst of civil war."

"Oh? A father capable of raising a princess with such conviction and awareness surely isn't a brutal king. Is there some external factor at work?" Dr. Kureha asked in surprise.

"Of course. My father is absolutely a good king who loves his people like his own children. Alabasta's civil war is being manipulated by someone behind the scenes. After a long investigation, we discovered that the mastermind behind Alabasta's unrest is Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea," Vivi said gravely.

"One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, huh? That isn't someone who can be dealt with easily."

"But as the princess of Alabasta, how did you end up traveling with a wanted criminal like Rody?" Dr. Kureha asked curiously.

"This..." Vivi looked at Nami hesitantly.

"Ehehehe... If it's inconvenient to say, you don't have to answer," Dr. Kureha said dismissively, waving a hand.

"Actually, Dr. Kureha, there's no harm in telling you. As the princess of Alabasta, Vivi asked Rody to help deal with Crocodile, the mastermind behind Alabasta's civil war. But once it's over, Alabasta must pay us 1.5 billion Beli as compensation," Nami explained.

"I see... Alabasta is truly a fortunate country, to have a king and princess like you... Even if it is in chaos for now, it will eventually welcome the dawn of happiness," Dr. Kureha said wistfully.

"All right, enough chatting. The royal castle is up ahead," Rody said as he stood atop the carriage.

As soon as everyone had boarded the carriage, Rody had jumped straight onto its roof. He stood there the whole way, admiring Drum Island's snowy scenery, and naturally heard the conversation inside.

But to Rody, the kind of king Vivi described was nothing more than a puppet shackled by the emotional chains of the people.

A true king should be the sole one, standing above everyone else. Whether benevolent or brutal, he should wield his absolute will through his own absolute power and authority, making everything in the world operate according to his will. Of course, Rody had no interest in discussing any of that with Vivi.

The carriage slowly came to a stop before the castle gates. Rody leaped down from the roof and looked ahead. Two neat rows of guards stood on either side of the gates. The obese Wapol stood beneath them with his two subordinates at his sides: Cromalimon, the administrator with an afro, and Chess, the adviser with thick, wavy lips and long arms. The three of them wore ingratiating expressions as they smiled nauseatingly at Rody.

Nami and the others got down from the carriage as well. They were all stunned by the sight, then gathered around Rody and looked at Wapol's group with disgust.

But when Cromalimon, Wapol's administrator, saw Rody's group looking their way, he immediately perked up. He waved toward the guards standing on both sides of the castle gates, and they instantly straightened their backs and shouted, "Welcome, great Lord Slayer Rody, to your loyal Drum Kingdom!"