The Roger Pirates Dig Up Someone's Ancestral Tomb

At the end of Sea Circle Calendar 1486, two and a half years had passed since the battle of God Valley.

(Teacher Oda set the current manga timeline in 1541, but since many readers, myself included, are used to the current timeline, this book's timeline will remain unchanged and follow the original plan.)

The first half of the Grand Line, the Kingdom of Alabasta.

This was a vast, boundless kingdom of deserts.

Alabasta was located on Sandy Island. By this world's geographical classification of islands, Sandy Island was undoubtedly a super-large island, with an area greater than even thousands or tens of thousands of Dressrosas combined.

Alabasta had always borne the title of humanity's most ancient kingdom. Legend had it that Alabasta established its nation over four thousand years ago and had endured ever since, possessing an exceptionally long history and culture.

Not only was its history and culture ancient, but Alabasta's national strength was formidable as well.

Even after being ravaged by Crocodile for so long, with rebellions breaking out across the country, Alabasta's royal family could still maintain a professional army of six hundred thousand as the Royal Army. That alone showed how deep its reserves ran.

These were not militia conscripted from the streets, but genuine full-time professional soldiers.

In terms of combat quality, they might have been comparable to ordinary Marines stationed at naval branch bases.

And now, Alabasta's national strength was clearly even greater than it had been during Crocodile's devastation. Its capital alone, Alubarna, maintained a standing army of two hundred thousand. This capital of the ancient desert kingdom was enormous, housing several million people.

At this moment, west of the royal capital Alubarna, near the royal mausoleum and burial temple of the Nefertari Family, Vikengam sat beneath a parasol, sheltering from the scorching desert sun.

The lounge chair formed from ice gave off wisps of cold air, constantly forcing back the sweltering heat around it.

Beside him stood a table made of ice as well, upon which sat several chilled fruit juices and cold drinks.

Holding a book in one hand and sipping frozen juice, Vikengam spoke at length. "Over eight hundred years ago, the Nefertari Family and nineteen kings formed a coalition army and established the World Government. Yet afterward, the Nefertari Family did not choose to relocate to the Holy Land, Mary Geoise. Instead, they returned to what is now Alabasta and continued serving as Alabasta's royal family. Even so, the Nefertari Family held an exceptionally special position within the World Government, far beyond what the royal families of ordinary affiliated nations could compare to."

While Vikengam drank his iced beverage and told his story...

Not far away, within the scorching royal mausoleum in the desert, Roger and the others wore thick, sun-blocking garments unique to Alabasta. Waving shovels, hoes, and all kinds of digging tools, they sweated under the blazing sun.

"You bastard, we're all digging here while you're over there enjoying yourself? Does your conscience allow that? Get over here and help!" Roger felt like he was about to dry out. When he turned and saw how comfortable Vikengam looked, he could not help getting angry.

Vikengam did not panic in the slightest. He said calmly, "I'm a scholar. Don't forget who found the clue in all those documents that a Poneglyph might be hidden here. Mental labor is what I should be doing. You only need to think about how to dig, while I have much more to consider... Don't stop. Keep digging. It's beneath this mausoleum."

In truth, Vikengam had remembered that there was a Poneglyph here. Still, he had indeed done plenty of mental work. After all, he did not know the whereabouts of every Poneglyph, and over the past two years, he had spent considerable effort locating several Poneglyphs through numerous documents.

It could be said that Vikengam's presence had greatly accelerated the Roger Pirates' search for the Poneglyphs and even the Final Island.

"So having an education makes you so great?" Roger muttered irritably.

Beside him, Jaba swung his hoe and teased with a smile, "All right, all right, get back to work. Vikengam really did burn through quite a few brain cells."

"You just spoil him!" Roger grumbled unhappily, but he still lowered his head and continued working hard.

"According to the records, over the past fifty years alone, whenever the Nefertari Family had a chance to attend the Reverie, they always proposed abolishing the Heavenly Tribute system at the Reverie. Tsk, tsk, they really are stubborn as hell..." Vikengam remarked as he looked through the book in his hand.

"So this is the special status you meant, one far surpassing the other affiliated nations?" Rayleigh asked as he swung his hoe.

"That's right. If any other affiliated nation raised the issue of the Heavenly Tribute, they could bring it up today, and tomorrow we Celestial Dragons would be throwing a party at their house. But the Nefertari Family is different. You could say they're hidden Celestial Dragons..." Vikengam said with a smile.

If the royal family of any other affiliated nation proposed canceling the Heavenly Tribute, God's Knights would absolutely mince their entire family into meat paste.

But the Nefertari Family brought it up at every meeting, and weren't they still alive and well?

However, as far as Vikengam knew, the Celestial Dragon families of Mary Geoise also harbored a bellyful of resentment toward this old partner who was not particularly friendly.

It was just that, as descendants of the twenty kings themselves, they truly had no good way to deal with the Nefertari Family openly.

To deny them would be no different from denying the legitimacy of their own rule. That would be difficult to pull off.

Perhaps the reason Crocodile had later been able to run wild here was also due to the World Government's secret indulgence. Otherwise, it was hard to explain how a pirate could shit all over the heads of the descendants of one of the twenty kings.

The Celestial Dragons of Mary Geoise could only have tacitly approved of it, perhaps even encouraged it somewhat.

But Vikengam was certain that if Crocodile had truly wiped out the Nefertari Family, there was no way he could have become Alabasta's new king.

The moment Crocodile destroyed the Nefertari Family, the World Government would destroy him as well, making an example of him. Then it would publicly express deep sympathy for the Nefertari Family's unfortunate fate, mourn them a little, and install an obedient new royal family in Alabasta.

"Then it seems Alabasta's royal family is pretty decent? Isn't it a little inappropriate for us to secretly dig up their ancestral tomb?" intelligence officer Spencer could not help saying.

"We're conducting protective excavation. Don't talk nonsense." Vikengam glanced at him.

"You're really a fucking genius." Even Spencer was shocked by Vikengam's shamelessness.

Just as the Roger Pirates were digging up someone's ancestral tomb, a group of Alabastan guards approached from nearby, escorting a young man riding a camel toward them at a leisurely pace.

At first, the group remained calm. But once they drew closer, they discovered a group of unidentified people working inside the royal mausoleum, while the mausoleum's original guards all lay unconscious in front of its entrance. They immediately stopped being calm.

The young man leading the group on a camel first froze, then shouted furiously, "What the hell are you bastards doing? Men, seize every last one of them!!!"

This young man was none other than Alabasta's future king, Nefertari Cobra.

Of course, he was not king yet. He was Alabasta's prince, only fourteen years old.

Originally, he had come today on behalf of the royal family to perform a routine memorial rite at the royal mausoleum. Yet the moment he arrived, he found someone digging up his ancestors' graves. How could he not lose it?