If You Fork Over Fifty Billion Beli, I'll Make You an Honorary Member of the Roger Pirates

Cobra had originally thought Vikengam was just an ordinary pirate in the Roger Pirates.

But he was actually a Celestial Dragon? Was that even reasonable?

"You're also a descendant of the Twenty Kings!?" Cobra exclaimed in shock.

Obviously, while he did not think Celestial Dragons were particularly noble, he had always taken pride in his ancestors and in being a descendant of the Twenty Kings!

"I don't think anyone would pretend to be a Celestial Dragon. Besides, your father, Wadiye, should know me. When he attended the Reverie in Mary Geoise last time, I was young, but we did speak a little." Vikengam curled his lip.

"Huh?" Cobra was even more surprised. After a moment, he could not help asking, "Then why did a dignified Celestial Dragon like you become a pirate?"

"What's wrong with being a pirate?" Vikengam said with an unhappy expression. "I didn't eat your rice!"

"You did, you did." Gaban teased from the side. "Did you forget how we robbed that noble family's merchant ship at Rapeseed Flower Port? Some of that money definitely went toward buying rice."

Vikengam's face twitched slightly. Ignoring Gaban's teasing, he continued, "I'm a cultural worker, so naturally I must be cultured. During my pursuit of culture, I discovered that the World Government seemed to be concealing some enormous darkness, and I also sensed a terrifying power in Mary Geoise. Just as we guessed earlier, perhaps my ancestor was controlled by that terrifying force and forced to do many things he never wished to do, turning the world into the mess it is today. As a glorious descendant of the Twenty Kings, shouldn't I investigate the hidden secrets of my ancestor and seek out the truth of the world? During that process, I found that the Roger Pirates could help me, so I joined them. What's the problem with that?"

That was all complete nonsense. In truth, Vikengam was simply very curious about the so-called history of the Void Century.

As for the glory of being a descendant of the Twenty Kings... well, when necessary, he did not mind bringing it up and claiming it. When it was unnecessary, he could not care less.

Roger and the others were clearly hearing him mention this for the first time, but given his background, they actually felt there was nothing wrong with it.

"So that's how it is. I was wondering why a Celestial Dragon like you insisted on hanging around with us. Turns out you wanted to find the truth about your ancestor. Then there's nothing wrong with that." Roger smacked his lips.

"Ambitious." Rayleigh gave him a thumbs-up.

But Vikengam could not be bothered with them. Instead, he looked at Cobra. "As a descendant of Queen Lily, you don't strive to improve yourself or seek the truth about your ancestor and unravel these mysteries. Instead, you keep calling yourself a descendant of the Twenty Kings as though it's some great honor. Don't you feel ashamed? If Queen Lily knew she had a descendant like you, who knows what she'd think."

Vikengam's barrage completely shattered Cobra's composure. He snapped angrily, "I didn't know about any of this before! Now that I do, how could I possibly remain indifferent?"

"Then what are you going to do?" Vikengam asked in return.

That question made Cobra's mind go blank again. He was only a fourteen-year-old prince. He had come today with remembrance and reverence for his ancestors, only to suddenly see someone dig up his family tomb. Those bastards had even brought him into an underground palace he had never known existed, revealing part of the truth from eight hundred years ago. His mind was already in complete chaos.

And at a time like this, Vikengam was asking him what he planned to do?

How was he supposed to know what to do?

Cobra opened his mouth several times, but in the end, he could not force out a word. After a long while, he asked timidly, "Then what do you think I should do?"

"As a fellow descendant of the Twenty Kings, for the glory of our ancestors, of course you should support the great adventure of the Roger Pirates. We're risking execution to help you uncover ancient secrets. If you don't show some sincerity, can you still call yourself worthy of that identity? Let's not say anything else. Prepare fifty billion Beli for us as adventure funds. If it isn't enough later, I'll ask you for more..."

"Huh? Fifty billion Beli!?" Cobra cried out. "What do you take me for? How could I possibly have that much money?"

"You're the prince of a country with a population in the tens of millions. What's this little bit of money? Back when I was living the good life in Mary Geoise, fifty billion sometimes wasn't even enough for me to spend in a year..." Vikengam bragged smugly.

After a brief pause, he put on a magnanimous expression and said, "Fine, after the Roger Pirates accept your sponsorship, we'll count you as an 'honorary crew member,' okay? Once we uncover the history of the Void Century and publish any works, we'll put your name on them too, so your name can be remembered for generations. How about it? Generous enough, right? Captain, what do you think?"

Roger rubbed his nose somewhat awkwardly. "Fifty billion... I suppose that works."

"Do you have any integrity at all? Can money buy someone the status of being one of our crew?" Rayleigh could not help complaining.

"That's fifty billion. Are you seriously not tempted?" Roger glared at Rayleigh through gritted teeth.

Rayleigh felt a little guilty, then said, "Ahem, I was just saying. You're the captain, so you have the final say."

Listening to them go back and forth, Cobra could not help saying, "I really don't have that much money..."

"Then how much do you have?" Vikengam asked again.

"I... If I go back and sell the rewards my father has given me over the years, I might be able to scrape together seven or eight billion Beli?" Cobra said somewhat embarrassedly.

They were both descendants of the Twenty Kings. The guy before him had just said he could spend fifty billion Beli in a year, while Cobra could only gather seven or eight billion even by exhausting everything he had. The young Cobra could not help feeling ashamed.

Clearly, he did not know that this was actually fairly decent among royalty. After all, in that miserable place called Dressrosa, the king was so poor he could not even scrape together ten billion. He was practically eating dirt.

Still, as the prince of a country with a population in the tens of millions, Cobra's money was indeed rather meager. But it also reflected the fine traditions of the Nefertari Family.

"Seven or eight billion? Fine, I'll leave you some. Go back and prepare fifty billion Beli, then send it to Rapeseed Flower Port. Our ship is there, and someone is watching it. Consider it a token of your sincerity as a descendant of the Twenty Kings. On behalf of the Roger Pirates, I thank you." Vikengam patted Cobra's shoulder.

Cobra froze for a moment, then could not help asking, "What about my status as an honorary crew member?"

"You think fifty billion means you can ask for this and that? If it weren't for the fact that we're both descendants of the Twenty Kings, would I even accept this little bit of money from you? Don't push your luck. Once you have more money in the future, you can keep sponsoring us. When the full fifty billion Beli is in our hands, then I'll give you that honorary crew member title." Vikengam said with a look of disdain.

After being berated by Vikengam, the young Cobra agreed in a daze and somehow ended up saddled with a fifty-billion-Beli debt.

Very soon, Rayleigh made a rubbing of the Poneglyph, then said, "All right, the important business is done. Shall we head to Alubarna and see the prosperity of this thousand-year dynasty?"

"Let's go, let's go! I've been digging sand here all day. I can't take it anymore. If I don't get a drink soon, I'll die!" Roger agreed without hesitation.

After they left the underground palace, they saw that the ice covering the guards had begun melting beneath the blazing sun. After all, Vikengam had held back and never truly intended to kill them.

After telling Cobra not to move around and that the people inside would be fine once the sun melted the ice after a while, Roger's group swaggered out of the family tomb and headed toward Alubarna.

Poor Cobra was left alone in the desert, staring blankly at his ice-sculpture guards and the enormous hole dug into his ancestral tomb.