Rubick asked, "Then how many people in that army can use Haki?"
Vivi tilted her head. "What's Haki?"
Rubick looked at Igaram, who stammered, "Well... not a single one."
Igaram had seen enough of the world to know what Haki was. Unfortunately, in their entire vast country, they truly couldn't find a single person who could use it.
When Vivi saw Rubick's face darken, she feared he would think badly of Alabasta and hurriedly signaled Igaram with her eyes.
Igaram explained, "The thing is, the World Government has always collected Logia Devil Fruits. Whenever a powerful Devil Fruit appears at sea, they're the first to get their hands on it."
"And here in the early part of the first half of the Grand Line, we haven't faced an enemy with a Logia Devil Fruit in centuries. So our country has... enjoyed peace for a long time."
Rubick sighed. "Fine. Remember this: a nation that loves war will perish, but one that forgets war will be in danger. Just look at this mess. An army of hundreds of thousands can't handle one Crocodile. It's embarrassing."
Igaram wiped the sweat from his brow. "Once this crisis is over, we'll urge the king to strengthen our military."
"Hold on. Strengthening your military doesn't mean adding more soldiers. I'd say a hundred thousand is enough."
Alabasta's army was already absurdly large. Then again, in this world, that somehow made sense.
Rubick said, "What you need to improve is the quality of your soldiers. If Alabasta could train five thousand soldiers who can use Haki, you could hold your own even in the second half of the Grand Line."
"Mm-hmm!"
Igaram nodded furiously and took notes. "Then, Prince Rubick, what's the specific training method?"
Rubick's face darkened again. "I'm not your prince!"
"Well, I'm just