Inside the council hall of Alubarna's royal palace, the atmosphere was solemn and grave.
Outside the windows stood the outlines of a new city that had risen at astonishing speed over the past fortnight. The faint clamor of construction only made the silence inside more pronounced. King Cobra sat upright in the seat of honor. His face had visibly aged since half a month ago, but his eyes were clearer and firmer. Below him, the kingdom's senior ministers stood in two rows, though many were newly promoted younger officials. Most of the rotten old nobles had fallen or been sidelined in Ma Chao's lightning purge.
Zhou Yu sat in the foremost guest seat, gently waving his feather fan, his bearing composed. Several Hua Kingdom civil officials stood behind him, holding documents, their manner calm and steady.
"King Cobra," Zhou Yu spoke first, his clear voice breaking the silence, "over the past fortnight, the aid of our Hua Kingdom and the united efforts of your officials and people have brought the reconstruction of Alubarna and its surroundings into shape. More than half the country's canals have been repaired, the new crops are growing well, and the people are gradually settling down. Yet these are all measures that address the symptoms. Alabasta's accumulated ills stretch back centuries: land annexation, aristocratic monopolies on power, and the decline of the people's livelihoods. Even without Crocodile's uprising, it would merely have lingered on its last breath. Now that the old system has been broken and new foundations have yet to be laid, we must consider a policy for lasting peace and stability."
Cobra nodded slowly, swept his gaze over those in the hall, and said, "Mr. Zhou Yu speaks from the heart, and of the pain in mine. Alabasta has stood for eight hundred years,