Rear Admiral Komei soon arrived at Vice Admiral Yamakaji's office.
Without bothering with polite greetings, Yamakaji smiled and said: "Komei, take these Alabasta intelligence reports and compile them. See if you can find any breakthroughs."
Rear Admiral Komei replied with great seriousness: "Yes, Vice Admiral Yamakaji."
"No need to be so stiff," Vice Admiral Yamakaji said with a smile.
Rear Admiral Komei then allowed a small smile to show, saying: "One must be serious when working."
The reports he held included not only the intelligence provided by Drake but also prior intelligence the Marines had gathered in Alabasta, much of which came from Nico Robin. This included information on Baroque Works, Crocodile, the Alabasta rebels, partial information on the Revolutionary Army, and the Nefertari Royal Family.
Soon, Komei took the intelligence and left to gather his subordinates for analysis.
Two days later, in the royal capital of Alabasta, Alubarna.
Although the situation within Alabasta was already turbulent, the brewing storm had yet to sweep over Alubarna, the ancient capital that had stood for a thousand years.
The royal capital was still under a facade of peace. This single prosperous city was home to over two million people, which showed the deep heritage of Alubarna and Alabasta. In addition to the large resident population, there was also a huge floating population. Alubarna was also guarded by over 600,000 standing troops, protecting the thousand-year-old city.
It was night. The dry, hot air of Alabasta had finally cooled slightly after dark.
Nefertari Cobra was still in his palace, attending to recent state affairs. Judging purely by diligence, Cobra was undoubtedly a qualified ruler. He worked until late into the night almost every day, and his lifestyle was considered simple. As the king of the world's most ancient nation, he did not indulge in extravagance or debauchery.
Although the palace was built to be exceptionally magnificent, ranking as one of the most imposing in the world, this was not something he had created, but rather the gradual accumulation of Alabasta's thousands of years of civilization. If he had one extravagance, it was perhaps the massive bathhouse he had built in the palace. That was a foolish thing he had done when he was a prince in his youth. Since becoming the King of Alabasta, Cobra had never done anything so taxing on his people again.
A soft sound of footsteps approached. Cobra looked up, a smile appearing on his face: "Pell, is Vivi asleep?"
Pell, the Falcon, was the head guard of the Alabasta Kingdom's Royal Guard and one of Cobra's most trusted subordinates. Although officially a Vice-Commander, Pell was practically a member of the dwindling royal family, regarded as family by Cobra and Princess Vivi. The other head guard, Chaka the Jackal, and the captain of the Royal Guard, Igaram, felt the same way.
Because Cobra had a very easygoing nature, and Vivi grew up under the care of these people, combined with the fact that the once-prosperous bloodline of the thousand-year-old Nefertari Family was down to only Princess Vivi in this generation, everyone in the massive palace, from the royal family to the maids, interacted like family.
This phenomenon was rare in the entire world. It was also for this reason that Pell and the others had always remained loyal to the Nefertari Family, even willing to pay with their lives.
Vivi loved to cling to Pell. Pell often transformed into his falcon form and soared through the sky with her. So, whenever Cobra was busy, Pell would look after the little princess Vivi, telling her bedtime stories and coaxing her to sleep.
Hearing Cobra's question, Pell smiled: "Rest assured, Your Majesty, Her Highness the Princess is already asleep."
"I haven't had time to spend with her recently. She must have been saying terrible things about me, hasn't she?" Cobra chuckled.
Pell also gave a slightly awkward smile. Clearly, Vivi had said plenty of "terrible things" about Cobra.
"Alas, the domestic situation is getting worse and worse... I am not fit to be a king," Cobra said with a sense of helplessness and emotion.
Pell responded earnestly: "Your Majesty, you are the most benevolent sovereign I have ever met. Alabasta cannot do without you."
However, after a brief pause, Pell suggested: "Regarding the domestic situation, I still believe we should summon Crocodile for an audience. If we set up an ambush and take him down, the situation could change rapidly."
"You still suspect he is the mastermind?" Cobra asked after a moment of silence.
"Without a doubt, he must be the mastermind," Pell stated firmly.
Cobra fell silent, turning to look out the window beside him. Outside, the clear moonlight of Alabasta shone upon the endless desert.
"Your Majesty!" Pell urged him again impatiently.
Cobra finally sighed: "We have no evidence, Pell."
"Your Majesty, we don't need evidence! If we wait to search for evidence in a situation like this, everything will be too late..." Pell said anxiously.
Cobra's expression was hesitant, uncertain. In the end, he spoke softly: "Wait a little longer, keep searching..."
Few people knew that Cobra wasn't unwilling to take action against Crocodile; he could also feel that the shadow behind the kingdom was this damned Warlord of the Sea, Crocodile. The reason he appeared hesitant and indecisive was actually due to his concern: he worried he didn't have the capability to deal with Crocodile.
That's why he was so obsessed with finding evidence. With sufficient evidence, he could request support from the Marines and Mariejois. Although he knew the bastards in Mariejois might secretly hope for his downfall, Cobra believed the Marines could at least be trusted.
However, this required evidence. Without evidence, the Marines had no right to act against a Warlord of the Sea under the Warlord System. Furthermore, Cobra doubted whether the forces at his disposal could pose a sufficient threat to Crocodile if he acted without evidence. After all, this was the Desert Kingdom.
Moving a hair might affect the whole body. If the attempt to move against Crocodile failed, he would surely provoke Crocodile completely, giving him a reason to retaliate. The Nefertari Family might come to an end, and his loyal subordinates would also perish. This was the real reason Cobra had never fully made up his mind—his reluctance to act rashly and his 'benevolent' nature, which sought an outcome where no one was harmed, was simply too idealistic.
"Is Your Majesty's hesitation due to a lack of confidence? A lack of confidence in being able to deal with a formidable pirate like Crocodile?"
A strange, calm voice abruptly entered the ears of Cobra and Pell.
Cobra looked shocked. Pell immediately drew the saber from his waist and rushed to Cobra's side, shielding him.
Their eyes searched for the source of the voice but found no figure, as if the speaker had been a ghost.
"Who!? Who is playing tricks? Come out!" Pell angrily shouted.
"I thought that the King of Alabasta, the world's most ancient nation with one of the world's strongest armies, would have supremely brave warriors under his command. But based on what I see, aside from your Devil Fruit ability, you seem to have few outstanding qualities. Has the power of Haki been lost in Alabasta?" The eerie voice entered Cobra and Pell's ears again.
Yet, they still couldn't find anyone.
"Haki?" Pell murmured, his eyes full of solemnity.
Indeed, the power of Haki had been lost in Alabasta. That had happened decades ago. Pell hadn't even joined the Royal Guard yet. However, the power of Haki wasn't that rare. If the Alabasta Royal Family wanted to find it, they could find proven Haki training methods from the New World in mere minutes. But decades passed, and the matter seemed to have been ignored. No one cared. It was ridiculous.
This led to generally low individual combat power within Alabasta. Pell, Cobra's personal guard, was only barely a warrior.
There must have been deeper reasons behind this, but the fact remained that the people of Alabasta currently held almost no mastery over Haki. Or perhaps this was simply the norm for the first half of the Grand Line. In this environment, since no one encountered or used Haki much, it was naturally forgotten.
"Who exactly are you, Sir? What is your purpose in visiting late at night?" Cobra asked in a deep voice after calming his mind.
As soon as he finished speaking, a gust of wind swept in through the window, flipping a few pages of the papers on the desk. Then, Cobra suddenly realized that a figure was standing right beside him.
Shocked, he backed away two steps. Pell's sharp blade instantly struck down, slicing the figure in two.
But there was no blood, no cry of pain.
"You see? With techniques and methods like this, how can you possibly defeat someone like Crocodile in the desert kingdom of Alabasta?" A steady, slightly hoarse voice appeared behind Pell.
When Pell turned around, the figure grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up. At the same time, Pell got a clear look at the figure's face, his eyes widening in anger: "Dragon!"
"Monkey D. Dragon!" Cobra exclaimed, also shocked.
That's right, the person who had subdued Pell was none other than Dragon.
After his identity was recognized, Dragon released Pell, then smiled and said: "First meeting... no, I should say, it's been a long time, Your Majesty Nefertari Cobra."
Cobra's eyes were complicated, but he still nodded to Dragon: "Yes, it has been a long time, Dragon."
The last time he had met Dragon face-to-face was a long, long time ago, during the Reverie in Mariejois. At that time, Dragon was still a Marine, and Cobra was attending as a prince.
"Your Majesty, this man is very likely an accomplice of Crocodile. He might not have good intentions today. I will hold him off..." Pell quickly said. Even if he was overestimating his own strength, his loyalty was unquestionable.
However, before he could finish, Dragon smiled and said: "Don't misunderstand. I have no connection to Crocodile. In fact, my reason for coming to Alabasta is because he has offended the Revolutionary Army. I heard that the internal situation of Alabasta is very strange due to the Revolutionary Army's supposed involvement? I can responsibly tell you that the Revolutionary Army has never cooperated with Crocodile before this. All of this is Crocodile's plot."
Cobra's expression brightened with surprise: "Really?"
Another reason he had been hesitant to act against Crocodile was the fear that Crocodile and the Revolutionary Army had teamed up. If he moved against Crocodile, the Revolutionary Army might launch retaliatory actions within Alabasta. Now, hearing Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army, say that Crocodile had no connection with them, Cobra's heart suddenly felt a great sense of relief.
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