"Will you not invite me to sit?" Dragon suddenly asked with a smile.
Cobra was silent for a moment, then said: "Forgive my discourtesy, Your Excellency Dragon, please sit..."
Seeing this, Pell moved a few steps away from Cobra. Soon, Dragon and Cobra were sitting face-to-face on the sofas, with Pell standing behind Cobra, his gaze highly vigilant.
"It has truly been a long time since I sat down like this and had a peaceful, face-to-face conversation with a true King of a nation," Dragon said with a touch of melancholy.
Cobra looked at Dragon and replied with a similar sense of emotion: "After all, you are now the most vicious criminal. As far as I know, the number of kings who have died at your hands has reached double digits."
"To be precise, it's seventeen," Dragon corrected with a small smile.
"Indeed, seventeen kings of affiliated nations have been overthrown and killed by you. So, when facing a man with your record of atrocities, how many kings would be willing to sit down and talk to you so calmly?" Cobra asked.
"Right now, there happens to be one such king before my eyes, doesn't there?" Dragon said, his meaning profound.
He paused slightly, then added: "Not all kings inspire goodwill, as Your Majesty Cobra does. In fact, most royal families are quite repugnant."
"To be praised by you is surprising," Cobra said. After another slight pause, Cobra continued: "Then it seems, at least for now, you haven't come to overthrow my throne?"
"The so-called overthrowing of a throne is merely a means. My goal has never been here," Dragon shook his head and said.
"Then, what is your goal? I have always been curious, what exactly does the Revolutionary Army intend to do?" Cobra asked, very interested.
For a moment, this strange meeting did not involve Alabasta or Crocodile. The leader of the Revolutionary Army and the King of Alabasta seemed to be peacefully discussing philosophical concepts.
"A new era, or perhaps a new world?" Dragon said, stroking his chin. Before Cobra could speak, he continued: "The rule of Mariejois has lasted eight hundred years. I believe that even if I don't say it, Your Majesty Cobra is aware of the current state of degradation and darkness, aren't you? And as a descendant of the twenty kings, surely you also know that the world the twenty kings who founded the World Government expected was not the one we have now, correct? That Empty Throne suspended above Mariejois was meant to represent equality, but what about now? Although no one sits on the throne, that throne has already lost its meaning!"
Cobra fell silent. As a descendant of the twenty kings, a member of the Nefertari Family, Cobra knew a few secrets about Mariejois, one of which was particularly crucial. That was the fact that even Dragon believed the Empty Throne, on which no one sat, actually belonged to someone.
However, Cobra had no need to tell Dragon this. He looked at Dragon and asked: "So, your ideology is to shatter this rotten and degenerate World Government and create a new order, just as the twenty kings did back then?"
"More or less. Actually, when I was young, I had many novel ideas. For example, from today's perspective, the path of the twenty kings has already reached a dead end and is clearly incorrect. So, I once wondered: if the path of the twenty kings was wrong, wouldn't the faction, the nation, or the person who once stood against the twenty kings, hidden beneath the Void Century, be the correct one? Therefore, for a time, I considered whether I should uncover that history, to see the truth, and see where the path blocked by the twenty kings truly led..." Dragon said, his tone slightly wistful.
"You once thought that, so that sentence means you ultimately didn't do it, correct?" Cobra asked again.
"Correct." Dragon nodded, then smiled: "Because I met a friend. I really want to call him a confidant. In my opinion, his philosophy far surpasses mine. His talent, wisdom, strength, and cunning are all better than mine. Well, I didn't think so back then, but I acknowledge it now. If he had cooperated with me then and become a member of the Revolutionary Army, perhaps the world would have already undergone earth-shattering changes." Dragon said with a smile, his tone indeed carrying a hint of regret.
"Then I guess this person must be the current Marine Admiral, Rodriguez Diarmuid, correct?" Cobra asked.
"Correct." Dragon nodded, then smiled: "It's a pity that we can never be close confidants. We admire each other, yet still scheme against each other."
In fact, Dragon was not as convinced as he had let on to Diarmuid that Smoker was an agent of Mariejois. In reality, he had long discovered that Smoker was a Marine, and he had been suspicious of the Warlord of the Sea system for a long time. However, through his calculations, he ultimately felt that whatever the Marines were doing, it did not conflict with the Revolutionary Army at the current stage; on the contrary, it could, to some extent, help the Revolutionary Army.
Moreover, once the Marines detached themselves from the World Government system, wouldn't it become easier for the Revolutionary Army to confront Mariejois? After long deliberation, Dragon decided to pretend he hadn't seen through the situation. Instead, he could use this general trend to secure some benefits for the Revolutionary Army.
"That truly is regrettable," Cobra acknowledged.
"Fortunately, we're at least not enemies. To be honest, even I would be uneasy fighting someone like him," Dragon said with a joking smile.
Cobra simply nodded, remaining silent.
Then, Dragon continued: "Because I knew Diarmuid, that guy brought me many novel ideas. Perhaps there is a sentence he once said, which he himself has forgotten, but he surely doesn't know how much impact that sentence had on me."
"What was the sentence?" Cobra asked, also interested.
"To create a new order and a new world, those who are obsessed with the past are bound to fail. The people who can truly change the world will never be constrained by the past. They pursue the present and the future," Dragon said with great earnestness.
Cobra frowned slightly, savored the words, and nodded: "That holds some truth."
"Yes. It was those words that completely shook my former beliefs," Dragon said. His eyes became somewhat distant, and he continued: "Those who dwell on the past can never create a new future. I suddenly realized that my previous desire to pursue the history of the Void Century, to search for the so-called 'correctness,' was so meaningless. Born in this era, why must I cling to the outcome of eight hundred years ago? Thus, I chose the present and the future... Just like him. He is currently doing something that no one has been able to do in eight hundred years..."
Soon, Dragon reined in his thoughts, then looked at Cobra with sincerity: "I've said all this because I wanted to tell Your Majesty Cobra one thing: Today, I have come for the sake of the present and the future."
Cobra looked at Dragon silently, then said with some difficulty: "I apologize, but I do not plan to place the future on the Revolutionary Army..."
"That answer was not unexpected," Dragon nodded first. Indeed, most kings would not place their future on the Revolutionary Army, nor would Cobra immediately yield just because Dragon came and spoke some seemingly profound words.
"But I still came," Dragon continued. He paused, then looked at Cobra and asked: "Then, Your Majesty Cobra, why would I come knowing you would give that answer?"
"Why?" Cobra's gaze was heavy.
"Because you have no choice," Dragon grinned, a slightly wicked smile on his face.
"Insolent!" Pell shouted angrily.
Cobra, however, raised a hand to stop the furious Pell, then said: "Your Excellency Dragon, why do you think I have no choice?"
"The Nefertari Family are the traitors to the twenty kings. The people in Mariejois hate you to the bone. Although I don't know why they tolerated your family's continuation in Alabasta until this era, I imagine they are very happy to see you suffer, correct?" Dragon asked with a smile.
Cobra did not reply.
Dragon didn't mind, and instead continued: "Crocodile is a man who, despite his failure in the New World, has become more meticulous and rigorous because of it. Therefore, with his methods and abilities, it is difficult for you to contend with him. At the same time, it is difficult to find leverage against him. You lack the ability to resist, you lack the leverage to check him, you cannot get outside aid, and your relationship with Mariejois is extremely poor..."
With every sentence Dragon spoke, Cobra's expression darkened. Because Dragon was describing the very dilemma Alabasta faced: isolated, helpless, and unable to protect itself.
"The fall of Dressrosa, and Doflamingo Donquixote becoming the new king of Dressrosa, I imagine Your Majesty Cobra felt a heavy heart when you saw that newspaper, didn't you? In my opinion, that was perhaps the final blow that shattered Alabasta's last backbone," Dragon said in a very casual tone.
In contrast, Cobra's expression was extremely grave.
That's right. Doflamingo's blatant crowning as the King of Dressrosa seemed unrelated to Alabasta, yet it brought immense pressure upon Cobra. This set a precedent for pirates usurping a nation, and Mariejois showed no intention of intervening.
In other words, Doflamingo was Crocodile's example. The fate of King Riku would be the fate of him, Nefertari Cobra!
"Enough..." Cobra interrupted Dragon, his tone strained.
Dragon didn't care, and continued to muse aloud: "The confrontation between the 'King of the Desert,' Crocodile, and the King of Alabasta, Your Majesty Cobra, will soon reach its conclusion. From every perspective, I see no chance of your victory. If this process continues, one day the Nefertari Family will become the past and history of Alabasta, while Crocodile will become the new future... So, benevolent Your Majesty Cobra, do you wish to hand over this most ancient nation to a pirate, or do you wish to join me, the 'World's Worst Criminal,' to seek a new future, a new order, and rebuild Alabasta?"
When these words fell silent, Dragon's figure had already transformed into a gust of wind and vanished from Cobra's sight.
"I will return. In one week, I hope Your Majesty Cobra can use this time to carefully consider what the future of the Nefertari Family is, and what the future of Alabasta will be..."
After the room became quiet and silent, Cobra's breathing sounded heavy.
Pell looked at his King with concern and whispered: "Your Majesty..."
"Pell... leave me alone for a while..." Cobra waved his hand, cutting off Pell's words.