By the time Spandine arrived in Rainbase, Dragon had, in fact, already successfully reached an agreement with Nefertari Cobra, the King of Alabasta.
After a week of consideration and deliberation, Cobra finally recognized the hopelessness of his situation.
He was a member of the over 170 affiliated nations. He was a military powerhouse recognized worldwide. He possessed, for the current era, the most noble royal lineage.
Yet, Cobra was isolated and without aid. His relationship with Mariejois was hostile. Although the kingdom had a powerful military with over 600,000 standing troops in the royal capital, the country's territory was too vast. There were numerous rebel factions and many powerful sand pirates. Internally, he had the insidious Crocodile to deal with.
Cobra deeply felt the inadequacy of his own ability and cunning. He had to ally himself with a faction that possessed sufficient capability to weather this crisis.
But just as Dragon had said: he had no choice. When the Revolutionary Army appeared in Alubarna, and when Dragon personally met Cobra, Cobra was, in fact, forced to grasp at Dragon as a life-saving straw.
In Rainbase, within the Rain Dinners casino.
Spandine and Who's-Who were being led by an attendant into the underground office area of Rain Dinners. Kalifa and the other agents had already dispersed into Alabasta to gather intelligence.
Draped in a fur cloak, Spandine looked quite imposing. Along the way, he surveyed his surroundings, nodding occasionally.
"I've long heard that Rain Dinners is called the most luxurious casino in the first half of the Grand Line. It certainly looks the part," Spandine commented.
Who's-Who added: "In a while, business might suffer. Have you heard of the Gold City?"
"Of course, I have. That was created by Smoker, one of the Yonko. Mariejois specially sanctioned Gold City as a neutral zone. Even if Dragon showed up there, I probably couldn't touch him. I truly wonder how much benefit that guy Smoker gave Mariejois?" Spandine clicked his tongue. (As if he could actually capture Dragon.)
Though Gold City was not yet open or fully built, it was close. The corresponding publicity campaign, with the help of Morgans, had already spread worldwide. Every wealthy man and high noble who had money knew about Gold City. Tesoro's policy was simple: his Gold City catered exclusively to the rich. If you had money, you were a king in Gold City. If you didn't, then sorry, you didn't even qualify to enter.
Because Gold City was arriving with such momentum, relevant industries like entertainment cities and gambling centers around the world were being affected to some extent. However, due to the enormous power behind Gold City, they had no recourse but to hope that Gold City would run into problems on its own.
"So, once Gold City opens for business, Rain Dinners is sure to take a huge hit. I hope Crocodile won't mind," Who's-Who chuckled.
"If we succeed this time, he certainly won't mind, because he will either become the Desert King of Alabasta or spend the miserable rest of his life in Impel Down. Hehehe..." Spandine laughed wickedly.
The attendant leading them looked embarrassed, wondering if overhearing this was a problem.
When they reached the third basement level of Rain Dinners, the attendant stopped, as the area ahead was beyond his clearance. Standing against the wall at the front of this basement corridor was a beautiful woman, seemingly waiting for Spandine and his group. It was Nico Robin, Crocodile's most trusted second-in-command.
"Maam..." The attendant quickly stepped forward when he saw Robin.
Robin waved her hand dismissively: "Alright, go attend to your own matters."
"Yes, Maam," the attendant replied, and quickly left.
Only then did Robin look at Spandine and Who's-Who, who were also sizing her up. She smiled: "The mysterious CP9?"
Spandine looked slightly confused. He felt the woman in front of him looked very familiar, but on closer inspection, he thought it must be an illusion.
In Robin's eyes, there was a touch of nostalgia, regret, and even a bit of resentment, but ultimately, the resentment faded into nothingness.
Just then, Spandine's eyes flashed, and he said in surprise: "It's you, Ohara..." However, he stopped himself before finishing, realizing his slip-up. After a slight pause, he continued in a low voice: "The traitor?"
Spandine had now recognized her. This woman, who looked familiar but whom he couldn't quite place, was the little girl he had been ordered to escort to a Marine warship in Ohara by Admiral Diarmuid... ahem, Vice Admiral Diarmuid at the time. If he recalled correctly, her name was Nico Robin. He later learned that this Nico Robin was the daughter of the scholar Olvia. She was likely a scholar herself, even though she was only eight years old back then.
But Spandine never spoke of these matters to anyone later on, pretending he didn't know. He was smart enough to never inquire or investigate what happened to the last survivor of Ohara after she followed Admiral Diarmuid.
But now, the little girl who was supposed to have started a new life with Admiral Diarmuid had grown up and was standing before him, serving under Crocodile. This made Spandine extremely surprised and perplexed. He naturally suspected that Robin had betrayed Admiral Diarmuid.
"Oh? You recognized me? You demon who destroyed Ohara..." Robin said softly.
"You should be thanking me for saving your life back then. As for destroying Ohara, that was just a perfectly normal mission in my career," Spandine said in a less-than-friendly tone.
Robin did not argue with Spandine. Ohara, Ohara... She was only eight years old when Ohara was destroyed. If not for her later experiences, Ohara might have become an eternal pain and an invisible spiritual pillar in her heart. But now, she had changed a great deal. Having been subtly indoctrinated with Marine ideology since childhood, her view of Ohara had indeed shifted slightly. While she didn't believe Ohara deserved its fate, deep down, she didn't want to contemplate the complicated Ohara incident anymore.
Perhaps this was a form of avoidance. All she cared about now was Olvia, her mother, who was imprisoned in Impel Down.
"The one who saved my life wasn't you, Spandine, but that Marine Admiral," Robin said softly.
Spandine's eyes shifted slightly, and he asked in a low voice: "Who exactly are you?"
Robin did not answer immediately. Instead, she asked: "I remember you, and not just because of Ohara, but because you seem to be one of that Marine Admiral's people?"
"I am under the command of CP9, a parallel organization to the Marines under Mariejois... Don't speak nonsense," Spandine instantly retorted.
It was precisely this retort that made Robin nod and say: "Then I must be correct."
Spandine's expression didn't change, as if he were waiting for something.
And then, Robin spoke: "Marine Intelligence Division member, identification number 1502, codename 'Scholar'."
Spandine still didn't speak, he just nodded. He could fully confirm the situation with Admiral Diarmuid after leaving Rain Dinners, so there was no need to question her here.
The fact that Robin exposed her identity to Spandine so easily wasn't due to a loss of sense, but because she had indeed confirmed with Diarmuid that this person could be trusted.
Spandine didn't intend to discuss intelligence matters here. He planned to figure out the situation later and then see if he could establish contact. Meeting Nico Robin here, and her revealing her Marine identity, suggested that Admiral Diarmuid might have arrangements here as well.
In any case, after clarifying the situation, he needed to contact the Admiral and ask exactly how he should proceed in Alabasta. The waters here were getting increasingly murky.
Led by Robin, Spandine walked silently into the third basement level, and soon arrived at Crocodile's office.
When he and Who's-Who entered the office, they saw Crocodile sitting at his desk, a cigar clenched in his mouth, looking at them with a somewhat arrogant gaze.
"CP9, the legendary non-existent organization, the lapdogs of the World Government... Am I wrong?" Crocodile said to Spandine in a very rude tone.
Spandine showed no sign of anger. He glanced at the Bananawanis wandering around, then looked at Crocodile and said: "You're not wrong, but if we're talking about lapdogs, aren't you one too? Warlord of the Sea, 'Sir Crocodile,' is that correct?"
Crocodile curled his lip, a malicious smile appearing on his face, but his eyes radiated killing intent. Seeing this, Who's-Who instinctively prepared for battle, his muscles tightly strained.
However, before Crocodile could speak, Spandine smiled and said: "No need to be so tense, Who's-Who. Crocodile-san will have no dissatisfaction with me..."
"Is that so? You don't think I would kill you here?" Crocodile's gloomy gaze settled on Spandine.
"Of course not, because all signs indicate that you, Sir, are a clever man. Furthermore, as members operating under the World Government, why must we start fighting the moment we meet?" Spandine said with a cheerful smile.
This made Crocodile look at him with a slight change of opinion. Undoubtedly, from Spandine's current aura and demeanor, Crocodile could easily tell that this guy was utterly weak. But he seemed to have some kind of backing?
"Tell me your purpose," Crocodile said, collecting his dangerous aura and changing his tone to a slightly more peaceful one.
Seeing that Crocodile didn't plan to waste any time, Spandine went straight to the point: "I have come on behalf of Mariejois's will, with the highest authority. My purpose in coming to Alabasta this time is to cooperate with you, Warlord of the Sea, Sir Crocodile."
"I don't believe I have any need to cooperate with your CP," Crocodile said, waving his hand with a cold tone.
"That may be because you have not yet recognized your own predicament and the overall situation," Spandine said without reservation.
Crocodile merely glanced at Spandine upon hearing this, remaining silent.
Spandine continued: "Two points. Firstly, from the perspective of the current situation, we have received accurate intelligence that Monkey D. Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army, has already led a portion of the Revolutionary Army into Alabasta. In this country, your positions are inherently opposed. I believe that when facing a formidable enemy like the Revolutionary Army, you, Crocodile-san, might desire some powerful assistance."
Crocodile neither confirmed nor denied this. Instead, he asked: "And the second point?"
"The second point is, to put it bluntly, with your status as a Warlord of the Sea, you are not qualified to reject the will of Mariejois!" Spandine curled his lip, flashing a smile, and speaking with a hostile tone.
He was subservient and timid when facing Diarmuid, but when confronting Crocodile, he was exceptionally bold! Perhaps this was what Spandine referred to as 'borrowing power'?