Chapter 19: The Zodiac, 'Ryuji'—Destruction or Rebirth!
Alabasta.
The royal capital, Alubarna. The Royal Palace.
"Hmm..."
The King of Alabasta, Nefeltari Cobra, stood at his window, his gaze fixed on the city beyond. His brow was tight with thought.
"Igaram. Where is he?" he asked in a low voice.
"Your Majesty, according to our reports, he should be entering the capital within ten minutes," the kingdom's Guard Captain, Igaram, replied formally.
Next to him stood two other men: the kingdom's top guards, Pell and Chaka.
"Very good."
Cobra nodded lightly. "Then I shall prepare as well."
Hearing this, the three guards' expressions grew grim.
"Your Majesty, are you certain you want to meet this 'guest' yourself?" Igaram couldn't help but ask.
"Forgive my bluntness, but a person of unknown origin is too dangerous. I still believe the three of us should scout him out first..."
He couldn't finish, because Cobra had already spoken.
"Dangerous?"
The king's gaze remained fixed on the world outside. "Look, Igaram."
In his field of vision, massive rain clouds had appeared. Just as the rumors said, a downpour was already falling on the capital.
But in Cobra's eyes, this was more than rain.
It was the answer to all the agonizing reports he had received for seven long months.
The drying Sandora River, the withered crops, the scattered and panicked citizens... every new piece of news had been a knife in his heart.
And Cobra had been helpless. Only Alubarna was getting rain, and one city's worth was not enough for an entire nation. He smelled the traces of a conspiracy in it all, but he had no time to investigate.
He only knew that the seven-month drought had its hands around Alabasta's throat, plunging the ancient kingdom into an unprecedented disaster.
And then, he heard of the 'guest's' arrival.
No one knew who he was or where he came from.
But they knew one thing: wherever he walked, a downpour would follow.
When he stopped to rest, the rain would pause. When he resumed his journey, the storm would resume with him.
His journey across the land was already being called a miracle by the people.
And today, in just a few moments... he would enter the capital.
Cobra didn't know his identity or his purpose. But he knew one thing.
"If this drought is to continue, then he may be the only hope for the people of Alabasta."
"He comes to the capital to meet the king of this country, and I am supposed to hide from him because of 'the unknown'?"
He looked at his loyal captain. "Igaram, the king you serve is not such a coward."
This was something he had to do.
Even though, based on the rumors of his attire, they had a very good guess as to his possible identity.
For Alabasta, he had to see him.
Hearing his words, Igaram, Pell, and Chaka looked at each other. Finally, with a mix of awe and resignation, they knelt. "Yes, Your Majesty."
Cobra smiled. "Let's go. Let us meet this guest... and see this so-called 'miracle' for ourselves."
"Yes, sir!" (x3)
But as the four of them prepared to head down to the palace gates, the sound of light footsteps echoed.
A beautiful, blue-haired girl pushed open the chamber doors, still panting, beads of sweat on her face.
"Princess Vivi!?"
Igaram was shocked. "What are you..."
"I'm going with you, Father!" Vivi said, catching her breath. "I'm going to meet the 'Rain-Caller'!"
"EH!?" (x3)
The three guards' eyes nearly popped out of their skulls.
"Princess, don't be ridiculous!"
"Princess, that man could be connected to the incident..."
"This is out of the..."
They were stammering, Igaram's golden corkscrew curls practically going straight with panic.
But Vivi only had eyes for her father.
"Hmm..." Cobra stroked his chin. "Alright."
The sound of three jaws hitting the floor.
Cobra looked at his daughter. "You are a princess, and the next Queen of Alabasta. I had planned to let you wait a few more years... but perhaps that was wrong."
His eyes were filled with both fatherly love and royal resolve.
As the King of Alabasta, and a descendant of one of the 'First Twenty' who had founded the World Government, he knew the darkness of the world. He had wanted to let Vivi have a few more years of peace.
But this drought, the conspiracy behind it, and the changes in the world... it was time.
"But remember: you are only to listen."
"Understood." Vivi nodded, her expression firm.
She had watched her country suffer for seven months, her heart breaking, and she had been powerless. When she saw the rain falling outside her own window, she made her decision. She was a princess, and she would do what she had to.
"Your Majesty."
A guard reported from the door. "The guest has entered the capital. He is heading for the palace."
Corba and Vivi looked at each other. The group immediately headed for the main gates.
When they arrived at the palace's public square, a sea of Alabasta's citizens had already gathered, all of them looking with desperate hope toward the main road.
"It's the Rain-Caller!"
"The rain is real!"
"Of course it's real! I followed him all the way from Yuba!"
The crowd parted, and Vivi could finally see the figure at the end of the path.
The mysterious robes, the majestic dragon head mask... exactly as the rumors described.
He walked closer, finally stepping into the palace grounds under the wary eyes of the guards. He stopped at the foot of the royal staircase.
The eyes under the mask looked up at Cobra and Vivi.
"Welcome, honored guest."
Cobra stood tall, his hands open.
"I am Nefeltari Cobra. On behalf of Alabasta, I welcome you. How should we address you?"
Beside him, Pell, Chaka, and Igaram were tensed, ready to spring at the slightest hostile move.
But the figure in the rain did not move.
He just looked at Cobra.
A low voice, just loud enough for the royal family on the steps to hear, cut through the sound of the downpour.
"I am 'Ryuji'."
"I am here to discuss a... transaction... with you, Your Majesty."
"It concerns the very fate of this country... whether it faces destruction... or rebirth."