Chapter 194: Alabasta Adventure Chronicles, Part 2
Arubana, Royal Palace.
The twelfth-generation King Cobra was focused on his work at the desk. As one of the rare superpowers on the Grand Line, while enjoying the power and status of a superpower, he also had to worry about the vast and numerous official duties, making one wish for twice the time to handle this endless work.
After finishing a document, Cobra carefully signed his name, suddenly feeling waves of hunger from his stomach.
Putting down the pen and paper in his hand,
He looked up at the window, not knowing when the sun had already set, with a crescent moon hanging high in the sky.
“······It’s already this late!”
Cobra let out a breath, stood up, and prepared to go eat dinner······
“Puru puru!!”
At this moment, the Den Den Mushi placed on the desk suddenly rang.
His raised foot was retracted, he scratched his head in considerable annoyance, hesitated for two seconds, but Cobra still reached out and picked up the microphone.
“······Prince Elus?”
“Your Majesty Cobra, good evening!”
“Good evening, that······ is there something wrong?”
“Please install the White Den Den Mushi.”
“······Just a moment.”
Cobra furrowed his brows, installing the White Den Den Mushi······ Was this to prevent eavesdropping? What exactly had happened? To be so cautious, thoughts raced through his brain like lightning, but his actions in installing the White Den Den Mushi showed no hesitation.
The White Den Den Mushi is an extremely rare breed in the Den Den Mushi family.
It can attach to a communication Den Den Mushi and emit interfering radio waves to prevent eavesdropping, and it’s often hard to obtain even for a high price on the market.
However, this was nothing for Cobra.
“It’s installed now, you can say what it is.”
“This······ We found Pluto.”
“Ah! You found Pluto! I see, no wonder it needs to be kept secret······ What did you say?” Cobra’s temple veins were throbbing, “That, Prince Elus, can you explain clearly? Finding Pluto, what does that mean?”
“It means exactly what it says, we found the Ancient Weapon hidden underneath, Pluto, it’s a super huge thing!”
Having finished his curry, Elus lay on the dune looking at the moon.
“······Whew! I feel like my head is about to explode, that kind of thing······ You actually found it.” Cobra didn’t know what to say at this moment, “Pluto! Pluto······ What do you plan to do with that thing?”
“I haven’t thought of it yet, but if we go to war with the World Government in the future, it might come in handy!”
“You’re really planning to rebel?” Cobra gritted his teeth.
“Isn’t this something we’ve discussed long ago? The Celestial Dragons have sat on the throne for eight hundred years, it’s time for someone else to rule the world, and besides, the Nefertari Family and the Holy Land parted ways eight hundred years ago, didn’t they? A new era is coming, and the Holy Land won’t tolerate the Nefertari Family’s existence this time. If you don’t want to wait for slaughter, what else can you do but rebel?”
Elus unabashedly revealed his true intentions.
He wasn’t afraid at all that Cobra would go to the Holy Land and pledge allegiance, he believed Cobra would make the most correct choice, not just because he helped Alabasta drive out Crocodile, nor because the Eckmond Kingdom helped Alabasta train strong persons······
But stemming from his recent understanding of the Nefertari Family.
Although the Nefertari Family is one of the descendants of the Twenty Kings, unlike the nineteen families that moved to the Holy Land, the Nefertari are seen as outright traitors by the Holy Land, a fact······ that Cobra himself knew full well.
Back then, realizing Crocodile threatened Alabasta’s survival, he took the opportunity of the World Conference to seek aid everywhere, approaching many kings, but never thought of going to see the Five Elders.
In Elus’s view,
Cobra was absolutely impossible to get involved with the Holy Land, whether it was the inheritance of bloodline or personal morals, it destined him not to be the same kind as those decadent guys in the Holy Land, and the worst case would be Alabasta declaring neutrality.
After all,
Even if one doesn’t dare to rebel against the World Government, it doesn’t mean they dare to be enemies with the Black Prince.
The current Nefertari Family is a single lineage, easily prone to extinction, and Cobra didn’t want to take unnecessary risks.
“The Holy Land!”
Cobra sighed.
“Elus, are you really prepared to oppose the Holy Land?”
“No, I want to overthrow this World Government that’s rotten to the core. Being chased by the Navy like the Revolutionary Army isn’t what I want, smashing the Holy Land in one go······ That’s the most exhilarating!”
“You really dare to say it!”
Cobra paced two circles in the study, walked to the window side to gaze at the crescent moon in the sky, “Prince Elus, don’t underestimate the Holy Land. The reason the World Government can represent justice is said to be because they hold power sufficient to manipulate the world. Underestimating the Holy Land will lead to big trouble, no, it wouldn’t even be strange to lose your life because of it.”
Hearing this, Elus’s spirits lifted.
He knew it,
As one of the descendants of the Twenty Kings, how could the Nefertari Family truly know nothing about the history from eight hundred years ago, that blank hundred years······ there must be some traces left behind.
“Your Majesty Cobra, can you tell me more about this matter······ in detail?”
“······This is a secret history passed down orally in our family, I won’t vouch for whether it’s true or false, just listen and don’t spread it around······ You should know, right? Eight hundred years ago, that ancestor of the Nefertari Family, the first king of Alabasta, established the World Government together with the other nineteen kings······
“However, called the first king······ actually not really, the history of the Alabasta Kingdom is more than eight hundred years, but when the Twenty Kings established the World Government, they erased the history of the blank hundred years······ To completely eliminate that part of history, our family’s ancestor was forced to become the first king of the Alabasta Kingdom.”
“The first ancestor is said to have been very strong, one of the strongest on the Sea at the time, on par with the current Four Emperors······ However, such a strong first ancestor, after the establishment of the World Government, spent the rest of his life confined to Alabasta, never taking a single step out.”
“It’s said······ Right, these ‘it’s said’ all come from what the second king passed down, the second was the first’s great-grandson, grew up by the first’s side from childhood, so heard many secrets······ Like why the first never left Alabasta after the World Government was established, it’s said to be due to an agreement with a certain king in the Holy Land.”
“The first ancestor swore to spend the rest of his life within Alabasta’s borders, in exchange, they wouldn’t attack Alabasta because the Nefertari Family refused to move to Marie Geoise······ Fearing the first ancestor’s immense power, that king in the Holy Land agreed to this pact.”
“Of course, it’s said there were many additional conditions, like the first ancestor couldn’t tell later generations about the history before the World Government’s establishment, including not leaving any written records······”
“So that’s why it’s passed down orally?”
Elus, listening intently, subconsciously followed up.
“Exactly, the second king’s dying words included the admonition not to put these things on paper.” Cobra’s expression was complex, he took a breath and continued: “As I said, the first ancestor was very strong, one of the strongest on the Sea at the time, his power was so great that the Holy Land preferred to make that agreement with him rather than go to war.”
“Prince Elus, as one of the strongest on the Sea today, you should understand better than me just how powerful the first ancestor was, right?”
“······Please continue.”
Elus didn’t offer an opinion.
“What I want to say is that the first ancestor may have had power not inferior to yours, but facing the Holy Land, he ultimately chose to imprison himself in Alabasta······ because the World Government possesses a power that even he felt powerless against, this is something the second heard with his own ears.” Cobra spoke earnestly.
Elus, looking at the moon, twitched his face.
Well then,
After all that roundabout talk, it was still advising him not to blindly oppose the World Government.
“······If it were me a year ago, I might have listened to you, but now······ To be honest, I won’t give up, but don’t worry, I won’t act rashly without absolute certainty. By the way, you haven’t said what exactly the Holy Land holds? What is that power that made the first king choose self-imprisonment?”
The admonition failed,
Cobra wasn’t too disappointed, from the start he knew it couldn’t succeed so easily. Though his own combat power was weak, he understood that strong persons like Elus each had their own temperament—bold, insidious, mad, bloodthirsty······ but without exception, they had convictions unshakable by outsiders.
Changing Elus’s mind with just a few words was merely his fanciful attempt.
Perhaps due to old age, he no longer had the ambition and drive of his youth.
“I don’t know what that power is either.”
“······Alright! That’s not surprising, but······ not even a single clue?” Elus was very disappointed, he really wanted to know what gave the World Government the basis to rule the world for eight hundred years, why so many outstanding people in the Navy turned a blind eye to the Celestial Dragons’ evils?
Leaving aside slippery fellows like Borsalino, how could someone with Sakazuki’s hatred of evil endure it?
It doesn’t make sense!
“Clues······ I really don’t have any.”
The Den Den Mushi mimicked Cobra shaking his head, “However, the king who made the agreement with the first ancestor, it seems the first ancestor always referred to ‘her’, and also······ that king seems able to see through the future.”
“Her?”
“See through the future?”
These two pieces of new intelligence instantly invigorated Elus’s spirits.
The first one was whatever, male or female didn’t matter, the key was the latter, able to see through the future······ Interesting! Interesting! Is this Observation Haki? Or a Devil Fruit? Or some other unknown power?
“Right, before his death, the first ancestor pulled the second aside and said he had been deceived, that he shouldn’t have believed her words back then.”
Cobra added new content.
“Deceived······ her again? Is it the same person? Or······” Elus scratched his scalp hard, but unfortunately, this didn’t help him figure out what the first king of Alabasta had gone through. It seemed he learned many secrets, but it also gave birth to more mysteries.
“That, Your Majesty Cobra, is there more?”
Elus pressed.
“Um······ I think that’s it.” Cobra seemed uncertain.
“What do you mean ‘I think’? Isn’t this an orally transmitted secret? How could you forget?”
“It’s precisely because it’s oral transmission that it’s fuzzy, these words were told to me by my father when I was little, it’s been almost thirty years now, I’m fifty years old, do you think my brain is as sharp as you young people’s?”
Cobra had a sour face, very unhappy.
“······”
Elus fell silent, bullying a fifty-year-old man······ seemed a bit immoral!
“Ah! Wait, I remembered······ Also, in the last few years of the first king’s life, he mentioned someone named Jo, Jo something····· Joy, Jo······ Imu Joy, no, Joy Boy, yes, that’s the name, Joy Boy, and he also mentioned Pluto······ The Poneglyph in the royal tomb seems to have been transported there by the first king, it’s said to record intelligence about Pluto, though no one can understand what it says.”
“······Hey, Your Majesty Cobra, it even relates to the royal mausoleum, that’s the most unforgettable part, right?”
Elus was amused.
Joy Boy······ This name is connected to Pluto, and with the apology letter from Fish-Man Island······ Pluto, Poseidon are both linked to Joy Boy.
“Cut the nonsense, anyway, that’s roughly the content.”
Cobra wasn’t in a good mood, “I’ve said what I needed to, you do what you want, just don’t bother me, I’m fifty years old, now I just want to retire and hold my grandson, your grand ambitions have nothing to do with me······ Also, Vivi’s child must ensure the Nefertari Family’s lineage continues.”
“Your Majesty Cobra, what nonsense are you saying? I’m a law-abiding citizen with morals and conscience, don’t treat me like a pervert who would lay hands on a child.”
“Pah!”
Cobra didn’t hide his contempt, “I recently chatted with old brother Berville on the Den Den Mushi, you did it at fifteen, didn’t you? But don’t worry, I understand, this uncle bid farewell to······ at sixteen too.”
Elus cut off the call.
Looking at the innocent-faced Den Den Mushi, Elus was so angry he was nearly depressed.
Sokachio Berville······ What was his own father saying to people? Could he use his son’s private matters as chit-chat? Is there a father like this? Simply not acting like a father, not acting like a father······ And Cobra, who would’ve thought this king who loves his people like his own children did it at sixteen······
Tsk tsk!
Really unimaginable!
“El, are you done chatting with Father King?”
Vivi, who was playing poker by the campfire with Clarice and the others, looked over.
“The Den Den Mushi is hungry, we haven’t finished discussing that matter!”
Elus lied without changing his expression.
“Oh! Alright then! Come play once you’re done.” Vivi nodded, then excitedly dove back into the game.
“Yeah, you guys play first, no need to wait for me.”
Elus took a breath, hastily fed the Den Den Mushi some food, then picked up the microphone, redialed the number, waited about five or six seconds, and the call connected again—
“······”
“······”
The call was successfully established, but both sides remained silent, neither speaking first.
“That······ I guarantee I won’t spread the Nefertari Family’s secrets.” Elus spoke first to break the eerie silence, not mentioning the call cutoff, just asking Cobra’s opinion on developing and utilizing the Ancient Weapon Pluto,
“The main issue now is what to do with the Pluto Battleship? Bringing out such a huge thing would be too eye-catching, but leaving it untouched feels like a waste······ I took a look today, and it seems remarkably well-preserved!”
“You’re planning to go to war with the World Government right now?”
Cobra’s attitude was a bit hostile.
In the short time after being hung up on, the calmed Cobra also realized he had let his head get hot from wanting a grandson too much, impulsively saying things he shouldn’t without thinking.
If not for the Pluto Battleship being quite important,
He temporarily didn’t even want to hear or see Elus.
“If you’re not planning to revolt immediately, then leave it alone. I don’t think your confidence in opposing the World Government comes from this so-called Ancient Weapon, right? I don’t know what gives you the guts to oppose the World Government, but don’t let something that adds icing on the cake blind you.”
This was probably the wisdom honed in elders by the passage of time.
“·······You’re right! Looks like I’ve been a bit impetuous lately.”
Elus was stunned for a moment, then chuckled wryly.
Clearly, he had treated this so-called adventure as just going out to play and relax, but when he truly saw that ferocious, terrifying war behemoth hidden deep underground, like the incarnation of death, he couldn’t help but feel greed······
“Hmph, young people.”
Cobra snorted lightly, “Any other matters? If not, I’m hanging up, I still haven’t eaten dinner!”
“Nothing······”
This time,
Before Elus’s words of concern could come out, Cobra hung up.
“······Tit for tat?” Elus put down the microphone, his gaze toward the desert shrouded in faint moonlight. For now, he couldn’t touch the huge thing underground, His Majesty Cobra was right, his foundation was never any Ancient Weapon.
Compared to this Ancient Weapon with unknown specs, he himself was the most reliable weapon.
“Door-Door Fruit······ Next, what to choose······· Gaze-Gaze Fruit, Memory-Memory Fruit, Op-Op Fruit······” Elus stood up and walked toward the campfire, while multitasking to ponder the optimal choice for ability enhancement!
