The Alabasta Kingdom, once vibrant and prosperous, now stood at the edge of civil war.
In the heart of Alubarna, within the Royal Palace, King Nefertari D. Cobra paced anxiously. His ornate robes swayed as he walked back and forth, mind heavy with fear and urgency.
"Is there still time?"
His voice was barely above a whisper, but it echoed through the empty chamber.
"I never imagined the one who plunged this country into chaos… would be Crocodile, the Shichibukai our people hailed as a hero."
Cobra's fingers curled into trembling fists.
He had already read the letter Vivi entrusted to Karoo. The truth inside had shaken him to the core.
"I pray there's still time to stop this…"
His thoughts turned to the fragmented state of his kingdom.
The Royal Army was already gathered and prepared to march to Rainbase at dawn. Pell had likely arrived ahead of them to scout Crocodile's stronghold.
But the rebel army—?
Could it really be left to Vivi alone to stop them?
If Koza, the rebel leader, refused to listen to her… then the army would advance on Alubarna itself.
The capital would become defenseless, an empty shell ready to be overrun.
Still, Cobra hoped they would not harm the innocent civilians.
"If I stay behind," he muttered, "perhaps I can explain… I can bear their anger."
He had already accepted it. If it meant preventing bloodshed, even if it cost his life, he would stay.
As long as it prevented a clash between the people and the army, a spark that could burn Alabasta to the ground.
The King is the shield of the people.
If the people were safe, then even the King's death was a small price.
But then—
A voice like sharpened steel cut through the silence.
"Tch tch… A king willing to die for his people. Noble. Rare."
Cobra froze.
He spun around, heart racing.
"Who's there?!"
No one was supposed to be here. He was alone.
Yet now, seated calmly upon his throne, was a young man dressed in a white coat, a faint smile on his lips.
Cobra's voice rang out, commanding and desperate. "Guards! Enemy intrusion!"
But the palace remained silent.
Too silent.
He realized, then, the unnerving stillness. It was as if the Royal Guard had been swallowed whole by the night.
The man on the throne leaned back slightly, watching Cobra's panic with amusement.
"Don't bother," he said coolly. "Everyone in the palace is asleep. Deeply. They'll wake in about five minutes. You're wasting your breath."
Cobra's breath caught.
How had he done it?
He tried to remain calm, but suspicion and dread surged within him. "Are you… one of Crocodile's assassins?"
The man gave a lazy chuckle.
"If Crocodile wanted you dead, you'd be dead by now," he said, stretching out his arms as if testing the throne's comfort.
"No, you're more valuable alive. At least, in his plan. After all, you're the villain in his version of the story. The face of the drought. If you die now, the rebel army won't have anyone left to blame. Where would they direct their fury?"
Cobra narrowed his eyes. "Then… you're not with Crocodile?"
The man tilted his head, amused. "Sharp. No, I'm not. Crocodile and I have very different goals."
He gazed lazily at the ornate ceiling of the palace, then added:
"I just came to ask you a few questions."
Cobra's voice turned wary. "Who are you?"
The man rose from the throne, his dark eyes gleaming.
"Shirogai Yamikuro."
Cobra stepped back slightly. That name… he'd never heard it before. Yet something about the presence of this man struck him as unnatural. Too calm. Too dangerous.
"I've only come for information," Shirogai said, his tone almost bored.
"For instance… what was written in the letter left by your ancestor—Nefertari D. Lily, one of the Original Twenty Kings who founded the World Government?"
Cobra's blood turned cold.
He hadn't said Lily's full name aloud to anyone in years.
That name… only the royal family knew.
How did this man—?
His thoughts raced. Was he a spy for the World Government?
Had they discovered his secret investigations? Had they learned of the Poneglyph hidden beneath the palace? The one that held the location of Pluton, the ancient weapon?
Still, Cobra kept his expression steady. He had been king for decades—he wouldn't be so easily read.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said evenly. "No such letter exists."
But Shirogai's smile only deepened.
He tapped his temple lightly. "You thought of it just now, didn't you?"
He gave a satisfied chuckle.
"Thanks for confirming."
Cobra's composure cracked. "You—!"
"I can see your thoughts," Shirogai said plainly. "That's the power of my Whisper-Whisper Fruit."
[Whisper-Whisper Fruit Ability Activated]
In an instant, he had read Cobra's mind—seen the contents of Queen Lily's letter, and everything Cobra feared it revealed.
"So that's it…" Shirogai muttered, eyes narrowing.
Cobra's jaw tightened. "You're bluffing. The mind is not so easily read."
Shirogai leaned forward, eyes sharp.
"Believe me or don't. Doesn't matter. I already have what I need."
Then, he raised one hand, and said quietly:
"Now, allow me to show you your future."
A pulse of power surged through the air.
Cobra's eyes widened as his mind was pulled into a vision. He staggered, gasping—
In an instant, the world around him changed.
He stood outside himself, watching a hallucination—no, a memory from a future he had not yet lived.
(Damn, this Fruit's kinda OP af.)
He was older. Frail. In a wheelchair.
And he was being led into a vast, grand chamber by the Gorosei, the Five Elders of the World Government.
At the top of the staircase was the Empty Throne, the supposed symbol of equal rule.
Dozens of swords surrounded it.
In the hallucination, his older self spoke softly:
"The World Government… was founded 800 years ago by twenty kings. All their descendants became Celestial Dragons—except one. The Nefertari family."
His voice trembled with age… and defiance.
He asked the question Shirogai had already been waiting for:
"Where did Queen Lily go?"
The Elders gave vague answers. They said she had returned to her homeland. That they had never bothered to investigate.
And then—
Cobra's older self spoke again.
"What is… the meaning of 'D'?"
The room turned cold.
Even in the hallucination, Cobra felt it—the suffocating killing intent pouring from the Gorosei.
The hallucination faded, and Cobra gasped, snapping back to reality.
Sweat dripped down his face.
His heart was pounding.
On the throne, Shirogai sat with an amused expression.
"So," he murmured, "Lily and Imu…"
The name Imu hung in the air like poison.
The shadow behind the throne. The true ruler of the world.
Shirogai's smile grew sharper.
He'd soon pay Mary Geoise a visit.
There were secrets up there still buried under centuries of silence.
And he had every intention of unearthing them.
---
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