Cobra's words were clearly a pretext, and Taro naturally understood that.
He took out a fierce medicine, his tone quite casual.
"But King Neptune told me that the original purpose of the fierce medicine wasn't to be eaten!"
Cobra was greatly shocked. "What did you say? He actually told this secret to..."
Halfway through, he noticed Taro's expression, and his face instantly darkened. "Are you bluffing me?"
Taro bowed slightly to Cobra. "I'm very sorry, Your Majesty, I'm in a hurry and had to resort to this tactic!"
Cobra sat back on his throne and waved his hand weakly, signaling Igaram and Chaka to withdraw first.
Then, he looked at Taro and sighed. "Just like the energy steroids, the original purpose of the mighty water was indeed not for drinking!"
Taro frowned, feeling very puzzled. "Then what are they used for?"
"Energy Storage!" Cobra said the word slowly but firmly.
"Energy Storage?" Taro murmured, even more confused. "What does that mean?"
Cobra shook his head. "I don't know!" As he spoke, he seemed worried that Taro wouldn't believe him.
"That word is the only thing passed down through our royal family for generations; this time it's the truth!"
Looking at Cobra's reaction, Taro believed he was telling the truth this time.
Energy Storage!
From the literal meaning, it was easy to understand: it meant accumulating energy!
But both of these drugs were used for instant bursts of energy, which was the exact opposite of 'accumulating.' What was going on?
Taro pondered for a long while but had no clue. "Your Majesty, I still request that you give me some 'mighty water'!"
Cobra stared at Taro for a long time before sighing and taking out a small Silver Flask from a hidden compartment in the throne.
"I can only give you this much!"
Cobra stepped down from the throne and solemnly handed the Silver Flask to Taro.
Taro had been wondering why Cobra kept a flask of 'mighty water' hidden inside the throne.
Now that the mighty water was in his hands, he didn't have time to overthink it.
He opened the lid, and a pungent smell wafted out, making his nose twitch uncontrollably.
The transparent liquid showed no signs of anything unusual. He carefully poured a drop from the spout onto his hand, and the System gave no warning of toxins.
Taro's brow furrowed. Damn it, I'm a total failure in the field of scientific research; studying this thing is just too taxing.
He was thinking that among the people he knew, perhaps only Dr. Kureha could help research this, and wondered if he should bring it to her.
Then, he suddenly realized that the original purpose of these two things wasn't 'medicine,' so bringing it to a doctor would likely be useless.
Energy Storage? Energy Storage!
Taro's eyes lit up as he channeled a trace of Internal Energy, probing toward the 'mighty water' along the mouth of the flask.
The surface of the water rippled slightly before returning to calm.
Was the line of thought wrong?
Taro's expression froze, and his brow furrowed again.
"Taro, I'm warning you, this stuff cannot be drunk!"
Seeing Taro leaning closer and closer until his face was almost touching it, Cobra quickly spoke up to warn him.
Then, he saw Taro take out a fierce medicine and drop it into the mighty water.
"What are you doing?"
Taro didn't answer Cobra's question, focusing entirely on the inside of the flask.
After the fierce medicine fell into the mighty water, it actually dissolved rapidly.
"Glug, glug!"
Steam rose from the small Silver Flask, and the rising bubbles made a loud noise.
Taro and Cobra glanced at each other, both very surprised.
Immediately after, Taro felt the air pressure around him change, and the air began to rush uncontrollably and frantically into the Silver Flask.
Inside the Palace Main Hall, a wild wind suddenly rose, howling loudly. The physically weak Cobra could barely stand; he shouted out,
"Taro, what have you done?"
Taro was also completely bewildered. He grabbed the old king to help him steady himself.
"I didn't do anyth—"
As he spoke, he felt the Internal Energy throughout his body fluctuate violently. A massive suction force erupted from the mouth of the flask, as if it wanted to drain all the Internal Energy from his body.
Holy crap, what the hell is this thing?
Startled, Taro threw the Silver Flask away.
After leaving his hand, the Silver Flask didn't fall to the ground but instead suspended in mid-air.
More and more air poured into the Silver Flask, but the flask was like a bottomless pit that could never be filled.
Is this Energy Storage?
By now, how could Taro not understand the situation? This scene indeed looked very much like it was charging.
"Gurgle, gurgle!"
A loud sound came from inside the Silver Flask, and the body of the flask began to vibrate violently!
Is this going to explode?
Taro and Cobra looked at each other, both understanding the meaning in the other's eyes.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."
"Run!"
Taro roared, grabbed Cobra, and flew outward.
A thunderous boom came from behind them, and at the moment a dazzling white light erupted, it was as if all the surrounding light was swallowed up.
The sky turned dark, and the wild wind howled.
Taro carried Cobra out of the palace range in one breath before stopping with lingering fear, panting for air.
"It... it didn't explode?"
"It seems it didn't!" Cobra replied.
Then, the two looked at each other again, both completely bewildered!
Holy crap, you maxed out the special effects, and in the end, it didn't explode?
They waited for several more minutes until Igaram and Chaka waved to them from the palace walls before Taro flew Cobra back to the palace.
"Taro, the Guards reported that you kidnapped His Majesty the King. What is going on!"
Igaram could be considered Taro's savior and knew what Taro had done for Alabasta, so he naturally wouldn't believe that Taro had really kidnapped the king.
However, the fact that Taro had flown away with the king was undeniable.
"Ah, Igaram, this is a misunderstanding. Tell everyone not to be nervous!" Cobra waved his hand.
Taro bowed slightly to the two High Ministers of the Kingdom. Feeling urgent, he was the first to return to the main hall.
Inside the hall, the Silver Flask lay quietly on the ground. The decorations in the hall had been swept by the wild wind and were tumbled over in a mess.
Taro cautiously approached. Using both Observation Haki and Internal Energy for detection, he confirmed it was safe before picking up the Silver Flask.
He looked into the flask, and his gaze turned strange.
"Well, what's inside?" Cobra walked in at this time and couldn't help but ask when he saw the strange look in Taro's eyes.
Taro shook his head. "A substance I don't recognize!"
As he spoke, he handed the Silver Flask to Cobra.
Inside the Silver Flask was a black substance similar to jelly, still gently shaking, with eerie blue electric-like spots of light flashing from time to time, outlining a shape.
"This...?" Cobra frowned, somewhat uncertain. "It seems to be a tree?"
Taro sighed; it seemed he hadn't seen it wrong.
In that black jelly-like substance, the blue spots of light indeed outlined the shape of a tree.
"Yes, sun tree eve!" Taro nodded, his expression heavy. "That is the shape of the sun tree eve!"
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