Chapter 20: As you can see, I am a moderate.
Inside the Royal Palace guest chamber, the atmosphere was a bit tense.
Guards stood on both sides holding their weapons, protecting their King and Princess.
As for Igaram, Chaka, and Pell, they had already silently lined up, surrounding the visitor in the middle.
However…
"Hmm, I don't like drinking tea… Do you have any cola?"
Chen Long, wearing a dragon-head mask, looked at the hot tea in the cup, then turned to the attendant beside him. This made the attendant, whose nerves were taut, let out a soft "Ah."
Chen Long then shrugged, "Never mind, pretend I didn't say anything."
"Replace it with cola for him."
At this moment, King Cobra spoke in a deep voice.
The attendant then reacted, quickly picking up the cup and leaving.
"Chen Long, Your Excellency, I'll address you as 'Your Excellency'."
And this small matter seemed to break the silence of the guest chamber. Cobra took the initiative to speak, "Your Excellency, what is your purpose for coming here? And what did Your Excellency mean by those words just now?"
He naturally remembered what Chen Long had said in front of the Royal Palace earlier.
"Alabasta's rebirth or destruction—I cannot pretend not to have heard such words!"
"It means exactly what it says."
Chen Long leaned back against the sofa, "Someone is plotting to destroy this country and usurp your throne… To be precise, he has already started to act."
Although his expression was unreadable beneath his mask, everyone could hear the veiled threat in his words: "I don't think you, King Cobra, would truly believe that half a year of nationwide drought is a 'normal situation', would you?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present changed their expressions.
Especially Vivi, who wasn't very clear about state affairs, covered her mouth and widened her eyes.
"Wait a minute, what do you mean? Are you saying… the entire country's seven months of drought were man-made?"
She couldn't help but exclaim, "How is this possible?!"
But at this moment, King Cobra was very calm.
It was obvious, just as Loy had said.
This wise King had long realized that something was wrong with this drought, especially the fact that "only the royal capital in the entire country was receiving rain" made him suspect a conspiracy.
He had also asked Igaram to investigate in secret, but the other party was too deeply hidden and left few traces.
And the country's precarious situation and the people's suffering did not allow him to investigate further.
But even so…
"Is it Dance Powder?"
He said softly, "This is the most likely possibility I can think of."
Chen Long clapped his hands, "Completely correct."
However, beneath the mask, Loy's expression showed no surprise.
Yes, he naturally knew the truth of Alabasta's drought—in fact, this drought was part of the "Utopia Plan" orchestrated by Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
He single-handedly established a massive criminal organization called Baroque Works, and after many years of preparation, he finally launched this plan.
The goal of the plan was precisely to usurp Alabasta, one of the oldest kingdoms in this great sea, and to obtain the clues to the ancient weapon "Pluton" hidden in Alabasta.
"Dance Powder can make it rain in a region, but at a price—nearby areas will fall into drought."
"And if the information we overheard is correct, when the drought lasts until next year, a large number of Dance Powder [packets] of unknown origin will appear in the royal capital, and be 'coincidentally' discovered by the common people."
When Chen Long said this, everyone present changed their expressions.
"Bastards!"
"They want to frame His Majesty the King?!"
"His Majesty would never do such a thing!"
Igaram and the others' faces were filled with anger, but Vivi's face was pale.
She didn't need to be told more.
So, Chen Long's few words were enough for her to understand the terrifying nature of that plan.
At present, Alabasta's drought had only lasted for just over half a year, and the country's situation was already extremely dire.
If it were to last for a year, she didn't need to imagine what kind of life the people of the entire country would live.
At such a time, if the only royal capital in the entire kingdom that was receiving rain was to "discover" Dance Powder—then no matter how great King Cobra's prestige, rebellion would inevitably arise!
"Using Dance Powder to cause drought, and then instigate war…"
Even Cobra's expression became gloomy.
"Completely disregarding the suffering and casualties of the people, it's unforgivable."
He said in a deep voice.
"Indeed, that is truly a heinous ambition."
Chen Long said casually.
Then, he changed his tone, "However, now that the situation has reached this point, I believe His Majesty the King also understands."
"My coming here is to discuss this matter with you, King Cobra."
"We are somewhat interested in that shadowy mastermind behind the scenes, so…"
He looked at Cobra, "We can help you deal with him and his organization. At the same time, we can also help Alabasta to bring rain and solve the urgent crisis. Even long-term cooperation in the future is not a problem—as far as I know, although Alabasta has the Sandora River, its water resources are still not abundant."
He pointed upwards, the meaning was obvious: "As you can see, I possess this ability. Oh, thank you."
The attendant had just brought the cola back, and Chen Long said thank you.
"It sounds very tempting."
At this moment, Cobra looked at Chen Long sharply.
"But…"
His voice suddenly became stern, "Your Excellency, you surely don't think that I would simply believe someone who suddenly appeared, refuses to show his true face, and offers a few words without any evidence, do you?"
"Furthermore, before any so-called cooperation, I want to know—what is the relationship between Your Excellency and *this* person?!"
As he spoke, he directly took out a wanted poster from his pocket and placed it on the table.
And needless to say, that wanted poster was undoubtedly of "Drunken Chicken."
Yes.
It was only natural—as one of the World Government's member nations, Cobra was also very concerned about the previous "Heavenly Gold robbery incident" by Golden Lion.
And the wanted poster of Drunken Chicken, although it was a drawing, the sea beast mask on his head was conspicuous.
Therefore, almost the moment Chen Long appeared, Cobra had already linked the two together.
And what followed confirmed his guess.
"You mean Drunken Chicken, huh?"
After seeing the wanted poster, Chen Long, who was originally about to drink his cola, said very casually.
"He and I belong to the same organization; we are colleagues."
And at the same time these words were spoken, Igaram and the other two, along with the various guards, almost subconsciously reached for their weapons.
Because the meaning contained in these words was too dangerous.
"Drunken Chicken—that crazy criminal who suddenly appeared not long ago and robbed the Heavenly Gold—is a 'colleague' of this person!"
"And such dangerous individuals are now less than ten meters away from their King and Princess."
But in the next moment…
"Gasp!"
Igaram and the others' movements froze instantly, their eyes showing terrified expressions.
Because at this time, they discovered…
They couldn't draw their weapons.
To be precise, they couldn't move.
They couldn't even manage a single action.
Even as Zoan Devil Fruit users, whose natural strength far surpassed that of ordinary people, Chaka and Pell were likewise affected.
"And it's so cold, that's…"
A bone-chilling coldness followed.
And in an instant…
They soon discovered.
"It's ice!"
Yes.
In just a moment, except for King Cobra and Princess Vivi, a layer of ice had inexplicably begun to appear on everyone else's bodies.
That layer of ice froze their bodies, making them unable to move a muscle.
"Ah, the cola is actually room temperature… This won't do. If cola isn't ice-cold, it's just wrong."
And at this time, Chen Long's voice attracted their attention.
Only then did they see that, at that moment, Chen Long was touching the cola cup in front of him.
And inside the cola cup, the pitch-black cola was slowly exuding cold air.
Chen Long slightly lifted his mask, covered his face with his hand, and drank the cola in one gulp.
Then, he casually shook his hands.
"Warmth!"
A wave of warmth suddenly erupted.
The ice that had frozen all the guards in the entire guest chamber began to melt, turning into water and flowing down their bodies.
Not long after, they regained their mobility.
But at this moment, Igaram's breathing was still rapid—he didn't know how much of the dampness around him was melted water and how much was sweat.
"This guy…"
From the previous few seconds, he could already tell that the person sitting in front of him was a true monster.
At this moment, Chen Long seemed as if nothing had happened: "In fact, King Cobra doesn't need to care about Drunken Chicken's affairs. Besides obeying the commander-in-chief's orders, we cadres usually don't interfere with each other, and our styles and goals are also independent."
"For example, Drunken Chicken, that guy is like a pirate, he likes to use force to solve problems."
"But I am different. As you can see—I am a moderate."
He smiled and pointed to himself, "Although I may not be the most profitable in the organization, I'd consider myself a 'businessman'."
(end of chapter)