Twenty full minutes passed before Sean finally withdrew his left hand.
While the wound hadn't completely vanished, the vast majority of it had healed. It would no longer interfere with daily activities. The rest would fully recover with a period of quiet rest, leaving no lasting aftereffects.
"Rear Admiral Sean, you... what was that?"
Aside from Robin, King Cobra was equally dumbfounded.
"Just a special application of my Devil Fruit ability," Sean replied. "He should wake up in two or three hours at most."
"Then, regarding the rebels..."
"There's no rush. Jabra will wipe out everyone associated with Baroque Works. Once they're finished, we just wait for them to arrive. As long as Kohza stands before the people and tells them that it wasn't you, King Cobra, who attacked him, the entire problem will be resolved."
"I see..." Cobra nodded.
He realized Sean was right. The root cause of the rebels marching on Alubarna was that Baroque Works had assassinated their leader and framed the crown. Therefore, as long as Kohza appeared and cleared the King's name, the situation would naturally settle.
"Now, King Cobra, returning to our previous conversation—what do you think of my proposal?"
"About that... I am certainly willing, but the problem is that Alabasta is very poor. Even if you can supply those materials, we simply don't have the Belly to purchase them..."
"I'm well aware of that. Which is why I've prepared an alternative method of transaction. Would you like to hear it?"
"Please, Rear Admiral Sean, go ahead!"
Cobra had to admit that he was deeply tempted by Sean's previous suggestion. If it became a reality, Alabasta wouldn't have to worry about pirate attacks even after Crocodile was gone; it could potentially become the safest nation in the entire Grand Line.
And what would that mean? It meant investors would flock to Alabasta because the kingdom was secure. Investment would drive economic growth, and a booming economy coupled with a safe environment would attract even more investment. Under such a virtuous cycle, the future of the kingdom would be incredibly bright.
How could Cobra not be tempted? The only issue was that Alabasta was truly broke. They simply lacked the financial strength to support such a plan.
"Currently, Alabasta has a Royal Army of five hundred thousand men, correct?"
"That is correct!"
"Very well. I can provide everything we discussed for free. In exchange..."
"In exchange for what?"
'Free...'
Cobra was stunned for a moment. But as he regained his composure, he realized that the price Sean was about to ask for likely wouldn't be something simple.
"I want command over one hundred thousand soldiers of the Alabasta Royal Army!"
"What?!"
Cobra's eyes widened. Command over a hundred thousand of his own soldiers? Was this a joke? What kingdom would ever hand over its own military to an outsider?
"King Cobra, don't panic. Let me finish!" Sean interrupted. "The 'command' I'm talking about is likely different from what you're imagining. To be precise, I'm asking for temporary command."
"Temporary command?" Cobra struggled to follow Sean's train of thought. What exactly did that mean?
"First, through a selection process, one hundred thousand men will be chosen from the Royal Army to form a special corps. I will then send instructors to train them, using the standards of Marine Headquarters."
"Second, overall command of the corps remains with you, King Cobra. You will also be the one to appoint the corps' commander; I will not interfere with that."
"Third, we sign an agreement. In the future, when I have a need and the objective does not contradict justice, I may temporarily obtain command of this corps. You can think of it as me 'hiring' the corps on a temporary basis."
"I hope that explanation makes sense to you?"
After listening to Sean, Cobra fell into a deep silence.
So, Sean didn't want to seize control of Alabasta's military; it was more like a promise to lend him troops. He just needed to commit that as long as the purpose wasn't malicious, the hundred thousand men would be lent out.
Essentially, that was the gist of it.
Cobra wondered if Sean was making preparations to eventually end the Great Pirate Era entirely. Rumor had it that Sean was a bloodthirsty Marine officer when it came to pirates, with the ultimate goal of eradicating them.
If that was the case, it wasn't entirely unacceptable. After all, every kingdom wanted pirates gone—except perhaps those in the New World under the protection of the Four Emperors.
Furthermore, if Sean truly provided everything he promised for free... then even with this commitment to lend troops, Alabasta wouldn't be losing out. In fact, they would be making a massive profit.
Sean was offering far too much. He was offering so much that no kingdom could possibly refuse.
"I agree. However, we need to sign a formal agreement."
"No problem!"
'''
Half an hour later, in a room within the royal palace.
Robin looked curiously at the man before her, who was significantly smaller than her. Just what was he giving Cobra to make him agree to such an absurd promise to lend a hundred thousand soldiers?
"What's wrong? Do you want to know the specifics of the deal?"
"Would you actually tell me?"
"Why not? You are my adjutant now, after all," Sean said with a smile.
"It's actually quite simple. I promised Cobra that I would provide three hundred warships more advanced than those of the Marines. At the same time, I'll equip five hundred thousand Royal Army soldiers with firearms that are also superior to the Marines'."
"In exchange, one hundred thousand men will be drawn from the Royal Army to be personally trained by instructors from my 16th Branch. Additionally, when I have a legitimate reason and a need, I gain temporary command of those men."
"Finally, the 16th Branch will fund the construction of a super-large military base near Yuba for the deployment and training of these hundred thousand soldiers."
"Of course, all of this will be done in secret. The World Government won't know that I can control an army of a hundred thousand in Alabasta."
"As for the source of the warships and firearms, I've already thought of a way to ensure no one suspects me. And as for the reason for sending instructors to train Alabasta's soldiers... I've already got a cover story ready!"
After hearing this, Robin was speechless.
'And you're still smiling? You're absolutely bankrupting yourself!'
Three hundred warships more advanced than the Marines'? Firearms and ammunition for five hundred thousand people? Was he serious?
Such a project would likely cost three or four hundred billion Belly at the very least.
More importantly...
"Do you even have the money to provide these things to Alabasta?"
"Nope. To be honest, I can't even come up with twenty billion Belly right now!"
"Then why on earth did you—"
"Hold on. I said I don't have any right now, but did I say I wouldn't have any in the future?"
"What do you mean?"
Robin paused, momentarily stunned.
'Could he possibly get his hands on hundreds of billions of Belly in such a short time?'
"No rush. Once we deal with Crocodile, I'll take you somewhere. Not only is there endless wealth, but there is also a Poneglyph. How does that sound?"
"Are you serious?"
Money no longer mattered. Only two words were currently looping through Robin's mind: Poneglyph.
"Of course. I never lie!"
"You never lie... then it was also the truth when you told the people of the capital that the Marine and Cobra had already cooperated to launch an investigation?"
Robin gave him a look of pure disdain.
Hearing this, Sean rubbed his nose awkwardly. After all, being called out so bluntly was a bit embarrassing.
"Alright, I never lie to my own people..."
"That's not important. Just tell me—where is it!"
Whether he lied or not was irrelevant compared to the importance of a Poneglyph. Robin gave Sean a flirtatious roll of her eyes and pressed for an answer.
"As for that... there is a book called 'The Great Liar Roland'. I wonder if you've read it?"
"I have, of course. Wait, you couldn't possibly mean..."
"Yes, exactly what you're thinking. And I know where it is!"
A slight smile played on Robin's lips. As it turned out, the future was going to be much more interesting.
'''
Katreya.
The rebel camp.
By now, every rebel had been issued a brand-new rifle and a sufficient supply of ammunition. Though there were only ten thousand men, with this equipment, they were an absolutely terrifying force within Alabasta.
"Everyone, move out! Target: Alubarna!"
"Overthrow Cobra! Avenge Kohza!"
Soon, the ten thousand rebels formed a long serpent, marching toward the royal capital in the north.
Three hours later, the sky had turned completely dark. However, fueled by rage, the Revolutionary Army continued their march; everyone wanted to reach Alubarna as quickly as possible to overthrow Cobra and avenge Kohza.
None of them noticed that people were steadily disappearing from the ranks, all in total silence.
"I really miss this—this feeling of assassination!"
"Though, with my current strength, I could one-shot my CP9 self in a single hit!"
"Using this level of power for assassinations seems like a bit of a waste..."
"But well, since it's a Rear Admiral's order..."
'Swish...'
In the next instant, Jabra's figure vanished once again. He didn't have time to stop for a break or complain. After all, he had to complete eighty-four assassination missions before the night was over.
'''
The next day.
Approximately fifty kilometers from the capital of Alubarna, the rebels halted their march.
As dawn broke, reports began flooding in from various officers stating that members of the army were missing. In fact, it wasn't just the soldiers reporting; the officers themselves were in a state of chaos.
Aside from Kohza and Farafara, there were seven other high-ranking officers in the revolution. Yet, after a single night, four of them had vanished without a trace. Even after searching the entire army, they couldn't be found.
Had they deserted?
That was impossible. Those four were the ones shouting the loudest yesterday about storming Alubarna and overthrowing Cobra's rule. If anyone was going to run, it wouldn't be them.
And yet, they were gone, and no one even knew when it had happened.
Furthermore, the reports from the soldiers indicated that nearly eighty people had disappeared from the entire force, all of whom were grassroots leaders like squad leaders. That represented nearly half of the rebel army's lower-level command structure. Without them, the entire operation of the rebel army would suffer.
The entire situation was shrouded in an eerie mystery.
Left with no choice, the three remaining officers had to temporarily halt the march to investigate what was happening. They also needed to quickly appoint a new batch of squad leaders to replace the eighty who had vanished before they could continue.
However, not long after, a scout exploring the road ahead came sprinting back in a frenzy.
"Report! Twenty kilometers ahead, I've spotted..."
"Spotted what?"
"I spotted King Cobra, Rear Admiral Sean of the Marine, and... Leader Kohza!"
"What?! Leader Kohza? Are you sure?"
"Absolutely sure! And it looks like Leader Kohza's injuries have almost completely recovered!"
"..."
The three officers' eyes widened in shock. All of them whispered the same thing to themselves:
"How... how is that possible?"