Cobra was nearly beside himself with rage.
He had invited the man to dinner, and in return, the man wanted to snatch his daughter away?
'Leave! Get out of here right now and never come back!'
Of course, as the King of a nation, while that was what he was thinking, he couldn't actually say it aloud.
"Rear Admiral Sean, Vivi is, after all, the sole legal heir to Alabasta. This is..."
"King Cobra, that is exactly why Vivi needs to come with me," Sean interrupted, shaking his head. "Only then will she possess the strength to protect herself in the future."
Sean leaned in, his voice growing firmer. "Take this incident as an example. If I hadn't happened to arrive, have you ever wondered how it would have ended with Vivi infiltrating Baroque Works?"
"Or, if Crocodile had decided to capture Vivi to blackmail you, did you have anyone capable of stopping him?"
"We are living in the Great Pirate Era. Crocodile is merely one of countless pirates—and within the pirate world, he's barely even second-rate."
"Can you guarantee that a crisis like this won't happen again?"
The words left Cobra speechless. A cold sweat broke out across his forehead.
Sean was right. If he hadn't appeared, they would have been utterly powerless—whether it was Vivi spying on Baroque Works or Crocodile using her as a pawn.
The reason was simple: there were no true powerhouses in Alabasta.
This was the core issue Sean had pointed out regarding the Royal Army. Even if Crocodile had been dealt with, who could say a second, third, or even more Crocodiles wouldn't appear in the future?
When that time came, would they simply hope that Sean happened to be passing by again?
He understood all of this. But the thought of Vivi leaving his side to follow Sean to the East Blue still left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"Father, I want to go!"
"Vivi, you..."
Cobra looked at his daughter. Her expression was devoid of the typical innocence of a fourteen-year-old girl; instead, her eyes were filled with an unwavering determination.
This was the first time he had seen such a look on her face.
"Father, I am the sole heir of Alabasta. This is my responsibility!" Vivi declared. "I beg you to let me go!"
Cobra let out a heavy sigh. He had made his decision.
"Rear Admiral Sean, I agree to let Vivi study under you, but on one condition."
"Speak, Your Majesty," Sean replied.
"Pell and Chaka must accompany her."
"Pell and Chaka?"
"Yes. They are the lieutenants of my kingdom's guard. Pell is a user of the Zoan-type Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Falcon, and Chaka is a user of the Zoan-type Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Jackal."
'Those two, huh?'
Sean suddenly remembered. He wondered why those names had sounded so familiar. He searched his memory for their nicknames from the original story.
Right... "Falcon" Pell and "Jackal" Chaka.
Their nicknames sounded imposing, but their actual strength was quite lacking. However, that was only natural. They hadn't received the systematic training provided by the Marine Headquarters, nor did they have access to high-level techniques.
Being weak was the norm for them.
But if they were in his hands... while he couldn't promise to turn them into legends, molding them into Vice Admirals shouldn't be too difficult.
After all, the ordinary marines at the 16th Branch already had a Doriki value of around 400. With the added boost of Devil Fruits, there was no reason these two should have a lower ceiling than a standard marine.
"No problem. But Your Majesty, once they arrive at my base, they will have to enlist in the Marine. According to Marine regulations, unless there are extraordinary circumstances, they cannot apply for discharge for at least three years."
"I accept!"
"Then we have a deal," Sean said, clapping his hands.
'''
The next day.
Cobra escorted Vivi all the way to the Sandora River, where Sean's warship was anchored. The father and daughter shared a tearful farewell, and it took a full hour before Vivi finally stepped onto the ship.
"Master, are we heading back to the East Blue now?"
As the massive warship set sail and Cobra disappeared from view, Vivi ran up to Sean and called out.
'This girl... last night she was calling me "big brother" with those puppy-dog eyes, and today it's "Master."'
Well, he had technically taken her as his disciple, so it was only fair.
"No, we're stopping at Jaya Island first."
"Jaya Island? I've heard my father mention it. He said there's a place called Mock Town there, and it's full of bad people!"
"That's true," Sean smiled. "But Mock Town isn't our target this time."
"Then where are we..."
"Vivi, have you heard the stories of The Great Liar Roland?"
"I have! When I was little, Father often told me those stories to teach me that one must be honest and never tell lies!" Vivi nodded.
Thinking about it, Roland really had a tragic fate. Hundreds of years after his death, his life story became common knowledge—only it was used as a cautionary tale, especially when parents were educating their children.
"Vivi, Roland wasn't a liar."
"But... Father said the Golden City of Shandora has been proven not to exist."
"No, they were wrong. The Golden City does exist; it's just that it's no longer on this sea."
"Then where is it?"
"Up there!" Sean pointed toward the sky.
Vivi looked up for a long time, completely bewildered.
"Near Jaya Island, there is a very strange current called the Knock Up Stream," Sean explained. "It's like a massive geyser, but instead of just a few meters, it blasts water straight up to an altitude of 7,000 meters."
"Four hundred years ago, after Roland left Shandora, the Knock Up Stream suddenly erupted, blasting half of Jaya Island straight into the sky."
"That's why when Roland tried to lead people back to the Golden City, he couldn't find it. Shandora was gone from the surface."
Vivi was completely captivated. She didn't even consider the possibility that Sean might be teasing her. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity about the world.
"Does that mean... the Golden City of Shandora is now on the Sky Island? And that the Sky Island isn't a legend, but actually real?"
"Exactly. The Sky Island is real, and the Golden City of Shandora exists there as well. Do you want to see it?"
"Yes!"
"We'll reach mock town in three days. When we get there, I'll take you up to see it."
"Alright!!"
'''
One day later.
The warship had completely cleared the waters of Alabasta.
Standing on the deck, Sean looked out at the sea ahead, his brow furrowing slightly.
"Lucci, how many ships has it been now?"
"It is the fourth one already, Rear Admiral!"
"This is highly unusual."
At that moment, a vast amount of wreckage and wooden debris from various ships floated on the surface of the water ahead of the warship.
If that were all, Sean wouldn't have been concerned. After all, such sights were far too common in the Grand Line; it could have been an attack, a sudden shift in weather, or any number of other mishaps.
The problem was that Sean had ordered the first three ships to be inspected, and they had found a significant amount of valuables still among the debris. This indicated that the wrecks couldn't have been caused by pirate raids.
Then, was it the weather?
That seemed unlikely as well. Any vessel capable of sailing the Grand Line—whether it belonged to pirates, the Marines, or merchant guilds—would certainly be equipped with a skilled navigator. Such professionals were well-versed in the Grand Line's volatile weather patterns. It was nearly impossible to encounter four separate shipwrecks in such a short span of distance.
It was utterly abnormal.
"Rear Admiral, we've found a survivor!"
Suddenly, one of the Marines Sean had dispatched to search the wreckage shouted loudly.
Looking toward the voice, Sean saw a Marine holding a wine barrel in his left hand and its lid in his right. Inside the barrel, someone was curled up in a fetal position.
'Good grief,' Sean thought. 'I thought only Luffy would do something like that, but to think...'
More importantly, there was one thing Sean couldn't wrap his head around. Wine barrels were designed to be highly airtight; otherwise, people wouldn't use them as makeshift survival pods.
'But in a barrel that's 'that' airtight... aren't you afraid of suffocating in there?'