Chapter 20: As You Can See, I'm a Moderate
The atmosphere in the royal reception room was tense.
Guards stood at attention on both sides, their weapons in hand, protecting their king and princess. Igaram, Chaka, and Pell had already formed a loose triangle, surrounding the visitor.
But...
"Hmm... I don't like tea. Got any cola?"
The man in the dragon head mask—"Ryuji"—looked at the cup of hot tea, then turned to a nearby attendant. The question was so unexpected it made the high-strung attendant yelp.
Ryuji shrugged. "Forget it. Pretend I didn't say anything."
"Get him a cola," King Cobra said, his voice deep.
The attendant, snapping to, quickly took the cup and left.
"Sir Ryuji... I shall call you that," Cobra began, using the small interruption to take control. "What is your purpose here? And what did you mean by your words earlier?"
He had not forgotten what Ryuji said at the palace gates.
"Alabasta's 'rebirth or destruction'... I cannot simply ignore a statement like that."
"It means exactly what it sounds like," Ryuji said, leaning back in his chair. "Someone is planning to destroy this country and usurp your throne. In fact, they've already begun."
Though his expression was hidden, everyone could hear the faint mockery in his voice. "I assume a king such as yourself doesn't really believe a nationwide, seven-month drought is just 'normal weather,' do you?"
At these words, the color drained from several faces in the room. Vivi, who was not privy to all matters of state, covered her mouth, her eyes wide.
"Wait, what do you mean? You're saying... the entire drought... is man-made?" she gasped. "How is that..."
But King Cobra remained calm. It was clear Roy was right.
The wise king had long suspected this was no natural disaster. The fact that only the capital was receiving rain reeked of a conspiracy. He had even had Igaram investigate, but the enemy was well-hidden.
And the nation's crisis... the people's suffering... had not allowed him the time to dig deeper.
Even so...
"Is it... Dance Powder?" he asked softly. "It was the only possibility I could think of."
Ryuji clapped. "Exactly right."
(Beneath the mask, Roy was not surprised at all. He knew the truth of Alabasta's drought—it was all part of 'Operation: Utopia,' a plot orchestrated by the Warlord, Crocodile, and his organization, Baroque Works. The goal: to take over one of the world's most ancient kingdoms and find the Ancient Weapon, Pluton.)
"Dance Powder makes it rain, but at a cost," Ryuji continued. "It causes a drought in all surrounding areas."
"And, if our information is correct... sometime next year, just as the suffering reaches its peak, a large, secret stash of Dance Powder will be 'coincidentally' discovered in the royal capital. Discovered by the people."
At this, the guards' faces twisted in rage.
"Bastards!"
"They plan to frame His Majesty!?"
"The King would never do such a thing!"
Igaram and the others were furious, but Vivi's face was chalk-white. She wasn't stupid. Ryuji's words were enough for her to see the terrifying, complete picture.
If the drought continued for a full year... the suffering would be unimaginable. At that moment, for the only city with rain to be found hoarding the cause of the drought...
No matter how beloved King Cobra was, it would mean a rebellion.
"To cause a drought with Dance Powder, just to incite a war..." Even Cobra's face was now dark with anger.
"To disregard the lives of the people... Unforgivable," he said in a low voice.
"Yes, he's a truly nasty schemer," Ryuji said casually.
Then, his tone shifted. "But, now that you understand the situation, you understand my visit."
"I am here to discuss this matter with you, King Cobra."
"We... have an interest... in this man behind the curtain. So..."
The eyes under the mask met Cobra's. "We will help you deal with him and his organization. We can also solve your immediate problem by bringing rain, and we can even discuss a long-term partnership. As I understand it, even with the Sandora River, Alabasta is not a water-rich nation."
He gestured to the ceiling, the meaning clear. "As you can see, I have the ability... Oh, thanks."
The attendant returned with a glass of cola.
"That sounds... very tempting," Cobra said, his eyes sharp.
"But."
His voice suddenly became regal and hard. "You cannot possibly believe that I would trust a man who appears from nowhere, who won't even show his face, based on a few words and no proof."
"Furthermore, before we speak of any 'cooperation,' I want to know one thing... What is your relationship with him!?"
Cobra slapped a piece of paper down on the table.
It was, of course, a bounty poster for 'Yuji'.
As a member nation, Cobra was well aware of the 'Celestial Tribute Heist.' And while Yuji's picture was a sketch, the sea-beast mask was distinctive. The moment he saw Ryuji, Cobra had made the connection.
"Oh, you mean Yuji," Ryuji said, glancing at the poster as he reached for his cola.
"We're in the same organization. Colleagues, you could say."
The instant the words were spoken, Igaram, Chaka, and Pell moved, their hands blurring as they drew their weapons.
This was beyond dangerous. 'Yuji'—the madman who had stolen from the Celestial Dragons—was a colleague of the man sitting ten feet from their king and princess.
But in the next instant...
"!!!"
All three men froze, their eyes wide with horror.
They couldn't draw their weapons.
In fact...
"I... I can't move!"
They couldn't move at all. Even Pell and Chaka, Zoan-type users whose strength was far beyond a normal human's, were completely immobilized.
"And... so cold... No, wait... that's..."
A bone-deep chill spread over them. They looked down.
"It's ice!"
In a split second, everyone in the room—except for King Cobra and Princess Vivi—had been encased in a thin, unmovable layer of ice.
"Ah, the cola is room temperature," Ryuji's voice cut through the silence. "That won't do. Warm cola is heresy."
The frozen guards watched as Ryuji's hand touched the glass.
Frost immediately bloomed on the outside, and the dark liquid inside chilled.
Ryuji lifted his mask just a fraction, covering his mouth with his hand, and took a long drink.
Then, he waved his other hand.
"Fwoosh!"
A burst of hot air instantly filled the room. The ice on the guards and attendants vaporized, drenching them in water.
In a moment, they were free.
But Igaram was breathing heavily, unsure if the water dripping down his face was melted ice or cold sweat.
This man...
From those few seconds, he knew. The man sitting in front of them was an absolute monster.
Ryuji set his glass down, as if nothing had happened. "You don't need to worry about Yuji. Aside from obeying our leader, we executives... we're independent. We have different styles."
"Yuji, for example. He's like a pirate. He likes solving problems with force."
"But I'm different," he said, gesturing to himself with a smile. "As you can see... I'm a moderate."
"I may not be the best earner in the organization, but I like to think of myself as a 'merchant'."