Crocodile struck a match and lit a new cigar for himself.
He shook out the match and took a deep breath.
Hiss… puff!
After exhaling a light cloud of smoke, he sat on the corner sofa, finally calming down.
Heh heh heh, this is really interesting.
Before this meeting officially started, who would have thought something like this would happen?
…
Not far away, Vivi and Wapol's meeting continued.
The main topics of the meeting were how to establish a fixed sea route between Alabasta and the Drum Kingdom, and how to maintain and develop it after it was established.
This is just a small part of the grand idea of the Four Seas Alliance, not even a complete first step.
But even so, the ignorant Wapol still had a hard time understanding.
What he cared about was only what he needed to give up, and how much benefit he could get from it later.
Beside him, Dalton frowned.
He was an honest and simple person with strong fighting ability, but he was not good at political matters.
But the current situation was that even Dalton could see that Wapol was completely being led by the nose by the other party!
Why?
Why did things turn out this way?
Looking at the confused Dalton, Crocodile couldn't help but laugh.
Unlike Dalton, a simple fighter, Crocodile could see the key to the current situation at a glance.
Wapol, the stupid king, only considered "himself" in the meeting.
In other words, the Drum Kingdom was just a bargaining chip for Wapol to get more benefits, while Vivi represented the country of Alabasta itself.
"A country that exists for personal benefit" versus "an individual who represents an entire country."
It was clear which side was more likely to gain an advantage!
…
At this moment, Vivi was discussing with Wapol the rules for the two countries to send troops to guard after the fixed sea route was established.
But for Wapol, the guard team was his private army. If they all went to protect the people, who would protect him?
Therefore, Wapol planned to push all the troublesome responsibility of stationing troops to Alabasta.
But Vivi's words followed closely behind.
"In the pre-set route, there are four deserted islands that can be used as garrison points. As the initiator of the route, Alabasta can take the initiative to undertake the garrison duties of three of them, and the remaining one will be handed over to you."
Listening to Vivi's words, Wapol suddenly felt that there was some sense in it.
The other side was guarding three sections of the route, so guarding one on his side shouldn't be too much trouble, and he nodded in agreement.
But after nodding, Wapol suddenly realized that something was wrong.
He scratched his head, feeling that this was completely different from his original idea, but he couldn't say what was wrong.
Seeing this scene, Crocodile almost laughed out loud.
Sure enough, at the meeting table, as long as you fall into the other party's rhythm, you will follow the other party's ideas all the way down.
Crocodile had seen the four deserted islands in advance. The three that Alabasta was responsible for guarding were all strategic locations, good for both offense and defense.
With a guard team of only a dozen people, along with fortifications, they could resist the siege of several pirate ships!
More importantly, these three islands are located in the international waters of the two countries.
Sending troops to garrison them means that the surrounding waters of those islands can be brought under control - and with the permission of the other country's king, legitimately!
Such a good place cannot be given to others.
And what about the deserted island that the Drum Kingdom is responsible for?
Not only is it located within the Drum Kingdom's waters, but there is also a Marine patrol route nearby.
As for pirates, even if they had ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare to plunder ships near that island!
In this way, that deserted island is completely a big trouble, and it can even be said to be completely superfluous.
Since it's superfluous, then why not just set up three garrison points?
The answer is simple: it's still for the sake of legitimacy.
Before completely falling out with the World Government, according to the rules, Alabasta is still a member state of the World Government, and the World Government has the right to ask about Alabasta's behavior.
Once the World Government discovers the existence of this route, the Alabasta side can bring out the two countries' agreement.
Both sides have sent troops to garrison, which is enough to prove the fairness and rationality of this agreement.
This is a well-known excuse, but it is indeed useful for dealing with the World Government, a bloated organization.
"Interesting…"
Crocodile was watching with great interest, but he couldn't help but be curious.
Did Ryan Rowan really have such ability to teach a five or six-year-old girl to become an outstanding diplomat in just two days?
Crocodile didn't believe it.
He must have done something else!
Crocodile looked around and suddenly noticed Vivi's backpack, which contained some travel necessities that Cobra had prepared for his daughter.
But what caught Crocodile's attention was a notebook among them.
It was the notebook that Vivi was holding when she was talking with Rowan on the deck.
After hesitating again and again, Crocodile couldn't resist his inner curiosity and took out the notebook, opening the first page.
He really wanted to know what Rowan had taught Vivi.
"Be patient after entering the meeting room."
"30% chance that Wapol will immediately push the door open and be aggressive. Don't answer him at this time, and wait silently for him to calm down."
"60% chance that Wapol will make you wait for a long time. Leave within two hours if you don't see him, leave a declaration of war, and leave the rest to me."
"10% chance that Wapol will directly attack, trying to use force to intimidate you. At this time, call for Little Crocodile and let him do his thing."
Looking at the words in the notebook, Crocodile was suddenly stunned.
He took a few deep breaths, and a ridiculous guess suddenly appeared in his mind.
"It can't be, it can't be…"
Crocodile grinned and chuckled, continuing to turn to the next page.
"After sitting down, there is a 70% chance that Wapol will yell at you, and a 30% chance that he will laugh at you."
"Both situations don't matter. No matter where the other party talks about after three sentences, you can directly start your topic."
"…"
Crocodile continued to flip through a few pages.
His eyes widened more and more, and he compared Vivi's performance with the content of the notebook in his mind.
"Referring to the issue of stationing troops."
"After proposing that both sides send troops to garrison, there is a 10% chance that Wapol will directly refuse, and a 90% chance that he will fall silent."
"If he refuses, say comforting words. If he is silent, say our proposal directly after two breaths."
"90% chance - he will agree."
"10% - he will directly overturn the table, remember to shout for Little Crocodile, and then thank him."
"…"
Crocodile took a deep breath, and his pupils couldn't stop trembling.
What is this notebook…?
No, something's not right.
Crocodile shook his head, trying to dispel the absurd guess in his mind.
Because if that's really the case, then the facts would be too unbelievable!
Crocodile swallowed.
He was sure that what he held in his hand was just an ordinary notebook, not a high-tech device that could display things in real time, or some strange fruit ability.
This is just a notebook.
A notebook that was written in two days and then given to Vivi.
Most of it was Rowan's writing, with a few notes from Vivi herself to prevent herself from forgetting some important parts.
"That old monster… calculated everything?"
Crocodile could only use a dry laugh to dispel the shock in his heart.
He turned to the next page with trembling fingers, hoping that things were not as he thought.
The next page only had one sentence.
A very simple sentence -
"It's very impolite to flip through a young girl's personal notebook, Little Crocodile."
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