Chapter 127: Invitation Letter from the Seven Warlords

Another Warlord has died?

The other four elders all changed color in shock.

Marcus Mars, the Five Elders with white hair and a long beard, distributed the latest intelligence in his hand; after several of them read through it, the meeting room fell silent once more.

After a long while, the blond Five Elder spoke with a heavy expression:

"Regardless, the Warlord system cannot be shaken by this; the most urgent task now is to fill the vacancy."

Nasjuro, the Five Elder in the kimono, narrowed his eyes slightly: "What do you mean?"

"Rather than letting him continue to create chaos, it would be better to attempt to recruit him."

The blond Five Elder closed the document. "The Warlord system was established precisely to balance the powers at sea."

"Since he has consecutively defeated Crocodile and Boss Hua Zha, it proves his strength places him among the top tier even among all the Warlords; if we can recruit him as a Warlord, he would be an even more useful piece."

"That fellow won't bow his head so easily."

Saturn frowned. "In just over a month, he has committed so many heinous acts; he is undoubtedly an ambitious and arrogant madman. An invitation to become a Warlord is something most pirates would beg for, but for this man, I fear it holds little appeal."

"Precisely because of that, controlling him is even more necessary."

Nasjuro gently pushed up his glasses. "I agree with Saturn's opinion. The situation in the New World is currently tense, requiring a Marine Admiral to be on standby at all times; moreover, Enies Lobby will need a large number of troops before its reconstruction is complete."

"Marine Headquarters cannot devote its full strength to encircle and suppress him in the short term, yet letting him roam free will only cause the situation to spiral further out of control. If we can restrain him with the position of Warlord, we can at least stabilize the situation temporarily."

"What if he refuses outright?" Saturn asked coldly.

"Then we will deploy CP0 to fill the manpower gap and assist in the suppression."

Nasjuro stated indifferently:

"Even if we cannot capture him, we must at least force him into Entering the New World; we cannot allow him to continue running rampant in Paradise. Boss Hua Zha is Kaido's friend; upon hearing news of his appearance in the New World, the Beasts Pirates will certainly not let him off easily."

"That reasoning makes sense; I second the motion."

"I also second it."

"Seconded."

"Once the Qiwuhai Alliance treaty is drafted, who shall be sent to deliver the letter?"

"Let that fellow go..."

Inside the meeting room, the lamplight flickered.

The five of them exchanged words, quickly reaching a tacit consensus.

————

At the same time.

Alabasta, side hall of the royal palace.

"Uncle Cobra, thank you for your generous hospitality tonight."

"A mere banquet is nothing; we are the ones who should be thanking you."

Cobra leaned against the head of the bed, his voice somewhat weak, yet his gaze toward Siano was sincere and earnest:

"Had you all not intervened, the tragedy at the Saint Dora Hekou would likely have been unavoidable; saving those merchant caravans and the civilians along the riverbank also preserved the dignity of our royal family."

"Beyond that, we must also thank you all regarding the matter of Crocodile."

Cobra gave a bitter smile. "That man was clearly plotting a conspiracy to overthrow the royal family, yet I remained completely unaware..."

Hm?

Siano was somewhat surprised: "Uncle, you already know?"

He hadn't even spoken yet.

To prevent having only verbal claims without proof, when they first arrived within Alabasta's borders, the Curtain-Faller had specifically docked overnight at Rapeseed Flower Port.

First was to return Binchy; yes, Robin's turtle had been rented from a travel agency in this port city.

Second, Robin's secret base was also located there, storing some communication records with Crocodile; handing these over to the royal family would be sufficient to expose the man's true nature.

However, it now seemed that retrieving this evidence was unnecessary.

"Yes, Lord Siano."

Cobra nodded slightly, a complex look flashing in his eyes as he sighed:

"Yes, over the past two days, the guards have searched the entire area around the capital and the regions where Crocodile was once active in Rainbase, discovering multiple hidden bases; the various crimes revealed within... expose that man's true face in a way that is truly chilling."

"Had he not been defeated by Lord Siano's hands, the entire nation of Alabasta would likely have remained deceived by him, leading to unimaginable consequences."

Oh, no wonder.

The Royal Army's ability to act is quite strong.

Of course, given the current state of Alabasta, where rebellion and civil war have not yet begun, Cobra's control over the nation remains at its peak.

Naturally, had Crocodile still been alive, the contents of these secret bases could never have been unearthed by the guards; at the slightest hint of trouble, they would have been transferred immediately.

Moreover, out of trust and affection for this "National Hero," Cobra would never have even conceived the idea of searching.

But Crocodile is dead.

And he died very suddenly; when he went to ambush Siano at Whiskey Shanfeng, he probably thought it would be an easy task, gone and back in no time.

As a result, he never returned, leaving a vast amount of evidence uncleared, which was eventually uncovered one by one by the kingdom's guards.

"Therefore, Lord Siano, you have saved our nation twice from peril!"

"I will keep this debt of gratitude in my heart forever; from now on, you and your companions are the eternal benefactors and closest friends of the Kingdom of Alabasta."

Cobra solemnly raised his right hand to his chest, bowing slightly to perform the highest ceremonial rite of the royal family. "At any time, should you require assistance, the entire nation of Alabasta will devote all its strength to help."

"You are too polite, Uncle."

Siano smiled. "However, speaking of which, there is indeed a matter I wish to discuss with you, Uncle."

"Please speak," Cobra urged immediately.

Siano spoke frankly: "Before Crocodile died, in order to beg me to spare his life, he told me many things, including... the Poneglyph that your royal family has always guarded."

"Besides wanting to overthrow Alabasta and establish his ideal nation, what Crocodile cares about most is actually that stone, after all, it records the location of the Pluton."

Cobra froze slightly.

He subconsciously lifted his head, and after meeting the clear gaze of the black-haired youth, he nodded with a bitter smile:

"That is indeed the case; it is normal for Your Excellency to be interested, however, I truly cannot take you to see that legendary Ancient Weapon, because that Poneglyph only records the location; the true body of Pluton is actually not..."

"Actually not in Alabasta, but in Wano Country under Kaido's control, is that right?"

"Yes..."

Cobra nodded subconsciously, then suddenly started in alarm, "Eh? How do you know?!"

This was a secret that their Nefertari family had guarded for eight hundred years, generation after generation!

Robin had been listening quietly all along, but at this moment, she finally could not help turning her head to glance at Siano.

"Oh, actually Pluton was found by Kaido long ago; otherwise, he wouldn't have kept his headquarters right next to it, lingering there unwilling to leave."

Siano blinked his eyes, saying casually:

"This is what Boss Hua Zha told me voluntarily before he died, begging me to spare his life; after all, he was Kaido's good brother and had stayed in that place called Wano Country."

This was naturally a lie.

That Pluton was buried beneath Wano Country was something Kaido definitely knew by now; this part was not false.

But no matter what, he would never easily tell an outsider like Hua Zha, and Hua Zha would even less likely tell him.

However...

Someone had to take the blame.

Anyway, dead men tell no tales, and as for his lying, he had been able to do it without blushing or his heart racing many years ago.

"Kaido already knows?"

Cobra's face instantly turned pale; he struggled to prop himself up, his voice trembling: "This... how could it be like this..."

If the true body of Pluton had already been found, then what meaning was there left in the secret they had guarded for so long?

Siano shrugged his shoulders:

"The fact is just so; in short, no one can say for sure when the true body of Pluton will appear in the world or how long you elders can continue guarding this secret, but leaving this stone in Alabasta will only continuously attract those who covet it, bringing disaster to this country; it would be better to cut off the source directly and hand it over to me, what do you say?"

"Hmm?"

Cobra's eyes revealed confusion.

Ambitious schemers like Crocodile racked their brains wanting to find this Poneglyph because they were aiming for the information about Pluton recorded upon it.

But this Lord Siano already knew these secrets inside and out.

Then this Poneglyph itself was just a stone; what use could it possibly have?

"Because I have no interest whatsoever in Pluton; what I truly want is this stone itself."

Siano seemed to see through his confusion and said with a laugh, "Uncle, don't you think something that can exist for hundreds of years without being destroyed makes for excellent training equipment?"

"Training equipment?"

Cobra's face was full of astonishment.

It was the first time he had heard someone use this term to describe a Poneglyph.

But thinking about it, it really seemed so.

For someone like the other party, who was already infinitely close to the peak of the sea, even the thickest steel plates probably could not satisfy him anymore; no wonder he would take a fancy to the Poneglyph stone tablet itself.

He lowered his head, pondering in silence for a moment.

"I understand."

Cobra looked toward Siano and said solemnly:

"If it truly helps your progress in strength, then please take it away; although this cannot repay your kindness, it is the only thing I can currently do for you; if it can truly help improve your strength, that would be best of all."

Before this meeting.

The black-haired youth before his eyes had already proven his character with actual actions.

Now, speaking so openly and honestly with him further corroborated this point.

Otherwise, he could have just acted directly and snatched it; being a terrifying existence who had personally slain two Warlords of the Sea, if he truly wanted to do something, who in the entire royal capital of Alabasta could stop him?

He was happy to see such a powerful person become even stronger.

He would even naively hope that there could be more and more powerful people like Siano.

Perhaps it could not bring much change to this era, but... for the common people struggling to survive in this chaotic and turbulent age, it was ultimately a good thing.

————

Half an hour later.

Inside the underground palace of the Funeral Hall.

In the dim stone chamber, a huge, perfectly square stone stele stood silently.

Under the flickering firelight, the ancient characters on the surface of the stele glowed with a cold, hard metallic luster, as if recounting eight hundred years of vicissitudes.

Robin stood before the stele, her fingertips gently brushing over those familiar characters.

These characters, which she had seen countless times in the Ohara documents, were now truly presented before her eyes, giving her an illusion as if ages had passed.

"Poneglyph..."

She murmured softly, her voice echoing in the empty stone chamber.

Had the pursuit that had haunted her dreams for over ten years now achieved its first step so easily?

Although the historical information recorded on it had already been mostly learned from the conversation between the Captain and Cobra just now, and basically matched up...

But.

This was the true body of a Poneglyph.

Was it really something that could be collected so easily?

The dream once buried deep in her heart, something she felt she could never dare to hope for in her entire life, now seemed, at this moment, not so unreachable after all.

She glanced at Siano opposite her, silent and wordless.

……

Siano was unaware of the twists and turns in Robin's mind.

At this moment, he stood on the other side, stroking the smooth, icy surface of the stone stele, an expression of keen interest on his face.

A sensation he had never experienced before; indeed, the material was quite special!

In any case, he would give it a try first.

He stepped back two paces, regulated his breath, clenched his fist, and instantly wrapped Armament Haki around it before slamming a fierce punch forward!

Boom—!

A dull impact sound echoed through the underground palace; the entire stone chamber vibrated violently as dust sifted down.

Yet the Poneglyph remained immovable; not only was there no depression on its surface, but not even a single crack appeared.

Ho!

Even though Siano had mentally prepared himself, he could not help but feel surprised.

His punch might have looked ordinary, but the force behind it was no small matter, and he had even employed the technique of internal destruction.

Even a thick steel plate would have shattered completely from the inside under such a blow.

And the result?

The surging Armament Haki bursting forth from his knuckles vanished without a trace like mud entering the sea, instantly swallowed up without producing any effect on this large stone.

Siano grinned.

What a fine thing!

This trip to the capital was not in vain!

Boss Hua Zha, transformed into a Tyrannosaurus Rex, was undoubtedly an excellent punching bag.

But compared to this Poneglyph, he was utterly insignificant.

Clearly, for a very long time to come, this object would be perfectly suited as training equipment, becoming an ideal tool for him to further increase the intensity of his Armament Haki and temper his physical body.

To think of completely destroying it would be nothing but wishful thinking; even Im would likely be unable to accomplish it.

Otherwise, the Poneglyphs scattered across the world would have long since been destroyed.

But the day he could leave a conspicuous mark upon it would prove that both his Haki and his physical strength had undergone a metamorphosis, reaching a far more terrifying level.

"Tsk." He suddenly pinched his chin and sighed, "With something this good, how come no one else has ever thought to put it to proper use before?"

Setting aside matters of cultivation for now.

Those strange Devil Fruit users, if combined with the Poneglyphs, should have plenty of room to demonstrate their prowess in actual combat, right?

Perhaps cutting it or the like was impossible, but manipulating it to serve as a weapon felt like it would be incredibly fierce.

Take Shiki, for instance; if he prepared several Poneglyphs and had them floating around him on all sides, wouldn't that be the ultimate armor, capable of blocking any attack?

And even if Garp and Sengoku joined forces to punch you a few more times, could they break through that defense?

Siano pondered for a moment.

If, in the future, his strength advanced further and he could create indentations on it convenient for gripping by hand, then wielding it directly like a meteor hammer to swing around also seemed quite formidable?

But those were matters for later.

For now, the most important thing was to bring this thing back to the Curtain Falls.

He squatted down, gripped the bottom of the stone stele with both hands, and the muscles throughout his body bulged.

"Up!"

With a low shout, the entire massive Poneglyph was actually uprooted from its pedestal by sheer force and easily hoisted onto his shoulder.

Hmm, it wasn't very heavy; at least, it couldn't compare to Boss Hua Zha.

Although the distance from the capital to the riverbank was not short, a full hundred kilometers, carrying it all the way in one go posed no problem for his stamina.

"Let's go, Robin!"

Robin watched Siano's back as he carried the stone stele, then turned to glance again at the empty stone chamber before suddenly shaking her head with a light laugh.

Back when Siano, atop the sea turtle, had invited her aboard, claiming he too was very interested in the Poneglyphs and that their goals were aligned.

She had thought it was merely a lie fabricated on the spot to comfort her.

Who could have anticipated that those words were actually true?

It was just that...

It was just that Siano's focus of interest regarding the Poneglyphs seemed somewhat absurd, differing only slightly from her own.

…………

Early the next morning.

Amid Cobra's personal send-off, the Curtain Falls departed from the heart of the kingdom, sailing south toward Hekou.

People on both sides waved goodbye; Vivi and Nami cried the most sorrowfully, waving continuously until their little faces were streaked with tears.

"Nami! You must remember to call!"

"I know! You take care of yourself too!"

The two little girls shouted loudly across the river, their voices drifting away slowly in the morning breeze.

Siano glanced at them sideways.

These two little ones had slept together last night; who knew what they had exchanged, but in any case, their personalities seemed to match quite well.

Having spent less than two days together in total, they had already become best friends, exchanging phone numbers and promising to stay in touch frequently in the future.

As for Siano, the idol who had been pestered relentlessly just yesterday, he was suddenly forgotten in a corner.

However, this suited him just fine; before the farewells even ended, he cheerfully took a cup of coffee brewed by Robin's own hands and ducked straight into the training room.

(End of Chapter)