One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 38 The dead must make way for the living!
Two days later.

While the latest report from the World Economic News Agency is being prepared in full swing.

Alabasta, Arubana, the royal port.

King Kobra of Alabasta is standing on a royal merchant ship.

At that moment, Huka and several guards stood on the deck, solemnly guarding their king.

In addition, a voice came from above Cobra's head at this moment.

"Your Majesty, they have arrived."

The intelligence was delivered by a giant bird soaring through the sky.

That was Bell, who had transformed into a falcon.

Along with his words.

As expected, Cobra saw it from the distant Santoro River.

A warship is slowly appearing.

That warship was not a naval vessel—the Star of Cross flag flying above its mainmast was enough to explain its origin.

It is a warship directly under the 'World Government'.

And at this moment.
On that warship.

"Da." "Da." "Da."

Footsteps approached, and the owner was a man.

He was wearing a white suit and a white bowler hat. His eyes were one black and one white, but he had no pupils. His entire face was white, making him look very unique.

If it weren't for the beard on his chin, one would almost suspect that he was wearing a mask.

Beside him were two other tall men, also dressed in white and wearing masks.

"You stay here."

At that moment, the man casually gave an order to his partner, and then his figure flashed away.

"Shh!"

With lightning-fast 'Shave' and 'Moonwalk' activated, his figure leaped continuously across the sky above the Santora River.

In just a few seconds, he traversed hundreds of meters and appeared in front of Kobra.

"Qiang!"

Huka and his guards warily raised their weapons, signaling the other side not to make any rash moves.

But Cobra gently raised his hand to stop his guards.

He strode out of the crowd, looked at the man, and loudly announced his name: "I am Neferutari Cobra, the King of Alabasta."

Upon hearing this, the man removed his top hat, placed it in front of his chest, and bowed: "CP0, Guernica."

That's right.

The man named Guernica is a CP0 agent.

"We are here on orders from the government to handle matters concerning the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile."

Having said that, he put his top hat back on: "Now, Your Majesty Cobra, please explain the current situation—who killed Crocodile?"

He got straight to the point, stating the plan that had been prepared before he arrived.

But what he didn't expect was...
"As far as I know, the person who killed him called himself 'Chenlong'—I will explain the details to you in a moment."

Upon hearing this, Kobra nodded in agreement.

"But before that, Icarum!"

The king shouted, "Bring the goods up!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a voice came from inside the cabin behind him: "Yes, Your Majesty!"

The cabin door was opened the next moment.

Led by Icarum, several guards were carrying a large crate out of the ship's hold.

"clatter!"

Midway through the procession, one of the guards apparently lost his balance and twisted his ankle, letting out a clear, muffled groan.

"."

The sound made Guernica look over.

But the CP0 agent didn't say anything; he simply looked at the box.

"This is."

he asked softly.

Cobra didn't seem inclined to keep anyone in suspense.

The king continued, “Mr. Guernica, this is some information that a woman who claimed to be an ‘insider’ gave me not long ago.”

He asked this question calmly.

"It contains information about an organization called Baroque Works and its attempt to overthrow Alabasta—which they called the 'Utopia Project'."

"The woman also told me some things, such as the identity of the organization's leader."

King Cobra spoke calmly.

"."

As a result, Guernica's usually expressionless face seemed to darken somewhat.

As a top-level agent of the World Government, he obviously knows a lot.

so.
"what do you mean"

"I can't believe the information that lady provided is true, so I thought perhaps the Five Elders could verify it for me?"

"Cobra said softly."

"I understand, please wait a moment."

Guernica nodded.

Then, he decisively took out a small Den Den Mushi from his pocket and walked to the side.

"Bru bru!" "Bru bru!" "Click!"

As the Den Den Mushi connected, Guernica's lips moved slightly, as if she were telling the other end of the Den Den Mushi what was happening here.

Then, as if he had heard instructions from the other end of the Den Den Mushi, he nodded slightly: "Yes."

So he hung up the Den Den Mushi and went back to Cobra.

"Your Majesty Cobra."

He said in a deep voice, "The Five Elders deeply regret the natural disaster that struck Alabasta this year, and they never expected that Mr. 0 from Baroque Works would be hiding in Alabasta. This is all due to the negligence of the World Government and the Navy. The government is willing to provide Alabasta with a huge amount of disaster relief aid."

"As for the truth you mentioned, the government is willing to help you thoroughly investigate these documents."

"Are you satisfied with this?"

He explained the situation in a few words, his speech concise and to the point.

After hearing his words, Cobra finally nodded: "Of course."

But then Kobra added, "But as you can see, there's a lot of information—only a portion of it is here, so I think I'll submit the rest next time the government sends disaster relief aid. Are you satisfied?"

Upon hearing this, Guernica nodded in agreement: "Of course."

It's worth mentioning that during their conversation, the guard who had previously sprained his ankle seemed to lose his balance and almost fell again.

This annoyed Icarus, who looked at him with some frustration, realizing that he needed to significantly increase the training intensity of the Royal Guard.

On the other hand, after reaching a consensus...

"Then I shall take my leave, Your Majesty."

Guernica didn't hesitate at all and took his leave on the spot.

Then he leaped again and flew towards the distant warship once more.

After witnessing Guernica's figure disappear into the distance.
Cobra was silent for a moment before saying, "Icarim, you may all step aside."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Icarum, who had long intended to do so, nodded, but his gaze was fixed on the guard who kept making mistakes.

But it was precisely at this moment
"She stayed."

Cobra pointed lightly at the guard and spoke authoritatively. Even Icarum was slightly taken aback.

"Your Majesty, he..."

He thought that Cobra was also angry because of the guard's mistake, so he hurriedly tried to explain.

But Cobra didn't say anything, only gave Icarum a resolute look.

".yes!"

Therefore, Icarum naturally understood his lord's intentions.

He gave the guard a "good luck" look, then left with the others.

After all the guards left
"Take it off."

"That armor must be very heavy. It must be uncomfortable to have something under your feet, right?"

Cobra looked at the 'guard' and spoke gently.

"."

The guard didn't speak, but his body beneath the armor seemed to be trembling slightly.

Seeing this, Cobra shook his head: "Vivi, I'm not the kind of father who can't even recognize his own daughter's voice."

"But you are not a good king!"

Upon hearing this, Nefertari Vivi finally couldn't hold back any longer.

She suddenly took off her helmet and threw it to the ground.

"That guy—Crocodile, he's the mastermind behind everything, isn't he!?"

She looked at her father and asked him a sharp question that she wouldn't normally ask.

"You know perfectly well that it's all his fault, so why don't you explain it to the government? Why are you covering it up for him?"

Just as mentioned before, Cobra doesn't allow her to get involved in anything related to Chenlong.

But Vivi was never an obedient princess.

So she had been secretly investigating until recently when she happened to overhear Ikaram's wife, 'Tila Gotan,' mention that Ikaram seemed to be coming to the port today, and that's when she made her plan.

She secretly impersonated a guard to get here and witnessed her father's conversation with a World Government agent.

She knew very well what those documents represented.

That was evidence of Crocodile's crimes, the 'truth' that this drought and the countless deaths deserved.

But after hearing Vivi's words, Cobra showed no sign of anger.

He simply looked at his daughter and sighed, "I didn't want you to be exposed to these things right now, but..."

He shook his head and said with a wry smile, "You and your mother are neither rule-abiding types."

After uttering this sigh, he pondered for a moment before speaking again.

"Weiwei."

Instead of answering his daughter directly, he held up one finger: "I have two stories to tell."

"The first story is that Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, is actually the head of a criminal organization and the culprit who attempted to usurp our country, causing our country to experience a drought in July."

"Then, a powerful figure named 'Chenlong' defeated Crocodile for us and saved the country."

At this point, he held up his second finger.

The second story is...

He looked at his daughter: "There was never any conspiracy—Alabasta didn't get rain for seven months, it was just because of this year's extreme weather."

"And the one who defeated Crocodile was Mr. 0 of Baroque Works, whose name was 'Chenlong'."

"Crocodile happened to fight him in Alabasta and was killed."

Which story do you think the world government would prefer?

Upon hearing her father's question, Vivi naturally fell silent.

Which story do you like best?
The answer is self-evident; it's the second one.

In the first story, the 'Seven Warlords of the Sea', chosen and granted special privileges by the World Government, became villains who usurped the membership of the World Government and became one of the 20 founding nations, causing the deaths of countless people.

The members of the 'Twelve Constellations' organization, who stole the Heavenly Gold, became the heroes who defeated him.

How could the world government possibly accept something like this?

The second story is much better—in this story, the World Government is not at fault at all; Crocodile is simply not strong enough.

Even his heroic sacrifice in fighting criminals proves that the World Government's selection of the 'Seven Warlords of the Sea' was correct.

"."

Therefore, Vivi naturally understood her father's meaning.

This is a deal.

To ensure the 'second story' is true, the World Government must silence Cobra.

Guernica realized this, which is why she called the Five Elders just now to explain the situation.

And the Five Elders did indeed show their sincerity.

"To save face for the government, that amount of money won't be small."

Kobra's gaze was fixed on the distant Alabasta.

"With that money, the disasters that the people suffered this year can be made up for."

Doesn't he want the truth to come out?
No, of course he wanted to.

But
"Vivi, do you remember what our ancestor Lily said?"

"The past must be compromised for the future."

"The dead must make way for the living."

He said softly, "We are the kings of Alabasta, and we must do our best to protect the well-being of more people."

In the face of the weight of life and the stability of the kingdom, the truth is the only thing that doesn't matter.

".Why?"

But before he could finish speaking, Vivi interrupted him again.

She raised her head and looked at her father.

But this time, her tone was no longer accusatory, but rather a soft inquiry.

"Why did you do all this behind my back, Father?"

"If you had told me sooner, I could have shared all of this with you."

By this moment, she understood everything.

She understood why her father wouldn't let her know the identity of the mastermind behind it all.

It's likely that Cobra had already conceived this plan the moment he heard the truth.

She naturally understood that, given her father's personality, making such a decision would not be easy for him.

To make the enemy a hero and to bury the truth—this is a decision born of guilt and pain.

So she doesn't understand.

She is clearly sensible; she would understand and make the same choice as Cobra—just like at that World Conference back then, she would suppress her grievances and apologize to Wapol who bullied her.

She can share this pain with Cobra.

“I know, Vivi.”

But at that moment, Cobra simply stroked his daughter's hair gently.

In his mind, he couldn't help but recall the last World Conference, when he heard that his daughter had been bullied, and Vivi smiled at him while holding back her tears and said, "Father, I'm fine."

“I knew you would do that.”

He certainly knew how outstanding his daughter was.

But it is precisely because of this
"That's why I don't want you to do that—I can bear the guilt and pain all by myself."

The King of Alabasta shook his head: "I'm already a bad king who hides the truth for evil people, so I think... at least let me be a good father."

　Both Old Sand and Cobra have important roles later in the story. [Therefore, I focus more on describing Cobra's character.]

　　This chapter is 4000 words long, which is a small burst of writing today. I'd appreciate some follow-up reading and monthly votes.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)