A "moderate"?
Cobra found it somewhat absurd.
He was not a king famed for personal martial strength, but he understood perfectly well what the scene just now represented.
The most elite guard force in all of Alabasta had been utterly powerless before Dragon (Chenlong).
He hadn't even made a visible move, yet the confrontation had already ended—silently and decisively.
This was a blatant display of power.
And yet, Cobra was not a king who would be cowed by such threats.
So he cleared his throat, preparing to speak.
But before he could—
"An organization? You have an organization? And even a leader?"
Vivi's voice rang out before his.
The princess showed no sign of fear from what had just happened. Instead, she asked with a mix of vigilance and curiosity.
"Vivi!"
Cobra rare scolded his daughter.
"You promised me earlier that you would only listen."
Of course, he was worried about Vivi's sudden action—though her question was exactly what he himself wanted to ask, speaking rashly before such a monster was inherently dangerous.
"That's right, Princess."
But to Cobra's surprise, Dragon's attitude toward Vivi was actually quite gentle.
"Our organization is called the Twelve Zodiac Signs."
"As for the leader…"
At this point, Dragon's tone became solemn, as though he held that "leader" in genuine reverence.
"I cannot disclose information about him. But rest assured—we sincerely wish to cooperate with you and bear no malicious intent."
As he spoke, he casually set down the now-empty cola cup in his hand.
"If I truly harbored ill intentions, I wouldn't have landed at Erumalu first—I would have come straight to the capital."
"The rain along the way was my 'gesture of sincerity,' King Cobra."
Before their eyes, the metal cup in his hand seemed to melt under extreme heat, releasing wisps of white steam before turning into a mass of glowing red molten iron that fell to the floor, instantly punching through it.
It silently told everyone present one thing—
If he wished, he could easily storm the palace and even kill the king and princess.
"…"
The guards' expressions darkened with anger.
King Cobra, meanwhile, fell silent.
Yet deep in his eyes was unmistakable shock.
After a long moment, he finally spoke.
"Two things."
"First, since you speak of cooperation, I need to know what you want from Alabasta."
"Second, you still haven't provided sufficient evidence, so I cannot trust you yet. The story you told—if I replace the 'mastermind' with your organization, it would work just as well."
He showed not the slightest fear of the power Dragon had displayed, remaining calm and resolute.
"If these two matters are not made clear, then even if you take my life here, I will not agree to anything."
As he spoke, he subtly glanced at Igaram and made a small hand gesture.
Igaram immediately understood—if things went south, he was to protect Princess Vivi and help her escape at all costs.
"…"
Igaram's expression grew even more steely.
At that moment, however, Dragon praised him sincerely.
"As expected of Alabasta's wise king. Your resolve and courage are truly admirable."
"But as I said, I am a merchant."
"And the demands you've raised—I will answer them one by one."
He leaned forward slightly and raised a finger.
"Your first question: what do we want?"
"The answer is simple—we want Berries."
The moment those words left his mouth—
Cobra's expression changed instantly.
"Berries? Just Berries?"
The king spoke in disBerriesef.
He had considered many possibilities—perhaps they would try to force Alabasta into signing some kind of agreement, or demand Alabasta's land, or even seek the long-hidden secret within the Royal Mausoleum.
But he had never imagined that they would ask for nothing but Berries.
It wasn't that money wasn't valuable; rather, for many organizations, wealth often wasn't the most urgently needed resource.
"Only Berries. Of course, other valuables of equivalent worth are also acceptable."
Dragon said with a smile. "I'm a very straightforward person, so I'll be transparent with my prices. I can bring rain to Alabasta—covering one city at a time. Each rainfall costs two billion Berries."
"Additionally, I will deal with the mastermind behind this incident for you, priced at five billion Berries. What do you think?"
What did he think?
"There are serious problems with this, Lord Dragon," Cobra said decisively.
"Two billion Berries per rainfall is far too high. Even transporting water directly from neighboring countries would cost far less than that."
"The highest I can accept is three hundred million Berries per rainfall."
"And as for the mastermind—though we don't yet know who it is, five billion Berries is excessive. You're not going to tell me that Whitebeard himself is hiding in Alabasta, are you?"
"The most I can offer is two billion Berries."
He spoke firmly.
Hearing this, Dragon slammed the table.
"Absurd! Three hundred million Berries? Using my abilities also consumes stamina—at the very least, it should be seven hundred million per rainfall!"
"As for the mastermind, even if it isn't Whitebeard, he's still a troublesome opponent. And this concerns the fate of an entire nation! You pay over ten billion in Celestial Tribute every year, yet you're only willing to offer two billion to save your country?"
Cobra refused to back down and replied in a deep voice.
"Since you know about the Celestial Tribute, then you should also know that we've only just paid it this year. The national treasury is practically empty. And that's not even considering the cost of resettling refugees after this crisis is resolved."
Back and forth they went, each arguing their case, neither willing to yield.
In the end, a compromise was finally reached.
Under their final agreement, Dragon would bring rain to Alabasta's cities at a price of five hundred million Berries per rainfall.
As for eliminating the mastermind behind the incident, Alabasta would offer a bounty of three billion Berries.
Only after the numbers were finalized did Cobra look at Dragon again.
"However, sir—although the plan is set, you still haven't given me any proof."
He spoke solemnly.
Hearing this, Dragon smiled.
"That's not difficult, Your Majesty."
He raised a second finger and pointed at himself.
"The fact that I can bring rain is now common knowledge throughout Alabasta—and it's something the mastermind absolutely cannot tolerate."
"So all I need to do is stay in the palace, while you spread the word that 'Alabasta is about to receive rain.' He will naturally send someone to assassinate me."
"And when that happens… Your Majesty will have all the proof you need."
His tone was relaxed, even carrying a hint of excitement.
Cobra froze for a moment, his gaze toward Dragon turning grave and heavy.
Clearly, even Cobra had not expected Dragon to use himself as "bait."
"Are you sure about this?" he asked.
"Of course."
Dragon replied calmly.
Within his field of vision, information was displayed on the light panel in his eyes.
[Roy Amos (Slice Clone – Dragon)]
[Devil Fruit Slots: 3]
[Currently Equipped Fruits: Magma Fruit Lv.3, Ice Fruit Lv.3, Slice Fruit (Unavailable)]
"I'm sure."
With those words, the agreement was sealed.
Cobra said nothing more, immediately instructing Igaram to arrange accommodations for Dragon within the palace.
After that, he quietly watched as the mysterious guest departed.
After Dragon left—
"Father…"
Vivi, who had been wide-eyed and stunned the entire time, finally couldn't help but look at her father.
She had never seen him like that before—he no longer seemed like a king, but rather like a shrewd merchant haggling over prices.
More importantly, she still couldn't understand.
"His identity and intentions still can't truly be confirmed, and his companion is a wanted criminal who robbed the Celestial Tribute… We're a member nation of the World Government. Why would you be willing to cooperate with him?"
At that moment, Cobra looked at his daughter.
She was brave enough—but still far too inexperienced.
"Vivi, I want to teach you something."
"Sometimes, when judging a person, don't focus only on what they say—look at what they do."
The king spoke earnestly.
"What they do?" Vivi frowned slightly.
Cobra replied softly, "He did bring rain and resolved Alabasta's most urgent crisis."
"He clearly possesses the power to kill you and me with ease, yet from beginning to end, he never acted."
"Most importantly, he could have threatened me with the fate of the entire country and forced me to agree to a much higher price. Even though the treasury is nearly empty, if I imposed harsh taxes nationwide, we could still squeeze out more money."
Cobra continued quietly, "But he didn't. Vivi, why do you think that is?"
"…"
Vivi fell silent for a moment, then arrived at the conclusion naturally.
"Many people would die."
After seven months of severe drought, even harvesting crops this year was extremely difficult in Alabasta.
If the people were forcibly taxed again, widespread famine and death would be almost inevitable.
At that point, Vivi understood.
"If he and his 'Twelve Zodiac' were truly the ones behind the drought, then he wouldn't care about the lives of the people at all."
"But he chose to back down at this step, so… he isn't the mastermind?"
Vivi said in surprise.
Cobra looked at his daughter with clear satisfaction.
But soon, Vivi grew worried again.
"But what about the World Government…"
"We are the king of Alabasta, Vivi."
Cobra said softly, yet firmly.
"We chose to remain in this country, so we are responsible only to the people of this country."
"Just remember that."
...
Author's Note – Answering Reader Questions:
The core theme of this book is Devil Fruit abilities, not Haki.
The protagonist will strengthen his body, because that benefits the use of Devil Fruit powers.
But Haki is a different type of ability, and the protagonist will not obtain it through conventional training.
However! However! However!
That does not mean the protagonist will never have Haki in the future.
What does that mean?
It means that even if the protagonist does gain Haki someday, it will definitely be because of his Devil Fruit abilities (lol).