"Alabasta, your emperor... is back!"
The calm and old voice fell into the ears of those around, like a rock thrown into calm water!
The yellow sand scattered, and five sand soldiers remained beside Rowan.
Seeing this, the royal army held their weapons, protecting their king and little princess.
The two lieutenants of the royal guard, Bell and Chaka, were ready to use their devil fruit powers and enter battle!
However, King Cobra walked out of the crowd again and solemnly asked once more:
"Who are you?"
Rowan turned his head and slowly replied, "I am Ryan Rowan."
As soon as he spoke, the royal soldiers did not react much, but Cobra and Vivi's eyes suddenly narrowed!
Ryan Rowan?
As members of the Nefertari family, they were very familiar with this name!
When they were young, they had read the history of the Nefertari family.
Among them, the name Ryan Rowan, was listed before all others with the founder of the Nefertari family - Nefertari!
The two were close friends, even sworn brothers.
The latter was the founding king of the Alabasta Kingdom.
The former was the only emperor of the Alabasta Empire!
The figure of the person in front of them gradually overlapped with the images in the history books.
Whether it was the outfit or the appearance itself, it was exactly as recorded!
"Are you... ancestor?"
Cobra couldn't believe it, but the feeling of fate made him unable to doubt it.
Hearing this, Rowan thought for a moment and suddenly smiled, "If my sworn brotherhood with Nefertari counts, then you are indeed my descendants."
"Wow!"
Vivi, who was beside him, immediately became excited.
After all, she was only a six-year-old child, and the things she cared about were different from ordinary people.
"If you're the same generation as the first family head, then wouldn't I have to call you great-great-great... grandfather!"
Rowan: "..."
After thinking about it, he corrected, "Actually, just call me ancestor."
Cobra nodded solemnly and said, "Ancestor."
Rowan: "..."
When he died fighting with all his strength, he was younger than Cobra, so it felt strange to be called an ancestor by a man who looked like he was old enough to have a six-year-old daughter.
After thinking about it, Rowan changed the subject.
"What year is it now?"
Cobra replied, "Sea Calendar 1507."
Crocodile let Rowan confirm that he was in a time eight hundred years later, and Cobra's answer let Rowan know the exact time!
"It's truly a good time."
Rowan grinned.
Many major events that would later affect the world were still in their early stages. Rowan had enough time to adjust to this place and enough opportunities to enjoy them one by one.
But first...
Rowan raised the spear in his hand, which was also the scepter that represented the identity of the former Alabasta Emperor.
The spear pointed to the high ground of the oasis where the royal army and pirates were in a stalemate.
"The territory of Alabasta is not a place where mere pirates can be arrogant."
Rowan's voice was calm, but it gave people a feeling that could not be doubted.
Chaka and Bell, the two vice-captains of the royal guard, still had doubts, but King Cobra's actions had already shown his attitude.
The man in front of them was Ryan Rowan, the founding emperor of the Alabasta Empire!
They, who were known as the guardians of Alabasta, naturally did not want their current king to lose face in front of his ancestor, so they immediately bowed and said:
"We will arrest them immediately!"
"No need."
Rowan shook his head and stretched his shoulders slightly, "After sleeping for eight hundred years, I need to do some exercise, otherwise I'll get bored."
Take action personally?!
Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but look at the sand soldiers beside Rowan.
He must be a devil fruit user, right?
What kind of fighting style would the former emperor of the empire have?
Rowan walked towards the oasis, the sand soldiers followed closely, and the royal army and Cobra followed behind him.
To Rowan's surprise, Crocodile actually took the initiative to approach him.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm just curious as to why a dead man from eight hundred years ago would suddenly come back to life."
Crocodile puffed on his cigar, his smile slightly gloomy.
Rowan was also smiling softly, "Little Crocodile, your desire is too obvious."
Little Crocodile...
Crocodile was clearly unhappy with this nickname.
Rowan continued, "You don't care how I came back to life, you just want to test the limit of my strength and then adjust your plans for the future."
Crocodile's pupils shrank, and he didn't answer, but his heart was trembling.
Could it be that the person in front of him was really an old monster who had been resurrected from eight hundred years ago?
In any case, the mind and craftiness of this man named Ryan Rowan far exceeded that of Cobra and the others!
But even so, the work on the surface still had to be done.
Crocodile immediately laughed and said, "What plan are you talking about? I am a Warlord of the Sea recognized by the World Government, and I have been stationed in this country for some time, protecting many people."
Behind them, Vivi shouted, "Yes, the newspapers all say that Mr. Crocodile is a hero of our country!"
Rowan smiled and nodded.
He didn't say anything more, nor did he pay attention to Crocodile's thoughtful gaze.
...
The group came to the oasis not far away.
Here, the pirates were holding the high ground, facing off against the royal army.
Seeing that Cobra had returned, the army leader in charge of the area seemed a little troubled.
"Your Majesty, the pirates have a merchant group as hostages, we dare not attack strongly!"
Cobra was about to answer, but another voice spoke.
"It doesn't matter."
It was Rowan who spoke.
He leaned on his scepter and came forward, gently moving his finger, and the sand soldiers temporarily disappeared on the spot, turning into a few piles of yellow sand.
Under the surprised gazes of the soldiers, he walked alone to the bottom of the high ground, facing the pirate leader.
The pirate leader was stared at by this strange man who had suddenly appeared, and he felt uncomfortable all over.
He first ordered his men to form a defensive line to ensure that they could not be quickly attacked, and then shouted:
"Don't come any closer! Prepare a ship and supplies for us, and we will release the hostages once we are out of Alabasta's waters!"
A simple and honest request from a kidnapper.
But Rowan did not answer him.
Rowan swung the scepter shaped like a spear and roared, "Soldiers, attack!"
The royal army looked at each other.
Was he... calling us?
Obviously not.
As soon as Rowan finished speaking, four sand soldiers reformed!
Holding spears, they launched an incredibly fast charge from the bottom of the high ground!
Their movements were in perfect sync!
Whoosh!
In just an instant, the pirates' seemingly solid defense line was broken. The spear tips made of sand pierced through the pirates' shields and shattered their formations!
In the chaos, the pirate leader came near the kidnapped merchants and raised his knife to slash.
Suddenly, the fifth sand soldier darted out from the side, the spear tip pierced the pirate leader's hand, and then swept across!
"Ugh!"
The pirate leader screamed, was knocked away, and then was captured alive by the swarming royal army.
Cobra wanted to block Vivi's eyes, but the bloody scene he had expected did not appear, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
He understood that Rowan was taking care of Vivi.
Vivi couldn't help but exclaimed, "Ancestor, you're so amazing..."
"That's beyond 'amazing' level."
Crocodile stood beside Cobra, his brow furrowed, and even a few drops of sweat on his forehead.
As a sand-sand fruit user, he could sense things more clearly than others!
"The power of Logia devil fruits is the hardest to control. I've never heard of anyone mastering elemental transformation to such a fine degree!"
Controlling elements to create human figures? It was unbelievable!
Crocodile's heart became more and more wary.
Ryan Rowan, regardless of whether this man was really the founding emperor from eight hundred years ago, he possessed an overwhelming level of power!
It was a terrifying power that should never appear in the first half of the Grand Line!
...
After dealing with the pirates, Rowan asked curiously, "This is inland, why are there pirates here?"
"They are not pirates, strictly speaking, they are rebel soldiers."
Cobra said helplessly, "They launched a failed coup and were driven out by a neighboring country. In desperation, they took the opportunity to sneak into Alabasta and occupied an oasis station called Shantana."
"It's easy to defend and difficult to attack, so we can only surround them and then clean up the escaped fish around them."
"Ancestor..."
Cobra paused and said solemnly, "I'm sorry."
In the end, Cobra believed that this was all his fault.
But Rowan shook his head.
After all, the times had changed, and the era of competition between countries was over.
The Alabasta Kingdom now had a standing army of 600,000, but it was still a country mainly based on commerce and trade.
It's easier to deal with the King of Hell than it is to deal with small devils.
With such a vast coastline, it was really difficult to defend against a group of desperate rebel soldiers.
But it was not difficult to wipe them out.
"Bell has already scouted, there are no civilians there."
Cobra explained, "But a strong attack would cause a lot of casualties. They are just a bunch of rabble, they will naturally surrender if we surround them for a few more days."
Rowan nodded and said approvingly:
"A very steady tactic, it's Nefertari's style."
Then, he changed the subject, "But, it's not my style."
In just an instant, Rowan's words reminded Cobra of the man recorded in the history books.
He was an immortal legend who carried the name of the Alabasta Empire during the era of maritime power struggles!
Whoosh...
Sand rubbed against the ground and then began to float according to Rowan's thoughts.
One sand soldier after another stood up from the ground.
They were lined up neatly, with solemn expressions, filled with an invisible pressure.
As the number of sand soldiers increased, this pressure became stronger and more suffocating!
Gradually, the number of sand soldiers became more and more numerous, to an exaggerated extent, far beyond Cobra and the royal army's imagination.
The last soldier stood up and stood still.
Their lines were unusually neat, so it was easy to judge their approximate number -
Ten thousand people!
It was an army of ten thousand soldiers made purely of sand!
Huff... Huff...
In the desert, only the sound of the wind could be heard, mixed with the sound of a few royal army soldiers swallowing their saliva.
Many people were asking themselves if they had the ability to resist such an army?
The answer was: No!
Such an army could even run rampant within Alabasta!
Crocodile looked at the scene in front of him, his face stiffened for a moment, but then returned to calm.
Cobra remembered several evaluations of Ryan Rowan in the history books.
The most concise of which was only four words -
One person becomes an army!
...
"I moved around a bit and it feels good now."
Looking at Vivi, who had her mouth wide open, Rowan rubbed her head and couldn't help but smile.
It felt like an elder watching his granddaughter.
Then, he returned to his calm expression, swung his scepter, pointed in the direction of the Shantana Oasis station, and shouted:
"Soldiers, advance!"