The unexpected outcome left Vivi struggling to accept it. After a long pause, she finally spoke, "So the President of Baroque Works was never human, but a Giant Beast."
Xia Qiu shook his head and said, "Not always. In fact, I've only been the President of Baroque Works for nine months."
"Nine months?"
Vivi was surprised and asked with a frown, "But I joined Baroque Works a year ago, and it was already operating then. It had already existed for several years. Who was the President before you? And how did you become President?"
Xia Qiu looked at Vivi and said softly, "The previous President was Crocodile."
"Crocodile?"
Vivi was even more astonished and asked, "You mean the Shichibukai, Crocodile?"
Xia Qiu nodded and slowly said, "That's right. I killed him and then replaced him as the President of Baroque Works."
"So that's how it was."
Vivi frowned. This outcome was rather unexpected.
Xia Qiu looked at Vivi and smiled, "Besides Robin, no one knows this. Not even Miss Doublefinger."
"Even the Vice President doesn't know?"
Hearing this, Vivi asked curiously, "Then how did you become President?"
Xia Qiu looked at Vivi and said, "It was simple. After Crocodile died, Robin took control of Baroque Works, but she had to leave. And besides Robin, no one in Baroque Works knew of my existence, especially Zala. So I was able to take advantage of the confusion and become President."
"I see."
Vivi nodded and then asked, "Then why are you telling me this?"
Xia Qiu said, "Because I am no longer capable of helping Baroque Works continue to grow. Given my identity, I can only do so much. Therefore, I need someone to help me make Baroque Works continue to grow."
"You need someone to help you?"
Vivi frowned upon hearing his words and asked, "So you want me to help you?"
Xia Qiu nodded and said, "That's right. I want you to join Baroque Works. Your strength is great, and you are very intelligent. If you can help me..."
Vivi interrupted Xia Qiu, stating decisively, "That's impossible. I won't join a group of assassins."
Xia Qiu said, "But you have joined before."
Vivi shook her head. "That was to investigate the drought. But the drought has already disappeared..."
"The drought disappeared because I killed Crocodile and announced the termination of the Utopia plan," Xia Qiu said, looking at Vivi. "Without me, when do you think Alabasta would have seen rain? With your abilities, could you have defeated one of the Shichibukai?"
"I..."
Just as Vivi was about to speak, Xia Qiu asked, "You must have heard of the Utopia plan, right?"
Vivi nodded. "Yes, Baroque Works' dream was to establish Utopia. The higher your rank in the organization, the higher your position would be once the country was established."
"You should have guessed by now that the target of this Utopia plan was Alabasta," Xia Qiu said slowly. "If Crocodile hadn't died, the plan would have continued. The rebel army has already appeared and will continue to grow. In just two years, the rebel army will engage in battle with the Royal Army, resulting in heavy casualties. Then Crocodile would have appeared, stopped the battle as a hero, and been crowned king."
"This plan could never succeed."
Vivi was surprised by the audacity of the plan and shook her head. "The rebel army is weak and cannot defeat the Royal Army. Moreover, their leader is very rational and would not engage in a large-scale battle. He couldn't do it."
"Is that so?"
Xia Qiu said, "The rebel army is small in number now, but what about in a few years? As more cities suffer from drought, more people will gather. Secondly, the rebel leader you mentioned is Kosa, right? You trust him greatly, but what about the others? There are too many Baroque Works spies within the rebel army and the Royal Army. What if they launch a surprise attack first? Also, you might not know that Baroque Works has a Senior Agent with the Copy-Copy Fruit. If he disguised himself as your father and did something nefarious, how much chaos would that cause among the populace? They could frame you once, and they could frame you a second time."
"If that's the case..."
Vivi's expression turned extremely grim. The consequences would be unthinkable.
Vivi looked at Xia Qiu and said, "I'm grateful that you stopped the plan."
Xia Qiu sneered, "I don't see it that way. On the other hand, you took the Devil Fruit during our cooperation, creating a gap in my other plans, making them difficult to complete now. That's why I'm asking if you're willing to join Baroque Works."
"That was my mistake."
Vivi felt a bit guilty upon hearing this and looked at Xia Qiu, asking, "But I won't join Baroque Works. I want to ask you, what is your plan?"
"I won't tell anyone before the plan begins," Xia Qiu said, looking at Vivi. "And I certainly won't tell you, the one who caused the plan to go to waste."
"I can help you," Vivi said quickly, then softened her tone. "If your plan doesn't harm Alabasta or ordinary people, I can help you."
Xia Qiu shook his head. "This plan will not only not harm ordinary people, but it will even save them. However, I cannot tell you for now."
"If it's truly as you say, then I can help you then," Vivi said seriously. "As compensation for you killing Crocodile and abandoning the plan, and also for my taking the Sand-Sand Fruit."
Vivi said, sounding a little embarrassed, "I know it might not be enough to repay your kindness, but..."
"No, just doing this will be enough," Xia Qiu interrupted her. "I only need you to help me once then. I promise, it won't go against your principles."
Vivi nodded and said, "As long as you're telling the truth, I can agree to that."
With that, Vivi looked at Xia Qiu and said, "But I won't join Baroque Works. Of course, I won't reveal anything about you and will keep it a secret."
"That's good."
Xia Qiu looked at Vivi and said, "However, it's okay if you don't join. Are you interested in cooperating with me?"
"Cooperate?"
Vivi asked in confusion, "What kind of cooperation?"
Xia Qiu slowly said, "Using Baroque Works and Alabasta to establish a massive intelligence organization, where you and I share intelligence resources."
"An intelligence organization?"
Vivi asked in confusion, "Why do you want to establish an intelligence organization?"
"Intelligence itself has immense value. Understanding affairs, grasping information, controlling information flow channels, controlling public opinion, reducing the uncertainty of conflicts, preventing problems before they arise, gaining the ability to respond in advance, and so on."
Xia Qiu slowly said, "Intelligence should be even more important for Alabasta. If there were a powerful intelligence organization, you wouldn't need to personally infiltrate Baroque Works, and such a huge conspiracy wouldn't exist. In the future, when the country faces a crisis, you could also respond in advance. It could resolve conflicts with empires, like the Drum Kingdom, which has always harbored hostility towards Alabasta. Moreover, Princess Vivi will eventually succeed her father and become the queen of this country. Don't you want to have a powerful intelligence organization?"
"An intelligence organization is indeed useful."
Vivi heard this and looked at Xia Qiu, saying, "But sharing it with Baroque Works, and then letting you kill people, I don't think that's a good thing."
Xia Qiu said, "Then you don't need to worry. You will establish this intelligence organization, you will operate it, and you will control it. You can share some intelligence with me that you deem shareable, and if I need intelligence, I will notify you, and you can decide whether to help me."
"This is a huge disadvantage for you, would you be willing? You won't play any tricks?" Vivi asked in confusion.
"Play tricks?"
Xia Qiu said, "My identity prevents me from directly controlling anything. Whether it's Baroque Works or the intelligence organization, if you are responsible for creating and selecting personnel, you don't need to worry about me at all."
"Secondly."
Xia Qiu added, "I only need some information, such as changes in pirate forces, or information about the movements of high-ranking Marine generals, to prevent Baroque Works from being wiped out by the Marines. If I were to use it proactively, it would only be to investigate certain specific individuals. Therefore, I don't need to completely control it."
"Is that so?"
Vivi fell into deep thought. The information he needed wasn't much, and much of it was for the safety of her own organization, so it wasn't unreasonable.
Moreover, what he said was true. His identity dictated his limitations. If they could cooperate to establish an intelligence organization, it would be easier for her to control it, and the importance of an intelligence organization was undeniable. This was a very suitable deal.
Xia Qiu looked at Vivi and said, "This will only benefit you, with no harm. Your only concern can be whether I will play any tricks. But think about it, when I reveal my identity to you, the risk I take is enormous. And what can you do with the knowledge of my identity?"
Vivi considered the consequences and found that everything was very advantageous for her.
He couldn't harm her. Although his strength was great, she was a Logia Devil Fruit user. As long as she didn't get close to water or go underwater, he couldn't kill her.
After all, she could fly.
Secondly, his identity was special, and he couldn't expose it, so there was no possibility of him indirectly controlling the intelligence organization.
Furthermore, although his strength was great, Vivi realized she had an advantage in ground combat.
There were no worries at all.
Besides, as a result of the cooperation, she would gain immense benefits. Why wouldn't she agree?
Vivi looked at Xia Qiu and said, "I can agree to that."
"Very good." Xia Qiu was very happy to hear this answer.
"But I have a condition," Vivi suddenly said.
Xia Qiu asked curiously, "What condition?"
Vivi said, "You must also promise me that you will not reveal the relationship between us to anyone else. Not even Heckle should know that we have cooperated to establish an intelligence organization."
"But I need Zala to contact you," Xia Qiu said with a frown.
"Then Zala is an exception, but the other members of Baroque Works must not know."
Vivi quickly added, this way, there would be no leverage, ensuring absolute certainty.
Xia Qiu nodded, "I can accept that."
Vivi smiled and said, "In that case, I am willing to cooperate with you."
"I wish us a pleasant cooperation."
Xia Qiu smiled and raised his front limb. Vivi was momentarily stunned, then walked over and touched his leg with her hand.
"Come back in a few days, and we'll plan in detail," Xia Qiu instructed.
"Okay."
Vivi nodded, said goodbye to Xia Qiu, turned, and left the room. She found Zala, and then they left the island.
After she left, Xia Qiu felt that his minimum requirements had been basically met.
Xia Qiu had hoped she would join Baroque Works and be responsible for the intelligence organization, acting entirely according to his commands.
But there was not the slightest possibility of that happening.
So, he had to settle for the next best thing. The requirement to join Baroque Works was decisively changed from doing a few things for him to simply completing one plan.
Using the gratitude for everything he had done for Alabasta, and her ungratefulness for eating a Devil Fruit without permission, as bargaining chips to persuade her, he also stated that ordinary people would not be harmed.
She was a princess and naturally understood the weight of this gratitude, yet she had repaid it in the wrong way.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, she would agree, but with conditions.
And when the time came, his plan would begin. The plan itself could save many people and eliminate evil forces, which would further solidify her resolve to fulfill it.
Therefore, the implementation of the plan could count on Vivi as one of its aids. Of course, her strength was still very weak and needed to be enhanced and utilized effectively.
Secondly, the establishment of an intelligence organization.
From an organization completely belonging to him, to jointly controlling it, and finally to it belonging to her while he borrowed some information, Xia Qiu's demands were continuously lowered. He was even willing to let her control the intelligence organization, which led Vivi to agree to his terms.
However, being able to obtain some information was already enough.
Coupled with Vivi's assistance once, his requirements were basically met.
"Princess Vivi has left."
Not long after, Zala returned to Xia Qiu's side and said softly.
Xia Qiu nodded and replied, "I know."
Zala looked at Xia Qiu, wanting to say something but hesitating.
Xia Qiu glanced at her and asked, "What is it?"
Zala asked cautiously, "What exactly did you discuss with Princess Vivi?"
Xia Qiu looked at her and asked, "Why are you asking this?"
Zala coughed and said, "You revealed Princess Vivi's identity, I'm afraid she..."
"Don't worry, she won't say anything."
Xia Qiu said softly. In fact, just as Zala might betray him, Vivi might also betray him.
Although Vivi was not a member of Baroque Works, she was more trustworthy than Zala.
The temptation before Zala was too great – the entire Baroque Works. In the face of immense profit, his own strength was only a weak deterrent.
In the face of immense profit, she might very well sell him out, which was why he needed Vivi's help.
Vivi, on the other hand, would profit from their cooperation and had no interest in Baroque Works herself. Therefore, as long as her interests were not harmed, she would not do anything.
"That's good then," Zala breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't worry, it's just some matters regarding cooperation. You'll know more later."
Xia Qiu left these words and slowly walked away, entering the ocean.
Four thousand characters. Only one chapter today. Updates will resume tomorrow.
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