"Your Majesty the King, this matter is absolutely true. My subordinates and I all saw it, and he admitted it himself."
Maga recounted what he knew, making a final summary.
Cobra glanced at the two equally surprised Guardian Gods of the Kingdom. "Where is he now? Bring him to me. No, I'll go see him myself."
Taro was wandering around the Alabasta palace courtyard, recalling fragmented memories in his mind.
"This must be the platform where Luffy fought Crocodile!"
"Hmm, this seems to be where that king cosplayed Jesus."
Just then, a voice startled him, "Warrior Zhou Ze?"
Taro, who had been facing the wall, turned around to see the King of Alabasta, accompanied by the kingdom's Guardian Gods Chaka and Pell, and the familiar Maga, standing not far behind him.
Having just complained about him, the subject of his complaint appeared before his eyes, making Taro a little awkward.
He chuckled, cupped his hands into fists, and bowed slightly, "Your Majesty the King, hello."
Cobra was stunned for a moment. This warrior seemed a bit different from what he had imagined; his demeanor was a little... frivolous?!
"You know me?"
Taro's mouth twitched. Uncle, even if I hadn't watched the anime, just looking at your attire in this palace and the respectful manner of the people behind you, I could guess.
Seeing Taro's reaction, Cobra thought for a moment and realized his question was a bit foolish. He chuckled lightly, "I'm old!"
Then he turned to his left and right-hand men, "When Vivi returns, after she gets married, I can rest assured and hand the country over to her!"
The others were clearly immune to King Cobra saying such things again.
The three pretended not to hear and offered no response.
"Warrior Zhou Ze, please follow me, let's talk inside." Cobra invited Taro... After the palace maid served tea and snacks, only Cobra, Chaka, Pell, and Taro remained in the palace.
"Warrior Zhou Ze"
"Just call me by my name." Taro stopped Cobra as soon as he spoke.
The more he heard that title, the more it sounded like mockery. Taro scratched his hair, feeling a headache coming on.
King Cobra nodded, "Taro, I'm very curious, who exactly are you? And why have you come to my country?"
Taro glanced at the two Guardian Gods of the Kingdom, pondered for a moment, then said seriously, "Actually, I hadn't planned on meeting you so early."
"Oh? So you originally intended to meet me?" Cobra understood Taro's meaning.
"Yes, I want to meet you to make a deal!"
"A deal?"
"Yes." Taro nodded heavily.
"I am the King of Alabasta, and I will not make deals with anyone, let alone someone of unknown origin!"
"Uh..." Taro was somewhat taken aback by his serious tone. He remembered this king as a bit of a comical pervert, but indeed a benevolent and wise ruler who treated his common people well.
"Oh, don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to harm you or your people..."
"Never mind, I'll just clarify my identity: I am a Marine Lieutenant!"
As soon as Taro finished speaking, he saw Cobra and the two others look surprised and a little nervous, so he quickly waved his hands, "Don't get excited, my visit this time has nothing to do with the Marines."
"In fact, I want to, in a personal capacity, make a... no, cooperate with you."
Taro corrected himself.
"A deal? Cooperation?" King Cobra's expression was grave. "What do you want to gain? And what can you offer?"
Seeing that Cobra seemed to be somewhat swayed, Taro perked up. "Actually, I don't have much to offer, just some intelligence about the culprits causing chaos in your kingdom, and some news about Princess Vivi..."
"Actually, even if I don't say anything, you'll find out in a day or two anyway..."
As Taro was speaking, Cobra suddenly stood up from the throne,
"You know about Vivi?"
Almost simultaneously, the two Guardian Gods of the Kingdom asked in unison:
"Information about the culprits?"
Taro was calm this time. He could understand the thoughts of Cobra and the two others; it was the natural reaction of a father and two important ministers of the kingdom.
Seeing Taro nod, King Cobra instead calmed down and asked in a deep voice, "Then tell me first what you want to get from this country?"
"The culprit is actually... huh?" Taro subconsciously began to blurt out the information he knew, only realizing after a sentence that the other party wasn't asking that. He paused, dumbfounded.
Uncle, you're not playing by the rules!
"Your Majesty the King, are you sure you don't want to hear my intelligence first to judge if it's credible?"
Cobra shook his head, "Since you had already planned to see me later, it means you have no doubts about the authenticity of the information itself."
"So, if the information is true, and your previous meaning was that I would receive the same information at most a day or two later, that's what you meant, right?"
Taro indeed meant that, and he nodded in confirmation.
Then Cobra continued, "In that case, I'm more interested in knowing how much I need to pay for this one or two-day time difference."
Reasonable! Uncle, you're truly something! Worthy of being a monarch!
Taro secretly praised him. He pondered for a moment, then told Cobra what he wanted.
The two Guardian Gods of the Kingdom exclaimed in unison when they heard what Taro asked for, "No!"
Then they looked at the King. Cobra frowned, "What do you want to do?"
Seeing that they had already gotten this far, Taro simply gave Cobra a rough outline of his thoughts, then spread his hands, "These are my thoughts for now!"
Cobra and the Guardian Gods of the Kingdom exchanged glances, both silent for a while. Finally, King Cobra said, "Then, you may now reveal your intelligence."
"So, you agree?"
Cobra didn't speak, and Taro didn't press him. "If you don't speak, I'll take it as your default."
"The culprits causing chaos in the kingdom are Crocodile and his 'Baroque Works.' I believe you probably already suspect this."
"As for his goal, it's an ancient weapon. He believes the Alabasta royal family is hiding this weapon!"
Cobra's eyes widened, looking extremely shocked.
"Don't worry, he won't succeed. Someone will defeat him."
Taro thought of Luffy, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
King Cobra mistakenly thought that the person Taro referred to was himself, and nodded, "Then I'll leave it to you."
Damn it, there's another misunderstanding!
Taro quickly waved his hands, "Not me, it's Princess Vivi's friends!"
"Oh?" Cobra seemed a bit more eager upon hearing news of his daughter.
"Princess Vivi is on her way back. She will bring some friends with her, and those friends are very strong."
"Whether Crocodile can be defeated depends on them."
Taro laughed.
"Then, Taro, how do you know all this?" Cobra looked at Taro with a meaningful gaze.
Taro's smile... froze.
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