Pirate: I have a Hollow living inside me

After a moment, she murmured in a somewhat hoarse voice, "So... I'm dead?"

Crocodile is dead.

Her powerful backer has also fallen.

Although her relationship with Crocodile was purely professional, there was no romantic involvement between them.

She could defect at any time.

But with her backer gone, she lost a relatively safe haven.

What will become of her in the future?

Should she go and seek refuge with the man who said he would protect her?

She didn't know, and she was somewhat confused...

Chapter 97 Cobra's Astonishment, Kuina's Future Swordsmanship!

Alubana.

This is the capital of the Kingdom of Alabasta.

Led by Icarus, the captain of the royal guard, Rocks, Joak, and their entourage headed towards the palace.

en route.

Icarus glanced at Lox with a wary look every now and then, clearly aware of what had happened not long ago.

Their Alabasta national hero, Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea... died at this man's hands.

When he first received the news, he was truly shocked.

When he saw Rocks, the murderer who killed Crocodile, he was so terrified he almost lost his mind.

If it weren't for Yoak, an acquaintance, reassuring him that Lox posed no threat to Alabasta, he would have been in trouble.

He even considered organizing a force to resist Lox's "invasion"!

"Don't look at me like that. I have no ill intentions toward you Alabasta."

Seeing Icarus glancing at him warily from time to time, Lox was speechless: "The reason I came here this time is to experience the customs and culture of Alabasta."

"There are also some things about Crocodile that I would like to discuss with your king."

"I...I'm sorry, Lord Black-Haired Swordsman, I was just a little surprised, I didn't have any problem with you..."

Icarus was rather reserved in front of Lox, but after hearing this, he quickly said, "We in Alabasta warmly welcome Your Excellency..."

Their country cannot afford to provoke such powerful individuals, so they naturally have to be extremely careful in their actions.

This is something that cannot be avoided...

Lox nodded slightly: "That's good."

Under Icarus's leadership.

The group soon arrived at the palace.

King Kobra of Alabasta had already learned of the news and came out in person to greet him.

With a warm and polite smile, Cobra greeted the group who had arrived, saying, "You have all had a long journey. I have had a dinner prepared, please do not refuse..."

A king himself came out to greet them, showing great respect.

This is a sign of respect for Lox.

Cobra shared the same idea as Icarus.

A powerful figure capable of killing Crocodile is someone Alabasta cannot afford to offend and must take seriously.

At the very least, we can't let the other side develop a negative feeling towards Alabasta...

"Thank you, King Cobra."

Lox and the others exchanged pleasantries.

After that, Cobra led him to the banquet hall.

The banquet hall tables were laden with a variety of delicious foods and drinks for guests to enjoy at their leisure.

The banquet was of extremely high standard, leaving no room for criticism.

Anyway, Lox was having a great time eating and drinking.

Alabasta's food is full of exotic flavors and contains a lot of "energy," which suits Lox's taste perfectly.

Nami and Kuina nodded frequently as they ate, agreeing that the food tasted good.

Kobra, the host, did not neglect any of the guests, chatting with several of them and occasionally telling some interesting stories, creating a very harmonious atmosphere.

However, he never mentioned Crocodile, as if it had never happened...

The guests and hosts enjoyed themselves immensely in the banquet hall.

Joak, preoccupied with the matter at hand, barely ate anything.

After seeing that Rocks and the other two had eaten and drunk their fill, he finally found an opportunity to bring up the "dancing powder" thing with Cobra...

"Dancing powder?"

Cobra, who was also aware of the powder's effects, frowned upon hearing this: "Mr. Joak means..."

"Someone secretly stole the dancing powder and paddle, and then... [The sentence is incomplete and lacks context, so a direct translation isn't possible.]"

"Yes, if it weren't for the intervention of the Black-Haired Swordsman, my Yoak caravan might have become collateral damage for those criminals."

Yoak's voice was tinged with lingering fear: "With your permission, our Yoak caravan can reach the heart of Alabasta without any checks."

"If the 'dancing fans' issue hadn't been discovered early, it could have had unpredictable consequences for the Kingdom of Alabasta..."

Is that so?

Cobra's expression wasn't good; he had clearly anticipated the possible consequences...

Cobra rose and bowed deeply to Lox, expressing his gratitude: "Thank you for your help, Your Excellency. Otherwise, Alabasta might have faced turmoil, perhaps even jeopardizing the very foundation of the nation..."

"There's no need for that."

Lox waved his hand: "It was just a coincidence."

After a pause, Locke said, "Since you've brought this up, I'll tell you a few more things."

"The person who allowed the Joak caravan to enter Alabasta was a force called the Baroque Works."

"And the person behind Baroque Works is none other than Crocodile, the hero of your country."

Although Cobra didn't mention Crocodile, Rocks didn't want to be seen as a villain who killed a national hero.

He was a kind and righteous man.

"what!?"

Upon hearing this, Cobra's voice rose several decibels, his expression revealing astonishment and disbelief: "How is this possible..."

Although Crocodile's title of hero was not bestowed by him, but rather by the nation's people.

However, he did not issue a statement rejecting the matter...

It turned out the other party actually wanted to back down.

"Nothing is impossible."

Rocks took a sip of red wine and said leisurely, "A hero chooses to be a national hero."

"It's not because he's benevolent or righteous, it's simply because this country has what he wants..."

“If King Cobra doesn’t believe me, he can send someone to investigate. Now that I’ve killed Crocodile, his stronghold in Rainfield should have relevant evidence.”

"Oh, actually there's another witness. She used to be Crocodile's subordinate and is now one of my future members. Just have her come over to testify."

As he said this, Rocks smiled up at the sky.

An arm grew out of there at some unknown time, and on the arm was an eye and an ear.

It is precisely the power of the Robinia pseudoacacia flower and its fruit.

If Rocks hadn't possessed such formidable Observation Haki, he might have easily been overlooked.

To be honest...

Miss Robin has a unique advantage in eavesdropping and intelligence gathering...

……

On the other side.

Robin, who was using his abilities to gather intelligence about the banquet hall from somewhere, fell silent: "..."

She was discovered just like that?

This man is indeed very unusual...

……

Taking a deep breath, Cobra addressed the guard adjutant beside him, having consumed the Bird-Bird Fruit in Falcon form:

"Bel, you must personally go to the Rain Land and investigate it thoroughly!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Bell heard what Lockes said and naturally dared not be negligent in the slightest.

He apologized and took his leave.

He then left the banquet hall...

After Bell left, Cobra thanked Lockes again: "Thank you for informing me. If it is true, I will reward you handsomely!"

"There are some things that require your help, King Cobra."

After thinking for a moment, Locke smiled and said, "My future companions may be interested in some things from your country."

"If it's alright, I'd like to make a request to you on her behalf."

Robin was able to infiltrate the palace and use his abilities to gather intelligence.

That is enough to show that the other party is interested in your proposal.

Besides, he had also killed Crocodile as "agreed," so Robin had no choice but to join them.

He will forcibly take it!

Since Robin was to be his future crew member, Captain Rocks naturally needed to give her guidance.

This is one way to increase crew members' sense of belonging!

……

"..."

Robin remained silent in a certain spot in the palace, his expression a mixture of surprise and unease: "I don't think I've seen him before..."

She had a strange feeling that this man seemed to know her very well.

The problem is that I definitely don't know the other person...

……

Hearing Locke's words, Cobra did not immediately agree. He considered his tone before speaking: "Could you tell me what aspects of my country your future companion is interested in?"

He thought to himself: Could it be related to the main text of history?

Lockes stated bluntly: "The Poneglyphs tell me that my future crew member is a historian."

"The main text of history?"

Kuina and Nami were somewhat suspicious, unsure of the meaning behind the Poneglyphs.

However, they didn't ask any further questions.

Old Yoak, on the other hand, seemed to be lost in thought, as if counting how many bricks the ground was made of.

He knew in his heart that the more he knew about certain things, the more dangerous it became.

Just pretend you didn't hear that!