Pirates: Your emperor has returned!

CP—short for Cipher Pol—is the intelligence agency of the World Government.

Among them, CP1 to CP8 are well known, while the existence of CP9 is one of the World Government's top secrets.

They are a group of spies who only know how to complete the World Government's missions, and they will stop at nothing to do so. Among them are many highly skilled fighters.

Even Crocodile only knew a little about CP9 from his time in the underground world; there was no information about CP9 in ordinary intelligence channels.

If that's the case, then how did Rowan, who had just come out of the tomb, know about them?

No, this is not an important question.

Crocodile frowned slightly, Rowan's words echoing in his mind.

"Probably CP0, or CP9?"

This statement contains a lot of information.

CP0, located above CP1 to CP9, is also known as "the Celestial Dragons' strongest shield"!

Compared to the secretive CP9, CP0 is far more famous on this ocean.

After thinking for a moment, Crocodile asked directly, "How did you know?"

"Conqueror's Haki".

"Not Observation Haki?"

"No, I still prefer to use Conqueror's Haki," Rowan replied with a smile. "Although I can't achieve the same level of sensitivity as Observation Haki, I can still detect the presence of others."

Crocodile seemed somewhat puzzled, but after all, there were very few people with Conqueror's Haki on this sea, so the information was severely lacking.

"You can use Conqueror's Haki like that?"

"Everyone's Conqueror's Haki is different, at least mine is."

Rowan slowly explained, "I can sense everything within the territory."

Crocodile asked another question, "How do you know it's the CP organization?"

"Their aura, physique, speed, and movements suggest they are not from the Navy's elite forces, but they are proficient in the Six Powers. Therefore, they are very likely CP0 or CP9."

Rowan replied,

Then, he turned to Crocodile, who looked slightly surprised, and laughed, "I told you, I know everything about my territory."

"Using Conqueror's Haki like Observation Haki, what an outrageous old monster..."

Crocodile leaned back in his seat and murmured, "So, what do you think they're here for?"

Upon hearing this, Rowan and Crocodile themselves fell silent.

They stared at each other for a while, then suddenly burst into laughter.

Rowan slapped his thigh and laughed heartily, "Why would you ask such a stupid question?"

Crocodile shrugged, finding his question equally amusing. "Just chatting because I was bored on the way."

After laughing, Luo Wen regained his calm expression.

He rested the scepter on his shoulder, took a sip of hot ginger tea, smiled softly, and muttered to himself.

"Want to find me? Then come on over."

……

Vivi had no interest in listening to the conversation between the Ancestor and Mr. Crocodile.

At this moment, the little princess was murmuring softly, trying to recall what Rowan had said to her during the voyage these past few days.

I can do it!

The little princess is cheering herself up.

I can do it!

……

Unlike superpowers like Alabasta, the Drum Kingdom is just a small island nation, so the journey didn't take long.

About three hours later, the group will arrive at their destination, which is the location of the cable car to the main castle on Drum Island.

Looking at the magnificent main peak of Drum Island in front of him, Dalton couldn't help but sigh.

Once upon a time, under the leadership of the old king, this main peak was both the residence of the royal family and a tourist attraction in the Drum Kingdom.

Many children enjoy taking the cable car, with the help of the guards, to the summit to overlook the beautiful snowscape of Drum Kingdom.

But everything changed after Wapol ascended to the throne.

The main peak of Drum Island has become a forbidden area for ordinary people, with access restricted to royalty or those associated with royalty.

Dalton lowered his head in deep thought.

The man sitting behind him, Ryan Rowan, was completely different from King Wapol in every word and action.

But... after all, he is also of the old king's bloodline. Hopefully, Wapol will gain some insight after his contact with Rowan!

As Dalton was thinking, the giant sled dogs pulling the sled suddenly stopped, as if they were being blocked by something.

He looked up and saw two familiar figures.

They were his two colleagues, staff officer Jess and clerk Cromarimon.

At this moment, the two ministers, dressed in rather extravagant attire, were leading a group of guards and stationed at the starting point of the cable car, seemingly having been waiting for quite some time.

Upon seeing Dalton arrive, Jess immediately waved and said, "Hey, Dalton, we can't leave here yet!"

Dalton was taken aback. "Why?"

"His Majesty Vapol is having his meal!"

Jess explained, "You know, His Majesty doesn't want to be disturbed by any outsiders while he's eating."

Dalton frowned deeply. "How could this be? I clearly informed His Majesty in advance that I would arrive at this time, and this isn't even his usual mealtime..."

At this point, Dalton suddenly paused.

He seemed to have figured out what was going on.

King Wapol was clearly annoyed by Rowan and his group's visit and planned to give them a hard time first, to intimidate them!

Thinking of this, Dalton gritted his teeth, a hint of anger flashing in his eyes.

This is utter nonsense!

Alabasta is known for its moderate approach, yet it is a superpower with a standing army of nearly 600,000, a force that a small country like Drum Island cannot match in terms of military strength.

To act so capriciously in front of a representative of such a great power.

Dalton had reason to suspect that Wapol had eaten too much wood, causing him to lose his mind!

He nodded slightly to Rowan behind him as an apology.

"Please wait a moment. There may be a communication error. I'll go explain to my colleagues."

Dalton then suppressed his anger and went to emphasize the importance of the matter to Jess and Cromarimon.

"This matter could escalate into a conflict between nations! Why don't you two try to persuade His Majesty?"

"Hey, Dalton, why are you so serious?"

Jess, dressed in circus attire, grinned and said, "As fellow members of the World Government, war is impossible!"

"Furthermore, even if war breaks out, the main castle on Drum Island is definitely a fortress that is easy to defend and difficult to attack."

"As long as the cable car is cut off, only His Majesty's Hippo can freely go up and down this mountain. Our entire force can hold out against an army of hundreds of thousands for several months, enough to hold out until the World Government intervenes. It's very safe!"

Dalton was taken aback. "What about the people of the Drum Kingdom?"

“Dalton, you just can’t wrap your head around it,” Jess shrugged. “As long as the king is there, the Drum Kingdom will exist, and we can have as many citizens as we want!”

……

The debate between Dalton and Jess continues.

Grains of sand appeared at Crocodile's fingertips, and the Desert Blade was poised to strike.

"A bunch of idiots."

He looked up at Rowan beside him and asked with a sneer, "Tell me, how many people will be left alive if I cut them down?"

Rowan did not answer.

Crocodile turned his head and saw Rowan looking up at the main peak of Drum Island.

He couldn't help but ask curiously, "What are you looking at?"

"Oh."

Luo Wen snapped out of his daze and replied with a smile, "It's nothing, just an old problem acting up again."

"Old problem?"

"I heard them say that there was a fortress that was easy to defend and difficult to attack."

Rowan smiled, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "I love conquering fortresses, so I just tried to mentally simulate how to conquer the main peak of Drum Island, how many people, time, and resources would be needed."

Crocodile, with an unlit cigar in his mouth, found the question intriguing and began to ponder it as well.

After a moment, he replied, "For ordinary soldiers, about ten thousand, we can use siege spears to pierce the walls one by one as steps, or simply use cannons to blast them in."

Rowan shook his head. "This is Winter Island, it's too cold. The soldiers can't afford to drag it out. We must finish this quickly."

Crocodile was somewhat dismissive.

Although in his eyes, the guys from Drum Kingdom, including that Dalton, were a bunch of idiots and morons, he had to admit that Drum Island's main castle was indeed difficult to conquer in terms of warfare.

"So what about you? How fast will you be?"

Rowan squinted and examined the strangely shaped mountain in front of him.

"Seven hundred soldiers from the Kingdom of Alabasta, prepared for seven days, will conquer it within seven hours."

Finally, I added a sentence.

"No casualties."

[Chapter 36. She Arrives]