One Piece: Who still has dreams?

Cobra, Bell, Jakka, and Robin all looked over, and saw a tall, strong young man striding into the palace in the afterglow of the blood-red sunset in a corner outside the gate. His face was blurred for a moment because of the backlight, but his eyes were clear and bright.

Behind Redio, a guard hurried up the steps and whispered something in the king's ear. Cobra nodded and waved the guard away.

"This crocodile lord's deputy told me that you have something important to discuss with me?" Cobra looked at the young man below the throne.

Reddio ignored him and climbed the steps one by one.

"Stop!"

Bell and Jakka, the two "Imperial Guards" who had eaten Zoan-type Devil Fruits, immediately shouted.

Cobra raised his hand and smiled, "Looking up at people must be tiring, right? I think so too. Please." He gestured to Redio.

"Kobula, do you want to end the drought in Alabasta?"

Redio blurted out, "Crocodile has already gone to Wano Country. If we don't hurry up and grab him a few more times, we won't be able to get him anymore."

Kobra was immediately moved, his eyes turning serious: "Young man, please don't joke about this! Are you really sure you can guarantee that you can solve Alabasta's drought this year?"

“I’m 100% or even 90% sure,” Redio said.

Do you know the cause of the drought?

A blue-haired girl rushed out from the back side of the main hall, followed by a burly man with a head of curly hair, urgently calling out, "Princess Vivi!"

The blue-haired girl, carrying a simple yet exquisitely detailed princess dress, rushed excitedly to Redio and asked in a clear voice, "In Alabasta's four thousand years of history, there has never been such a strange drought! Rainfall has increased dramatically in the capital, but not a drop has fallen in other areas! It's so strange! There must be someone behind this, right?"

Redio asked, "Do you really want to know?"

"Of course!"

How much do you want to?

"If you know but don't tell me, I'll beat you up!"

"What? You mean the kind of thought that's like, 'I want to bow deeply right now and beg you to tell me'? Your Highness?"

When Captain Icarum, who had followed the princess, tried to stop her, it was too late…

Princess Vivi, without a trace of princess airs, immediately bowed 90 degrees to Redio upon hearing this, her long blue hair cascading over her shoulders, and loudly proclaimed, "Please tell me! The truth about the disaster in Alabasta!"

“Sigh…” King Cobra gently rubbed his forehead.

Nefertari Vivi requests a mission from you: The Mastermind Behind It All

[Estimated Difficulty: ★★]

Reddio thought to himself, "I knew it. Old Sha's ridiculous plan involves so many people; keeping it completely secret is a pipe dream. Even the system thinks a 2-star level is enough to find out."

However, Vivi's belief was strong enough that she actually triggered an intelligence-related mission.

[Task accepted]

Redio then briefly explained to the king and princess how the Crocodile had targeted Alabasta's military strength, how he had formed a mercenary and bounty hunter gang, how he had disguised himself as the royal army and used dancing powder in the capital Albana to gradually dry up the air outside the capital, creating this unusual drought... and so on.

[Task Completed]

[Task Rewards: 168 Essence; 1-Hour Extension Card]

Chapter 35 "D"

[Chapter Opening Serial: Bonnie Sunbathing Chapter 11: "The Queen Mother only exchanged 1 million, which is already a bargain for you guys."]

[The fat man grinned maliciously and held the Queen Mother hostage with a dagger, while the skinny man raised a finger, threatening 1 million Berries in exchange. Yu Yu and the other fishermen were sweating profusely, unsure what to do.]

*******************************************************

Princess Vivi was only 13 years old at the time. But in another six months to a year, she would reach her breaking point and send her captain of the guard, Icarus, to investigate whether there was more to this strange drought than met the eye. She would even personally infiltrate Baroque Works, and ultimately (Robin deliberately leaked information) discover that the mastermind behind it all was Crocodile!

The little princess, so devoted to her country, was naturally furious upon learning the truth from Redio! She grabbed her skirt and yelled, "How dare he do this?!"

Icarus exclaimed in shock, "He's one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, a member of the government! Why would he do something like this to our country? Alabasta is a member state of the World Government. If the government finds out what he did, he won't be a Warlord anymore!"

Reddio laughed and said, "You've got it wrong. Crocodile has the strength to receive an invitation to become a Shichibukai, not that he has to curry favor with the World Government to become a Shichibukai."

Robin said, "Crocodile's plan was originally prepared to go to war with the Navy. That's why he needs the power of 'that thing' that is said to be hidden in this country."

"As expected, pirates are pirates!" said Belfalcon disdainfully.

"'That thing'?" Jackal Jakka asked, puzzled.

Only King Cobra's eyes flickered slightly as he thought of what his royal family had guarded for generations.

"If we are to discuss the next point, I'm afraid I'll need Your Majesty to dismiss your attendants for the time being."

As Redio spoke, he glanced at Captain Icarus, the two Zoan-type lieutenants, Bell and Jakka, and said, "The princess can stay."

Cobra stared intently at Redio, noticing the boy's unwavering and honest gaze, before slowly speaking, "Icarim, Bell, Gakka, you can go out now. Vivi, you stay."

"King!" "Your Majesty!" "King Cobra..."

The three guards were reluctant, but they obeyed. Before leaving, they each glanced at Redio and Robin. They didn't recognize the boy, but this "Devil's Son" was infamous! Was it really alright for the king and princess to be alone with someone like him?

The royal palace hall fell silent.

"..."

Cobra looked at Reddio with a serious expression, then glanced at Robin beside him. "Alright, let's get back to our previous topic. You were talking about 'that thing' Crocodile is looking for in this country?"

Robin looked at Reddio.

"Where should I begin..."

Redio thought for a moment, then looked up at the exquisite decorations of the royal palace, where the family crest of the Alabasta royal family, the Neferutari, was visible everywhere.

“Right, let’s start with… ‘Nefertari Lily’.”

“D?” Vivi was puzzled. Was this Lily a member of their royal family? Why did she have that in her name?

Cobra was beyond shocked!

He stared at Redio as if he'd seen a ghost, took a deep breath, and asked in a low voice, "Young man! Where did you get this name from?!"

Even with the rich collection of books of the Alabasta royal family and thousands of years of heritage, after searching through all the records from 800 years ago onwards, not a single mention of the name "Queen Lily" could be found!

Only within their royal family, through word of mouth, can they prove that this wise and virtuous queen truly existed.

But today, he heard about Queen Lily from a strange young boy!

Moreover, it's the Queen's full name, which is unusual for it to have a "D" in it!

"Then don't worry about it,"

Redio said indifferently, "There are so many strange and wonderful abilities on the sea. As long as there are people and things that exist, they will always leave traces and be discovered."

D……

Robin remembered that Saul's full name also contained the letter "D".

"As far as I know, a huge war took place in this world more than 800 years ago,"

Ignoring their reactions, Redio continued, "The losing side is led by a man called 'Joyboy,' while the victors are a coalition of 20 nations."

"These 20 winners formed the World Government that continues to this day, and their families moved to the Red Line, where their descendants became the current world nobility: the Celestial Dragons."

"Queen Lily was one of the 20 victorious kings. She could have led your Nefertari royal family to Mary Geoise, and then Princess Vivi today would also be a Celestial Dragon."

"But Queen Lily did not do that. Perhaps she eventually realized that she had won an unjust, shameful, even evil war. They were just 20 despicable victors."

"Therefore she disdained associating with these people, so she not only left Mary Geoise, but also added a 'D' to her name."

"..."

Weiwei's mouth dropped open as she listened. There was so much information, and she didn't know if it was true or not. She didn't know how to react for a moment, so she could only look at her father.

Cobra frowned and stared, seemingly gazing at Redio, or perhaps rapidly recalling many things. Some things that had puzzled him before suddenly became clear when considered in the context of what this young man was saying!

“Once upon a time… there was a person whose name also contained the letter 'D' who was suddenly murdered right before my eyes.”

Suddenly, a deep, aged voice came from the entrance of the royal palace, "That's my brother."

Everyone looked over. In the dim twilight light, a figure with a hairstyle resembling a giant clover stood at the gate.

Behind him, twenty or thirty scholars followed. Eurythias was among them.

Cobra wasn't surprised; he knew beforehand who had entered the palace. But one thing puzzled him, and he raised his voice to ask, "What exactly is 'D'?"

Why did Queen Lily add this to her own name?

"Doctor!" Robin's eyes welled with tears, but she couldn't hide her smile as she looked at the scholars who had died alongside Ohara, who were filing into the hall.

"Robin, this is unbelievable..."

Dr. Clover, who was at the head of the group, looked up at Robin and smiled with deep emotion.

But now is not the time to talk about these things. His gaze lingered briefly on Redio before he spoke in a deep voice to the piercing eyes of King Cobra.

“My real name is ‘Claude D. Croba.’ The King asked me what the ‘D’ meant. To be honest, I’ve studied history my whole life and I still don’t understand. But I can say with certainty that it’s utterly absurd to execute someone just because their name has this ‘D’ in it!”

“If what Redio just said is true…” Olbia murmured, “Since ‘D’s are executed in secret, does that mean that these ‘D’s are the descendants of those who lost the war against the 20-nation coalition?”

Redio held up one finger: "I have a guess about 'D'. Of course, I can't guarantee it's right or wrong."

He glanced at Vivi, who seemed confused, and chuckled, “Among the 19 victorious kings, one of them said: ‘These ‘D’s of this era, 800 years later, are all empty shells who don’t know the meaning of their names…’ So I think that the so-called ‘D’ may not have any real meaning, but is merely a ‘mark’ for identifying partners.”

What is the meaning of the "×" on the Straw Hat crew's arm?