Pirates: Your emperor has returned!

Casualties: zero.

If someone else had said that, Crocodile would have sneered in disdain.

But when Rowan stated this conclusion, Crocodile didn't want to believe it, yet he couldn't bring himself to feel "disbelief."

After much thought, Crocodile concluded that there was only one possibility.

Subconsciously, she felt that the man wasn't bragging or joking, but was serious.

Ryan Rowan certainly has the ability to do that!

Rowan noticed Crocodile's gaze, turned his head and smiled, "Want to know my specific tactics?"

"Hmph, not interested."

Crocodile turned his head and sneered, "I can easily handle this by myself, I don't care about tactics!"

What he said was indeed true.

The terrain of the main peak of Mag Drum Island is extremely unique. It is a huge mountain shaped like an inverted iron bucket with a slope of 90 degrees. Ordinary people cannot climb it without external assistance.

However, Crocodile, as the user of the Sand-Sand Fruit, could easily use his erosion ability to create a staircase for climbing the mountain.

As for the so-called castle fortress and its ordinary guards, they were even less worth mentioning in the face of Logia-type Devil Fruit abilities.

If Crocodile wanted, he wouldn't need seven days; he could sit on the throne in that castle in just seven minutes!

He was even more annoyed because he believed Rowan could do the same thing easily.

"Tsk, what a foolish diplomatic maneuver."

Despite possessing immense military strength, Crocodile has always been unable to comprehend the fact that he acts like an ordinary person.

"Although I also find it troublesome, doing it occasionally can be quite enjoyable."

Rowan smiled helplessly, "Moreover, a global alliance cannot be established by force alone."

"But you can't form an alliance with an idiot either."

Crocodile chuckled and retorted, "I'm curious how you'll 'discuss' the alliance with that idiot king of the Drum Kingdom. That would be quite an interesting scene."

Rowan's reaction was unexpected by Crocodile.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I can't satisfy your curiosity."

"Ok?"

Crocodile was taken aback, not understanding what Rowan meant.

Just as Rowan was about to answer, he suddenly realized that a small figure was missing from their sled.

Where is Vivi?

Rowan and Crocodile looked around and found that the little princess had gotten off the sled at some point and was standing next to Dalton, Jess, and Cromarimon.

At that moment, Dalton was still arguing with two other people.

"Why did His Majesty suddenly change his mind about the meeting that had been arranged in advance?"

Dalton's eyes flickered slightly, as if he had suddenly guessed something, and he looked up at Jess in front of him, "What happened?"

Jess was taken aback. "Hey, Dalton, what are you talking about?"

"Don't hide it from me, Jess."

Dalton stepped forward, getting close to Jess's face, and said in a deep voice, "Although His Majesty often throws tantrums, he wouldn't do this for no reason. What exactly happened during the two days I was away from the castle?"

As he spoke, Dalton's breathing became heavy.

His back began to bend slightly, brown hair sprouted on his skin, and two hard horns grew on the top of his head.

That is the human-beast form unique to Zoan-type Devil Fruits.

This scene proves that Dalton was truly angry, after all, this is a major matter concerning the diplomacy of both countries and the safety of their people!

Seeing that Dalton was getting serious, Jess quickly waved his hand to signal him to calm down.

Dalton's punches are no joke, and he doesn't want to take a hit!

"Actually, after you left the castle to make preparations, a group of outsiders suddenly arrived at the castle."

"Ok?"

Dalton was somewhat puzzled, after all, the Drum Kingdom was not large, and the few harbors and docks it had were all manned.

Logically, anyone who comes to the Drum Kingdom should be discovered by the guards, but as the captain of the guards, he didn't receive a single word!

"Impossible, who are those people?"

"We initially thought it was impossible, but we almost got killed!"

Jess touched his neck; the knife had been only half an inch away from his vitals. If he hadn't begged for mercy quickly, his head would have been severed.

He warned Dalton, "Those guys are from the World Government!"

Dalton was even more puzzled. "The World Government? What are they sending people here for all of a sudden?"

"They said they wanted to temporarily borrow a deserted forest to conduct some kind of military exercise on Winter Island. Anyway, it's a very complicated matter!"

Jess shrugged. "His Majesty initially wanted to give those arrogant guys a hard time, but he ended up getting punched so hard he vomited blood and it took him a long time to recover."

"Those guys also said that they were just there to inform His Majesty and had no intention of seeking his consent, and told us not to get carried away."

Jess shuddered as he recalled how he felt.

"In short, they were a really terrible group of people. His Majesty was depressed for a long time after they left, and he is in a particularly bad mood now."

Upon hearing this, Dalton finally understood the general situation.

A group of people claiming to be from the World Government came to the Drum Kingdom and forcibly requisitioned a deserted snowfield to conduct some kind of "military exercise".

King Vapol, as usual, wanted to put on airs, but instead he was severely reprimanded, which made him extremely unhappy.

Unable to vent his anger on the terrible guys at the World Government, he set his sights on another group of guests who were about to arrive.

Bullying the weak and fearing the strong...

Dalton couldn't help but sigh deeply. The old king was definitely a wise and diligent ruler who loved his people. Why didn't Wapol inherit even the slightest bit of his father's good qualities?

not to mention--

Dalton's gaze returned to Rowan and Crocodile on the sled.

One of them was the emperor of the empire who had recently appeared on the front page of the newspaper;

The other one is Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

Even a fool could see that these two are definitely not pushovers!

"Hey, Jess, and Cromarimon, don't join His Majesty in his nonsense, or we won't be able to bear the consequences."

Dalton straightened his expression and gave a serious warning.

Seeing Dalton's seriousness, and coupled with the intimidating aura emanating from the two tall men on the sled, Jess became a little intimidated.

"Well, since you put it that way, let's rest in the castle first... Huh?"

As he finished speaking, Jess lowered his head and suddenly noticed a small figure with blue hair.

It's Vivi.

At that moment, she was looking up at Jess.

Vivi had gone to several world conferences with Cobra, but Jess hadn't gone with Wapol yet, so he didn't know Vivi.

He was simply annoyed by the serious expression on the little blue-haired girl's face.

"What are you doing here, little brat?"

You're wrong.

Vivi stared into Jess's eyes and said seriously, "A nation is its people; a nation is not a nation if it is only a king!"

This was a principle that Cobra had always taught Vivi, and the little princess had deeply remembered it.

Upon hearing this, Jess became even more displeased.

"Where did this brat come from?!"

He was about to teach Vivi a lesson when Dalton's large hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.

"Hey!"

Dalton's eyes darted around, the threat unmistakable. "Jess, remember what I said."

Feeling the pain in his shoulder, Jess grimaced helplessly.

"Tch, I can't be bothered arguing with a brat!"

At that moment, Rowan and Crocodile also got off the sled and came to the group.

Jess glanced at Rowan, the most conspicuous of the group, and although he found it troublesome, he patiently spoke up due to Dalton's threat:

"Are you the emperor from the newspaper? You must be tired from your long journey. Let's rest inside the castle first."

Dalton bowed slightly and added:

"Please wait a moment, I will arrange your meeting with His Majesty as soon as possible."

But to everyone's surprise, Rowan suddenly shook his head.

"No, it is not I who am to meet with your Majesty."

He crouched down, put his hands on Weiwei's shoulders, and cheered on the little princess he had been teaching all along.

Rowan smiled and said:

"The representative of Alabasta—she has arrived."

[Chapter Thirty-Seven: Essay or Discussion on Martial Arts]

She's coming?

She's coming?!

Everyone was stunned when Luo Wen said this.

This even includes Crocodile and Dalton.