Pirates: Your emperor has returned!

“Mr. Wapol, you’ve arrived just in time.”

Wapol was even more confused. "Hey, what do you mean?"

Crocodile also perked up; he had been getting impatient, but Vivi's words had rekindled his interest.

Haha, this isn't a conventional opening. Did Rowan teach her that?

What did he teach?

Vivi looked at the clock on the wall and said calmly.

A single sentence that made everyone present widen their eyes—

"Two hours. If you enter this room 30 seconds later, Alabasta will declare war on the Drum Kingdom."

Luo Wen never taught Weiwei this phrase.

He simply told Vivi this "fact".

[Chapter 38. Occasional Pastimes]

The huge meeting room was deathly silent.

The words Vivi had just spoken seemed to still echo in the air—

"Two hours. If you enter this room 30 seconds later, Alabasta will declare war on the Drum Kingdom."

Even Crocodile, who had been expecting things to escalate, couldn't help but freeze in place.

What does that sentence mean?

literal meaning.

Crocodile suddenly recalled that along the way, Rowan had talked to Vivi on the deck and had Vivi write it down in her notebook.

Now, he roughly knows what Rowan was saying to Vivi.

But... is that even possible?

Crocodile had spent a considerable amount of time in Alabasta and had a certain understanding of Vivi.

Although this little princess is somewhat precocious and has inherited Cobra's troublesome personality of "the country is the people," she is ultimately just a five or six-year-old girl.

The future is promising, but not now.

Could a mere two days of instruction really enable her to represent a nation and hold talks with another king—or even a foolish tyrant?

Crocodile clearly didn't believe it.

I'm afraid we'll lose miserably!

Crocodile didn't believe it, and Wapol was even less likely to believe it.

He stood outside the door, staring in surprise at Weiwei on one side of the negotiation table, and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, Jess, so this little brat is the representative of Alabasta! You should have told me sooner, and I would have eaten a little longer!"

Wapol smiled, and the two ministers beside him couldn't help but laugh as well.

"No, I can't hold back anymore, Cromarimon, that little brat's serious expression is just too funny!"

"Hahahaha, my stomach hurts from laughing too!"

The laughter of the three men made Dalton's face grow even more gloomy inside the room.

Entrusting the important task of representing a country to a young girl is indeed a bit unbelievable, but so what?

Regardless of age, at this moment, Vivi undoubtedly represents the nation of Alabasta!

In a meeting representing a nation, no matter how outrageous the other party's actions are, they must be taken seriously; otherwise, it would be irresponsible to one's own country.

Take, for example, Vapol, who was the ruler of a country.

At this moment, for him, who represents the Drum Kingdom, it is absolutely inappropriate to utter a sound of ridicule!

Once that happens, you've already fallen into the opponent's rhythm.

Dalton couldn't help but sigh.

As the son of the old king, how come Wapol didn't inherit even a trace of his late father's political talent?

He thought for a moment, intending to offer some advice, but suddenly heard Weiwei speak again.

"Mr. Wapol, the meeting cannot truly begin until we are seated."

Vivi looked up at the clock on the wall and smiled, "Fifteen seconds left."

—Only fifteen seconds remain before the two countries go to war!

Upon hearing this, Wapol wanted to make a few more sarcastic remarks, but when he saw Vivi's eyes looking at him, he suddenly froze.

He had seen that look before.

When Vapol was young, he accompanied his father, the old king, to a world conference.

There, in his unruly behavior, he inadvertently bumped into another king, a tall king who only glanced at him, which terrified Wapol so much that he wet himself.

Later, according to his father, the king's country was located in the North Sea and was a country that was born in the flames of war.

The old king told Vapol a lot, but he didn't listen to a word of it, only remembering that the guy was very scary.

Now, looking into the little girl's eyes, Wapol felt that same fear again.

At the same time, Vivi started the countdown.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven..."

Wapol waved his hands repeatedly, but Vivi's countdown continued.

The ever-decreasing numbers were making it hard for Wapol to breathe.

He rushed into the room, ran to one side of the negotiating table, and sat down. Only then did he finally breathe a sigh of relief, looking like he had just escaped death.

Then, he couldn't help but wonder.

Huh? Why did I do that?

Seeing Wapol's performance, Dalton gritted his teeth, his face growing increasingly grim.

Shame!

For the king of the Drum Kingdom to behave like this is utterly shameful!

Crocodile, sitting on the sofa nearby, also became somewhat interested.

On their first meeting, a five- or six-year-old princess completely overwhelmed the Drum Kingdom's past in terms of rhythm and performance.

How exactly did Rowan teach her?

So, what's that guy doing now?

……

Let's go back two hours.

Rowan, holding a scepter, walked alone across the snowfield.

Click... Click...

The combat boots made a pleasant rustling sound as they stepped on the snow.

Suddenly, many huge figures appeared by the roadside; they were a group of enormous white rabbits with fierce-looking faces.

Labang is one of the unique animals of the Drum Kingdom.

It is a highly aggressive rabbit that lives in groups, only recognizes the strong, and will indiscriminately attack all living things around it.

But at this moment, those terrifying animals that were enough to give the guards a huge headache actually lowered their heads and made a rare gesture of "acknowledgment".

Seeing this, Rowan waved gently to them.

"What a cute little bunny."

The Labang people also waved in return, as a gesture of goodwill.

An indescribable sense of pressure was surrounding them, but it wasn't frightening, because it wasn't a feeling of life being threatened.

In fact, if the group from Labang wanted to, they could turn around and leave at any time without any hindrance.

But they felt that doing so was wrong.

They willingly lowered their heads, acknowledging the man walking across the snowfield—

Ryan Rowan.

……

About half an hour later, Rowan reached a foothills with a relatively open view, flanked by dense forests on both sides.

Looking up, you can see the main peak castle of the Drum Kingdom in the distance.

"It's a good place for an ambush."

Rowan's gaze shifted, looking at what was in front of him, and he chuckled softly, "Right?"

There stood two masked figures dressed in white suits.

"[Golden Dawn] Ryan Rowan".

One of the masked figures spoke slowly, his voice low and menacing: "By order of the Celestial Dragons, you have been arrested."

To his surprise, Rowan smiled and asked in return, "Was it really an order from the Celestial Dragons?"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding air visibly froze for half a second.

Then, the masked man nodded. "Yes."

"No, it's not."

Rowan shook his head. "He's just using an excuse to give orders, but his orders aren't enough to make you take such a big risk."

"as well as……"

Rowan looked around and continued:

"So many people have been mobilized."

A strong wind at the foot of the mountain whipped up snowflakes, revealing people hidden in the dense forest on both sides.