Pirates: Your emperor has returned!

Unlike the two masked figures, there were many people dressed in black suits.

The masked man slowly spoke, "You've got guts to come alone."

No, you're wrong.

Rowan gently beckoned with his finger, and the ground beneath the snow began to stir restlessly, spewing out clumps of sand.

These grains of sand gradually gathered together, becoming one after another sand soldiers wielding long spears.

Rowan said with a smile, "I never fight against overwhelming odds."

Suddenly, one of the impatient men in the black suit pushed off the ground with the sole of his foot, using the speed of the Six Styles of "Shave" to instantly appear behind Rowan, and shrieked:

"Who's going to wait for you to use your ability to summon a whole bunch of people, you idiot!"

Immediately, wind blades materialized on his ankles, and the deadly Tempest Kick, enveloped in Armament Haki, slid towards Rowan's neck.

Swish!

The next instant, Rowan suddenly turned around, and the spear in his hand landed directly on the man's face, slamming his head into the ground.

boom!

Snowflakes are rising.

Rowan turned around, his dark purple ribbon swaying in the wind.

His voice echoed through the foothills.

"But doing this occasionally can be a fun pastime."

[Chapter 39: Notebook]

Crocodile struck a match and lit a new cigar for himself.

He stubbed out the match and took a deep breath.

Hiss...whoosh!

After exhaling a puff of smoke, he finally managed to calm himself down, sitting on the corner sofa.

Hehehe, that's really interesting.

Who could have imagined this would happen before the talks officially began?

……

Not far away, Vivi's meeting with Wapol continued.

The talks mainly focused on how to establish a fixed air route between Alabasta and the Drum Kingdom, and how to maintain and develop it after its establishment.

This is only a small part of the vast vision of the Four Seas Alliance, and not even the first complete step.

Even so, the ignorant and incompetent Vapol still had a hard time understanding.

All he cares about is what he has to give up and how much benefit he can get from it later.

Dalton frowned.

He was an honest and simple man with formidable fighting skills, but he was not good at politics.

But the current situation is that even Dalton can see that Wapol is being led by the nose by the other side!

why?

Why did things turn out this way?

Looking at Dalton's bewildered face, Crocdale couldn't help but laugh.

Unlike Dalton, a mere brute, Crocodile immediately saw the key to the current situation.

King Wapol, that fool, only thought of himself during the talks.

In other words, the Drum Kingdom is a bargaining chip for Wapol to gain more benefits, while Vivi represents the country of Alabasta itself.

"A state that exists for its own benefit" versus "an individual who represents an entire nation".

It's obvious which side is more likely to gain the upper hand!

……

At this moment, Vivi is discussing with Wapol the rules for the deployment of troops by the two countries after the establishment of a fixed shipping route.

But for Wapol, the guard was his private army. If they all went to protect civilians, who would protect him?

Therefore, Wapol intends to shift all the blame for the troublesome situation of stationing troops onto Alabasta.

But Vivi's words followed immediately.

"There are four uninhabited islands along the pre-planned route that can be used as troop deployment locations. As the initiator of the route, Alabasta can take the initiative to assume the responsibility of guarding three of them, and the remaining one will be left to you."

Listening to Vivi's words, Wapol suddenly felt that there was some truth to them.

Since the other side had already secured three sections of the flight path, securing one section shouldn't be too much of a problem for us, so we nodded in agreement.

But after nodding, Wapol suddenly realized something was wrong.

He scratched his head, feeling that this was completely different from what he had initially thought, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why it was wrong.

Upon seeing this, Crocodile almost burst out laughing.

Sure enough, at the negotiating table, once you fall into the other party's rhythm, you will follow their ideas all the way.

Crocodile had seen the four uninhabited islands beforehand. The three that Alabasta was responsible for guarding were all strategic locations, which could be attacked or defended at will.

With just a guard team of about ten men and the help of defensive fortifications, they can withstand the siege of several pirate ships!

More importantly, these three islands are located in the high seas of both countries.

Sending troops to garrison the islands means bringing the waters around them under our control—and with the permission of the other king, it's perfectly legitimate!

Such a great place shouldn't be given to anyone else.

And what about the uninhabited island that the Drum Kingdom is responsible for?

Not only is it located within the waters of the Drum Kingdom, but there is also a naval patrol route nearby.

Even if pirates had ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare to plunder ships near that island!

In this way, the uninhabited island becomes a huge problem, or even a completely unnecessary one.

If it's redundant, why not just set up three garrison points?

The answer is simple: it's all about legitimacy.

Before the World Government completely breaks off relations, according to the rules, Alabasta is still a member state of the World Government, and the World Government has the right to intervene in Alabasta's actions.

Once the World Government discovers the existence of this route, Alabasta can invoke the bilateral agreement.

The fact that both sides have stationed troops there is sufficient proof that the agreement is fair and reasonable.

This is a blatant excuse that anyone with eyes to see clearly, but it is indeed effective in dealing with bloated institutions like the World Government.

"interesting……"

Crocodile watched with great interest, but couldn't help but feel curious.

Is Ryan Rowan really that capable of turning a five- or six-year-old girl into an outstanding diplomat in just two days?

Crocodile did not believe it.

He must have done something else!

Crocodile looked around and suddenly noticed Vivi's backpack, which contained some daily necessities that Cobra had prepared for his daughter's voyage.

But what caught Crocodile's attention was one of the notebooks.

That was the notebook that Vivi was holding when she was talking to Rowan on the deck.

After much hesitation, Crocodile finally couldn't suppress his curiosity, took out the notebook, and opened the first page.

He desperately wanted to know what Rowan had taught Vivi.

"Please wait patiently after entering the meeting room."

"There's a 30% chance that Wapol will immediately push the door open and start being aggressive. At that point, don't say anything; just wait for him to calm down."

"There's a 60% chance that Wapol will keep you waiting for a long time. If you don't see anyone within two hours, leave with a declaration of war, and leave the rest to me."

"There's a 10% chance that Wapol will take direct action and try to intimidate you with force. In that case, you should call Little Crocodile and let him do as he pleases."

Crocodile was suddenly stunned as he stared at the words on the notebook.

He took a few deep breaths, and suddenly an outrageously exaggerated guess popped into his mind.

"It can't be that bad, it can't be that bad..."

Crocodile grinned dryly and turned to the next page.

"Once you sit down, there's a 70% chance that Wapol will yell at you and a 30% chance that he'll laugh at you."

"It doesn't matter in either case. After the other person has said three sentences, no matter where they are in the conversation, you should immediately start your own topic."

"..."

Crocodile turned a few more pages.

His eyes widened as he compared Vivi's performance with the contents of the notebook in his mind.

"Regarding the issue of stationing troops to guard the area."

"After proposing that both sides send troops to garrison the area, there is a 10% chance that Wapol will refuse outright, and a 90% chance that he will fall silent."

"If they refuse, offer words of comfort; if they remain silent, state our proposal after two breaths."

"There's a 90% chance he'll agree."

"Ichisei—he flipped the table right away. Remember to shout 'Little Crocodile,' and then thank him."

"..."

Crocodile took a deep breath, his pupils trembling uncontrollably.

What is this notebook...?

No, something's not right.

Crocodile shook his head, trying to dispel the absurd speculation in his mind.