Cobra the Pitcher

Longinus was stunned and looked a little unable to react to Cobra, who looked like some freaking psycho before his eyes.

"Is this one the future king of Alabasta?" Although Longinus expressed doubt in his mind, he still kept a warm smile on his face and said, "Prince Cobra, I..."

"Don't, don't ever call me Prince Cobra!" Cobra said with an excited expression, "You can call me Cobra or young Cobra, but don't use proper honorifics!"

Longinus was shaken slightly, almost suspecting the guy was gay, but a strong sense of stability still kept him from moving and saying, "Okay! We'll all take a step back from each other, I'll call you Cobra, and you won't say 'you', call me Longinus!"

"Is this...is this okay?" Cobra was trembling, his face agitated, in a way that made Longinus suspect that he would faint the next moment.

Seeing Longinus nod without leaving a trace, Cobra then took a deep breath and said, " Ensign Longinus, I especially admire you. When I saw your words in the newspaper two years ago, the famous words you spoke when you defeated the Scarlet Blade Pirates, strength should be the servant of justice."

"After that, I finally found the meaning of my existence in my cloudy days, which was to use the power given to me by the people to seek greater happiness for them!"

Longinus instantly switched to the Kind Personality with emphasis. They said, "You did the right thing, power and strength are monsters that cannot be released from their cages, and their abuse can only be prevented by limiting them with justice and truth."

After receiving Longinus's affirmation, Cobra was even more excited, just a little gloomy on top of the excitement, "It's just a pity that Father himself won't listen to my pieces of advice at all. Our country has been at war for years. Although its status and power have been expanding, the economic situation has already fallen below the breaking point. The wariness in the country has also reached its peak. Now Alabasta is dynamite on the edge of an erupting volcano that could blow the country to pieces at any moment."

"So, what you're saying is..."

"I hope that you, Captain Longinus, can help me save this country that could be destroyed at any moment!" Cobra said eagerly.

"You want to take power away from your father?"

"Huh? No, Captain Longinus, you are mistaken!" Cobra even waved his hand in defence, "I was hoping that you would use the concept of justice to reach out to my father, who is blinded by war and destruction!"

"Sensitive..." Longinus twitched in silence, according to Commodore Adkin, the current king of Alabasta is a treacherous old cunt, who would be "sensitized" by the idea of "justice", only in his wildest dreams.

"Does it make Father feel guilty? Does contacting pirates count?" Cobra said cluelessly.

Seeing steeply Cobra throwing out such powerful depth charges, Longinus couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air. It seemed that this guy was a handful of pits!

While it's impossible to bring down a king just by hiring pirates, it would be a useful bargaining chip at the conference if it worked well.

Longinus said without making any noise, "Yes, tell me this information very carefully in detail."

"Good. As I've said before, the wariness in the country reached its peak, causing the army's fighting strength to drop considerably. We were actually in an underdog situation at the beginning of the war, so my father, he secretly contacted the Berserk Pirates, the Heart Pirates, and the Banner Pirates, and had those pirates disguised as armies to participate in the war, which saved him from losing the throttle."

"Working with pirates is like working with tigers," Longinus said in simple terms.

"Well! That's what I thought, too, that those hungry pirates who can't feed themselves will someday target Alabasta with their eyes on this country that looks strong on the outside but is in chaos!"

...

The dinner quickly ended in disaster due to the war of women that kept erupting at the party.

And the four-nation peace talks, which were supposed to be tomorrow, were put on this night because of King Alabasta's desperate request.

Inside the spacious and open palace, each of the four countries' dignitaries and nobles stood at the rear of their royal families. At the same time, the marine, represented by Commodore Adkin, sat at the front of the palace, facing the royal families of the four countries.

"Alright, let's all begin to speak freely now. Although the marine's position is to remain neutral, I still hope that the kings will reach an agreement for the sake of peace."

King Alabasta, who was sitting close to the left side, looked around and then raised his neck in a slightly reserved manner and said, "Since everyone is silent, let me throw a brick at you. Our kingdom has invested a lot of workforce and resources o start this war, and to end this war, we have to cover our losses at least!"

"So, our desires in Alabasta are simple: your three countries compensate us for ten billion berries, and how the ten billion berries are distributed is your business."

"Ridiculous, ten billion berries for the war, I don't think you are sincere in peace talks at all." King Cretan slapped the table in anger and snapped directly at him.

"Don't be in such a hurry; I haven't finished yet. Given our absolute lead in the current war and the fact that ending it at this point would cost us a large portion of our vital benefits. So, I have the right to demand another province be cut from your respective kingdoms as a prize while keeping the territory we already occupy."

"After all, ending the war in this situation when things are looking up, even if I'm the king, I'm going to need a pretty hefty burden to carry!"

"But, as a token of my generosity, I can leave you free to pick and choose without specifying which province, well, you can praise my benevolence all you want now!"

"Reverend King Alabasta, I simply cannot see any sincerity in your words regarding peace talks." King Hisca also frowned and made a strong statement, "If you truly come with the will for peace, we will have wine to entertain our friends. But, if you are trying to threaten with a new round of war, the brave citizens of Hisca will also lift their rifles to drive away jackals!"

"Humph! Two kings, when faced with the choice between survival and dignity, I think you will make the right decision."

Seeing that the peace talks had begun with such an intense stalemate that it seemed to be on the verge of turning into the prelude to battle, Commodore Adkin quickly whispered for help, " Longinus, stand up and take control. I can't contain the situation anymore!"

Longinus took a deep breath, when did you take control of the situation, and why should I not know anything about it?

"Kings, please listen to me, the key to peace talks is to seek common ground while preserving your dissent, and since we are all here for peace, please be a little more patient and listen to me analyze the current situation." Longinus' faint soul authority pressured out, giving people an imposing presence of a superior, making one unconsciously want to listen to him finish his speech, creating the situation that was the somewhat anxious return to calm once again.

Published in Qidian, February 26, 2019