"If a man like this could stand behind Alabasta, a situation like Baroque Works' invasion would never happen again in this kingdom."
Cobra tapped his fingertips on the throne, his eyes filled with complexity as he thought of the poneglyph that his family had guarded for generations.
In fact, given Alabasta's status as one of the twenty countries that created the World Government, it was not originally worried about problems such as Baroque Works.
But the poneglyph buried in the royal tomb is destined to make Alabasta drift further and further away from the World Government.
After all, once that thing is found, the only outcome that awaits the Nefertari family is destruction.
"What happened with Baroque Works has proven that when facing powerful pirates like the Seven Warlords of the Sea, relying solely on the power of Alabasta is no longer enough to protect the kingdom."
"If I want the people to no longer experience this kind of chaos, I have to bring in foreign aid."
Cobra had already realized this problem after narrowly surviving under Crocodile's clutches.
However, he has been busy quelling the unrest in various parts of the kingdom and rescuing victims in various places, so he has put this matter on hold.
It was not until tonight that he felt Gawain's outburst of Conqueror Haki; he put this question before himself again.
"Compared to seeking refuge from other pirates, the name of White Knight Gawain and the behavior he showed in this incident are undoubtedly more trustworthy."
"But if I want him to take action at the critical moment to protect Alabasta without causing suspicion from the World Government, what should we do..."
Cobra fell into deep thought until the incident that happened in the East Blue reappeared in front of him, and everything had an answer: "Martial Arts Tournament!"
"The East Blue Martial Arts Tournament has already attracted the attention of the entire world. If they want to expand further, they must reach out to other seas."
"Alabasta can be the first stop!"
"This will also help revitalize the country's economy and make people live a better life."
"If something happens in Alabasta in the future, it will affect Gawain's own interests. He will definitely not stand idly by!"
With this thought in mind, Cobra could no longer sit still, so he asked Pell to prepare some gifts when he went to visit Gawain early the next morning.
… … …
A few minutes ago, after feeling Gawain's burst of Conqueror's Haki that swept across most of the city, Kizaru, who had fallen asleep early, was awakened. He raised his hand to remove the blindfold, with confusion and surprise in his eyes: "Hey, hey, hey~"
"This level of Conqueror's Haki is far beyond the strength Gawain has shown before."
"There shouldn't be anything like this in this country."
"That is..."
Between his words, there was a hint of solemnity in Kizaru's eyes. He hurriedly stood up, opened the curtains, and looked towards the center of the Conqueror's Haki explosion.
The moonlight was bright, and red lightning in the sky was like a snake flickering around a sand castle.
There, it is Gawain's temporary residence.
"It's indeed Gawain's Conqueror's Haki!"
"This level of Conqueror's Haki is no less than that of Douglas Bullet back then."
"It's not far from mastering the Conqueror's Haki entanglement that symbolizes the strongest."
"This guy... has he really been hiding his ability?"
"But that's not right!"
Kizaru frowned slightly.
He is confident in his fighting ability.
When facing him, even someone as strong as Gawain would find it difficult to retain his strength.
What's more, in those battles, Gawain had erupted in his Conqueror's Haki more than once.
Strong, but definitely not to this level!
Damn it!
At this moment, Kizaru realized why Gawain never cared about his persuasion.
"This is finding your own way!"
"Ahhhh~"
"You make me look like a clown!"
"And..."
Kizaru seemed to have thought of something, and his expression turned extremely strange: "Does this count as another kind of... aid to the enemy?!"
"It shouldn't count, right?"
"After all, I'm doing this for Mr. Zephyr. To put it more concretely, I'm doing this to ease the situation within the Marines and even to stabilize the world as a whole."
"I've been working so hard for this world!"
As the sound landed in the distant sky, a stronger round of Conqueror's Haki erupted again.
It was like a strong wind blowing through, causing the sand that had been blown into the room to blowback, and the world became quiet for a moment.
The corner of Kizaru's mouth twitched: "Too much!"
Bang!
He closed the window directly, using the strategy of out of sight, out of mind.
But the words, aid to the enemy, would not go away in Kizaru's mind.
That night, Kizaru couldn't sleep well.
… … …
At the other end, Gawain barely managed to control the Conqueror Haki that was surging in his body, but it still leaked out from time to time, leaving cracks on the surrounding walls.
After a long time, Gawain let out a long breath, slowly opened his eyes, and his gaze fell on the cracks in the wall. He couldn't hide the excitement on his face at all: "The strength of my Conqueror Haki has at least doubled!"
"At this level..."
Before, when Gawain faced Golden Lion, he didn't even release his own Conqueror's Haki.
After all, in front of Golden Lion's overwhelming Conqueror's Haki, his Conqueror's Haki would be defeated in an instant.
But now it's different.
Snap!
Gawain raised his hand and closed it, making a loud bang.
Feeling the Conqueror's Haki flowing through his body, the corners of his mouth gradually curled up: "It may not be able to compete with Golden Lion, but it will definitely not be crushed in an instant."
"And..."
"The feeling before was not an illusion. I can already feel the flow of the Conqueror's Haki!"
"Like air, like flowing water, and even more like an arm..."
"It's just that it's still some distance away from being able to attach it directly to an attack like Kaido and Big Mom did."
"It's still missing a little bit."
Gawain closed his eyes, concentrated his will, felt the flow of the Conqueror's Haki, and began to try to control its flow, but he was unable to do so.
If Armament Haki is still related to physique, then Conqueror Haki is the embodiment of pure will.
Even if he knows how to do it, there is still something missing.
"Does it require intense battles and clashes of faith like the Straw Hats to stimulate the Conqueror's Haki in the body, or is there another way..."
Gawain frowned slightly.
Once again, he felt the same problem as when he first started learning Armament Haki and Observation Haki.
There is no correct guidance for those who are on their own. If he wants to get started with these things correctly, he can only rely on himself to keep trying.
Even if the talents are the same, the development speed will be far behind that with guidance.
"Try again."
Gawain closed his eyes and tried again to control the Conqueror's Haki in his body.
Soon, the red sunlight shines in from the window, and it's daybreak.
After training hard all night but gaining nothing, Gawain prepared to go and seek the scriptures from Kizaru.
But at this moment, there was a sound of commotion on the street outside the window.
"I found the trace of the Devil Child, Nico Robin!"
"Don't let her get away!"