Alabasta.
Royal Palace, Capital City of Alubarna.
“Hmm…” Nefertari Cobra, King of Alabasta, stood before the palace window, gazing into the far distance outside the city.
His brow was furrowed, his eyes deep in thought.
“Igaram—where is he now?” Cobra asked in a deep voice.
“Your Majesty, according to our reports, he should enter the royal capital within ten minutes at most,” replied Igaram, Captain of the Royal Guard, standing solemnly beside him.
Next to Igaram stood two others—Pell and Chaka, the Guard Sub-Commanders and personal bodyguards to the King.
“Very good.” Cobra nodded faintly.
“Then I should prepare as well.” Hearing the King’s words, the three guards showed expressions of grave concern.
“Your Majesty, are you truly going to meet this ‘guest’ in person?” Igaram couldn’t help but speak up.
“Forgive my bluntness, but someone whose origins are completely unknown is far too dangerous.
I still believe the three of us should test his depths first…” He couldn’t finish his sentence, because Cobra raised a hand to interrupt him.
“Dangerous?” The King continued to gaze out the window into the distance, speaking softly.
“Look, Igaram.” In his line of sight, vast rain clouds had gradually begun to gather.
A heavy downpour had descended upon the royal capital, exactly as the rumors described.
In Cobra’s eyes, however, those falling drops were not mere rain.
They represented the dire reports he had received over the past seven months.
The dried-up Sandora River, the withered crops, the panicked and displaced citizens—every single piece of news had brought him immeasurable grief.
Yet Cobra had been helpless.
Only Alubarna still received rain, and the rainfall of a single city was far from enough to sustain the water needs of an entire kingdom.
He sensed the traces of a conspiracy behind it, but he lacked the time and leads to investigate.
He only knew that seven months of drought had gripped Alabasta by the throat, plunging this ancient realm into an unprecedented disaster.
Then, not long ago, he heard news of this ‘guest’s’ arrival.
No one knew who he was or where he came from.
Yet wherever he walked, torrential rain fell from the sky.
When he stopped to rest, the rain paused; when he resumed his journey, the downpour continued.
His journey across the land had led the citizens of Alabasta along his path to view his presence as a miracle.
And today, in just a short while, he would enter the royal capital.
Cobra did not know the stranger’s identity or his objective.
He knew only one thing.
“If this drought continues, he might be the sole hope for the people of Alabasta.
He comes to the capital to meet the ruler of this nation, and am I to hide away out of fear of the unknown?” He looked at his loyal Guard Captain.
“Igaram, the King you serve is not a man of such meager resolve.” This was something he had to do.
Even if, based on the stranger’s attire in the rumors, they had already guessed his potential background, Cobra had to meet him for the sake of Alabasta.
Hearing these words, Igaram, Pell, and Chaka exchanged glances.
Moved and helpless, all three knelt in unison.
“Understood, Your Majesty.” Cobra smiled faintly.
“Let us go—let us meet this guest and behold this so-called ‘miracle’.” “Yes, Sire!” Just as the four prepared to head downstairs to welcome the guest at the palace gates…
*Tap!
Tap!
Tap!* Accompanied by crisp footsteps, a girl with blue hair, a graceful figure, and a lovely face pushed open the heavy wooden doors of the chamber.
“Ha…
ha…” She breathed heavily, perspiration glistening on her forehead.
“Princess Vivi!?” Igaram looked in surprise at the most noble princess of the realm.
“Why are you…” “I’m coming with you, Father!” Vivi caught her breath and said earnestly.
“I want to meet this ‘Rainmaker’ too!” “Ehh?!” All three guards stared, their eyes practically popping out of their sockets.
“Princess Vivi, don’t joke around!” “Princess Vivi, that person might very well be—” “Indeed, how could a royal princess—” They stumbled over their words in total disarray, Igaram’s golden curls practically standing on end in shock.
Vivi, however, simply looked straight at her father.
“Hmm…” Cobra stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“Very well.” “Ehh?!” Setting aside the three guards whose jaws had nearly dropped to the floor, Cobra simply looked at his daughter.
“You are a princess, and the future Queen of Alabasta.
I originally intended to let you enjoy a few more years before dealing with state affairs, but now it seems that might not be wise.” His eyes held affection, but also resolute conviction.
As the King of Alabasta—one of the twenty founding nations of the World Government—he knew the dark realities of the world all too well.
He had intended to let Vivi grow up in innocence for a few more years.
But the severe drought plaguing the nation, the hidden conspiracy behind it, and the recent shifts across the realm made him realize that perhaps the time had come.
“Remember, though—you are only to listen.” “Understood,” Vivi replied with a firm nod.
Over these past seven months, she had witnessed the suffering of her kingdom with her own eyes.
Her heart burned with anxiety, yet she had been powerless to help.
It wasn’t until today, seeing the heavy rain pouring outside her window, that she finally made up her mind—as a princess, she might not be able to do much, but she had to try.
“Your Majesty,” a guard outside reported, “the guest has entered the royal capital and is heading straight for the palace.” Cobra and Vivi exchanged a look.
The group immediately headed toward the main palace entrance.
When they reached the plaza before the palace, they saw the citizens of Alabasta gathered in massive crowds, densely packed together, gazing eagerly toward the distance.
“It’s the Rainmaker!” “It’s really raining!” “How could it be fake?
I followed him all the way from Yuba!” The crowd instinctively parted to yield a pathway, allowing Vivi to catch a glimpse of the figure at the end of the road.
The mysterious robe and the majestic Dragon Mask were exactly as the rumors described.
He approached step by step, walking past the wary gazes of the palace guards, until he stepped into the courtyard.
Finally, stopping at the foot of the grand staircase, he stood a short distance from King Cobra.
Eyes beneath the mask looked up at Cobra and Vivi.
“Welcome, honored guest from afar,” King Cobra spoke, standing tall and opening his arms in greeting.
“I am Nefertari Cobra.
On behalf of Alabasta, I welcome your arrival.
May I ask how we should address you?” As he spoke, Pell, Chaka, and Igaram behind him tensed their muscles, ready to respond to any threat.
To their surprise, the figure standing in the rain made no hostile move.
He simply looked at Cobra.
Then, a deep voice—carried just loud enough to reach the ears of those standing at the top of the stairs—echoed through the falling rain: “I am ‘Dragon’.” “I have come here to negotiate a deal with Your Majesty.” “A deal that directly concerns whether this kingdom…
meets its destruction, or achieves its rebirth.”