stonecrandall Chapter 141 King Riku surrenders voluntarily? Extending Dressrosa's life once.
Chapter 141 King Riku surrenders voluntarily? Extending Dressrosa's life once.
Chapter 141 King Riku's Voluntary Surrender? Extending Dressrosa's Life Once Again
"Mr. Brian, Mr. Brian, please wait a moment!"
"Um?"
"King Riku? What else do you want? It better be something worth my time." Brian's tone carried a hint of displeasure.
Brian glanced casually at King Riku, who was dressed simply. He was not as old as he was in the original story; his hair was still black, and he looked to be in good shape.
"That's right, Mr. Brian,"
King Riku ignored Brian's cold attitude and quickly bowed, adopting an extremely humble posture.
"Mr. Brian, your supplies are all ready. I have no intention of delaying in any way," King Riku explained hastily.
"However, Your Majesty and your monster girl army will surely be exhausted from the long voyage."
King Riku took a deep breath, mustered his courage, and looked up to plead, "I would like to cordially invite Your Majesty to a brief royal banquet! This is not to stall for time, but because I have a matter of great importance concerning the world that I wish to report and discuss with you privately!"
A flicker of interest crossed Brian's eyes. King Riku's expression didn't seem feigned. Besides, what kind of world events could a king protected by the World Government possibly know?
Any intelligence that could make his journey a little more enjoyable was worthwhile.
"Something big?" Brian sneered. "Fine, I'll give you that chance. I hope you won't disappoint me."
He turned to Beros and Agni and said, "Notify the warships to set sail again in three hours."
A banquet is being held at the Royal Palace of Dressrosa.
As night fell, the banquet in the palace was extremely simple, with only a few trusted ministers present. There was no grand band, only a quiet and slightly tense atmosphere.
Brian sat upright in the main seat, with two mythical beast-type monster girls standing behind him like statues, and no one else.
The other monster girls were still on the warship, and King Riku, being a thoughtful person, had prepared a large amount of food and sent it to the ship in the port as a gesture of goodwill.
King Riku personally poured Brian a full glass of the strongest liquor, his attitude as respectful as that of a subject.
"Mr. Brian, please forgive my boldness." King Riku raised his glass, his voice filled with suppressed tension.
"You are the storm of the new world, and your existence represents a new order. As the leader of one of the member states of the World Government, I also have my own special channels of information regarding the world's movements."
Bram drank the strong liquor in his glass and gestured for King Riku to continue.
King Riku took a deep breath and finally spoke the message he most wanted to convey that night.
"Your Majesty, several months ago, the Five Elders secretly convened an extraordinary world conference, gathering the kings of all member states. The scale of this conference far exceeded that of a typical annual meeting."
"Over 90% of the kings are present. The core of the meeting is a 'final solution' for the Rocks Pirates."
Brian's eyes narrowed sharply, and he put down his glass. "The final solution?"
"Yes." King Riku's voice was extremely low, revealing a profound secret: "The highest levels of the World Government have issued the order:
A year from now, the Navy has been preparing to completely crush the Rocks Pirates for several months.
"Completely crush them—" Brian muttered these words, a hint of interest curving his lips, but his eyes gradually turned cold.
"They are conducting an unprecedented secret mobilization. All of the navy's elite forces and secret weapons are being deployed, all focused on this objective."
King Riku continued to drop bombshells: "Even more shockingly, during the meeting, the Five Elders revealed that they would use a hostage" to restrain Rocks' actions.
"But they didn't say who this hostage is. Based on our guess, it should be a key figure connected to Rocks, who can influence Rocks' actions," King Riku continued to speculate.
Brian's eyes lit up completely.
Hostages? Wife, son?
The factors that could influence Rocks were extremely few, and no one knew what Rocks was really thinking.
Brian suddenly remembered something recorded in the original work, which immediately connected the whole story.
According to the original work, the true trigger for the God Valley Incident was not only the capture of Peony, but more importantly, the World Government's abduction of Rocks' wife and son, who is none other than Blackbeard from the original work.
In other words, the World Government had actually been eyeing Rocks' family for a long time, but it was probably because of me that they accelerated this process.
Brian's mind went blank for a moment, and he thought of many things before he came back to his senses.
"Very good." Brian picked up his glass, a confident smile playing on his lips. "Your information is indeed valuable."
King Riku felt reassured seeing Brian's interest. He knew that his life and the safety of his country could finally be initially guaranteed.
King Riku then informed Brian in detail about the locations of the Navy's major secret supply and intelligence stations in the New World, as well as the recent fleet movements of the Navy and the World Government.
Although this intelligence was fragmented, it was an extremely valuable reference for Brian's subsequent strategic planning.
The banquet lasted for an hour, and in the end, both hosts and guests enjoyed themselves.
Brian got the information he wanted, while King Riku successfully offered his sincerity to this monster of the new world.
As Brian was about to leave, King Riku generously presented the most precious treasures collected by the Dressrosa royal family over generations: several boxes of glittering diamonds, rubies, and ancient gold artifacts.
"Sir, this is merely a small token of my respect," King Riku said respectfully. "Consider it a favor to us for future cooperation."
Brian did not refuse. He looked at the mountain of treasure, his eyes filled with admiration for King Riku's astute judgment.
"King Riku." Brian nodded, his voice softening slightly. "You are a smart man, and I enjoy dealing with smart people."
"Agni~"
"Yes, Master."
Agni understood and took out a Den Den Mushi (snail phone) and tossed it to King Riku.
"This Den Den Mushi can contact me directly. Any new intelligence about the World Government and the Navy can be shared through the Den Den Mushi."
"In exchange for your sincerity, if your Dressrosa encounters any major difficulties in the future, you can contact me. Of course, you only have one chance, so make the most of it."
Brian's words were undoubtedly the strongest promise and protection he could offer to King Riku and Dressrosa.
Upon hearing this, King Riku was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes, and he bowed deeply once again.
This king, whose performance in the original work was not particularly outstanding, secured a tremendous opportunity for his country at this moment.
Brian's promise effectively extended the life of Dressrosa decades later.