Moria sat in silence for a while, thinking. Dragon didn't interrupt.
Finally, Moria spoke. "We haven't made direct contact with Cobra yet, but from a logical standpoint, he should hate us deeply."
"I thought he might like us," Dragon said with self-deprecating humor.
"How is that possible? He's a king!" Moria laughed. "Apart from that guy Kuma, I've never seen any monarch who likes us."
After a brief pause, he continued, "Of course, I'm not being arbitrary here. First, because of that bastard Crocodile, our reputation in Alabasta isn't good. Second, before Crocodile started using our name to cause trouble, Alabasta was developing quite well. They have a massive population and vast territory. Although there are large desert regions, those could become the backbone of their tourism economy. Alabasta's geographical location is excellent too. It's close to the entrance to Paradise. Anyone choosing that route must pass through Alabasta. They maintain a powerful military force, one of the world's top armies. So aside from some drought issues with the climate, this country with its long history doesn't have major internal conflicts. The Nefertari family carries significant prestige."
"Therefore, for the Nefertari clan and the people of Alabasta, people like us aren't worth contacting and don't need to be contacted, right?" Dragon finished the thought with a knowing smile.
It had to be said, Moria was someone who'd achieved Warlord status through his own capabilities.
Now that he'd changed his development platform, with people like Dragon teaching by example, and having accumulated years of practical experience, Moria was performing excellently. He'd become a serious senior cadre, a backbone figure in the organization.
"Exactly. Under normal circumstances, we'd have no living space there, and Cobra wouldn't need to pay attention to us," Moria said calmly.
"What's happened instead?" Dragon prompted.
"As a result, this once-prosperous country began declining rapidly after Crocodile arrived and started operating under our banner. Just a few years, and the nation's developed serious climate problems. There are rumors the Nefertari clan is using 'dancing powder,' but according to our investigation, Crocodile is far more likely to be the cause." Moria's tone grew more analytical. "Then someone secretly funded militant training. Five years ago, Alabasta's sand bandits numbered only thirty thousand. Now? One hundred seventy thousand. This has severely damaged, even destroyed, the economies of Alabasta's major desert cities. Their world-renowned desert cultural tourism industry has suffered devastating blows. The crisis may not be fully apparent yet, but this collapse will clearly have ripple effects across all sectors. Industry-wide destruction, countless job losses, followed by poverty. Once everyone goes hungry, they'll face the end of prosperity. Not only will the sand bandits expand further, but even the currently minor rebel groups will become genuine threats to the state."
Moria smiled grimly. "Now, that fool Nefertari Cobra genuinely believes we're behind this. He trusts Crocodile instead, who keeps whitewashing himself and portraying himself as a national hero. Do you think Cobra has a good impression of us? If you showed up there, he'd probably order his million troops to chop off your head immediately!"
There was no doubt about Cobra's character. As a king, his kindness was beyond reproach. His mind was broad, his love for his people genuine.
But his combat intelligence and political acumen as a ruler were tragically low.
In the original timeline, Crocodile had nearly forced Cobra to death, yet the king had still wanted to find evidence to bring the Warlord down legally. Even knowing the man wasn't trustworthy, Cobra had ended up nurturing a tiger that would devour him.
Finn would have found this absurd. At that point, who cares about evidence? Kill first, ask questions later. Besides, Crocodile wasn't a good person to begin with.
As for worrying about how his national hero status might affect things...
Laughable. These concerns had never been problems for victors. History was always written by winners.
After eliminating Crocodile, you could simply dig up old accounts and find plenty of black marks on his record. Spin the narrative however you wanted. Who cared about prestige?
The only real problem for Cobra was Crocodile's strength.
But examining the entire Alabasta pirate usurpation incident revealed that Cobra's actions were simply idiotic. If it weren't for someone like Luffy passing through and using protagonist powers to beat Crocodile, everything would have been ruined.
Now, after investigation and learning about Cobra's various decisions, Moria's opinion of the king aligned closely with Finn's assessment.
In peacetime, Cobra was definitely a wise and benevolent ruler.
But once chaos erupted, he was effectively incompetent.
At this stage, Moria already regarded him as such.
Hearing Moria's assessment, Dragon smiled. "Seems I can't visit Alabasta casually now. Hahaha."
"Definitely not," Moria agreed calmly.
"Even so, is there any possibility of winning him over? If we exposed that these are all Crocodile's conspiracies and helped Cobra stabilize the domestic situation, could he accept us?" Dragon asked.
In truth, Dragon had already been considering Alabasta seriously. Otherwise he wouldn't have sent such a capable subordinate like Moria there.
After all, Alabasta was enormous. Long history, strategic location, massive population, tremendous wealth. There was even a slight possibility it contained ancient weapons.
Under normal circumstances, Alabasta could maintain a conventional army exceeding one million soldiers while ensuring excellent living standards for civilians. The country's prosperity was staggering.
If he could acquire Alabasta, Dragon would truly ascend from oppressed revolutionary to legitimate power.
By then, he'd have the confidence to face Mary Geoise directly.
But before this, Dragon had never determined how to approach Alabasta. He'd simply planted some hidden cards there. Even Crocodile, he'd been planning to eventually use.
Now, after encountering Sabo, a new direction had opened.
If he could use Alabasta as a front organization...
Wouldn't that be perfect?
"Isn't that impossible? Don't forget the Nefertari clan are descendants of the Twenty Kings," Moria said after a moment of silence.
"Twenty Kings..." Dragon murmured softly.
The burning of Mary Geoise. That mysterious castle within the Abode of Gods.
The memories flooded back immediately.
Perhaps he could get answers from the Nefertari clan?
"Although they're descendants of the Twenty Kings, I've heard their relationship with Mary Geoise isn't very good. There's still a chance of winning them over, right?" Dragon hesitated.
Seeing Dragon's reluctance to abandon the idea, Moria felt helpless. He could only say, "We can try making contact."
"Hmm... Not yet. Let's continue observing. But we should prepare for both scenarios and hedge our bets. It would be ideal if we could win Cobra's support and tie our interests together," Dragon said after thinking.
"But I think Crocodile has better prospects. Didn't you say before that Crocodile was more promising? You even mentioned we'd eventually force him to join us," Moria pointed out.
"That's right. Comparatively, Crocodile is smarter, more resourceful, more capable than Cobra. His strength excites me. But the problem is... precisely because of this, I now hope to join forces with Cobra instead." Dragon's smile turned calculating.
Originally he'd just wanted cooperation, so naturally it would be better to partner with someone as capable as Crocodile.
But now, he wanted to swallow Alabasta whole and support someone as a puppet figurehead. From that perspective, Cobra, the king who was obviously incompetent in these matters, was far more suitable!
"Then when is the right time to act?" Moria asked.
From a humanitarian perspective, the sooner the better. Less damage to Alabasta overall. Deal with Crocodile quickly, stabilize the situation.
But from Dragon's strategic perspective, the more chaos the better. When the situation became chaotic and reached the point of collapse, when Cobra had nowhere to retreat and no options remaining, then he might grasp at the life-saving straw Moria and the others offered.
Thinking this, Dragon said, "Handle it at your discretion. When Cobra becomes desperate, we'll help him."
"Understood." Moria smiled.
"By the way, how's your zombie project progressing?" Dragon asked.
"Actually, it's just an extension of my Devil Fruit ability. I'm not particularly interested in it. It's mainly because Hogback keeps pestering me. Considering he's a world-class famous doctor and valuable talent for our organization, I've tolerated it until now." Moria paused. "Generally speaking, it's effective. As cannon fodder or a trump card for standard operations, it works well. But it's meaningless against masters."
"I don't care about the specifics, and there's no need to target masters. It's enough if it reduces our casualty rates. But you need to keep it clean. Don't let anyone know we're behind it," Dragon ordered.
"I understand." Moria smiled, then added, "Everyone currently thinks this is the work of Baroque Works. That bastard Crocodile tried to blame us, so I'll let him take the fall a bit more."
"Well done," Dragon said approvingly.
As if remembering something, Dragon continued, "By the way, the New World might descend into chaos during this period. We should seize the opportunity."
"Are you going to the New World?" Moria's eyes lit up.
Kaido was the source of his vendetta after all.
"No, I'm going to seize the opportunity and conduct several major operations while all forces focus their attention on the New World. I'll contact you when the time comes," Dragon said.
"Alright." Though Moria felt disappointed, he didn't refuse.
After disconnecting the call, Dragon made several more, contacting many of his senior officials. Ivankov, Inazuma, and others.
Finally, he looked at the Den Den Mushi in his hand and hesitated for a long time.
Rodriguez Finn.
Should he contact him?
The Goa Kingdom was a promising project, but Dragon might not be able to handle it alone. However, if he had two capable helpers like Finn and Queen Stussy assisting him, there would be no problem.
But that would require sharing profits. And exposing the truth of their cooperation.
Was it worth it?