Cobra had originally thought Valthior was just an ordinary pirate in the Roger Pirates.
Turns out he was a Celestial Dragon?!
How did that make any sense?
"You're also a descendant of the Twenty Kings!?" Cobra asked in shock.
Clearly, while he didn't necessarily think Celestial Dragons were inherently noble, he had always taken pride in his ancestry—being a descendant of the Twenty Kings.
"I don't think anyone would dare impersonate a Celestial Dragon. Besides, your father, Vadiye, should recognize me. When he attended the Reverie in Mary Geoise last time, I was still young, but we did exchange a few words," Valthior said with a shrug.
"Huh?" Cobra was even more stunned now. After a moment, he couldn't help asking, "Then why would someone like you—a Celestial Dragon—end up becoming a pirate?"
"What's wrong with being a pirate?" Valthior replied irritably. "It's not like I've been eating your rice!"
"You have, you have," Gaban chimed in teasingly. "Did you forget we plundered a noble's merchant ship at the Port of Nanohana? We bought plenty of rice with that money."
Valthior's face twitched slightly. Ignoring Gaban, he continued:
"I'm a cultural worker, so naturally, I must pursue culture. During my exploration of culture, I discovered that the World Government seems to be hiding a massive darkness. I also sensed the terrifying power that exists in Mary Geoise.
"As we just speculated, my ancestors may have been controlled by that terrifying force, forcing them to do things against their will—leading to the state the world is in today.
"As a proud descendant of the Twenty Kings, isn't it only right that I uncover the hidden truths of my ancestors and seek the truth of the world?
"And in that process, I realized the Roger Pirates could help me. So I joined them. What's wrong with that?"
Of course, that was all nonsense.
In reality, Valthior was just extremely curious about the so-called "Void Century."
As for the so-called honor of being a descendant of the Twenty Kings—well… he'd use it when convenient. Otherwise, he didn't really care.
But Roger and the others were clearly hearing this for the first time, and given his background, it actually sounded perfectly reasonable to them.
"I see… I was wondering why a Celestial Dragon like you would insist on tagging along with us. Turns out you're chasing your ancestors' truth. Fair enough," Roger said, smacking his lips.
"Ambitious," Rayleigh gave a thumbs-up.
But Valthior couldn't be bothered with them. Instead, he looked at Cobra and said:
"As for you—also a descendant of Queen Lily—you're not making any effort to uncover your ancestors' truth or unravel these mysteries. Instead, you just cling to the title of 'descendant of the Twenty Kings' like it's some badge of honor.
"Don't you feel ashamed? If Queen Lily knew she had a descendant like you, who knows what she'd think."
Cobra was instantly broken by that verbal assault, snapping angrily:
"That's because I didn't know any of this before! Now that I do, how could I just ignore it!?"
"Then what are you going to do about it?" Valthior shot back.
That question completely shut Cobra down.
He was just a fourteen-year-old prince. He had come today to pay respects to his ancestors with reverence—
Only to find their graves being dug up, get dragged into a hidden underground chamber he never knew existed, and then be exposed to a portion of the truth from eight hundred years ago.
His mind was already in chaos.
And now Valthior was asking him what he planned to do?
How the hell was he supposed to know!?
He opened his mouth several times, but no words came out. After a long pause, he finally asked timidly:
"Then… what do you think I should do?"
"As fellow descendants of the Twenty Kings, for the honor of our ancestors, you should of course support the great adventure of the Roger Pirates," Valthior said without hesitation.
"We're risking our heads to uncover these ancient secrets—for your sake as well. Shouldn't you show a little appreciation?
"I won't ask for much. Just prepare 50 billion Berries as funding for our adventure. If we run out later, I'll come back to you for more…"
"Fifty billion!?" Cobra exclaimed in shock. "What do you take me for!? Where would I even get that kind of money!?"
"You're the prince of a nation with a population in the tens of millions. What's 50 billion to you? Back when I was living the good life in Mary Geoise, 50 billion sometimes wasn't even enough for a single year," Valthior bragged smugly.
After a brief pause, he added with a magnanimous air:
"Fine, if the Roger Pirates accept your sponsorship, we can make you an 'honorary crew member.' How about that?
"In the future, when we uncover the Void Century and publish something, we'll even put your name on it. You'll go down in history. Sounds like a good deal, right?
"Captain, what do you think?"
Roger scratched his nose awkwardly. "Fifty billion… isn't impossible, I guess…"
"Do you have any integrity at all?" Rayleigh couldn't help but complain. "You're just selling crew positions for money now?"
"That's 50 billion!" Roger shot back through gritted teeth. "You're telling me you're not tempted!?"
Rayleigh hesitated, then coughed. "Ahem… I was just saying. You're the captain—you decide."
Listening to them go back and forth, Cobra couldn't help but say:
"I really don't have that much money…"
"Then how much do you have?" Valthior asked.
"I… if I go back and sell off the rewards my father has given me over the years, I might be able to gather… 7 to 8 billion Berries?" Cobra said awkwardly.
As a fellow descendant of the Twenty Kings, hearing Valthior casually claim he spent 50 billion a year—while he could barely scrape together 7 or 8 billion even at his limit—
It made the young Cobra feel rather ashamed.
Of course, he didn't realize that among royal families, this was actually quite decent.
After all, in a place like Dressrosa, the king couldn't even scrape together 10 billion—he was practically broke.
Still, for a prince of a nation with tens of millions of people, Cobra's wealth did seem modest—which also reflected the Nefertari family's relatively upright values.
"7 or 8 billion? Forget it—keep some for yourself. Go prepare 5 billion and send it to Nanohana Port. Our ship is docked there, someone's watching it.
"Consider it a token of goodwill from a fellow descendant of the Twenty Kings. On behalf of the Roger Pirates, I thank you," Valthior said, patting Cobra on the shoulder.
Cobra froze for a moment, then asked:
"Then what about my honorary crew member status?"
"You think 5 billion lets you make demands?" Valthior said disdainfully. "If it weren't for the fact that we're both descendants of the Twenty Kings, do you think I'd even take this pocket change?
"Don't push your luck. When you have more money in the future, you can keep sponsoring us. Once the full 50 billion is paid, we'll give you that honorary title."
After being verbally steamrolled by Valthior, the young Cobra ended up nodding along in a daze—
Somehow saddled with a 5 billion Berry debt.
Soon, Rayleigh made a rubbing of the Poneglyph and said, "Alright, business is done. How about we head to Alubarna and check out the splendor of this thousand-year-old kingdom?"
"Let's go, let's go! I've been digging sand all day—I'm dying here. If I don't get a drink soon, I'm done for!" Roger agreed immediately.
...
When they exited the underground chamber, the ice encasing the guards had already begun to melt under the blazing sun.
After all, Valthior had held back—he hadn't intended to kill them.
After telling Cobra not to mess with anything and that the guards would be fine once the ice melted, the Roger Pirates swaggered off—
Leaving behind the pit they had dug in the royal tomb.
And a dumbfounded Cobra, standing in the desert, staring at his frozen guards and his excavated ancestral graves, utterly bewildered.
...
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