Alabasta Kingdom, Atla Mountains. Wooden villa, bedroom. After Sephiroth gently laid Princess Vivi, who was dressed in a dancer's outfit, flat on a soft white bed, he reached out and pressed her neck, stimulating the blood flow in the girl's body to help her gradually wake up from unconsciousness.
Before long, after a soft groan, Vivi supported her forehead with her hand and slowly sat up from the bed. Having just woken up from unconsciousness, her mind was a bit confused, unable to figure out the current situation. She seemed to remember seeing her Father Cobra's declaration preparing to execute the nine generations of the rebellious army, and then... and then...
"Princess Vivi, Alabasta is destroyed!" Hearing this, Vivi's eyes instantly went black, and her heart trembled violently. With a "thump!", she actually fainted directly. Seeing this scene, Sephiroth couldn't help but raise his right hand and scratch his head, muttering somewhat guiltily:
"Uh!? It seems I took the joke a bit too far..."
So, he could only press the girl's neck lightly again, stimulating the blood in her body once more, allowing her to regain consciousness and reopen her bewildered eyes. To prevent the girl from causing any more trouble, Sephiroth quickly spoke:
"Let me state this first, regarding the civil unrest incident in the Alabasta Kingdom, neither the Umbrella Corporation nor I participated in it..." "Hmm!?
That's not quite right either." "It should be said that after the Umbrella Corporation saw the Alabasta Kingdom fall into crisis, it chose to intervene midway, using rain-making machines to help you quell the drought incident, and our Company then obtained mineral extraction rights. This can be considered mutually beneficial for both the Company and the Kingdom."
"As for this incident where the current King exposed his crimes and prepared to execute the nine generations of the rebellious army, it was not instigated by me or the Umbrella Corporation." Hearing this, Vivi couldn't help but clench her fists and sit up. She looked at the young man in front of her with a look of gnashing teeth.
"If it wasn't you and the Umbrella Corporation, then who could it be!?" "All the clues I investigated point towards you." Sephiroth gently rubbed his chin and muttered:
"I guess... it should be Crocodile's Baroque Works manipulating all of this behind the scenes." "What is this Baroque Works you speak of!?"
"Furthermore... do you know how high the reputation of the Seven Warlords of the Sea Crocodile is in this country?" "Why would he do this?" "The goal of the Sand Crocodile is, of course, to overthrow the rule of your Nefertari royal family and then establish an ideal land!"
Vivi got out of bed, stood up, and looked directly at him with her eyes:
"Compared to Crocodile, I think you have a stronger motive to overthrow our royal family's rule. One is a national hero, while the other is the person all clues point to. Who do you think I should believe?" "Tsk! Little girl, I have to say, your words..." "...do indeed make a little sense!"
Sephiroth pushed Vivi against the wooden wall of the villa, supporting himself with his right hand on the wall, looking down at the girl in front of him from above. "However, you need to understand one thing, I am a high-level executive of the Umbrella Corporation..." "The power, wealth, resources, and status I possess are not something a mere king of a country can have!"
"Every year, a pile of countries want to join the Umbrella Corporation, and the number of people who want to become high-level executives through various means is countless." "Therefore, rather than acquiring this poor and backward country, I actually prefer to acquire you, this cute little apple!" As he spoke, Sephiroth gently pinched Vivi's chin with his left hand, lifting her face.
His voice carried a magnetic pull, laced with provocation. Their gazes locked for what felt like eternity before Vivi turned her head away, refusing to meet Sephiroth's face as it seemed to inch closer. Her voice came out muffled, barely above a whisper.
"Your words are just empty promises. How can I trust you?"
"Fair point," Sephiroth admitted.
He took a deliberate step back, widening the distance between them. His fingers brushed thoughtfully against his chin as he murmured, "I can't exactly prove my innocence right now. Then again, I don't seem to need to. After all, your father has already lost the people's support. His downfall is inevitable."
Vivi's body trembled at his words. Fear and unease flickered across her face. Deep down, she knew it was true. Since the Yuba incident, King Cobra's authority had crumbled. Rebellions were brewing across the kingdom, and Alabasta teetered on the brink of collapse.
"Princess Vivi," Sephiroth's voice dripped like honey, smooth and dangerous. "You don't want to see your country destroyed, do you?"
Though she sensed his motives were far from pure, she turned to face him. Her voice trembled. "Do you have a way to save it?"
"It's a complicated problem," he admitted. "But if we can't solve it directly, we might as well remove the source. Kill Crocodile, and most of your troubles vanish." His wicked smile sent a chill down her spine.
Vivi remained silent, her doubts lingering. Crocodile had been entrenched in Alabasta for over a decade. Why would he choose this moment, just as the Umbrella Corporation arrived, to orchestrate its destruction? It didn't add up.
"How about a wager?" Sephiroth's sly grin widened.
Vivi's lips pressed into a thin line as she stared at him, unblinking. "What kind of wager?"
He leaned in close, his breath brushing her ear as he whispered, "We'll bet that I can quell the rebellion in Alabasta. If I win, you'll become mine, heart and soul."
"And if you lose?" she shot back instinctively.
"Lose? That's not possible." His tone brimmed with confidence, his expression calm and unshaken. The chaos in Alabasta seemed trivial to him. If eliminating Baroque Works didn't resolve the issue, he'd simply crush the rebellion by force.
Sephiroth wasn't one to boast, but when it came to killing, he was unmatched. His rise to power had been paved with bloodshed. Bodies piled beneath his feet, a testament to his ruthlessness.
Vivi's voice choked, tears welling in her eyes. "Can you really save my country?"
"Of course," he replied without hesitation.
"Fine," she whispered, her resolve hardening. "If you can save Alabasta, I'll give myself to you completely."
"Deal," he said with a light chuckle. "But I'll need a deposit first."
Her heart skipped a beat as his words sank in. Her body trembled violently, anticipating his next move. Yet…
Amidst Vivi's anxious and fearful emotions, Sephiroth merely leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead before pulling away. No further advances followed.
"Deposit collected," he said with a smirk. "Now, it's time to get to work."
Vivi stared at him, momentarily stunned. Her hand rose instinctively, fingertips brushing the spot where his lips had touched.
When she looked at the young man in front of her again, her eyes were filled with complex and difficult-to-understand emotions. In fact, even without making this bet with Vivi, Sephiroth would have helped the Alabasta Kingdom quell this civil unrest incident... The Umbrella Corporation had just started building factories in this country, and the oil and uranium mines had just begun to be excavated.
The basic foundation had just been laid, but now there was this unexpected civil unrest. How was he supposed to continue? Furthermore, Baroque Works had played too big a game, even having Mr. 2 impersonate Cobra and publicly declare that he had abused dancing powder. Hundreds of years ago, dancing powder was an item explicitly prohibited as contraband.
If this matter reached the ears of the World Government and they decided to intervene, the Alabasta Kingdom would cease to exist, and the entire Saint Ding Island would likely be brought under the control of the World Government, or obtained by the Sand Crocodile Crocodile through some shady deal.
Given Crocodile's personality, he probably had a plan to gain control of Saint Ding Island through some method even if the World Government intervened, so the World Government controlling the island was unlikely to happen. In that case, once Crocodile gained control of the entire island, the Umbrella Corporation, which was mining minerals on this island, wouldn't be able to continue either!
After all, a while ago, Sephiroth directly extorted one hundred billion Berries from Crocodile. Given the latter's personality, it was impossible for him to act as if nothing had happened. At that time, Sephiroth would eventually have to deal with Crocodile... Since that was the case, he might as well make his move early!