Aden Kingdom, inside the weapon warehouse.
While the fat uncle watched in fear, Crocodile randomly picked a cannon and started loading it with cannonballs.
"Mr. Crocodile, you..."
The fat uncle wanted to stop him, because testing cannonballs in a weapon warehouse full of ammunition was completely insane.
If this warehouse blew up, the entire Aden Kingdom palace and the surrounding area would be blown to pieces!
But Crocodile shook his head with a sly smile. As he lit the fuse, half of his body turned into a sandstorm and blocked the path of the fired cannonball.
Bang!
A deafening roar echoed through the weapon warehouse.
Rowan used some sand to block the blast waves in front of the fat uncle, allowing him to see what was happening.
Crocodile had wrapped the fired cannonball in his sandstorm.
Activating his erosion power!
In the blink of an eye, the cannonball, along with the gunpowder inside, turned into a pile of sand before it could explode and fell harmlessly to the ground.
Crocodile smacked his lips as if savoring a glass of red wine.
"Hmm..."
He touched his chin, thinking about how it felt.
Rowan waved away the sand in front of the fat uncle and asked curiously, "How powerful was it?"
"Very powerful," Crocodile answered without hesitation.
"To be honest, I can hardly believe these things are thousands of years old."
"The design, the explosive power, the firing range... everything is far better than the ordinary cannonballs of today!"
"Perhaps only the special heavy cannons on the main Marine ships can compare to these cannons."
Crocodile took out a flashlight and shined it into the depths of the weapon warehouse.
There were dozens of rows of similarly sized cannons, and plenty of cannonballs were stored nearby.
"If these weapons were given to a fleet, even the super-giant sea kings in the Calm Belt would run away!"
Crocodile narrowed his eyes and judged:
"This level of heavy firepower is enough to rival the World Government's famous 'Buster Call'."
The "Buster Call" is a devastating bombardment by ten Marine battleships and five Vice Admirals, along with many elite Marine forces, that is so powerful it can completely erase an island from the map!
Crocodile comparing this armory to a Buster Call proves how terrifying the "firepower" stored here is!
The fat uncle squatted down, picked up a pinch of sand left over from the eroded cannonball, and looked complex.
He was a native of Aden.
In the fat uncle's mind, Aden Kingdom was a peaceful little country.
Its location was remote, and its resources were not abundant. The World Government had no interest in making it an allied nation, and even the surrounding pirates rarely visited.
In short, Aden Kingdom was a small, insignificant country in terms of economy, politics, and military.
Who would have thought that under the palace of such a country, there was a terrifying arsenal capable of rivaling a Buster Call?
The fat uncle paused, and finally said slowly, "The World Government must never know about these weapons!"
Rowan nodded, agreeing with the fat uncle's view.
"They cannot see the light of day yet—at least not now."
Crocodile seemed a little regretful.
He wanted to control a powerful "military force" with all his heart, and now such terrifying heavy firepower was right in front of him. Crocodile's heart was really itching.
"Never mind..."
Crocodile stroked the cannon barrel next to him and murmured, "The Pluton is more important."
Compared to the ancient weapon Pluton, these heavy cannons were just decorations on a cake, completely insignificant!
Besides, Crocodile was more concerned about something else.
If such ordinary warehouses stored so much firepower, what might be inside the Sky Island Shandora secret chamber, marked with the same pattern?
Unfortunately, it was a secret chamber made entirely of sea stone, and Crocodile, as a Devil Fruit user, couldn't enter.
His gaze shifted to Rowan, and he saw that Rowan was also looking at him.
Their eyes met, and they seemed to be thinking the same thing—
The "road to death" for Devil Fruit users should be visited!
...
The three finished exploring the weapon warehouse.
When they left, Rowan and Crocodile worked together to seal the entrance to the weapon warehouse with solid sand.
Unless heavy cannon-level bombardment was used, only Rowan and Crocodile would be able to open the entrance.
The fat uncle had no objection to this result.
He knew very well that the Aden Kingdom could not handle this weapon warehouse at the moment. It would even give the World Government a reasonable excuse to forcibly move into Aden Kingdom.
This country needed a break for a while.
...
On the way back to the dock camp, the fat uncle discussed many things about future trade with Rowan.
Unlike Sky Island and Drum Island, Aden Kingdom was located in the North Sea, which was quite a distance from the Grand Line.
To open up a fixed trade route between Aden Kingdom and Alabasta, they had to solve a major problem—the Red Line.
Trade was long-term and mutual. Trading companies couldn't always travel through Reverse Mountain. It was inefficient and too dangerous.
In comparison, transferring goods and changing ships through the Red Line was a good solution, and it was the choice of most trading companies.
To do this, they had to get permission from the Red Line garrison—the World Government.
The fat uncle was a little worried.
"The World Government won't agree to our request so easily."
After all, in the fat uncle's view, the Four Seas Alliance did not have a good relationship with the World Government.
But Rowan shook his head, "No, they will agree."
The fat uncle was surprised, "Why?"
"Because the World Government is not a 'whole', but an 'organization' made up of countless people."
Rowan smiled, "As long as there's a profit to be made, we can always find people who share our goals and build a mutually beneficial relationship with us."
The fat uncle understood, and he also kept this logic in mind.
...
The three returned to their temporary residence, rested briefly, and then took a carriage to the Four Seas Alliance's dock camp.
The Four Seas Alliance fleet was ready to set sail.
The fat uncle led many of Aden Kingdom's outcasts to personally send off the people of the Four Seas Alliance.
Hiluluk led several representatives of the outcasts and stood on the deck of the ship, ready to return to the Grand Line.
He was originally a member of the Four Seas Alliance, and by chance, the Crystal Demon virus "cured" him of his terminal illness and made him one of the outcasts.
"So, life is truly amazing!"
Hiluluk laughed and took a sip of sake, but Kureha slapped him on the head.
"Drink less. When you get back to Drum Kingdom, your body will need another full checkup!"
"Okay, okay, I know..."
Hiluluk could only nod repeatedly.
The fish-man Hocka stood on the edge of the ship, smiling and waving goodbye to the outcasts who came to see them off on the shore.
He looked at Rowan next to him and said with emotion, "This is a really nice place."
Rowan nodded.
Hocka was a little homesick.
"I wonder how everyone in the Fish-Man village is doing?"
"They're probably eating lunch now."
Rowan shrugged, chatting with Hocka casually.
Finally, Hocka felt a little hot and decided to jump into the sea to cool off.
Rowan conveniently patted Hocka on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Oh, right, I have something to tell you."
Hocka took a sip of wine, "What is it?"
"Little Crocodile asked the World Government for a Warlord of the Sea position. If it's convenient for you, you can take it."
"Oh, sure."
Hocka casually agreed and took a few more gulps of wine, when suddenly, he spat it all out.
"What did you say?!"
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