Leaving aside the subsequent developments on Eleco's side, after Stephie returned to the Holy Land and set off once more, Shining and his entourage had already arrived in the Alabasta Kingdom.
Guided by a Eternal Pose, they did not need to hop from island to island the way Luffy and his crew had to do in the original timeline. Consequently, it took Shining's group only a week to reach Alabasta.
This time, they were paying a visit under the guise of Moria's status as a Warlord of the Sea.
Yet, following Eleco's instructions, Shining waited until they were almost within Alabasta's territorial waters before notifying the World Government officials in Alabasta of their impending visit.
On the surface, the stated purpose of the visit was to discuss the establishment of a joint naval and land military base at Whisky Peak.
That's right—Whisky Peak, the very first place Luffy and his crew reached for resupply after climbing Reverse Mountain and bidding farewell to Crocus, the ship's doctor of Roger's crew.
If they built a military base right there, much like G-8, to intercept pirates coming over Reverse Mountain, wouldn't that tremendously ease the pressure on the rear?
One had to realize that while these pirates crossing Reverse Mountain possessed considerable strength in their respective Four Seas, they were practically nothing compared to the pirates already in the Grand Line.
Just imagine: after finally struggling across Reverse Mountain and craving resupply, the pirates would find a military base waiting for them instead. What a splendid picture that would make.
If they chose not to resupply and took a detour instead, they would have to wonder whether their supplies could hold out until the next island.
Moreover, they would also have to watch out for periodic cleanup patrols dispatched by the Marines.
In short, with this topic of conversation, Shining was certain Cobra would be interested.
Of course, this was merely a superficial pretext—a reason concocted by Eleco to deal with the World Government.
After all, the Alabasta Kingdom was exceptionally eccentric.
It was the very first country established in the world of the King of the Pirates, passed down continuously from ancient times.
Its royal family were also the descendants of the twenty royal families who founded the World Government 800 years ago, and they were the only clan that refused to move to the Holy Land and live there.
This meant that as long as the Nefertari family wished to do so, they could become Celestial Dragons at any moment, and there was a legal basis for it.
If the World Government refused to acknowledge this, it would amount to a denial of its own legitimacy, which would severely undermine its very foundation.
Only after transmigrating and becoming a Celestial Dragon did Eleco combine this with the information he had gathered to uncover certain details that were never shown in the original work.
For instance, he discovered that Alabasta had actually attended every single Levely.
One had to bear in mind that this conference took place once every four years, with fifty countries chosen by rotation from among the member states of the World Government to participate—yet Alabasta was there every single time.
Moreover, looking at the proposals they had put forward, while the World Government had practically never adopted any of them, Alabasta was the only nation that dared to raise them in the first place. Was the root cause not precisely the fact that they were descendants of the Celestial Dragons?
And if one looked at the nations that dared to echo Alabasta's opinions, they either suffered attacks from major pirates or internal turmoil broke out. Heh, what—were your ancestors Celestial Dragons, too?
Furthermore, Eleco stumbled upon another very interesting fact: the Warlord Crocodile actually had the shadow of the World Government lurking behind him.
The World Government had secretly given him no small amount of support. Tsk tsk, truly dark enough.
Had Luffy not intervened in the original story, this family, which caused the World Government such severe headaches on legal grounds, would probably have vanished long ago.
That would have resulted in a win-win-win happy ending, but instead, in the original work, Crocodile ended up becoming the sole scapegoat.
In reality, the hidden purpose behind Eleco dispatching Shining this time was to seize the technology for acquiring Devil Fruit abilities possessed by the Nefertari family.
This was a hidden detail in the original work; if one were not careful, it would be easily overlooked.
The original work once mentioned that the two guardian deities of the Alabasta Kingdom—the Zoan-type Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Jackal, and the Zoan-type Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Falcon—were fruit abilities passed down through generations in their family.
What did "passed down through generations" mean? It meant that no matter how the times changed, these two fruits would be reborn within this country and inherited anew, which was quite fascinating.
Furthermore, the prototype of Alabasta was real-world ancient Egypt: mummies, the bird god Ra, the jackal-headed god Anubis...
Did these not correspond precisely to the two fruits?
Combined with the internet rumor about the method for acquiring someone else's Devil Fruit ability—namely, locking a fruit user inside a stone coffin made of Sea Prism Stone, placing all kinds of fruit inside the coffin, submerging the stone coffin in seawater, killing the user inside immediately, while Miss Goldenweek's partner or someone like Bakura was responsible for praying outside—one might actually be able to obtain the reborn Devil Fruit with a hundred-percent success rate.
Look at that: mummies, stone coffins, Devil Fruits being reborn nearby... With so many elements aligning, Alabasta was definitely a place they had to visit.
Of course, the other nation in the world of the King of the Pirates with a tradition of Devil Fruit inheritance was the Giant Warrior Pirates' homeland, Elbaf. However, at present, that legendary Devil Fruit still belonged to the old king, and at this point in time, Prince Loki was plotting to kill his father and seize the fruit, which showed that Elbaf also possessed the technology for Devil Fruit inheritance.
However, the World Government was extremely wary of this legendary Devil Fruit, which also served as an extra layer of protection for the Giant Kingdom of Elbaf. Therefore, Eleco had no intention of meddling there just yet.
As long as that Devil Fruit was not a Logia, Vegapunk's technology could produce a replica. If it were a Logia, he would probably have to wait for a breakthrough in Vegapunk's research.
Returning to Shining's side, because the initiative was spearheaded by the World Government and accompanied by a visit from a Warlord of the Sea, Cobra and his court attached great importance to it.
After all, Crocodile, acting in his capacity as a Warlord, was playing the role of a hero on the surface in Alabasta at this stage, which also led Cobra and the others to hold a special favorable impression of the Warlords.
Thus, they adopted a welcoming attitude toward Moria, who was likewise a Warlord.
Indeed, even before Shining and his group arrived, Moria had already—under Eleco's arrangements—sent documents to Cobra through the World Government regarding the transformation of Whisky Peak into a marine base.
After reading the document, Cobra immediately realized the benefits it offered.
First, Eleco promised Cobra and the others that the construction of this marine base would be financed entirely by the Fielder Family. In other words, Alabasta would not need to spend a single coin; simply by ceding the right to use Whisky Peak, they could secure free, nearby marine protection for the waters surrounding Alabasta.
Second, Eleco promised to persuade the Warlord Crocodile to use his powers to transform the desert environment surrounding the Whisky Peak area. For Cobra, as long as this region entered a virtuous cycle of development, it would benefit all of Alabasta.
As for how to persuade Crocodile? That would depend on Stephie subsequently seizing the design blueprints of the ancient battleship Pluton. Heh, you, Crocodile, searched for so many years, but now I, a Celestial Dragon, have found the blueprints first, and I will lay it all out for you. Let me tell you, Crocodile, the actual battleship Pluton is in Wano Country, with Kaido—do you dare go get it?
Furthermore, since I am funding the construction of the battleship Pluton, you only need to provide Robin for her translation skills as your stake in the venture. When the time comes, we shall see who the fool is. In any case, Eleco did not believe Crocodile could out-snatch him.
Third, since they were going to build a marine base, a facility of the scale planned out by Eleco in the document—rivaling the size of Marineford—could not be built overnight. That would require a massive labor force, and Alabasta was the most populous country in the world.
Although the population was large, the living environment was harsh, which meant troubles were equally numerous. Utilizing the World Government to step in and solve the problem of the population driven into destitution and refugee status due to land issues in Alabasta was truly the best possible solution.
Furthermore, Cobra was not afraid that Eleco would renege on his word and suddenly withdraw his investment to quit. After all, not only was Cobra interested in this proposal, but because it involved the Marines, the document had already been communicated to them long ago. The policy-making echelons within the Marines had also seen the advantages; with a Celestial Dragon backing the project, they were more than happy to acquire such a military base.
Naturally, as for the demands Eleco made upon the Marines, they could hardly be called demands at all.
Eleco hoped that in exchange for this military base, the current Fleet Admiral would publicly acknowledge Eleco as his disciple, personally instruct Eleco in martial arts, and appoint Eleco as the commander of this marine base upon its completion, while also having the retired Zephyr serve as an instructor at the base.
When the cooperation document landed on Sengoku's desk, he too realized the value of this military base. However, concerning Eleco's proposal, he consulted with Garp and Tsuru before finally agreeing to it.
Thus, even though he knew there were traps hidden within, facing a powerful Celestial Dragon family wielding actual authority, Sengoku chose to compromise.
And for Cobra, setting aside the factor of the Marines, if Eleco and his people were to back out of the investment later on, he was prepared to fund the construction himself. As long as Eleco dared to break ground, the deal would be locked in; at worst, they would just end up bickering back and forth. Surely the Marines wouldn't just stand by and watch, unmoved?
Besides, who couldn't become a Celestial Dragon? This was Cobra's ultimate trump card.
Returning to the meeting between Shining and Cobra.
"First of all, I once again express my welcome to the visiting World Government officials. Mr. Shining, and Mr. Moria, please take your seats!"
After Shining and his entourage arrived and presented the World Government's visiting credentials, Cobra arranged for them to rest for the night, and only on the following day did the formal talks begin.
At this moment, sitting at the head of the palace conference table was Nefertari Cobra, flanked by the two guardians of the kingdom.
Standing on his immediate left rear was Pell the Falcon, the deputy commander of the Alabasta Kingdom Guard and a user of the Zoan-type Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Falcon.
Standing on his immediate right rear was Chaka the Jackal, the deputy commander of the Alabasta Kingdom Guard and a user of the Zoan-type Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Jackal, taking the form of a jackal-man.
Meanwhile, Igaram, who was still serving as the captain of the royal guard at this time, stood stationed at the doors of the conference room with a detachment of soldiers.
(Note: The current year is 1517 of the Sea Circle Calendar, and Crocodile has just begun implementing his Dance Powder plot. A year later, Vivi and Igaram would embark on their undercover mission, and after two years of undercover work, they would encounter Luffy.)
"Tell me, aren't there any larger chairs?"
Unlike Shining, who, as the representative of the World Government, took a seat directly opposite Cobra, his traveling companion Moria had already begun to complain.
After all, his massive physique had to make do, with no small amount of grievance, in the luxurious sofa chair temporarily prepared by Igaram.
"Please forgive us, Mr. Moria. Because we truly did not expect you to possess such a robust physique, we had no time to prepare a specialized seat. It is our negligence."
Faced with Moria's complaint, only the master of this place, King Cobra, was qualified to offer an explanation.
After all, apart from Eleco, the sole transmigrator who knew Moria was a fraud, everyone else in this world still believed Moria was a powerhouse capable of fighting on par with the Four Emperors.
And this wasn't entirely Cobra's fault. Ever since Moria took up the lifestyle of a lazy otaku, the world's impression of his physical stats had remained frozen from over a decade ago when he was in his lean and athletic prime.
Moreover, in a world where information circulated so poorly among pirates, unless one went out of their way to collect intelligence, one would certainly not necessarily know the latest details. Thus, Cobra had never imagined that Moria had grown even bulkier.
In the eyes of ordinary people, Moria's even more massive physique at this moment led them to mistakenly believe he had grown stronger.
Therefore, even though the subordinates had made inadequate preparations, Cobra still took the initiative to apologize first.
"Then let us begin!"
Having placated Moria, Shining finally took the lead to kick off the meeting.