Chapter 523 - Pocket King
"Hey, buddy, I kidnapped that king fair and square. So why don't you hand him over before somebody gets hurt, yeah?" Cherry said.
This was a real conundrum for Drake. He knew that he was no match for Harpin D. Cherry, but at the same time he couldn't just hand over the king of a sovereign member state of the World Government.
He also had his duties as a member of SWORD to consider. His position in Kaido's crew was one of the utmost importance in maintaining stability in the New World. With Big Mom and several members of the Worst Generation present here, ready for war, it was all the more vital that he stay out of the way; either to feed intelligence to SWORD or to take action at the right moment to keep things from cascading out of control.
'Should I reveal myself to them?' Drake asked himself.
It was a serious risk, but what else could he do? He was neither strong enough to defeat Cherry nor fast enough to run away from her.
"Why did you kidnap King Nefertari from the Reverie?" Drake asked, stalling for time to think.
Cherry tilted her head at him. "He was about to be silenced by the Five Elders... or, I guess it's six elders? There were six of them there..."
Drake.exe stopped working.
"Why did you tell him that?" Cobra asked, exasperated.
"Why not? What's he going to do, go around shouting it from the rooftops?" Cherry said, hands on her hips.
"You're serious...?" Drake couldn't believe it. Celestial Dragons were a bunch of self important jackasses, sure, but the Five Elders tended to be a bit more restrained than the rest.
"Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction, and as such it's more fun to blurt out to whomever will listen," Cherry said.
"But that's...! It's unheard of for the Five Elders to order the execution of a loyal king! Surely Alabasta didn't rebel?" Drake looked to Cobra.
"Of course not. Alabasta is still recovering from the civil war. I'd never drag my country into another war," Cobra denied.
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"And who said the Five Elders ordered his death? They were planning to do the job themselves, you know?" Cherry said.
Drake.exe stopped working.
That was ridiculous! Why in the world would they do that? Saint Ethanbaron carried a sword around, but surely that didn't mean he would personally cut down an unarmed man, whatever the reason.
"Wait, six? Who was the sixth person?" Drake regretted the question as soon as it left his lips.
"The one they called Imu, who sat upon the throne of the world before the Five Elders. Rather than be angered, they bowed in allegiance." Cobra said with a sigh.
Drake.exe stopped working- *slap*
"Stop doing that. It was funny the first time, but now it's getting annoying," Cherry said.
Drake was silent for half a moment, before putting Cobra down on his feet. "I think this is a bit higher than my pay grade."
"Kaido pays you?" Cherry asked. "I figured he roped you in with threats of death and/or dismemberment."
"I don't work for Kaido, I work for SWORD. So, I'm going to go back to that and pretend this conversation didn't happen. For now, at least..." Drake trudged away like he was just told his whole life was a lie. Perhaps it was.
Cobra and Cherry watched him leave, sympathy in the eyes of the former and amusement in the latter.
"So what's SWORD?" Cherry asked once Drake was out of sight.
"My understanding is that they're an organization of ex-marines operating outside the confines of the law. Officially they're deserters, but personally I suspect that isn't really the case," Cobra answered.
"I'm not sure how I feel about that. Depends on what they're using that plausible deniability for, I guess," Cherry said. "Put this on."
"Put what-" Cobra's eyes widened as Cherry pulled a bulky full body diving suit out of her pocket.
"It turns out there isn't a lot of breathable air in my pockets, so I made this thing with some advice from Franky," Cherry said. "It's got hours worth of fresh air in the tanks on the back, so I can tuck you away safe and sound, no problem."
"Uh... okay," Cobra started to fumble with the suit and eventually managed to wiggle himself inside with Cherry's help.
Once that was done, Cherry took his hand and he suddenly found himself stuffed into a dark space where he felt like he was wrapped in a cocoon. He could only just barely hear muffled sound from the outside.
"I guess I'll take a nap," Cobra spoke to himself. "Goodness, I'm getting old..."
...
With that out of the way, Cherry quickly made her way to the outside of the fortress.
"Where are you, you little rats?!" Big Mom stumbled around, her hair ablaze with Prometheus' fire and her eyes bloodshot and squinting as she rubbed at them.
Cherry just caught sight of Franky's Brachio Tank skirting around the corner in the distance and was able to surmise what had happened.
"I see that you've got your memory back, Linlin," Cherry announced herself.
Big Mom stilled and Prometheus dimmed considerably.
"Or perhaps you never lost your memory to begin with, if you're acting so timid," Cherry guessed.
"Timid? Mama MAma! What reason do I have to act timidly around you, Cheapshot? I might have lost against you once, but that's no guarantee it'll happen again. I'm not alone this time, either," Big Mom spoke in an even, measured tone.
"Twice," Cherry corrected. "I beat you twice."
"Attacking me in my sleep doesn't count," Big Mom insisted.
"Fair enough," Cherry let it go. "But my mercy is limited, and you didn't deserve it the first nor the second time. There will not be a third."
The two women stared each other down as the air crackled lightly. It was not a true contest of conqueror's haki, for neither wanted to fight the other right this second. Cherry because her allies were still setting up their ambush, and Big Mom because she was alone with one of the few people who was a genuine threat to her life.
"Rain check," Big Mom finally broke the silence. Ultimately it was the fact that her eyes still stung that swayed her decision away from vengeance and towards an extremely temporary truce.
"Agreed," Cherry assented, relieved that she could stall a bit longer. "Go enjoy the party while you can."
Big Mom didn't answer, electing to make her way back into the fortress, her previous prey long forgotten in the face of a true rival. She would get her chance soon enough.
"Why does everything have to be so complicated?" Cherry heaved a sigh.
Luckily it wasn't just her own crew dealing with this stupid bullshit this time, or it really would be too much. There were a lot of high level fighters on their side this time, even if most of them didn't stand a chance against an Emperor. Besides herself, Luffy, Zoro, and Law should be able to hold their own somewhat against the likes of Kaido or Big Mom. Hopefully Luffy could manage a little more.