Becoming Usopp

“So, you’re saying that you did all so that you could be allowed to meet Igaram?” Pell said as he was trying to control the twitching of his face.

“That indeed is the case,” Sanji replied.

“What makes you think that we’ll be welcoming you here and listening to all your requests? Don’t you think that a person who has barged into the royal palace should be guillotined instead?” Pell said. If not for his sanity still preventing him from beating the shit out of Sanji he would have already proceeded.

“Is that so? Well, I can’t afford to lose my head now unfortunately so I wonder if discovering a bomb powerful enough to decimate the whole of Alubarna is a strong enough reason to save my head?” Sanji replied with a teasing look.

Looking at Sanji’s expression Pell was able to realize that he was not kidding at all and he immediately asked, “What do you mean? I believe you’re aware that the consequences of lying about something like this won’t end up with just a simple visit to a guillotine,”

“Do you think I have any other reason to come here past midnight? Just call Igaram, he knows me and would naturally believe what I’m saying.” Sanji said as he placed another cigarette butt in his mouth and started to light it up.

Pell gave it a thought while Sanji was taking a puff and finally sent someone to inform Igaram about it.

It took around ten minutes for Igaram to arrive and during the whole of the ten minutes, Pell was staring at Sanji with his hawk-like eyes.

“Why did you call me so late at night?” Igaram asked as he made his way towards the two. His eyes looked tired and it was clear that he had just been woken up from his sleep.

“This person claims that he knows you,” Pell said.

“Hmm?” Igaram hummed as he focused his gaze towards Sanji’s appearance and recalled immediately.

“Aren’t you one of the straw hats?! Where’s the princess? Why don’t I see her with you?” Sleep left Igaram’s eyes the moment he saw Sanji’s figure and hurried with his questions.

“She’s not here, she should be on her way to Yuba with the rest of my crew,” Sanji said.

“So the princess still wants to meet the rebel leader…” Igaram muttered to himself. Just like Vive he too was still unaware of the fact that the rebel army had shifted to Katorea. He finally shifted his gaze back to Sanji and asked, “So, what brought you here instead?”

“I’ve discovered a bomb that crocodile had planted in the city to take advantage of you guys,” Sanji explained.

“A BOMB?!” Igaram exclaimed.

“A bomb indeed, I’ve dealt with Mr. 7 and Miss Father’s Day and they should be there inside the clocktower along with the bomb waiting for you…” Sanji paused as a thought flashed through his mind and he continued, “But before you guys proceed to do that I want you to mark your king,”

Both Igaram and Pell tilted their head in confusion after hearing Sanji’s words.

“What do you mean?” Igaram asked in confusion.

“Your royal guards have been infiltrated by baroque worksmen. They have one devil fruit user who is capable of changing his face to whatever he desires. They plan to use the king’s face to cause havoc in the city therefore I want you to mark the king and constantly guard him so that he won’t be kidnapped,” Sanji finally revealed his true intention.

Igaram and Pell’s eyes widened after hearing what Sanji had just told them. They thought in their mind as to what all disastrous things a person who is capable of impersonating the king is capable of doing and couldn’t help but gulp down their saliva in fright.

“How did you get to know about this?” Igaram asked.

“We accidently met him on our journey,” Sanji lied. Well, he wasn’t truly lying because in the original story they indeed met him.

Igaram and Pell quickly got to work and went to their king before handling the bomb. They invited Sanji to stay in the palace but he told them that he still had to meet with some of his friends and left the palace grounds.

It was around three in the morning when Sanji returned back to the Inn in which they were lodging. Today was truly an exhausting day for him so the moment he rested his head on the pillow he fell asleep.

Meanwhile, in the room next door Chopper was sleeping delightfully while being cuddled in the warm embrace of Okame.

…

“I understand,” The King of Alabasta, Cobra, said as he removed a dagger that was sheathed in his waistband and made a deep cut on his palm.

“Your Majesty!” Everyone in the room exclaimed seeing his actions.

“It’s nothing so don’t worry,” Cobra replied as he pressed the self-made wound with a cloth and addressed the three people present in the room.

“Igaram, Pell and Chaka. From now on, I want you to always keep an eye on me and whenever suspicious you’re allowed to check my hand to confirm whether it's me or not, you understand?”

“We understand Your Majesty” All three of them replied in unison before bringing in a doctor to treat the wound.

It was only now that they realized that the depth of the cut was very deep. Cobra had done this to ensure that a person wouldn’t easily be able to mimic his actions.

While Cobra’s hand was being treated he told Pell, “Send people to the clock tower and deal with the bomb before dawn,”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Pell replied and left the room.

“Igaram?” Cobra called.

“Yes, your majesty?” Igaram readied his ears for the incoming instructions.

“The person who informed us about all this he’s still in the palace right?” Cobra asked.

“He told us that he had to meet his other companions so didn’t force him to stay,” Igaram explained.

“Is that so? Bring him to me the first thing in the morning,” Cobra said while immersed in his thoughts

“Understood your majesty,” Igaram replied.