# Chapter 338: Weak Point
Let's go back to a slightly earlier time, inside the Alubarna Palace.
The king of Alabasta, Cobra, was listening to reports from his guard force. Since Ian had entered Alubarna, he no longer hid his identity, so the news of his appearance in Alabasta naturally reached this place as well.
According to proper etiquette, when a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea appeared in a World Government member nation, they should pay a visit to the royal palace. However, Ian's purpose in this journey had nothing to do with the Nefertari family, so he never came to the palace to meet Cobra.
Nevertheless, Cobra was not annoyed. He could no longer bother with such etiquette issues. What he was thinking about now was what this newly appointed Warlord, Ian, wanted to do in Alabasta.
Cobra was not young anymore. Long-term exhaustion from handling state affairs showed clearly on his face, and Alabasta was currently in troubled times. Not only was there a prolonged drought, but now even a rebel army had formed, leaving Cobra deeply worried.
Such a turbulent country would often attract the covetous eyes of pirates. In recent times, the number of pirates causing trouble in Alabasta had gradually increased. If not for Crocodile's help in suppressing them, the Alabasta guard force alone would have been powerless.
Although Crocodile would take the plundered goods from pirates as his spoils every time he eliminated them, no one questioned this. Crocodile's reputation in Alabasta was very high. Even Cobra, unaware of the truth, was quite grateful for Crocodile's intervention.
So, when news of Ian's appearance in Alubarna arrived, Cobra's first thought was of Crocodile. He didn't understand Ian's true intentions and worried that Ian might be looking for trouble with Crocodile.
"Chaka!" Cobra turned his head and asked the deputy commander of the Alabasta Royal Guard standing beside him, "Do you know anything about this young man named Ian?"
The dark-skinned Chaka was a Devil Fruit user of the Dog-Dog Fruit, Jackal form. Like the other deputy commander, Bell the Falcon, the two possessed Animal-Type fruits that Alabasta regarded as guardian deities. The entire royal family relied heavily on them, and likewise, both were extremely loyal to Cobra.
"I know a bit!" Chaka nodded and said, "I think this new Warlord is a very dangerous person."
"How so?" Cobra stroked his beard and asked.
Chaka replied, "From the very beginning, he set fire to Holy Land Mary Geoise, led the resistance against the World Nobles, the Celestial Dragons, and then clashed twice with a Marine Admiral. Most recently, I just received news that King Wapol of Drum Island was killed by a pirate..."
"Wapol!?" Cobra looked at Chaka in shock, "He... he was killed!?"
"Yes!" Chaka nodded very seriously and said, "Although I didn't like that king because of the grievances Princess Vivi suffered back then, this news is true. It's said that a very powerful pirate killed Wapol. And Drum Island Kingdom is on the same route as our Alabasta..."
Cobra said thoughtfully, "You mean the person who killed Wapol is likely this new Warlord?"
"That's just speculation!" Chaka said, "After all, he suddenly appeared in Alabasta. He couldn't have flown here, could he..."
With Chaka's explanation, Cobra also felt that Ian was the most likely suspect.
"Killing a king..." Cobra's expression darkened, "Then what does he want to do in Alabasta?"
"Hard to predict!" Chaka shook his head and said, "So during this time, Bell and I will stay close to Your Majesty at all times!"
This was why Chaka said Ian was a dangerous person. With the suspicion of killing Wapol, no one could predict whether Ian might pull the same stunt in Alabasta.
However, for some reason, Cobra's view of Ian was somewhat different from Chaka's. If one carefully studied Ian's past, they would find that his targets were all people with terrible records. The Celestial Dragons went without saying. Although they were World Nobles, even Cobra found their behavior hard to stomach. The same went for Wapol. Although he was a king, Cobra could see nothing kingly about him.
As for Chaka's suggestion of close protection, Cobra didn't commit to it. He felt Chaka's concerns might be unnecessary. Of course, he couldn't refuse Chaka's goodwill either.
He suddenly asked Chaka, "Has Vivi sent any news back recently?"
Ever since the drought began in Alabasta, this abnormal climate had aroused suspicion among some in the royal family. And at this very time, the royal princess of the Nefertari family, Vivi, had discovered a mysterious organization called Baroque Works operating in Alabasta. Her intuition told her that this organization might be conducting some secret activities in Alabasta, so she volunteered to join the organization as an undercover agent.
Cobra couldn't stop her and could only send the captain of the Alabasta Royal Guard, Ikalem, to join Baroque Works with her and protect her.
Now, Princess Vivi had been undercover in this organization for a year...
Hearing Cobra's question, Chaka shook his head and said, "Princess Vivi sent back intelligence once, saying that this Baroque Works might be related to the current drought, but there might be a very powerful figure behind the organization. She hasn't been able to determine who it is yet..."
Cobra nodded and was about to say something, but at that moment, a guard member suddenly ran into the hall and said in panic, "Your Majesty! Crocodile and the other Warlord, Ian, are fighting in Alubarna City!"
"What!?" Cobra was startled and immediately stood up.
"A huge sandstorm has also appeared in the city!" the guard member continued to report.
Cobra and Chaka quickly ran out of the hall, stood at the edge of the palace city wall, and looked toward Alubarna City. Sure enough, under the distant sky, a tornado had suddenly appeared in the city, carrying a large amount of sand in the wind. It was undoubtedly a sandstorm.
But strangely, the sandstorm wasn't moving. It was just spinning rapidly in place.
Not only Cobra and his men, but almost everyone in Alubarna saw the eye of this sandstorm.
"Hurry! Immediately evacuate the nearby civilians!" Cobra panicked and immediately ordered the guard.
The Alabasta guard force urgently mobilized, rushing toward the center of the sandstorm, while Cobra and Chaka could only watch the distant sandstorm with anxiety.
At that moment, Cobra suddenly thought of something. In the past two years, Alabasta had frequently been hit by sandstorms. A thought suddenly struck Cobra's mind: "Could this sandstorm be related to Crocodile!?"
Crocodile was a Sand-Sand Fruit user. Cobra knew this, but Crocodile had never shown anyone the power to control sandstorms before. If not for this clash with Ian, Cobra and his men would never have witnessed the sudden appearance of a sandstorm.
A clear cry came from the sky. Cobra looked up and saw the other deputy commander of the guard, Bell the Falcon, descending from the sky. When he landed in front of Cobra, he had already returned to his human form. As soon as he landed, Bell said to Cobra, "Your Majesty, should I go check the scene?"
"No, don't go!" Cobra immediately stopped Bell's plan and said, "This is a battle between two Warlords. We cannot interfere!"
Chaka and Bell were stunned, not knowing why Cobra had made such a decision, but their obedience made them nod.
Cobra turned around and looked toward the distant sandstorm. At that moment, Ian's Black Dragon Wave had shot into the sky. Two black flame dragons intertwined, their immense heat melting the sand particles, quickly dissipating the sandstorm. Seeing this, Cobra couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"So it's him..." By now, the Black Dragon Wave had become Ian's trademark. When Cobra saw the black flame dragon, he immediately confirmed Ian's identity, but his doubts grew even stronger.
Combining the powerful figure behind the scenes mentioned in Vivi's intelligence with the sandstorm that had suddenly appeared in the city center, Cobra became increasingly suspicious of Crocodile.
Ian didn't know that this clash with Crocodile would become the catalyst for Vivi to discover that the boss behind Baroque Works was Crocodile. After all, with Vivi's low-level status in the organization, how could she have found out her boss's identity? So this battle could be said to have given their investigation a general direction...
Due to his growing suspicion, Cobra decided not to take sides. He only ordered the guard to do their best to evacuate the city's residents.
Ian knew nothing about these developments. He was currently stunned because he never expected Robin to disregard her own safety and instead act first to try and save him from the bottom of the quicksand pit.
"Hey! What are you doing!?" Ian was being pushed upward toward the edge of the pit by the countless hands Robin's Flower-Flower Fruit kept producing. This rolling sensation was really unpleasant, so he couldn't help but say, "Stop! You're going to be swallowed by the quicksand!"
But Robin ignored Ian's shouts. Her body was slowly sinking, but she kept pushing him upward.
Just then, Crocodile suddenly appeared in the pit as wind and sand, grabbing Robin's neck and saying coldly, "You dare help him!? Do you want me to kill you first?"
However, despite the pain on her face, Robin smiled and said, "You won't kill me, because I'm still useful to you!"
"..." Veins bulged on Crocodile's forehead, but he had to admit that Robin was truly a clever woman. She had immediately pinpointed Crocodile's weak point.