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"Great! Although it was a misunderstanding, the outcome is good," Cobra said with a smile, about to invite his daughter and Ikki to sit down.
After Vivi's statement, he had completely accepted Ikki as his future son-in-law. He'd even begun thinking about having Ikki and Vivi take over Alabasta after his abdication.
'This is awesome, given Ikki's abilities,' Cobra thought to himself. 'Alabasta will surely become a powerful country. And Ikki seems to have good connections with some people in the Marines. Things like Baroque Works will never happen again. The country might even become richer and more peaceful.'
Cobra sighed inwardly. Although he knew that Ikki and Vivi would go to sea later, with Ikki by her side, he wasn't too worried about Vivi's safety. And when they had enough adventure, Cobra believed that Ikki and Vivi would return to Alabasta. Then, he could hand over the country to them.
'I'm getting old, but I can hang in there for a couple more years,' he thought. 'When Ikki and Vivi come back, I can retire. Though it's a shame that Vivi isn't actually pregnant. I wonder when they'll really have their first kid.'
"Hold up! I object to this marriage!" After being stunned for a moment, Nami ran between Ikki and Vivi, making a large X with her arms.
"Huh? Why do you object?" Cobra raised his eyebrows and looked at Nami with confusion. But after noticing the blush on her face, he thought he understood.
"For a marriage to work, two people should truly love each other," Nami said. "How can they get married so suddenly? In this situation, neither Captain Ikki nor Vivi will be happy. This is moving way too fast."
Nami pursed her lips, speaking excitedly yet hesitantly. Even she didn't know exactly why she had jumped in. When she regained her composure, she realized what she'd said and saw Cobra, Koza, and the others staring at her thoughtfully. She felt inexplicably flustered.
Beside her, Nojiko touched her forehead and stepped forward. "Nami's right. If Vivi's happiness is sacrificed just to keep the people of Alabasta happy, it's too unfair to her. And Captain Ikki might not be cool with it either."
After saying this, Nojiko glanced at Ikki. Having spent time with him, she had a decent understanding of his character. Though Ikki seemed casual and sometimes looked at them when they weren't paying attention, he never forced any of the female crew members to do anything inappropriate. More importantly, she understood Ikki's preferences—he seemed to like mature women like Nico Robin.
"It is pretty sudden," Ikki agreed, touching his chin.
"It doesn't matter if it's sudden. As long as you like each other, moving quickly is fine," Cobra said. "Don't you have any feelings for my daughter, Ikki?"
"I like her, but as Vivi said earlier, it's the bond between crewmates," Ikki replied. "Of course, I appreciate beautiful women. But as for the 'love' part of marriage..."
Ikki smiled, placing his hand on Vivi's shoulder as he continued, "Love is complicated, and sometimes pushing too hard isn't good. Where I'm from, you're not considered an adult until you're 18. It's still too early for Vivi and me to get married, no matter how you look at it. We should think about other options. Vivi, what do you think?"
By now, Vivi's face had turned bright red. Hearing the words of Ikki, Nami, and the others, she lowered her head and said in a trembling voice, "Everyone... got it wrong. I don't mean to actually get married and then... do... have children or anything like that. Just hold a wedding ceremony first to lift the people's spirits."
It was going to be a fake marriage!
After Vivi's explanation, Nami and Nojiko both let out strange sighs of relief. As for Cobra, the joy on his face instantly changed to disappointment.
"A fake marriage?" Ikki rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Captain Ikki, please," Vivi pleaded. "Like Father said, this country needs something positive right now."
"I don't mind, but what about you, Vivi? After all, you're the princess of this country. Have you thought about how you'll explain this to the people later? You can't keep pretending to be married forever."
"I... I hadn't thought that far ahead," Vivi admitted, lowering her head.
"Ahem, anyway, let's have the wedding first," Cobra cut in, walking up to place his hands on Ikki and Vivi's shoulders. "We can figure out the rest later."
For a while now, Cobra had felt that the more he watched Ikki, the more he liked him. He was powerful, willing to fight a Shichibukai for Vivi, and clearly cared about her. Such a man was the perfect son-in-law, and Cobra didn't want to let him slip away.
Fake marriage? Fine! Let's have the wedding first, and maybe reality will follow the show, he decided secretly.
"Well... okay," Ikki conceded. "Since you two are fine with it, I'll go along. Marrying a princess is definitely a unique experience. Do you have any special customs? Anything I should know about?"
Ikki had no better solution for Alabasta's morale problem and decided to go with the plan for now. (T/N: Yeah Right)
"Haha, we can talk about this over the banquet," Cobra said happily, taking Ikki's hand and leading him to the dining table. He looked eager to chat with his future son-in-law.
"Um... I'm sorry, Nami, Nojiko," Vivi whispered after Ikki and Cobra left. In her view, both Nami and Nojiko had feelings for Ikki, and her behavior was stepping on their toes.
"It's fine. Captain Ikki has agreed, so what can I say?" Nami pouted. "But since there's gonna be a wedding, the king must provide some treasure as a dowry. As Captain Ikki's crewmate, could I ask for a little extra?"
"Yeah, of course," Vivi agreed awkwardly.
"Come on, Nami, it's just a fake marriage, don't get too worked up," Nojiko said, patting Nami's shoulder before turning to Vivi. "Vivi, don't forget your promise to Captain Ikki."
After smiling at Vivi, Nojiko led Nami toward where Ikki was sitting.
"Right, the promise!" A light flashed in Vivi's eyes as she looked over at Chaka and Pell, who happened to be looking back at her.
"Vivi, you've really grown up," Pell said, emotion filling his voice as he looked at the blue-haired young woman before him. "I never expected that the little girl who used to ride on my back would reach the age of marriage."
"Yeah, and she's become so powerful," Koza added, joining Pell and Chaka. "Although I didn't see the actual battle, to fight against Crocodile... I'm really curious about what kind of power you have now, Vivi."
"That's right! I'm curious too," Chaka smiled. "I always feel that Princess Vivi has become much stronger than Pell and me."
"Since everyone is so curious, let's have a friendly match, Chaka, Pell," Vivi suggested, responding to Chaka's words.
"Huh? Fight both of us?" Pell's eyes widened in surprise.
Not far away, Cobra, who was having a pleasant conversation with Ikki, heard Vivi's challenge and looked over with the same curiosity.
"Yep! And if you two lose, would you give me your swords?" Vivi asked playfully, closing one eye and clasping her hands together.
"Our swords? What do you want them for, Vivi? Your weapon is already pretty good," Chaka said, placing his hand on his sword in confusion.
"I accept," Pell smiled, turning to look at Chaka. "Chaka, have you forgotten what that mysterious woman who left earlier said? Ikki is a famous sword hunter."
"Ah, now I remember! Well, in that case, how can we say no?" Chaka nodded firmly and drew his sword. "Although this sword has been with me for many years, I'd be quite happy if it could serve as a wedding gift for Princess Vivi."
At these words, Vivi's face, which had just returned to normal, reddened again.
"Seriously, I keep saying it—Captain Ikki and I are just pretending to get married!"
Chaka and Pell laughed cheerfully at Vivi's embarrassment. Though Vivi insisted it was a fake marriage, they believed that if she didn't have some feelings for Ikki, she wouldn't have agreed to even a fake wedding with him. Even if it was pretend now, it might not stay that way in the future. How could they object to dedicating their swords to Alabasta's potential future king?
Koza pushed his sunglasses up and, seeing that Chaka, Pell, and Vivi had already drawn their swords, quietly stepped aside.
At that moment, the entire banquet hall fell silent. Everyone waited quietly for the battle to begin.
'How strong has Vivi become?' The same question flashed through the minds of Cobra and the others simultaneously.