Chapter 126: A Visit from Dalton

Wapol’s funeral was simple—so simple that Dalton merely dug a few holes, wrapped the three of them in some straw mats, and buried them.

He had retrieved Wapol’s corpse from the Marines out of a lingering sense of loyalty to the old king. However, as for the rest of the people in the Drum Kingdom, they would have preferred to see the villainous man exposed to the elements and left hanging on the docks to dry. Why would they ever participate in his funeral? Even digging those pits had to be done by Dalton in secret. He feared that given the hatred the citizens harbored for Wapol, if he buried him in broad daylight, someone would immediately dig up the body to vent their rage.

After the funeral, back at the docks, Dalton found himself grappling with another dilemma. Now that Wapol was dead, the citizens of the Drum Kingdom wished for him to become their new king. But could he, a man who had only ever served as the captain of the royal guard, truly be a good ruler? He did not know.

After some thought, Dalton approached Pengles, hoping to seek advice on statecraft. As a Marine Major, Pengles surely knew more than a captain of a small kingdom’s guard.

"How does one govern a country?"

This question caught Pengles off guard. In all his past training, he had never studied such things; he was essentially clueless about politics.

"Perhaps, Mr. Dalton, it would be more appropriate to ask Colonel Luolan," Pengles said after a moment of contemplation, gesturing toward the distant mountain peaks. "In my view, many of Colonel Luolan’s philosophies are quite suited to governance. If you ask him, I believe you will get the answer you are looking for."

Pengles truly did not know how to govern, but if there was anyone he knew who might, it was Luolan. This wasn’t blind faith; in his past experiences, he had found that many of the Colonel’s ideas, if applied to statecraft, seemed remarkably fitting. Suggesting this to Dalton was also out of consideration for the people of the Drum Kingdom. As a Marine dedicated to justice, he did not want to see a ruined nation.

"Colonel Luolan?" Dalton hesitated. In his eyes, Luolan was more of a schemer than a king capable of treating his people with kindness. After witnessing the Wapol affair, he knew how extreme the man could be in the pursuit of his own brand of justice. Could a schemer, a man who would do anything to achieve his ends, really have the ability to manage a country in an orderly fashion? Could he really treat the populace well? He doubted it, and he dared not trust it.

But under Pengles’ encouragement, Dalton finally took the step. Regardless, he wanted to try. The Drum Kingdom had already suffered enough; he did not want it to suffer further because of his own incompetence.

On the snowy ground in front of the castle, Luolan was surprised by Dalton’s visit. Yet, once Dalton stated his purpose, it seemed reasonable. A straightforward man like Dalton would surely want to do everything in his power to make the country better. If he failed due to his own lack of ability, he would be plagued by guilt.

"You want to govern this country well?" Luolan smiled faintly after gesturing for Dalton to sit beside him. Zoro, uninterested in such topics, excused himself to find a patch of open ground to train alone.

"Colonel Luolan, since you have met the witch Kureha, you must have also seen that blue-nosed, talking reindeer, right?" Dalton looked up at the pirate flag fluttering above the castle.

"Chopper, isn't it?" Luolan nodded.

"Chopper’s adoptive father, Dr. Hiriluk, was also a doctor," Dalton said, as if lost in memory, not caring whether Luolan wanted to listen. "But unlike the witch Kureha, he was a quack—a quack who couldn't cure any disease. Yet, even such a doctor wanted to invent a medicine—a medicine that could cure this country."

"During Wapol’s reign, besides the twenty doctors he handpicked, all other physicians were expelled from the borders and forbidden from ever returning. At that time, if the citizens needed treatment, they had to pay a fortune to see Kureha or come to the castle and kneel before Wapol. Even then, it depended entirely on his mood."

"In such circumstances, Hiriluk stood up. Though his medical skills were lacking, he treated everyone in need with all his heart. He even tested medicines on himself to perfect them, causing his health to deteriorate. And yet, until his final moment, he was thinking about how to save this country."

"Tell me, if I, as the successor to the throne, cannot restore this nation, how could I ever face Dr. Hiriluk or the citizens who trust me?"

Dalton’s words stirred Luolan’s own memories. In the original story, Hiriluk was indeed a tragic figure—a man with the will but not the means. But in the end, with the help of Luffy and the others, cherry blossoms eventually bloomed across the Drum Kingdom, and it was renamed the Sakura Kingdom. Whether he had saved the country, Luolan didn't know, but his efforts had certainly changed it.

Luolan knew how to answer. Back in school on Earth, he had studied countless methods of governance and revolution; it was just a matter of what was appropriate. But regardless of the methods or means, if one truly wished to treat the people well and improve their lives, it came down to one thing: put the people first, and treat them with sincerity.

If Dalton governed with heart and treated the citizens with sincerity, all other methods were secondary.

After organizing his thoughts, Luolan said earnestly, "Mr. Dalton, I think your worries are unnecessary. As long as you, the king, do not become a decadent tyrant like Wapol, maintain the right direction, and leave the specifics to the right people, the country will thrive and grow stronger. For you, methods and means are secondary; what matters most is your heart."