Dragon?
Actually, Aatrox is not impossible to deal with.
Especially since Roger now knows his weakness: his body is made from pieced-together flesh, and that sword is his weak point. As long as the connection between the sword and his flesh is cut, there's a good chance Aatrox can be temporarily scattered.
This is information he got from his previous heavy defeat...
The problem is that Aatrox is very protective of his connection to his flesh. Back then, Makima shot him into space and kept hitting him to destroy most of his body, but his right arm didn't take much damage.
Without someone on Roger's level to tangle with Aatrox, knowing this weakness probably wouldn't help much.
Before Roger got stronger, knowing this weakness wouldn't have helped much either, because the gap between them was too big. Aatrox could beat them easily.
But if one person can hold him back, their numbers advantage comes into play. Of course, this numbers advantage means top fighters, not those doomed to be swallowed by Aatrox and used as flesh fodder, the so-called 'weak ones.'
Roger thinks he can pull off his plan if he brings a few people, but the hardest part is that devils are immortal.
After he shared his idea with Mumei, she told him, 'Devils are immortal because even if they're wiped out, they can come back in hell.' So what good would beating Aatrox now do?
He could just leave hell again!
But now, the Thunder God has given them a path, one called the hell entrance.
Roger turned to look at Mumei, since she's the expert on devils on his ship. But he just shook his head, signaling he doesn't know about the hell entrance.
That's understandable, after all. Mumei is only a half-devil turned from a human, and not for long. She knows more about devils than they do, but compared to a more specialized group like The Black Order, she's outmatched.
"So, where is the hell entrance?"
Roger asked directly.
The Thunder God gave a soft laugh.
"In your current terms of geography, that place should be called Yuba in Alabasta..."
.........
Alabasta, in Yuba.
Though it's an oasis, it's not very lively. There are only a few scattered shops.
Garp and the others have entered this oasis, but something surprising is that in the middle of this huge oasis, there's still a patch of desert.
On that desert sits a massive pyramid. Cobra and the others have gone into that pyramid. Garp is a bit curious about it, but he can't openly go against their host's wishes.
"Boss, when was that pyramid built?"
In a restaurant, after Dragon ordered his meal, he sat at the table closest to the counter and casually asked the boss about the pyramid.
For some reason, he felt drawn to it.
Pyramids are usually built as tombs for kings, but Dragon doesn't recall any king of Alabasta being buried in one. Alabasta has its own royal tombs, right in the capital, Albana.
So what was this pyramid built for?
"You mean the upside-down pyramid?" The boss had a cigar in his mouth and looked pretty rough. After hearing Dragon's question, he said, "How would we know? It's been around forever, maybe even longer than this country has existed!"
Longer than this country has existed?
Alabasta has over four thousand years of history. What pyramid could be older than the country?
At first, Dragon didn't take it seriously, but then he had a thought: what if the boss is telling the truth?
Alabasta does have over four thousand years, and the Tree of Knowledge has five thousand. But even older than that is the age of devils!
Dragon suddenly got serious. It might just be the boss joking, but when it comes to devils, they have to take it seriously.
While he was surprised, Tsuru sitting nearby seemed to pick up on something off in the boss's words and immediately asked, "Upside-down pyramid?"
"That pyramid isn't upside down."
"It's just the name we've always used. We've called it that for generations, even if we don't know why it's called the upside-down pyramid." The boss took a puff of his smoke and said slowly.
"Legend says the upside-down pyramid is a way from the human world to the underworld, but that's just nonsense. The royal family goes in every few decades, and no one's ever gone to the underworld."
"The underworld?" Dragon said without thinking.
The underworld—what's the difference between that and hell?
The underworld, hell, the yellow springs—these might all be the same place, just with different names in different areas.
If you swap underworld for hell, then this upside-down pyramid is a way from the human world to hell?
That would make the chances of this pyramid being linked to devils a lot higher.
"Boss, are there any inns nearby? We want to rest in Yuba for a few days."
Tsuru spoke for Garp directly. Garp, who was eating, had no idea what was going on.
But in the Marine group, one person quietly went to the bathroom and sent the intel here to the Five Elders.
He's from CP!
Or rather, he's the Five Elders' spy lurking in this Marine unit. Clearly, the Five Elders don't fully trust the Marines.
Devil powers are very tempting, and Garp already took a big loss because of their past orders. He might even hold a grudge against the World Government.
Anyone else wouldn't matter, but Garp never follows orders. He even refused to become an Admiral to protect the Celestial Dragons.
If he didn't have so many battle achievements and influence in the Marines, the Five Elders would never let him off the hook.
Now, after getting the message from Alabasta, they immediately frowned.
"The Nefertari clan's territory actually has a place like this?"
One of the Five Elders said in confusion, "We've never gotten intel like this before."
Another Five Elder said,
"The Nefertaris refused to go to Mary Geoise back then. We thought they were just stubborn and outdated, but if they hid the existence of this upside-down pyramid on purpose, then maybe that's the real reason they insisted on staying in Alabasta!"
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