Eight hundred years ago, twenty kings "created" the world and set up the World Government.
Later, they agreed to move together to the holy land of Mary Geoise and become the world's most noble Celestial Dragons to rule over everything.
But to be exact, it wasn't twenty kings, but nineteen, because when it was time to move to Mary Geoise, one family chose to step back on their own and stay in their home country.
That family was the Nefertari family of Alabasta. They refused to become Celestial Dragons because they didn't want to create too much distance from the common people. The other Celestial Dragons, of course, couldn't understand that.
Especially the current Celestial Dragons, with their minds full of greed—they certainly couldn't understand the Nefertari's choice. To them, giving up Celestial Dragon status to live as ordinary people was the most shameless betrayal.
That's why the Five Elders said such words at this moment.
"If there's something special in Alabasta that made the Nefertari family so worried they chose to stay there, that might help us understand their decision back then."
One of the older Five Elders said in a deep voice. "Should we send Garp and the others in to investigate?"
"First, contact The Black Order and see if that woman has any leads. How about that?" Another Five Elder said. "For now, with matters involving demons and hell, we can only rely on her."
After he spoke, the others all frowned, because he was right. When it came to demons, they were relying too much on Makima right now, and that wasn't a good thing.
If Makima obeyed quietly, that would be fine, but she clearly wasn't the type to follow orders without question. In fact, she might be more dangerous than any pirate or demon.
Their cooperation with Makima was just a temporary use of her power and information. If possible, they wanted to quickly form their own demon-hunting unit, but the World Government didn't have the right people for that yet.
And the most important thing was the information she held. For example, they now wanted to know if that inverted pyramid had any link to hell. No current archaeologist would know about that—only an old-timer like Makima might have some idea.
"Ask her."
One of them sighed. "At least for now, both sides are keeping a pleasant working relationship."
So Makima, who was at The Black Order headquarters, received a call from Mary Geoise. The Den Den Mushi in front of her turned into an old man with a white beard. Makima smiled and said, "A direct call from the Five Elders—what's the important matter?"
"The inverted pyramid. What is it?"
The question the Five Elders wanted came straight from the Den Den Mushi. Their relationship didn't need extra small talk, especially with the situation urgent—just get to the point.
"From a mystical viewpoint, an inverted pyramid is a structure that connects the human world to the underworld. An upside-down pyramid tomb extending underground is a symbol of the god of death. There were many such buildings in my time. What exactly do you mean?"
The Five Elders continued, "A pyramid appeared in the Yuba Oasis of Alabasta. On the surface, it looks like a normal pyramid, but it's called the 'Inverted Pyramid.' If it's connected to demons, then The Black Order should act."
"...I see." Makima was silent for a moment, as if thinking it over.
Finally, she said slowly, "That's the 'Entrance to Hell.'"
"The entrance to hell?!" They could clearly hear the surprise from the Five Elders' side, but Makima went on. "The outer pyramid is just its appearance. The real inverted pyramid exists in the gap between the human world and hell."
The entrance to hell?
Something like that really exists? If so, couldn't they enter hell and explore it themselves?
The existence of demons had always been just Makima's word so far. Sure, many strange creatures had appeared, but whether it was exactly as she described still needed more proof.
The Five Elders had always wanted to build their own forces in this area because they didn't fully trust Makima. And now, if they could enter hell, that would ease a lot of that pressure.
"But I advise you five not to get too excited."
At that moment, Makima's voice reached their ears again. She said calmly, "Hell has its own gatekeeper. The inverted pyramid tomb is a symbol of the god of death, so it naturally houses the descendant of the god of death."
"? The god of death's... descendant?"
Another unfamiliar term appeared, and the Five Elders frowned again.
"That's right. I haven't met that gatekeeper myself, but because of his existence, the demons in hell can't escape on a large scale. They can only come to the human world through some kind of summoning. His strength might be greater than anyone else's!"
!
Hell's gatekeeper?!
The Five Elders looked at each other and fell silent for a while.
If this gatekeeper of hell could really keep even demon lords from leaving hell, then his power must be immense. Even though hell itself suppresses demons, that didn't change things—hell was full of far more than one or two demons.
So what should they do in this situation?
Just then, Makima's voice came again. "But since we're talking about the entrance to hell, I think I have a way to deal with Aatrox."
She repeated what the Thunder God had told Roger and the others before, then added, "We don't know how the descendant of the god of death views the current world, but if Aatrox falls into his domain, at least for a short time, he won't be allowed back to the human world."
The Five Elders thought it over and decided it was a good plan.
They needed time—time to grow their own strength, time to train their demon hunters. But Aatrox's presence stopped them from developing safely, because his power was too great, and he was too destructive.
He was slaughtering pirates now, but who knew when he'd turn his blade on the World Government. It was best to deal with Aatrox first.
Otherwise, facing a monster like him head-on, they weren't sure they could win.
The World Government's strength lay in their endless foot soldiers. They controlled most of the world's resources, but they lacked top-level experts. In that case, it was hard to handle Aatrox, since their basic forces were just batteries for him—they couldn't even touch him.
"Then, we'll do it your way. We'll have the Marines cooperate with you."
The Five Elders said to Makima.
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