But for now, it's best to first tell Cobra about Aatrox coming. The rest can be looked into slowly.
"Anyway, this demon Aatrox is heading to Alabasta. Please make sure to tell the king to send troops to clear out civilians along the way. It's best to move everyone from the south to the north!"
!
Cobra's pupils shrank. He had been a bit angry at first, but he snapped awake in an instant.
Aatrox?!
Who hasn't heard of this name by now?
He caused a ton of deaths on the seas of the New World. In the battle at the Aite Wall sea area, he wiped out more than half of the pirate forces. No one knows how many people died by his hand.
A demon like that is coming to Alabasta?!
Fear rose in Cobra's heart. He had no time to check if the news was real. He decided right away to tell his father.
........
"There is a descendant of the god of death in the upside-down pyramid. You need to seek his help."
Meanwhile, on Roger's ship heading toward the sea where Aatrox was, the Thunder God was still talking to Roger.
Right now, there weren't many people from Roger's crew on the ship. It was just Roger, Rayleigh, Gaban, and Mumei. By the way, Whitebeard was here too.
This was the time to deal with Aatrox, so of course they had invited him along.
"Hm? Descendant of the god of death?"
Hearing another strange term, Roger frowned.
"That's right. If you have to name something that's been passed down from our time until now, the guardian of the hell gate is probably one of them."
The Thunder God said calmly, "They seem to have some kind of pact with the royal family of the real world. Using the royal family's power in this world, they hide the hell gate well. That's why so few people know where the hell gate is."
"Otherwise, lots of demons and demon hunters would want to go in there to break some seal or chase after power."
This so-called royal family was, of course, the Nefertari family.
Alabasta was a well-known country, and Roger had heard of it. Since the hell gate was in Alabasta, the ones with the pact with the descendant of the god of death had to be the Nefertari family.
But in reality, this pact was made up.
It was just using Makima's ability to change the Nefertari family's memories. Makima as a clone wasn't that strong in power, but her usefulness was off the charts. She could even be called the core of Genichi's setup now.
Her importance even went beyond Aatrox!
"They, Anzen, live in the gap between the human world and hell. That world is called the Severed Realm. That's where we're going to seal Aatrox next."
"Since he's the guardian of hell, he should watch over demons, right?" Roger asked. "Would he really not help?"
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"It's not like that. The descendants of the god of death aren't human. They guard hell, but they only make sure creatures inside don't leave through the gate. They don't handle putting outside demons into hell. Plus, we're not even trying to put Aatrox on hell's surface—we're placing him in the Severed Realm where they live."
The Thunder God said, "The Severed Realm is where the descendants of the god of death are. Without their permission, putting Aatrox in there won't be easy."
"..."
Roger thought for a moment, then said straight to the Thunder God,
"Stuff like this should be up to you guys, right? We have nothing to do with the descendants of the god of death. Besides, I need to lead Aatrox to Alabasta. I don't have time to meet that descendant."
"You have a point." The Thunder God said, "I'll report this to headquarters."
"Alright, we're almost there."
Mumei suddenly said, "Time to split up."
They were now in the sea near Dressrosa, because Aatrox was heading this way.
After causing huge destruction deep in the New World, he had started moving toward the first half of the Grand Line.
That's why the World Government kept pushing Makima so hard. Aatrox had turned his blade on them. No one knew when he'd recreate the 'Aite Wall bloodbath' on World Government turf.
To lead Aatrox to Alabasta, they couldn't send the whole force. They were all experts, but too many people would just cause chaos.
So only Roger and Mumei would stay behind to wait for Aatrox. The others would head straight to Alabasta to prepare for the final fight.
Roger was the strongest, and Mumei was unmatched in mobility. Only the two of them working together could guide Aatrox to Alabasta. The others wouldn't do much here.
"Well then, I'm off too." Roger and Mumei vanished from the ship. The Thunder God said, "I'll head to Alabasta with the Marines. See you there in the country."
The Thunder God was from the World Government after all. Staying with them too long wasn't great.
The others didn't mind. They weren't too fond of the Black Order's admiral anyway.
........
After the operation officially started, Cobra had passed the message to the king in Alabasta.
Right now, Cobra was with the Marines—or more like with Garp, Dragon, and Tsuru. Dragon was lying in bed, and Tsuru was bandaging his wounds.
Yuba didn't have many people left now. After Cobra's guards woke up, he had them go evacuate the civilians.
"Sorry for worrying you all and getting you hurt so badly over our country's people."
Cobra apologized sincerely, then added,
"Lord Byakuya is someone who values rules a lot, so he really hates when people break pacts. Dragon must have been trying to go to the Severed Realm, that's why he got attacked."
"Lord Byakuya?" Garp said, sounding annoyed. "Aren't you the prince of this country? Why bring up another lord?"
His son had been badly hurt, so of course he felt upset.
But he knew his son's strength well. Dragon was just a teen and still young, but he was very strong—especially after eating that devil fruit, his power went way beyond a vice admiral. Even Sora had asked if Dragon wanted to join the World Government's big recruitment to become a new admiral.
Garp neither agreed nor refused. He just said it depended on what Dragon wanted.
In other words, Dragon was still green, but among the Marines, he was seen as a top expert. And yet, that Kuchiki Byakuya had cut him up with one strike?
This Kuchiki Byakuya, whom even the prince Cobra respected so much—who the hell was he?!
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