Clang!
Zoro slashed forward. Although he was using only one sword, the attack was still powerful.
With Cartel soldiers all around him, Zoro had temporarily chosen the most agile One-Sword Style.
Against ordinary soldiers, there was not much difference between One-Sword Style and Three-Sword Style.
When Black Blade Dark Moon swept out, black cursed power clung to its edge. No weapon could withstand it.
But this time, he encountered an enemy.
"Who are you?"
Zoro raised an eyebrow as he looked at the tall, muscular man before him.
The man had a shaved head. A scar ran down the right side of his face from his hairline to his cheekbone. His eyebrows were thin and joined together, his lips were thick, and he wore monk-like clothing. Snakes were drawn on both sides of his chest, while the character "One" was tattooed across it. His expression was blank. He had suddenly appeared and blocked Black Blade Dark Moon.
"You should have seen us before," the man said in a deep voice. "Or did you defeat Mr. 3 and still fail to learn who we are?"
"Mr. 3?" Zoro was puzzled for a moment, then grinned. "Oh, the candle guy. Sorry, he was too weak, so I forgot about him."
Earlier, on the way to Alubarna, they had encountered a Baroque ambush. They had wanted to trick information out of that man, but he had been unexpectedly cautious and arrived using a "clone."
So this fellow was his companion...
Being told that his companion was weak did not cause the man much emotional disturbance. He even agreed. "You're right. He is weak."
"What about you?" Zoro pushed him away while turning aside to evade an incoming bullet, and the two widened the distance between them.
Zoro had begun to envy Luffy's Conqueror's Haki. At least Luffy did not have to endure interference from ordinary soldiers.
"Mr. 1. My name is Daz Bones, and I'm the man who will kill you." Daz spoke calmly, but his voice was almost drowned out by the gunfire. Zoro could not hear him clearly.
It did not matter. Even without hearing him, Zoro could tell what he intended from his expression.
"You're a little stronger than that candle guy." Zoro's lips curved upward. "One should be stronger than three. But you're still not qualified to kill me."
Although he was Baroque's Mr. 1, he was only a minor figure within the Cartel as a whole.
Well, he could not exactly be called a minor figure. He was simply an ordinary executive.
Zoro casually swung his blade and split every incoming bullet in half. He was already prepared to fight with all his strength.
This man was not worth fearing. The real problem was the endless stream of Cartel soldiers. Although the royal guards were also counterattacking, they were vastly outnumbered.
The Cartel soldiers also had more advanced weapons, and tanks occasionally pushed forward. If Zoro had been alone, this would still have been manageable.
But while he faced Mr. 1, the soldiers' attacks could affect the battle.
That was one of the powers of an army.
Why could an army sometimes influence a battle between powerful individuals? A purely ordinary army could not, but armies often contained a few capable fighters. They could not compare with true powerhouses, yet if they held an opponent back for a while, that was enough.
As long as they were not instantly annihilated, the rest could be put to use.
That was the situation Zoro faced. While fighting Mr. 1, he was inevitably distracted by the Cartel soldiers around him.
"Then I'll finish this quickly." Zoro drew all three swords and decided to end the battle with Three-Sword Style. He could not allow Mr. 1 to hold him back.
"It doesn't matter how many swords you use." Mr. 1 did not offer to duel Zoro alone. Instead, he calmly used the surrounding Cartel soldiers' attacks. To him, personal victory was secondary to the Cartel's objective.
Mr. 1 had originally been Crocodile's subordinate. But one day, Crocodile announced that Baroque Works would be incorporated into the Cartel, and they became Cartel executives.
After joining the Cartel, he received many benefits. With the organization's help, he grew quickly and carried out its missions ever more seriously.
Therefore, if he could kill Zoro, he did not mind receiving help from others.
For a fleeting moment, a trace of fervor appeared on his face, as if a devout believer had seen a god. Then it vanished, and even he seemed not to notice it.
Zoro blocked the bullets fired at him and prepared to attack. Mr. 1 charged at the same time, but just as they were about to collide, both men stopped.
"W... what?!"
It was not only the two of them. Everyone in Alubarna stopped, because a tremendous sound had come from the ground, as if some terrifying thing had been exposed to the outside world. A violent, savage aura pressed down upon everyone.
But it lasted only an instant. The sound and aura vanished, as though they had been an illusion...
Everyone knew it was not an illusion. It was impossible for everyone to see the same illusion at the same time.
"What happened?"
Zoro frowned. The source of the vibration did not seem to be Alubarna. What was that savage aura? Even when he had faced Muzan in Syrup Village, he had never felt anything so terrifying.
No, comparing Muzan to this aura would insult its master!
In the royal palace, Nami had just shocked a group of Cartel soldiers unconscious and was preparing to look elsewhere when her heart suddenly trembled. She covered her chest.
For some reason, she sensed an overwhelming, terrifying power. Fear rose from the depths of her heart, accompanied by a feeling of submission, as if she had encountered a life-form far higher on the ladder of existence.
Even Muzan Kibutsuji's blood inside her began to flow rapidly, like a mouse that had met a cat. Deep in her soul, she seemed to hear Muzan Kibutsuji roar.
"Leave this place!"
"Leave this place!"
"Leave this place!"
Muzan roared frantically in her mind. Nami could hardly imagine what kind of person could make the Demon King lose his composure so completely.
"What happened?!" Nami hurriedly asked, but Muzan's voice had already weakened. It seemed that he did not even dare to appear again.
Nami's heart sank. Muzan was somewhat timid normally, but what could have frightened him this badly?
What had happened?
Robin was behind her, and her expression was equally grim.
Nami had the Demon King within her, while Robin had an angel within her!
At this moment, even Robin felt a suffocating sensation that pierced her soul. The angel that had always been silent inside her seemed to react as well.
Then the vibration reached them, followed by the terrifying aura.
"Crocodile..."
Robin cursed under her breath. "What are you doing?!"
There was no need to think about it. This abnormality had to have come from the Shinigami Mausoleum in Yuba. Crocodile had taken Cobra there earlier, and judging from the time, they should have arrived.
What were they doing?
Hadn't Crocodile gone to find the Shinigami? Why had such a terrifying demonic aura appeared?
Yes, it had to be a demon. Otherwise, the angel would not have reacted so violently.
Judging from the aura, it might even be a Demon Lord.
According to the records, Alabasta truly did contain a Demon Lord.
Long ago, the Pirate King Roger had fought Aatrox in Alabasta. In the end, the Demon Lord had been sealed inside the Shinigami Mausoleum.
Could that bastard Crocodile have provoked Aatrox?
If this Demon Lord returned to the world, no one in Alabasta could stop him!
Robin looked toward Nami, and the thought of Adam suddenly crossed her mind.
Adam regarded Luffy as the Child of Destiny of the era. So...
Had the seal on a Demon Lord that had remained undisturbed for decades loosened immediately after Adam arrived?
"Or could it be... Crocodile? No, the person behind them?" Robin muttered.
Ever since Crocodile had allied with the Cartel, he had grown increasingly strange. The Cartel's weapons and equipment had also made her suspicious, so Robin had long suspected that a mastermind stood behind them.
That mastermind should be aboard the Cartel's headquarters, the Skyveil Behemoth.
Robin was Baroque's vice president and a Cartel executive, yet she had never visited this headquarters. She did not even know where it was!
Robin had never heard of a place called the Skyveil Behemoth. Its name sounded like a living creature, but how could a creature be the headquarters of a power?
She had heard that Zunesha in the New World could do something like that, but she had never heard of anything else.
If such a mastermind really existed, the fact that he could make Anzu Seifer and Crocodile submit showed that he probably possessed the strength of a sea emperor.
Could this abnormality be related to him?
Robin was anxious, but soon let the matter go. Whatever was happening, she could not change it now.
The Shinigami Mausoleum was in Yuba. Even if Aatrox really broke free, she could not go there to stop him.
Now let us turn back to the moment after Crocodile and Cobra left Alubarna.
Crocodile made little noise when he took Cobra away. He had already considered how to leave. First, he merged himself and Cobra with the sand, then secretly left Alubarna underground.
After leaving the battlefield, they rushed toward Yuba at full speed.
They crossed the Santo River and continued south. Finally, they arrived at Yuba.
This place had once been an oasis, but now it was nothing but desert.
The battle between Roger and Aatrox had permanently changed the natural environment. The oasis had been swallowed by wind and sand, and the land had grown increasingly harsh.
"Is the Shinigami Mausoleum here?" Crocodile stared across the endless sand. He could not see any sign of the pyramid.
That was normal. They had come to Yuba several times and excavated it repeatedly, yet had never found the mausoleum.
The pyramid had once been a famous landmark visible to many people besides the royal family.
But after the entrance to Hell and the Shinigami Mausoleum were exposed, the pyramid disappeared. No one could find it again.
According to legend, only Alabasta's royal family could enter the pyramid again.
"Yes, it's here." Cobra nodded firmly.
Then he clasped his hands as if praying.
Crocodile narrowed his eyes. A layer of dark light seemed to appear around Cobra.
Cobra murmured, "Open, sealed object."
"Chosen twin gates, ascension and death."
"Pass through my flesh and reveal the gates of the underworld!"
Hum!
After the incantation, a mark resembling a magic circle appeared on Cobra's body. Light shot from it, and a pyramid appeared.
When the light faded, a plain pyramid stood before them, as if it had always been there.
"Only the Nefertari family, which signed a contract with the Shinigami, possesses the right to enter the Land of the Dead..."
Cobra spoke weakly. He seemed to have aged considerably once again.
Crocodile's eyes lit up. "This is... the Shinigami Mausoleum?!"
"It is also the entrance to Hell," Cobra said. "A moment of carelessness is enough to fall into eternal darkness."
Crocodile had already reached the pyramid's entrance. Cobra hurried after him, opened the door, and went inside.
Crocodile followed.
But the next second brought an unexpected change.
The moment he entered, Crocodile clutched his head and cried out in agony!
"Ahhhhhhh!"
It was as if a thousand needles were stabbing into his brain. The pain was unbelievably sharp.
"Crocodile?" Cobra, who had been walking ahead, was startled. He hurriedly turned around and stared helplessly at Crocodile's suffering.
Then he saw something he could not understand.
Something seemed to be crawling out of Crocodile's body...
An octopus?!
Yes, it was a yellow octopus, neither large nor small. Its tentacles tightly gripped Crocodile's brain, and some force was now pulling it away from him!
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