Roger had grown much weaker after becoming a Hollow and was now even weaker than Ann. Perhaps because they had originally been one being, or because Roger currently existed as a soul, their minds were nevertheless able to merge.
The piercing mental pain instantly disappeared.
Ann looked at Roger standing before her. Tiny beads of sweat densely covered her forehead, but none of that mattered now.
"How has life in Hueco Mundo been?"
Ann knew all of Roger's secrets. Before his death, he had spoken with Acqua of the Back.
The two had reached an agreement. Roger would search Hueco Mundo for the Star of Bethlehem and investigate the Hollows' movements, while Acqua would help him preserve his sense of self there.
After all these years, Roger had finally appeared again, and he had indeed retained his identity.
"How should I describe it? It's a deeply diseased place," Roger said, recalling Hueco Mundo. "Night lasts forever. There is no day, white sand covers the ground, and every living thing you encounter is a mindless walking corpse."
Ann nodded. She could imagine the desolation and loneliness of such a place. This was the destination of those killed by demons. Whether they had been good or evil in life, anyone slain by a demon would fall into Hueco Mundo.
Roger suddenly spoke with an air of mystery. "Guess who allowed me to communicate with Acqua in the outside world while I was in Hueco Mundo."
Ann was briefly confused. After thinking about it, she ventured, "Nameless?"
Roger shook his head.
Not Nameless? Ann could think of very few people connected to demons whom Roger trusted. Nameless was the most obvious possibility.
If it was not him...
"Rayleigh?"
Roger shook his head again, but did not keep her in suspense. "It was Shanks."
"Red-Hair..." Ann frowned slightly. "That brat?"
Ann had not yet split from Roger when Shanks joined the Roger Pirates, so she held a special affection for him, although Shanks himself had no idea how she felt.
Otherwise, after everything he had done over the years, Ann would have ordered the Marines to target the Emperor long ago.
Roger detected something amiss in her tone. "What... happened with Shanks?"
"That fool..." Ann replied irritably. "He's gotten involved with demons."
Few people knew about Shanks's cooperation with the Little Demon Dragon. Shanks had been highly secretive, but while he could conceal it from others, he could not hide it from Ann.
Ann's Observation Haki covered nearly half of Paradise. She could also establish special connections with the Observation Haki of powerful Marines, creating an intelligence network unique to the organization.
Shanks was powerful and could conceal his presence from Observation Haki, but hiding from Ann was impossible.
She therefore knew about his cooperation with the Little Demon Dragon and that he had given the demons clues about reviving Shendu.
If she had not known that Shanks was not the sort of person who would fall to evil, Ann would have gone there and stabbed him to death herself.
"That boy... must have his own reasons." Roger laughed awkwardly. "In any case, he belongs to a very mysterious organization. I can't tell you about it, but I can say that many people you would never expect are members."
"?"
Ann frowned. People she would never expect?
They truly were unexpected. Almost no one in the world could have imagined that Red-Haired Shanks, one of the Four Emperors, and the soul of the former Pirate King Roger belonged to the same mysterious organization.
"I don't actually know who most of the members are. They address each other by codenames. Shanks's codename is 'Drive,' and someone in your Marines also belongs to the organization. It must be someone with a very high position."
If Shanks and the others could deduce that "Fire" was a Marine, Roger could naturally do the same.
Especially in a place like Hueco Mundo, where he had enough idle time to drive anyone mad.
Roger had never been accustomed to thinking and did not enjoy it, but when someone truly found themselves trapped in a hellish place like Hueco Mundo, they had no choice but to keep thinking and keep their mind turning to preserve the person they once were.
Otherwise, the endless expanse of white sand would easily assimilate them. They would lose themselves during the long years of solitude and eventually become heartless beasts.
A mask covered a quarter of Roger's face, and a large hole gaped in his chest. The empty black cavity and the mask were both proof that he had lost his heart, but at least he had not lost his humanity with it.
"A high-ranking Marine..."
Ann felt a sense of urgency. She had honestly never considered the possibility of a traitor within the Marines and could not imagine anyone who would betray her.
More importantly, she had not sensed the Marines' interests being harmed over the years.
Roger understood Ann better than anyone. One look at her expression told him what she was thinking. He sat in the seat reserved for an Admiral and laughed. "Don't be so nervous. That organization isn't evil, and it doesn't impose much discipline. We remain there because each of us needs something."
"..." Ann looked at Roger in confusion.
"It would be more accurate to call it a trading platform than an organization," he continued. "Our individual interests bring us together. We exchange things through the platform or pay a certain price to make requests in the real world."
"The organization's fundamental purpose is to advance the tide of the era's destiny. According to its leader, that time has now arrived."
"...I see." Ann nodded gravely.
The tide of the era's destiny...
No wonder so many strange things had happened recently. Two Demon Lords had suddenly appeared, and the Thunder Angel had emerged at the same time. Such a situation had never occurred before and would have been impossible in the past.
Was it because...
Had the world reached some special turning point?
"By the way, how did you get out this time?" Ann shook her head to clear away the complicated thoughts.
"That's right!" Roger's expression abruptly changed. "I need to hurry to Alabasta. I'll tell you everything after I deal with the situation there."
As though he had suddenly remembered urgent business, Roger opened a Garganta immediately after speaking.
Becoming a Hollow had granted him many unusual abilities.
There was Hierro, which resembled full-body Armament Haki hardening but remained passively active.
There was Sonído, a high-speed movement technique similar to Soru but even faster, to the point that it could be considered short-range teleportation!
There was also High-Speed Regeneration. Some Hollows lost this ability after becoming Arrancars, but perhaps because Roger had possessed a human form from the beginning, he had always had it and retained it after becoming an Arrancar.
Then there was Garganta, an ability that allowed travel between Hueco Mundo and the living world, and which could take the user wherever they wished to go.
In theory, Roger should have been able to leave Hueco Mundo easily by using Garganta, but reality was not so simple.
A barrier seemed to separate Hueco Mundo from the living world, strongly suppressing the opening of a Garganta. The stronger a Hollow was, the harder it became to pass through a Garganta into the outside world. They could emerge only under extremely unusual circumstances.
Those unusual circumstances occurred when vast numbers of souls gathered in the outside world. The attraction of their powerful spiritual energy affected the barrier between Hueco Mundo and reality, allowing Hollows to enter the living world through Garganta.
Their time in the outside world was also severely limited. Again, the stronger the Hollow, the less time it could remain outside.
Even after opening a Garganta and entering the living world, Roger could remain there for no more than ten minutes. If he exceeded that limit, something terrible would happen.
Even souls killed by demons and fallen into Hueco Mundo as Hollows still had a chance at salvation. But Roger's instincts told him that if he broke Hueco Mundo's rules, he would disappear completely, without even being permitted to reincarnate.
Roger believed the Shinigami might have established those rules, although he had never seen that Shinigami again while in Hueco Mundo.
He had entered the living world this time because of the spiritual energy and Aatrox's presence in Alabasta. As he emerged, his connection with Ann allowed him to sense her danger, so he had come to the Fleet Admiral's office first. Now that he had saved her, he needed to hurry to Alabasta.
"Alabasta..."
Ann murmured the name. Roger had already disappeared, leaving her alone in the Fleet Admiral's office. She sank into thought.
The Thunder Angel had first emerged from Alabasta. Aatrox was also highly likely to return there, and now even Roger had become involved.
Did Alabasta possess some strange magic that drew all these events toward it?
"Fleet Admiral, did something happen?"
A Marine's voice came from outside the door. They had apparently heard the noise from her office earlier.
"Something minor happened," Ann replied. "I'll report it to the World Government shortly. For now, go reinforce Admiral Akainu at the Red Line. You must stop the Thunder Angel before it crosses the continent!"
An acknowledgment came from outside. Without Ann's orders and permission, no Marine was allowed to enter her office.
Silence returned inside and outside the room. The more Ann considered the events in Alabasta, the more uneasy she became.
But the Mirror Beast was waiting for an opportunity, preventing her from moving carelessly.
Ann took a deep breath and pulled a treasured black token from her pocket.
A Substitute Shinigami Badge...
It was something the Shinigami at the entrance to Hell had once given Roger. Roger had used this item to split Ann from himself.
After Roger was imprisoned, he gave it to Ann. She had never used the badge since receiving it.
Perhaps now...
It was time to use it.
The title of Marine Fleet Admiral made Ann too conspicuous. Countless people watched her every move, making it difficult for her to do anything. In practice, this meant she could do nothing at all.
Under such circumstances, her strength no longer mattered.
What use was strength if she could never display it?
Rather than allowing the Mirror Beast's threat to leave her unable to even step outside...
Determination gradually filled Ann's gaze. She looked at the Substitute Shinigami Badge in her hand and activated the power of the Fusion-Fusion Fruit she had inherited from Roger.
No one knew she possessed this ability. After all, Roger had eaten the Fusion-Fusion Fruit, not Ann. In theory, she should not have its power.
But no one else was present, so it did not matter.
The black badge merged into her right hand and soon seemed to fuse with her soul.
A powerful force entered Ann's body in the next instant. It was the power of the Substitute Shinigami Badge.
The badge contained tremendous strength, but its user could experience that strength for only a short time, because...
"Ugh..."
Ann groaned. Her body and soul seemed to writhe.
Finally, a girl somewhat smaller than Ann split out from her body.
The girl was completely naked, her pale body reflected in Ann's eyes. The sight made Ann feel rather uncomfortable.
When Roger used the Substitute Shinigami Badge, he had split Ann from himself. Roger had been male, yet the person he created was a woman. Now Ann was female, but she had still created a girl.
She had no idea how the badge determined such things.
The girl had black hair and initially empty, unfocused eyes. Her build was young and petite, and she looked only fifteen or sixteen.
She appeared somewhat frail, but Ann knew she was strong.
Roger had not been as powerful as Ann was now when he split her from himself. The girl Ann had created should therefore be stronger than Ann had been at birth.
"What is your name?"
Ann asked weakly. Completing the division had greatly weakened her. She massaged her temples with both hands in an attempt to ease her exhaustion.
Only then did the girl gradually adapt to her surroundings. Emotion slowly filled her formerly vacant eyes. She looked around with curiosity before finally focusing on Ann.
"Yachiru..."
The girl spoke quietly. "Can you give me something to wear?"
Ann finally realized that the other "her" was still naked. Her face reddened slightly. "I probably don't have anything in your size. Make do for now, and buy yourself an outfit after leaving Marine Headquarters."
Yachiru nodded. She possessed Ann's memories and naturally found one of Ann's casual outfits in the Fleet Admiral's office.
She wore a loose sky-blue T-shirt on top and had no choice but to wear a pair of ill-fitting "shorts" below. She was only around one hundred and sixty centimeters tall and lacked Ann's long legs, making the shorts look rather awkward on her.
"I'll go to Alabasta," Yachiru said. "Oh, and give me some Berry."
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