But this is only a temporary plan; Sage has already given the order to halt the infrastructure project.
Now is not the right time to do this.
Urouge is in charge of contacting the Underworld and, when sending people to collect debts, trying every possible way to make those people exchange their debts for resources.
A third of their territory has been lost, and their resources have been cut by a full fifth. Although the first half of the New World has not yet been fully explored and they don't know how many resources it holds, exploration takes time. During this period, instead of waiting, it's better to use debt to force those indebted nobles to exchange for certain specific things.
As for how to get them delivered, the Underworld will have its ways.
A few days later, Lily finally found the intel on the sea level rising by one meter.
"Lulucia."
At this moment Sage was lounging comfortably on the throne, listening to Lily's report.
"The message was something Lucci found a chance to hint at in secret. I sent people to investigate. In the first half of the Grand Line, they found a huge vortex that has never dispersed, a vortex as massive as the one at Enies Lobby."
Lily said, "The Lulucia Kingdom on the Grand Line, one of the World Government's affiliate nations, a Kingdom qualified to attend the World Conference... has disappeared. But as for the specific intel—how it disappeared—no one knows."
Contacts between nations were scarce to begin with. Aside from some communication between neighboring countries and the Four Seas, no one knew who anyone else was. If a Kingdom disappeared, then it just disappeared; anyone with half a brain could see that such an event would never cause any waves.
At the next World Conference, having one less country doesn't matter. Not every Kingdom is qualified to be a permanent representative; only a few powerful ones are. The rest are only given that qualification by the World Government.
With one less Kingdom, the other Kings would only assume it had lost its qualification; they simply wouldn't care.
As for where Lulucia is...
Who knows where.
They hadn't even managed to rob that Kingdom before.
The Grand Line is huge.
"An affiliate nation destroyed?" Sage chuckled. "It's not that simple, is it."
"Yes, it was one of the 'Eight-Nation Rebellion.'" Lily said.
"Then it was the World Government that made the move."
Sage leaned back. "The most likely explanation is the Heavenly King Uranus. They not only have it, they've actually used it."
"I don't understand."
Lily asked in confusion, "If they really have this, why didn't they use it before? The threat posed by the old Four Emperors wasn't any smaller than ours. And why use it on a rebellious affiliate Kingdom instead of on Pirates?"
Kaido occupied Wano Country; even if Wano's Seastone made them unwilling, Totto Land had nothing at all—it's just an archipelago, and a non–Magnetic Field Island archipelago at that, an archipelago that Log Poses wouldn't even point to.
If they truly wanted to maintain order and ensure the World Government's rule, they should have blasted Totto Land, or simply blasted Hive Island.
Or even now—they should directly blast their O'hara.
No matter which they chose, as long as they thoroughly obliterated an island, Pirate morale would plummet by a huge margin.
Yet they chose to target a weak affiliate Kingdom...
A Kingdom like that—even if it rebelled—you could just send the Navy to arrest the rebels, couldn't you? No one would resist.
Or is it because of some so-called rules on the surface?
After all, the World Government is composed of many affiliate nations. If one withdraws, they have to abide by some supposed rules and not act openly, so they act in secret instead?
"Who knows what they're thinking. Maybe it's a question of distance, maybe energy, or maybe..."
Sage gave a chilling smile. "They simply felt that this place was close. If you're going to step on an ant, do you deliberately pick a bigger one? They're all ants. You step on whichever is nearer."
Lily fell silent for a while. "If that last reason is the real one, then we truly need a sense of crisis."
The earlier possibilities weren't terrifying, but the last one... when she thought it through, it made sweat bead at Lily's temples.
"It definitely isn't without limits."
Sage thought for a moment, then said in a low voice, "If it were truly unlimited, O'hara wouldn't have been destroyed by a Buster Call back then. Secretly wiping it out would have been best. Similarly, Rocks might never have existed. So it does have limits, but I don't know what those limits are... Still, now that it has appeared, it means it will appear again in the future. During this window of time, we must get Pluton out!"
Lily nodded in agreement, then added, "Also, Sage, we've made contact with people from Alabasta..."
...
Alabasta, Albana.
The underground Royal Palace.
Several important ministers were gathered around the coffin, weeping. Above the coffin was a photo of Cobra.
Belle and Chaka, the Kingdom's guardian deities, stood guard on either side of the coffin, their faces solemn, but unable to conceal their grief.
The good King of Alabasta, Cobra, was gone.
Although it was publicly declared that Cobra had been killed by Sabo, everyone's feelings were complicated.
That Sabo, because he killed Cobra, has been hailed by rebels all over the world as the 'Flame Emperor.' His reputation on the seas faintly shows signs of catching up to that Disaster's fame.
After all, when it comes to regicide in recent years, the first to do it was that Disaster, and he killed more than one.
He even killed Heavenly Celestial Dragons.
Now there's the Revolutionary Army, which caused a huge commotion at Mary Geoise, and although they failed to attack the Heavenly Celestial Dragons, they did kill a King.
His fame naturally soared.
But the problem is... he's Luffy's sworn brother.
And they knew what kind of person Luffy was. As his sworn brother, he should share similar qualities.
Could someone like that really be Cobra's murderer?
The question circled in every smart person's mind. But some things can't be changed by doubt alone. Right now, across the Kingdom, everyone, because of this incident, is shouting to hunt and kill the Revolutionary Army, drowning in hatred.
The most crucial part is...
"Princess Vivi..."
Igaram held a photo of Vivi, eyes brimming with tears.
Their Princess had disappeared as well...
The whole of Alabasta had lost its backbone and could only barely maintain order.
"Damn it!"
Koza, serving as the Kingdom's Minister of Environment, clenched his fists tightly, left the underground Royal Palace, and stepped onto the surface, staring wordlessly at the sky.
The annoying wind and sand whipped directly against his face.
Clearly—clearly everything had been developing in a good direction...
Over the two-plus years since Crocodile's downfall, Alabasta had gradually returned to normal. Though still barren, it was slowly improving. Yet this one World Conference, and it all collapsed.
The King was gone, Vivi was missing...
What was this Kingdom supposed to do!
"Ohhh! Troubled, are we?"
Just as he was deep in thought, a voice rang beside his ear.
Koza frowned and turned to look. On the royal avenue, where there weren't even any buildings, two figures were slowly walking toward him.
One was tall as a Giant, wearing sunglasses, his face, however, very calm.
The other was very short, but with a vicious face, dressed like a boxer.
"This is royal ground. You can't just wander in here. Who are you?" Koza asked with a frown.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Funk Kelly, and this is my younger brother, Funk Bobby."
The short man pointed at the big man behind him, then said with a grin, "I'll be blunt. We're the Disaster Pirates' debt-collecting representatives in the Underworld. We're here to find someone who has the authority to make decisions."
"The Underworld, and the Disaster Pirates..."
Koza's frown deepened. "You're not welcome here. The Disaster Pirates' name is not a good one in this country."
"Doesn't matter. I'm just here to deliver a message."
Kelly smiled. "Our Governor hopes that in this chaotic world, there's someone sensible who can talk with him—for both sides' future. I know you—the Kingdom's Minister of Environment—you count as an important figure. Do you want to be that decision-maker? If not, we can always find someone else."
"I..."
Koza instinctively wanted to refuse, but halfway through his words, he fell silent.
He thought of the dead King, and of the missing Vivi...
Is the World Government truly that trustworthy?
Or...
Do they need to deal with a Pirate in order to ensure safety in other areas?
Given the current situation...
"Someone has to take root in the darkness... otherwise, the Kingdom will just keep declining."
Koza murmured, steadied his mind, and said, "I know your Governor. I'll speak with him!"