Grand Line, Connecting Line.
"Amazing" Rayleigh exclaimed upon seeing a connecting channel belonging to the Fortis Kingdom, "How could this place be here?"
"Even my Observation Haki can't sense the existence of this place" Shakky said in a tone full of surprise.
"Hmph!" Even though Hancock is not the owner of the channel, Hancock feels a sense of pride, "This is a connecting channel owned by the Kingdom of Fortis. To access this place can only use the Special Eternal Pose that belongs to the Fortis Kingdom"
"Fortis Kingdom?" Rayleigh and Shakky were shocked to hear this.
"The reason the two of you can't sense the existence of this place is because these connecting channels at the two entrances have a very strong illusion attached." Hancock said calmly, "Even though you two can use Observation Haki at an advanced level. However, the illusion can cover this place and cannot be known by anyone as long as the person does not know it or has the tools to build a search for it."
"Illusion?" Rayleigh was quite intrigued by this and asked, "Are there any higher-ups in the Fortis Kingdom who eat devil fruits to use illusion abilities?"
"The illusion ability they have does not come from the power of the devil fruit" said Hancock.
"No?" Shakky raised her eyebrows.
"Yes. In the Kingdom of Fortis itself has a new source of power that is quite different that is used by the current majority. The new source of power is called Chakra."
New World, Wano Kuni Kingdom, Onigashima Island.
"Stop kidding, Joker!" Kaidou shouted angrily at Doflamingo who was currently contacting him, "Do you know the result of you breaking our agreement?"
"Fufufu~ I know" Doflamingo said without any fear at all, "However, right now. I really can no longer continue transactions with you or to say, I don't want to do those transactions."
"Worororo~" Kaidou laughed, but the laughter he gave off was not a laugh full of happiness but a laugh full of anger, "Do you know the consequences? I will go destroy the entire Dressrosa Kingdom even destroy you!"
"I know" Doflamingo replied calmly, "However. Can you do it?"
"Ha?" Kaidou was quite surprised to hear this then laughed happily, "Worororor~ You're asking if I can do it? This is the stupidest joke I've heard this year." Kaidou's gaze immediately narrowed fiercely, "The only question is you, Joker! Can you withstand my attacks or not?"
"Fufufufu~ That is indeed an interesting question" Doflamingo smirked and this made Kaidou even more angry, "I really can't do it. However, someone can do it."
"Somebody?" Kaidou asked coldly, "Who can go against me? That's a stupid joke, Joker! stop joking and make me smile more! I want to immediately start the greatest war of the century!"
"I already said, Kaidou" Doflamingo said again, "I won't do that anymore. I am out of this transaction. I won't make that stuff again."
"God damn it! Jokers! Are you really going to betray me! I hope you are ready. I will immediately flatten your place until it disappears in this world" Kaidou shouted again angrily.
"Oh? Scary~" Doflamingo said without any fear at all and that made Kaidou even more irritated, "I want to know. What will the Fortis Kingdom do if they find out that you are going to attack my kingdom?"
"Ha? Fortis Kingdom?" Kaidou was immediately surprised to hear the name of the Fortis Kingdom appear, "Worororo~ Why did you bring up the name of the Fortis Kingdom, Joker? Do you think I'm afraid you're bringing up the name of the Fortis Kingdom? There's no way a kingdom like you can build a cooperative relationship with them."
"Then you can do it, Kaidou" Doflamingo said mockingly, "I wonder, are you really going to do it? If you're really going to do it. I also want to know, how long will your group last against the onslaught of troops from the Fortis Kingdom. Especially the higher ups of his kingdom like Urek Mazino, and the others." Doflamingo smirked.
Kaidou suddenly fell silent hearing this and asked again, "Joker, did you really manage to do it?"
"Fufufufufu~ Of course" Doflamingo smirked excitedly, "Do you think I'm stupid enough to provoke you without anyone guarding me from behind? Impossible! Well, Kaidou, I've said the thing I wanted. I will sever all of our cooperative relations. Currently I do not have any cooperative relationship with you"
"If you do that, all of our cooperation regarding sea stone sales will be terminated" Kaidou narrowed his eyes, "Are you really going to do that?"
"Of course" Doflamingo said calmly, "Cooperating with the Fortis Kingdom is more profitable than cooperating with you. It's better to follow the orders of King Fortis than you."
Without waiting for a long time, Doflamingo immediately closed the communication connection.
*BOOM!*
"BASS!" Kaidou shouted in great annoyance the moment Doflamingo hung up the communication.
"Calm down Kaidou-san" The King who was there was also very angry listening to the conversation and continued, "We can do some monitoring first"
"Ha? Monitoring?" Kaidou who listened to this King's words asked while frowning
"It is possible that Doflamingo still has not obtained a full cooperative relationship with the Fortis Kingdom. If that's the case, with Doflamingo's character, of course he would definitely spread the word" King said calmly and continued, "Besides, wasn't it from his previous talk that Doflamingo said that he was following orders, right? That meant that there was an order given by the King of Fortis that Doflamingo had to complete in order for him to have a cooperative relationship with the Kingdom of Fortis. As long as the order is not carried out properly, it is possible that the cooperation relationship will be canceled. We can use that opportunity to make Doflamingo regret playing with us."
Kaidou finally regained his senses and then laughed "Worororo~ That is indeed a very good idea" Kaidou then narrowed his eyes seriously, "We will wait and will make Joker regret betraying me"
Kaidou then looked at King, "What about the search process for those swords? Are there still no signs?"
"Still not there, Kaidou-san" King shook his head, "We've searched the entire territory that belongs to us. Our troops have even asked about the legends in those places. However, no one has been able to give us a clue as to the location of the various weapons."
"This will be quite difficult" Kaidou frowned, "Is it possible that in our territory there are no such swords?"
"I guess it's not just us, Kaidou-san" King said, "Right now the troops belonging to the other Sea Emperors still haven't got a clue about the swords either." King paused and continued, "How about we increase our search, Kaidou-san? For example doing a search in the North Blue or South Blue area? Maybe there we can get a clue about the swords."
"That's a good idea" Kaidou nodded, "Order our troops to search the area. We have to get those weapons soon and then start the biggest war of this century."
"I understand, Kaidou-san"
New World, Fortis Kingdom, Port of Ship Construction Department.
"Is this really the Fortis Kingdom?" Shakky asked with a calm face while looking towards the front where, Shakky only saw trees and also some areas that had been successfully built.
"This is the Fortis Kingdom" Hancock nodded, "The Fortis Kingdom is different from what you think. The Kingdom of Fortis was a newly built kingdom and was currently under construction. Let's go and meet, Ars. He's usually in the royal palace at times like this."
Hancock and Rayleigh nodded.
The five of them along with Sandersonia and Marigold immediately walked towards the royal palace. The moment they stepped into the area where the residents lived, Hashirama suddenly appeared in front of them.
Rayleigh's gaze immediately turned serious to Hashirama, "He really is a scary person…" Rayleigh muttered under his breath.
"Empress" Hashirama immediately greeted Hancock respectfully and looked at Rayleigh and Shakky, "Who are they?"
"They are guests from, Ars" Hancock said calmly.
"Your Majesty's Guest?" Hashirama was quite surprised to hear this then smiled, "Hello, welcome to the Fortis Kingdom. I'm Hashirama Senju. Head of the Fortis Kingdom's Intelligence Department" Hashirama said while sticking out his hand.
"I am Silver Rayleigh. Nice to meet you"
"Silver Rayleigh?" Hashirama's gaze immediately became excited, "I see. So, you are Silver Rayleigh Right Hand of the Pirate King. Of course, I can feel a strong aura from you. You deserve to be his right hand man."
"Hahahaha…" Rayleigh laughed excitedly as he continued, "It's an honor to be known by someone like you, Hashirama. I'm quite surprised you can beat Newgate."
"It was just luck" Hashirama smiled, "After all, it wasn't a life and death battle. We're just doing regular battles."
Hashirama's gaze then looked at Shakky, "Ah,~ I'm sorry. I'm Hashirama Senju. Nice to meet you"
"Shakky" Shakky introduced herself calmly.
"Shakky?" Hashirama asked, "Are you Shakky, the former Captain of the Kuja Pirates two periods before?"
"You know me?" Shakky asked with a face full of surprise. After all, it was rare for people to know him.
"Our kingdom has quite a number of books of knowledge, one of which records information from the world's most famous shops that have lived. However, in the book itself there is only information about those shops when they were still young. That's why I didn't know you very well when I first met you. After all, that book only records your information when you were young."
"Is there too?" Rayleigh and Shakky were quite surprised to hear this.
"Why didn't I know this?" Hancock asked with a sullen face.
"You didn't ask, Empress" Hashirama said calmly, "If you ask, of course we will definitely tell you about it"
"Hmph!" Hancock sniffed discontentedly, "What about our house? Has it been completed?"
"Just finished building" Hashirama nodded, "His Majesty is also there. Let me take you all there."
Hashirama immediately led them walking towards the direction where Ars was. While on the way there, Rayleigh and Shakky finally found out that what Ars and Hancock had said to them were true. The houses built today have a very luxurious and beautiful design. They had even seen that a large number of houses had been completed and had been used by the occupants.
However, the two couldn't help but be surprised when they saw the house that would later be given to Hancock and Rayleigh. Shakky is very excited especially through his Observation Haki. Shakky could tell how luxurious the house was.
Finally they arrived at where Ars was. Ars is currently in the house of the first type sixth unit.
"Why didn't you greet me, Ars?" Hancock asked Ars in a dissatisfied tone with a frown on her face especially when Hancock saw that Lowellmina was currently with Ars.
"I'm at work, Hancock" Ars said calmly, "Besides, isn't Hashirama already welcoming you? That's more than enough than I didn't send someone to come greet you."
Ars' gaze then turned to Rayleigh and Shakky, "Welcome to the Fortis Kingdom, Rayleigh, Shakky. I hope what you see lives up to your expectations."
"Hahaha…" Rayleigh laughed then continued, "This is a bit beyond our expectations"
"We previously thought that this was a large completed empire with all sorts of extraordinary things" Shakky said, "However, I didn't expect that your empire was a newly built empire"
"Well, this is indeed a newly built kingdom" Ars said calmly, "We built it a few months earlier and it's currently going pretty well" Ars paused and looked at Rayleigh, "Well, have you decided to take the job? that?"
"Work?" Hashirama was surprised to hear this.
"His Majesty offered Rayleigh to be the trainer for the military department. Rayleigh still hasn't answered whether he wants to or not" Lowellmina said calmly.
"I see." Hashirama nodded.
"Will I really get the facilities you promised?" Rayleigh asked again as he stared at the house in front of his eyes right now.
"Sure" Ars nodded and continued, "You will get a house like us, can access various kinds of information in our royal library, you can stay in the guest room in the royal palace, you will also automatically be registered as a citizen of our kingdom, the salary will be you get 4 million berries excluding bonuses, and you can learn all the skills from our kingdom" Ars paused and looked at Shakky, "Shakky will also get it later if he wants with the exception that she won't get a salary nor learn all the skills from our kingdom"
Ars' gaze then turned to Rayleigh, "Besides, there are some things that you can't get such as attending the higher-ups' meeting, direct access to the warehouse and also taking a decision using the name of our kingdom."
"Make decisions?" Rayleigh raised his brow, "Do all of your high ranking royals have that right?"
"Everyone" Ars nodded, "Everything I meant was the higher-ups that were introduced earlier. They have the right to take any decision. If at one time, for example, the Prodance Kingdom did something our kingdom really disliked, for example, torturing the citizens of its kingdom. If any of the higher-ups of our Kingdom know about it. Even if they don't ask for my permission, they can immediately terminate the cooperation that is carried out using their rights."
"Aren't they too tall to get a right?" Shakky asked with great interest.
"No" Ars shook his head, "They deserve it. They are not my subordinates but my friends. We are one unit. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be able to build and run this kingdom."
"This is interesting" Rayleigh smiled at this and then said, "I accept the offer. I am willing to be the incumbent in your kingdom"
"Good decision" Ars nodded and said, "Well, do you two want to stay in this kingdom?" Ars' gaze stared at Lowellmina, "The guest room that the two of them are going to use is already prepared, isn't it?"
"Yes" Lowellmina nodded, "The maids have prepared two special rooms for them"
"Good" Ars nodded and looked at Rayleigh and Shakky, "If you want to stay, welcome. You can use the room that you will use. Meanwhile, for the problem of the house. Today five housing units have been successfully built for the first type. These five housing units have been taken by other people. Four houses for our royals while one house is for Hancock to use. You need to wait in line to get it."
"No problem. I don't mind getting it too late either."
"Well, have you decided to stay in this kingdom? Or want to go back?" Ars asked back with great interest.
"Am I currently able to learn skills from your kingdom?" Rayleigh was quite interested in the skill especially after listening to Hancock's explanation.
"You can do it" Ars nodded and continued, "Hancock must have told you, right?"
"Yes" Rayleigh nodded, "Your kingdom has two skills. One spiritual energy control skill and another one is chakra"
Ars nodded and said, "You can learn both. However, it will be quite difficult for you to learn chakra, especially at your age. My suggestion is that you learn energy control techniques. Improve your understanding of Armament Haki. As long as you can master the highest level of spiritual energy control. Your strength will greatly increase."
"Alright" Rayleigh nodded and didn't really mind it. Although Rayleigh is quite interested in chakra. However, he also knew about his current state.
Ars' gaze stared at Hashirama, "You don't have a job right now, do you?"
"No." Hashirama shook his head.
"Then can you practice spiritual energy control? Just use the gravity room so that the effect of the exercise can be maximized"
"Gravity room?" Rayleigh, Shakky, Hancock, and others were interested in this.
"The Gravity Room is a special training ground that belongs to our kingdom" Hashirama said with a smile, "The room is located in the basement of the royal palace. The room was made of metal that was so hard it could even withstand my blow that had been coated in Armament Haki. The function of the room itself can increase the gravitational pressure in the room freely. It can be for individuals or for groups. Using that room can get the maximum effect of practice, especially spiritual energy control practice."
"Another thing I don't know about" Hancock muttered with a frown.
"Is that a tool that your scientists managed to create?" Shakky asked with great interest.
"Just say so" Ars nodded and looked at Hashirama, "Can you do it?"
"Of course. I'm empty for now" Hashirama nodded and looked at Rayleigh, "What about you? Do you want to start training now? It's actually not that hard to practice. Maybe, you just need some time to be able to do it."
"I want to do it," Rayleigh said with a smirk.
"Then, come with me to the royal palace."
Rayleigh nodded and looked at Shakky.
"Go away" Shakky said calmly, "I have no interest in such things. Compared to training, I am more interested in the house we will live in in the future."
"Alright" Rayleigh nodded and immediately followed Hashirama to the royal palace.
"Ok" Ars said with a smile, "Let's go inside your house, Hancock. Also, I'll help teach you how to use every piece of equipment in there."
"Hmph! Good. Then let's go inside." Hancock said with pride and also happiness because she finally got to spend time with Ars.