But now it's better to inform Cobra about the upcoming arrival of Aatrox, and the remaining matters can be investigated slowly.
"In any case, this demon Aatrox is coming to Alabasta. Please make sure to notify the king to send out the army to evacuate the civilians along the way. It's best to evacuate everyone from the south to the north!"
Cobra was shocked, and the anger he had just had disappeared in an instant.
Aatrox?!
Who hasn't heard of this name by now?
He caused a lot of casualties on the seas of the New World, and the Battle of Edd War eliminated more than half of the pirate forces. Countless lives might have been lost at his hands.
Such a demon is coming to Alabasta?!
Fear surged in Cobra's heart. He almost had no time to confirm the authenticity of this news, but immediately decided to inform the king.
...
"In the Inverted Pyramid, there are descendants of Shinigami. Seek their help."
On the other side, on the Roger's ship, heading towards the area where Aatrox was located, Raijin was still talking to Roger.
At the moment, there weren't many members of Roger's pirate crew on the ship. There were only Roger, Rayleigh, Jozu, and an unnamed person. Whitebeard was also here.
It was time to deal with Aatrox, so it was essential to bring him over.
"Hmm? Descendants of Shinigami?"
Hearing another unfamiliar term, Roger frowned.
"Yes, if we have to say there's something that has been passed down from our time until now, the gatekeepers of Hell would be one of them," Raijin said calmly. "They seem to have some kind of agreement with the current royal family. With the influence of the royal family in the mortal world, they've successfully concealed the entrance to Hell, and few people in this world know where the entrance to Hell is."
"Otherwise, there would be many demons and demon hunters wanting to enter it, open some kind of seal, or seek power from there."
This so-called royal family is, of course, the Nefertari family.
Alabasta is quite famous, and Roger had heard of it. Since the entrance to Hell is in Alabasta, it's only natural that the Nefertari family, who made a pact with the descendants of Shinigami, is responsible for it.
However, in reality, this agreement was fabricated.
It was just the use of Machi Machi's ability to alter the memories of the Nefertari family. Machi Machi's clone was indeed not that powerful, but her functional capabilities were incredibly strong, almost surpassing Source I's core.
Her importance even exceeded that of Aatrox!
"They exist between the mortal world and Hell, in a place known as the Boundary. They are in charge of not letting creatures from Hell leave through the entrance. However, they are not responsible for placing demons from the outside into Hell. Moreover, we're not trying to put Aatrox on the surface of Hell, but to place him in the Boundary where he exists."
Raijin explained. "The Boundary is where the descendants of Shinigami reside. Without their permission, placing Aatrox there won't be so easy."
"..."
Roger thought for a moment and directly said to Raijin, "Shouldn't this kind of thing be handled by you guys? We have nothing to do with the descendants of Shinigami, and besides, I want to lure Aatrox to Alabasta. I don't have time to meet the descendant of that Shinigami."
"What you say makes sense." Raijin also said, "I will inform the headquarters about this matter."
"Alright, we're almost there."
Suddenly, the unnamed person spoke, "It's time to separate."
They were currently in the waters near Dressrosa because Aatrox's direction of advance was here.
After causing extensive destruction in the depths of the New World, he began advancing towards the first half of the Grand Line.
This was also why the World Government was urging Machi Machi so much, as Aatrox had set his sights on them. No one knew when the 'Battle of Edd War' would reappear on the World Government's territory.
To bring Aatrox to Alabasta, of course, they couldn't dispatch the entire crew. Although they were all experts, having more people would only cause more trouble.
So they left only Roger and the unnamed person behind to wait for Aatrox to come. The others went directly to Alabasta to prepare for the final battle.
Roger was the strongest, and the unnamed person had unparalleled agility. Only they two had the ability to lure Aatrox to Alabasta. The others would not have much use here.
"Well then, I'm leaving." Roger and the unnamed person disappeared on the ship. Raijin also said, "I will set out with the Marines to Alabasta. We'll meet again in that country."
After all, Raijin was a member of the World Government, and being with them all the time might not be a good idea.
The others didn't care. They weren't particularly fond of the Blackbeard's admiral in the first place.
...
After the action officially started, Cobra had already conveyed the news to the king on Alabasta.
At this moment, Cobra was with the Marines, or more precisely, with Cap, Dragon, and Crane. Dragon was lying on the bed, and Crane was helping him bandage his wounds.
At this moment, there weren't many people in Yuba. After the guards of Cobra's escort team woke up, he ordered them to evacuate the civilians.
"Sorry for making you worry about the citizens of our country to the point of getting severely injured."
Cobra sincerely apologized. Then he said again, "Lord Byakuya is someone who values rules, so he dislikes others violating contracts. At that time, Dragon must have wanted to go to the Boundary, which led to his attack."
"Lord Byakuya?" Cap said somewhat displeased, "Aren't you the prince of this country? Why are there other lords?"
His son was severely injured, and he naturally felt upset. However, he was well aware of his son's strength. Although Dragon was still very young at only thirteen or fourteen, his strength was quite formidable. Especially after eating the Devil Fruit, his strength surpassed even a Vice Admiral. Kong had even asked him if he wanted Dragon to join the world government's large recruitment to become a new Admiral.
Cap neither agreed nor disagreed, just saying that it depended on Dragon's own thoughts.
In other words, although Dragon was still very young, he was already a formidable expert in the Marines. Yet, he was injured to this extent by the Lord Byakuya, a prince of another country?
Who exactly was this Byakuya, who Cobra, a prince, respected so much?!