"Gen~gar"
After entering Mariejois by clinging to Ditto's shadow, Gengar and Ditto split up to act independently. The shadows of buildings, the shadows cast by humans, even the shadows left behind when clouds blocked the sunlight—all of them allowed Gengar to move freely.
Especially after night fell, its movements in Mariejois became even more unhindered.
In this special kingdom of shadows, Gengar was a one-of-a-kind existence.
During this period, several Celestial Dragons inexplicably broke their legs from falling, or suffered from poor sleep at night and appeared utterly exhausted. This was all Gengar's handiwork.
As a ghost, playing pranks while scouting was a perfectly reasonable thing to do. The things those Celestial Dragons had done was that even ghosts couldn't stand it.
At the moment, Gengar was hiding in the shadow of a flowerpot, pondering its ghostly existence while calculating where it should go next.
"Gen~gar [That crescent-moon-beard guy, and those five old geezers, are all really dangerous.]"
Gengar's activities weren't limited to areas where ordinary Celestial Dragons lived, but spanned the entirety of Mariejois.
Moving through shadows on its own still carried some risk of exposure, but the Celestial Dragons' range of activity within Mariejois was vast. As long as Gengar lodged itself in their shadows, it was like riding a free shuttle, moving all over the place.
At times like these, it could conceal its presence to the utmost extent. However, ordinary Celestial Dragons didn't travel very far, so in more secluded locations, Gengar still had to sneak around on its own.
On top of that, places where Gengar appeared tended to experience drops in temperature, and after a while, people began to notice that something was off.
Although when the Five Elders were talking with Imu, their reactions were so slow that they didn't even notice Wapol and Sabo spying on them, it was largely because they were overly confident.
Beneath the throne was truly the holiest of holy grounds. They never imagined anyone would come to spy on that place, and even neglected its maintenance.
But in other areas, they still maintained some degree of vigilance.
Ghost-type Pokémon weren't invincible either. They could ignore ordinary punches, but Ghost-type Pokémon weren't true ghosts.
They were more like special lifeforms. After all, Ghost-types could even lay eggs.
Special martial arts techniques, elemental attacks, shockwaves, and other forms of attacks could all injure them.
For those with great strength, things like generating heat through friction, snapping fingers to create sparks, or rubbing hair to produce powerful electric currents were all possible. Therefore, whenever Gengar sensed any danger, it would immediately retreat, escaping along the shadows to a place where it couldn't be discovered.
Over time, Gengar instead caused rumors of Mariejois being haunted to spread.
"Geh-eh. [That crescent-moon-beard guy seems quite capable; better keep a close eye on him. What is this?"]
Lurking within the shadows, Gengar suddenly discovered Sabo's dark passage. That space was different from shadows, yet shared some similarities. Gengar immediately raised its short little arms and continuously poked at it.
"Gen~gar [Interesting, so there's another of my kind.]"
At that moment, Sabo also began to move, and Gengar transformed into a thin black line, following Sabo along the shadows in the gaps between the floor tiles, wanting to see what this human was up to.
Earlier, Karasu had brought Sabo into the area known as the Domain of the Gods, the residential area of the Celestial Dragons.
The area where the kings were active lay outside this, while the world beyond the fences was a place only Celestial Dragons and their slaves were allowed to live.
Under normal circumstances, anyone attempting to trespass would be stopped outright by the guards.
However, this period was special. It just so happened to be the time of the Levely, and royal families from various countries had also arrived in Mariejois. Unfamiliar with the terrain, they would occasionally get lost.
Especially a certain "queen dowager."
"Queen Dowager Conney, please stop. Ahead lies the Domain of the Gods—royalty is not permitted to enter."
"Why are you carrying such a large bundle on your back? Let us take it. We'll escort you back to the resting area of the Sorbet Kingdom."
The short elderly woman carried an enormous bundle on her back. The guards had no idea what was inside, but the queen dowager disguised by Bonney had already successfully established a persona of senile dementia for herself, so the guards didn't suspect her in the slightest.
After all, the queen dowager of the Sorbet Kingdom was originally her grandmother. After using her Devil Fruit ability to age herself, choosing an appearance similar to her grandmother's was the simplest thing imaginable. [TN: Author has made a mistake here. Conney is not Bonney's grandmother. She is just someone who took Bonney under her wing.]
She had come here for Kuma. After hearing about the earlier conflict at Socializing Plaza, she had learned Kuma's location and thus cautiously made her way over.
Just at that moment, a group of Celestial Dragons was about to come out from inside. The guards hurried to attend to them, and in the brief instant they turned their heads away, the queen dowager disguised by Bonney vanished without a trace.
She was only pretending to be a queen dowager. She could move far faster than an old woman.
And not long after entering, she found her target.
"Oh, Charlos, are you all right? I heard about what happened earlier and was just preparing to come pick you up."
"Saint Roswald."
Seeing Roswald arrive, the CP0 agents ahead of them stepped aside to clear a path.
"My beloved son, how did you end up in such a state…"
"F-Father, it was all that b*stard Mjosgard! You have to avenge me!"
"Mjosgard, he was a weirdo to begin with. A Celestial Dragon without a single slave. Homing, who went down to the lower world thirty years ago, was the same. The Donquixote family is nothing but a bunch of weirdos.
The doctors are already prepared. Go and get treated properly. Judging by your condition, you won't be able to use this slave for now anyway. I'll take the Invincible Slave Kuma off your hands for the time being."
The moment he arrived, Roswald took control of Kuma. Even he was quite interested in Kuma.
After taking control, Roswald casually picked up the hammer on Kuma's back and smashed it down onto Kuma's head. Even when sparks flew from the impact, Kuma didn't so much as twitch, which only made Roswald even more satisfied.
But in the eyes of others, the scene was utterly hateful.
"To treat father like that… this b*stard Celestial Dragon is unforgivable. Absolutely unforgivable…"
Bonney clenched her teeth, restraining the emotions surging in her heart. If she wanted to rescue Kuma, she couldn't act impulsively.
However, she wasn't the only one who cared about Kuma. His comrades in the Revolutionary Army, especially those around Sabo's age, had all experienced Kuma's gentleness. The anger in their hearts was no less intense.
"These b*stards…"
Darkness flowed from Sabo's hand. At that moment, he felt an urge to crush the opponent's head. Karasu's earlier worries hadn't been unfounded. Sabo was still young, and his personality was more impulsive.
This was where the benefits of team action showed themselves. A massive hand suddenly stretched up from the ground, directly grabbing Sabo and pulling him back underground, stopping him from acting impulsively.
This entire scene was seen clearly by Gengar, who had been tailing Sabo, and it too slipped into the ground.
"Don't be so impatient, Sabo. Honestly, boys are terrifying. My hand even got scratched."
Underground, Morley rubbed his wrist. What he called a "scratch" was nothing more than a faint white mark.
When he dragged Sabo down, Sabo's Dark-Dark Fruit ability was active. During the dive underground, it inevitably came into contact with Morley's arm, temporarily nullifying the effects of Morley's Push-Push Fruit.
"That gentle Kuma was treated like that…"
"We understand how you feel, but Sabo, you have to understand, even if we rescue Kuma, the Kuma from before will never come back."
"Kuma used to be the king of an affiliated nation. The World Government is using him to warn others: no matter how powerful someone is, this is the fate of those who defy the gods. If we fail, our own end will probably be even worse."
Morley and Lindbergh took turns trying to persuade Sabo. Then Lindbergh reached behind him and pulled out a cylindrical object.
"That's exactly why we have to complete our objective, so Kuma's sacrifice won't be in vain. I specifically made a trip back to Zou Island earlier. This is a specially made bomb I got from the Duchess. Combined with Karasu's soot, it'll definitely send their storage facility straight into the sky.
And there's something very special inside as well. Even if any food is left, it'll only turn into a deadly poison."
On the outside of the bomb, an enormous letter "Q" stood out conspicuously. Everyone had their own talents.
Lindbergh was likewise skilled at invention and creation, but lagged somewhat behind when it came to the development of explosives. So, through his connections, he purchased a batch of specialized munitions.
"This is…"
"The work of that 'Plague.' That guy has exceptional talent in researching large-scale destructive weapons. When dealing with those Celestial Dragons, you ought to use the big stuff, don't you think?
Don't worry, being 'custom-made' means the blast radius is controlled.
The royalty and the slaves won't be too heavily affected, and the follow-up effects will just happen to help us buy time."
Aside from Belo Betty and Ivankov, the other army commanders of the Revolutionary Army were all gathered here. Ivankov was dealing with other situations, while Belo Betty's ability wasn't suitable for use in this place.
Her role was to inspire people, to give those from other nations the courage to resist rather than submit willingly to enslavement.
Just as Sabo and the others continued discussing their plan, they suddenly sensed something amiss.
"Don't you feel like it suddenly got colder?"
"Maybe it's because we're underground."
"Geh-ehehehe…"
At that moment, an eerie laugh suddenly echoed by their ears, and Gengar emerged from beside their feet.
"Who's there?!"
The sudden laughter put Sabo and the others on high alert, but Gengar waved both hands, signaling that it meant no harm.
Under their wary gazes, Gengar floated over from atop the table and made an X gesture on their map.
Then, under Karasu's watchful eyes, Gengar moved to a patch of soil nearby and began waving its hands right in front of everyone.
"Gengar, Gengar, Gen~gar!"
"Is that… a map of Mariejois? Is it drawing?"
"No, it's making a sand table!"
Pokémon came in all shapes and personalities. This Gengar, aside from its natural attributes, also possessed a certain artistic flair and deft hands. Before long, it produced a simple sand-table.
Though the structure was basic, it clearly marked the locations of all the key buildings.
"So you're saying your map is more accurate than ours?"
"Gen~gar."
Gengar gave Sabo a thumbs-up, then pressed its palms together and struck a diving pose, plunging straight into the ground and vanishing from sight once more.
"Wh-what exactly was that?"
"No idea. The vengeful spirit of slaves who died on Mariejois? Helping us because of their resentment?"
Gengar's sudden appearance disrupted their train of thought, leaving them unsure of what was really going on. In truth, based on Sabo's reaction and their conversation, Gengar had concluded that they were enemies of its enemies.
The enemy of an enemy wasn't necessarily an ally, but it was certainly something that could be used.
So Gengar handed over the detailed map it had scouted during this time, hoping the Revolutionary Army would cause even greater chaos, while it took the opportunity to explore even more areas itself.
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