The huge crater that had been blasted out was only the surface layer. As the rubble above was cleared away, the tunnel entrance below was revealed once more. To figure out what was really going on, they had no choice but to enter this bottomless abyss.
"Reporting to the Five Elders! The distance we've explored has already exceeded ten kilometers, yet we still haven't found the end of the tunnels. Inside, they're as intricate as an ant nest.
We nearly got lost several times, and the oxygen inside is extremely thin. Candles can no longer burn. Continuing the investigation will be extremely difficult."
The Five Elders still retained a measure of rationality. They did not force CP agents to carry out tasks beyond human capability, instead ordering York and Lilith to create a robot capable of surveying underground.
"Additionally, according to scholar's analysis, these exposed soil layers have been uncovered for more than ten years. They were likely hollowed out long ago, and the timing was… before the Fish-Man criminal - Fisher Tiger attacked Mariejois."
Another piece of bad news was delivered before them, but the Five Elders did not dwell on it further. They simply dismissed their subordinates. Until suitable surveying machines were ready, humans were powerless in such an environment.
The collapse below had a significant impact, but it was far from the only problem the Five Elders had to deal with.
"Revolutionary Army's Sabo, and Cobra of Alabasta. How should we explain about them?"
"Isn't there a photo ready-made for this? A Revolutionary Army officer attacked the king of an affiliated nation; just publish it like that. After being struck by Lord Imu's attack, there's no way he could still be alive."
A deliberately misaligned photograph was taken out by the Five Elders. From this image, Sabo, who had originally tried to rescue Cobra, appeared instead to be the true culprit who attacked him.
Meanwhile, aboard a ship headed for the Eigis Kingdom, two stowaways were nervously hiding in the cargo hold.
Wapol and Vivi, two people who did not get along at all, ultimately became companions under the threat of death.
Earlier, after realizing that he had seen something he shouldn't have and that his life was in danger, Wapol began fleeing frantically. Along the way, anyone who blocked his path was eaten by his Devil Fruit ability, forcibly carving out a straight path through the complex palace.
At that time, CP0 also received orders to arrest Vivi and hold her in a room. Yet Wapol's explosive survival instincts in the face of death created enough chaos for Vivi to slip onto this escape vehicle.
CP0 had no idea what had just happened and had no reason to stop Wapol, the king of an affiliated nation.
While the guards of the Alabasta Kingdom were searching everywhere for their king and princess, the two of them had already boarded Morgans' airship.
Only someone as audacious as Morgans, a gray figure who operated in the Underworld, would dare to pick people up at a time like this.
Gathering material gave Morgans a perfect excuse, and as for his real motive, it was simple: a king's life being endangered during the Levely was exactly the kind of news he loved.
Wapol kept absolutely silent about what he had seen, fearing pursuit, and Vivi was unable to contact Cobra, because at this moment, Cobra and Sabo were in a very special dimension.
Not long before.
"King Cobra, are you dead or not, exactly?"
Sabo was completely confused. One Cobra lay in his arms, while another Cobra stood in front of him.
"A very constructive question. From the looks of it, I should be dead. So this is what it feels like to look at your own body?"
"King Cobra, is this really the time to be saying things like that?"
"What else can we do? But the weariness in my body is gone for good, and for once, I feel surprisingly relaxed. Looking on the bright side, you're the only one of yourself, and at least you're still alive, aren't you?"
"That's true, but, uh… my ghost friend? Could you tell me where exactly this place is?"
In the end, Sabo turned his gaze toward Gengar. Although Gengar had brought them out of danger, it seemed they had arrived somewhere even more dangerous.
"Gen~gar!!"
Gengar was in a very bad mood at the moment. Its upper body was twisted around like a pretzel as it looked with distress at the wound on its small tail.
Then it directly dug a hole and buried itself, using the underworld energy that permeated the place to repair its body. To Sabo and Cobra, however, it looked exactly like a grave mound.
At this moment, the real master of the place arrived. Ever since gaining control here, Darkrai had never lost his way. Sensing the anomaly, he quickly teleported over.
"Living ones…"
"Gengar, gengar, gen-gar!"
"I see. The Revolutionary Army and the king of an affiliated nation were attacked by a mysterious person from the World Government? That is indeed quite important."
"Living ones, you should not be here. But this was an accident, I will send you away. You only need to tell me what you did in Mariejois, and what you saw."
The living should not have come here, but since they were brought in by Gengar, the situation was special.
Sabo did not hide anything. What they had done was intended to be made public anyway, and Darkrai did not press for details. After all, Cobra's soul was still present, Gengar had already spied on many things, and Darkrai had plenty of time.
"Perfect timing. I'm about to send someone else out of here as well, you can travel together along the way."
The "other person" Darkrai referred to was Kuina. She had originally planned to sail slowly, only to realize she had died far too early and knew absolutely nothing about such matters. After all, no one in the underworld was going to teach navigation.
She hadn't chosen to board a passenger ship, instead returning to the underworld to look for a more convenient option, and it just so happened that this was around the same time Sabo had been brought in by Gengar.
"Then what about King Cobra? Shouldn't he leave together with me?"
"Normally, yes. But unfortunately, his body has already died. You can, however, take his remains with you and give him a proper burial."
"It's fine. I knew long ago that my death was inevitable. Being able to finish what I needed to say after death is already more than I ever expected. Revolutionary Army's young man, please help me pass on a message to my daughter, Vivi.
Tell her my last words: [We too are "D." I finally understand the direction Alabasta must move toward.] She will understand what I mean."
After leaving behind these final words, Sabo and Kuina were sent together by Darkrai to the underworld's entrance in the East Blue.
Back in Mariejois, the Five Elders confirmed the news of Cobra's death following the attack and Princess Vivi's disappearance, and made arrangements for the study and exploration of the massive pit.
Ryokugyu and Fujitora had a fierce argument. Ryokugyu believed Fujitora had been perfunctory in his duties, insisting that he clearly had the ability to stop the slaves from escaping, yet chose to do nothing.
Fujitora retorted that he had acted, but it was Ryokugyu who had forbidden him from summoning meteorite, so it had nothing to do with him.
These matters could still be considered minor squabbles, but during this attack, a Celestial Dragon had died.
Even the gentlest person has moments of anger, and the laser cannons on Kuma's body were no joke.
Under such an attack, a trash-tier Celestial Dragon had no chance of survival. Even if it were Kin'emon, being beaten to that state would make it impossible to stand up again.
"About Charlos…"
"Even if he brought it upon himself, this matter still needs an explanation."
"Haven't God's Knights already taken over?"
"They're handling the internal side, but Roswald is extremely dissatisfied with Fishman Island over this. He believes it was the Ryugu Kingdom that caused his son's death and is protesting loudly. He wants us to send troops to punish the Ryugu Kingdom."
"That place is ten thousand meters under the sea."
"But in the New World, there's also New Fishman Island."
God's Knights handled matters internally, while the Five Elders dealt with external affairs. They did not immediately agree to Roswald's proposal, instead trying to discuss a reasonable solution.
What the Five Elders did not consider, however, was that while the Celestial Dragons had grievances against the Ryugu Kingdom, the Ryugu Kingdom's grievances against the World Government were even greater.
After the meeting ended, Neptune discovered that both his son and daughter were missing, and the outside was in total chaos. His composure nearly collapsed. Thankfully, the Ryugu Kingdom called in time.
"Father, we're all safe. We've already returned to Fishman Island. Please leave that place as soon as possible."
Neptune didn't even board a ship. Instead, he displayed the speed of a merman, swimming urgently toward Fishman Island.
Mariejois was located directly above Fishman Island, making their return far easier than for other nations.
When Neptune returned to Fishman Island, he could even see several giant paw prints on the ground.
The bubble shield created by Kuma protected Shirahoshi and the others, and this layer of bubbles did not damage the bubble membrane surrounding Fishman Island. It only dispersed after they landed safely.
"Father."
"What exactly happened? While I was in the meeting, what was going on outside?"
"It was the Celestial Dragons. They still wanted to target Shirahoshi, but Kuma regained consciousness at the last moment and used his ability to send us back."
Fukaboshi briefly summarized what had happened earlier, causing Neptune to clench his fists even tighter.
"Father, the meeting—"
"There wasn't much progress. About half of the kings agree with my view, but there are still many who won't accept us. Otohime, I tried, but it was completely useless. I think we need to change our approach.
A World Government that serves the Celestial Dragons will never consider us. In their eyes, we will always be fish, not people.
And there's also Jinbe's situation. The World Government no longer intends to maintain the Shichibukai system."
Even the kind-hearted Otohime was left speechless in the face of this. They had tried, but they had failed. Silence fell over the palace, until Tiger's arrival broke the deadlock.
"What's wrong, everyone? Why do you all look so gloomy?"
"Tiger? There were some problems at the Levely. The peace we long for still has a long road ahead. Why are you here?"
"I brought some new information. There's news from above, the World Government plans to abolish the Shichibukai system, which is very unfavorable for us.
To prevent the harm this could cause, the Lord's envoy will move New Fishman Island on the surface to a safer location."
"Move the island?"
Tiger's words not only shattered the silence, they also left most people stunned. In the first half of Amazon Lily, the situation was much the same; the biggest difference was simply the ruler.
"Granny Nyon, you've seen it yourself. Our situation isn't optimistic right now. For Amazon Lily's safety, I think relocating is the best option."
"Put your luggage down!! There are so many people on the island, do you think we can just move out whenever we want?!"
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