Inside Alubarna, Cobra was making a difficult decision.
Should he activate the Soul-Shield Membrane again?
The Cartel's attacks were growing increasingly fierce. Even with Crocodile's full assistance, the city was already nearing its limit.
Yet not much time had passed since the last use of the Soul-Shield Membrane, and the energy contained within it was almost exhausted. If he used it again this time, they probably would not be able to activate this final measure for quite some time afterward.
Rumble...
The gunfire and cannon fire outside were endless, while the sounds of slaughter shook the heavens. As Cobra watched soldiers fall one after another on the walls, his heart felt as though it were being cut. How could he have imagined that after he became king, his country's situation would deteriorate to this extent?
"Koza... did you really... have to take things this far?" Cobra clenched his fists. His gaze gradually hardened. At that moment, the sand defense in the sky suddenly disappeared, revealing Crocodile.
Crocodile did not look well. His face was somewhat pale, as though he had expended too much strength.
"If this continues, it's only a matter of time before Alubarna is breached." His voice was urgent. "King Cobra, activate the Soul-Shield Membrane!"
"Yes. I'll use the Soul-Shield Membrane one last time," Cobra said in a low voice. "However, I may have to trouble you with one more matter afterward."
"What is it?" Crocodile frowned, though a cruel smile appeared in secret.
"At present, the only person in Alubarna capable of breaking out is you, Mr. Crocodile. I will exhaust the membrane's energy to protect the city temporarily. During that time, I hope you can take me to Yuba!"
Cobra had been forced into a desperate situation. He knew that once the membrane's energy ran out, Alubarna would never be able to withstand the Cartel's endless attacks. Once the Cartel breached the city, the entire place would become a living hell.
Not to mention that the Cartel also wanted to obtain the power of the Shinigami. If that happened, the flames of war might spread across the entire world!
His long-held wish was almost about to come true, but Crocodile showed no joy. His expression unchanged, he asked, "How long can the membrane last?"
Looking at Crocodile as though he were genuinely worried about Alubarna's defenses, Cobra pondered for a moment. "If we disregard the future consequences, the membrane can last for more than three hours."
"Three hours..."
Three hours was not enough to travel from Alubarna to Yuba. Even with transportation, it would probably take more than three hours, and that did not include the return journey.
Crocodile frowned. "Three hours probably isn't enough."
But since Cobra had said this, he naturally had a solution. He told Crocodile, "The Shinigami possesses an ability called Crossing Worlds. Once we reach the Shinigami's world, we can cross through space directly back to Alubarna."
It was precisely because he knew this that Cobra had delayed until now. Unless absolutely necessary, he truly did not want to go to the Shinigami Mausoleum, because it was not a world where the living were supposed to go.
The living had their world, and the dead had theirs. The two should never intersect. When Cobra was young, he had entered that inverted pyramid during the battle with Aatrox. It was the entrance to Hell, the world of the Shinigami, and his presence there had already been something that should never have happened.
If he went again now, it might shorten his life...
Moreover, the Shinigami's power was not so easy to borrow. Even though the Nefertari family had maintained a contract with the Shinigami for generations, that did not mean the Shinigami would help the Nefertari family. Such assistance was not part of the contract in the first place.
Their contract stated that the Nefertari family would guard the entrance to Hell, while the Shinigami would allow members of the Nefertari family to remain after death and continue living in the Shinigami's world.
From beginning to end, it never stated that the Shinigami had to help the Nefertari family protect this country.
But there was no alternative. If he did not go, Alubarna would be beyond saving.
This journey would be their final attempt.
Cobra had made up his mind. If they were trapped here and died, Vivi would not have a good fate either. As a king, he could not watch his people suffer. As a father, he could not wait for his daughter to die.
Therefore, he looked toward the area outside Alubarna, his heart already prepared for death.
"As expected of the Shinigami. They truly possess extraordinary methods." Crocodile praised it, his desire for the Shinigami's power growing even stronger.
A gate that could cross worlds like instantaneous teleportation? If he possessed such an ability, he could go anywhere under heaven!
Why had Kaido been able to make the World Government so helpless back then? Was it not because his appearance had been too sudden?
According to later reviews of the Mary Geoise incident, many people believed that Kaido had entered Mary Geoise by means of teleportation before carrying out massive destruction.
On the surface, only three people in the entire world could teleport.
Monet of Pandora Island, the nameless man from Roger's ship, and finally...
Rob Lucci, the person most likely to have helped Kaido act!
Although Rob Lucci had not been the same as he was now at that time, he had already possessed the ability to teleport, and he later betrayed the World Government.
Although he had still been a member of Pandora Island then, many people believed he had already begun plotting rebellion and that he had helped Kaido enter Mary Geoise.
The possibility of Rob Lucci accounted for sixty percent, while the possibility of the nameless man from the Roger Pirates accounted for forty percent. The World Government had placed enormous bounties on both of them, largely because the ability to teleport was so terrifying.
This showed just how powerful teleportation truly was.
If he could obtain an ability or item known as a Crossing Worlds Gate...
Ambition stirred within Crocodile. Most of the Warlords of the Sea did not set their goals on becoming the greatest Warlord. It had to be admitted that although the Warlords, Marine Headquarters, and the Four Emperors were collectively known as the world's Three Great Powers, many people viewed the Warlords as inferior to the other two.
The Warlords were extremely powerful and might not lose to either the Four Emperors or Marine Headquarters, but they were pirates who cooperated with the World Government. That alone was enough for both sides to despise them.
Unless someone possessed greater ambitions or simply did not care about such things, who would become a Warlord?
Crocodile had become a Warlord because the title allowed him to accomplish many things. At least for now...
If he had not been a Warlord of the Sea, Cobra would never have allowed him to help defend the city in the first place, and he would never have gained Cobra's trust as he had now.
"I'll open a path for you... Although I've expended a great deal of stamina, I can still manage this for now."
Crocodile suppressed his excitement. After such a long wait, his goal was finally within reach. The Shinigami Mausoleum, the entrance to Hell, was right before him. He could not arouse Cobra's suspicions at the final moment.
To find and enter the Shinigami Mausoleum, he needed a member of the royal family to guide him. Otherwise, even if he turned all of Alabasta upside down, he would never find it.
He took a deep breath. In the next moment, he brought Cobra to the top of the wall. The sand canopy that had disappeared earlier appeared again, directly blocking the Cartel's fierce shelling.
"Mr. Crocodile, get ready!" Cobra was about to use the Soul-Shield Membrane when he suddenly froze.
It was not only him. Even Crocodile looked toward the front of the wall, toward the Cartel's camp.
Something erupted in front of them at that instant.
They could neither see nor hear it, but it truly existed, spreading outward at incredible speed.
That was...
Crocodile's expression changed. As one of the Warlords of the Sea and one of the world's top pirates, he naturally knew what kind of power it was.
That...
That was clearly Conqueror's Haki!
At that moment, a large number of Cartel members who had been fanatically attacking Alubarna suddenly collapsed. Whether they had been firing guns, driving tanks, preparing an artillery barrage, or trying to board aircraft and crash into the city, they all fainted at that moment.
Of course, not everyone fell unconscious. The change happened in one direction—or, more precisely, in one corner of that direction.
Crocodile finally found it difficult to keep his composure. He had been able to endure even when he felt he was only a step away from the Shinigami Mausoleum, but this sudden disruption made him feel that he was about to lose control.
Although he did not know exactly what had happened, it was obvious that the newcomers had come specifically for the Cartel.
Why? Why did this have to happen now?
Killing intent spread from Crocodile's body. He had never imagined that someone with Conqueror's Haki would appear in the first half of the Grand Line, and in the first half's first half at that!
Conqueror's Haki was indeed an ability that could be called a battlefield killer. No matter how advanced the weapons you carried, once a Conqueror entered the battlefield and released Conqueror's Haki, everyone would be knocked unconscious equally.
Yet Conqueror's Haki was said to be the rarest type of Haki, an ability possessed only by those with the qualities of a king. Even Crocodile himself did not possess it!
Therefore, he could never have imagined that someone like this would appear in Alabasta!
Was this a joke?
Crocodile clenched his fist and looked toward Cobra.
Sure enough, when Cobra noticed the changes in the Cartel's camp, he immediately released the power he had been preparing for the Soul-Shield Membrane. He gripped the wall tightly and stared ahead.
He did not know who would come at a time like this. Vivi had been captured, but there had been no news from Igaram. Could it be...
Could Igaram have found the Marines?
"It's... it's Igaram!"
Bell's voice suddenly came from the sky. Bell was the adjutant of the royal guard and a user of the Bird-Bird Fruit, Falcon Model. He could fly through the sky.
At the risk of becoming a target, he had flown upward and finally seen the cause of the disturbance. A group of people had appeared in the Cartel's position. There were men and women, and even a pet, but most importantly, Igaram was among them!
After years of knowing him, Bell could recognize Igaram instantly.
"Igaram succeeded!" Cobra could not help exclaiming. Tears of excitement even welled in his eyes. He stared intently ahead and saw the Cartel recover from its brief confusion. Some of its members surrounded that corner, while several people in high-ranking military uniforms approached from different directions.
"Fire! Fire the cannons! Cover Igaram and the others!" Cobra was delirious with joy. He had never imagined that Igaram would truly be able to find reinforcements!
He looked excitedly at Crocodile. "Wonderful, Mr. Crocodile! Igaram found reinforcements!"
"Yes... yes, he did." Crocodile did not want Cobra to notice anything unusual, so he could only pretend to be somewhat weak as he looked ahead.
Although he was unwilling to accept it—their success had been only one step away—he was a true mastermind. Even at a moment like this, he could quickly adjust his mindset.
He watched Luffy and the others running at the edge of his vision. His gaze was cold, but his hands did not hesitate.
He thrust both hands forward. In the next moment, a vast amount of sand rose ahead, forming a sandstorm in the blink of an eye!
Since the plan had been disrupted, he could only continue acting. He had already seen those youngsters. Because of his close ties with the Cartel, he naturally knew that they were the Straw Hat Crew from the East Blue.
He simply had not known that this little pirate crew included someone who possessed Conqueror's Haki. The ambush at the Santo River had been too brief for the news to reach him. This was the first time he had learned that they could use Conqueror's Haki.
However...
Once he knew they were pirates from the East Blue, he was no longer overly concerned.
When all was said and done, they were merely a group of pirates from the countryside. So what if one of them had awakened Conqueror's Haki?
Could they help Alubarna lift the Cartel's siege? As long as Marine Headquarters did not mobilize, Cobra would eventually go to Yuba to search for the Shinigami Mausoleum again!
Therefore, Crocodile not only did not stop the Straw Hats from entering, he even used the Sand-Sand Fruit to create a sandstorm that swept Cartel soldiers away and covered their advance!
"Charge in!"
Luffy and the others rushed forward. Igaram was carried on Sanji's back, as this was his old job. Cartel soldiers quickly surrounded them and opened fire on the Straw Hats. For a moment, all that remained around them was the thunder of explosions!
........
Today's update should have been much earlier, but the author assistant went crazy and stopped working. I had already finished writing, but the entire chapter got stuck. I didn't notice at first and clicked publish, but then the assistant crashed and refused to post it no matter what I did.
I switched to another phone and the web version, but using both at once made the chapter disappear. I was completely dumbfounded. Four thousand words vanished just like that!
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