"W-What is that?!"
Cobra stared at the scene in wide-eyed disbelief.
He could never have imagined that an octopus would emerge from Crocodile's body, much less one whose tentacles were wrapped around the Warlord's brain.
What was happening?
"Argh...!"
A wave of agony swept through Crocodile. It felt as though thousands upon thousands of silver needles were piercing his brain. He roared as power erupted wildly from his body.
It was a very unusual kind of power.
It was neither Haki nor the power of the Sand-Sand Fruit. Instead, it was a force released by his mind, or perhaps by the octopus wrapped around his brain.
This strange power seemed to have been awaiting this day for a long time. It appeared swiftly and already knew its destination. In the blink of an eye, the intangible force plunged into the depths of the Shinigami Mausoleum.
Everything happened within an incredibly short time. From Crocodile entering with Cobra, to the yellow octopus emerging from his body, to the octopus releasing that mysterious force, less than a second had likely passed.
Afterward, the octopus fell from Crocodile's body. It looked as though it had died after being deprived of water for too long.
Only after the octopus fell away did Crocodile's pain finally subside and his condition begin to improve.
He nearly collapsed to his knees, barely supporting himself with both hands against the floor. His face and body were drenched in sweat.
"Crocodile, you..."
Cobra hesitantly reached out a hand. He had no idea what had just happened to Crocodile, but he had a feeling it was nothing good.
What Crocodile did next shocked him even more. Raising his head with visible difficulty, Crocodile looked at Cobra and asked weakly, "Where... is this?"
"The Shinigami Mausoleum!" Cobra hurriedly replied. "The entrance to Hell! You brought me here so we could seek the Shinigami's aid and save Alubarna!"
"..." Crocodile's pupils contracted. "The Shinigami Mausoleum? Why am I suddenly here? You're saying I brought you?!"
"What happened just now?" Cobra sensed something strange in Crocodile's words and quickly asked, "Have you lost your memory?"
Crocodile did not conceal it. "My last memory is of traveling to Alubarna. As far as I remember, the Cartel only began attacking the city a month ago."
A month ago...
That had been a long time ago!
Cobra was stunned. His unease reached its peak, and he could not shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen.
"What is this?" Crocodile slowly rose to his feet. He felt incomparably weak, as if both his mind and body had been pushed far beyond their limits, but he forced himself upright.
In his memories, he had learned of the Shinigami Mausoleum by chance and traveled to Alubarna. Afterward, he had acted as the city's protector while secretly colluding with the Cartel.
Both sides had been preparing to enter the Shinigami Mausoleum, united by a common objective.
To build mutual trust during their cooperation, he had accompanied Anzu Seifer to the Cartel's headquarters. There...
What had he done there? What had he seen? What happened afterward?
Crocodile was shocked to discover a gap in his memories. Everything before him felt almost like an illusion.
Yet the fact that he had now entered the Shinigami Mausoleum proved that there truly was a period during which he had lost his...
Memories.
Perhaps even his very self!
Crocodile picked up the dead octopus. As he examined its yellow body and emerald-green eyes, his own eyes narrowed.
"That octopus suddenly emerged from your body after you entered the Shinigami Mausoleum," Cobra explained. "It seemed to be clinging to your brain. Then it released something and died."
A murderous aura erupted from Crocodile when he heard that. He clenched his fists. Although his entire body was weak, the fury and bloodlust in his heart continued to soar, filling him with the desire to charge into the Cartel and kill Anzu Seifer immediately.
That bastard!
He had actually controlled him?!
Crocodile, or rather, nearly anyone in the world, would never willingly let another person control them. He was now certain that he had been placed under their control after following Anzu Seifer into the Cartel's headquarters.
All this time, he had been nothing more than a puppet obeying their commands. He was a Warlord of the Sea and a great pirate, yet they had toyed with him like a dog!
They had even stuffed this hideous octopus inside his body?!
Car! Tel!
There was no measuring Crocodile's rage. He no longer wanted to remain inside the Shinigami Mausoleum. All he wanted was to leave at once and destroy the Cartel!
His last shred of reason made him stop. He was far too weak right now, and obtaining the Shinigami's power would make it easier to destroy the Cartel.
Crocodile was now deeply wary of their methods. How had they controlled him? Although he had formed an alliance with the Cartel, he had never lowered his guard. He had been especially vigilant while visiting their headquarters, yet he had still fallen under their control.
What kind of ability could control him without his noticing? What sort of being stood behind the Cartel?
"An octopus..."
Crocodile wanted to cut the creature into a million pieces, but he forcibly suppressed the impulse. Keeping it might allow someone to discover what had been done to him.
He turned toward Cobra, whose gaze held both vigilance and curiosity.
"I was under someone's control," Crocodile said coldly. "I have no memories from that time. This octopus was living inside me so it could enter this place with me."
Cobra had already considered that possibility, but hearing Crocodile confirm it still shocked him. His face then filled with deep concern.
"Was it the Cartel? What are they trying to accomplish...?" Cobra truly had no idea what the Cartel wanted or what the octopus had just released.
A second later, both men received their answer.
The entire Shinigami Mausoleum suddenly began to shake. An incomparably evil and violent power, filled with death and destruction, surged from its depths like a howl from Hell or a roar from the abyss!
That immense power shook heaven and earth. Along with it, they sensed that some terrible existence was awakening.
"W-What...?" Crocodile's expression changed drastically, while Cobra's face turned deathly pale. He had felt this savage power and terrifying presence before!
It had been twenty or thirty years ago, during the final battle between Roger and Aatrox. He had felt this same power and presence then!
This was...
Aatrox's demonic power!
He...
He was actually returning?!
"No, that's impossible!" Cobra was overcome with terror. The last time Aatrox appeared, Alabasta had been devastated, and the scars remained to this day.
If he appeared again...
What consequences would follow?
Alabasta would probably be destroyed, along with the Cartel!
Had the Cartel gone insane? They actually wanted to awaken such a terrifying monster?
Even Crocodile could not understand it. He knew Aatrox was sealed here, but he had never considered releasing him. That would be madness!
As the two men struggled with their fear and confusion, a man appeared.
His eyes were indifferent, and he wore a white haori. He had long hair, pale violet eyes, and a cold expression, with ornaments in his hair and a scarf around his neck.
"L-Lord Shinigami!" Cobra greeted the man with immediate reverence.
The Shinigami?
So this was the Shinigami?
Crocodile studied the man after hearing Cobra's greeting. If they had not been inside the Shinigami Mausoleum and Cobra had not personally addressed him as such, no one would have believed this aristocratic-looking man was the Shinigami.
"State your purpose," the Shinigami told Cobra.
"Alubarna is about to fall. I implore the Shinigami to save Alubarna and Alabasta. The Nefertari family will continue guarding the Shinigami Mausoleum and will never betray you!" Despite his urgency, Cobra did not raise his voice.
The Shinigami, Kuchiki Byakuya, regarded him with indifferent eyes. "I cannot grant your request. Aatrox is about to break through the seal, and I will not make an enemy of a Demon Lord."
Although they had already suspected as much, hearing confirmation that Aatrox was returning still filled them with despair and dread.
"B-But wasn't Aatrox sealed within the boundary between life and death? How can he suddenly return?"
Kuchiki Byakuya answered calmly, "A power has provided him with a vessel. Now that he has one, Aatrox can return to the living world at any time."
His words shattered Cobra's final hope. Cobra slumped helplessly to the ground and closed his eyes.
Yes, Aatrox was powerful, but he possessed one weakness.
He had been sealed within a sword, which was his true body. He needed flesh and blood from the outside world to assemble a body for himself. Without a body, he could not move.
That was how they had "defeated" Aatrox in the past.
Roger had used his strongest attack to separate the demonic sword from Aatrox's body of flesh and blood, then cast the sword into the boundary between life and death. There was no flesh here, so Aatrox could not build himself a new body.
Without a body, Aatrox could not exercise his strength, no matter how immense that strength might be.
But as long as he possessed flesh, even the smallest amount, he could unleash tremendous power. Escaping this place would not be difficult for a Demon Lord.
The Shinigami would not interfere in a demon's affairs. Even if Aatrox intended to destroy all humanity, Kuchiki Byakuya would not meddle.
Roger was no longer alive in this era. Who could seal Aatrox again as he had?
No one. There was no one left who could do it.
At the very least, no one in Alabasta could.
Even if the powers of the world later joined forces to seal him away, Alabasta would already have been destroyed by then.
"Lord Shinigami, I can guard the entrance to Hell for you," Crocodile suddenly said.
Kuchiki Byakuya glanced at him. "Your soul already has a master."
Crocodile's face turned exceedingly grim. His soul already had a master? Was he referring to the Cartel?
But the octopus had clearly been expelled...
Had they already branded his soul?
"Lord Shinigami, please send us back to Alubarna," Cobra said despairingly. "At the very least, I want to help the people flee the country before the end. Whether they are citizens of Alabasta or members of the Cartel, they should not become souls claimed by a demon's blade."
Even at the very end, his only thought was to evacuate the people and, if possible, help them escape the country.
A gate appeared behind Kuchiki Byakuya. It was a Senkaimon, a portal through which people could freely cross space.
"The souls of the Nefertari family will return here, but this place will not remain in Alabasta forever," Kuchiki Byakuya slowly declared. Then, before Cobra could respond, he vanished.
Within the empty, dark pyramid, an endless spiral staircase descended as though it extended all the way into Hell. Another seemed to climb just as endlessly, though there was no telling whether it led to the legendary heavens.
Cobra and Crocodile were equally disappointed. The difference was that Cobra also felt despair, while Crocodile's heart held far more anger.
The Cartel, those treacherous vermin, had secretly enslaved him. Even his soul had...
"Let's go back."
Cobra sighed. He knew it was all over.
.......
Meanwhile, in the Drum Kingdom, far away from Alabasta...
Three people stood upon the land cursed by the Ice Witch.
One man and two women.
The women were Rouge and Monet, who had previously appeared before the Straw Hat Pirates. Both were members of God's Right Seat.
Fiamma of the Right and Vento of the Front.
The man was the first member of God's Right Seat in the current era, someone who had awakened from a history dating back tens of thousands of years, if not longer.
Acqua of the Back!
"Where's Terra?" Monet floated in the air with her arms crossed. "I thought God's Right Seat was gathering here."
She was curious what kind of mission could have prompted Acqua to summon the other three.
She greatly admired his strength and acknowledged his power.
Yet Acqua had already arrived, while Terra of the Left had still not appeared.
Acqua looked west, then turned his gaze east.
"Something unexpected has happened."
"Two Demon Lords have appeared," he said gravely.
"What?!"
Rouge's and Monet's pupils contracted. They had been wondering what sort of mission awaited them. They had even considered the possibility that a Demon Lord had appeared, since nothing less would require all four of them to join forces.
But now...
He was saying that two Demon Lords had appeared?
Two!
"I'm afraid..."
Acqua looked in yet another direction.
He quietly finished, "That isn't all."
----
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