Your First Target

"The country we are about to visit, Alabasta, has a capital city called Alubarna, where the royal palace was built four thousand years ago, and it has a very long history."

"About 1,500 years ago, the world changed its time system to the Sea Circle Calendar as the universal calendar, which became the main way for navigators and adventurers to record their logs."

"The Shandora you see was at its most prosperous 1,100 years ago, and it was known as the City of Gold because the city's buildings used a lot of gold."

"A thousand years ago, a super-creature named Zunesha was born..."

"Next comes the beginning of Void Century... and the 'chapter' that the World Government and the Five Elders most want to cover up."

On the way to Alabasta, Oboro chatted freely, not minding sharing some knowledge with Enel.

"The Five Elders?"

Kaka is very interested in this name.

"Hmm... the five hidden behind the scenes, the highest controllers of the World Government's power, all the World Government's decisions... in fact, the final decision-makers are these old devils, they are also Celestial Dragons."

"Long said."

Pretending not to notice Rob Lucci's triggered gaze from the side.

"The Celestial Dragons... you just said they consider themselves the gods of this world, right?"

Enel suddenly revealed a cruel smile.

"That's right, you can understand it that way."

Long smiled slightly.

"Is it very strong?"

"There are strong ones and weak ones... As for the Five Elders, they should be the pinnacle of power among the Celestial Dragons. Of course, the most terrifying... are not them." Oboro hesitated, then stopped.

Then, intentionally shifting the topic, he briefly described the reasons for the Void Century.

Oboro's tone, speaking from a third-person perspective as if he had surveyed the 'entire river of history' and knew every detail, had made Rob Lucci increasingly numb.

What worried him was what secrets the God Slayer actually knew! He had thought that as he spent more time with the God Slayer, he would gradually uncover the 'mysterious veil' surrounding Oboro, but unexpectedly... the longer it went on, the more 'unfathomable' the God Slayer seemed. However, Oboro only gave a brief overview and seemed to have no intention of saying anything more.

But this brief exchange gave Rob Lucci an absurd idea.

That is... is it possible that the God Slayer knew everything that happened in the past through 'something,' 'someone,' or 'some means'? Because judging from Oboro's expression, it didn't seem like 'information' he had learned from books, but rather as if he had experienced it firsthand? In addition, the appearance of the God Slayer itself is also extremely absurd and mysterious in the eyes of the World Government.

After all, a toy who was Celestial Dragons's slave one moment suddenly erupted the next, causing the Sabaody Archipelago incident that shocked the world, and even managed to escape from the deep sea with another One Piece despite being surrounded by the Navy.

Where did he get his power? How did he suddenly become so strong?

In such a short period of time, it has acquired 'extremely threatening' capabilities.

That doesn't make sense.

And his methods of bestowing divine power upon people...

There are too many.

Rob Lucci fell into deep thought.

Because Jaya Island is not far from the Alabasta Kingdom.

In addition, the group traveled at a fast pace, so they set foot on the desolate land of the Alabasta Kingdom late that night.

The temperature in Alabasta was lower at night than during the day, but the arid desert environment still surprised the group.

Because this country doesn't look like the land with a rich history that the captain had described before.

It also evokes a sense of desolation similar to the war-torn North Blue Kingdom, suggesting that it is already at its last gasp and on the verge of extinction.

In some of the towns and villages they passed through, the daily lives of the people seemed particularly difficult.

Even more interestingly, when they passed through an area, they witnessed rebels and the garrison fighting and clashing.

The people fled in all directions.

This situation is common in North Blue, and they are no strangers to it.

This is a typical example of the decline of royal power. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the current royal family will soon abdicate.

Instead of rushing to Alubarna, they traveled to some human-inhabited 'smoke-filled lands'.

The clothing and appearance of the people of Alabasta, as well as some of their daily habits, also have a very exotic feel.

"It's... a mess here."

"Aren't we getting close to the capital, Alubarna, now?"

In the center of a town relatively close to Alubarna, the entire Hell Pirates stood atop a dilapidated building, using the cover of night to look down at the streets below.

At that moment, a group of furtive people were making a shady deal in the alley.

They had seen this situation several times on their way here.

Among them were One Piece and merchant caravans... but without exception, they were all engaged in 'illegal business'.

The items that passed through his hands were either firearms or contraband...

Such a situation would never occur in a normally functioning country, indicating that the current state of affairs has slipped out of the control of the royal family.

"It seems like it hasn't rained for a long time... That's a bit strange. Given the environment of this sea area, although it has a tropical climate, it shouldn't be this dry. On the contrary, it should be rainy more often." Dom, who had crossed his arms, frowned. After all, he had been in the first half of the Grand Line. Although he hadn't sailed this route, with his 'knowledge,' everything he was seeing was very abnormal.

"Someone is up to no good."

Long smiled.

"It seems... he did a good job, what a pity..."

He mumbled incoherently.

On the surface, Alabasta appears prosperous, with a considerable number of ships coming and going at its ports every day.

But the problem is that the goods traded are not good things... Instead, they are all kinds of 'drugs' for this country, gradually eroding its 'foundation'.

Crocodile used Dance Powder to cause perennial drought in Alabasta, while also exacerbating the conflict between the people and the royal family. Furthermore, Crocodile was secretly instigating rebellions... If Luffy and his crew hadn't arrived in time, the country would have truly fallen into his hands.

As a member state of the World Government, it's impossible to directly confront them openly... The only option is to use this underhanded method to make the Nefertari Family of Alabasta 'voluntarily step down' because of their own actions. In this way, everything becomes logical and they can absolve themselves of any responsibility, leaving the World Government with nothing to say.

At least in terms of strategy, Old Sha is quite capable.

Along with Doflamingo, these two are a classic example of 'birds of a feather'.

"Where is the person I want to kill? Or should I just destroy this country?"

Enel was getting impatient.

He had no idea what Oboro was looking at.

If it's about destroying the country, he could just unleash divine punishment directly.

Whoosh! At that moment, two strong gusts of wind swept in, and Dorans and Kaka, who had gone to gather information, returned.

"How is it?" Long looked at the two of them.

"Found him... He just left during the day, all alone."

Kaka flashed a bright white smile.

"He's a big shot after all, and with his special attire and appearance, he's easy to leave an impression on people."

Dorans echoed this sentiment.

As he spoke, he unfolded a wanted poster in his hand.

"Fire Fist Ace, the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates!"

"He headed towards the port."

Should we pursue them?

"No need, just go to Alubarna and wait. Have someone spread the word that we know Blackbeard Teach's whereabouts," Oboro instructed.

Then, he looked at Enel.

"This... is the first target you're going to kill."