"Dove"

This was the Family. They knew who could bring glory to the Tartarus Family.

They knew whose hands would make the Kingdom stronger.

The changes Hades had brought to the Kingdom after taking over the Underworld Prison had only strengthened that conviction.

"All right." Faced with Ananke's pleading gaze, Hades fell silent for a long time before sighing.

With Hades's permission secured, Ananke hugged him tightly. At this moment of parting, her happiness was tinged with sadness.

"Then off you go. Your mother has already arranged a ship to pick you up." Bane nodded.

The Kronos Kingdom was vast. Who knew how long it would take to walk from the Royal Capital to the coast?

Besides, parts of the country were still in turmoil, and they could very well be spotted by the World Government.

They could not use ordinary means.

The Kronos Kingdom kept a flock of ospreys, also known as "Kais Eagles," a name that conveyed their freedom to soar across the skies.

These creatures were unique to the Kronos Kingdom, a species of giant eagle with wingspans of over ten meters. The largest reached as much as thirty meters.

They were gentle and intelligent, and grew close to humans after being trained.

These eagles could not only fly but also glide through the sea for short periods. They liked eating fish and could even hunt small sea beasts.

They would serve as the mounts carrying Hades and the others away.

Two Kais Eagles were already waiting, blankets draped over their backs.

One would carry Titan, while Hades and Akenan would share the other.

"Let's go!"

Hades called to Titan.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Titan followed him.

Terrifying strength lay beneath Titan's somewhat plump exterior.

He pulled a roasted leg from beneath his loose clothes and tore into it, swallowing the bones along with the meat.

As a user of the Gluttonous Beast Fruit, Titan possessed an enormous space within his body, one that was almost limitless.

He possessed the terrifying talent of gluttony, and the devouring power granted by his ability could consume any substance.

He could release a poisonous mist formed from baleful energy that could corrode even steel. Combined with his gluttonous talent, it could also generate a powerful devouring pull.

Since Taotie was a Fierce Beast, Titan, as the fruit's user, naturally carried a vicious aura within him.

It was similar to the fierce god aura that came with Hades's innate Fierce God Physique.

In the future, he could combine it with Armament Haki, much like Douglas Bullet's ghost energy, to raise his combat power another notch.

Hades and the others carried nothing on their journey, because everything had been stored in the devouring space within Titan's body.

Food, daily necessities, training equipment, and even gold, treasure, and Beli.

Fear was plain in the osprey's eyes as it faced Titan. The faint aura of a Fierce Beast suppressed it on a fundamental level.

Even so, it reluctantly allowed Titan onto its back, hoping only to finish this task as quickly as possible.

The two ospreys spread their wings and soared into the sky, carrying Hades and his two companions.

As the ospreys climbed higher and higher, the Royal Capital shrank beneath them.

The scenery in the sky was magnificent, but Hades felt no lingering attachment. He would return eventually.

"Dove!"

Watching the figures vanish into the sky, Bane spoke softly.

The moment his voice fell, a tall figure appeared out of thin air behind him. Cloaked in black, he gave off no presence at all, like a ghost, and said nothing.

"Protect Hades from the shadows!"

"Allow no mishaps whatsoever!"

Bane was utterly serious.

"Yes." The Black-Robed Man nodded, then vanished from the spot as though he had never been there.

How could Bane and the others feel at ease about Hades leaving? Who knew what might happen along the way?

Though they had said nothing, they had sent someone to protect him in secret.

They did not want to interfere with Hades.

They had specifically dispatched Dove, the strongest member of the Underworld Prison, to protect him.

Dove was a Top Combatant and the Tartarus Family's strongest shield.

He was proficient in the color of two Haki and possessed formidable body techniques. Even without relying on a Devil Fruit, he was a Top Combatant on the seas.

But he was also the user of the Swap-Swap Fruit, a spatial Paramecia fruit.

The Swap-Swap Fruit allowed him to freely swap the positions of people and objects. His arrival and departure just now had been accomplished by swapping places with dust in the air.

In other words, Dove could teleport at will.

He could also bring others along with him.

Such an ability could have terrifying effects in war, whether used to save people or kill through someone else's hands.

Without sufficiently powerful Haki, resisting Dove's Swap-Swap Fruit ability was impossible.

In a sense, Dove embodied invincibility.

By now, Dove's Swap-Swap Fruit had long since reached awakening. Originally, he could only swap things as complete wholes, but now he could separate parts from a whole and swap them individually.

What did that mean? Dove could swap a person's heart with a stone. What would happen then? The mere thought was frightening.

With the Swap-Swap Fruit's power, Dove ranked among the strong even within the ranks of Top Combatants. In assassination especially, the power he could display far exceeded what he could bring to a head-on fight.

Of course, what Bane valued most was Dove's ability to move through space. If true danger arose, he could escape with Hades.

Hades's life came before everything else!

The Tartarus Family had already lost Jaeger. They could never allow themselves to lose Hades as well.

Dove's departure would not affect the Underworld Prison's operations, and the Kronos Kingdom had no immediate need for his strength.

The threat posed by the World Government was not great. Though it had stirred up considerable commotion within the country, there was far more noise than substance.

General Zoffy alone could handle it.

Even in the last war instigated by the World Government, the Kronos Kingdom had not deployed Dove. This time was no different.

To the World Government, Dove remained an unknown, hidden force.

Under pressure from the World Government, the Tartarus Family had increased its investment in the Underworld Prison. Its membership had grown considerably, and more talented individuals had emerged.

They had also established a dedicated training analysis team to assess potential, devise suitable training plans, and select promising candidates for focused development.

Those who were not selected would also be assigned positions according to their individual differences.

This system had only gradually been refined in recent years. Even before the Marine Elite Training Camp was established, it was more efficient than the Marines' system.

Bane and Hades also planned to increase the number of Nether Guards from twenty-four to thirty-six.

They even intended to add three Nether General positions between the Nether Guards and Dove, Hell's Commander-in-Chief.

Besides the Underworld Prison's special training camp, the Kronos Kingdom had also established an elite military academy within its army.

One represented the elite secretly controlled and trained by the Tartarus Royal Family.

The other represented the elite openly trained by the Kronos Kingdom.

Even to many people in the Kronos Kingdom, the Underworld Prison remained a mysterious institution known only by name.

The Tartarus Royal Family would also arrange for talented individuals unsuited to the Underworld Prison to enter the army's elite military academy.