The rebellion instigated by the World Government

The military had always remained firmly under the Tartarus Royal Family's control, without a single mishap.

The Kronos Kingdom had not lost its core territories.

Once the Kronos Kingdom reacted and swiftly mobilized its troops, the rebels suffered defeat after defeat. Their hastily assembled army stood no chance against the kingdom's forces.

To halt the Kronos Kingdom's army, the World Government and the rebel forces spent two months pouring vast resources into a massive defensive line eighteen kilometers long and twenty meters high on average.

Thousands upon thousands of cannons stood atop the defenses, ready to unleash a baptism of fire on anyone who approached.

And because of their severe military disadvantage, the World Government secretly dispatched three hundred thousand Army troops stationed on the Red Line. Led by an Army General, they resisted the Kronos Kingdom's counteroffensive and held the occupied territory.

Despite its advantages in terrain, resources, and troop numbers, the Kronos Kingdom could not break through that terrifying defensive line, which enjoyed the World Government's full support.

Behind the scenes, the World Government also sent agents to infiltrate the Kronos Kingdom and assassinate key figures.

The Tartarus Royal Family had anticipated such tactics from the World Government and assigned protection to the kingdom's important personnel in advance.

As a superpower with a thousand-year legacy, the Kronos Kingdom possessed deep foundations far beyond those of ordinary kingdoms. Naturally, it had many powerful fighters, including top combatants who were no weaker than Admirals.

In the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, every Celestial Dragon family had forces it had specially cultivated, beyond the World Government's control and belonging solely to that family.

Beyond the kingdom's publicly known forces, the Tartarus Family also controlled a special organization called the Underworld Prison. Within it was an elite force known as the Shadow Guards—as their name suggested, they were troops who operated in the shadows.

Every one of them underwent rigorous selection and tempering, and remained loyal to the Tartarus Royal Family.

They were orphans the Tartarus Royal Family had gathered from within the country, the New World, and across the globe, then raised from childhood to become members of the Underworld Prison, a force under royal control.

Others were recruited directly from within the kingdom.

The finest of the many Shadow Guards rose to become Nether Guards, of whom there were twenty-four in total.

They protected the Tartarus Royal Family or cleared obstacles from its path, serving specifically as a counterpart to the World Government's CP0.

Beyond them, the Nether Guards and Shadow Guards also had an even stronger Commander-in-Chief, who commanded all of Hell's forces.

His counterpart was Netherworld, which controlled the Underworld Prison's intelligence forces.

Netherworld handled intelligence, while Hell handled military strength. Together with the Intelligence Unit jointly controlled by their two leaders, they formed the vast organization known as the Underworld Prison.

Aside from those trained in intelligence and espionage, people unsuited to remaining in the Underworld Prison joined the military, various industries, or the kingdom's institutions, helping the Tartarus Royal Family maintain its control over the Kronos Kingdom.

After all, not everyone had the necessary talents. Even so, once trained, they could become elite soldiers in the military and enjoy better prospects.

As a result, the Tartarus Royal Family's rule had always been exceptionally stable. Even when trouble arose, it was swiftly suppressed; more often, it was detected before it could take root.

The World Government could not possibly deploy all its forces against the Kronos Kingdom.

In an unjust war like this, fought through actions that could not be brought into the open, the Navy could not participate even if it knew what was happening.

Unlike the Navy, little news of the Army circulated on the seas. It had always guarded the Red Line, and few people had seen its troops, making it possible to conceal their identity and disguise them as rebels.

Once the Navy became involved, there would be no hiding it. That would mean open intervention by the World Government.

The Tartarus Royal Family did not want to drain its strength in a major war with the World Government and disrupt domestic stability.

Transporting supplies, weapons, and food to keep the Chronos Kingdom fighting the Kronos Kingdom all required enormous funding—at least eight billion Beli a year.

What the World Government needed was for the Chronos Kingdom to hold its ground under pressure from the Kronos Kingdom. Only then could it achieve its true objective of breaking the Kronos Kingdom apart.

The cost of constructing the massive defensive line alone had been astronomical.

Moreover, the war between the two kingdoms was immense in scale, far beyond the wars fought by the small kingdoms of the Four Seas.

The World Government had formidable foundations, but it could not outlast the Kronos Kingdom in a war of attrition.

This was the New World, after all. Its transportation times and costs far exceeded those of the Kronos Kingdom.

The Kronos Kingdom had vast plains and was itself a major grain exporter. Its connections to the outside world had not been severed, either.

The Tartarus Royal Family also frequently sent forces to cut off supplies from the World Government, whether by seizing the cargo or sinking the freighters.

As a result, the price the World Government had to pay was far greater than anticipated.

If this continued, the World Government would eventually be unable to hold on. This was the New World, not the Four Seas or the Grand Line, where its control was stronger.

Besides, the Kronos Kingdom could afford mistakes. It still had forces hidden away, with enough strength and resources to contend with the World Government.

The World Government could not.

When that day came, the lost territories would naturally return to the Kronos Kingdom's embrace.

The World Government could no longer stop. Many powers and affiliated nations were watching from the shadows. If it stopped, all its previous investments would go down the drain.

It would also deal a tremendous blow to the World Government's prestige.

Under these circumstances, the World Government and the Kronos Kingdom settled into a stalemate.

The World Government wanted to help the Chronos Kingdom expand its territory. After all, its current lands were far too small compared with the Kronos Kingdom's; the two were on entirely different scales.

The Kronos Kingdom, meanwhile, did not want to suffer excessive losses. It wanted to keep wearing the World Government down like this.

Thus, drawing on the Kronos Kingdom's formidable overall strength, it laid countless traps and brought terrifying firepower to bear.

It kept the Chronos Kingdom and the World Government's Army firmly pinned behind the defensive line the World Government had spent a fortune building.

The World Government's defenses had instead become a cage that prevented its own forces from expanding outward.

This situation persisted for more than a decade.

It only changed when Crown Prince Jaeger returned from his voyage.

Tartarus Jaeger.

Hades's father, and King Bane's elder brother.

He was also a legendary figure on these seas, where tales of him endured to this day.

To resolve the kingdom's predicament, when the two sides first entered their standoff, he had taken action.

Jaeger, still the crown prince at the time, had volunteered to venture out to sea and hone himself. With his terrifying talent and a top-tier Paramecia Devil Fruit, the Death-Death Fruit, he rapidly grew stronger.

And before long, he earned the name "Grim Reaper."