Kent Island

Titan and Hades finally left Beast Island, where they had spent the past two years.

The Perfume Yuda sailed out of the Calm Belt and into the New World.

Along the way, Shakky made a point of telling Hades about the New World, especially sharing intelligence on the Rocks Pirates. She gave him names and photographs of people he needed to watch out for.

She even described their personalities and some of the things they had done.

This kept Hades from going in completely blind. After all, there was plenty of information even he did not know.

Under cover of darkness, she dropped Hades and Titan off, giving them Eternal Poses for several islands along with maps, and helping them plot their route.

All they had to do was follow it.

She was not worried about whether such a small boat could survive the New World's harsh conditions.

Of Titan and Hades, one could fly and the other could run through the air. They would be fine no matter what.

For all she knew, Titan might even have a few warships stored in his Taotie Space! He had vast amounts of supplies stored there, and they had used only a small portion over the past two years.

Early February, Sea Era 1471.

Kent Island.

A trading island in the New World.

The island was rife with illicit underground business. Pirates and outlaw groups were regular visitors.

With numerous Underworld Kings backing it, very few people dared to cause trouble on the island.

Walking along the street, Hades and Titan headed toward a tall, lavish building in the distance, one following the other.

Hades had learned that an auction would be taking place on the island, with Devil Fruits and Famous Swords among the offerings.

That piqued his interest. After all, the Beli and treasure in Titan's space had been gathering dust, barely ever used.

When Hades left the Kronos Kingdom, he had taken three billion Beli with him.

He walked on, ignoring the furtive, greedy gazes around them.

Hades wore luxurious clothing—a regal purple robe trimmed with gold.

Titan followed close behind, his towering frame making it obvious he was not someone to trifle with.

On this island, anyone could start a fight whenever they wanted, as long as they did not interfere with the businesses of those underworld powers.

Ordinary bloodshed was routine and did not count as causing trouble at all.

No one cared who died. The "Cleaners" would wash down the streets afterward.

Clashes between Underground Forces and pirates were common on the island. On the way over, Hades had already seen two pirates fighting outside a tavern over some dispute.

It ended with one of them having his heart pierced by a long blade.

The other pirate stood like a victor, holding his opponent's head in one hand and a blood-dripping blade in the other.

He returned to the tavern amid cheers from the pirates inside.

Scenes like this were utterly commonplace.

Hades saw it all but never took it to heart.

Whether in his previous life or this one, he and those people had never been of the same kind.

If he truly had no other choice, he would not mind becoming a Celestial Dragon and standing at the very top.

With his methods, he believed he could obtain everything he wanted.

Everyone hated the Celestial Dragons! Everyone wanted to become a Celestial Dragon!

As they walked, Hades and Titan stopped.

A group of pirates had set their sights on them and gradually closed in, surrounding them.

Their leader, a pirate wearing a captain's hat, stood at the front, staring greedily at the bulging pouch on Titan's waist.

Someone had finally targeted them.

Hades was not surprised.

Or rather, this was exactly what he had hoped to see.

He had specifically told Titan to wear that pouch. Otherwise, Titan could simply have stored it in his space.

The gold peeking out gleamed dazzlingly, stirring the desires of everyone who saw it.

Hades had been waiting for this, intending to draw attention by displaying his strength and announce his arrival on the world stage.

Nothing drew pirates faster than wealth they could see.

Few people knew about them, and even fewer knew what Hades looked like.

Even the Marines and the World Government did not know his appearance.

Hades's existence had always been an absolute secret.

The Rocks Pirates knew even less, aside from his mother, Nyx, and the members of the Kuja Pirates.

Anyone familiar with Jaeger might guess Hades's identity after seeing him.

People said one could debut at the peak! Hades had become a focus of attention before even making his debut.

Just as Shakky had said, earning an impressive record before reaching Hachinosu would spare him plenty of trouble. He did not want people constantly stepping forward to challenge him once he arrived.

Naturally, the Marines would become his targets.

Was there any better stepping stone than a Marine Vice Admiral?

The Marines and the World Government might not know what Hades looked like, but the Family Crest of the Tartarus Family was unmistakable.

Passed down for over a thousand years, it depicted the Tartarus Family's Nine-Faced Dragon encircling a lofty Throne, with the sun and moon shining behind it.

A Family Crest represented a family. No one dared forge theirs; anyone caught doing so would face a purge by the Tartarus Family.

The Tartarus Family's crest was embroidered on both shoulders of his luxurious robe.

It might be unfamiliar to people out at sea, and those pirates might pay no attention to such things at all.

That was understandable. Those with family crests were generally nobles, and the Tartarus Family undoubtedly stood at the pinnacle of the nobility.

In the world, they ranked second only to the Celestial Dragons, known as the "world nobles."

The World Government and the Marines would certainly identify Hades immediately.

Then, just as he and Titan expected, they would send Marine Vice Admirals to arrest them.

As for Marine Admirals, he had not considered them.

There were currently two Marine Admirals in the New World.

Puyol was stationed at G-1 Fortress, the fortress closest to the Red Line.

Davis was stationed at G-5 Fortress.

According to the intelligence, Davis had set his sights on a Great Pirate with a bounty approaching four hundred million Beli, more than a dozen sea areas away from Hades's location.

It would take him at least three days to get here.

By then, Hades would be long gone. The Gluttonous Beast Fruit also granted flight, though it was not particularly fast.

That left the Marines with no choice but to send other personnel. As it happened, there was a Marine Fortress just a few sea areas away from the island where Hades was.