Vivi walked over to the map, tracing several lines from Rainbase to areas prominently circled in red. "His lair is beneath Rain Dinners, but it's extremely heavily guarded, with numerous mechanisms and traps. He doesn't stay there regularly, and his movements are unpredictable. However, according to the latest intelligence I've received, he seems to be gathering men and supplies here-"
Her finger tapped heavily on a vast area marked with ancient ruin symbols in northeastern Alabasta, near the source of the Sandora River.
"Alubarna?" Ma Chao raised an eyebrow.
"No, farther north of Alubarna, near the source of the Sandora River, in an ancient royal burial ground called the 'Funerary Temple.'" Vivi's expression was utterly grave. "It's forbidden ground that the Nefertari royal family has guarded for generations. Legend says it's connected to this country's 'creation' and conceals an enormous secret. Father once hinted that there was something there that must never be touched. And that may very well be Crocodile's target!"
"The Funerary Temple..." Zhou Yu mused, a faint golden gleam flashing in his eyes. "Is it connected to the legend of the Ancient Weapon Pluton?"
Vivi shuddered and snapped her gaze toward Zhou Yu, her eyes filled with disbelief. "You... you know about Pluton too?"
When the name "Pluton" slipped calmly from Zhou Yu's lips, what Vivi felt wasn't mere shock, but a torrent of ice water mixed with magma that instantly broke through her defenses. The greatest secret the royal family had guarded for four hundred years, the root of the worries that had made her father ill, the underlying threat behind this country's unrest... this outsider had spoken of it so casually!
"His Majesty knows many ancient secrets." Zhou Yu didn't answer directly, but the deeper meaning in his words made Vivi realize that they knew