In a small, secluded palace within Alubarna Kingdom.
Dragon, wearing his hood, pushed open the door without a word and stepped inside.
"Oh, Dragon, you're back." Emporio Ivankov was in the palace at the time. Seeing Dragon, he greeted him and then said, "Moria's side is ready. Come take a look... Hey?"
Dragon slightly lowered his hood, covering most of his face, as he walked further into the palace.
Hearing Ivankov's call, he replied without turning his head, "Mm, I know."
"What are you doing? Why are you acting so strange?" Ivankov looked at Dragon with curiosity.
Dragon unconsciously tilted his head away slightly.
But the more he did this, the more Ivankov felt something was wrong. Taking advantage of Dragon's distraction, Ivankov shoved his large head right in front of Dragon's face. His expression first showed surprise, then he burst into laughter. "Ahahahahaha! Dragon, what happened to you? Did someone beat you up?"
Dragon said with a hint of irritation, "Move aside. I was thinking just now, and I didn't watch where I was going, so I ran into a stone pillar."
As he spoke, he couldn't help but lift his head slightly, revealing his face from the shadow of the hood.
His left eye was slightly swollen, bruised green and purple, as if he had been punched hard, making him look utterly ridiculous.
It was precisely because of this appearance that Dragon was reluctant to talk to Ivankov; the more he talked, the more embarrassing it was.
That bastard Diarmuid, for some unknown reason, his ability had changed. Or perhaps, had his ability awakened?
In any case, he was careless and was subjected to a thorough beating by that bastard. During the resistance, he was accidentally punched hard right in the corner of his eye, immediately ruining his appearance...
Truthfully, Dragon was feeling a little devastated right now.
He had always believed that the gap in strength between himself and Diarmuid shouldn't be very large. Sometimes he even felt he was more graceful and slightly stronger.
This time, during their simple exchange, which didn't cause much of a fuss, the result was that he was completely suppressed and had almost no ability to fight back. Diarmuid's cursed ability inexplicably neutralized his Logia elementalization, allowing him to strike his true body without even using Haki.
Due to his lack of information, Diarmuid had thoroughly pummeled him with a barrage of punches using methods he had never anticipated.
After the fight, Diarmuid was satisfied. He dusted himself off and left, seemingly in a much better mood.
As for Dragon, having been inexplicably beaten, he was, of course, not happy at all.
"Hahahaha, ran into a stone pillar? How is that possible? I don't believe a Logia user would be injured by that. Was it a Seastone pillar?" Ivankov roared with laughter.
Then, as if remembering something, he grabbed Dragon's shoulder and asked playfully, "Was it Diarmuid? You said you were going to talk to him. Did you two fight? Oh my, has his strength really become that immense now? Should we say he truly deserves the title of 'Strongest Marine Admiral in History'?"
Dragon was extremely displeased at being teased by Ivankov. The man who had always been mature and calm was uncharacteristically throwing caution to the wind. "Yes, I was beaten by Diarmuid. Are you happy now that I've admitted it? What a bastard... I'm your superior, you know?"
"Even if you're my superior, we're still good friends! So, seeing you in such bad luck, isn't it perfectly reasonable for me, as a good friend, to gloat?" Ivankov chuckled.
"Well then, I thank you very much, my 'good friend,'" Dragon said, tearing off his hood and rolling his eyes, his black eye in full view.
His 'I don't care anymore' look made Ivankov laugh even harder.
"Were you ambushed?" Ivankov suddenly asked after his laugh subsided.
"No... that guy has gotten stronger. He attacked me fairly and squarely from the front, but my intelligence and impression of him were stuck in the past. I suspect that his ability has awakened," Dragon said seriously after a period of silence.
"That's impossible, isn't it?" Ivankov asked in surprise.
"I also think it's impossible... but..." Dragon trailed off, rubbing his eye. He said, clearly annoyed, "There has truly been a world-changing difference. I can only assume it's an awakening."
"The Paramecia-type Gravity-Gravity Fruit, awakening?" Ivankov's expression grew slightly serious, and his tone became heavy.
Diarmuid had not told Dragon about his true status, so Dragon could only make wild guesses based on the limited information he gathered during their brief clash.
Since the Dark-Dark Fruit and the Gravity-Gravity Fruit share several similar traits, Dragon speculated that Diarmuid's existing Devil Fruit ability had awakened.
As for the possibility of dual Devil Fruits, no normal person would consider that.
After a moment of silence, Dragon patted Ivankov's shoulder. "Don't be so serious. At least I figured out that that guy won't interfere with our matters. However, although he claims to be traveling, I have a feeling he is plotting something. I just hope there won't be a conflict..."
In terms of overall power, the Revolutionary Army simply couldn't compare to the Marines. In terms of personal strategy, Dragon had watched Diarmuid lead the Marines to rise bit by bit.
Now, even in terms of personal strength, which he had always been proud of, he had been surpassed by Diarmuid.
For a moment, thinking about this made Dragon feel a sense of utter defeat, and he couldn't help but feel disheartened.
"I'm going to go put some ice on this..." Dragon sighed, patted Ivankov's shoulder again, and walked deeper into the palace.
As time passed, after about three to five days, the situation in Alubarna gradually stabilized. Those who were supposed to leave, and those who wanted to leave, had already gone.
The remaining citizens were those who, for various reasons, chose not to abandon the ancient capital.
Although the city was much quieter compared to its prosperous days, it was not completely empty.
And with the departure of those who wanted to leave, Alubarna slowly regained a measure of vitality.
Gradually, various pieces of war-related intelligence filtered into Alubarna.
Whispers of hundreds of thousands of rebels and endless sand pirates rapidly approaching from Yuba.
Talk of an army of roughly a million soldiers that would surround Alubarna, and how once the city walls were breached, the bloodthirsty rebels and sand pirates would surely loot the entire city clean!
Others claimed that King Cobra had prepared a mysterious secret weapon capable of wiping out the million-man rebel army in one go, and that he was simply waiting for them to arrive at Alubarna.
In Diarmuid's room on the top floor of the Oasis Hotel.
Diarmuid stood by the window. Taking advantage of the height, his gaze swept over Alubarna's tall, thick walls and out toward the infinite desert beyond.
He held a cup of coffee in one hand and stirred something with a small spoon in the other.
Just then, the door behind him opened. Hina walked in, carrying two take-out bags. "You won't believe this, but the entire hotel is free now. If you're wondering why, it's because the hotel manager already fled, leaving only a few frightened staff members who are packing up and getting ready to leave. The restaurant isn't even serving breakfast anymore. I had to go out and buy food..."
Listening to Hina's rambling, Diarmuid couldn't help but smile. He took a sip of his coffee and said, "Isn't that great? It saves us some money."
After a short pause, Diarmuid asked, "What about Teach?"
"He's been handed over to the nearby Marine base. Vice Admiral Dalmatian is there, so there shouldn't be any issues," Hina said, placing the take-out bags on the table and quickly arranging the food inside, all while answering Diarmuid's question.
Diarmuid didn't pay any more attention to Teach; he had no further interest in him.
Just as Hina finished setting out the food, Diarmuid suddenly said, "The winds are rather boisterous today..."
"What are you talking about?" Hina looked up and followed Diarmuid's gaze out the window.
Then, a look of astonishment came into her eyes. "Is that—?"
"A sandstorm, the roar of the desert... I've truly never seen one of this scale," Diarmuid murmured with a slight curve of his lips.
Looking out past the city walls, towards the desert horizon, one could see a white wisp close to the ground rapidly sweeping toward them from the edge of visibility. As the wisp approached, the originally pale dust began to turn murky and yellow.
And the closer it got, the more it swallowed the sky.
In just three to five minutes, that initial white wisp transformed into a gigantic sandstorm that completely covered the sky, howling as it rushed toward Alubarna.
"That truly is a breathtaking sight, the desert's roar," Hina said with a sense of awe.
Fortunately, the Oasis Hotel was the most luxurious hotel in Alubarna, and since sandstorms of varying sizes often struck this desert kingdom, the windows were thoroughly sealed. There was no need to worry about being affected by the storm.
Diarmuid slowly closed his eyes. His Observation Haki, following the various 'threads' observed by his ability, extended into the sandstorm two or three tens of kilometers away.
His Observation Haki pierced through the sandstorm and continued to extend for a long time until, finally, he detected something.
Diarmuid then opened his eyes and said with a serious tone, "It's coming. The million-man war of Alabasta..."
"Are you saying..." Hina looked at the sandstorm in surprise.
"Crocodile might be guiding this sandstorm. Behind the storm, there is an endless army..." Diarmuid nodded.
There's a saying: When people exceed ten thousand, they are boundless; when soldiers exceed one hundred thousand, they touch the sky and cover the earth.
What exactly is the concept of a million-man army?
Diarmuid, having lived in two worlds, had never witnessed such a spectacle.
Although he was a Marine Admiral and could command a million men with a single order, only a super-power like Alabasta had enough land to truly spread out a million-strong army and let it sweep across the area.
After all, if this were a smaller country, a million people would basically be the total population.
In the midst of his Observation Haki's scan, the million rebels were diverse and varied. Some even held only wooden sticks and rocks.
There were men riding horses, camels, and even crabs and lizards...
Even though it was obvious that these were forcefully mixed, ragtag troops, the sheer spectacle of a million people was enough to put heavy pressure on any force standing in their way.
Just then, Diarmuid pointed toward the city walls. "Look, they are starting to move on this side, too."
The thick city walls of Alubarna clearly had a vast space inside. Large numbers of Royal Army soldiers, wearing masks, entered the walls and then ascended to the top.
Subsequently, Alubarna's massive city gate, which was usually wide open, slowly began to close. The war horns for the army's assembly continuously echoed.
This ancient royal city was entering a state of war!