A ripple suddenly appeared behind him, spreading out quickly as if dissolving the world.
Inside was a mix of purple calm and black terror, like the mouth of hell itself. From another passage came Makima and the Little Demon Dragon.
So calling it the mouth of hell didn't seem wrong.
Because…
They really were demons!
One was the son of the Fire Demon, destined to grow into a demon as strong as his father. The other was the Control Demon, the embodiment of the fear of domination, one of the purest demons in existence.
In a world where traveling the sea means spending endless time on ships, having a portal like this not only cuts through all that boring travel time but also adds a sense of mystery.
Like now—Makima showed up in Dressrosa just yesterday, and today she was already near the entrance of the New World. From there, she just had to cross the Red Line to reach Sabaody Archipelago. Very convenient.
And…
Makima didn't need to travel like other pirates, either through Mary Geoise or Fish-Man Island, because she could fly…
As long as she crossed the Red Line, flying was the easiest way. Humans can't fly, of course—but demons can.
So when she appeared on Sabaody Archipelago, the Five Elders were shocked. Zephyr reported the news through a Den Den Mushi to Marine Headquarters, and they passed it on to the World Government headquarters. Not long after the Five Elders got the news, they ordered CP agents to keep an eye on Sabaody Archipelago.
But what happened next surprised them even more. Before their orders had even gone through, a CP agent reported that Makima was already on Island 66 of the Sabaody Archipelago.
Months ago, Sabaody was attacked by the Nine-Tailed Fox, and Islands 1 to 29 were almost completely destroyed. They were still being rebuilt. Darkness always finds its way back. After the old evil forces were wiped out, new slave traders quickly moved in.
Because the root of darkness in this world still exists—as long as the Celestial Dragons need slaves, the lawless zone of Sabaody will never disappear. The only difference is which group runs it.
Of course, since the first 30 islands were still under reconstruction, the lawless zone wasn't fully active yet. Makima didn't appear there anyway. She showed up on one of the islands from 60 to 69, which were under Marine control.
Island 66 had a Marine base and some government offices. People there lived in proper order. Makima showing up here was basically sending the World Government a message.
She even walked straight into the government hall. Before anyone inside realized what was happening, she had already taken control of them.
Her controlling Haki spread through the entire building, forcing changes in their memories and thoughts. In their minds, Makima was now the highest-ranking officer here. For ordinary staff, this wasn't hard to do.
"Officer Makima!"
They greeted her respectfully as she walked into the office that used to belong to the top officer. She sat there quietly, waiting for World Government representatives to arrive.
When the news reached the Five Elders, their faces turned grim. This mysterious woman called Makima had the nerve to act like this, as if the World Government meant nothing to her!
"She has an ally Zephyr called top-tier strength, can cross thousands of kilometers of sea in a short time, and can erase her presence from people's minds. Now it seems that was some form of memory manipulation. This power is far too dangerous!"
One of the Five Elders said in a deep voice, "She asked to see us. There's no guarantee she won't use the same trick on us."
Memory control…
No matter how you think about it, this ability is too strong. Controlling memory is the same as controlling thoughts. No one in power would ever allow this ability to exist. They might want to have it themselves—but if someone else has it, then it's a crime!
"Things aren't that simple," another Elder said calmly. "If her power had no limits, she wouldn't need to ask Marine to report to us."
That's true. If she could rewrite minds freely, she could just walk into Mary Geoise and stand in front of them.
"We can't take this lightly," another Elder said. "But there's no need to start a so-called crusade either."
"After all, she knows a lot of secret information, and that's what we need right now."
"Wait a second…"
While the Five Elders were talking, one of them, the one with the sword on his waist, suddenly stopped. It was like he heard something, and then slowly nodded.
"What is it?"
"It's Lord Imu's order…"
"Lord Imu?!"
The one with the sword said slowly, "Let Makima come here. Lord Imu wants us to meet her."
"…"
The room went silent right away. They were the highest power in the World Government on the surface, but above them was their master, Lord Imu. Since Im had spoken, there was no need for them to keep talking.
"Then let Zephyr return from the New World, hand over the Shikon Jewel shard first, and send Sengoku to Sabaody Archipelago to meet Makima."
That was the plan they settled on. Marine HQ and Sabaody Archipelago were both in the first half of the Grand Line, so Zephyr didn't need to make a special trip. Besides, Sengoku hadn't had a new mission since the God Valley incident.
But what they didn't know was that, at that very moment in the New World, after confirming that Kaido wouldn't show up, Zephyr had already left Dressrosa and was on his way to Mary Geoise. However, just then…
Normally, when pirates saw a Marine ship, they would vanish without a trace, afraid of getting caught. But strangely, now they were surrounding his battleship.
A rough count showed there were more than twenty pirate ships, and the weapons on those ships were top-notch, nothing like what normal pirates could have.
"Jihahahaha!"
Just as Zephyr expected, a man with golden hair floated in the sky, laughing loudly at the battleship Zephyr was on.
"Zephyr, hand over the Shikon Jewel shard!"
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