While Alubarna was discussing what to do next, the Cartel was likewise preparing its next attack.
They had originally been about to capture Alubarna, but Luffy and the others had suddenly appeared and disrupted their plans. This made Koza extremely angry.
"Has Anzu still not sent a reply?"
Koza asked a messenger irritably in the command room.
For some reason, ever since Luffy and the others had successfully entered Alubarna, he had felt uneasy. It was as though a war whose outcome had already been decided had suddenly developed a few unexpected variables.
Why? Why was this happening?
They were clearly about to capture Alubarna. They were clearly about to find the Shinigami Mausoleum. Yet a group of pirates had appeared at the final moment?
"N-no... no!" the messenger replied nervously. "The leader should have left Alabasta, which is why he hasn't received our messages."
Left? Why would he leave at a time like this?
Koza raged, "Are you kidding me?! We're about to break through Alubarna! Where could he possibly go now?! Once we obtain what lies at the entrance to Hell, we can liberate the entire world. The happiness of all humanity is within reach, and you're telling me he disappeared at this critical moment?!"
"I think it probably has something to do with Princess Vivi." At that moment, a man sitting leisurely on a sofa beside him spoke. "Didn't he say before that he wanted to transport the princess to a certain place?"
Koza fell silent. He had once been very close to Princess Vivi, but now they served different masters. He was one of the Cartel's senior officers, while Vivi was the princess of Alabasta, a country affiliated with the World Government. They now belonged to two different worlds.
Had Anzu Seifer hidden this from him because he was worried that their former relationship would affect his judgment?
Koza waved his hand dejectedly, signaling for the messenger to leave. He sat down in the chair opposite the man and sighed. "Hass, have you noticed that Anzu has changed?"
Hass of the Twin Pistols was also one of the Cartel's senior officers. Like Koza, he was one of the veterans who had founded the Cartel.
Hass took a sip of wine. The fiery liquor burned his throat and stimulated his mind. Looking at Koza's serious expression, he threw back his head and laughed. "So what if he's changed? And so what if he hasn't? We've come this far together. Are we supposed to quit like that coward Belit?"
"And if you insist on putting it that way, there's nothing wrong with the Cartel as it is now. These days, many countries outside tremble in fear just from hearing our name. Our influence is greater than that of a king!"
Watching Hass laugh loudly, Koza clenched his fists. They had all once shared the same ideals and worked toward the same goal. Why had they all become like this?
Was power really so intoxicating? Had they forgotten how much they once hated people like this?
Koza felt helpless. He rubbed both temples, trying to ease some of the pressure.
At that moment, he thought of the man they always discussed, the one called Belia. He was also a veteran of the Cartel and held a position of great authority. In terms of status, he ranked just below Anzu Seifer; in terms of strength, he was likewise one of the very best in the Cartel.
Koza had been the youngest of them at the time. Although he had participated in the Cartel's founding, he had really only been Belit's little follower.
All of Koza's abilities had been taught to him by Belit: marksmanship, martial arts, Haki, and the art of combining them into gun combat. Without Belit, Koza would have died in the Lawless Zone long ago.
Because enemies could appear at any moment in the Lawless Zone, they had to be able to draw their pistols and shoot an enemy dead immediately, no matter the circumstances. Everyone there developed excellent shooting skills.
The person with the finest marksmanship among them was called a Gun God. Belit was one of those Gun Gods. Because he could still kill an enemy with a single shot through the Lawless Zone's endless wind and sand, he was also known as the Sand Shadow. He had rendered outstanding service during the Cartel's founding.
Yet a man like that had suddenly left just when the Cartel's reputation had reached its peak.
As Koza remembered it, Belit had once quarreled with Anzu Seifer. The next day, Belit left.
Belit's departure confused many Cartel members. They had all seen how much Belit loved the Cartel and how much he had contributed to it. If even someone like him had left, where were the rest of them supposed to go?
It was also after Belit left that the Cartel began changing into a military organization—a warlord force. By now, it had developed into a transnational terrorist organization feared by everyone.
"Come to think of it, Belit was never suited to the Cartel in the first place." Hass crossed his legs and continued. "He worshiped freedom. He was somewhat kind, but he wasn't the sort of person who thought from the perspective of happiness for all humanity. He valued a man's ideals and romantic spirit above everything else. It was a good thing for someone like him to leave the Cartel."
Leave the Cartel...?
Koza looked at Hass and gradually relaxed his clenched fists.
Had the time come for the current Cartel to leave?
But at the very least, they had to enter the Shinigami Mausoleum!
Anzu, Hass, and the others had forgotten their original ideals, but Koza had not. If they only wanted to become petty kings by using the Cartel, then he would be the one to do what the Cartel had once been meant to do.
He stood again, his eyes becoming firm. "Hass, make the preparations. I can't wait any longer. Mobilize the three nearby armies. We're launching a general offensive against Alubarna!"
"A general offensive? Are you serious?" Hass stared at Koza, who had suddenly risen. "Anzu hasn't ordered a general offensive yet."
They did not know why, but Anzu had ordered them when they arrived that they were only to besiege Alubarna. They could attack, but they were not to use all their forces for a general offensive. If they simply exhausted the city's food supplies, Alubarna would naturally open its gates and surrender.
That would certainly reduce Cartel casualties, but when had Anzu begun caring about casualties after deciding to change the Cartel's direction?
According to his usual style, shouldn't he have wanted to capture Alubarna as quickly as possible?
Still, they had not questioned it. Given the difference in troop strength and the configuration of their weapons and equipment, they could break through Alubarna's walls even without mobilizing the three nearby armies.
They had not expected Alubarna to contain a Seven Warlord and a special barrier, which was why their attacks had produced no results for so long.
Now, Koza could not wait any longer.
He said firmly, "The situation has suddenly changed. Those pirates must be reinforcements summoned by the Nefertari family. There may be even more reinforcements coming next, so we can't continue waiting."
"Anzu isn't here. We can only rely on our own judgment. We must launch a general offensive now, so we don't give trouble time to grow." Koza spoke decisively. Although he commanded this battlefield, such a major decision could not be carried out without Hass's support.
He needed Hass to understand how serious the situation was. He had to exaggerate the danger as much as possible so that Hass would support him.
Hass hesitated. He did not really want too many changes. He was very satisfied with his current life and had begun living like a member of the upper class. He did not want to take risks again. If they launched a general offensive and failed, he would certainly be punished.
But if Alubarna really did receive more reinforcements and its defenses grew stronger, allowing those reinforcements to break through the Cartel's rear lines, he would be punished all the same.
"Damn it!"
Hass cursed angrily. Damn those pirates for suddenly appearing to help Alubarna! Damn Anzu for being absent at a time like this! Damn Koza for forcing him to choose!
Couldn't everything have proceeded in an orderly fashion? Why did there have to be changes?
"Make a decision, Hass! The longer we delay, the more variables will appear. If Alubarna's situation really improves, we'll be unable to escape responsibility!" Koza urged.
"Try contacting Anzu again!" Hass suddenly said. "If he still isn't there, then we can't be blamed!"
"All right..." Koza knew this was Hass's bottom line. He did not call for the messenger. Instead, he walked to the telephone himself and dialed the Cartel headquarters.
"Is Anzu there?" Koza asked urgently after the call connected.
What would they do if Anzu returned at a time like this?
Koza felt anxious, but the answer was favorable. The person on the other end said, "Lord Koza, the leader has not returned yet. I'll inform him of your call after he comes back."
"Good." Koza said nothing more and immediately put down the receiver. Then he looked at Hass.
Hass met his gaze. Sweat ran down his forehead. He gritted his teeth. "Damn it. Anzu isn't here, so we can't be blamed! Let's do it!"
Koza breathed a sigh of relief. "You've had some alcohol. Rest for a while. I'll lead the brothers in the first charge."
Hass nodded. Alcohol numbed the nerves, and for a gunslinger, even the slightest delay in reaction could affect the outcome of a duel.
He had once been a gunslinger as famous as Belit and knew very well that he was not fit to fight right now. He needed to sober up first.
Koza strode out of the command room. He first notified the three nearby armies. The Cartel force originally surrounding Alubarna had numbered only three hundred thousand, but three armies were stationed nearby, each with one hundred thousand soldiers. Once they were added together, the Cartel force here reached a full six hundred thousand!
After such a long period of attrition, Alubarna's defenders numbered at most one hundred thousand. The forces in this battle now stood at six hundred thousand against one hundred thousand. The advantage belonged to the Cartel!
On the Grand Line as it currently existed, warfare between armies of this scale was extremely rare. Some countries in the New World had tiny territories, sometimes no more than a single island. They might not even be able to gather a total population of seven hundred thousand.
Ten or twenty years ago, there might not have been many large-scale battles anywhere in the world in which the two sides together fielded more than seven hundred thousand soldiers.
But as technology advanced, new weapons and equipment gave ordinary people greater combat power. Every faction therefore began deliberately cultivating technologically equipped armies.
Wano Country was the most famous example. In the past, Wano's samurai had numbered only a few tens of thousands. But after the Kozuki family fell and Yuri rose to power, Wano completed a technological revolution. It not only produced all kinds of technology, but its population also continued to grow.
Yuri introduced many policies encouraging childbirth. If a family had two children, both children could receive six years of compulsory education. If a family had three children, all three could receive nine years of compulsory education, and each would receive a reward of one million Berries.
If a family had four children, it would receive all the previous rewards as well as a house in the city where it lived. If a family had five children, the entire family would receive household registration in Wano's capital, the City of Law, along with a house there.
Besides encouraging childbirth, Yuri strongly supported immigration. People from other countries could join Wano, and the country would arrange work for poor immigrants who came there.
Wano Country was the world's leading industrial power and its arsenal, taking more than eighty percent of global weapons orders. It also possessed abundant mineral resources, so it did not have to worry about overpopulation.
Under Yuri's policies, Wano's population rapidly recovered after the Kozuki upheaval and even exploded in size. According to official statistics, Wano's population had now reached the terrifying figure of eighty million.
That was why Wano's standing army now exceeded two million soldiers. Estimates suggested that in wartime, Wano's maximum mobilization limit was thirteen million soldiers.
Wano also had the ability to provide every soldier with sufficient weapons and ammunition. This terrifying military strength was why the World Government did not dare declare war on Wano even after suffering enormous humiliation.
Wano's mobilizable forces alone were already enough to rival the entire World Government. Unless absolutely necessary, the World Government would not dare declare war. Even if it won, the war would leave it severely weakened, its rule tottering and vulnerable to others profiting from the chaos.
There was another important point: the Five Elders knew that the Demon Lord would descend in Wano in two years. With a Demon Lord serving as the vanguard, they had no need to act themselves.
All that remained was to see whether Wano's thirteen million soldiers and Kaido's forces could defeat the Demon Lord.
If they won, they would certainly suffer severe losses, and that would be when the World Government made its move.
If they lost, the World Government would take the opportunity to attack the Demon Lord. Wano's desperate resistance would surely inflict some damage on him as well.
In short, the World Government would win either way. The only difference was whether it would be a small victory or a great one. If both sides were destroyed together, the World Government would win beyond its wildest dreams.
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