Marineford War: I Will Stand in the Sky

"To infiltrate King Cobra's inner circle and gather intelligence on such a momentous matter, especially one with such a long timeframe, there aren't many people I can completely trust..."

After a pause, Dorrag made a suggestion.

"What about Ivankov? Knowing men as he does, he should have a chance to marry King Cobra again, and he is completely trustworthy."

[Chapter 320 Ancient Weapon: Hades]

Imagining Ivankov's monstrous true form, coupled with Cobra's seemingly wise and dignified appearance, the image immediately came to mind for Arn.

Is this guy... a devil?

How can someone say such a thing?

The story of my wife being a transgender woman who bore me a child and ultimately stole my most important secret.

"Let's... let it go. I'm afraid that King Cobra might find out the truth one day, and it would be bad if such a rare and wise king were to commit suicide in grief and indignation."

Out of his not-yet-completely-extinguished humanity, Yorn rejected Dragon's offer.

"Moreover, although King Cobra will not easily reveal this secret, there are still some Devil Fruit abilities in this sea that can uncover other people's secrets."

"For example, the 'Gaze-Gaze ​​Fruit' allows one to passively know what the person in front of them is thinking, and the 'Memory Fruit' allows one to freely look through and modify other people's memories."

After a pause, before Dorrag could make a suggestion, Yann continued.

"However, using the Devil Fruit's ability to forcibly find the true location of the Ancient Weapon Pluton from King Cobra can only be considered a last resort."

"And logically speaking, in order to prevent something as important as the Ancient Weapon Pluton from being completely lost, there should be other ways to confirm its location."

Finally, recalling his past life memories of Im's special attention to Princess Vivi, Yann spoke up.

"Furthermore, since the Nefertari family is the guardian family of the Ancient Weapon Pluton, it's not necessarily true that they stand on the opposite side of the World Government. In that case, it might be necessary to consider the Nefertari family's thoughts."

As Yone finished speaking, silence fell over the underground passage as both Yone and Drag began to ponder.

"Putting aside the issue of stance, could it be... that the information about the location of the Ancient Weapon Hades is hidden in some special place in the royal palace?" Dragon said.

"uncertain……"

Yaen sighed helplessly and replied, "Perhaps we can only confirm it once more."

"It seems that's the only way." Dragon nodded.

Then, just as Yann was about to leave the spacious underground passage with Drag, he paused and turned to look at the huge Poneglyph.

Dragon looked at Yarrow, who had suddenly stopped, and asked, "What's wrong?"

“I’ve thought of another possibility.”

"Yarn said slowly."

"Don't you think that historical records are completely unnecessary to be stored in such a long underground passage? And the entrance to this underground passage is in the royal mausoleum."

After a pause, Yann continued.

"Clearly, since this Poneglyph could be placed beneath the Nefertari family's mausoleum, the Nefertari family must have been fully aware of its existence and the contents written on it."

"The significance of this historical text, besides illustrating the Nefertari family's contributions and sacrifices to the sea, is more about proving the Nefertari family's innocence in future confrontations with the World Government."

"Apart from this, this Poneglyph is of no significance to the Nefertari family; on the contrary, it carries the risk of being detected by the World Government."

As he finished speaking, Yann's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

"So if I were a member of the Nefertari family, I would feel more at ease burying this Poneglyph deep in a special location, whether for the sake of secrecy or security, rather than leaving it standing like this at the end of the underground passage."

Dorag asked, puzzled. "You mean..."

“This Poneglyph has another meaning. No, I mean, this passage may not have been purely for storing the Poneglyph; it was just placed here incidentally.”

Finally, Yone turned to look at Dragon, pointed at the Poneglyph, and said, "There might be something else behind this Poneglyph!"

Upon hearing this, Dragon immediately understood what Yon meant and flashed to the Poneglyph, plunging both hands into its base.

"what!"

Dorag let out a deep, muffled voice, and the veins on his forehead bulged slightly.

"Boom... Boom..."

Amidst a series of sounds, the incredibly heavy historical inscription stone was slowly dragged out by Dorrag.

Immediately, Yann and Dragon couldn't wait to walk towards the back of the Poneglyph.

However, on the wall behind the Poneglyphs, apart from the traces left by the Poneglyphs, there was no passage or anything like that as expected.

“Could it be…not?” Yaen frowned.

"No, Chief of the General Staff, you guessed right, there are gaps in the wall that allow the wind to get in!"

As he spoke, Dragon imprinted his "Dragon Claw" on the wall behind the Poneglyph.

"Boom!"

The sound of collapsing earth rang out, and an enormous space appeared before Yern and Dragon, where a dark and menacing steel monster lay silently.

At this moment, both Yann and Dragon couldn't help but widen their eyes.

This is... the Ancient Weapon - Hades!

A weapon touted as the ultimate weapon capable of destroying an island in a single strike?!

Aside from its completely black appearance, the strongest impression that the Ancient Weapon Hades gave Drag and Yorn was its sheer size!

'This type of question... even an aircraft carrier couldn't be more challenging than this!' Even Yaen was extremely shocked at this moment.

As Yann and Dragon entered the underground space where the Ancient Weapon Hades was stored, and circled around it once,

Preliminary conclusions suggest that the Ancient Weapon Pluton is no smaller than a small island, and even larger than Moria's Thriller Bark, the "world's largest pirate ship" built around an island.

What's most terrifying is that at the very center of this ancient weapon, Hades, there is a cannon barrel that takes up most of its length.

Its power can be roughly imagined simply from the length of that cannon barrel!

"It's unimaginable how the Nefertari family managed to hide the Ancient Weapon Hades here. Did they use some kind of giant from the Oz race?" Dragon said in shock.

"So, now our problem is..."

Yone turned to Dragon beside him and asked, "How do we take this 'island warship' away without the World Government noticing?"

[Chapter 321. The Power Equivalent to a Mushroom Bomb]

Obviously, that's impossible!

Unless everyone in the entire Alabasta Kingdom is completely wiped out, anyone who is as large as the Ancient Weapon Hades will definitely be able to detect its presence in the outside world, unless they are blind.

Moreover, given the Revolutionary Army's understanding of the World Government, wouldn't it be possible for them to plant intelligence agents among the World Government's member states?

Dorrag swallowed hard, and after his thoughts returned to reality, he also realized the problem and said it almost subconsciously.

"It seems we really can't take this thing with us. Even if the Sky Island's vast area can accommodate the Ancient Weapon Pluton, we simply can't bring it up there, and it's impossible to keep it a secret from the World Government."

Dragon's second half of his statement is the real issue: the Revolutionary Army's goal in obtaining the Ancient Weapon Pluton was to accumulate power in order to fight against the World Government.

However, if information about the Ancient Weapon Pluton is exposed, it will also implicate the Revolutionary Army, which would undoubtedly be a loss. Furthermore, the World Government would never give the Revolutionary Army time to research the Ancient Weapon Pluton.

only……

As Dorrag looked at the enormous steel warship before him, his eyes still couldn't help but gleam with fervor.

This means that militarily, they truly possess the power to confront the world government!

The Ancient Weapon Pluton can easily destroy an island with a single blow—a destructive power that even an admiral-level fighter might not be able to achieve.

Unlike the destructive power that Dragon noticed, what Yann truly valued about the Ancient Weapon Hades was its potential for "mass production".

Admiral-level combat power cannot be mass-produced. There are many powerful Devil Fruits, but the strongest at the top of the sea will not be defeated by newcomers for decades.

However, as long as the Ancient Weapon Hades can be mass-produced, it will be able to forcefully open the door to a new era with artillery fire.

The actual Ancient Weapon Pluto is right before our eyes, and the blueprints for the Ancient Weapon Pluto are also real.

Even though there is a significant gap between the current level of technology and the technology used to create the ancient weapon Hades eight hundred years ago, the combination of the physical object and the blueprints does not preclude the possibility of mass production.

How to do?

After finally finding the Ancient Weapon Hades, Dragon and Yann found themselves in a different kind of trouble.

How could such a huge warship be taken away secretly?

After thinking for a long time, Dragon spoke.

"Perhaps, the research site should be located here? Just like the hidden port that was secretly dug out on the Red Line, we can establish a research institute here."

Yern rejected Dragon's dangerous idea almost without hesitation, and said...

"It's unrealistic. The premise of 'blind spots under the lamp' is that you are not very conspicuous. In the almost boundless space of the Red Line, the World Government has virtually no chance of finding the port location."

"But given the sheer size of the Ancient Weapon Hades, dismantling it underground might trigger... uh..."

At this point, Yann froze. With a quick movement, he circled the Ancient Weapon Pluto again and discovered that it was closely connected to the underground space.

In other words, this Hades warship is unknowingly bearing the weight of this enormous space.

Let alone making a single move against the ancient weapon Hades, even dismantling it could very likely cause the underground space to collapse in the next moment.

And directly above this position is…

Yann made a quick estimate of the direction and distance he would travel into the underground passage of the cemetery, and his eyes narrowed involuntarily.

The next moment, Yann took off his mask and looked up.

"If the estimate is correct, the Alabasta Palace is located above this place. Once the Ancient Weapon Pluton moves, the entire palace will collapse."

As Yann murmured, a hint of respect involuntarily showed in his eyes.

Was the entire palace built upon the Ancient Weapon Hades to prevent the possibility of Hades being stolen without anyone noticing?

Without a doubt, the ancestors of the Nefertari family not only gave up their alluring status and power as Celestial Dragons in order to protect the Ancient Weapon Pluton, but also risked the lives of their descendants.

Afterwards, Yann and Dragon entered the Ancient Weapon Pluton, checked the integrity of its surface, and restored the Poneglyphs to their original positions before leaving the underground passage.

Next, both Yone and Dragon need to calm down completely and carefully consider how to deal with the temptation and risks represented by the Ancient Weapon Hades.

After all, if something unexpected happens, it could be a serious situation that cannot be quelled by the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.

……

The following day, under a towering tree in the palace square, Yann continued his daily instruction to Princess Vivi.