The scholars followed Reynold out of the ancient city and into the desert. Looking at the empty desert, Reynold was filled with doubt.
"Pain isn't up there?... Crocodile's body is also gone... Did Pain just leave after explaining the mission clearly?..."
Reynold glanced back at the crowd behind him and directly stated his plan to Oden.
"Pain might have returned to the ship... How about I take you back to the ship to see him?..."
Oden looked at the scholars following behind him, wanting to know their attitude towards the situation, and asked a question.
"How do you plan to deal with them?..."
"How to deal with them?..."
"This is a headache, isn't it?..."
"Can't kill them... can't let them go... taking them with us seems like a burden... What should we do?..."
Reynold got a headache just thinking about it.
"I'd like to know too..."
"Do you have any good ideas?..."
"If not, let Pain worry about it," Reynold said, rubbing his temples.
"Dismiss them..."
"All the useful information is with me... Some of them were coerced, some were tempted by profit... some were simply drawn by the poneglyph... Regardless, they are of no use to you..."
"And there's no need to worry about them leaking secrets..."
"Because apart from this poneglyph... they probably won't understand the others..."
Oden explained with confidence and understanding, as this poneglyph was deciphered by him, and these ancient scholars were merely assistants.
Reynold's biggest concern was these ancient scholars leaking secrets, and he also feared that subsequent poneglyphs might require their help. Now that Oden had made it clear, there was nothing to worry about.
"Since that's the case, you all may disperse..."
After Reynold finished speaking, without waiting for the scholars to react, he pulled Oden's hand and disappeared, leaving the bewildered group of scholars behind. Of course, not all of them were bewildered; one of them had a glint in his eyes.
Reynold teleporting people was not easy. If Reynold's usual teleportation distance was ten nautical miles (about two kilometers per nautical mile) centered on himself, then teleporting with people would be at most half that distance, and the stamina consumption would be twice Reynold's usual use of his Ability.
After teleporting with Oden again and again, they finally reached the ship ten minutes later. By this time, Reynold was completely exhausted, his limbs weak. This was Reynold's first time rushing like this while carrying someone.
As Reynold felt his body weak and powerless, he also deeply recognized the problem of insufficient Ability. "It seems I can't be as lazy as before. If I mess up at a crucial moment while with Pain, it'll be a big problem."
"Next, I need to take the time to Cultivate properly." Reynold lay sprawled on the deck, soaking in the light rain from the sky, panting and thinking.
In the largest room on the ship, Pain had already had Preta Path change into black robes with red clouds, and was waiting for Reynold's return, eyes closed and in a Cultivation state. Before entering the Cultivation state, Pain maintained his old habit of casting the Rain Tiger at Will Technique within his own Domain, making it easier to sense any movement around him immediately while in Cultivation.
Pain opened his eyes, ended his Cultivation state, and opened the door to the deck. What he saw was a burly old man and Reynold lying on the deck, panting heavily. Pain didn't ask why; he already knew when Reynold brought someone into the range of the Rain Tiger at Will Technique.
He walked directly towards the old man, looking him in the eyes, waiting for Reynold's explanation.
"This is the leader of the ancient scholars in the underground ancient city... He says he knows all the information about the Ancient Weapon 'Pluton'... He also presented us with three questions and one request... I couldn't make the decision, so I brought him back to see you..."
Reynold explained weakly, and relayed the questions and requests the old man had posed to Pain, waiting for Pain's decision. After hearing Reynold's relay, Pain was very curious about the source of the old man's confidence and the extent of his leverage.
"Tell me what you know... Let me gauge your leverage..."
After being brought aboard by Reynold, Oden waited quietly in the rain for Pain to appear. Oden didn't know this rain was related to Pain, thinking it was due to abnormal weather here. Oden didn't have to wait long before he saw a young man dressed in the same attire as Reynold emerge from the room, slowly walking towards him, and looking directly into Oden's eyes.
The moment Pain appeared, Oden's gaze followed him, scrutinizing him. Looking at Pain's unique eyes and listening to Pain's questions, Oden actually felt pressure, an unprecedented pressure. This pressure came from the other person's eyes; being stared at by those eyes felt like a king looking down upon all living beings.
It made Oden, who was originally very confident in his own strength, feel as if he was deeply immersed in it. How many years had it been since he felt this way? Oden no longer remembered. Until this moment, Oden finally began to take the young man in front of him seriously, no longer thinking, as he had on the way here, that this new force was within his control.
At the same time, he hesitated whether to tell this uncontrollable new force all the information. These thoughts flashed by like lightning, making it difficult for Oden to make a decision at once. Oden quickly pulled his thoughts back and proactively introduced himself.
"My name is Kozuki Oden... I am the current Family Head of the Kozuki Family of Wano Country... I know a lot of information... Originally, I intended to tell you in exchange for a promise... to help me achieve my dream."
"But now I'm not sure if your strength can withstand the threat of the news I bring... So, after much consideration..."
"I've suddenly decided I want to see your strength first before saying anything else..."
Kozuki Oden hadn't fought anyone in many years, always living incognito, not daring to make a move, fearing that his techniques would be seen by those with ulterior motives, leading them to deduce he was still alive and bringing disaster. But today, Oden decided to make a move and test. He wanted to determine what level of strength this young man, who brought him such pressure, possessed, and whether he could both keep secrets and repel invading enemies.
Pain was actually very sensitive to the aura of the strong. In his previous life, having emerged from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, he could judge who was strong and who was weak just from their aura. And even without engaging in battle, Pain could tell from the aura that this old man, who called himself Kozuki Oden, was powerful. It just so happened that Pain also wanted to test the current abilities of the Sand Preta Path, and Oden's request was exactly what he wanted.
"Want to see my strength?..."
"Perfect..."
"My Preta Path is just looking to test its strength..."
"Follow me..."
Pain turned and jumped off the ship, heading towards a distant open area, while simultaneously controlling the Sand Preta Path to follow closely behind. Pain chose to disembark because he feared the battle's aftermath would be too great, damaging the only oceangoing ship they currently possessed.
In an open area far from the ship, Pain and the Sand Preta Path were already waiting. In Pain's line of sight, Oden also arrived opposite Pain with a few leaps, standing face to face. Although the weak Reynold felt unwell all over, he had heard the conversation between Pain and Oden.
Knowing they were going to duel, Reynold didn't want to miss the most exciting battle. Reynold, enduring his exhausted body, teleported to the edge of the duel site where Pain and Oden were. Oden looked at the two people standing opposite him, dressed in identical clothing. Although one of them had changed greatly, he could still vaguely make out Crocodile's appearance. Oden suppressed the questions in his heart and asked.
"Are you both going to attack together?"
"No..."
"He's enough. Make your move..."
Pain said, pointing to Preta Path. Pain had no intention of looking down on Oden; his original intention was to train Preta Path's abilities, so he wasn't planning to attack himself. Pain retreated to the edge of the duel area, controlling Preta Path with his will, waiting for Oden to make his move.
"I'm being underestimated, aren't I?..."
Oden thought this, feeling helpless inside. He drew his two swords, ame no habakiri and Enma, and took a battle stance. Oden made an opening gesture and softly called out.
"Oden Two-Sword Style: Paradise Waterfall!..."
Oden moved. With a flash, Oden rapidly swung his two swords, and an X-shaped sword light, formed by the slashes of the two famous blades, quickly attacked Preta Path... [World Government. Marineford]
The current Fleet Admiral of Marineford, Sakazuki, codenamed "Akainu," was sternly looking at a newly acquired intelligence report. The intelligence came from a spy embedded with Crocodile, one of the ancient scholars, and was swiftly delivered to Sakazuki's hands via an intelligence seagull after several transfers.
The intelligence contained two pieces of information:
One: Crocodile was killed by a force calling itself Akatsuki; no body was found, neither alive nor dead.
Two: The poneglyph has been fully deciphered, but the detailed contents have been taken away by the force that killed Crocodile.
Sakazuki, formerly one of the Three Admirals, a Logia Ability User of the Magma-Magma Fruit, possessed extremely powerful strength. When he first joined the Marine, he was already called a monster. He was a student of former Admiral "Black Arm" Zephyr and upheld "Absolute Justice." Later, he, along with Kizaru and Aokiji, became known as the "Three Admirals of the Marine." After the Marineford War, Sengoku retired, and "Akainu" defeated Aokiji in two years to become the new Fleet Admiral.
Sakazuki had many tattoos; a sword on his right arm, and roses with cherry blossoms from his left chest to his elbow. He wore a boutonnière (rose), a dark red suit, a Marine cap, black leather gloves, and an Admiral's coat draped over his shoulders.
After becoming Fleet Admiral, he grew a beard and started smoking cigars, and his face bore some scars from his duel with Aokiji. Sakazuki's personality was rigid and hot-tempered, and his methods were cruel, showing no mercy. He absolutely did not tolerate the existence of any "evil."
To accomplish his missions, he would ruthlessly target and eliminate colleagues and ordinary civilians alike.
During the Ohara Incident, he ordered his subordinates to blow up an evacuation ship full of Ohara residents, on the grounds that it might be harboring archaeologists. During the Marineford Incident, he personally executed Marine soldiers who tried to flee out of fear of death in battle. Furthermore, Sakazuki was extremely concerned with upholding the dignity of the Marine, and was an iron-blooded soldier.
Sakazuki looked at the intelligence report in his hand, his face contorted with rage, on the verge of berserk. With a "bang," Sakazuki slammed his fists onto his desk and abruptly stood up. At this moment, Sakazuki was furious. All along, the World Government had outwardly ignored Crocodile, but secretly, it had been well aware of his every move.
The World Government had always been monitoring events related to the poneglyph and closely following Crocodile's progress. It was Sakazuki's order not to move against Crocodile, because Sakazuki wanted to benefit from the situation. A duck that was almost in his mouth was snatched away by an organization called Akatsuki, and they even killed Crocodile.
In Sakazuki's view, this was a blatant provocation, a disregard for the World Government's authority. These ants who dared to challenge the World Government's authority were what Sakazuki considered "evil"; such "evil" was like a tumor that had to be removed.
Sakazuki categorized the Crocodile incident as the Alabasta "Evil" Incident. He picked up a Den Den Mushi and directly called CP0, commanding, "Investigate the Alabasta 'Evil' Incident... Find a force called Akatsuki... Immediately arrest the culprits upon discovery... If they resist, kill them on sight..."
"Yes!..."
Blah blah blah, click... The Den Den Mushi connection was cut...
To be continued...