Re-entering the Pyramid, the Change and Advancement of Civilization

Kū spoke at the Marine Headquarters, "Anyway, try your best. If it really doesn't work, wait until the Blackbeard Pirates arrive and let them negotiate."

"Yes, we will try," Crane nodded.

After that, this communication ended. Crane looked out of the window, and the streets that were once filled with people had become extremely deserted.

The king informed the entire population of Alabasta through the communication devices spread throughout the country about Aatrox's impending arrival. Massive armies were organized to evacuate civilians in the south. Some left Alabasta by ship directly, while others were taken by the military and navy to the north.

The entire country was now in chaos, and the unusual silence here was quite abnormal.

People didn't know whether they could defeat Aatrox, and in reality, they themselves didn't know either. Although they claimed to be fully prepared, is there really such a thing as complete preparation in this world?

Moreover, even with all preparations, Aatrox's power was still despair-inducing.

Many of them had never faced Aatrox directly because not many who faced him survived. This lack of firsthand experience with Aatrox led to two factions: one believed Aatrox wasn't as powerful as rumored, while the other believed Aatrox was much stronger than the legends.

And now, it was evident that these people were leaning towards the idea that Aatrox was even more formidable.

Even Cap, who had faced the Demon Lord himself, found it hard to accurately describe how powerful he really was.

Thinking about it carefully, back then, they faced Aatrox with him, Sengoku, Kizaru, and many others from Roger's Pirate Crew. While it may not be considered ancient and unprecedented, the combined strength was likely not much lower than the current gathering of these individuals.

The only variables were Roger and Machi Machi. Back then, Roger was not as powerful as he is now, and Machi Machi has always been mysterious. When she first acted in Jartzburg, she astonished everyone, and no one knew what kind of power she would display this time.

"Let me communicate with Sōsuke Aizen." Cobra volunteered.

Actually, Cobra had no idea that Aatrox was intentionally lured by their plan. He thought Aatrox was heading to Alabasta, and the Marines got the news in advance to intercept him.

So, he felt that he should contribute for the sake of Alabasta.

"I'll go with you," Dragon said from the bed.

"Why are you pushing yourself?" Cap frowned. "Just stay here honestly."

"No, I want to go," Dragon said stubbornly.

Why did he have to go? In fact, he couldn't explain it himself. Perhaps he just wanted to see that Sōsuke Aizen, who severely injured him, clearly and remember him completely. Or maybe it was something he saw in the pyramid earlier that he wanted to see more clearly?

He always felt that this event was not so simple.

"As long as you don't enter the range of the Inverted Pyramid, it won't be considered a violation of the agreement," Cobra said. "But your injuries..."

"No problem," Dragon said softly. "As long as I can move, it's fine. I'm not going for revenge."

"Okay..." Cobra nodded and didn't say anything more.

Cap looked at Dragon's stubborn appearance, also didn't say anything more. He didn't try to dissuade, as everyone in his family was like this, and he had gotten used to it.

With only one arm left, what could he do now?

There was only...

The ability to fight against Aatrox?

"I'll go to the Holy River. Wait for the Blackbeard Pirates and Astar to arrive," Crane said to Cap.

"Now it's just me again." Cap said indifferently. "You guys go, I'll be here eating my donuts and waiting for your news."

Dragon struggled to stand up, and the wound tore, causing intense pain, but he forced himself to endure it.

Cobra looked at him with some worry, but Dragon indicated that everything was fine. In the end, Cobra could only lead him to the pyramid.

Leaving the inn where the owner had already left, the two once again arrived in front of the pyramid. This enormous pyramid was quite eerie because the entrance had disappeared.

When Dragon left earlier, he didn't see it clearly due to his severe injuries, but now he noticed that the entrance he used before was no longer there.

However, after Cobra walked over, a strange force generated in front of the pyramid, as if ripples appeared on the water surface, and a door reappeared.

Could only members of the Nefertari family open the pyramid's door?

No wonder they were confident enough to build a small town around the pyramid. Others simply couldn't enter.

Thinking about it, Dragon followed Cobra back into the pyramid.

The pyramid remained the same as before, dark upwards and bright downwards. However, this time, Dragon no longer wanted to go down because below was the range of the Inverted Pyramid, entering which would lead to the path of death.

This time, he mainly wanted to observe the world from a parallel perspective. In the center, it was empty because there needed to be a spiral staircase leading downward. But from the entrance to the other end, there was something like a bridge, and there were many pillars around.

"What is this?" He suddenly pointed at something and asked Cobra.

Following his gaze, Cobra found he was referring to the murals on the pyramid.

It was a completely parallel mural on the walls, encircling the entire pyramid.

"This pyramid has three layers. The inverted pyramid below leads to the underworld, the pyramid above leads to heaven, and the central layer represents the human world."

"This is symbolic and doesn't actually mean there is heaven above. At least, there is definitely no heaven above," Cobra said with a smile.

However, Dragon stared at these murals, and a storm surged in his heart.

If these murals were connected and viewed together, they depicted a world he had never thought of before.

Initially, it was a primitive world similar to slavery, where people contributed without any freedom.

Then came the emergence of rough political power, people gradually putting on the cloak of civilization, and slavery was dissolved but appeared in a different form in the world.

Although it was quite dark, and Dragon couldn't see it very clearly, he could vaguely see that these murals, when connected, portrayed the progression of various civilizations. The oppressed subjects changed from slaves to farmers, then to workers, and so on...

And until the end, Dragon looked over and found nothing.

He faintly sensed that it was a very close-to-great-civilization society, but there was nothing there.

"What are you looking at?" Suddenly, Sōsuke Aizen appeared...