Following Cobra's command—
The guards at his side immediately charged toward Valthior and the others.
Two men leading the charge, who appeared to be guard captains in their fifties, underwent a transformation as they ran.
By the time they passed through the tomb entrance, one had turned into a jackal, while the other took to the air in the form of a falcon.
Without a doubt, both of them were Zoan-type Devil Fruit users!
"Traitors, prepare to die!"
"How dare you offend the royal family—you've already sealed your fate!"
But before the two could even get close to Valthior and the others—
A piercing wave of cold suddenly erupted, sweeping past them in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, both Zoan users were frozen into ice statues, locked in place under the blazing sun.
At the same time, the royal guards who rushed in behind them were also frozen solid one after another.
Only Cobra himself remained—still riding his camel, unable to stop in time. The camel slipped on the ice, sending him tumbling and rolling across the frozen ground.
Moments later, Cobra slid awkwardly to a stop beside Valthior's ice-crafted lounge chair, his face filled with anger as he demanded:
"Who the hell are you people!?"
Roger, watching the scene, said, "Hey, hey, don't freeze them to death. We're actually a bit in the wrong here, after all..."
Roger wasn't a good person in the traditional sense, but he also wasn't a complete brute.
As pirates, the Roger Pirates had undoubtedly plundered plenty.
Though innocent people might sometimes be caught in the crossfire during battles with strong enemies—that couldn't be denied—there was one strict rule aboard Roger's ship:
They would never deliberately rob civilians or nobles recognized by civilians.
In the original story, after Kozuki Oden joined the Roger Pirates, he once looted civilians on an island. Gaban immediately warned him that if Captain Roger found out, he would punish him severely.
Later, it turned out those people weren't civilians but criminals, and the matter was dropped.
From this, it was clear—the Roger Pirates did have their own code.
From Valthior's explanation of Alabasta's history and the Nefertari family, along with what they had seen in this desert kingdom, Roger felt that this royal family—who repeatedly proposed abolishing the Heavenly Tribute—was a good one.
So he didn't want to harm them.
"Relax. I'm just cooling them off a bit. They won't die," Valthior replied casually.
Then he stood up, ignoring Cobra entirely. Instead, he walked over to the frozen jackal and falcon statues, examining them with interest. "Legend has it that since over four thousand years ago, the great Jackal God and Falcon God have protected the Kingdom of Alabasta to this day..."
Meanwhile, Cobra seemed to recognize them. His eyes flared with shock and rage. "You're the Roger Pirates!? Why have you criminals come to Alabasta!?"
But clearly, no one was interested in answering him.
Roger and the others continued digging, while Shakky—who had been fanning Rayleigh—asked curiously, "Four thousand years? Are you saying these Zoan users have lived that long? That's impossible, right?"
"Of course it's impossible," Valthior shook his head.
From what he remembered, the later users of these abilities were Pell and Chaka.
Which meant the two currently frozen here were from a previous generation.
And yet, for thousands of years, this legend had persisted in Alabasta and was widely believed.
Combined with the current situation, that made things… interesting.
Everyone knew that Devil Fruits would "reincarnate" somewhere in the world after their user died.
But Alabasta had consistently retained the Jackal and Falcon powers.
What did that mean?
It meant they likely possessed some special method of ensuring stable inheritance of these Devil Fruits!
"Does your Nefertari family possess some kind of ancient technique? For example, a way to control the stable inheritance of certain Devil Fruits?" Valthior turned and asked Cobra, who was struggling to get back on his feet.
"You think I'd answer you!?" Cobra snapped angrily.
"Tsk, pretty cocky for a brat. Can't you read the situation? Believe it or not, if I get annoyed, I'll freeze them all to death," Valthior said coldly.
At over twenty years old, calling fourteen-year-old Cobra a brat was perfectly justified.
But just then—
Roger shoveled away a thick layer of sand, revealing a hard stone layer beneath. Rayleigh followed up with a swing of his hoe, smashing it open.
A dark underground tunnel was revealed.
"Oh! We broke through! There really is something here!" Roger shouted excitedly.
In truth, if they weren't concerned about this being someone else's ancestral tomb—and the risk of collapsing the underground structure—Roger and the others could have blasted through it in a single strike.
Without hesitation, Roger jumped down first.
Before Valthior could stop him, Gaban followed right after.
"Hey, wait!" Valthior shouted. "It's dangerous!"
Sure enough, the underground chamber had been sealed for hundreds of years. The air quality inside was terrible.
The moment Roger and Gaban landed and took a couple of breaths, they felt dizzy and disoriented, on the verge of passing out.
Only after Rayleigh, hearing Valthior's explanation, quickly worked to circulate fresh air inside did the situation improve.
After a few minutes, Valthior and the others finally descended as well—bringing along a thoroughly shocked Cobra.
In truth, the secret of this place was passed down among the Nefertari kings.
But Cobra's father was still in his prime, and at only fourteen, Cobra hadn't yet been told.
That's why he was so bewildered to discover a hidden underground chamber beneath the royal tombs.
Soon, carrying torches, they navigated the complex tunnels and reached the depths.
There—
A Poneglyph stood.
"What… is this!?" Cobra stared at it in shock.
"It's a record of secrets from eight hundred years ago. Your Nefertari family hiding this thing is technically a violation of World Government law.." Valthior spoke as he walked up to the Poneglyph, carefully scrutinizing the ancient script.
"Eight hundred years ago? A Poneglyph?" Cobra froze.
Clearly, he wasn't ignorant. As the heir to one of the oldest kingdoms, he had received historical education.
And the Nefertari royal education included… certain secrets.
"What does it say? Anything valuable?" Roger asked, closing his eyes as if trying to listen to something.
However, his ability to hear the Voice of All Things didn't always work. Otherwise, in the original story, there would have been no need to seek out Kozuki Oden.
Valthior studied the text, his expression growing serious as he translated:
"That was a masterpiece created by countless master craftsmen—a weapon of war forged in Water 7. It was the new power we developed to oppose the terrifying weapon Uranus. We named it 'Pluton.' It may be the most fearsome warship in the world. Its destructive power rivals that of Uranus, said to exist at Laugh Tale. With a single strike, it can erase an entire island from existence. Yet, while we focused solely on building this warship, we ignored the threat it could pose to the world.
"And now, clearly, someone has set their sights on Pluton's power—it's the traitor!
"We were once comrades who defeated Davy D. Jones together. And yet now, the traitor seeks to seize the fruits of our victory. Worse still, the temptation of power has blinded many of our former allies, who have chosen to stand with him. I no longer know who I can trust. Perhaps Lily? No… the Kozuki clan as well. I fear that once we fail, we will be buried by the traitors and erased from history.
"That is why we created these stones—to record what has happened.
"Pluton indeed possesses terrifying power. I once intended to destroy it completely, but considering that Uranus has gone missing, perhaps it would be better to hide this power away for the future.
"Let it remain... in Wano Country
— Joy Boy."
...
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