Z and Makima

"That guy said he was a demon?"

Z's pupils dilated. He didn't chase after Drago because the palace was covered in fire. There were many people trapped in the fire, especially the Royal Family. If something happened to them while he was there, it would be difficult to explain it to the World Government.

And according to Drago, he would come again, so there was no need to chase after him now.

When the fire subsided, Z and King Riku talked about what happened just now. He then fell into deep thought.

There was another demon?

This was an unheard race so far. Now that they appeared one after another, was there any connection between them?

Z's task this time was to investigate Zero, and this might be a clue. He had been investigating several countries but didn't find any news about Zero. He finally stumbled across something useful here!

"He said that there's a Jewel of Four Souls' Fragment here in this hall. We have heard of that thing, but it's not here." King Riku said in the burning hall.

"There's no good in keeping it. Even if such a thing is here, I'd rather give it to the World Government in exchange for Heavenly Tribution."

"I'm well aware of Dressrosa's good reputation." Z nodded. He didn't doubt what King Riku said. After all, this country was indeed a peaceful country. It was clear from how easily Drago dealt with King Riku's guards.

"I will be around for the next few days. Don't worry, I will catch that demon." Z said to King Riku. The latter suddenly felt relieved.

"Thank you, Admiral Z. I will look for Jewel of Four Souls' Fragments carefully. I will inform you immediately if I stumble across anything."

Z nodded again. In fact, he had already received the order from the Fleet Admiral to pay more attention to information about Jewel of Four Souls' Fragments while investigating Zero. If the demon really said there was a Jewel of Four Souls' Fragment here, then he would definitely find it here.

Jewel of Four Souls posed too great of a threat. If it fell to the wrong hands and they made a malicious wish, the whole world would face a huge crisis.

King Riku left and Z himself was about to leave too after his men put out the fire as he thought about everything that had happened so far and suddenly stopped.

"Admiral Z... What happened?"

When Z stopped, the Vice-Admiral behind him obviously had to stop, too. Because of that, he asked Z who was deep in thought.

Z didn't answer and the others didn't dare to ask anymore. After a long time Z frowned even more. He turned to the other Marines and said, "Head back to the base without me. I have something to do."

???

The Marines looked at each other, but seeing Z's serious expression, they had no choice but to follow his order.

After all the Marines left, Z looked at the part of the palace that wasn't destroyed where the guards and King Riku evacuated earlier. Z put on his coat and walked in that direction. He eventually found a balcony-like place there, but the one he found wasn't King Riku, but

a woman with pink hair. She seemed to be watching the scenery below. At this position, she could see the whole country from above. It was Makima.

When Z was about to leave, he suddenly felt something was off. Since he came there, everyone seemed flustered aside from one person.

She stood in the crowd like she was watching a play.

And the others seemed to be ignoring her for some reason, including him! If he didn't suddenly recall what happened before he left, he probably wouldn't have noticed that something was wrong.

"Jewel of Four Souls' Fragments..."

Z came behind her and said in a deep voice, "Did you have it?"

Strange, this woman was very strange. Despite what Z said, his muscles were already contracted and he was ready to fight.

"The Admiral is really different from the others."

The woman slowly turned around, her eyes left Z speechless, as those eyes were like a whirlpool.

She seemed completely calm, unfazed by Z's arrival.

She used her ability to alter everyone's memories so that they wouldn't notice her presence. But it seemed that an Admiral wouldn't easily fall for it at this stage. He could barely notice her because Makima was standing with the others.

She slowly opened her palm and a crystal fragment appeared in her hand. Z's pupils dilated. He had never seen Jewel of Four Souls before, but at this moment he knew that crystal was definitely Jewel of Four Souls' fragment.

There was a special power in the fragment. It was similar to Haki but different substantially. Only Jewel of Four Souls' Fragments that had caused an uproar in the world not long ago, could do this.

"Drago is right. After Jewel of Four Souls shattered, one of the fragments flew into the palace, but I was one step faster than him." Makima said to Z

"Drago... You mean the lizard that spews fire earlier? Who are you?" Z became even more on guard, even if Makima didn't show any hostility.

Makima didn't answer this question immediately. Instead, she talked about Jewel of Four Souls.

"Long ago, there was a fight between a priestess and the demons. In the end, the souls of the two sides merged together to form a crystal. Although their bodies had long perished, their souls were still fighting in the crystal.

"They fought for so long that the crystal changed and eventually became the current Jewel of Four Souls. The soul of the priestess and the demon were imprisoned in it. They should have fought in there forever, as long as Jewel of Four Souls is safe and sound..."

"Because your battle in God's Valley, Jewel of Four Souls broke. Unfortunately, the souls of the priestess and demons were also released as a result. After being sealed for so long, they're currently looking for a suitable body to return to this world."