Chapter 41: Mother's Departure, Elf Race
Meanwhile, within the Rocks Pirates, Shiki and Edward Newgate officially rose to prominence, beginning to make a name for themselves in the New World.
A year ago, "Iron Balloon" Charlotte Linlin, who had a bounty of 500 million Beli at just fifteen years old, joined the Rocks Pirates.
Relying on her naturally terrifying Physique and overbearing Strength, she became a rising star of the Rocks Pirates alongside Shiki and Edward Newgate.
Not to be outdone, the Marines also showcased their rising stars: "Iron Fist" Garp, "Sengoku the Buddha" who had eaten the Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit given to him by Steel Bone Kong, and Tsuru also began to gain fame in the New World.
They were all young Officers in the Marines, each displaying considerable Strength and Intelligence.
This also sent a signal: the conflict between the Marines and the Rocks Pirates seemed poised to reignite.
That prolonged War from many years ago was something many people found hard to forget.
The "Perfume Yagara" docked at the shore of Rusukaina Island.
Hades and Titan were already waiting as the ship approached.
Their mother, Nyx, had left half a year ago, after realizing that Titan and Hades were no longer in danger on this Island and were protected by powerful individuals in the dark.
Without concerns for Hades' safety, she also had things to do.
She needed to pave the way for Hades in advance and find suitable women for him.
That last part was a bit unconventional, but it was true.
As Hades grew up, with Titan accompanying him and top-tier powerful individuals protecting him in the dark, there wasn't much help she, as a mother, could provide.
She could only contribute a small amount of effort, searching for Devil Fruits and looking for a Daughter-in-law she could be satisfied with.
Hades' father, "Death God" Ye Ge, had established an Organization integrating Intelligence and assassination when he was adventuring on The Great Sea before the Rocks Pirates were formed.
Jaeger did not expose his identity, controlling this Organization named Dark Night from the shadows.
Even after his death, the Organization did not disband; instead, it continued to operate, developing with the covert assistance of the Tartarus Family.
Now, the Control of this Organization was in Nyx's hands.
After nearly twenty years of development, "Dark Night" could only be considered a small assassin Organization in the New World.
The assassins' Strength wasn't very high; the highest bounty of a Pirate they had assassinated was close to 40 million Beli.
Although Dark Night was an assassin Organization, its main development was actually in the direction of Intelligence, which others were unaware of.
Moreover, Dark Night also had some fame in the First Half of the Grand Line.
Compared to the Four Seas and the First Half of the Grand Line, which had weaker overall Strength, Dark Night was indeed somewhat well-known.
Nyx communicated covertly with the Kronos Kingdom through "Dark Night", searching for Devil Fruits, placing Informants, and obtaining Intelligence.
Half of "Dark Night" also belonged to Hades.
Hades didn't care much about the assassination aspect.
The original establishment of Dark Night was to plant a nail in the Underground World and enhance Hades' Intelligence Force.
Over the years, although it couldn't compare to Factions with powerful backing and centuries of history, Dark Night had indeed developed.
Hades wasn't sure what his mother was doing now, but what left him somewhat speechless was that his mother had actually brought back two girls of the Elf Race, a Variant Race.
The "Elf Race" is also known as the "Pointy-Ear Race", a rare Variant Race.
Elf Race girls are famous for their beauty and once possessed a Kingdom.
However, with the prevalence of Slave Poaching, they gradually declined, their numbers becoming scarce, and they have now essentially disappeared from Great Sea.
The entire Elf Race is hidden on a mysterious Island called Emerald Forest.
Emerald Forest is located in Dangerous Waters with an extreme climate.
Coupled with a considerable guarding force, very few Poaching Groups dare to go to Emerald Forest; most are destroyed by Nature before they even find it.
However, every ten years or so, there are still lucky ones who manage to capture Elf Race girls from Emerald Forest.
Each appearance causes a scramble.
Every Elf Race girl can be auctioned for a price comparable to a Mermaid Girl, after all, rarity commands a high price.
Perhaps it was because Hades had specifically looked for information about the special races of this Great Sea before, making his mother think Hades liked this type.
Regarding this, Hades just wanted to say, "I'm not taking the blame for this."
But he also had to admit, "It's really something."
After all, Hades had indeed had the idea of collecting them.
Nyx was truly Hades' mother; she grasped Hades' thoughts instantly.
After carefully inquiring, it turned out that these two Elf Race girls were accidentally caught by Slave Traders and became Slaves.
His mother got the news and rescued them.
As for how the news got out, those who knew were basically silenced, so how could news spread?
Since Hades grew up, Nyx had decided to hide behind the scenes, helping Hades manage the Underground World's Faction and Intelligence.
Especially since he would soon be joining the Rocks Pirates, Hades also needed a certain level of faction support in the dark.
When she left, his mother also took Ananke with her.
For Ananke, Strength wasn't necessary.
Because Hades and Titan's Strength increase was too fast, continuing to follow Hades would only be a burden.
Besides Devil Fruit Ability, Nyx also wanted to cultivate Ananke's other abilities that could provide help to Hades.
(end of chapter)