Chapter 050: Refusal

After gaining the ability to freely travel between worlds, Wang Bo originally planned to leave this world immediately. But just then, Athena suddenly came to him.

Of course, it wasn't the Athena from the Saint Seiya world, but the Athena of this world.

Wang Bo received this goddess in his restaurant.

Athena said bluntly, "I need your help with something."

Wang Bo asked curiously, "What is it?"

In recent years, the sea had been in utter chaos. The Navy, pirates, nations, and gods took turns on stage, with new powers rising and old ones declining one after another.

For instance, a few years ago, Whitebeard allied with Red-Hair, becoming one of the strongest forces in the New World, which caught the attention of a certain god. This god promised that if Whitebeard and Red-Hair were willing to believe in him, he could make Whitebeard young again and regenerate Red-Hair's lost arm.

But for some reason, both Whitebeard and Red-Hair refused.

Thus, Whitebeard ultimately could not overcome his destined lifespan and died a year ago in a surprise attack by Big Mom and Kaido, with his pirate crew shattered.

When Red-Hair heard about this and rushed over, it was already too late; Whitebeard was long dead. He was also defeated by the combined forces of Kaido and Big Mom, retreating with the remnants of his crew.

Interestingly, not long after Whitebeard's death, Blackbeard rose to prominence.

He mastered the powers of two Devil Fruits and forcibly carved out a territory from Kaido and Big Mom, becoming the most talked-about pirate in the New World.

On the other hand, under Sengoku's guidance, the Navy rapidly rose, reaching agreements with many nations to provide protection and combat pirates, thereby securing sufficient military funding.

At the same time, the Navy conducted several worldwide conscriptions, gathering a large amount of combat power.

Not to mention other things, just the number of Admirals increased by several.

Besides the well-known Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru, the Navy's Admirals now included Fujitora, Green Bull, Momousagi, and Garp, forming an unprecedented seven Admirals.

Yes, after the Celestial Dragons were wiped out and the World Government collapsed, Garp accepted Sengoku's invitation and became a new Admiral.

He was also the strongest among all the Admirals.

More importantly, in this turbulent era, the Navy had aligned itself with the goddess of justice, Themis.

In ancient Greek mythology, Themis is the goddess of justice and order.

She is the daughter of Uranus (the sky god) and Gaia (the earth goddess), and the aunt of Zeus, the king of the gods. She is typically depicted as a blindfolded goddess wearing a white robe and a golden crown, holding a scale in her left hand and a sword in her right, leaning against a bundle of rods entwined with a snake, with a dog sitting at her feet, and on her desk a scepter, several books, and a skull.

The scale in her left hand symbolizes absolute fairness and justice, used to measure all injustices in the world. Later, Themis cast it into the sky, transforming it into the constellation Libra, representing that justice exists between heaven and earth.

The sword in her right hand is used to slay all evil in the world, punishing the wicked and promoting good—a powerful artifact for maintaining justice and righteousness.

The bundle of rods represents the supreme executive power, an embodiment of authority and punishment.

After aligning with the goddess of justice, the Navy received Themis's blessing. Garp, in particular, transformed from an old man with declining physical abilities back to his prime middle-aged state.

This was the peak of his strength.

This was also why he became the strongest Admiral.

More importantly, blessed by the goddess of justice, whenever the Navy carried out justice, they were divinely aided, with their strength multiplied.

This led to the Navy's strength not declining but increasing astonishingly after the World Government's collapse.

The seven Admirals were each stronger than the last, overwhelming most pirates.

Even Big Mom and Kaido, when united, were once at a disadvantage against the now-powerful Navy. Fortunately, they weren't fools and quickly found gods to align with.

The god they turned to was none other than the one who caused the Trojan War by sending the golden apple—Eris, the goddess of discord and strife.

With this goddess's help, Kaido and Big Mom could now contend with the Navy.

But even in this chaotic era, Athena remained one of the most prominent goddesses.

After gaining the faith of Fish-Man Island, she quickly expanded, subduing Amazon Lily and becoming its protector.

Boa Hancock was now a follower of Athena.

Additionally, the Kingdom of Dressrosa and several small islands had pledged allegiance to her.

So in recent years, Athena was definitely one of the most popular goddesses. Wang Bo couldn't understand what problem she could have that required his help.

Faced with Wang Bo's curiosity, Athena said calmly, "It's my uncle, Poseidon. He's planning a comeback and wants to reclaim Fish-Man Island."

Wang Bo said, "That again? But you shouldn't be afraid of Poseidon."

Ever since Athena took Fish-Man Island from Poseidon's grasp, Poseidon had repeatedly tried to take it back.

But the problem was that Athena had been developing well; she and Poseidon were among the first gods to seize the initiative, so Poseidon's several attempts had failed.

However, Wang Bo didn't understand why she was coming to him this time when she had handled it well before.

Wouldn't that mean she owed him a favor for nothing?

Athena said, "This time is different. Poseidon has persuaded a heavyweight god, so I must find an ally too."

"A heavyweight god? Who?" Wang Bo asked.

"Hades."

"Hades, the king of the underworld?" Wang Bo said in surprise. "He's getting involved in this? That shouldn't be."

This god of death was different from the troublemaking Poseidon; he was a perennial homebody who never left his domain unless necessary.

Hades rarely bothered with mortal affairs.

After all, matters in the underworld alone kept him busy enough.

So Wang Bo was somewhat surprised to hear that Poseidon had enlisted Hades.

Athena shook her head. "I don't know how Poseidon managed to persuade Hades, but the fact is that Hades is on his side. So I have no choice but to ask for your help."

However, Wang Bo didn't want to get involved in this mess. When he had helped Athena deal with Poseidon before, it was because he feared that a battle between two gods might affect both worlds and their fusion.

But now it was different. The two worlds had deeply merged, and even a war among gods couldn't affect them.

So after thinking it over, he refused Athena. "You could ask other gods for help. I'm sure they'd be willing to assist you."