"The priority remains: to acquire our own starships as soon as possible."
Saint Marcus Mars did not refute Shepherd Ju Peter's point.
"After all, if we're to delve deeper into the cosmos and gather more intelligence, we'll certainly need enough starships to do so."
"The problem, of course, is that building them isn't something that can be done quickly. Even constructing a single ocean-going warship takes months."
After listening to Marcus Mars, Saint Topman Warcury asked in a deep voice: "Then what does your science division propose?"
The other three turned their eyes toward him.
"We do have something. Dr. Stylish from the Teigu World offered a suggestion—
We should try repairing the captured pirate battleships and learn to control them, using the opportunity to accumulate hands-on experience in space navigation."
"So that's why you had me notify Command earlier—not to damage those pirate warships if possible." Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro added calmly.
"Exactly."
Marcus Mars nodded.
"The only issue now is—how do we repair these space battleships? Currently, we have two possible paths:
One, put our faith in Vegapunk and his team, though how long they'll take remains unknown.
Two, rely on the secret treasures of Starfish: the power of the Devil Fruits."
"Can we really repair damaged space battleships that quickly? Is there a Devil Fruit that can do that?" asked Saint Jaygarcia Saturn.
"There is." Saint Marcus Mars replied, "I've already consulted with the Grand Chamberlain's Office. According to the officials in charge of the Holy Treasury, there's a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit called the Reverse-Return Fruit that grants the ability to rewind the temporal state of matter—sending it back to a past condition."
"But the specific amount of time depends on the user's mastery. According to historical records, the strongest known user could reverse an object by up to twenty years."
Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro furrowed his brow. "In that case, just use it. We only need to repair recently damaged battleships—doesn't sound like we need much mastery for that."
Marcus Mars let out a sigh. "The issue is, the larger the target being reversed, the more stamina it consumes. Those pirate battleships are at least 500 meters long—definitely not something an average person can handle. So the choice of user is critical."
The others fell into deep thought.
It had to be chosen carefully. After all, it was a time-based Devil Fruit.
"There are a few graduates every year from the Celestial Dragon Academy. Why not choose an elite among them and grant him this Devil Fruit?" said Saint Shepherd Ju Peter suddenly.
"That's right. Those who graduate from the Academy might not be especially strong,
but even ordinary officers can't always defeat them. They should have enough stamina to reverse at least one battleship!"
Saint Topman Warcury was quite satisfied with this suggestion.
Suddenly, a particular young face surfaced in his mind.
"No need to pick a fresh graduate. The Academy happens to have someone ideal right now."
"You mean..."
"That boy—Donquixote Doflamingo's younger brother!"
Marcus Mars thought it over and nodded.
"True, he's a good fit. We just don't know how strong he currently is."
"If he's not strong enough, then train him. The Celestial Dragon Academy exists to cultivate talent. And if that's not enough, send him directly to the God's Knights Order—he'll receive the mark like all of them, tied to Abyss," said Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro coldly.
...
Above Jupiter's orbit.
At this moment, the Odette Space Pirates aboard each of their warships were already gripped by panic and shock.
Just as the high-ranking members of the World Government constantly monitored the battle from the rear, the pirates on this side could also see the footage transmitted back by the fleet at the front.
However, the images sent by the space pirates not only suffered from significant delays, but were also extremely unstable—often flickering, cutting to black, or distorting with visual static.
Captain Odette herself stood in the command room of the White Bird, her face darkened with fury.
On the large screen before her, the fleet she had dispatched was being utterly annihilated by a golden flash, a bolt of blue lightning, and a massive blue-scaled azure dragon nearly as large as a warship.
Those space warships—powerful enough to rival the cruisers of the 'Galactic Empire'—were collapsing like paper before them, completely powerless to resist.
Desperate, hysterical screams echoed from every direction—cries of terror from the crew still engaged in a desperate fight against Borsalino and the others.
"How can this be…? How can there be superpowered beings this powerful?"
Odette felt no different from the rest of the pirates.
In her worldview, no supernatural ability could possibly rival the might of a space warship.
Well—there was one, a name she'd only ever heard in legends. But that was just barroom gossip, the kind of tale passed around over drinks and laughter.
Outside of that, the most powerful superhuman she had ever witnessed had only barely managed to block one or two rounds from a warship's main cannon—and that was with everything he had.
In the end, that man, along with the city he had stood in, was reduced to nothing under their sustained bombardment.
"What kind of civilization is this? If I could conquer it… would I also gain this kind of overwhelming power?"
As one of the Seven Official Pirate Captains of Neptune Star, Odette's instincts kicked in immediately.
Even amid the terror brought on by the monstrous power displayed by Borsalino and the others, she keenly sensed the unimaginable benefits that might lie behind it.
But judging from the current situation, those benefits came with risks just as great—if not greater.
"Captain!"
"Our fleet has been completely destroyed! That golden light and the lightning— they're headed this way!"
A panicked cry erupted from one of the space pirates seated at the operations console.
"Hmm?"
Captain Odette quickly looked up at the regional map displayed on the large screen—and sure enough, two energy signatures were steadily approaching.
Judging by their current velocity, it would take several days for them to reach the vicinity of Saturn.
This led Captain Odette to another troubling question:
Were those two superpowered beings seriously going to fly through space for several days and nights—just to fight her pirate crew, which still retained over half its full strength?
Either way, both options sounded completely insane!
At this moment, Captain Odette faced a difficult decision.
Should she remain here, wait for them to arrive, and then take advantage of their exhaustion to kill or capture them?
Or should she withdraw for now, recover her strength, and think of a better plan—or even return someday for revenge?
Odette spent nearly half a day silently weighing her options before making her decision.
Retreat.
Her main reasoning was this: the civilization on that blue planet clearly wasn't composed of idiots.
If they dared send two such powerful superpowered beings alone, it meant they weren't at all concerned about physical exhaustion.
Unbelievable, yes—but their very existence was already unbelievable. So she couldn't entirely rule it out.
And if that were truly the case, then the moment those two reached her forces… it would likely spell the total annihilation of her entire crew.
Captain Odette didn't think the odds of winning such a gamble were in her favor.
So she chose to get out—alive.
Once they left, she would use the vast amount of mineral resources mined from 'Saturn' over these past few days to find a way to recover—perhaps even further strengthen—the power of her pirate crew.
There was also the issue of secrecy!
This entire star system was like a treasure trove—every single planet held unimaginable value.
If other powers in the universe caught wind of this, it would trigger a massive upheaval.
And when that happened, there'd be no place left for the Odette Pirates.
Thus, Captain Odette issued the strictest gag order to all crew members under her command:
Anyone who leaks information about this 'Great Treasure Star System'—no matter who—will be executed on the spot!
Her current goal was to hide this 'treasure'—and one day return to unlock and claim it for herself.
Several hours later, after the final excavation teams from 'Saturn' had returned to their ships...
One by one, the black warships of the Odette Space Pirates, led by the pristine White Bird, activated their faster-than-light jumps, and disappeared into the void—vanishing without a trace.
Moments later, only the pockmarked rocky surface of Saturn remained, silently bearing witness to the fact that someone had once come here—and taken away an uncountable amount of resources.
Meanwhile—
Like two brilliant shooting stars streaking across the vast sea of stars, Borsalino and Enel came to a simultaneous stop.
Their figures emerged from blinding flashes of golden light and blue lightning.
They had sensed the Den-Den Mushi in their 'Justice Cloaks' vibrating.
Borsalino and Enel each took out a Den-Den Mushi and placed it on their palms.
[Return immediately. Lord Imu has issued an order: all space pirates on Saturn have withdrawn. Marshal Zephyr, Air Force HQ.]
Since sound could not travel through space, the Den-Den Mushi projected the message as text for them to read—
Zephyr's command appeared as glowing script.
"Well, that's good news. Looks like we won't have to exhaust ourselves flying for days. Whew—"
Borsalino let out a sigh of relief, visibly relaxed.
Not far away, Enel looked visibly disappointed.
He had been hoping to use this mission to earn enough merit for a promotion to General.
"What space pirates? Just a bunch of cowardly trash!"
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