"Wright, Rob Lucci and his team have already set off."
Rosinante returned to the office, recalling the strange looks Lucci and the others had given him. He couldn't shake the feeling that they had misunderstood something entirely:
"Hey, you deliberately set up my identity to be 'accidentally' discovered by them just for this effect, didn't you? I swear, they must have come up with some ridiculous assumptions!"
"Hahaha! Of course! If it were just one person, it might not be so bad—but there were several of them... And considering they're from CP, they're already privy to all sorts of ambiguous 'classified intelligence.' Now that they've stumbled upon this, even if you tried to drive them away, they wouldn't leave!"
Wright laughed heartily. With his knowledge of movie and television tropes, he could perfectly imagine what kind of thoughts Rob Lucci and his group had upon departing.
The secret of the 'God'... was simply too amusing.
And as their investigation deepened, revealing more about the Celestial Dragons—especially the truth behind the Donquixote Family—their speculations would only intensify. But one thing was certain:
They would come to believe in Wright's words more and more!
"We haven't told them anything; they discovered it on their own. And besides, it's all true."
Wright smirked mischievously: "With Rob Lucci's talent, and his current secret training, he has already mastered both Armament and Observation Haki. Thanks to his exceptional physique, he's still in a phase of rapid growth. I can't wait for the day he returns to CP!"
"You... You're still as cunning—I mean, wise and brilliant—even as Fleet Admiral."
Rosinante rolled his eyes. "Kuina is back. This reconnaissance mission yielded some results."
"Oh? There's finally movement in Elbaf?"
During the Summit War, Kuina led the Dawn in aerial reconnaissance over the New World, being the first to discover the battle between the two Emperors—Kaido of the Beasts and Red-Haired Shanks.
But after Shanks prevented Kaido's raid on Whitebeard's territory, instead of returning to his own domain or staying to monitor Kaido's movements, he went straight to the world's strongest nation—the Giant Kingdom of Elbaf!
Then, despite Kuina closely monitoring Elbaf under Tsuru's orders for so long, all she received was news of the war's end—
The Red Hair Pirates had suddenly appeared on the battlefield of Marineford!
They had vanished from right under her nose, only to cross the Red Line and arrive at Marineford in a single day!
How had they done it?!
Not only Kuina, but the entire Marine Headquarters had no clue.
Even Wright could only speculate.
After the war, Kuina had been busy helping the Marines relocate swiftly and handling the aftermath of Whitebeard's territories. It was only recently that she had time to resume reconnaissance on Elbaf.
"Let her report to you directly... The Lightforged Beacon's teleportation is ready. Once she finishes handling Dawn's affairs, she will come in person."
"Good!"
...
"Wright-senpai, Elbaf is completely off-limits to the Marines. If not for Tashigi's help, we wouldn't have uncovered any clues this time."
At Marineford, inside the Fleet Admiral's office, Kuina was reporting her findings to Wright.
Now, both Tashigi's Nine-Tailed Fox Fruit and Bone's Moa Moa no Mi could be publicly disclosed. The Moa Moa no Mi, as an aggressive combat fruit, wasn't the focus, but the Nine-Tailed Fox Fruit had proven invaluable.
"Using her transformation ability, Tashigi disguised herself as a young Giant child and managed to sneak into a village. However, she didn't dare venture too deep."
"She can't yet fully transform into an adult Giant, but turning into a child is barely possible. Still, even a Giant child is vastly larger than an ordinary human, so the transformation couldn't be maintained for long."
Guina continued seriously, "According to Tashigi's report, Elbaf is extremely hostile to outsiders. But the moment she mentioned 'the Red-Haired Pirates,' everyone's attitude became very friendly!"
Wright raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly:
"At the very least, this confirms that Shanks and Elbaf share amicable relations, but it doesn't necessarily mean they are allies."
"So far, we only know that the Giants despise Big Mom, but regarding other groups, they have merely remained distant rather than antagonistic."
Guina nodded in agreement:
"Yes. However, further investigation is too risky. Tashigi is still unfamiliar with Elbaf's customs, and her transformation can't last too long."
"Still, she obtained some crucial intelligence..."
"Tashigi encountered a child who had personally witnessed the Red-Haired Pirates' arrival. According to them, Shanks headed straight for the heart of Elbaf—"
"The Treasure Tree Adam!"
Wright fell silent for a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"So, Elbaf's Treasure Tree Adam is indeed unusual…"
"Whether it's the tree itself or something near it, Shanks clearly went there, allowing him to cross the Red Line and reach Marineford so quickly."
"Exactly… Wright-senpai, although this kind of tree exists elsewhere, only Elbaf's is the largest and strongest—hence why it's called Treasure Tree Adam."
Kuina spoke earnestly:
"From the ocean, you can't even see its peak. Even its trunk shows no sign of narrowing, stretching endlessly into the sky—calling it 'towering into the clouds' isn't an exaggeration."
"The tree is guarded by Giant warriors, making it impossible for a child to approach. That's where Tashigi's investigation had to end."
Kuina's expression darkened slightly:
"Originally, after Tashigi returned, I wanted to use the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi's ability to fly up along the tree and see what was at the top, but…"
"The tree is just too massive! Once I got high enough, I couldn't even distinguish the main trunk from the branches… All I could see was an endless expanse of enormous limbs and leaves!"
Kuina rubbed her temples in frustration:
"I couldn't find any useful information under those conditions!"
"Hmm, given Treasure Tree Adam's size, that's not surprising—after all, the Sunlight Tree Eve of Fish-Man Island has roots wide enough to accommodate entire islands between them."
Wright tapped his fingers rhythmically against the desk, contemplating before speaking again:
"At the very least, this suggests that no one has ever fully understood Treasure Tree Adam from all angles."
"It's likely that Elbaf isn't just guarding something around the tree—the tree itself may hold an unknown power."
"Remember Skypiea's former 'God,' Gan Fall?"
"Gan Fall?" Kuina blinked. "The... 'Sky Knight'?"
"Exactly. He once mentioned a path leading to the White-White Sea called the 'Summit of High West.'"
Wright smiled slightly:
"What does that make you think of?"
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