Holy Land Mary Geoise, Flower Room.
A pale, slender hand reached into the void, abruptly disappearing from the elbow as if entering another space.
After a moment, the delicate arm withdrew from the void, fingers slightly curled like claws, as if grasping something.
Imu brought her right hand before her eyes, seemingly sniffing its scent.
Suddenly, she let out a dreamlike murmur.
"Soon, I've waited over eight hundred years—is the most perfect end finally approaching? It seems I must slightly accelerate this world's progress."
After speaking, Imu's mist-like figure vanished among the flowers as if erased by a rubber.
A short while later, a blurred figure appeared on the supreme Empty Throne.
Below the throne, the Gorosei knelt respectfully on the ground.
"Appropriately loosen the defenses in the four seas to accelerate Straw Hat Luffy's growth."
"Saturn, stimulate his mind a little more."
"Spare no effort to track the Red Hair Pirates' location, find Laugh Tale, and seize everything upon it."
"When the time is ripe, extinguish all the lights."
After giving these orders, Imu on the throne disappeared once again.
The Gorosei continued with bowed heads and submissive expressions, kneeling for a long while before slowly looking up and exchanging glances.
Nusjuro scratched his scalp with the hilt of his Kitetsu, hesitating as he said.
"Stimulating Straw Hat Luffy is simple enough, Saturn, that's your specialty.
But as for Shanks, he's not easy to find. He has mastered Observation Killer, which not only allows him to conceal himself, but his Conqueror's Haki is powerful enough to hide an entire ship.
Isn't it too early to extinguish all the lights now? After all, the fruits haven't been fully harvested yet."
"Are you questioning Imu-sama's orders, Nusjuro?! Although Shanks is of your clan, don't forget he has deviated from his divine status and is leaning toward becoming a natural enemy of the gods.
If he hadn't consistently maintained his balanced faction approach, we should have eliminated this traitor who abandoned the gods long ago!"
Mars's expression was extremely displeased.
"Stop arguing. Imu-sama's commands are always supreme. Even if he ordered us to die right now, it would be our honor!"
Saturn, dressed in a crisp suit, smoothed his beard and stood up, walking to the open space in front of the group.
His eyeballs suddenly extended forward, connected by fleshy strands resembling sticky intestines.
The eyeballs quickly became round and bulging, blinking at the ends of the fleshy strands.
Meanwhile, Saturn's body rapidly began changing shape.
He dropped to all fours, his back arching high, and his entire body softened, transforming into a giant multicolored snail!
"Zoan type, Mythical Zoan - Den Den Mushi form!"
The transformed multicolored Den Den Mushi Saturn projected a screen of light from its round eyes, quickly weaving a very clear image.
At that moment, Nusjuro took out another Image Den Den Mushi from his pocket and placed it on the ground opposite Saturn.
This small Image Den Den Mushi was the most common type, capable of storing only about one minute of footage.
In mid-air, the giant multicolored Den Den Mushi that was Saturn directly fabricated and woven a segment of image, then injected it into the small Image Den Den Mushi.
"Alright, watching this should provide sufficient stimulation to Joy Boy's spirit. Heh, have someone contact him."
The Mythical Zoan Den Den Mushi form was precisely why the World Government could freely eavesdrop on anyone without restraint.
...
On a small island in the West Blue.
Luffy sat alone on a reef at the edge of the island, gazing absently at the vast ocean horizon.
"Luffy, someone's looking for you. It seems to be CP0."
A woman's voice came from behind - it was Robin.
Luffy was startled: "CP0? What do they want with me? Didn't I already turn down the Marines?"
Indeed, ever since Luffy and Zoro began traveling the seas, engaging in activities like eliminating pirates and upholding justice,
the Marines had contacted them, attempting to recruit them into the Navy.
This is what they had said:
"Monkey D. Luffy, although you once broke into Impel Down to rescue your brother Fire Fist Ace and released many heinous prisoners, considering you are Vice Admiral Garp's grandson and now show remorse, we in the Marines invite you to become part of justice and contribute to this world's peace!"
Luffy had no intention of joining the Marines, so he refused outright.
And now, CP0 agents were seeking him out again.
Could it be another attempt to persuade him to join the Marines?
Luffy shook his head slightly.
Although he did seem to be upholding justice and cleansing the world of evil at the moment, even the side of justice was divided between the Marines and the Revolutionary Army.
The Revolutionary Army's creed was to maintain peace and protect the weak, making them fundamentally purer than the Marines, who served as the World Government's lapdogs.
After all, the Revolutionary Army didn't have the notorious exploiters—the Celestial Dragons, the World Nobles—looming over them.
Robin picked up the Den Den Mushi. "Should I hang up?"
Luffy hesitated for a moment, then reached out his hand to her.
Soon, the voice of a CP0 agent came through the Den Den Mushi.
From the sound of it, the speaker was a woman.
"Straw Hat Luffy, do you know why Krieg in the East Blue is targeting your companions? Want to know the reason? Find a Den Den Mushi that can receive images."
The CP0 agent was very direct, stating her purpose right from the start.
Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, Luffy and Robin's breathing grew rapid.
Luffy tightened his grip on the Den Den Mushi, his voice suddenly turning low and intense.
"What do you mean?"
"Heh, find an Image Den Den Mushi, and you'll learn the truth."
Luffy immediately looked up at Robin standing before him.
Robin nodded and, without another word, headed straight into the island.
A short while later, she returned with a Den Den Mushi the size of a fist.
Following behind her was Zoro, clad in a black robe.
In just a few days, Zoro's short green hair had grown over a foot long, cascading over his shoulders, and his pupils had turned completely black, giving him an extremely eerie appearance.
When Robin turned on the Image Den Den Mushi as instructed, it quickly received a video transmission from the other side.
Luffy and the others focused their attention on the screen.
In the footage, there was a massive figure with horns on his head.
At that moment, he was seated on a golden throne, one hand resting on a dragon-headed armrest, the other holding a Den Den Mushi.
"Is this Krieg? Good. I have a task for you. If you can bring me the heads of Straw Hat Kid's companions in the East Blue, I'll grant you an exception to join the Beast God Pirates! Moreover, I'll give you a Devil Fruit to enhance your strength. Borororo, don't worry. I am Barbarossa Caesar!"
The video was short, only about ten seconds long.
But the man in the footage and the sound of his voice were something Luffy, Zoro, and Robin would never forget for the rest of their lives!
"Caesar!" Luffy gritted his teeth so hard that blood seeped from his gums.
A chilling, icy killing intent emanated from Zoro, and the ground beneath his feet began to spread with a thin layer of frost.
"So, Krieg was acting under Caesar's orders! Why? Why won't he leave us alone even after we've disbanded?" Robin murmured, unable to understand.
Luffy's face darkened, and he suddenly turned to Robin. "Robin, contact the Marines from last time!"
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