"Rain, how did you know that the Ope Ope no Mi can perform the Immortality Surgery?"
Kaido, still shaken, narrowed his eyes with curiosity.
"That's what I heard," Rain replied, his tone carrying a sly hint of meaning.
"Heard it? From where? Don't tell me… that guy said it?"
Suspicion flickered in Kaido's dragon eyes. He had never heard Im mention anything of the sort.
"That's right. That guy said it."
Rain shamelessly threw all the blame onto Im. After all, neither Kaido nor Dragon knew anything about that shadowy figure. In times like this, wasn't it better to just talk casually?
"Then why didn't we hear it?"
Dragon finally spoke, his gaze sharpening. There was doubt in his eyes—Rain's explanation felt too convenient. Was this guy just making things up?
What, did Rain think they were uneducated?
"Because your knowledge, insight, and perspective aren't quite up to par."
Rain's lips curled into a playful grin.
"Isn't it enough to see, hear, and understand?"
Kaido and Dragon froze for a moment. Then the realization hit them.
"…Reading minds?"
"Not just reading minds," Rain corrected smoothly. "You have to be able to hear the Voice of All Things."
"Wait—Rain, you can hear it?!"
"Yeah. What, haven't I mentioned that before?" Rain asked, tilting his head innocently.
"When did you ever say that?!"
"Well, now you know." He shrugged casually. "It's not that important anyway."
"..."
Kaido exhaled heavily, smoke curling from his nostrils.
--
Sabaody Archipelago
As soon as Kaido reverted from his dragon form, Mira rushed to Rain's side.
"Rain! How are you? Are you hurt?" She scanned his body from head to toe.
Even though there wasn't a scratch on him, her expression remained anxious. What if he was hiding an internal injury? That would be far worse.
"Don't worry. This guy's built like a monster...he's fine," Kaido said casually, trying to brush it off.
But Mira ignored him completely, her gaze fixed only on Rain. She wouldn't relax until she heard it from his own mouth.
Rain chuckled softly. "It's alright, Mira. You know my ability. I just used up too much energy. No wounds."
Her tense shoulders eased, and a smile bloomed across her face. "…That's good. That's really good."
Rain felt a quiet warmth in his chest.
"Alright, let's move out first," Kaido interrupted gruffly. Watching the two dote on each other was giving him indigestion.
"This place is too close to Mary Geoise. We should head back to the New World—at least it's safer there."
"Got it."
Rain and Mira nodded in agreement. With that, Kaido launched forward, tearing across the skies toward the New World.
He hadn't forgotten...his men were still stationed at G-1. If Sakazuki realized Kaido wasn't there, his subordinates would be wiped out in an instant.
That man had the strength to do it without hesitation.
Elsewhere, Dragon had already regrouped with his allies. He immediately contacted Bartholomew Kuma to confirm the situation of Ivankov and the others after his departure.
"Dragon! Do you have any idea how much wealth we seized this time?!" Ivankov's excited voice practically exploded through the Den Den Mushi.
Dragon's brows furrowed. "…Tens of billions, perhaps?"
It hadn't been that long. Even with large-scale looting, that seemed about right.
"Wrong! Way more than that!" Ivankov shouted gleefully. "We're talking hundreds of billions! Five hundred billion isn't impossible!"
His voice trembled with excitement. "With this fortune, we won't have to worry about funding for at least ten years! The Revolutionary Army will enter a stage of explosive growth!"
"So much…?"
Dragon was stunned after hearing Ivankov's report.
He had long known that the Celestial Dragons controlled the majority of the world's wealth, but to actually seize such an enormous fortune in one raid—it was beyond even his expectations.
"If we could've plundered the vaults of Pangaea Castle itself… wouldn't it have easily exceeded one trillion?"
For a moment, Dragon felt a pang of regret at the thought.
"As for the treasure we did secure," Ivankov continued, "Kuma has already used his ability to send it back to headquarters."
"As for the slaves we freed, Kuma sent them to an uninhabited island in the first half of the Grand Line. We'll arrange for them to settle there next."
"I see. In that case, we'll rendezvous at the designated location," Dragon replied.
The Den Den Mushi call ended, and Dragon vanished into the night.
--
Meanwhile, at Mary Geoise
The sky was filled with the blinding glow of a massive meteorite suspended overhead.
Before it, Commander-in-Chief Kong, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Admiral Kuzan, and the Gorōsei stood in grim silence, confusion flickering across their eyes.
For a brief moment, a strange glint passed through the eyes of one of the Five Elders.
But it was gone just as quickly, hidden beneath a mask of calm detachment...as though he knew nothing at all. After all, Im was not truly dead. Merely sealed within.
"…What should we do next?"
Kong turned to the Gorōsei, waiting for their orders.
"Of course, we rescue him," the sword-wielding Elder snapped coldly.
The other Elders shot Kong a sharp glare. How could he be so blind to the obvious?
"Oh—oh, right," Kong muttered, suddenly realizing his blunder. He was about to move when a flash of golden light caught his eye.
"…Huh? Flames?"
He turned in surprise, only to see Sengoku, already in his Buddha form, beginning the rescue operation on his own.
"You—Sengoku! You're really doing this without calling me?!"
Kong's eyes bulged. It was the first time he had ever seen Sengoku act so independently.
Sengoku only gave him an apologetic glance before focusing his full might on dismantling the meteorite's outer shell like a demolition captain.
Kong, Sengoku, and Kuzan then joined forces, hammering relentlessly at the massive sphere, their combined attacks all focused on freeing what lay sealed at its center.
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