Ohara, Tree of Knowledge.
Dr. Clover finally received news from the transponder snail.
"Is that you, Beltz?"
Dr. Clover said in a low voice, "I told Vegapunk some things about you, but he expressed doubt about your words."
"He hopes to meet you in person if you have the time."
"If he can gain your approval, he is willing to leave MADS and join your team."
"Sure, did he say when?" Beltz replied.
"Next month, he will be heading to the Sabaody Archipelago for an academic discussion lasting a week. You can go find him anytime during that period."
"Fine, I'll have time next month as well."
Beltz agreed.
By next month, the selection for the Sternritter would also be over.
If nothing went wrong, he would have plenty of time.
"Wait a moment."
Sensing that Beltz was about to hang up, Dr. Clover added, "You're that dragon from the God Valley incident, aren't you?"
"?" Beltz was somewhat surprised and asked, "How did you know?"
"There were local reports of a dragon's silhouette flashing by during the days you appeared, and later I saw the image of a dragon on the World Government's bounty posters."
Dr. Clover said solemnly, "If you really are that dragon, you should be careful lately."
"Why?" Beltz couldn't help but ask. "What do you know?"
"Yesterday, the World Economic Times published a report saying that all the treasures of the Celestial Dragons in God Valley were taken by a dragon, valued at tens of billions of berries."
Damn, it was that guy Morgans!
That Big News King!
"Tens of billions in wealth is enough to drive anyone mad. I heard that those from the Rocks Pirates who disbanded have already set their sights on you, especially Golden Lion Shiki."
"?"
"Yes, even though it's been less than two months since they disbanded, that group of extremely evil pirates doesn't seem affected by their leader's death; instead, they've become even more rampant. Shiki has put out word that he hopes you'll join his subordinates."
"Alright, thanks. But you don't need to worry."
Beltz said softly, "The Golden Lion won't be able to find me."
The World Government only knew he could transform into a dragon, but they didn't know what his human form looked like.
Well, it should be said that although they had seen him, the time was too short for them to possibly draw a portrait of him.
So as long as he didn't actively expose his abilities, they wouldn't be able to find him.
And even if they did find him, so what? At worst, he could just hide back in the Empire. Who could do anything to him then?
If all else failed, he would just call people out from the Empire.
He'd call Gremmy out and beat anyone who dared to target him into a pulp!
Finally hanging up the phone, Beltz returned to the church.
Although he had told Kuma to go rest, Kuma hadn't actually gone back; he had been waiting inside for him the whole time.
"You really don't need to worry about me, go to sleep." Seeing Kuma like this, Beltz felt a bit helpless.
"I'm not sleepy." Kuma gave a simple smile. "Lord Beltz's matters are most important."
Kuma was just too kind; this kind of personality would really lead to him being taken advantage of.
In the original story, Kuma suffered so many hardships. While it was certainly because the Celestial Dragons were too despicable, it also had a certain relationship with his personality.
If he could be more assertive, he could avoid some troubles.
But this time, with him around, he wouldn't let Kuma be modified into a soulless weapon for the Celestial Dragons to drive again.
As for Ginny, she certainly wouldn't become a wife to a Celestial Dragon.
Beltz sighed, "Don't think too highly of me. One day when the filter breaks, you'll feel that I'm no different from anyone else."
"No."
"That's impossible." Beltz shook his head. "I can tell you clearly that Nika will be born nineteen years from now."
"Nineteen years..." Kuma was stunned for a moment. "Why?"
"This world has its own destiny, and I am someone outside of that destiny, so I cannot be Nika."
Zoan-type Devil Fruits are suspected of having a will of their own.
Especially the Nika Fruit; it had explicitly been avoiding the World Government for hundreds of years.
Only when Luffy arrived would the Nika Fruit reveal itself and then be eaten by Luffy.
And Beltz was not a person of this world. Perhaps other than Luffy, only he could eat the Nika Fruit under the condition of interfering with destiny.
But he had already eaten the Azure Dragon Fruit, so he naturally didn't need the Nika Fruit.
Compared to the Nika Fruit which required awakening to obtain incredibly powerful combat strength, the Azure Dragon Fruit could grant the user great power even in its basic form, which better suited Beltz's needs.
The Nika Fruit's ceiling was higher, and it was suspected to have a special effect against Imu, but if he wanted a higher ceiling, he didn't need to come to One Piece to find it.
Wouldn't finding a Hōgyoku in the world of Bleach have an even higher ceiling?
"Destiny... does destiny really exist..." Kuma murmured.
Beltz didn't answer this question, but just patted him on the shoulder.
"Go rest, there's still work to do tomorrow."
He left the transponder snail in the church and walked out again to continue his training.
When the time was right, he returned to the Wandenreich covered in sweat.
After taking a bath and rinsing his body, Beltz went to make lunch.
He didn't eat lunch with Liltotto, but instead went to organize the intelligence he had gathered from the monitoring room last time.
Since he was going to meet Vegapunk next month, he naturally had to get his materials in order.
Actually, he also wanted to see if he could get information on the Hōgyoku.
Because if he remembered correctly, the data on Urahara Kisuke and Aizen's creation of the Hōgyoku was forcibly recorded in the Great Spirit Book Gallery.
As long as he obtained the corresponding data from the Great Spirit Book Gallery, he might also be able to manufacture a Hōgyoku.
However, the Great Spirit Book Gallery was one of the most important areas in the Soul Society, and it couldn't be peered into even from within the shadows.
The Wandenreich, situated in the shadows of the Seireitei, could monitor the vast majority of areas.
But there were also some areas that couldn't be peered into.
These areas were places that had not been invaded by the Quincies during the war a thousand years ago.
Because Reishi hadn't been injected into those shadows, they couldn't be expanded into.
This included the estates of the Five Great Noble Families, the Central 46's Seijōrin, and important facilities like the Great Spirit Book Gallery; none were within the Wandenreich's monitoring range.
So getting data on the Hōgyoku was a relatively difficult task, at least it couldn't be obtained within the Wandenreich.
If he had the chance... he still had to go to the outside world. Whether it was the Human World or the Soul Society, there were many things he wanted!