Although the Minister of the Left tried to speak in hushed tones, and Neptune had deliberately lowered his massive, nearly forty-foot frame, there was no way their conversation could escape the ears of the crowd gathered on the plaza. Especially Gojo, who caught every single word with crystal clarity.
Looking toward the giant King and his minister, Gojo waved a hand dismissively. "You don't have to worry about repaying me or anything. I was just passing by. The real saviors were these Straw Hat pirates."
He casually gestured toward Luffy and the others before continuing.
"If that guy—what was his name again?" Gojo paused, scratching his cheek in mock thought. "I completely forgot. Whoever it was that Luffy was fighting. If he hadn't called me a 'Filthy Human,' I wouldn't have even bothered if that giant ship crashed and crushed your entire island. Frankly, it's none of my business."
His tone remained entirely calm and matter-of-fact.
"I have my own goals, and I need to reach the Dressrosa Kingdom as soon as possible. I have a promise to keep, so I'll be taking my leave."
King Neptune nodded.
Keeping Gojo on Fish-Man Island was a political landmine. If the World Nobles caught wind that the Ryugu royal family had hosted Gojo Satoru at a palace feast, the fallout would be catastrophic. It was the kind of trouble that could easily strip his kingdom of its attending rights at the upcoming Reverie.
And the Reverie was far too important. It had been his late wife, Queen Otohime's, greatest dreams, and he could not afford to jeopardize it.
Even so, Neptune genuinely wished to show his gratitude.
"Then at least allow us to offer you some treasures," King Neptune insisted sincerely. "They may prove useful to you on your journey through the New World."
Gojo simply shook his head. "No need. You guys already have enough on your plate."
As he spoke, his gaze swept across the ruined plaza. Defeated Fish-Men lay scattered everywhere alongside the human slaves of the New Fish-Man Pirates. The human slaves Hody had captured were only now beginning to realize they were truly free.
Without another word, Gojo lightly leapt back onto his ship.
The moment his foot hit the deck, an invisible barrier of Limitless expanded from his body, enveloping the entire vessel in a protective thin barrier. Then, he looked back at the Straw Hats with a faint, characteristic smirk.
"Well, I'm heading into the New World one step ahead of you guys. Let's hope we meet again soon."
With a gentle hum, his ship began to levitate. It smoothly drifted past the protective coating of Fish-Man Island, plunged back into the deep sea, and shot forward through the dark ocean currents.
A few hours later, Gojo finally breached the ocean surface, sunlight flooding the deck.
Thankfully, the surrounding waters were completely empty. That was a relief; the last thing he wanted after entering the New World was to immediately stumble into a chaotic ambush.
Deactivating the Limitless barrier, Gojo let the ship sail normally and headed straight into the kitchen. He needed to prepare a massive meal—not just to satisfy his appetite, but to replenish his energy.
After two years of grueling training in Alabasta, his strength had reached entirely new heights. His stamina, in particular, had increased tremendously.
More importantly, those two years had been defined by his brutal regimen with Sea Stone cuffs. Every time he snapped them on, the overwhelming sensory information of the Six Eyes would instantly vanish, as if plunging him into darkness; the moment he took them off, the world would rush back in. By repeating this cycle countless times, Gojo had achieved what even the original Gojo Satoru of the Jujutsu world never could: he had learned to consciously control and completely deactivate the Six Eyes.
The original Satoru's eyes were always active, forcing him to constantly wear a blindfold or dark sunglasses to prevent sensory overload. But this Gojo was finally free from that restriction. He still wore sunglasses out of habit, but the blindfold was no longer necessary.
After devouring an absurd amount of meat, Gojo stretched comfortably and lay down on the sunlit deck. The New World Log Pose on his wrist pointed toward three magnetic fields of the islands. He simply allowed the ship to drift in one of the island's direction. This specialized compass was a parting gift arranged for him by Vivi before he left Alabasta.
The sea was calm, and for a while, everything was perfectly peaceful.
However, just as Gojo was drifting off to sleep, another vessel materialized on the horizon.
It was a Marine battleship. Specifically, it belonged to the notoriously rowdy G-5 Branch, currently under the command of Vice Admiral Smoker.
On the Marine deck, a lookout scanning the horizon suddenly narrowed his eyes, his jaw dropping.
"Vice Admiral Smoker!" he yelled. "That ship approaching us... it looks exactly like Gojo Satoru's!"
The moment the name left the scout's mouth, Smoker snatched the binoculars away and aimed them at the distant vessel. There was no Jolly Roger flying from the mast. Instead, painted squarely across the massive black main sail, were two striking, sky-blue eyes.
That symbol alone was enough. It was the unmistakable signature of the God Slayer.
Smoker lowered the binoculars, his face tightening. "It's definitely him. Be prepared."
On the other side of the water, Gojo had already sensed their presence.
He lazily pushed himself up from the deck, walked over to the railing, and focused his gaze. His vision instantly zoomed in, sharpening across the miles of open sea until the figures on the Marine deck became perfectly clear.
Then, he spotted a very familiar, cigar-chomping face.
"Smoker, huh?" A amused smile played on Gojo's lips. "Well, talk about a coincidence."
Resting his chin on his hand, he watched the battleship draw closer.
"When I first started my journey in Paradise, one of the first notable Marines I ran into was Smoker. Now, the moment I step into the New World, the first guy I get to fight is Smoker again. It's like poetry."
Meanwhile, panic—or rather, wild excitement—spread like wildfire across the G-5 ship.
The moment the Marines realized they were closing in on the infamous "God Slayer" Gojo Satoru, the deck came alive. Unlike ordinary, disciplined Marines, the thugs of the G-5 branch were notoriously bloodthirsty and reckless. Instead of fear, their eyes gleamed with greed.
If they managed to take down a monster like Gojo, the promotions and bounties would be legendary.
One Marine grabbed a binocular, laughing out loud. "Haha! If we take his head back to Marine Headquarters, we'll be living like kings!"
Another Marine snatched the binocular from him. "Let me see! Ah... he doesn't look like much through the lens. We can totally take him. We've got Vice Admiral Smoker on our side, don't we?"
"Yeah!" "That's right!" "With Boss Smoker leading us, what's there to be afraid of?!"
The G-5 Marines roared in agreement, completely unbothered as the distance between the two ships continued to shrink.
None of them noticed that Smoker's expression had turned incredibly grim. Unlike the arrogant, cheering fools surrounding him, Smoker knew exactly what kind of absolute monster was smiling back at them from across the water.
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