At the same time, within Wano Country, another Divine Blessing Ritual had just concluded, and some people finally obtained the abilities they had wished for.
However, the ones who gained the most from this Divine Blessing Ritual were not the newly promoted Blessed Ones, but certain onlookers.
"So that's how it is. Camel, this is how your change came about too, right?"
In a corner below the stage, Kuzan looked at the penguin beside him. At this moment, he finally understood why Camel had gone from being an ordinary penguin to one with extraordinary abilities.
After Camel conveyed his affirmation, Kuzan's thoughts were confirmed.
"Remnants of the Lunarians, revered as sacred by the Lunarians… so from beginning to end, it was never a Devil Fruit user, nor some technological creation, but an ancient god?"
Kuzan's murmured words were heard clearly by Queen beside him, and for some reason, Queen felt a bit moved.
King and Shayna stopped hiding themselves. As the Lunarians stepped into the spotlight, Arceus was making his existence even more apparent. Otherwise, people like Kuzan, whose motives were still unclear, would never have been allowed to observe the Divine Blessing Ritual.
"You finally realized it?"
"Pure strength could belong to humans, but this kind of creation power isn't something any fruit could possess. If such a fruit really existed, the World Government wouldn't have been completely ignorant of it for hundreds of years."
Although shocked, Kuzan did not lose his composure. As a high-ranking Marine, he was privy to quite a bit of information, though still not as much as the Beasts Pirates, since most of his knowledge came from conjecture.
After all, things like this first appeared within the Beasts Pirates. Mythical Zoan abilities, the successive birth of Pokémon—every sign pointed to the overwhelming power of Arceus.
The miraculous spring on the Sacred Mountain, the mysterious power surrounding the mountain itself, not to mention the existence of something like the Arceus Cult. Even many of the Beasts Pirates' core members had their own thoughts.
As long as one's intelligence was at or above the human average, they would inevitably form their own ideas about it. It was just that none of this had ever been formally exposed to the outside world.
"I've suffered far too much, you know. Honestly, I really wonder what was going on in the heads of you Marines and the World Government's Intelligence Branch."
"No, this kind of speculation has existed for a long time. It's just that the World Government also wished for you to take the fall. They will never admit that their enemy has a god—never.
An evil scientist is far easier to deal with than a mysterious god."
After thinking it over, Kuzan gave another blow to Queen.
"Based on my understanding, if they're not certain, the World Government will hedge their bets and increase the bounties on both of you simultaneously.
But once they confirm his true identity, they'll do everything they can to conceal his existence, shift all the blame onto you, and then find a way to eliminate you to showcase their own efforts."
Watching Queen gradually stiffen, losing some of his hope, Kuzan stood up and left. His way of thinking seemed to be changing again. When the right opportunity came, he really wanted to know how a god actually thought.
"Different from those so-called gods among the Celestial Dragons, I suppose. Come to think of it, I should probably go take a look at their monasteries."
While Kuzan pondered whether to study the lives of these believers, streams of outside world's intelligence continued to pour into Wano Country. Even Doflamingo, living a retired life and lazily reading newspapers, began to question reality a little.
In just a single month, the changes in the seas had become so drastic that he couldn't understand them, especially Luffy and Law, whom he found utterly baffling.
Before, the two of them had struggled just to fight him, yet now they dared to turn around and challenge Big Mom. That kind of audacity made him wonder whether he still hadn't woken up.
Meanwhile, Kaido grew more and more excited as he read the recent newspapers.
"Pirates, Marines, the World Government, the Revolutionary Army—these forces tangled together, triggering battles… no, wars. This kind of war is exactly what I want! Worororo!"
Time did not stop for any individual's actions. Both the pirates and the Revolutionary Army were planning their next moves, and the date of the Levely drew ever closer.
More and more ships arrived at Red Port. Different designs, different flags, yet all representing the most powerful nations in the world.
"Bondola No. 1 is descending. Five minutes remain until the next departure. Personnel who need to board, please hurry."
Accompanied by the frictional sounds of the cableway, the Bondolas that ascended and descended using the resin bubbles of the Yarukiman Mangrove trees were already prepared.
The bubble lift stations on both sides of the Red Line were the only legal way to get to Mariejois, and even under normal circumstances, a large number of people gathered here.
Lawful citizens traveled back and forth between the New World and Paradise using this method.
So, some onlookers took the opportunity to watch the royal families of various nations, as this was one of the few chances in their lives to see them up close.
For example, King Beer VI of the Roshwan Kingdom and his Matryo Princesses. Among the kings, this conference was much like a stage show, and some kings even took the chance to proclaim their famous sayings.
Such as Ham Burger, who resembled Lincoln and hailed from the Ballywood Kingdom. With his extremely slow gait, he waved to the crowd.
"Though I walk slowly, I will never turn around."
Because of the barriers of the sea and the rampant pirates, exchanges between nations were restricted. Even affiliated nations with the right to participate in the Levely were not particularly well known.
To promote their countries, gain more recognition in trade, and increase exports of their national products, these kings truly racked their brains.
Yet no matter how they arranged things, the most eye-catching was still the Ryugu Kingdom.
Floating above land with the help of Bubbly Coral, they drew massive attention the moment they appeared. Many people here were seeing Merfolk for the first time in their lives.
"It's Neptune of the Ryugu Kingdom!"
"And that's Jinbe, one of the Shichibukai. Why is a pirate here too…?"
As the kings arrived one after another, Mariejois was placed under heavy guard, while at the same time there were two individuals who seemed to be slacking off.
Ryokugyu was performing photosynthesis, while Fujitora continued to freeload on udon.
"Say, how long have you been freeloading meals from me? Mr. Sakazuki told me to kick you out."
"Want to have a fight?"
"Spare me. I don't want to fight you. You didn't come here just to sabotage the Levely, did you?"
"In a way. What I want to destroy is the system, the so-called Shichibukai system. It no longer needs to exist."
"Rahaha, you're really good at joking. Speaking of Shichibukai, one of them is attending this conference as well—the Fish-Man known as the Knight of the Sea, Jinbe. His reputation is pretty decent.
Since you want to abolish the Shichibukai system, are you going to arrest him immediately? Once he returns below the sea, you might not get another chance."
"I've heard of his reputation. They say he became a Shichibukai for political reasons. But no matter how chivalrous he may be, a pirate is still a pirate."
"So then, are you going to make a move or not?"
The more Fujitora avoided giving a direct answer, the more Ryokugyu wanted to know it. But in the end, he never received any meaningful response, as Fujitora simply stood up and left.
"The food was good. Many thanks."
"Then at least clean up before you go!"
"I'm blind. Are you really going to have a blind man clean up dishes?"
"…"
While Fujitora and Ryokugyu were discussing matters related to the Levely, the royal families had already arrived atop the Red Line. Shirahoshi, in particular, drew the attention of countless reporters because of her appearance.
With New Fishman Island as the territory and no longer being harassed by Vander Decken IX, Shirahoshi's range of activity was much broader. She had also seen plants unique to land, so she was not overly curious about the things here.
But her lack of curiosity did not mean others weren't interested in her. This was, after all, the region where the Celestial Dragons lived, and these people had always harbored special interests toward Merfolks.
Neptune had considered this issue, but he believed that during the Levely, the Celestial Dragons would restrain themselves at least somewhat, so Shirahoshi would not encounter any danger.
However, reality dealt him a painful blow. Celestial Dragons—or rather, Celestial Dragons like Charlos—never abandoned their personal desires because of the occasion. Even at this moment, he ordered his slaves to capture Shirahoshi.
Most people felt indignant but powerless, and dared not intervene. The few who tried to stop them were intercepted by CP0.
In the eyes of CP0, the orders of the Celestial Dragons were absolute. Stopping these people was, instead, an "act of justice" that saved their countries.
At this point, Neptune's patience had reached its limit. Just as he was about to swing his fist downward, Jinbe stopped him.
"Jinbe?"
"King Neptune, you are royalty. You must stay calm. You can't do this."
"But—"
"Leave it to me. I'm a pirate to begin with. Whatever I do is normal. Fish-Man Karate • 10000 Brick.."
****Please support on pat*eon for extra chapters; there is date to date subscription enabled on patreon. [There is a 7-day trial version availabe on patreon.]
https://www.pat*eon.com/dmtranslations
You can read ahead upto 75 chapters on my pa*reon.