"Young individuals?"
Nusjuro raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Is Ian using these pirates for training?"
"That seems to be the case," said the CP0. "The Beasts Pirates probably already knew about this raid."
"Hmph, as expected, it's useless."
Peter snorted. "Then, what's the part that concerns you?"
"Regarding that," CP0 said in a grave voice, "You will understand once you watch the footage."
He brought over a massive Den Den Mushi and quickly played the recording of the battle that took place in the deep sea for the Gorosei.
After watching the footage, the Gorosei fell into deep thought.
But their focus of concern was—
Warcury raised his hand, pointing at the paused footage showing a dragon-person floating in the deep sea, covered in pink scales.
"What exactly is that kid's ability?"
"Except for the difference in body color, no matter how you look at it, its abilities are exactly the same as Kaido's!"
Mars looked at Saturn.
"What is going on? Is it even possible for two Devil Fruits in the world to have the same abilities?"
"This… is unheard of."
Saturn paused.
"But do you remember? Back when Ian captured Gion to threaten the World Government, he once exchanged for a failed copy of Kaido's Devil Fruit!"
"That failed one Vegapunk mentioned?"
Nusjuro's brow furrowed.
"But… it actually didn't fail? That guy Vegapunk deceived us?"
The Five Elders fell into silence instantly.
The question had arisen.
When Ian took that fruit back then, did he know it hadn't actually failed?
If he didn't know, then why would he give a supposedly failed Devil Fruit to someone—and to a kid who was clearly exceptionally talented at that?
If he did know, then who informed him?
Was it Vegapunk?
Had that old man betrayed them?
Could it be that the old man had some connection with Ian?
But when? The two should have never had any contact at all!
The Five Elders were plunged into deep confusion.
They couldn't make sense of the situation.
"Hah—"
Warcury exhaled deeply, then said seriously, "Whether Vegapunk and Ian were colluding or not, we still can't do anything to him now."
The other Elders nodded silently.
Right now, the World Government's entire hope rested on the energy that Vegapunk was developing.
"In any case, strengthen the surveillance on Vegapunk!"
Nusjuro said.
"Nothing must go wrong on his end."
Of course, none of the Elders disagreed.
Only by reviving that weapon could they secure an absolute advantage in the battle against the Beasts Pirates.
"However," Saturn pointed at the paused video footage.
"Aren't these kids a bit too strong?"
"Kids not even twenty years old, yet already possessing such power."
"Indeed."
Peter nodded in agreement. "Even if they're still far from reaching Ian's level at the same age, they're already unusually strong."
"This shows that our time is running out."
Warcury said, "In a few more years, these kids will grow even stronger."
"The Beasts Pirates, already astonishingly powerful, how much stronger will they become? It's almost unimaginable."
"We can't delay any longer. We should push Vegapunk again."
Wano Country.
A massive Azure Dragon soared over the high walls at the edge of the country, hovering above the inland sea.
Within the clouds of fire entwined around the dragon, Queen Otohime gazed down in amazement.
This is Wano Country?
From above, she could see vast and bustling cities, as well as sprawling fields that seemed to stretch endlessly.
Of course, the massive factories also caught her eye.
It's so lively.
Yet Otohime's attention was naturally drawn to the inland sea of this country.
Are the fishman who migrated from Fishman Island living here?
"Shirahoshi," Queen Otohime held her daughter's hand—much larger than hers—and said with a gentle smile, "This will be our home from now on!"
Princess Shirahoshi also stared down in wonder.
Even though, because of the Beasts Pirates, it was no longer a luxury in today's Fishman Island to go out to the sea, feel the wind, and look at the blue sky, for Princess Shirahoshi, this was truly the first time standing on an island above the open sea.
A look of awe appeared in the little girl's eyes.
Soon, they arrived at Onigashima. Kaido flew straight through the eye sockets of a skeleton, then landed with everyone on the terrace.
"Welcome back!"
Ian was already waiting there. "Thank you for your hard work."
He said it not only to Kaido but also to the young people who had gone on the expedition.
"Brother Ian!"
Eager Ulti couldn't wait and lunged straight at Ian.
But Ian raised a hand, caught her by the face, and pushed her gently to the side.
"Too easy compared to what I imagined. Next time, find us some challengers!"
Ace said with a cheerful grin.
"Exactly!"
Sanji nodded in agreement. "If I'd known those guys were only that strong, I could have handled them by myself."
Zoro listened to Sanji and said calmly, "By myself, I only need one hand."
"Huh?"
Sanji's forehead vein twitched instantly. "Then I guess I only need to wiggle my toes!"
"Alright, enough arguing. Let's go check it out."
Ian handed them a stack of newspapers. "Now you guys are famous worldwide."
"Eh!!"
Ace's eyes lit up immediately, and without hesitation, he grabbed the newspaper from Ian.
He walked to the side with his friends and began flipping through it.
"Oh! It's our bounty posters!"
Ace shouted in excitement.
Ian's lips curved into a small smile.
The World Government had already noticed their presence. It seemed that among those pirates, there were agents of the government.
Now, all six of the youngsters who had gone on this mission were wanted by the Navy.
"Red Dragon! Portgas D. Ace! Bounty: 560 million Berries! Eh? The government even knows my name? Was it the old man?"
"Cyborg, Vinsmoke Sanji! 486 million Berries. My identity's exposed too? And what is this ridiculous title? Sounds awful!"
"Unnamed Swordsman, Bounty: 500 million Berries. Heh, curly brow, now do you know who's the boss?"
"What a joke! Are the people who set bounties raised on trash? How could your bounty be higher than mine!?"
"Maybe it's because Zoro performed better in the previous battle?"
"Miss Kuina, how can you say that! Huh? Your bounty is only 400 million Berries?"
"I think that's already quite high."
"What kind of joke is that! My bounty is only 360 million? That's way too low! What are the Navy idiots thinking?!"
"Don't be too greedy, sis. I only have 300 million myself."
As the young ones bickered and argued, Ian had already approached the somewhat uneasy mother and daughter.
"Welcome, Queen Otohime, and… Princess Shirahoshi!"
**********
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