"This matter..."
She thought for a moment, then said, "Does Sage know?"
"Um..."
Vegapunk scratched his head, "I haven't had the chance to tell him yet."
...
Royal Palace.
In the banquet hall, sunlight streamed through the stained glass windows, and the golden silk lanterns inside swayed gently. As the shamisen from Wano Country vibrated through the air, two mermaid singers from the Dragon Palace Kingdom gently swept their tail fins across the stage, their scales refracting rainbow light over the surrounding dance troupe and band. The melodic scale rising from their throats seemed to materialize into bubbles, ascending lightly only to burst into a sky full of stardust upon reaching the ceiling.
Carina stood before the two mermaid singers, as the lead singer, singing the ballad accompanied by various musical instruments.
Several dancing girls appeared in rhythm with the drumbeat, their ankle bells ringing together like a curtain of rain. A dancer from the Little People Race suddenly spun and leapt to the front, her toe landing atop the musician's raised bow before jumping onto the keyboard, performing a lively dance.
Sage, enthroned at the very top, swayed to the music with the dancers, occasionally accepting the offerings from the variously dressed maids who were unable to properly cover themselves, revealing ample white skin and surging curves.
"Sage."
The ecstatic and joyous atmosphere was momentarily halted by the approach of a figure from the rear passage. Everyone revered the incoming blonde, wavy-haired girl, bowing their heads in respect.
"I say, Lily, you've handled everything well, I trust some things you can settle on your own. I've fought for years, can't I enjoy a little now? What's so important that it needs to be discussed at the banquet?"
Sage was still enjoying the moment, and upon hearing Lily's voice, he didn't even look up, merely accepting the wine glass handed to him by a maid with resignation.
"Do you realize how oppressive your aura has been lately, perhaps kill fewer people, your murderous aura is almost tangible. I told you the way, but you need to conceal it occasionally, it's part of the cultivation process, see? As soon as you arrive, they all seem fearful."
Lily's cultivation was continuously advancing, apart from honing her ability to cut through anything with 'Breath of All Things' and the fusion with Conqueror's Haki. Sage, inexplicably, gained a new method from the Golden Mist and suggested Lily try it out.
Although the mist only appeared briefly and then vanished, Sage, inexplicably, learned about it and encouraged Lily to try it, and it truly was effective.
To nurture a murderous aura and make it tangible.
Killing intent, similarly a type of Haki, differs in its application. Common Haki typically represents a force of will or combat spirit, while utilizing a killing intent as Haki is quite rare.
Primarily due to lack of opportunity to kill, the sea isn't entirely filled with lambs waiting for slaughter, their vitality is abundant, defeating others is one thing, but killing is another.
Moreover, simply massacring the weak won't accumulate enough killing intent to serve as Haki.
But Lily is different, she never kills recklessly; those she deems worthy of killing, regardless of their strength, are considered 'strong' from a human perspective.
Lily herself kills frequently, inherently possessing killing intent, and with Sage's suggestions, she transformed her killing intent further, incorporating it into her Haki, resulting in her presence being overwhelmingly ominous.
Ordinary individuals might not sense this well, but life's instinct prompts them to fear and shiver.
Hence, the moment she arrives, the scene immediately chills.
"I'm still controlling it."
Lily said, taking a wine bottle from a maid, then turned to the paused dancers and musicians, saying, "Continue playing music, continue dancing, don't stop."
Music resumed in the hall after a brief moment of stasis.
Lily poured Sage a cup of wine, saying, "Renedia called, mentioning Vegapunk earlier discovered a new substance that can substitute for Mother Fire Seed before complete application, as a superior energy source, highly effective. I was supposed to report this material matter to you."
"Energy? Materials?"
Sage lifted the wine glass to his mouth, smiling, "Replacing the complete application of Mother Fire Seed... you wouldn't be saying it's oil, would you?"
"How do you know?"
"Pfft!"
Sage's wine had just touched his lips, immediately sputtering forward, soaking the tablecloth and splattering onto several dishes in front.
"Master Sage..."
Nearby maids wished to clean but dared not move with Lily present.
"Go, go, go! Everyone stop! Get out!"
Sage waved his hand, ordering everyone inside to leave. After calming himself down, he took a large gulp of wine, swallowing it, eagerly looking towards Lily:
"Is it really oil? What color? Has it been refined?"
"Black-brown, as for refining... it's said to vary in color, and even transparent ones exist, according to Vegapunk, color indicates different uses, do you understand?" Lily asked, puzzled.
Not just understanding!
It's so familiar beyond limits!
Back home, this stuff could cause so many problems!
"Impossible... how would oil emerge from the sea after so many years, it would've been discovered long ago if there was any."
Sage wondered, "Where did it come from?"
"Under the sea," Lily said.
"Oh... that does make sense," Sage nodded.
Considering today's world is flooded, the places people now inhabit, to put it unflatteringly, are the peak of mountains 200 meters high.
Even so, it's vast enough to remain unexplored one's entire life.
Moreover, people back then probably wouldn't dig deep underground, given the seas' rich resources, lacking nothing, ample resources determining the seas' future.
Ocean voyages... was a task only for the poor desperate to survive.
And the drowned regions today, even if fishmen could dive into the sea, they wouldn't consider what's beneath the sea floor, naturally preventing oil discovery.
"Good stuff! Have Vegapunk record the technology and teach it to the people, Renedia must grasp this energy application! With it, both civilian life and warfare can be elevated to a new level!"
"Sage, what's its purpose exactly?" asked Lily, curious.
"It has enormous applications!"
Sage exclaimed excitedly, "Firstly, fertilizers, volcanic ash and bird droppings will eventually deplete, but if oil reserves are high, there's absolutely no worry about fertilizers."
"Mechanical wheels, we use rubber, right? With oil, synthetic rubber can be produced, no resource concerns, just produce massively. The cars we found on the golden ship won't need biological drives anymore; I dislike it, but with oil, this energy field can be replaced, mass-producing these things for expansive areas."
"Building home equipment, pharmaceutical raw materials, fuel chemistry... all require this stuff! I trust Vegapunk can develop relevant technology, tell him to set aside other research topics, aside from Mother Fire Seed, focus completely on oil applications!"
Sage stood up, extending an arm and firmly grasping, "With this, what Great Pirate era, what Four Emperors era, in the future my era! Utilize this well, humanity will split in two! One remains human, the other..."
Either kill him, stop oil applications, let the seas revert to the current state, or let Sage take oil and lead the seas into a new era.
"...is a savage!"
Either become savages, or, it's entirely under Sage's control!
"Buru buru buru!"
The Radio Snail activated, and a servant approached with the snail, bowing as they raised it.
Lily received the phone, quickly hearing a voice over the Radio Snail.
"Sage... it's Warcury."
"Oh? Five Elders? What do you want now?"
"On behalf of the World Government, we formally invite you to Mary Geoise for negotiations, we await you there."
After speaking, the call was abruptly disconnected.
"Blessings upon blessings!"
Sage laughed aloud, "Everything is prepared; to not expand now would truly be an injustice to myself! Lily, prepare the ship, we shall once again set sail to Mary Geoise!"