Three hours later, in the endless blue sky.
A white cloud, soft and fluffy like cotton candy, floated strangely above the sea, drifting slowly in one direction.
Yemu lay on top of the cloud, holding a phone shell in his hand. Tiger's figure appeared on the screen, and his voice came through.
"So, Captain, did you agree to her request?"
"Why wouldn't I? In my current state, splitting off a portion of my soul power to help awaken a Devil Fruit through another method wouldn't affect me much, but there's no need for it. Among you, Erik is the only one who hasn't eaten a Devil Fruit, and he doesn't need its power. As for the others, ordinary Devil Fruit abilities are already enough. Trading a condition that's basically useless to us for our opponent's biggest trump card is clearly worth it."
Tiger nodded on the screen.
"That's true. Then, Captain, did you see it? The legendary Ancient Weapon, Uranus. Is that thing really in the Holy Land Mary Geoise?"
"How should I put it? I didn't see it, but I could sense a very powerful force inside that woman named Imu. That might be Uranus. Of course, I hope my guess is right. If I'm wrong, it means they have more than one trump card. As for the Five Elders, we don't need to worry about them too much. Our real enemy is the Marines. Where are you now? Is anyone following you?"
"Not at the moment. We're on Green Bit Island, with the Tontatta tribe. Ron brought people here to meet us."
Tiger was clearly in a good mood, and there was a hint of excitement in his voice.
"We received a very warm welcome here. Some of the people we rescued were from the Tontatta tribe, so we brought them home. Their princess, Mansherry, is using the Chiyu Chiyu no Mi's power to treat the wounded as thanks. That Devil Fruit's ability is incredible. So we're planning to stay here for a few days and head back after the rescued people's injuries are healed."
"Mm, no problem. Enel and Erik's sides won't wrap up that quickly anyway. Next, we'll proceed according to the plan we decided on. Once Enel and Erik's business is settled, we'll use Flevance as our starting point and take the North Blue from the Marines and the World Government."
"What about the Marines' encirclement?"
"Don't worry. Our future battlefield won't be in the New World, but in the North Blue. I won't be going back for the time being. I need to visit a few major figures. While we make the New World livelier, we'll also strengthen ourselves. After all, the Marines and the World Government are both colossal powers. If it really turns into a war of attrition, we may not be able to hold out with just our own forces. It's also time to bring back the other little guy from the Sky Pirates."
"Understood. Leave Wenmigudan Island to me. I'll protect it."
"Mm. Don't worry. The Marines are probably overwhelmed right now. Even if they want to mobilize troops to attack us, it won't happen that fast. Still, we don't have much time either. From here on, we need to move quickly..."
...
In fact, not long after Yemu left the Holy Land Mary Geoise, the Marines gathered at Red Port were still reeling from his declaration of war against the Celestial Dragons and the World Government when the intelligence department rushed over.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, bad news!"
"What happened?"
"Well, according to a report from our spy inside the Thunder God Pirates, Enel, the First Mate of the Sky Pirates, left the Calm Belt three hours ago and headed for the Silver Axe Pirates' territory in the New World..."
If that report merely shocked and confused Sengoku, the next one gave him a real headache.
"There's another report from Flevance. Not long ago, we lost contact with the Marine and World Government personnel and ships stationed there. According to the intelligence, Erik, the Swordsman of the Sky Pirates, has appeared at sea..."
Hearing the two reports, Sengoku would normally have been furious. But this time, he was surprisingly calm.
After all, when you had too many fleas, the bites stopped mattering. When you had too many debts, one more was nothing.
Besides, what news could possibly be worse than Yemu declaring war on the Celestial Dragons and the World Government?
"Return to headquarters. The war is about to begin..."
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