Aboard the Moby Dick.
"Pops, have you ever heard the name Uchiha Ryūjin before?"
Marco looked up at the towering figure of Whitebeard, shock evident in his expression as he spoke in a low voice.
Before Demon Eye Ryūjin defeated Hawkeye a few months ago, nobody on the seas had ever heard of him.
Yet in only a few months, the Marines had raised his bounty to four billion Berries. It sounded unreal.
Most people believed Demon Eye Ryūjin had actually been a hidden monster from the old era who simply kept a low profile all this time.
Even though the man in the bounty poster looked incredibly young, this was a world filled with strange powers and impossible phenomena. A method of preserving youth was not hard to imagine.
"I've never heard that name before."
Whitebeard slowly shook his head.
As a survivor of the old era, his experience and knowledge far surpassed that of ordinary people, yet even he had never heard of Uchiha Ryūjin.
"The moment this bounty spread across the seas, the balance of power in the world changed with it."
Whitebeard stared at the endless ocean ahead of him and let out a quiet sigh.
Flap! Flap!
The sound of wings echoed overhead as a News Coo descended from the sky.
Marco walked over, paid for the newspaper, and unfolded it casually. The moment he saw the front page, his dead-fish eyes widened in disbelief.
The headline was impossible to ignore.
Marine Admiral Aokiji Captured by Demon Eye Ryūjin!
Marco froze.
Defeating a Marine Admiral was shocking to ordinary people, but to the Whitebeard Pirates, it was not unimaginable. Whitebeard himself was known as the strongest man in the world.
But capturing an Admiral alive?
That was something entirely different.
Even the Yonko would think twice before doing something that insane.
"Pops, I finally understand why the Marines gave Demon Eye Ryūjin a four billion Berries bounty."
Marco walked toward Whitebeard with the newspaper in hand.
Without waiting for anyone to ask, he continued immediately.
"Ryūjin defeated Aokiji, then took him prisoner."
The deck instantly erupted into chaos.
"He actually captured a Marine Admiral?!"
"That bastard really doesn't fear anything!"
"The Marines are definitely losing their minds right now!"
"Even the Yonko wouldn't casually do something like this!"
The commanders all shouted in disbelief.
Whitebeard burst into loud laughter.
"Gurararara! Interesting! A truly interesting brat has appeared on the seas!"
Morgans worked with terrifying efficiency.
Almost immediately after the Marines issued the bounty, newspapers spread across every corner of the world.
The reports pushed Demon Eye Ryūjin's fame to its peak.
To pirates everywhere, he had become a living legend.
After all, no one in history had ever captured a Marine Admiral alive.
Ryūjin had created a precedent.
What Ryūjin himself did not realize was that despite only appearing recently, he had already gained countless followers.
Some fanatics were even searching the world for him, hoping to join his crew.
Aboard the Going Merry.
"Luffy! Zoro! Come look at this!"
Usopp stared at the newspaper in his trembling hands, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
"Bro Ryūjin made the headlines again!"
"Really?! Let me see!"
Luffy stretched his arm instantly and launched himself over.
The moment he saw the article, his jaw dropped.
"He captured a Marine Admiral?!"
Zoro glanced at the newspaper, and cold sweat rolled down his face.
"That guy really does whatever he wants."
"Sugoi! Bro Ryūjin is amazing!"
Luffy's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"I think he's even stronger than Shanks!"
Then he clenched his fists with determination.
"Zoro! Usopp! We need to get stronger fast, or we'll never catch up to Bro Ryūjin!"
Usopp looked completely speechless.
"Who the hell wants to chase a monster like that? Even you freaks can't keep up with him!"
Aboard Ryūjin's ship.
"F-Four billion Berries?!"
Nami and Nico Robin stared at the bounty poster in shock.
Although they already knew Ryūjin's bounty would skyrocket after defeating an Admiral, seeing the number with their own eyes still left them stunned.
"This is already Yonko-level!"
Nami's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Robin, does that mean we're officially part of a Yonko crew now?"
Just thinking about it made her thrilled.
Meanwhile, Aokiji sat quietly nearby, expressionless as he sipped juice from Nami's hometown.
"You've become the focus of the entire world now," Aokiji said evenly. "Not only the World Government, even the Gorosei are watching you personally."
In the blink of an eye, Aokiji had already spent over a week aboard Ryūjin's ship.
At first, he remained extremely wary of The Demon Eye.
But after several days, he realized Ryūjin was completely different from what he expected.
This ship did not even carry a pirate flag.
Ryūjin never robbed merchant ships, nor did he attack civilians.
Whenever they needed supplies, he simply sent Crocodile to buy them.
There were no crimes.
No massacres.
No meaningless cruelty.
The young man himself was relaxed, confident, and surprisingly easygoing.
Nami was lively and energetic, while Robin was intelligent and mature.
As for Crocodile, Aokiji barely cared about him anymore.
The former Warlord clearly acted more like Ryūjin's subordinate than anything else.
Life aboard the ship was unexpectedly peaceful.
Although the newspapers claimed Ryūjin had imprisoned Aokiji, nobody restricted him at all.
He could walk around freely, relax freely, and nobody treated him like a captive.
At this point, Aokiji had already accepted reality.
Without his powers, escape was impossible anyway.
"The Gorosei, huh?"
Ryūjin's lazy voice suddenly sounded from nearby.
He was reclining in a deck chair with one arm behind his head, completely unconcerned.
"I actually want to meet them someday and see what they can really do."
He genuinely meant it.
The Gorosei had always been mysterious figures.
Anyone capable of ruling over the World Government and commanding the Marines could not possibly be weak.
Especially the bald elder who wielded the Shodai Kitetsu.
Ryūjin was genuinely curious about the rewards he might receive from defeating monsters like them.
Cold sweat appeared on Nami and Robin's foreheads.
Ryūjin truly did not care about anyone.
The Gorosei stood above even the Fleet Admiral.
They were the rulers of the world itself.
Aokiji's mouth twitched slightly.
In this world, the authority of the Celestial Dragons was deeply ingrained into everyone's minds.
Even Fleet Admiral Sengoku treated the Gorosei with absolute respect.
Yet Ryūjin talked about them like they were random old men on the street.
Flap! Flap!
A vulture descended beside Crocodile.
It was an agent from Baroque Works, their old acquaintance, Miss Friyaa.
"Master, we've received information from Marine Headquarters."
She hesitated briefly before continuing.
"Admiral Kizaru and Admiral Akainu have both been dispatched to capture Ryūjin-sama."
"Two Admirals?!"
Nami's eyes widened instantly.
"The Marines are taking Ryūjin-sama way too seriously!"
"Aokiji was already defeated," Robin said calmly. "This response was inevitable."
Crocodile turned toward Ryūjin.
"Ryūjin-sama, what are your orders?"
"Two Admirals?"
Ryūjin waved dismissively.
"They're not worth worrying about."
Nami: "..."
Robin: "..."
Aokiji: "..."
"Nami, we should be close by now, right?"
Nami immediately pulled out the map and checked their location.
"At our current speed, we should arrive in about half a day."
Ryūjin nodded slightly.
Sky Island was an extremely secretive place.
Most people did not even believe it existed.
Honestly, Ryūjin was worried Akainu and Kizaru would end up searching the wrong place after he disappeared into the sky.
"Crocodile, spread the news through Baroque Works that I'm heading to Sky Island. Include the exact location too."
Ryūjin smirked.
"No point letting those idiots get lost."
Miss Friyaa nearly broke into cold sweat after hearing that.
Most people ran from Admirals.
This man was afraid they would fail to find him.
Still, she did not dare question the order.
"Yes, Master."
With a flap of her wings, she quickly flew away.
The ship continued sailing forward.
Half a day later.
"Ryūjin-san."
Nami stared at the Log Pose in shock.
"The pointer is fixed on that cloud overhead!"
"In other words, Sky Island is above us?" Robin asked, her eyes shining with interest.
Ryūjin had already told her there was a Poneglyph there.
Even Aokiji looked upward curiously.
"An island in the sky actually exists?"
Then he frowned slightly.
"But how exactly are you planning to get there?"
"Nobody asked you to understand."
Nami folded her arms proudly.
"Just watch carefully."
Aokiji observed the calm sea around them and spoke thoughtfully.
"To reach the sky naturally, you'd normally need a Knock Up Stream. But the conditions here are completely wrong."
That method required perfect timing and incredible luck.
Unfortunately for common sense, Ryūjin did not care about either.
Whoosh!
Without saying another word, Ryūjin rose directly into the air.
At the same time, the entire ship slowly lifted from the sea.
Aokiji's pupils shrank violently.
"This power..."
For a moment, one name flashed through his mind.
Golden Lion Shiki.
The Fuwa Fuwa no Mi.
But Aokiji quickly rejected the thought.
Someone like Golden Lion could not have died so easily.
Besides, the odds of Demon Eye Ryūjin coincidentally obtaining that Devil Fruit were practically zero.
"No... this isn't the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi."
Aokiji's expression became increasingly solemn.
"Ryūjin possesses too many impossible abilities."
Wood Release.
Reality manipulation.
Lightning control.
Flight.
Space-time abilities.
None of those powers should coexist within a single person.
Unless he had eaten multiple Devil Fruits.
But that was impossible.
Everyone knew a person could only possess one Devil Fruit ability.
Yet Ryūjin shattered every known rule of the world.
He was like a flaw in reality itself.
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