"Senor, is today April Fool's Day?"
"No, young master. Why do you ask?"
"If it weren't April Fool's Day, the contents of this newspaper would be going way too far, wouldn't they? Are you sure this isn't an abridged, modified version from the Beasts Pirates?"
In Wano Country, Doflamingo looked at the newspaper in his hands with some confusion. The world was changing far too quickly. How was it that in just half a month, even Mariejois had been thrown into chaos?
"I'm sure, young master. These newspapers were just delivered."
"Fuffuffuffu… the world is changing too fast. You can leave now. I'm a bit tired and want to rest."
At first, Doflamingo could still laugh, but after flipping through a few more pages, he suddenly felt a headache coming on.
It felt like a lifetime ago—this was his most direct impression. The frequency of major events over the past two years was already about to surpass the total of his entire life.
While Doflamingo was nursing his headache, Queen, on the other hand, felt relieved. Based on the comparison of the photos in the newspaper, he was certain that the explosive device was one of the bombs he had developed.
The Revolutionary Army had taken responsibility for the attack, which meant they hadn't traced the bomb's origin. To Queen, that was already incredibly fortunate.
Moreover, Kaido had recently been obsessed with solo sparring against Yamato, and aside from a group of Lunarians appearing near his safe house, Queen felt that life was especially perfect.
Because the Beasts Pirates had obtained internal intelligence in advance, they weren't particularly concerned about the incident. Instead, the biggest reaction came from the Revolutionary Army's side.
Since Kuma had regained consciousness, the other members of the Revolutionary Army had already used his ability to return to Baltigo, greatly reducing travel time. Only there was still no news from Sabo.
While celebrating Kuma's return, the Revolutionary Army members were also worried about Sabo's situation. They didn't believe Sabo would do something strange like that—he had absolutely no reason to kill Cobra at the Levely.
While the Revolutionary Army was still trying to determine the truth, Dragon's Den Den Mushi rang.
"Koushirou? Why are you calling me at a time like this?"
"Leader, it's me, Sabo."
"Sabo? Why are you with Koushirou?"
"It's a long story. I lost my Den Den Mushi earlier, and then… I accidentally went to a very strange place. I only just left it.
Some things aren't convenient to say over a Den Den Mushi. I'll explain everything in detail once I'm back in Baltigo. In short, I did not kill King Cobra."
Sabo's words made the members of the Revolutionary Army breathe a sigh of relief. At the very least, it confirmed that Sabo hadn't done anything strange.
To prevent the call from being eavesdropped on, Sabo said only a few more words before hanging up, then returned the Den Den Mushi to Koushirou.
"Sorry for the trouble, Mr. Koushirou."
Although he lived in relative seclusion in the East Blue, Koushirou had close ties with the Revolutionary Army. When Dragon returned to the Goa Kingdom back then, he had even resupplied at Shimotsuki Village.
"No trouble at all. It was just a small matter."
"Then I won't disturb you two any further. I didn't expect Miss Kuina to be your daughter, Mr. Koushirou, that's quite a coincidence.
I imagine the two of you have a lot to talk about, so I'll take my leave."
Rewinding time slightly. Earlier, Sabo and Kuina had just been sent out of the East Blue entrance by Darkrai.
Unlike the entrances Darkrai especially searched for, which even the living could pass through, sending people out from inside was much easier. As long as there was death somewhere, the underworld had the ability to do it.
Moreover, Darkrai had found a way to counteract magnetic field interference. He used Kuina's gravestone as a reference point.
As long as one had not been forgotten and the living still show respects and remember them, the underworld could find some traces. The only downside was that the way the two emerged might not be very dignified.
The general location wasn't off, but there were problems in the details, so they ended up crawling out of the grave.
Looking at the disturbed tomb, Sabo felt very embarrassed and bowed apologetically to the gravestone, intending to restore it to its original state.
"No need to go to all that trouble. Just leave it like that."
"That's not good. We're the ones who messed it up. Restoring it is the bare minimum, isn't it?
Besides, if the world of ghosts really exists, she might come looking for us."
"She won't. You can rest easy about that."
"How can you be so sure?"
"That's my grave. If you want to apologize, you might as well say it to me."
"Uh, Miss Kuina… this…"
Glancing at the name on the gravestone, Sabo learned her name, but didn't know what to say. To be frank, he truly had no experience communicating with a 'female ghost.'
"Come to think of it, this is Shimotsuki Village. If I remember correctly, the Isshin Dojo is here. That makes things convenient. What are you planning to do? Want me to take you home?"
More than half the villagers here bore the surname Shimotsuki, so the name on the gravestone hadn't made Sabo think of anything in particular.
"No need. The place I'm going is the Isshin Dojo. The master of that dojo… is my father."
Sabo experienced several of the most awkward encounters of his life. Fortunately, he successfully achieved his objective. After that, he politely declined Koushirou's offer to let him stay the night and wisely left the place.
His intuition told him that staying here was not a good idea.
And the facts proved Sabo right. Under the current circumstances, an outsider like him staying here would only be an eyesore, serving no purpose at all.
"Father, I'm back again."
"Good. It's good that you're back."
Koushirou, his eyes narrowed as usual, wiped his glasses, making sure his vision wasn't playing tricks on him. Then he pinched himself to ensure he wasn't dreaming.
"This is resurrection?"
"Yes, but also no. It's a very long story. Still, Father, if it's convenient, I'd like to challenge you."
"Challenge me?"
"That's right."
In the past, Kuina's perception had been limited, but during the time after her death, she had seen far more. She realized that she had underestimated her father's strength.
This father, who normally squinted his eyes and merely taught a group of children how to swing swords, possessed power far beyond what she had imagined. More importantly, it was Koushirou's beliefs.
"Father, I want to prove to you that women also have the ability to become great swordsmen and reach the very pinnacle."
"Alright."
After a calm reply, Koushirou took out two bamboo swords. Kuina didn't insist on a duel with real blades either.
What exactly happened was known only to the father and daughter, but some people at the dojo seemed to hear the sound of bamboo swords colliding throughout the entire night.
The next day, another day passed. News of the Levely had already spread across the entire sea. At this time, Tiger was already making the specific preparations for relocation of the New Fishman Island.
Since the New Fishman Island was an island embedded into the sea surface with the help of bubble coating, the preparations required for relocation were even more extensive than those for Amazon Lily.
Neptune had also agreed to this relocation plan and had long been making arrangements. However, at this moment, a representative from the World Government had already arrived at Fishman Island.
In front of Neptune, he delivered a new decision from the World Government.
"Is the World Government serious?"
"Of course. This is the conclusion reached after deliberation by the World Government. Hand over the former Shichibukai, Jinbe, and provide compensation for the death of Saint Charlos. Otherwise, the World Government will strip Fishman Island of its status as an affiliated nation and turn this place into a new lawless zone outside of its jurisdiction."
The envoy's face was filled with arrogance, showing no regard for Neptune as king.
Under Roswald's accusation, Mjosgard's actions were judged by the God's Knights to violate the rules. In the eyes of the Celestial Dragons, helping a lowly race was the greatest sin of all.
However, due to the complexity of the situation, he was not executed immediately, but instead given a suspended death sentence. Additionally, the Ryugu Kingdom was required to provide compensation.
Not only gold and silver treasures, but it was explicitly stated that a certain number of Merfolk and Fish-Man slaves must be handed over.
"What's wrong? The fact that your seat hasn't been stripped outright is already the World Government's great mercy. You'd better not—"
Boom!
Neptune slammed his fist down in front of the envoy. The massive fist frightened him into falling backward onto the ground. He then shouted angrily at Neptune, "Do you have any idea what you're doing?!"
"I'm very clear. In order to stand equally on the surface, we've endured far too much. And now you still want to enslave our people. Thanks to you, I won't hesitate any longer. Look over there."
Following the direction of Neptune's finger, the envoy looked toward the bubble coating at the side. Outside were ships sent by the World Government. The next moment, a Sea King several thousand meters long flashed past, crushing the coated ships into pieces.
"From this moment on, the Ryugu Kingdom withdraws from the World Government! We will no longer pay the Heavenly Tribute, nor will we obey any orders from the World Government!"
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