After finishing the task assignments to Borsalino and Aramaki, "Sakazuki" hung up the call.
After that, just like Carlo, he began reviewing documents, making judgments, and handling approvals. Of course, everything would still go through Carlo for a final check before being issued.
Below him, Carlo let out a quiet sigh and pressed his fingers to his temples.
"Everyone's been sent out. Things should be calm for now…"
The Seraphim version of "Sakazuki" looked exactly the same, but everything else was far off.
Its presence was obscure and hard to read, but any officer at the level of vice admiral or higher would clearly sense something wrong the moment they met face to face.
It was not that they intended to deceive the Marines' own people. It was simply that at a time like this, Sakazuki could not disappear.
The New World was like a massive powder keg.
Both sides' top leadership were restraining themselves. If Sakazuki, as Fleet Admiral, suddenly vanished at this moment, the pirates would never believe he was dead.
They would assume he was plotting something. Setting traps. Preparing to strike someone.
Once that kind of suspicion spread, morale would waver and a full-scale war would erupt early. That was the last thing Sakazuki wanted to see.
Carlo stretched lazily and let out a long breath.
"Hoo… sorting out the New World's magma veins… that's a massive project…"
Beneath every island in the New World ran interconnected magma veins, evenly distributed. They could be seen as a network of gas pipelines.
Only three Endpoint islands were different.
The openings beneath them were far larger than the others, and they were linked together. Over an unknown amount of years, they had formed an enormous magma reservoir. They could be regarded as three valves.
If nothing erupted, there would be no chain reaction. There would be no major problem.
If the first valve exploded, the second could suppress it.
If the second valve exploded, the third could suppress it.
But if the third valve, the final Endpoint island, exploded, it would be like fire meeting a gas pipeline that had lost its valve.
Every island in the New World would be ignited. The entire magma network would erupt and collapse completely.
Carlo shook his head and stopped thinking about how far Sakazuki had progressed.
He pressed a button on the desk and the soundproof light barrier vanished. He then returned to reviewing documents.
After following Sakazuki for years, Carlo could perfectly imitate his mindset, tone, and way of thinking. There was almost no difference at all.
* * *
New World. One of the Endpoint islands, Secon Island.
Several days had passed since the Red Hair Pirates last came here to investigate. The number of people on the island had gradually increased.
Of course, they were not residents. They were groups of researchers camping near the volcano crater, conducting analysis and calculations.
There were many islands in the New World. There were many people as well. There was no shortage of scientists either. It was just that independent scientists usually lacked top-level skill.
At this moment, Knox and Shanks had both gathered here.
The research had gone on for days, but these scientists, whether bought with bounties or captured by force, were completely lost when faced with technology that was hundreds of years ahead of the world.
Some even gave up the moment they heard that what lay below might have been created by Vegapunk.
There were also those who wanted to challenge Vegapunk. But after days of failure, several of them grew so frustrated that they fainted on the spot.
At the island's center, inside a temporary hall.
Knox held a stack of reports and tossed them to Shanks.
"Still no solution. These useless idiots, not one of them can dismantle the bomb down there."
Shanks had expected this. He flipped through the reports. The technical terms made his head spin.
"That's normal. If the Four Emperors are the peak of piracy, then the name Vegapunk represents the peak of science. But if technology won't work, then we can only rely on abilities. We absolutely cannot let those two troubles become a knife at our throats. If we don't deal with them, Sakazuki will slowly consume us."
As long as Sakazuki could remotely detonate this place, even if he lost, he could still flip the table and destroy the New World.
At present, only Sakazuki held the power to overturn everything.
The pirates lacked that leverage precisely because Sakazuki had them by the throat. They did not want total destruction overnight. So all they could do was fight a war of attrition and slowly die.
Pirates in the New World were the result of years of accumulation. But behind the Marines stood an entire world of support. If this dragged on, the pirates would collapse within a few years. By then, the Marines would take over a relatively intact New World.
But if the bomb buried here were dismantled, then after prolonged attrition, the initiative would fall into pirate hands. After all, losing meant death either way. If this place was detonated, there would be no winner.
Knox frowned. "If we're talking about Devil Fruit users… there aren't any suitable ones. Abilities related to transfer or relocation are extremely rare. None have been found in the New World so far."
As the leader of the largest underground force in the New World, Knox would have recruited such a person immediately if one existed.
Since he said there was none, then there truly was none.
Shanks nodded lightly. "It doesn't have to be a transfer-type ability. Spatial abilities could work too. I do know that Big Mom has a daughter with something similar."
Knox paused in thought. "You mean the Mirror-Mirror Fruit? That won't work. The thing down there is hundreds of meters in size. She can't support that."
That super bomb was made of countless precise modules. Even touching it would trigger a warning.
The Marines had set a limit of ten warnings. And simply placing two fingers on it had already consumed two warnings.
Those scientists were only using powerful instruments to scan and analyze it from the outside. Even opening the passage beneath the magma had already triggered several warnings.
Seven had been used already. So no one dared to touch it anymore. Who would gamble on it not exploding?
Shanks stood up. "We still have to try. This is the fastest option. Keep thinking of other methods while I contact Big Mom."
Even with the current situation, the Four Emperors were not united.
Without enough benefit, expecting pirates to act selflessly was nothing but a pipe dream.
* * *
South Blue. Corral Island. Late at night.
Bonney's pirate crew sailed across the sea like a farce. Along the way, she had recruited some crew members, but all of them had been secretly arranged by Dragon and Sabo.
The goal was simple. Take Bonney, who knew nothing about navigation, and let her wander around aimlessly.
Bonney did not understand. But how could they not? Becoming pirates now meant only one thing. Death.
They did not dare touch the powder keg that was the New World, let alone provoke Sakazuki, the man controlling this entire war.
They were deeply saddened by Kuma's death, but it was already a settled matter. There was nothing they could do.
As for Bonney's thoughts, they chose guidance over obstruction.
Blindly stopping her would only drive her mad. It was better to arrange their own people to accompany her on meaningless travels. At least it would ease her mood.
From a distant mountain peak, the harbor could faintly be seen.
Sabo sat at the edge of a cliff, holding a Den Den Mushi. "That's the general situation…"
The Den Den Mushi spoke with a serious expression. Dragon's voice came from the other end.
"Continue to follow her. It's not time to declare war on the World Government yet. Protect Bonney for now. When she starts to grow suspicious, head to the Grand Line. Our people will guide her to Alabasta, and meet up with Nico Robin there. Then make decisions based on how the world looks at that time."
Sabo let out a soft laugh toward the Den Den Mushi.
"Got it. I'm really looking forward to that reunion…"
* * *
South Blue. Sorbet Kingdom. Royal Palace.
Dragon looked at the Den Den Mushi in his hand and smiled faintly.
"It won't be too far away…" He muttered.
Across the Four Blues, Revolutionary territories were advancing at an astonishing pace. Factories multiplied, infrastructure expanded, and technological breakthroughs accelerated the production of weapons and equipment.
At this point, they could completely conquer the four seas in a short time and bring them all under the Revolutionary Army's control.
But now was still not the time.
* * *
Holy Land of Mariejoes.
Inside the vast and empty white hall, the Five Elders all wore grim expressions.
Peter set down an intelligence report.
"In the New World, another CP base has been wiped out. Is this really just a coincidence?"
Nusjuro frowned. "Whether it's a coincidence no longer matters. The situation is already out of control and both sides have gone mad. If this continues, the Holy Land will inevitably be affected…"
To be honest, they all regretted it. They had supported Sakazuki because there had been no abnormalities for decades.
They had held secret talks, and Sakazuki had explained his plan to eliminate pirates in detail. Only then did they agree to the World Military Draft, the expansion of admiral positions, and a series of conditions.
But the original plan was never this radical. It was meant to steadily eliminate pirates over ten years.
According to their calculations, the prophesied time of Joy Boy's appearance was three to five years away. There was enough time to deal with Joy Boy first, then use the following five to seven years as a buffer to cleanse the world.
Those five to seven years were also meant for the Marines to steadily advance and purge pirates.
However, as Sakazuki began moving troops frequently, gathering admirals, and completing his strategic layout, the intensity of the New World conflict suddenly surged several levels.
Before Joy Boy even appeared, the New World might already collapse.
Whether pirates or Marines won, it would be a disastrous victory.
Even if the New World were detonated in the end, the lives of common people would not matter. But the chain reaction caused by the eruption of the New World's magma veins would strike even the towering Red Line with tremendous force.
That was something they could not accept. There were far too many secrets buried in the Holy Land.
Saturn gripped his cane tightly. "Sakazuki's ambition is not small. But he is tied down by the pirates for now. Before the final battle, he can't break away. We must eliminate the Revolutionary Army before the decisive battle in the New World. Otherwise, we won't be able to deal with the aftermath."
Regardless if the Marines or pirates won, both had to be destroyed.
Mars nodded in agreement "Correct. The suspected locations of the Revolutionary Army's headquarters have been narrowed down to twenty. The most likely ones are the Kosoro Kingdom in the East Blue, the Sorbet Kingdom in the South Blue, the World's Forgotten Land in the North Blue, and Alabasta."
The range of suspected locations had not shrunk over time. Instead, it had grown. That was because the Revolutionary Army's scale had expanded several times over.
Saturn furrowed his brows deeply. "Alabasta? That traitor bloodline again…"
Mars added, "CP previously detected Revolutionary activity in Alabasta, but all traces were suddenly erased. We can't ignore it."
Nusjuro said, "That's right. But the range still needs to be reduced further. Twenty is still too many. In a short time, Imu-sama may not be able to…"
Saturn gave a nod. "Increase the investigation. Once we lock it down to the final ten… strike immediately!"
They had already discovered the Revolutionary Army's industrial changes, but did not care much.
It could even help them clean out useless allied nations.
As for how to deal with the Revolutionary Army, once their headquarters was destroyed, the rest would collapse on its own.
Without leadership, those militia trained for only two years would tear themselves apart under the weight of greed.
* * *
Several days later, at the edge of the Red Line.
The newly appointed Marine Admiral with a full head of green hair hovered in the air, flowers spinning above his head.
Aramaki stared at the massive snail-shaped fleet below. His tone was light, yet tinged with manic fervor.
"Well then~ Become my nourishment~ Trash that dares betray the gods!!!"
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