Roya stiffened in shock.
He realized now that the Star Spirit had not simply forgotten this memory out of fear — the green-flame skeleton had meddled with it.
He hastily pulled his spiritual sense back, instantly withdrawing from the Star Spirit's memory fragment to avoid any further contact with that alien.
At the same time, the Star Spirit let out a cry of pain:
"Roya! What did you do?! Who is that damned bag of bones?!"
Its energy body wavered violently like a weak flame battered by a gale, on the verge of being snuffed out entirely.
Roya quickly sent a wisp of pure energy to stabilize its structure, sealing away that dreadful memory from the outside.
Only then did the Star Spirit steady itself.
Puzzled, it asked,
"What just happened? I feel like… something terrifying occurred, but I can't remember."
Roya shook his head.
"It's better if you forget."
"From now on, stop converting the planet's energy into seastone. If possible, transform all existing seastone back into energy. Can you do that?"
The Star Spirit nodded while replying,
"Reverting seastone back into energy will take some time, but there's no technical problem."
"But why get rid of seastone? It's my best weapon against those detestable Devil Fruit users!"
Roya gave a bitter smile.
"Because someone tampered with your memories, making you forget something crucial…"
"That seastone is very likely a vital raw material the aliens desperately need."
"Their body forging — even the construction of their pyramid ships — probably can't be done without this unique material."
The Star Spirit gaped in disbelief.
"You mean… I've been forging the very resource they use to make weapons to plunder me?"
Roya spread his hands.
"That's exactly what your memories show."
After a pause, he added,
"If I'm not mistaken, they already know I've uncovered their secret — which means they'll be back very soon."
The Star Spirit's form suddenly swelled, then shrank back down sharply.
Anxious, it said,
"Then what do we do? I'm still far from my strongest state — how can I fight them?!"
Roya drew a deep breath and force-fed the Star Spirit its own original memory sequence — everything except that terrible glance from the green-flame skeleton — to its present consciousness, to prevent it from instinctively blocking it again.
He said gravely,
"Step one: Remove the Devil Fruits from all ability users, so they can't be turned into the skeletons' vanguard."
"Step two: Destroy all remaining corpses of powerful mutants lying dormant. That way, when the pyramid descends and finds itself with no soldiers to use, it won't reactivate those slaughter machines."
By the time Roya finished speaking, the Star Spirit had fully processed the restored memories and understood his meaning.
"No problem," it said. "I remember where they all are. I'll share the coordinates with you right now."
It promptly transmitted to Roya the exact locations of the Sakura Dragon and other terrifying mutant remains.
Roya thought for a moment, then added,
"That 'life prototype' plan of yours… I'm afraid it's like throwing meat buns at a dog — gone forever with no return."
The Star Spirit sighed.
"Looking at it now, you're right."
"If Roger had ever eaten a Devil Fruit, his body wouldn't have collapsed — he'd have become my most dangerous enemy!"
Roya sighed as well.
"Luckily, your instinctive hatred for Devil Fruits made Roger reject them even at his peak. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
The Star Spirit said helplessly,
"But the weaker life prototypes aren't so lucky. Better to eliminate them quickly, before they become a hidden danger."
Roya frowned.
"Don't decide that just yet. I'll run some tests first."
After all, no one could say for sure what mutations might occur from combining the Hidden Name clan's bloodline with a Devil Fruit.
Roya planned to analyze existing samples — like Ace and Luffy — before determining their fate.
If the Hidden Name bloodline could resist the black slime's mind-erasing effect while retaining its physical enhancements,
…then this group would undoubtedly become a key fighting force against the green-flame skeletons!
They could even have the Star Spirit cultivate more life prototypes, making full use of the planet's current reserves of black slime — ready to give those harvesters a "grand surprise" when they returned.
Thinking this far, Roya's plan became crystal clear.
He nodded to the Star Spirit.
"You focus on restoring your energy. I'll return to Mary Geoise and begin putting these measures into action."
"As for the life prototypes, we'll discuss them once I have a concrete plan."
The Star Spirit's expression eased, and it nodded firmly.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Roya!"
Roya smiled.
"Like it or not, I'm part of this world now. I can't just sit and watch while my own home gets torn apart."
With that, he floated out of the cavern carved long ago by the ancient giants and returned to the small skiff he had arrived on.
Just as he was about to set sail, the seabed nearby began to churn violently.
The Star Spirit's voice rang in his mind:
"I almost forgot — back when I was the human Emperor, I built an invincible battleship. This might be the perfect time to use it!"
Before the words had even faded, the seabed's disturbance reached its peak.
Roya quickly swept the area with his spiritual sense.
From the sandbed where it had lain buried for who knew how many years, a colossal warship — at least a kilometer in length — tore free of the ocean floor.
With overwhelming power and presence, it surged from ten thousand meters deep to break the surface in moments.
It was indeed the legendary ultimate warship — Pluton!
One look at the terrifying diameter of its bow cannon — large enough to fit a giant inside — and Roya no longer doubted any of the rumors.
This thing could easily blast an entire island to pieces with a single shot.
And beyond that monstrous main gun, the warship's flanks bristled with so many close-packed gunports that anyone who saw them might develop trypophobia on the spot.
Yet none of this was what left Roya truly speechless.
What did was what his spiritual scan revealed next —
— the entire kilometer-long superwarship, from bow to stern, including every single cannon and its ammunition chambers stocked with an absurd supply of shells…
…was made entirely of seastone!
This wasn't luxury — it was sheer insanity.
If the green-flame skeletons ever saw this thing…
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