Ace's question immediately opened the floodgates for the two giants.
After all, there were not many things over the years that had left a lasting impression on them.
On top of that, once people discovered there were giants on Little Garden, they usually avoided staying here for long.
At the very least, in the memories of the two giants, Cyrus's figure remained incredibly vivid.
Giants respected strength, and Cyrus had defeated both of them at once with ease.
Naturally, they held great admiration for him.
As for Ace, he finally gained some understanding of Cyrus, a man who had existed only as a legend to him until now.
Even though Ace had been chased by the Hunter Guild back in the East Blue, the existence of the Hunter Guild's chairman had still felt vague to him.
"But he's in the New World now. He just defeated Big Mom of the Big Mom Pirates!"
Dorry and Brogy did not have much of a reaction toward Big Mom herself.
When Big Mom had caused chaos in the giants' village, the two of them had already been fighting on Little Garden for decades.
They had no idea such a thing had happened.
But even though they had never left Little Garden afterward, they had still heard of Big Mom's strength.
"That's the kind of place I should be heading to."
Ace's face was filled with longing.
"Kid, that isn't a place you should be going. Without strength, you probably won't even make it into the New World."
Hearing Ace's words, Dorry immediately burst into laughter.
Ace laughed as well, not seeming to mind Dorry's warning.
Because it was the truth.
Ace himself understood very clearly that he was still far, far away from someone like Cyrus.
After all, back in the East Blue, he had been chased all over the place by Hunters from the Hunter Guild.
Then, after witnessing the daily battle between the two giants on Little Garden, Ace gave up on the idea of leaving immediately.
Now that he had a clearer understanding of his own strength, Ace decided to train here for a while.
…
Marine Headquarters.
"According to the latest information from the New World, the Moby Dick set sail back when Cyrus entered Totto Land's waters. By now, it should be close to Totto Land."
Sengoku spoke with a grave expression.
Compared with before, the exhaustion on Sengoku's face was now visible to the naked eye.
The recent changes across the sea had left Sengoku with very little time to rest.
Vice Admiral Tsuru, who was also in the office, looked just as tired.
"What exactly is Whitebeard trying to do?"
Although Vice Admiral Tsuru was intelligent, even she could not figure out the purpose behind Whitebeard's move, especially after Cyrus had defeated Big Mom so decisively.
Whitebeard's behavior was easier to predict compared to Big Mom and Kaido.
Although Whitebeard had the largest territory, he rarely made major moves. At least, that had been true over the past ten years or so.
But now he had suddenly set sail and was approaching Totto Land, especially while Cyrus was still there.
"Perhaps he'll end up fighting Cyrus," Sengoku guessed with a frown.
"That possibility is very high."
Although they could not understand why Whitebeard would do this, if Whitebeard reached Totto Land, the chance of him clashing with Cyrus was indeed significant.
"But that would be troublesome."
Sengoku frowned.
Although they had already decided to temporarily withdraw the Marines' forces from the New World and focus on the Four Seas and Paradise, he still did not want the situation in the New World to change this drastically, especially not this quickly.
The Marines had not expected Big Mom to be defeated so cleanly.
They had expected Big Mom to be no match for Cyrus, but they had hoped she would at least hold him back for a while.
And the result?
The result was that Big Mom had failed to last even half a day, and that was with the Golden Lion and the other two involved.
"What about the people released from Impel Down?" Vice Admiral Tsuru suddenly asked while Sengoku was still frowning in thought.
"It's difficult to grasp all their movements, but they were all released into the New World. One way or another, they should cause some trouble for Cyrus."
Sengoku answered.
This matter had been ordered by the World Government.
In Sengoku's own view, those criminals from Level Five and Level Six of Impel Down should never have been allowed out.
They should have died inside that prison.
But this time, the World Government had released those dangerous figures for one purpose: to create problems for Cyrus.
"In their eyes, Cyrus is far more dangerous than the criminals they released," Vice Admiral Tsuru said with a slight nod.
That was the World Government's calculation.
The people imprisoned in Level Six of Impel Down were all dangerous individuals, but compared to Cyrus, their threat was not even worth mentioning.
If those people could cause even a little trouble for Cyrus, then their release would already have value.
"But those people won't obediently listen to orders," Sengoku said, shaking his head slightly.
Still, he did not intend to keep thinking about whether this matter was good or bad. It had already been done.
"How is the contact with Enel, the Thunder God of Dressrosa, going?" Vice Admiral Tsuru looked at Sengoku and asked again.
"That is being handled by CP. Dressrosa doesn't welcome Marines right now. But Enel, as a Logia user of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, is also a dangerous man."
The moment Vice Admiral Tsuru mentioned Enel, Sengoku directly pinched the bridge of his nose.
"And the result?" Vice Admiral Tsuru could more or less guess from Sengoku's expression.
"That man is difficult to approach. Or rather, he is even harder to talk to than Cyrus."
Sengoku's expression turned somewhat strange as he said this.
When it came to Cyrus, Sengoku honestly still felt deep regret even now.
If Garp had found a way to bring Cyrus back when he encountered him in the East Blue, everything would have changed.
And judging from those two previous contacts, Cyrus's personality had been one that was fairly easy to deal with.
Unfortunately, after the Mary Geoise incident, everything changed.
But no matter what, Cyrus could still be considered someone who was approachable and reasonable.
Enel of Dressrosa, on the other hand, was not a man who listened to reason.
The CP agents who went to contact him were met with violent lightning the moment they revealed their identities.
"That is about what I expected. Since Cyrus personally arranged for him to stay in Dressrosa, recruiting him would be nearly impossible."
Vice Admiral Tsuru shook her head slightly and sighed.
"I need to go out for a while. According to information from the World Government, after Doflamingo's group left Dressrosa, they seem to be planning something involving Mary Geoise.
I need to find Doflamingo and investigate what exactly he intends to do."
As Vice Admiral Tsuru spoke, she stood. But after taking a couple of steps, she turned back again.
"The situation in front of us is changing too quickly. The Hunter Guild has already begun showing signs of standing against the Marines and the World Government as an equal. What exactly do those people intend to do?"
The moment Vice Admiral Tsuru asked that question, Sengoku's expression became extremely serious.
"What are you trying to say?"
Sengoku stared at her.
"The Marines need to prepare early as well. After all, there are hundreds of thousands of Marines."
After saying that, Vice Admiral Tsuru turned and left.
Sengoku looked at the open office door, his expression heavy.
It was obvious that many things were weighing on his heart.
…
On a small island near Marine Headquarters, a beam of golden light flashed across one corner of the island.
Kizaru's figure appeared from within the light.
He stared solemnly at the cloaked man before him.
"You actually dare to come here in person."
Kizaru pursed his lips.
Although he still had that sleazy look as usual, one glance was enough to see that his body was tense, ready to act at any moment.
"My target isn't you."
Dragon looked at Kizaru standing before him and felt rather helpless. In his heart, he silently complained about Cyrus.
Admiral Kizaru had always been responsible for Vegapunk's safety.
If Dragon wanted to contact Vegapunk directly and take him away, there was no avoiding this man.
Although Kizaru usually looked lazy and casual, if someone took Vegapunk away under his watch, Kizaru would likely be punished as well.
Under these circumstances, unless Dragon defeated Kizaru head-on, taking someone away right under the eyes of a Glint-Glint Fruit user was basically impossible.
Cyrus really knew how to find trouble for other people.
Although Dragon thought that, he also understood that whatever involved Vegapunk had to be extremely important.
At the very least, that was the conclusion they could draw from the information they had so far.
If they could take Vegapunk away, many future problems might be avoided.
"That won't do, Dragon."
Kizaru shook his head directly.
"This old man can't just watch you take Vegapunk away. So if you leave now, I'll pretend I never saw you."
Kizaru's expression turned serious, and he had already raised both hands.
Judging from his posture, if Dragon refused, he would immediately attack.