Kizaru's attitude gave Dragon a real headache.
After thinking for a moment, Dragon raised a hand and pulled down the hood over his head, revealing the face marked with that familiar shoeprint.
"Cyrus sent me."
With one sentence, Dragon sold Cyrus out completely!
Kizaru, who had been preparing to make a move, froze on the spot.
His eyes stared straight at Dragon.
"Cyrus is very interested in the scientific technology Vegapunk possesses, the kind that surpasses the world by three hundred years. That's why he asked me to come and take him away."
Dragon continued explaining.
"That man has set his sights on Vegapunk? How troublesome…"
Kizaru fell silent for a moment before exhaling and speaking, his expression becoming extremely serious.
Back when he fought Cyrus in the North Blue, Kizaru could still roughly sense what level Cyrus's strength had reached.
But after that meeting, Cyrus's power had soared at a frightening speed.
Every time news about Cyrus reached him, the man had become even stronger.
Then came Sabaody Archipelago, where Cyrus had fought both him and Akainu alone and suppressed them both.
Later, when Cyrus erupted and charged toward Mary Geoise, he had even heavily injured Kizaru with ease.
Now that Dragon had brought up Cyrus's name, Kizaru had no choice but to take this seriously.
"Even if it is only a temporary peace, that should still be something the Marines need to maintain. So how about pretending you know nothing about this?"
Dragon tried persuading him again.
Kizaru shook his head slightly.
"Even if this old man agreed, someone else wouldn't. If you had come a little earlier, perhaps this old man might have agreed."
Kizaru shook his head, then turned to look toward the research facility on the island.
A figure was approaching from the direction of the laboratory, moving almost as though he were teleporting.
In just a few breaths, he had crossed the distance from the research facility to the area near the two of them.
A red-haired swordsman in a Marine uniform.
Dragon narrowed his eyes and studied the man for a moment before frowning.
"A Celestial Dragon?"
Although the man was not wearing a bubble helmet, Dragon was very familiar with that look in his eyes.
It was the same gaze as those pieces of trash in Mary Geoise.
"Leader of the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon."
The newcomer was none other than Shamrock, deputy commander of the God's Knights, Shanks's twin brother, and the man Cyrus had once taught a lesson.
Shamrock placed a hand on the hilt of his sword and slowly drew it.
The blade in his hand released rolling black smoke, and from within that smoke, a three-headed hellhound emerged.
"I should have expected this."
Seeing that, Dragon's expression did not change much, though his tone carried a hint of regret.
Cyrus had mentioned that the thing Vegapunk was currently researching was very important to the Celestial Dragons.
In that case, the World Government sending someone here under the current circumstances was only natural.
"Looks like I won't be able to take him away this time."
Dragon's gaze swept over the two of them, lingering briefly on the sword in Shamrock's hand.
Defeating both of them and taking Vegapunk away would be far too difficult.
The moment that thought formed, air currents suddenly appeared around Dragon.
In the blink of an eye, those currents swelled into a tornado.
Dragon's body blurred within the wind, then vanished.
Shamrock did not immediately attack either.
He understood very clearly what his current mission was.
Besides, his opponent was Dragon, leader of the Revolutionary Army.
If Dragon could be defeated so easily, he would not have been called the world's most dangerous criminal before Cyrus appeared.
After sheathing his sword, Shamrock raised his head and looked at the clouds scattered by the violent wind, then lowered his gaze toward Kizaru.
"Vegapunk's research is about to succeed. Nothing can go wrong during this period."
"This old man would like that too, but this old man is still a Marine Admiral. If there's a mission, this old man still has to carry it out."
Kizaru had no desire to deal with Celestial Dragons.
Or rather, no one wanted to deal with Celestial Dragons face-to-face.
"That won't be necessary. I'll report to the commander and have him notify Sengoku."
After saying that, Shamrock turned and headed back.
Kizaru watched Shamrock leave, his mouth pursing.
What an arrogant guy. Sengoku is still this old man's direct superior, you know.
Still, Kizaru was currently acting under orders.
If the Fleet Admiral could not withstand the pressure from above, then staying here would not be impossible.
...
After Shamrock reported Dragon's interest in Vegapunk, the intelligence was quickly delivered into the hands of the Five Elders in Mary Geoise.
The five old men gathered in the Room of Authority, the atmosphere heavy.
Ever since Cyrus had appeared, the mood whenever the five of them gathered had never once been relaxed.
"This is connected to Cyrus. It is even possible that those people know what Vegapunk's research means to Lord Imu," Saint Nusjuro said with a frown, holding his sword.
"So what if they do? Unless he appears personally, there won't be any issue with that thing."
Saint Saturn shook his head.
"That's right. Cyrus is currently in Totto Land, and he may soon clash directly with Whitebeard. He has no time to deal with this."
The other three also spoke one after another.
Their meaning was the same: Cyrus was occupied right now and could not free himself.
Even if Vegapunk's matter was connected to him, Cyrus would not appear personally.
As long as Cyrus did not appear, everything would be much easier to handle.
"Should we bring Vegapunk back to the Holy Land?"
Saint Saturn, the Warrior God of Science and Defense, made the suggestion.
"There is no point. If Cyrus makes a move, then even if Vegapunk is in the Holy Land, it will still be difficult to stop him. If Cyrus does not appear, then it does not matter where Vegapunk is.
In any case, once that thing is completed, Vegapunk will no longer be as important."
Naturally, the Five Elders knew that the various technologies Vegapunk possessed had extremely high value.
But to the World Government, or rather, to the Celestial Dragons, only the Mother Flame held the greatest value.
As for the technologies that could change this world and make it better, they did not care.
Or rather, to them, those technologies were not particularly useful.
After all, they would not bring any major change to their own lives.
"Lord Imu has not issued any orders yet, but it seems Lord Imu has already acted."
Imu rarely gave direct commands.
Even after Cyrus appeared, that remained the case.
But now that the world situation had changed so drastically, and Imu was still behaving in this manner, the five of them felt somewhat uneasy.
Of course, the most important issue was that Gunko of the God's Knights, the one who could serve as Lord Imu's vessel, had already been missing for some time.
Perhaps Lord Imu was doing something in secret.
"Lord Imu's affairs are not something we can speculate about. Notify Shamrock. Have him make Vegapunk work faster."
The Room of Authority fell silent.
…
New World, Wano Country.
A massive dragon wrapped in black flame clouds rampaged through the skies over Wano.
Its breath turned most of the country into a living hell.
As for Onigashima, the base of the Beasts Pirates, its condition was even worse than the rest of Wano.
Because this time, Kaido's madness had begun there.
Gunko, her body wrapped in bandages, stood in an open space and looked up at the rampaging Kaido in the sky.
Her red pupils narrowed slightly, and judging from her expression, she was clearly extremely dissatisfied.
"So it still doesn't work."
The power of transformation had requirements for the target being transformed.
Even though Kaido belonged to a special race, he still could not withstand this kind of modification.
The abilities he was supposed to gain were there, but his reason had been completely erased.
Unlike the others who could be transformed, Kaido could not be controlled.
In that case, the objective could not be considered complete.
After his transformation, Kaido's body had become even stronger than before.
On top of that, he now possessed the same extreme recovery ability as the God's Knights.
There was no denying it.
This time, Gunko had created a monster.
Unfortunately, it was a mindless monster.
But figuring out how to lure this thing toward Totto Land was giving even Gunko a headache.
Only some members of the Beasts Pirates, after being struck by Kaido's attacks, had also taken on demonic forms.
"That creature…"
Gunko narrowed her eyes and looked up at the sky again, then withdrew her gaze.
"It's time to go to Elbaf."
No matter what, this operation would not be a loss.
As for Kaido, that monster would rampage through the New World, and Cyrus would inevitably run into him sooner or later.
It was only a matter of timing.
But for a demon army like this, the most suitable material would still be the giants.
After the magic circle appeared and transported Gunko away, a scorching breath struck the traces left behind by the teleportation.
The black dragon descended from the sky and transformed back into human form.
Kaido, wreathed in black smoke, had blood-red eyes.
On his head, four sharp horns twisted upward in spirals.
His aura was even more terrifying than before.
Of course, what was even more frightening was that anyone could clearly see the sense of reasonlessness in him now.
"Damn it! Has Kaido gone completely insane?!"
In the distance, Kurozumi Orochi, who was being protected by a group of ninja as they fled, cursed loudly after Kaido landed on the ground.
He had only just shouted when a blast of breath came sweeping low across the ground, engulfing them all.