Not long ago.
"Lilith, come help out, check the parts over on the left side!"
York's hands had already turned into tools; she herself was a cyborg, and these kinds of tools sped up her workflow.
Although she was a satellite of Vegapunk, now that Vegapunk's main body was dead and Punk Records was destroyed, York's work efficiency was far inferior to that of the original Vegapunk.
Let alone York, who was never responsible for the work in the first place, even Lilith, when working, had to look things up in the documents provided by the World Government.
Without Punk Records, it was as if their work database had been sealed away. Their skills remained, but much of the knowledge had to be relearned from scratch.
The things they were handling now were all recent, new projects that they were relatively more familiar with, which was why they could manage.
At first, York's idea was to get rid of Lilith and make herself the only one left, but she'd already changed her mind.
If Lilith weren't here, she'd work herself to death.
Previously, she'd only thought about eliminating the main body and taking its place, but she forgot one crucial thing.
It was always Vegapunk doing the work; what the World Government wanted was their research capability, not to support a useless person. There were already plenty of useless people in Mariejois; they didn't need an outsider to fill that role.
Back then, York's daily tasks were just eating, drinking, sleeping. Basically, she didn't have to work at all. But now that the main body was dead, only she and Lilith remained.
If she wanted to prove her abilities, she had to work herself.
As for her ambition to become a Celestial Dragon, the Five Elders didn't refuse her, but they didn't agree either. They just gave her empty promises, dangled a bunch of benefits in front of her, and in exchange, she had to work.
It was only at this point that York finally understood what it was like to work like a beast of burden.
Vegapunk's research came from personal interest; he was completely immersed in it, which was why he always felt there wasn't enough time, even creating satellites to help himself carry out more research.
Once York's goal turned into profit, the process became much more tedious. Fortunately, Lilith was still able to help her handle some things, so it wasn't too hard to manage.
"The left side is fine, but the weapon system on the right side has just been repaired and hasn't been tested yet!"
High in the sky, Lilith used a special device to attach herself to the external armor of the Mother Flame, making further fine adjustments from the outside.
Because only York and Lilith were left, Lilith herself didn't know what to do next. That was never an instruction Vegapunk had programmed in, so for now, she just followed York's lead.
After carefully checking things over, York and Lilith more or less confirmed that the Mother Flame could operate normally.
"That should just about do it. Let's go. The rest isn't our business anymore. Leave the fighting and killing to them."
Putting on simple flight gear, York and Lilith jumped down from high above. Mariejois didn't have any landing spot. A year ago, Egghead could have set up a repair base, but now they had to handle it themselves.
"By the way, Lilith, have you thought about what I mentioned? Don't you want to become Saint Lilith?"
"I feel that such a status is meaningless, nor do I think they would truly give it to you. Compared to that, you would be better off going to see this magnificent sea."
Without the main body, the remaining two satellites gradually developed more independent thinking. As embodiments of evil and greed respectively, their thoughts were no longer synchronized. According to Lilith, she was currently just amassing capital.
She wasn't just a tool, she had her own ideas.
As for York's suggestion, Lilith's new idea was to make Lilith work for her. The dignified Saint York shouldn't always have to get her own hands dirty. She even wanted to learn from Vegapunk and make a few York satellites, but she didn't know much about how to do that.
For the time being, York and Lilith's plans weren't enough to make a big impact, but York's answer had already been relayed to the Five Elders through the Den Den Mushi in Saturn's hand.
"Mother Flame has begun preparations."
Saturn calmly confirmed this outcome. As for what would happen to Dressrosa, or whether the residents there would be affected, they simply never considered it.
Imu's orders were absolute for the Five Elders. Since Imu had made a decision, they only needed to carry it out, with no need to think about any justification.
But even so, they still discussed a few things before taking action.
"Why did Lord Imu wake up at this time?"
Nasujoro, as always, was holding his sword. No one knows what's really going on with this sword, which had never been drawn more than three centimeters. As the most old-fashioned member of the five, he was the one who raised the question.
"It's a bit early. This is different from usual."
"We have no authority to interfere in this matter. Lord Imu naturally has their own reasons. Once the order is given, we just need to execute it."
Marcus Mars stroked his long beard, and this was what the others thought as well. No one could know what Imu was thinking, so they simply didn't think about it.
"Speaking of which, that fruit is on the island as well. Although it hasn't awakened yet, if it disappears along with everything else, that's a good thing. The greatest threat and the guy knows the secret will disappear together. The seas should remain stable for a while."
"Indeed, whether it's that fruit or Doflamingo, they're both quite troublesome matters."
Saturn quite agreed with Marcus Mars' view. The direct bloodline of the Celestial Dragons was not something they could easily handle; at the very least, they could not be executed lightly. Even if they were to be killed, it would have to go through complex procedures involving the Holy Knights and so on.
Of course, with Imu's order, everything else could be ignored; after all, Imu was the one with the final say.
"Do any of the Donquixote family members have any objections?"
"No, only Mjosgard had objections, but his family had already handled it internally. As for that old kingdom they abandoned long ago, they have no interest."
The Donquixote family here had nothing to do with Doflamingo, but referred to the remaining Donquixote family members living on Mariejois. Aside from Doflamingo's immediate family and Mjosgard, the Donquixote family had many descendants over the past 800 years.
And their attitude toward Dressrosa was unanimous; they didn't care.
If it were an ordinary island, the Five Elders wouldn't even bother to inform them. It was only because Dressrosa had once belonged to the Donquixote family that they issued a routine notification.
This notification wasn't to seek their opinions, but merely a heads-up. If anyone was reluctant, they could prepare themselves mentally in advance.
"Mjosgard remains as unorthodox as ever, just like Homing. No, Rosinante and Doflamingo are the same. This whole family is so unique."
"Forget about the Donquixote family. Notify CP0 and the Marines to leave the area. There aren't many of them, and with their abilities, they should be able to avoid getting caught up in it."
"Sakazuki, if he hadn't sent even more people over there, we wouldn't need to go to all this trouble. Get them out quickly; charging won't take much longer."
Sengoku and Tsuru, those two old-timers, went to Dressrosa on Akainu's direct orders. It hadn't been approved by the World Government; he just notified them after the fact.
The blonde-haired Saint Peter concluded the brief meeting, and as two calls were placed, the World Government's operation was set in motion.
They didn't care about ordinary people, and cared even less about those they'd been ordered to erase. But Fujitora, who had only recently been recruited, was different from a retired old man like Sengoku; you couldn't just wipe them out without a word.
If, when Mother Flame finished charging and unleashed its attack, Sengoku and the others still hadn't left, they'd have to figure out how to cover it up.
At this moment, in Dressrosa, the battle between Redfield and Yamato was temporarily put on hold, but the fighting in other areas was still ongoing.
"Gravity Blade: Raging Tiger!"
Fujitora sheathed his sword, then unleashed a gravity-powered Iai slash.
Under the influence of gravity, a deep ravine was carved into the ground, and a path was opened up through the sea of flames released by Ace.
"Gentlemen, our reinforcements have arrived. I suggest you surrender now."
"You've got to be kidding. How could we possibly surrender just because you said so?"
"That's right. These hands have been trained as Dragon Claws to tear down tyranny. Without the resolve to face that, I wouldn't have walked this path."
"Is that so? Then I'll have to use force to compel you both to surrender."
Ace and Sabo's responses were pretty much within Fujitora's expectations, so he wasn't surprised; he was just testing them.
After being refused, wave after wave of gravity rippled outward with Fujitora as the center, surrounding him with an even more powerful gravitational field.
The nearby houses had already collapsed under the crushing gravity, but just as Fujitora was about to attack, the eyes of the messenger beside him suddenly widened, as if he had received an incomprehensible order.
"Sir Issho! Emergency order: All Marines are to evacuate Dressrosa immediately!"
"Immediately?"
"Yes, Inspector General Sengoku and Staff Officer Tsuru both said, no matter how important your battle is, you must disengage and leave at once. Vice Admiral Bastille is already gathering the troops."
Although puzzled, Fujitora still chose to obey orders. Under the increasingly bewildered gazes of Sabo and Ace, he sheathed his blade and left.
But before leaving, those pale eyes still turned to the sky; even though he had long since lost his sight, he could still feel a sense of oppression.
"What's going on?"
Just as Sabo was preparing for a bloody battle, he looked to Ace, only to find Ace gazing at the sky. When Sabo looked up, all he saw were the somewhat oppressive dark clouds.
"What is it?"
"Could it be that thing again?"
"That thing?"
"Yeah, that deadly thing from the World Government."
Only those who had participated in the Summit War and witnessed everything firsthand could truly understand that terror.
That attack was only a fleeting moment. Ever since then, no one had heard of that kind of weapon being used again, but when similar circumstances reappeared, it was impossible not to recall that horrifying scene.
And that was just the aftermath. If it were to hit directly…
"Sabo! You need to get out of here. You shouldn't stay on this island. You should have a ship ready, right? Move now, the farther away, the better!"
"What's going on?"
"That weapon the Marines used during the Summit War. It looks like they're about to use it again."
"What about you?"
"I'm going to check on Luffy. I'm a Logia user, and Marco can fly too. Don't worry about us, we'll catch up soon. It's settled then!"
As he spoke, Ace turned into a ball of flame and flew toward King's Plateau, while Sabo contacted Koala, Hack, and the other members of the Revolutionary Army, telling them to try to evacuate as many civilians as possible.
Ace hadn't explained very clearly, but Sabo still chose to trust his brother and followed his arrangement.
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