The Empress has another Devil Fruit power—the Snake-Snake Fruit, Mythical Beast Type, White Radiance form!
White Radiance is a mystical beast from ancient legends.
According to the stories, when the world was first created and everything was still chaotic, Nuwa felt lonely. So, she used her divine blood to create two snake-shaped spirit beasts in her own image. The female one was White Radiance, and the male one was Teng Snake.
White Radiance, Teng Snake, Bai Ze, and Qilin were the four sacred beasts that served Nuwa. They were also her four great guardians, standing to her left, right, front, and back.
Back to the main story.
In the past two days, the whole ocean has been in an uproar because the World Government launched a Buster Call on the Kingdom of Magiatsuka.
Every major force is watching closely, wondering how the Dream Exploration Group will respond to the Marines' Buster Call. But most people don't think they have a chance.
After all, the fear of a Marine Buster Call is deeply rooted in everyone's mind.
~~~~~~
At the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, inside the garden.
Saint Figarland Garling was kneeling on one knee at the door, looking doubtful as he asked, "Lord Imu, why did you let him go? You know he gave us Celestial Dragons a serious slap in the face."
"What's even more important is that this man now controls public opinion across the seas, and many of our allied nations have started to feel dissatisfied with the World Government."
Imu spoke calmly, "People like that aren't worth worrying about. What about the one who ate the Devil Fruit with a god's name? Where is he now?"
"He and his crew lost to Kaido and were captured. According to what CP reported, he's still locked up in a quarry in Wano Country," Garling replied respectfully.
"Wano Country, huh… Then how's Vegapunk's research coming along? That flame…" Imu's voice finally showed a slight shift when mentioning the flame.
Garling quickly answered, "It should be close to done. Saint Saturn is in charge of that matter. He's been pushing Vegapunk to speed up."
"Very good~"
"Once that flame is ready, we'll use the Kingdom of Magiatsuka for the test. Let that arrogant young man learn what true power really means," Imu said lightly.
"As you command!"
"Lord Imu!"
~~~~~~
Back in the Kingdom of Magiatsuka.
After Ryuen returned, he saw that the flame clouds Kuina had set up were almost gone, and parts of the port town had been hit by cannon fire.
But the damage wasn't too bad—still within acceptable limits.
Ryuen landed and was surprised to see members of the Kuja Pirates there!
Why is this woman here too?!
"Ryuen, you're back!" Hancock ran over happily, like a cheerful deer, her face full of joy.
"Um… why are you here?" Ryuen asked, confused. He subtly stepped away to increase the distance between them, then looked over at the members of the Dream Exploration Group.
"I knew the World Government was going to launch a Buster Call on the Magiatsuka Kingdom, so I rushed over to help," Hancock said. Her beautiful eyes sparkled with a hopeful light, like she was waiting for praise from Ryuen.
"Even though I don't want to admit it, this woman's powers are surprisingly effective when it comes to dealing with a Marine Buster Call," Nojiko said in a low voice.
"Yeah, yeah! This pretty lady can shoot a bunch of pink arrows, and they're like magic—those arrows turned all the Marines' cannonballs into stone!" Little Reina added excitedly, waving her hands around.
Just thinking about how Hancock had used her Love Arrows today made her face light up with excitement. It was such a beautiful scene.
"Is that so?"
"Well, thanks a lot, Hancock. I'll treat you to a meal sometime," Ryuen said as he nodded, then walked toward Morgans.
But at that moment...
Hancock froze like a statue. She pressed her hands tightly against her face, which was now blushing like a sunset.
Ah!
Ryuen said my name again!
And he even invited me... could this mean he wants to go on a date with me?
The thought made Hancock feel weak all over, like all the strength had been drained from her body.
"Sister…" Seeing her like that, Sandersonia and Marigold quickly rushed to Hancock's side, worried looks on their faces as they surrounded her.
It seemed like the thing Elder Nyon had been worrying about... was slowly becoming real.
Ryuen didn't notice what was happening with the Kuja Pirates. Just then, the strange bird responsible for taking photos in Mariejois flew back.
A few of the strange birds returned like they were going back to their nest. They flew to Ryuen and carefully handed him the cameras.
Ryuen took the cameras and gave them to Morgans:
"Morgans, all the photos are here."
"Your job now is to stick to the original plan and report everything that happened over the past two days in full detail."
"No need to worry about offending the World Government anymore. Things are already past that point. This will be a fight to the bitter end."
"Just try not to mention the Marines too much. Put all the blame on the World Government. The whole sea needs to know how cruel and arrogant they really are."
Morgans had his assistants bring over the cameras. With a serious face, he said:
"Don't worry, Ryuen. This kind of thing is what we do best. And this time, I'm going to make sure the World Government loses all face."
Ryuen gave a small nod.
Next, he immediately called the Black Eagle and told it to take Morgans and his assistants back to the Magiatsuka Kingdom and then to Sky Island.
Then he turned to Sabo and the others: "Sabo, once tomorrow's paper is out, it'll be a rare chance for your Revolutionary Army. Don't you plan on heading back to your base?"
Sabo nodded and replied:
"For us, this is definitely a rare and golden opportunity."
"But the Buster Call situation isn't over yet. I have to stay in the Magiatsuka Kingdom to guard against any attacks from CP0."
"But our leader, Dragon, asked me to pass on our sincere thanks to you."
Ryuen smirked and said with a hint of sarcasm, "Just more empty words. Nami, everyone, let's go back to the hotel. I've got a few things I want to talk to you all about."
With that, he walked off toward the hotel, taking long strides. The rest of the Dream Crew quickly followed after him.
"Ryuen, wait for me~"
Hancock saw this and quickly ran after them.
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