"Pururururu~~~"
...
Suddenly, the sound of a Den Den Mushi rang out, interrupting the intense brawl between the two generations of Marine Fleet Admirals.
They had been locked in a heated fistfight, but now both stopped, still grabbing each other by the collar, their eyes blazing with fury, glaring in the direction where Kizaru stood.
Their faces clearly said it all.
If Kizaru couldn't give them a good explanation, they weren't going to let it slide. They might even drop their fight and turn to beat the hell out of the relaxed-looking Kizaru instead.
Seeing the furious looks on the faces of the two Fleet Admirals, Kizaru started to panic.
He quickly began patting himself down, scrambling to find the Den Den Mushi. But the more anxious he got, the more the damn thing seemed to be playing hide-and-seek with him—he just couldn't find where it was hiding.
Fujitora slowly reached out, pulled the ringing, death-like Den Den Mushi from Kizaru's pocket, and handed it to him.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he calmly went back to sipping his tea.
As if everything that just happened had nothing to do with him.
"Ugh~"
"Moshi~ Moshi~~~"
Kizaru casually placed the Den Den Mushi on the table so everyone could hear better.
"Kizaru Admiral, are you at Egghead Island right now or at Marine Headquarters?" Ryuen's voice came from the Den Den Mushi.
As soon as they heard Ryuen's voice, Akainu jumped back from Sengoku like a cat that got its tail stepped on. Sengoku also pulled back like he got shocked. Both of them now stood with dark faces, glaring at the Den Den Mushi on the table.
They looked at it as if the Den Den Mushi was Ryuen himself.
The sudden pressure was so intense that the snail trembled like a leaf, cold sweat pouring off it like a broken dam.
It was so scared, it looked like it wanted to hide in its shell and never come out again!
"I'm at Marine Headquarters right now," Kizaru quickly replied. Then he tried to calm the Den Den Mushi down and shot a resentful glance at Akainu and Sengoku.
That Den Den Mushi had cost him a lot!
Then the voice on the other end continued, "Marine Headquarters, huh... Then let me ask you something. Do you know if Vegapunk has finished the Holy Mother Flame yet?"
That question hit the room like a bomb.
Except for Fujitora, everyone else looked stunned. How did he know about the flame?
Kizaru's expression turned serious. "That's top-secret info from the World Government. How do you know Vegapunk is working on that?"
"I've got my sources. Now tell me, how far along is it? This flame is key to whether our next plan will succeed or fail," Ryuen replied, his tone serious.
Kizaru didn't answer right away. He looked over at Akainu and Sengoku.
He saw both of them nod. Then he turned to look at Vice Admiral Tsuru, who also nodded slowly. As for Garp...
His opinion didn't matter.
"Hmm~"
"When I came back from Egghead Island, based on what Vegapunk said, the flame should be almost done," Kizaru said after thinking for a moment.
"Almost done, huh..."
"Then it's time for us to head to Egghead Island. But there's one thing you all need to know—one of the three Ancient Weapons, Uranus, is in the hands of the Five Elders!"
"And to activate Uranus, the Holy Mother Flame is the best power source!" Ryuen's voice echoed through the Fleet Admiral's meeting room like a giant bell, hitting everyone hard like a hammer to the chest.
"NANI!!!"
In that instant, everyone stood up as if lightning had struck them, rushing toward the Den Den Mushi with shocked expressions.
"That's right."
"You heard me clearly."
"I'm talking about the ancient weapon that can destroy entire islands in one blast—fired from the sky—Uranus!"
"If the Holy Mother Flame falls into the hands of Im or the Five Elders, every nation on this sea will be on the edge of destruction, facing the threat of being wiped out at any moment."
"If they ever dislike a country, or if a country doesn't listen to them, they can just wipe it off the map like brushing away a speck of dust!"
"Remember, I mean *completely* erase it!"
"When that time comes, it won't just be about whether the Marines can be independent — we might not even exist anymore, unless you want to spend your whole life licking the Celestial Dragons' boots like a dog!"
Ryuen said with a serious look.
"Borsalino!"
Akainu immediately shouted in a low, angry voice.
Before Akainu even finished speaking, Kizaru had already turned into a bright yellow beam of light and vanished from Marine HQ like a flash of lightning!
He was moving faster than ever before!
He didn't even pick up his transponder snail — a clear sign of how urgent things were for him.
*Click~*
When Kizaru disappeared, the transponder snail cut off the call by itself, then shrank into its shell like a frightened snail.
"I didn't expect the World Government to actually have an Ancient Weapon… and it's the most mysterious one: Uranus…"
Vice Admiral Tsuru couldn't help but feel a chill, like an invisible hand was slowly reaching out toward them from behind.
"Let's hope Borsalino makes it in time. As long as they don't get the power source, even if they do have the Ancient Weapon, it'll just be a useless shell."
Sengoku said with a heavy tone.
"I'll head back to East Blue first."
Garp stood up, flung his cape behind him, and walked out of the Fleet Admiral's office.
No one noticed Fujitora's white eyes shift slightly. He had just heard that Uranus fires from the sky!
Maybe... just maybe...
Fujitora thought to himself.
~~~~~~
Magiatsuka Kingdom.
The Dream Exploration Team's ship hadn't even left the Magiatsuka Kingdom's waters when they ran into Bonney and her crew.
"Ryuen!"
"Damn! You actually went to Mary Geoise and blew up Pangaea Castle?! That's so satisfying!"
As soon as the two ships stopped, Bonney jumped right onto the Dream Ship.
But Ryuen didn't respond to her comment.
"Bonney, you showed up at the perfect time. We're just about to head to Egghead Island. Once we're there, Vegapunk can help restore Kuma's memories."
"R-Really...?"
Bonney's voice trembled, and tears instantly fell from her eyes.
Ryuen slowly nodded.
"Thank you, Ryuen. Once Dad's memories come back, we'll make sure to properly thank you!"
Bonney was so overwhelmed that she instantly returned to her original form and leapt into Ryuen's arms.
The Dream Team smiled. To them, it was just a small favor. In the end, it was all up to Vegapunk anyway.
However...
On the Perfume Snake not far away, Boa Hancock saw Bonney hugging Ryuen — and her face instantly darkened.
*Crack!*
The railing of the Perfume Snake shattered under her grip!
---
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