Egghead Island—after more than two days at sea, the Dream ship finally reached the waters near Egghead Island.
As the Dream ship got closer to the island, everyone's eyes widened, mouths slightly open, their faces filled with disbelief.
The island in front of them looked like something out of science fiction.
A tall egg-shaped building rose into the clouds, covered in white mist. It looked like something from the future. All kinds of strange machines gave off a cold glow, as if they were hiding secrets no one could guess.
This style, unlike anything they had ever seen, left them all stunned. A mix of excitement and curiosity rushed through their hearts.
Everyone started whispering to each other in amazement.
"Wow, this is so cool!"
"It's like a space base or something!"
But the most excited person was Bonney.
She had spent unforgettable days here in the past.
Seeing it again brought back childhood memories all at once. Her heart began to race, and her cheeks turned red with excitement.
Just as they were wondering how to get onto the island, Kizaru suddenly appeared in the waters nearby like a ghost.
When Kizaru caught a glimpse of Bonney, his heart stirred slightly.
After all, Bonney had once been treated here by Vegapunk. He had personally seen the deal between Kuma and the World Government—or maybe it was with Saint Saturn.
They had also spent some good times here together.
Kizaru landed lightly on the deck of the Dream ship like a bird and walked toward Ryuen.
"I was just about to call you, Admiral Kizaru. What's the situation on the island right now? What's Vegapunk up to?" Ryuen frowned and asked right away.
"Hmm…" Kizaru scratched his head, looking troubled. "How should I put this... Vegapunk says there are still lots of unfinished experiments. Even though the Holy Flame has been developed, he still needs to use it for more research, so he's asking for more time."
"Then… does the World Government know that the Holy Flame is ready?" Ryuen asked immediately.
"Right now, only he, a few of his clones, and we know. I've already told him what you said, and he promised me that—"
Before Kizaru could finish, Ryuen suddenly interrupted.
His face darkened at once. "Damn it! Did you say a few of his clones also know?"
The rest of the Dream crew were puzzled by Ryuen's reaction.
Kizaru gave a small nod. He noticed something was off about Ryuen's expression and asked, "That's right. Is something wrong with that?"
"It's very wrong."
Ryuen spoke seriously, "According to the intel I received, Vegapunk's sixth clone—the one that represents desire, York—has betrayed the real Vegapunk and is now working with Saturn."
The moment he heard this shocking news, Kizaru's expression changed completely.
His relaxed look vanished, replaced by wide-eyed shock and disbelief.
"What?! That can't be..." His eyes opened as wide as dinner plates.
Ryuen took a deep breath and continued in a firm tone:
"We can't waste any time. Admiral Kizaru, go now and take control of York."
"Make sure she doesn't get the chance to do anything else."
"We'll head to Egghead Island right away too."
"We came here directly for the sole purpose of getting to the bottom of this."
"I understand," Kizaru replied through clenched teeth.
As soon as he finished speaking, his body blurred and turned into a beam of yellow light, vanishing at incredible speed.
Right then, Nami walked over with light steps.
Her long flowing hair danced in the wind like a waterfall, and her eyes showed a bit of worry. "Ryuen... what should we do next?"
Ryuen turned to look at Nami and the others behind her. He calmly replied:
"Don't worry too much, Nami."
"For now, the World Government hasn't gotten their hands on the Holy Flame, so as long as we handle this matter properly, we don't need to fear that so-called Heavenly King."
After Ryuen spoke, everyone went quiet. They just nodded with serious looks on their faces.
Then—
The large-built Hog grabbed the ship's wheel with both hands and gave it a strong turn. The massive Dream sailed like a wild beast, quickly changing course and speeding toward the nearby Egghead Island port.
Once they arrived, the people who had been waiting at the port opened the gates right away. The Dream and Bonney's pirate ship sailed in at the same time.
After docking, everyone stepped onto Egghead Island.
But no one was in the mood to admire the futuristic and high-tech buildings around them. What they wanted most now was to deal with York's betrayal.
They reached the central area of Egghead Island.
There, they saw Kizaru had already taken control of York. Vegapunk's main body and his other five clones were all present.
Sentomaru was also there.
Among everyone present, Sentomaru was clearly the most confused.
Not long ago, the Marines had just stripped Ryuen of his Rear Admiral title and issued bounties for the entire Dream Exploration Group.
Yet now, not much time had passed, and somehow the two sides were working together again.
Such a huge shift was too much for Sentomaru to wrap his head around. It felt like the situation was changing faster than he could keep up with. His mind was a mess, and he couldn't figure out what was really going on.
Ryuen didn't pay attention to Sentomaru's confused stare. Instead, he looked at York, who seemed surprisingly relaxed. "Did you already contact the Five Elders?"
York didn't try to hide anything. She nodded and said:
"Yeah. Right when Kizaru left earlier, I told Saint Saturn. He should be on his way now."
"But I didn't expect a Marine Admiral to actually start working with you."
"If the Five Elders find out about this, they'll probably be furious. Admiral Kizaru, what were you thinking, working with someone the World Government put a bounty on?"
"Sigh... this is my fault. I didn't think they'd actually plan to use the Holy Flame as the power source for the Heavenly King," said the real Vegapunk, clearly upset.
He had believed that by keeping things quiet, even the Five Elders wouldn't find out that the Holy Flame had been completed.
But he never imagined York would team up with Saturn.
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