On the shore of Egghead Island, the Dream Crew stood side by side, waiting for Saturn's arrival.
Actually, Saturn wasn't that hard to deal with.
Ryuen had already confirmed that none of the Five Elders could withstand the heat of his flames. Back in Mary Geoise, Saint Mars was living proof of that.
As long as Ryuen used his flames to trap Saturn's whole fleet—
Surrounded by that intense fire, they'd be like fish caught in a net. There'd be no way for them to escape.
But on the five battleships, besides some close Marine Vice Admirals, most of the soldiers were just regular Marines from HQ who were simply following orders.
These Marines had no idea what they were walking into.
That's why Vice Admiral Tsuru had reached out to Ryuen beforehand, asking him not to kill those innocent soldiers along with the rest. Ryuen had agreed to her request without complaint.
It looked like Egghead Island might have to take a bit more damage because of that.
~~~~~~
The waters off Egghead Island were like a deep, dark blue mirror.
Once they arrived, Saturn had someone try calling York again—but no one picked up. Then they tried calling Vegapunk, and still got no response.
"Saint Saturn, we've completely lost contact with Egghead Island. It's like everyone there just disappeared," reported Vice Admiral Bluegrass.
"Don't tell me... everyone on Egghead Island has been wiped out?" Saturn frowned, confusion and suspicion filling his mind.
"At the moment, that's what it looks like," Bluegrass answered quickly.
"The only people who could pull this off are a few from the New World… or the Dream Exploration Group," Vice Admiral Guillotine said in a serious tone.
"But we haven't seen any trace of the Dream Team. After they left the Magiatsuka Kingdom, no one has spotted their ship," Vice Admiral Dirttea added.
"That's why the most likely cause of the lost contact is still the Dream Team," said Vice Admiral Urban, firm and certain.
As the Marines spoke, Saturn's frown grew even deeper—his forehead now looked like wrinkled paper, all twisted up with frustration.
If the Dream Team really was on Egghead Island...
Then—
Their current forces might not be enough. He had seen it with his own eyes back in the Holy Land—Saint Mars had half his body burned away in an instant by Ryuen's flames.
Even though he got out in time and later recovered, the danger was real.
But he figured that Saint Mars was probably still shaken up. In fact, it wasn't just him—the other four were likely just as wary of Ryuen's flames.
Still, the Mother Flame was tied to Uranus, and to Imu's plans.
So now he had no choice but to face it head-on.
"Land on Egghead Island immediately!" Once he made up his mind, Saturn gave the order in a deep voice.
"Yes, Sir!"
"Saint Saturn!" the Vice Admirals on deck replied right away.
The entire Marine fleet moved at once, speeding toward Egghead Island at full force!
But as they approached, Saturn's face turned grim. Their guess was right—the Dream Team *was* on the island.
"Yahahaha…"
"Huh?"
Just as Ryuen was laughing loudly, the moment he caught sight of Saturn, it was like a switch flipped—he clamped his hand over his mouth, completely stunned.
Why did his laugh suddenly sound so off?
It was like he'd suddenly turned into a classic villain.
The rest of the Dream Team also gave Ryuen weird looks. Everyone was silently wondering: What's with that laugh?
"Ahem~"
"Hahaha!"
"We were expecting a Marine Admiral to lead the charge, but who would've thought it'd be you—old man Saturn!" Ryuen brushed off their stares. Taunting Saturn was far more important right now.
"Ryuen!"
"You're too arrogant."
"Do you really believe that Lord Imu has no way to deal with you?" Saturn snapped, fury pouring out of him like a volcano.
Still, he was clearly scared of Ryuen's flames. With no better option, he could only try to intimidate him by bringing up Imu.
"Saturn, whether or not Imu can stop Ryuen—we don't know. But what we *do* know is, *you* definitely can't do anything to him," Nami said coldly, her eyes full of disdain.
"Watch your mouth!"
Saturn suddenly roared, the shout booming like thunder, echoing across the whole area.
At the same time—
A wave of overwhelming pressure exploded from him. It was wild and forceful, like a stampede of beasts or waves crashing against cliffs.
Faced with Saturn's terrifying aura,
Anyone else would've been scared out of their mind by now.
But Ryuen just narrowed his eyes slightly, a small mocking smile forming at the corner of his lips.
Sure, Saturn was strong—but not strong enough to scare him.
However, this time Saturn wasn't just aiming at Ryuen—he was targeting the whole Dream Team.
That Ryuen couldn't ignore.
A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he released his own Conqueror's Haki without hesitation!
In an instant—
Two powerful bursts of Haki crashed into each other like dragons colliding in the sky, sending out massive shockwaves.
The sound of that clash—
Was like two planets slamming into each other above Egghead Island, shaking the heavens and the earth.
As the two waves of Haki collided, the scene around them grew even more terrifying.
The pure white sea of clouds suddenly went wild, surging like a flood bursting through a dam.
And in the middle of the churning clouds, a massive rift tore open—as if a giant sword had slashed the sky in two. It was deep and dark, impossible to see the bottom.
The sea itself turned violent. What was calm a moment ago had now become a stormy nightmare.
Towering waves, tens of meters high, rose and crashed, one after another, roaring louder than thunder.
The ships floating on the water looked tiny and fragile in the face of such chaos, as if they could be swallowed up by the ocean at any second.
Wave after wave of massive surf slammed against the shores of Egghead Island, sending water spraying everywhere and flooding the entire beach with surging tides.
The scene was terrifying—enough to send chills down anyone's spine!
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