Holy Land Mary Geoise.
At that moment, the Five Elders had received the report from Egghead Island. They hadn't expected that the Dream Team had gone there specifically for the Holy Flame—and had completely drained its energy.
According to Vegapunk, the Holy Flame was now like a dying candle in the wind. It couldn't even support regular experiments anymore.
"If that's really the case... then the Holy Flame might not be usable for the Heavenly King anymore..." Saint Garling frowned deeply, as if he was carrying a massive weight on his shoulders.
He hadn't expected that right after taking over the role of Science Defense Warrior God, such a serious problem would appear in his field.
"Has this been confirmed? I find it hard to believe something so coincidental. The Sacred Flame was just completed, so how could the Dream Exploration Team know about it already—let alone get there first and drain its energy?" Saint Warcury clearly found the idea ridiculous.
"I find it hard to believe too. But the intelligence team looked into it thoroughly. They questioned all the surviving Marines, and everyone gave the same answer—Vegapunk and the others never had any contact with the Dream Exploration Team beforehand," Saint Nusjuro said grimly, his expression serious.
"Then have Vegapunk make another one…"
"That'll take time. At least a year. I'm not sure if Lord Imu is willing to wait that long," Saint Mars said, but was cut off by Saint Garling.
"A year, huh... That's quite a while. With Saturn dead, the sea has already become stormy and chaotic," Saint Peter said with deep concern.
"Didn't the Marines send troops to handle it already?" Saint Nusjuro asked, his sharp eyes fixed on Saint Peter like a hawk.
"It's just a drop in the bucket. Now that chaos has started, it won't be so easy to stop. What the world needs now is total suppression," Saint Peter said in a low, firm voice, as if declaring an unavoidable war.
"Total suppression…" Saint Garling muttered to himself.
In that moment, someone suddenly came to his mind—a seed he once planted without much thought… now seemed to have grown strong.
~~~~~~
On the Dream Team's journey to Zou, Ryuen received word that the Four Emperors were starting to move. Based on the intel they had, Shanks seemed to be making his move.
Compared to Kaido and Big Mom, Shanks was acting with a clearer goal in mind.
After all, he used to be part of Roger's crew. Among the pirates still alive, no one knows better than him how to get to the final island—Laugh Tale.
"I guess killing Saturn made the Four Emperors feel uneasy," Robin said after thinking it over.
"ONE PIECE, huh…"
"Is that mysterious thing really so powerful that it can drive so many people across the sea crazy?" Leah said, clearly confused by how the pirates were acting.
"It's more about what it represents. If getting ONE PIECE meant owning the whole sea, then why did Roger disband his crew and turn himself in to the Marines?" Nojiko said calmly.
"This has nothing to do with us. Let them fight to the death if they want. By the way, Nami—what did Garp say?" Ryuen asked lazily from his deck chair, glancing at Nami, who was also lying next to him.
"Vice Admiral Garp said he's already made contact with Dragon. He'll arrange a meeting between Marine leaders and the Revolutionary Army as soon as possible. It'll happen within half a month at the latest," Nami said, taking off her sunglasses and looking at Ryuen.
"Half a month…" Ryuen looked away, deep in thought.
"Ryuen, I have a bad feeling. The World Government won't be that easy to deal with," Robin said, worry showing in her expression.
"Nothing in this world is ever a sure thing. That's the whole point of setting out on adventures. Besides, among the Celestial Dragons, only Imu has unclear strength. The rest aren't worth worrying about."
"This time, we've got the Marines, the Revolutionary Army, and even the Sea Kings on our side!"
"Those Marine guys have been fed up with the Celestial Dragons for a long time. Now's their chance to finally do what they believe is right," Ryuen said coldly.
"You're right~"
"If even this isn't enough to win, then I really don't know what could ever bring the World Government down," Robin said, the worry in her eyes slowly fading.
~~~~~~
While the Dream Team was heading toward Zou, the New World was starting to heat up.
The death of the Five Elders was like a key unlocking chains—it gave the people of the New World a glimpse of victory.
Most of them had little respect for the World Government to begin with.
The Dream Exploration Team just took down one of the Five Elders, yet the World Government didn't respond at all. This only gave the team more courage and confidence.
And now—
The newly formed Four Emperors alliance was starting to show some tension.
The Red-Haired Pirates headed to the world's strongest country, Elbaf. The Beasts Pirates and Big Mom Pirates seemed to have reached some kind of agreement—they launched attacks on World Government territory at the same time.
Only the Whitebeard Pirates stayed put and didn't make any moves.
Phoenix Island.
Marco and the other division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates were holding a meeting.
"You all probably know that Ryuen took down one of the Five Elders, the highest authority in the World Government, and yet the World Government hasn't made any move against the Dream Exploration Team."
"It's like the death of the Five Elder was the spark that opened Pandora's box—now all the powers in the New World are making moves!"
"So let's hear it—should we take some action too?" Marco looked around at each of the commanders, waiting for their opinions.
"This is definitely a good chance for us to take back lost territory... but Marco, our Whitebeard Pirates just don't have the extra manpower right now..." said Blenheim, the 9th Division Commander, with a frown.
The other commanders also looked a bit helpless after hearing that.
But then—
Vista, the 5th Division Commander known as "Flower Blade," stood up and said, "No, maybe we won't expand our territory this time—but we can deal with the traitors!"
Right after that, a murderous look appeared on everyone's face.
After Whitebeard's death, the Whitebeard Pirates lost a lot of their former influence, and some of their allied crews turned traitor.
And they didn't just leave—they took Whitebeard Pirates' resources with them.
That's a huge offense in any pirate group!
Not just in the Four Emperors' crews—even in a normal pirate crew, if someone wants to leave, they have to pay a price.
You can't just join or leave a pirate crew whenever you feel like it!
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