No one expected that a fight that looked like it was seconds away from breaking out would be settled so easily!
What shocked everyone even more was that Nekomamushi, who hadn't shown up during the day for years, actually came out this time just because of the Dream Exploration Team!
And Duke Inuarashi, the ruler of the day, didn't argue with him!
Plus, since the "fire rain" had just ended today, tons of fish came falling down with it, so the whole Mink Tribe was stacked with food.
So naturally—
A massive banquet kicked off across the entire Mink Tribe nation.
This feast wasn't just to celebrate Reiner's return and welcome their guests from far away, the Dream Exploration Team—
It was also to mark the rare moment when Duke Inuarashi and Nekomamushi met in the daytime—
And didn't fight!
That alone was something the Mink Tribe hadn't seen in years!
At the banquet—
Ryuen explained their purpose to the two rulers. First, they wanted to map the sea around here. Second, they wanted to go into the Whale Forest.
Both rulers gladly agreed.
The next morning, when the team woke up, the banquet was over, and Nekomamushi had already returned to the Whale Forest.
"Honored guests, just head straight ahead from here and you'll reach the Whale Forest. Once you're inside, that old cat will take care of you." Duke Inuarashi said this to the group at the forest's edge.
"Alright, thank you, Duke Inuarashi." Ryuen replied with a smile.
Being able to get the Mink Tribe's hospitality and enter the Whale Forest without any conflict definitely saved them a lot of trouble.
Not long after they stepped into the forest, Pedro, the captain of the Guardians, showed up.
"Honored members of the Dream Exploration Team, Nekomamushi has been waiting for you inside the Whale Forest. Please come in!" Pedro said respectfully.
Even though the team was easy to talk to, their status still demanded respect.
Better to be polite!
Led by Pedro, the group quickly arrived at Nekomamushi's place inside the Whale Forest. After a bit of small talk, everyone got to work right away.
As usual, one team started working on the sea chart, while the other dove into archaeology.
While the Dream Exploration Team was relaxing and having fun on Zou, the New World had already become a stormy battlefield, with a fierce clash about to break out.
The Big Mom Pirates, the Beasts Pirates, and the Marines were locked in a tense standoff, all fighting for territory. Each side was on full alert and ready for war, and none of them were willing to back down.
At the same time, the Whitebeard Pirates seized this chance smartly.
While the other pirate crews were caught up in their turf war, they moved quickly and ruthlessly wiped out the traitors who had betrayed them not long ago.
By doing this, the Whitebeard Pirates not only cleaned house but also strengthened their power even more.
While the three pirate crews were still obsessed with grabbing territory, the Red-Haired Pirates had already gotten their hands on the Road Poneglyph from Elbaf.
Next up—
While Kaido was still focused on expanding his territory, they planned to head to Wano Country to get the Road Poneglyph there!
At this moment in Wano Country—
The Straw Hat Pirates, the Kid Pirates, and the Heart Pirates had learned the advanced use of Armament Haki—Ryuo—thanks to everything Hyogoro taught them at the quarry.
Now that they had mastered this new kind of power, their hearts were full of confidence and courage.
The humiliation of being stuck in that tiny prison-like place was gone, and they no longer had any intention of staying locked up. With fiery spirits and a hunger for freedom, they launched an attack on , the one guarding the quarry!
~~~~~~
Marine Headquarters.
Fujitora and Kizaru had already been sent to the New World to deal with the possible battle there, and at this moment, Garp had just returned from East Blue.
"What's going on?"
"What exactly happened?" Garp's loud voice echoed through the meeting room the moment he got back to Marine HQ.
"From what we can tell, the Dream Exploration Team must have realized some kind of crisis was coming, which is why they moved the entire Oykot Kingdom island up to the sky!" Vice Admiral Tsuru said in a serious tone.
"That bastard!"
"What the hell is he thinking? Why can't he just tell us clearly?" Garp was clearly unhappy with Ryuen's secretive attitude.
"Forget them."
"What we need to do now is contact the Revolutionary Army as soon as possible. As long as we take down the Celestial Dragons, I refuse to believe there's any crisis we can't handle!" Akainu said with killing intent in his eyes.
"That's right. The real problem behind all this is still the Celestial Dragons. Let's drag them off their pedestal once and for all!" Even Aokiji now agreed with Akainu.
Everyone turned to look at Garp.
"I see…"
"Got it. Then I'll call that bastard Dragon right now!" As he spoke, Garp pulled out a Den Den Mushi from his pocket.
Seeing this, Sengoku and the others were so furious they were grinding their teeth.
That old man Garp really had close ties with Dragon and the Revolutionary Army all along!
But Garp just ignored their hostile stares and, in front of everyone, called the son he hadn't shown any care for in a long time.
Baltigo.
Dragon already knew what was going on. What surprised him was that it all ended up coming together through the Dream Exploration Team's efforts—bringing the three major forces together!
He fully supported the plan for the Revolutionary Army, the Marines, and the Dream Exploration Team to team up and overthrow the Celestial Dragons.
But when it came to what kind of world they should build after taking down the Celestial Dragons, no one had reached an agreement yet.
For now, the only thing they could do was focus on completing the first step.
What made Dragon even happier was that Kuma finally contacted him. He hadn't expected so much to have happened to Kuma over all these years.
"Ivankov, did Kuma say when he's coming back?" Dragon asked in a hoarse voice.
"Hi-ha!"
"As for that, Kuma didn't say anything specific. He just said he'll show up at the best possible time!" Ivankov sounded like he was in a great mood.
Because the friend who once escaped with him from God Valley had finally returned to his old self!
During the Summit War, Kuma's cold, unfamiliar eyes had nearly scared him to death. Back then, he never imagined Kuma had already lost his consciousness.
"Then let's get ready to meet with the Marine higher-ups…"
"Hi~~ha~~"
"Got it, I'll let the others know!"
...
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