While the Kingdom of Dressrosa was celebrating with a feast, the Marines and the Revolutionary Army were meeting up in the New World.
Meanwhile, at the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, the Five Elders were also discussing their next move. After taking such a huge blow from the Dream Team, they weren't planning to strike back right away.
But their king, Im, was furious.
Saturn's death meant nothing—just dust. In Im's eyes, Saturn was nothing more than a pathetic lapdog begging for scraps.
However, the Holy Flame was directly tied to Uranus!
What no one expected was that the Dream Exploration Team's sudden interference stopped him from getting the energy needed to activate Uranus.
Even more surprising was that the young man managed to kill Saturn in such a short time.
A wave of uncontrollable anger surged in Imu's heart. He suddenly felt the urge to wipe out everyone who dared to defy him. He didn't want to hear a single voice of disagreement anymore.
With that thought, he immediately summoned the Five Elders.
"Lord Imu!" The five old men stepped into the Flower Room as if walking on thin ice. The proud heads they usually held high were now lowered, and they knelt on one knee before Imu.
"About the Mother Flame—tell Vegapunk he has one month. After that, I want a brand-new version of the Mother Flame!" Imu's voice boomed like thunder, leaving no room for argument.
Before Imu's words had even faded, the five old men were already terrified inside. They immediately realized—
Lord Imu had lost all patience!
"Yes, my lord!"
"Understood, Lord Imu!" they answered in trembling voices.
Then, like frightened birds, they quickly left the Flower Room. The moment they stepped outside, the other four glared at Saint Garling like sharp knives. After all, Garling was now the War God of Science Defense.
"I'll contact Vegapunk right away," Saint Garling said in a deep and serious voice.
Not long after, Vegapunk, who was on Egghead Island, received an urgent message from Saint Garling. He was ordered to complete a new Mother Flame within one month.
There was no room for delay.
At that moment, Vegapunk had gathered with his five satellites, and even Sentomaru had been called over.
"It seems the World Government has reached its limit. But so many of our projects still aren't finished. What are we supposed to do?" Shaka looked at everyone, worried.
"Hey!"
"Vegapunk, what's really going on? Ever since Ryuen killed Saint Saturn, everything's been a mess. I feel like I'm lost in a thick fog!" Sentomaru said, full of confusion, like a swarm of bees was buzzing in his head.
"We have to inform the Marines and the Dream Exploration Team. Right now, only they might be able to help fix this," Atlas said, giving her opinion.
No one replied, and Sentomaru's face grew even more anxious.
"I agree with Atlas. This whole mess started because of them. Otherwise, we would've had at least a year to prepare!" Lilith quickly added.
"Alright then!"
"Pythagoras, Shaka—you two contact the Marines and the Dream Exploration Team. I'll get in touch with the Revolutionary Army. We'll need all three forces to work together on this!" Vegapunk made the call.
"Hey!"
"Can someone just explain to me what's really going on right now?" Sentomaru finally lost it. He stood up suddenly and shouted.
"The World Government is about to clear the board," Edison said seriously.
He then laid out everything that was happening. After hearing it all, Sentomaru felt like he had been struck by lightning. He never imagined things had gotten this bad.
Then everyone split up to carry out their tasks.
Just a few minutes later...
The Marines, the Revolutionary Army, and the Dream Exploration Team all received messages from Egghead Island at the same time.
None of them thought the World Government would flip the table this soon.
In the New World, on an uninhabited island where the Marines and Revolutionary Army were meeting, both sides received contact from their respective headquarters.
As soon as they hung up, they looked at each other with the same shocked expression.
"Looks like we guessed right. Ryuen killed Saint Saturn and took the Mother Flame that powers Uranus. The World Government's had enough," said Vice Admiral Tsuru in a low voice.
"Heh..."
"In that case, we can go ahead with our plan," Akainu said calmly, but with killing intent written all over his face.
"Sengoku wants the three sides to meet. We need to get on the same page and go over the plan. We can't afford any mistakes," Vice Admiral Tsuru said firmly.
Dragon looked at Sabo and Ivankov, then said, "We do need to talk everything through. But with only a month left, our plan might not be finished in time... The New World is probably going to break into chaos first."
"There's no time to think about that now. We're already at the point of no return. We don't have a choice," Tsuru said. She knew very well the New World would be the first to spiral out of control.
But there was no turning back anymore.
"If that's the case—Vice Admiral Tsuru, Dragon—let's start now. We need to first get everything under control in the Four Seas," Sabo cut in.
"Alright."
"Since that's the case, this meeting is over. Everyone, go back and get ready!" Akainu made the final call.
Both sides quickly left the deserted island.
————
Dressrosa Kingdom.
A lively welcome banquet came to a sudden stop because of a call from Egghead Island. The Riku royal family was confused, but didn't ask too many questions.
After all, the Dream Exploration Team wasn't an ordinary group.
After the banquet ended, the team entered a room Rebecca had prepared. Then, everyone stepped into Nami's alternate space.
"As expected, after taking such a huge loss, the Celestial Dragons probably can't stand it anymore. They're desperate to activate Uranus!" Nojiko said right after entering the space.
"The situation is more serious than we thought. With the World Government acting so quickly... Ryuen, what should we do?" Robin looked at Ryuen with concern.
But Ryuen didn't look worried.
"The Five Elders aren't a big threat. The real problem is Imu. That guy is way too tricky. We also don't know how far he's taken his Haki training."
"My current flames are enough to deal with the Five Elders, but against Imu... it's hard to say. So I need to power up my flames." As Ryuen spoke, he looked toward the spot where the Holy Flame rested.
"You're planning to absorb the energy from the Holy Flame seed?" Nami immediately understood what Ryuen meant.
Ryuen nodded slightly without hiding it.
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