In this series of events sparked by the pursuit of the Living Heart, the Marines successfully captured the members of the Heart Pirates, thereby securing the upper hand.
It was precisely because of this that CP0 had the audacity to demand even more benefits beyond just the Living Heart.
However—
When Maude launched an assault on Mary Geoise and took five Celestial Dragons hostage, the balance of power immediately shifted.
The initiative was now firmly in Maude's hands, making Sengoku's half-hearted threats meaningless to him.
"Let's cut the nonsense."
Without waiting for Sengoku's response, Maude got straight to the point. "Five Celestial Dragons in exchange for the Heart Pirates' crew. The time and location of the exchange will be decided by me. Any objections?"
"…Fine."
Sengoku's eyes narrowed.
A moment ago, he had been contemplating ways to pressure Maude. The next moment, he found himself agreeing to his conditions without hesitation.
To be honest, given that Maude held five Celestial Dragons as bargaining chips, Sengoku had expected him to demand a much higher price instead of simply trading them for the Heart Pirates' members.
"When and where?"
Fearing Maude might change his mind, Sengoku quickly followed up.
"Two weeks from now, Raijin Island in the New World. And don't bother sending anyone ranked Rear Admiral or higher."
"…Fine, but don't try any tricks, Bacardi Maude."
"Shouldn't I be the one saying that? Do I really need to spell out what kind of people the World Government and your Marines are?"
"..."
Click.
Maude hung up.
Sengoku took a deep breath, his expression dark.
From his position, securing Dr. Vegapunk's requested Living Heart was now out of the question.
The only thing he could do—the only thing he had to do—was ensure that the five Celestial Dragons Maude had taken were returned safely.
Lowering the Den Den Mushi, Sengoku turned his gaze to the three CP0 operatives standing before his desk and asked coldly, "At this point, does the higher-up still fantasize about obtaining the Ope Ope no Mi?"
"..."
The three CP0 agents, who had already suffered severe humiliation at Maude's hands, fell silent.
Only now did they finally grasp the harsh truth—
Maude was on an entirely different level from anyone they had dealt with before.
To seize the initiative, he had brazenly attacked Mary Geoise and abducted Celestial Dragons.
That wasn't something any normal person would even consider, let alone execute!
...
Marine Science Division Research Lab.
Sentomaru's injuries had mostly healed. As usual, he made his way to the research facility.
"Dr. Vegapunk, I just got some bad news from the Old Man."
Sentomaru walked into the lab—strictly off-limits to outsiders—and addressed Vegapunk, who was engrossed in his work.
Without stopping what he was doing, Vegapunk asked, "What bad news?"
"The Living Hearts you planned to use to enhance the Pacifista… you won't be getting them."
"…I see. What a pity."
Vegapunk's busy hands suddenly paused, his voice filled with regret.
Without the Living Hearts, his primary plan to further enhance the Pacifista's combat power would have to be scrapped.
"We originally thought we'd be able to secure a hundred hearts," Sentomaru frowned, standing behind Vegapunk. "But no one expected Maude… Instead of handing over a hundred hearts for a fair trade, that lunatic attacked Mary Geoise and abducted the Celestial Dragons."
"Maude attacked Mary Geoise and captured Celestial Dragons?"
A glint of intrigue flashed in Vegapunk's eyes as he turned to Sentomaru.
"That's right! Dr. Vegapunk, do you know how Maude and his crew pulled it off? Within a week of Golden Lion's death, they somehow found the revived Fuwa Fuwa no Mi."
Sentomaru gestured animatedly, his frustration evident.
"And then, using its power, they lifted an entire island and dropped it on Mary Geoise. That's how they pulled off the attack!"
Vegapunk didn't react to the attack method. Instead, he mused aloud:
"Once or twice, such occurrences can be chalked up to 'luck'… But perhaps… they didn't find a revived Devil Fruit—they might have mastered a way to preserve Devil Fruits 100% of the time."
"Impossible."
Sentomaru froze, then hesitantly said, "The ability to fully preserve a Devil Fruit… even you haven't solved that problem yet. How could someone else have figured it out?"
For years, the World Government and Marines had been pushing Vegapunk to crack the 100% Devil Fruit Preservation technology.
If mastered, it would allow them to eliminate powerful Devil Fruit users in Impel Down, while retaining their fruits to empower their own forces.
Unfortunately, even Vegapunk himself had yet to succeed.
Ironically, during his research, he had accidentally discovered the technique to infuse objects with Devil Fruits.
Vegapunk did not respond. Instead, he pressed his thumb against his chin, deep in thought.
...
Thriller Bark.
Maude sat in a chair, gazing at the Den Den Mushi he had just hung up.
Standing silently behind him was Lafitte.
Lafitte watched the now-dormant Den Den Mushi and spoke softly: "To the World Government and Marines, five Celestial Dragons hold immeasurable value. Trading them solely for the Heart Pirates' crew… seems like too good of a deal for them."
"You're not wrong."
Maude crossed his legs and placed his feet on the table, his tone indifferent. "But right now, rescuing Bepo and the others takes priority over everything else. The heavier our bargaining chips, the less likely the Marines will dare to pull any tricks."
"Hoho… That's certainly true, but I can't help but feel it's a bit of a waste."
"Lafitte, it's not like you just met me today."
"Hmm?"
Lafitte looked at Maude's profile in slight surprise.
Meeting Lafitte's gaze, Maude smirked.
"I will return the Celestial Dragons to them… But I never said I'd return them unharmed."
"Hoho."
Lafitte's eyes gleamed with intrigue.
"Maude, are you planning to keep their hearts? Is that why you had Law extract them earlier?"
"No, taking their hearts was just an insurance policy."
Resting his cheek on his hand, Maude's expression turned icy.
"What I truly want to keep… is their Shadow Hearts."
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