He had made his intentions clear to Violet previously. Firstly, it was a test of her loyalty, and secondly, it was to delay Rebecca's discovery. When the time was right, he envisioned the day the two women would finally meet.
Seeing Hikaru about to act impatiently, Violet quickly interjected, "Wait! Let's finish the food on the table first and replenish our energy. And… like before, you have to drink every last drop of those two bottles of Eros wine!"
"Alright, then." Hikaru had no objections. Following Violet's lead, she began to eat with gusto. Hikaru, for his part, uncharacteristically relaxed and drank to his heart's content. After a pleasant chat, their eyes met, filled with affection.
Hikaru chuckled, waved his hand, and declared, "Then, from now on, we are family~"
Hikaru's Kingdom of God was flourishing, its development gaining incredible momentum. Yet, in the global underworld, treacherous currents began to stir.
The moment Donquixote Doflamingo was defeated and Hikaru managed to suppress the news from Dressrosa, the entire dark world was plunged into chaos.
Just as Doflamingo himself had foretold, as the underworld's largest broker, his absence meant the underworld's leaders were forced to "expand" their "businesses." Among them, the Six Emperors of the Underworld were the most well-informed and were the first to make their moves.
How much more bloodshed and chaos would this process unleash across the world? Even the orchestrator of it all likely couldn't have predicted the full extent. Now, everyone could only wait and see when the new structure of the underworld would stabilize.
Meanwhile, at the Marine Headquarters on the Grand Line, Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji were uncharacteristically gathered in a conference room. They listened expressionlessly to Sengoku's voice echoing from the Den Den Mushi atop the table. Many elite Vice Admirals were also present, awaiting orders.
Monkey D. Garp, feigning illness due to Ace's predicament, had slacked off and refused to participate in the strategic deployment set for a few days later.
"What? We can't even contact Doflamingo? Didn't he ask the Marines for help just two days ago, and now he's ignoring us?" Sengoku was visibly agitated, striking the Den Den Mushi for a moment, secretly frustrated with the World Government's blunder in creating the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
The Den Den Mushi showed a flustered expression and continued, "Not only that, but we also can't reach the 'Pirate Empress' Boa Hancock or Gecko Moria."
"Hmm?" Sengoku stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Boa Hancock is… eccentric. It's normal for us not to reach her; we can just send someone to find her. But what about Gecko Moria?"
"We did manage to contact 'Sea Knight' Jinbe, but he severely criticized the Marines' actions, believing we shouldn't go to war with Whitebeard. He directly rejected our mandatory summons and even cursed..."
"That scoundrel! How dare he act like this? Isn't he afraid the World Government will strip him of his Warlord title? Does he truly believe Whitebeard alone can protect Fish-Man Island?" Sengoku sighed, helpless.
While he'd guessed Jinbe would consider Whitebeard's past kindness, he hadn't expected such blatant defiance—Jinbe had given the Marines no respect whatsoever and even dared to insult them directly!
"Excellent! Simply excellent. Of these Warlords, only four can be contacted, and one of them refused! There's no news from the remaining three!" Akainu curled his lips, stating bluntly, "Hmph! I've said it before: pirates are pirates.
Believing they'll cooperate is foolish. It would be better for the World Government to allocate more funds to the Marines!"
Seeing Akainu speak, several hawkish Vice Admirals echoed his sentiments.
Sengoku thought for a moment before issuing his orders: "Vice Admiral Onigumo, Vice Admiral Strawberry, and Vice Admiral Momonga, you are to go out in the next two days and search for Doflamingo, Gecko Moria, and Boa Hancock respectively!"
"Yes, Fleet Admiral Sengoku!" they replied in unison.
"What if they refuse?" Strawberry inquired. "Should we just apprehend them?"
Sengoku shook his head, rejecting the idea. "If they dare to refuse the mandatory summons, inform them of the consequences of being expelled from the Seven Warlords of the Sea! There's no need to trouble yourselves with them too much; the Marines will settle accounts with them later!"
"Yes!" they affirmed.
"Alright, let's continue with our strategic deployment! We don't have much time left." Upon hearing this, everyone straightened their expressions and sat upright to resume the discussion.
The next morning, as Hikaru reviewed what he had learned over the past two days with Violet and Baby-5, he received a message from Nico Robin stating that the Supernovas had begun landing on the Sabaody Archipelago one after another.
Upon seeing this, Hikaru calmly accepted Violet and Baby-5's farewell kisses and, under their affectionate gazes, left their "wedding room." Before departing from the King's Highlands, he didn't forget to playfully pinch Sugar's soft little face, causing her to grumble in protest.
Lightning gathered around him, and Hikaru appeared above the Kingdom of God. After confirming it was drifting towards the North Blue, he transformed into lightning and shot straight towards the Red Line.
The Kingdom of God's journey towards the North Blue was a strategic move, achieving multiple objectives at once. The Whitebeard Pirates' sphere of influence was adjacent to the North Blue.
After he acquired the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, he would be able to claim most of Whitebeard's territory. When the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates returned to their home base, wounded and weary, they would find the "ambush of the God of Death" awaiting them.
However, they wouldn't be so foolish; at the very least, they would recuperate in some hidden location before returning for a decisive battle with the Kingdom of God.
Furthermore, this move would also prevent Kaido from launching a sneak attack on Dressrosa when he discovered Doflamingo had lost contact.
Hikaru traveled at lightning speed, encountering hardly any other beings even at an altitude of ten thousand meters. He arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago unimpeded. Following the guidance of Daz Bonez's Vivre Card, Hikaru finally landed outside a house on Island No. 18. Just as he was about to push the door open, Bonez opened it himself. He forced a smile to appear gentler and said respectfully, "President! Please come in!"
A flicker of surprise crossed Hikaru's eyes. It seemed Bonez's combat prowess had significantly improved after obtaining the Haki training method. Just the act of opening the door on his own showed at least decent Observation Haki.
"That's right. You should cultivate your Haki now. If you can temper your Iron Body into a 'black blade' in the future, you'll surely be one of the world's top fighters."
"Yes! I will definitely live up to your expectations, President!" The corner of Bonez's mouth twitched. Did his President really think so highly of him? His current understanding of Haki had caught up, and he knew what a black blade was, but reaching that level still felt incredibly challenging.