The war in the New World continued, and another two weeks passed.
It was at this time that Lyon 'Death Gun' arrived leisurely at the Sabaody Archipelago.
This speed was actually considered fast, after all, the First Half of the Grand Line was very vast for an individual.
Furthermore, there were no merchant ships directly heading to the Sabaody Archipelago from that remote small island.
The explosion in the number of pirates had, to some extent, affected the voyage of merchant ships.
Arriving at area 12 of the Sabaody Archipelago, a seemingly ordinary merchant ship was docked at the shore.
The entire ship had been coated, indicating it was preparing to travel through the deep sea via Fish-Man Island to the New World.
This was precisely the handover location between Lyon 'Death Gun' and the Fire God Arms Company.
He boarded the merchant ship without hindrance.
"When are we leaving?"
Seeing the person in charge of the merchant ship, Lyon was not polite.
To him, this was just a transaction.
So, he was not in a hurry.
The bloody battle in the New World wouldn't end that quickly, and moving a bit slower was beneficial for his eventual participation.
Prolonged combat was a huge consumption for both body and mind.
Both the body and the mind would become fatigued without enough time for rest.
This would inevitably reveal an opening.
For a sharpshooter like him, a subtle opening could very likely be his chance to finish off an enemy.
The mission given to him by the Fire God Arms Company was to participate seriously and fire all eighteen bullets from one magazine of "Death Gun".
With Lyon's arrogance, as the world's number one sharpshooter, he naturally wouldn't be perfunctory.
He had to maximize the battle results, utilizing every single bullet to the extreme.
To this day, he remained the world's number one sharpshooter because no strongman capable of challenging his status had appeared on the Great Sea, no monster who had reached the peak of the Great Sea through exquisite gunmanship.
Even fewer could achieve the astonishing level of Lyon, who could face enemies head-on and perfectly combine marksmanship and body technique.
Even without the so-called Penetration-Penetration Fruit ability, it did not affect his status in the slightest.
Especially with the emergence of arms companies, the power and accuracy of sniper rifles on the Great Sea had become stronger.
They also possessed powerful deterrence in war.
Just in the bloody battle alone, both the World Government Allied Forces and the pirates had a large number of snipers.
However, it was very difficult to perform in high-level combat.
Which of those strongmen didn't have excellent reflexes? Not to mention the resistance provided by Haki.
In this situation, outstanding snipers were even rarer.
If someone with weaker strength was discovered, it would be difficult for them to resist.
"We were just waiting for you to arrive. This is a gift from the people above for you. Take a good look."
The person in charge of the merchant ship was actually someone secretly sent by Hades.
After all, behind the Fire God Arms Company stood the Kronos Kingdom.
A small box was placed in front of Lyon.
Opening it, he saw a device resembling a belt inside.
"This is a special battle suit. Pressing the switch will automatically turn it into clothes that you can wear, and it can automatically adjust for a perfect fit."
"Using it doesn't affect combat, and it also possesses the invisibility ability that makes your body transparent."
"This will prevent you from being easily discovered on the battlefield."
Lyon was genuinely surprised.
Looking at this magical object, he seemed somewhat disbelieving.
Compared to his sniper rifle, this special battle suit truly felt like some kind of black technology.
However, he did not doubt the words of the Fire God Arms Company.
Such Arms Tycoons were inherently very mysterious.
Without hesitation, he picked up the belt and put it on.
Soon, a simple battle suit resembling a black tight outfit covered Lyon's body.
His entire body was covered by the battle suit, and it even came with a mask and cloak.
It seemed to be specifically designed for Lyon.
Using the invisibility ability, Lyon looked at his arms and body, and they actually turned transparent.
Since the Battle of God Valley, this was one of the few times he had felt so surprised.
The previous two times were when Roger became king and when the Flying Pirates reached the peak by fighting one against three.
Lyon revealed his body from the air again.
"How does it feel? This is the gift we're giving you. From now on, it's yours. You can do whatever you want with it later."
The man in front of him smiled.
This battle suit was naturally designed by the Kronos Kingdom.
Applying invisibility technology to a battle suit was not difficult for the Kronos Kingdom.
In fact, within the Kingdom's special Intelligence Force, this technology was used during special missions.
Furthermore, Lyon's battle suit actually had fewer functions and wasn't as comprehensive.
Its core features were the invisibility ability and a certain degree of protection.
This was not something the Kronos Kingdom was reluctant to give away.
For a monster like Lyon, even though he had retired, he was still someone worth befriending.
Just from the battle suit alone, it was clear that the Fire God Arms Company was very sincere.
By fulfilling past promises and receiving a precious gift, why would Lyon himself refuse?
Although such a battle suit wouldn't significantly increase his deterrence.
After all, as a sniper, hiding oneself was already a profound technology.
The so-called invisibility ability was merely icing on the cake.
However, it would also bring him considerable help in other aspects.
"Thank you very much."
Lyon really liked this gift.
"Also, here's something else for you."
The man in front of him then took out a golden card, which was printed with special markings whose meaning was unclear.
"This is a customization card from the Fire God Arms Company. As long as someone brings this to us, we will build a gun specifically for them, free of charge."
Taking the golden card, Lyon carefully placed it in his pocket.
Compared to the battle suit that could turn him invisible, this card was even more important in his mind.
No gunman could refuse a divine gun specifically customized for them.
For his achievements, "Death Gun" had made great merit.
Without "Death Gun", he wouldn't have such powerful deterrence.
Among the four Veteran Kings of the previous era, he might have been ranked at the bottom.
The precision firearms crafted by the Fire God Arms Company and the Wind God Arms Company had provided him with considerable help.
It had even affected the overall status and strength of gunmen on the Great Sea.
Of course, many private workshops that crafted firearms had also gone out of business because of this, unable to compete with the arms companies.
Even though he already had "Death Gun", this card might not be useful to him personally anymore.
But who could say for sure? Maybe it would be used one day, and that person might not necessarily be him.
The two sides still fighting on Blood War Island did not know that that man was returning!
The merchant ship sailed away from the Sabaody Archipelago, entering the deep sea, preparing to enter the New World.
(end of chapter)