The Genesis carried the returned old friend off into the distance, but after they left, a strange phenomenon appeared atop the Red Line.
At the very spot where Barro had just revived, a cluster of bizarre symbols emerged on the ground. Ink-like characters linked together one after another before ultimately forming a ring.
At the center of the obscure and incomprehensible pattern, a pentagram appeared. Within the gaps between the five points, five numeral fives also emerged, eventually creating something resembling a magic circle.
As the pattern began to rotate, a figure gradually surfaced from within it. One of the Five Elders, the Warrior God of Science and Defense, Jaygarcia Saturn, appeared here through this peculiar method.
His cane tapped against the ground as his emotionless eyes swept across the surroundings.
"How could there be traces of flames here..."
When Barro had yet to understand the situation after reviving, he had casually thrown flames around him. It was precisely those flames that allowed Saturn to notice something unusual.
His current form wasn't human. The lower half of his body had vanished, replaced by spider-like legs, and a pair of bull horns had even appeared atop his head.
His body did not move, nor did he remain for long. After confirming there was nothing abnormal, he disappeared back into the teleportation circle.
When Saturn appeared again, he had already returned to Mariejois.
"Well? Did the so-called detection system York made succeed?"
Looking at the returning Saturn, Nasjuro casually asked. He did not have much faith in York's inventions. After the death of Vegapunk's main body, York's contributions had been extremely limited, with barely any major achievements.
Although she had repaired the Mother Flame, that weapon was completely destroyed not long afterward. Due to equipment limitations, York was unable to construct a new one.
York could still maintain the remaining four Seraphim units—S-Shark, S-Crocodile, S-Flamingo, and S-Bear—but she lacked the capability to manufacture new Seraphim, once again because of insufficient equipment.
Lilith had made some controllers for the Sea Beast Weapons, but those things did not possess much strategic value.
Mariejois had recently suffered an attack, mysterious creatures had escaped from underground, and even Charlos had become a casualty.
Compared to the elite class, Charlos was nothing more than trash, but he was still a Celestial Dragon.
To better monitor and protect certain Celestial Dragons, York had been assigned the task of creating a detection device. What had just captured the massive energy fluctuations was precisely something York had made.
"There were traces of flames burning, but no signs of humans. Perhaps a meteorite just happened to fall there."
"A mere meteorite actually caused one of the Five Elders to personally investigate."
"You know that area is special. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gone there myself. York's abilities still have some value.
"Back then, Vegapunk also made significant contributions toward upgrading Marine weaponry. Still... I feel like something isn't right."
Even though he had discovered nothing, Saturn still had a bad feeling.
"And your reason?"
"Instinct."
"That's hardly a convincing reason. Still, you should take a look at this. There really is nothing good happening lately."
Peter handed Saturn the latest intelligence report. It had arrived while Saturn was out investigating.
"CP0's operation failed?"
"It failed. During the final stretch they stopped transmitting information, but we can confirm that all of them are dead. That pirate alliance has ultimately been formed.
"The remnants of Rocks and the remnants of Roger have formed an alliance. The largest pirate force in existence has now been created. The pirates we allowed to run rampant seem ready to bring us a bit of trouble."
As Peter said this, he did not appear particularly alarmed, as though everything remained under his control.
"Peter, calling them Roger's remnants isn't quite accurate. Red Hair... seems to have stopped following the path we arranged for him. The balance he speaks of is no longer the balance we require."
The scars on Warcury's face shifted with his expression, faintly adding a trace of anger. From his tone, it was clear that the pirate alliance itself did not concern him much.
What he cared about more was Shanks' choice. There may have been doubts before, but now Shanks was practically telling them outright what he intended to do.
"Since he's made his choice, there's no need to consider anything else. We can just treat him as an ordinary pirate. When the time comes, they'll learn the consequences of opposing the World Government. Oh, right, Saturn, these are the new bounty posters sent over by the Marines."
"We all think there's no problem with it. What about you?
"You handled God Valley back then, so you should understand this matter better than anyone."
Mars handed another stack of bounty posters to Saturn, but Saturn paid no attention to the numbers on them.
In his view, this pirate alliance could never be stable. Just like the Rocks Pirates back then, it was merely a group gathered together by someone stronger, with no real cohesion at all.
The pirates' inherent nature of fighting individually could never threaten the World Government. The events at God Valley had already proven that point. If Rocks' crew had been more united, the outcome might have been different. At the very least, the World Government would have had to pay a far greater price.
"If none of you object, then I have nothing more to say. Let's leave it at that. More importantly, what about Garp? Was he captured by the Beasts Pirates?"
"It appears so. Risking himself alone for the sake of a few Marines... he's still as stubborn as ever. Sakazuki handled the matter fairly well, so the impact of the incident hasn't been too severe.
"But there's no knowing what those pirates from the Beasts Pirates will do afterward. The Revolutionary Army also needs to be contained, and there's still no sign of activity in Alabasta. Perhaps we should begin moving ahead of time ourselves and clear away some obstacles for Lord Imu."
Following Saturn's actions, it seemed the Five Elders no longer intended to sit around in Mariejois' palace gathering dust. Instead, they had new plans in mind, though carrying them out would be quite complicated.
During this time, the new bounty posters had already spread across the seas, drastically changing the balance of pirate forces.
On Sphinx Island, Ace and Marco had yet to take action. They were simply observing the situation in Wano Country. Someone like Garp would never die quietly. Even if pirates intended to kill him, they could still make a massive spectacle out of it.
The remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates had not moved, but others had.
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