As soon as Vegapunk entered the hall, he sneered at Kaido:
"Kaido, my boy—if you truly wish to get what you want and regain your strength, you'd better show proper loyalty to Lord Roya.
Your cruelty, cunning, and two-faced treachery—who here doesn't already know it?
You think we don't see through you? You're only here because you sense Lord Roya needs manpower and you want to seize the chance to profit."
Though Vegapunk's rebuke was blunt, Kaido was unfazed.
Instead, he smiled and tapped his own forehead:
"Look closely. Even the horns I once prized so much have fallen off! Aside from Lady Hiyori, there is no one in this room more loyal than me.
When the alien invaders arrive, which of you can guarantee you won't immediately mutate, lose control, and join their ranks?"
At that, everyone fell silent.
Roya cleared his throat:
"There's no need to dwell too much on that. Vegapunk has already succeeded in fusing with something far more complex than a Devil Fruit, so for top-tier fighters, Devil Fruits may no longer be an insurmountable problem."
Vegapunk thumped his chest.
"Please rest assured, Lord Roya. I've long studied Devil Fruits in depth. I'm confident that, by combining my own successful experience, I'll soon develop a reliable method of integration.
On this matter, there is no need for you to trouble yourself."
Roya gave a slight nod.
Indeed, he didn't have the time or energy to personally guide every single person through the process of Devil Fruit integration.
The final detonation of a Devil Fruit was, after all, not unlike the fate of a Starfire Seed. With Vegapunk's research ability and accumulated experience, it should be something he could manage without difficulty.
Right now, the problem Roya most urgently needed to resolve was Imu.
Imu's condition was already extremely dire.
Unlike Vegapunk's transformation, half of Imu's head had already turned into a biometallic state.
Which meant that half of his consciousness was already under the control of a lower-level artificial intelligence.
After Roya had imprisoned him, the speed of this transformation suddenly began to accelerate.
Roya couldn't help but suspect that his very presence had provoked the lower intelligence into a heightened crisis state.
Thus, it was forcibly pushing the transformation of Imu's remaining brain and consciousness, even at the cost of overall physical stability—despite lacking both Seastone and life-essence material to feed on.
If it succeeded, then everything happening in this world would be impossible to conceal.
The alien Harvesters would instantly receive the transmission beacon—and descend directly upon them!
The most vexing part for Roya was that, given Imu's current condition, even destroying him outright might backfire.
The beacon properties embedded in him could easily alert the alien Harvesters to the world's anomaly.
As Roya pondered, Rob Lucci suddenly rushed in, reporting urgently:
"Lord Roya! The outer defense line has sent an emergency signal—there are massive energy readings detected underwater, moving toward the Holy Land!
They are confirmed not to be Sea Kings. We suspect they are unknown lifeforms never before discovered!"
Everyone in the hall, Roya included, furrowed their brows.
Roya immediately extended his spiritual sense, linking with the battleship Pluton, and through it, contacted the Star Spirit.
He asked directly:
"Those entities converging on Mary Geoise—what are they?"
The Star Spirit answered with a wry smile:
"Remember those coordinates I sent you before? All of those beings have suddenly reawakened!
Don't worry. I've already had the Sea Kings and the Fish-Man Kingdom evacuate to avoid them, so they won't be able to harvest too much life material."
Roya cut the link sharply and looked around the chamber:
"Everyone—prepare for battle!
Their numbers are fewer than a thousand, but each one is a specialized slaughter-machine. They will continually adapt and evolve in coordination with the battlefield.
With our current combat methods, it will be very difficult to inflict effective casualties on them. Until I eliminate them one by one, I need all of you to hold the line and slow them down as much as possible—especially their harvesting of life-essence!
Their combat strength is in direct proportion to the life-essence they consume!"
Roya rose to his full height, sweeping his gaze across them all, and spoke solemnly:
"Devil Fruit powers are almost useless against them. Warriors—take up your blades, and fight them hand-to-hand!"
He then turned to the Five Elders:
"All Navy officers of Vice Admiral rank and above—deploy them to fight aboard the Pluton. The rest of the lower-ranked marines and all warships are to dock ashore under Lucci's direct command!"
Finally, Roya faced Lucci, his voice hard:
"Scour Mary Geoise from top to bottom. Find every trace of the traitor's arrangements!"
Lucci froze for a moment—then quickly understood why Roya gave such an order.
These alien bio-weapons, once thought dead in stasis, had all suddenly revived at the same time. That could only mean they had been summoned.
And for them to converge on Mary Geoise precisely when the World Summit was about to convene—how could there not be a traitor among humanity?
If Mary Geoise fell at this critical moment, and the true powerholders of every kingdom were annihilated, then the entire world's defenses would instantly collapse into ruin.
Since there was a traitor—one who clearly understood the meaning of striking Mary Geoise—it was unthinkable they had not already laid traps and plans for an inside-outside pincer assault.
Lucci was the first to dash out of the Room of Authority, for his mission was by far the most difficult.
If he failed to uncover the traitor's arrangements within Mary Geoise, then once the Holy Land fell, the entire world would be lost.
Orders spread rapidly outward from the Room of Authority.
For the first time in history, the three great powers—the World Government, the Pirates, and the Revolutionary Army—began to fight side by side.
Warships ferried the Navy's elite onto the decks of the Pluton, where, under Sengoku's command, they swiftly formed ranks and sailed eastward to meet the enemy.
Meanwhile, the great pirate crews and the main forces of the Revolutionary Army gathered at the gateway from Mary Geoise to the New World, preparing to confront the invaders head-on.
Within Mary Geoise itself, martial law was declared. All residents were ordered to remain confined to their homes.
The delegates attending the World Summit were likewise confined to their lodgings at the guest houses, forbidden to step outside.
Lucci dispatched all his CP divisions, each leading a unit of Marines, to conduct a citywide search—leaving no corner unchecked.
Roya swept his spiritual sense across the entire Holy Land, but still detected no abnormalities. Even Imu had sunk into an eerie silence.
But no matter what, Roya no longer had time to deal with Imu.
Suppressing his unease, he vanished in a flash—heading straight toward the New World.
The joint battlefront of pirates and revolutionaries was something that could not be left unwatched.
Pls drop some power stones supper me at my
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