Chapter 562: Before the Final War
After wandering through most of the city and finding nothing else of value, Brett and the others made their way back to where Vegapunk had stayed behind.
The old man was still at it, happily fussing over the little automatons. The small robots had gathered around him with their wide grins, seemingly content to let him poke and examine them to his heart's content. They clearly had some degree of intelligence, but they showed no resistance to Vegapunk's curiosity.
"Find anything interesting?" Brett asked as they descended on the clouds.
"Remarkable!" Vegapunk looked up, visibly thrilled. "Nearly a thousand years ago, the Bircans had already developed artificial intelligence to this level — and they installed it in basic patrol units!"
Brett did the math. A thousand years was a long time to say out loud, but in practical terms it was really only a few decades to perhaps a century before the Bircan migration.
"Ha! You occasionally find the remains of robots like these on the Blue Sea. So they were left behind by the Bircans?"
Not just remains, Doctor.
There was a man out on the sea who had inherited this very technology. Brett remembered it clearly — in the original story, after Enel flew up to the moon, he had encountered robots built by Dr. Tsukimi, and they looked almost identical to these small figures. Those robots had ended up on the moon after being startled onto their balloon transport when Dr. Tsukimi choked on his food during an unexpected explosion.
The Bircans' technology had continued living on across the Blue Sea, and the number of people who had inherited some form of it was probably not small.
None of that mattered much right now, though.
In the war to come, what would truly make the difference were the ancient weapons — the pinnacle of everything Bircan science had ever produced.
"What a truly extraordinary nation they were," Vegapunk said, rising to his feet with a deep sigh of admiration.
"So then," Brett said, glancing at the small robots still gathered around the old man. "Do we bring them back with us?"
Vegapunk shook his head gently. "They were left here to watch over this city."
"It is the purpose written into the deepest layer of their programming."
"There is no need to interfere with that."
"Let them stay," Vegapunk said. "Let them remain here with their city."
These small machines — possessed of a degree of intelligence, though nothing approaching Hades — were the last guardians of a great city, the final remnant of a great people.
And so Brett led everyone back the way they had come.
With every small robot tilting its head upward to watch in silence, Brett and the others departed the city that history had long since buried. They boarded Hades again and made for the Blue Sea.
It had been a pleasant trip to the moon, all things considered.
There had been no obvious concrete gains, but they had tested Hades's capabilities and paid a visit to the Bircan homeland. That was enough.
"So now everything is truly ready, isn't it?" Rayleigh said on the return journey.
Brett gave a quiet nod. "Once we're back, I'll contact Zephyr, Dragon, and Garp."
"All the preparations are complete. What comes next is war."
"Good." Rayleigh nodded slowly. "Then on my end, I suppose it's time to call the old friends together."
"Oh! You mean Jaba and the others?!"
Shanks's eyes lit up immediately. "I thought I'd never see them again in this lifetime!"
"Those old fools are all retired, but the moment they heard there was a chance to fulfill Roger's dream with their own hands, they couldn't wait to be part of it." Rayleigh shook his head with a tired sort of fondness. "Honestly. Every last one of them ancient, and every last one of them still full of life."
"Hahaha! Wonderful — fighting side by side with everyone again!"
Shanks looked genuinely elated. He was already one of the most famous pirates in the world, but he still missed those days sailing with the Roger Pirates. That was the best time of his childhood.
"Alright then." Brett nodded. "It's time to bring all our strength together."
The return trip took about as long as the trip out. By the time they arrived back at New Fish-Man Island, the sky had gone completely dark. It must have already been the following night. The moon was said to be not so far from the Blue Sea — but it was still somewhat far, when you thought about it. "Not far" was a relative term, measured against the distances between other celestial bodies in space.
Back at New Fish-Man Island, the group dispersed. Brett returned to his temporary lodgings and pulled out a Den Den Mushi to reach Zephyr and the others.
When they heard that Hades was complete, every one of them was elated.
And understandably so. It meant that in a straightforward comparison of raw strength, their side had now surpassed Imu.
The equation was simple enough.
Poseidon plus Hades could keep Imu's ultimate weapon occupied indefinitely.
Add a second Hades to that, and the advantage became enormous — that much was obvious.
The one complication was that Poseidon had not yet fully matured. The current Poseidon's power was somewhat below what their ancestor had wielded eight hundred years ago.
But that was fine. Whatever aerial advantage Poseidon couldn't secure, Hades would cover.
Two Hades-class weapons and one incomplete Poseidon. Even if you couldn't call it an overwhelming advantage, there was simply no way they could fall into a losing position now.
The war was ready to begin.
The Revolutionary Army, the NEO Navy, the New Navy — everyone was gathering their strength. The time to strike was almost here.
Brett put down the Den Den Mushi after finishing his calls.
He sat in his chair and for a moment felt oddly empty.
Bringing down the World Government — that goal had been fixed in his heart for a very long time. This moment was the one he had been working toward all along. But now that it had actually arrived, he found a strange, inexplicable blankness settling over him.
After a while, he decided to go find Shirahoshi.
Shirahoshi had recently opened a mermaid cafe at New Fish-Man Island, situated in the shallows just outside the island itself. It couldn't really be helped — from the owner down to every last employee, everyone was a mermaid. Running it anywhere other than the sea wasn't an option.
When Brett arrived at the cafe, the lights were still on inside.
He stepped up and knocked on the door.
It opened after a short wait. Shirahoshi leaned out from inside and looked at him quietly.
Brett smiled. He reached his hand out toward her.
"Shirahoshi — would you like to come look at the stars?"