Water 7, Junk Island.
"Then..."
"It's about time to start..."
"Shiki... Nero..."
"You two, step back, don't get caught in the blast..."
"I'm responsible for taking away the rock layers and a large amount of seawater from Junk Island..."
"You can make your move after you see the giant earth sphere in the sky..."
"Scatter...!"
After Pain finished giving his orders, he clasped his hands together and shouted, "Super Chibaku Tensei!"
The Chakra sphere in Pain's hand rapidly ascended, its suction increasing from slow to fast.
A huge roar erupted from Junk Island, and hundreds of abandoned ships on the island quickly rose into the sky. All the land on the island cracked into pieces of rock that floated upwards.
After the rocks on the island shattered and ascended, a large amount of seawater also poured into the sky, creating a scene like the end of the world that was both astonishing and terrifying.
As these various materials from the island converged, a super-large "Saturn" finally appeared in the sky, and Junk Island... had vanished.
A large amount of seawater churned as if roaring in defiance of the sky's dwindling gravitational pull. Golden Lion seized the opportunity, reaching into the seawater, enduring the discomfort to lift a large quantity of it into the sky, with Nero following close behind.
Nero opened a square space barrier, enveloping Golden Lion. The pouring seawater, due to gravity, struck the space barrier, causing Golden Lion to continuously sink into the sea, eventually stopping on a submerged piece of land from an old shipyard.
Nero controlled the space barrier, creating an opening just wide enough for Golden Lion to reach out and touch the shipyard. Golden Lion seized the moment, reaching out to touch the old shipyard.
Inside the space barrier, some seawater poured in through the opening, but it hadn't yet submerged Nero and Golden Lion.
The seabed vibrated violently, and the old shipyard slowly floated up under Golden Lion's Ability. Golden Lion let out a loud roar, and the old shipyard's ascent speed increased.
Nero's space barrier also ascended with the old shipyard, bearing the immense pressure of the sea.
Water Seven. West Coast.
"Sister... Sister..."
"Look... Look over here..."
The second sister, Boa Sandersonia, at this moment had a perfect view towards Junk Island, where Pain was located. The giant earth sphere slowly appearing in the sky immediately caught Sandersonia's attention, and she cried out to Hancock in fright.
Hancock and the third sister turned their heads at the second sister's shout to look at the anomaly in mid-air, and their expressions also changed drastically, shocked.
"Second sister... Third sister, come with me..."
"Everyone else, stay on the ship..."
"Yes...!"
After Hancock gave her orders, she rushed towards Pain's direction with the second and third sisters, while also instructing them to prepare for battle.
"Yo... That's quite a commotion..."
"How scary, yo..."
Kizaru, along with the Three Vice Admirals, had been lurking in Iceberg's mansion under Akainu's orders, and had arranged for personnel to infiltrate all the shipyards under Iceberg's company. The goal was to see if the Akatsuki Organization would send Iceberg back.
And how much important intelligence Iceberg could bring back upon his return.
Kizaru felt the ground trembling and then led the Three Vice Admirals out of the room, seeing the giant earth sphere slowly forming in the sky.
"It seems the Akatsuki Organization has other activities on this island, too..."
"Kizaru... What are we waiting for..."
"Let's go..."
Momousagi directly decided for Kizaru, leading the way towards Pain's direction.
Kizaru pouted and followed closely with Onigumo and Smoker.
Here, in an abandoned house some distance from Junk Island, Apoo and Hawkins were currently leading their subordinates, staring in horror at the giant Saturn appearing in the sky, cold sweat pouring down their bodies.
"Haw... Hawkins..."
"Wh-What is this?"
"Could it be... something the Akatsuki Organization did?"
Apoo asked with some fear, seemingly quite shaken.
"I don't know..."
"Perhaps..."
Cold sweat dripped from Hawkins's forehead, but he still forced himself to maintain his composure, answering Apoo's question in a neutral tone.
"If it's the Akatsuki Organization..."
"Are we... still going to recruit them?"
Apoo felt a bit uneasy inside, not having expected the Akatsuki Organization's strength to be so terrifying. It seemed Hawkins's divination was very accurate.
"The mission Kaido assigned must be done..."
"Whether it can be completed is another matter..."
Hawkins regained his composure and said with an unquestionable tone.
"What if they refuse...?"
Apoo really wanted to see how Hawkins would handle it if they were rejected.
"Then we'll forcibly take the Akatsuki Organization's leader back to report..."
Hawkins spoke as if it were a perfectly normal thing.
"Hey, hey, hey..."
"Hawkins... You're joking, right..."
"Is this why your divination showed a 50% chance of death?"
"I don't want to go crazy with you..."
If Apoo hadn't seen the giant "Saturn" in the sky, he might have agreed with Hawkins's idea, but the current situation was that the enemy was strong and they were weak. Apoo had no confidence.
"Apoo..."
"Are you planning to go back empty-handed and report to Kaido?"
"Do you want me to divine your consequences for you...?"
As soon as Apoo heard Hawkins mention Kaido, he shuddered at the thought of the potential punishment, and in the end, he could only reluctantly accept Hawkins's suggestion.
Here, on the East Coast of Water Seven, Blackbeard had dispatched two of his Vice Admirals to Water 7 this time. Their goal was to gather information on the Akatsuki Organization's movements to prepare for the final sweep and plunder.
"Fighting Champion" Burgess and "Supersonic" Van Auger had been on Water Seven for four days. In these past few days, they had also sent people to gather information on the Akatsuki Organization's movements, but had found nothing.
Just a moment ago, after a violent tremor, a giant earth sphere appeared in the sky. This was like a beacon, guiding the two to where a major event was unfolding. They exchanged glances and headed towards Pain's direction.
"Fighting Champion" Burgess was the Captain of the Blackbeard Pirates' first ship. His former strength and bounty were very low, only 42 million Berries.
As Blackbeard ascended to the position of Four Emperors and began his Devil Fruit hunting plan, Burgess's Ability and status also rose accordingly.
Burgess has long purple hair and a purple beard. He is a burly man wearing a wrestler's mask, often with a hearty laugh, and his belt bears a "Champion" emblem.
Burgess is incredibly strong; lifting houses is easy for him. He also has a very straightforward personality and is tall and robust.
Over the past two years, with the successful progress of Blackbeard's Devil Fruit hunting plan, Burgess also consumed a powerful Devil Fruit.
The Devil Fruit Burgess consumed was the extremely rare Zoan Mythical Beast "Dark Kirin" Devil Fruit. Its Ability is very powerful, allowing him to control the power of darkness, and it has a superior-subordinate relationship with Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Fruit.
Burgess's "Dark Kirin" Devil Fruit allows him to transform into a Dark Kirin to fight, and he can also create a Dark Domain, making enemies unable to see once trapped within it, forcing them to rely on Observation Haki or special Abilities to fight.
When Burgess transforms into a "Dark Kirin," his strength and agility increase by about three times. There is also a most unique aspect: when he transforms into a Dark Kirin, he can breathe "Dark Fire" to incinerate enemies.
Once struck by "Dark Fire," the Dark Fire will not extinguish until the enemy is burned to death. The weakness of this Ability is that "Dark Fire" consumes a lot of stamina, and not everyone with a powerful physique like Burgess can necessarily control it.
Burgess also possesses Intermediate Armament Haki. His current strength is vastly different from what it was two years ago.
"Supersonic" Van Auger is the Captain and sniper of the Blackbeard Pirates' third ship. He hails from the East Blue and uses his beloved rifle, "Senritsu," as his weapon.
Auger can even silently hit targets several kilometers away, and his monocle allows him to clearly see distant targets.
Auger wears a strange hat, an eye patch over his right eye, has a long face, wears a black cloak, and always carries a long rifle. For Auger, every day is a fork in the road of destiny. Hence, his catchphrase is "This is destiny!"
Auger's original strength was not strong, but like Burgess, Auger's strength saw a leap forward under Blackbeard's leadership.
Originally, Auger did not have a Devil Fruit Ability, but during his hunting expeditions with Blackbeard, he was granted a Devil Fruit by Blackbeard that was very suitable for him.
That was the Paramecia "Gold-Gold Fruit." The Gold-Gold Fruit allows the user to manipulate all metallic objects, controlling them according to the Ability User's will.
Auger was originally an excellent sniper with super long-range shooting capabilities. Now, with the ability to control metal, he is even more formidable.
Bullets can be fired in rapid succession or curved by Auger, and he can even imbue bullets with Armament Haki, easily injuring Ability Users.
Auger's Armament Haki is in an Intermediate state. Due to Auger's super strong Mental Energy, he researched and developed the ability to condense and imbue bullets with Armament Haki through his palm.
The appearance of the two Captains dispatched by Blackbeard further plunged the situation into mystery... To be continued...
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