Inside the enormous conference room of the ship, Rolan slowly walked around the table while speaking.
"You all must have guessed it already, right?"
His calm voice caused the room to fall into a brief silence.
Luffy scratched his head, looking completely confused.
"Hey! What riddles were you two talking about earlier? Why are you still talking like that now?"
He looked around the room suspiciously, as if everyone had secretly agreed not to tell him something.
Law leaned back slightly and spoke with a serious expression.
"That should be Uranus."
Even though many of them had already suspected it, hearing the name spoken aloud still sent a wave of shock through the room.
Crocodile lit a cigar and slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"So that's Uranus... truly terrifying."
Years ago, he had attempted to overthrow the kingdom of Alabasta just to obtain information about the ancient weapon Pluton.
He had never actually seen Pluton, only heard the legends about it.
An ancient battleship capable of destroying an entire island with a single shot.
But the attack they had just witnessed felt far more terrifying.
If the black shadow that descended above Marineford truly belonged to Uranus, then the destructive power was almost unimaginable.
Their ship was currently dozens of kilometers away from Marineford.
Even at such a distance, the pressure and shockwave from that attack could still be clearly felt.
It was difficult to imagine what kind of catastrophe had just occurred on Marineford itself.
At that moment, the old saying among pirates seemed far less exaggerated.
Whoever controls one of the three ancient weapons can conquer the world.
Law suddenly spoke again.
"But there's something strange."
Everyone turned toward him.
"From the moment it appeared until we left Marineford, a lot of time had already passed. If it was going to attack, why did it take so long?"
His words immediately made everyone react.
Nami tilted her head thoughtfully.
"Yeah, if that's the case, even if Uranus is powerful, the time it takes to prepare an attack would give enemies plenty of time to escape."
Even Whitebeard frowned slightly, clearly thinking about the same problem.
Rolan gently rubbed his chin and remained silent for a moment before speaking again.
"I told you before, every ancient weapon requires two things. Energy and a key."
Everyone listened quietly.
"From what we saw earlier, Uranus might have encountered a problem with its energy accumulation."
Franky crossed his arms.
"If it's an energy problem, then why would the World Government still activate it?"
That was clearly the question everyone wanted answered.
Kuro calmly pushed up his glasses before speaking.
"I think there are two reasons."
Everyone turned toward him.
"The first reason is deterrence."
"The Ion Tempest Pirates are already the largest pirate organization in the world besides the World Government. If we join forces with the Whitebeard Pirates, we would become their greatest threat."
"So activating Uranus is a warning."
"A reminder for us to act carefully."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"The second reason is Marineford itself."
"The entire world witnessed the war through the broadcast Den Den Mushi. The World Government's disgrace spread across the sea from that island."
Kuro's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Knowing their style, an island that carries such humiliation no longer needs to exist."
Many people in the room nodded in agreement.
It sounded exactly like something the World Government would do.
Rolan continued speaking calmly.
"Uranus is not a technological creation of the World Government."
"With the current level of technology in this world, it is impossible to create the three ancient weapons."
"So the energy source and activation key also cannot be manufactured by them."
He paused briefly.
"This means the energy of Uranus is limited."
"Every time it is used, the remaining energy decreases."
"If the energy becomes insufficient, it could affect the weapon's activation speed."
As he spoke, Rolan could not help recalling something from his previous life on Earth.
Vegapunk had once developed a mysterious energy source known as the Mother Flame.
Judging from the diagrams he remembered, it was extremely similar to a nuclear fusion reaction.
The energy produced by nuclear fusion was enormous.
Almost second only to the energy released by matter annihilation.
If Uranus truly used that level of power as its core...
Then no island in the One Piece world could survive such an attack.
Even Rolan himself had no confidence in resisting that kind of energy with his body alone.
Suddenly a strange sound interrupted everyone's thoughts.
Zzzzz...
Everyone slowly turned their heads.
Luffy had already fallen asleep on the table.
His head rested on his arms while he snored loudly.
The serious atmosphere instantly collapsed.
Rolan shook his head slightly.
"This discussion ends here."
He turned toward the crew.
"Next destination, Peach Garden."
The members of the Ion Tempest Pirates quickly began preparing to set sail.
The war at Marineford might have ended.
But the waves it created across the world were only beginning.
---
Meanwhile.
Sabaody Archipelago.
Shakky's Rip-off Bar.
Shaki struck a match and lit her cigarette before taking a slow drag.
White smoke drifted gently through the quiet bar.
She glanced at Rayleigh.
"Ray-san, you felt it too, right? That huge tremor."
Rayleigh gently swirled the wine inside his glass.
"I did."
"It definitely came from Marineford."
Earlier, the broadcast Den Den Mushi had suddenly begun crackling with static.
Moments later, a massive tremor shook the entire archipelago.
That was extremely unusual.
The Sabaody Archipelago was formed by giant Yarukiman Mangrove trees.
Earthquakes simply did not occur there.
Which meant the tremor had to come from somewhere else.
Looking at the map, Marineford was still hundreds of kilometers away.
Yet the shockwave from that attack could still be felt in Sabaody.
The scale of the destruction was easy to imagine.
Rayleigh sighed quietly.
"I wonder if Rolan and the others managed to leave Marineford safely."
There was clear concern in his voice.
Shaki chuckled softly.
"I'm actually quite confident about little Rolan."
She exhaled another stream of smoke.
"The sky of this world may be high."
"But it's not unreachable."
"And little Rolan is far stronger than what even we have seen."
Rayleigh emptied his wine glass in one gulp.
Then he stood up and slowly walked toward the door.
Shaki looked at his back and spoke casually.
"If you see little Rolan, say hello for me."
The wooden door creaked as it opened.
Rayleigh waved without looking back.
"Of course."
After stepping outside, he could not help sighing deeply.
Life in Sabaody used to be quite comfortable.
He spent most of his days gambling in casinos.
Whenever he ran out of money, he would simply sell himself at the auction house and escape afterward.
Sometimes he would return to Shaki's bar and enjoy some quiet time together.
But ever since Rolan visited the bar, everything had changed.
After seeing how affectionate Rolan was with his wives, Shaki suddenly decided that Rayleigh was not allowed to disappear for long periods anymore.
In fact, he now had to fulfill his "duties" every single day.
At first, Rayleigh tried to use his age as an excuse.
Unfortunately, Shaki later asked Rolan for a mysterious pill.
After taking it, Rayleigh's body was restored to the strength and vitality of his prime.
The result was disastrous.
Even with that strength, there was only a tired ox, never a worn-out field.
At first he even thought about having a child.
But as time passed, his back began to protest more and more.
Now it could barely hold on.
This trip to Peach Garden was not only to fulfill his promise to Rolan.
More importantly...
His back desperately needed a break.