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Meanwhile, on Hachinosu
After a unanimous decision by the Three Emperors Alliance, a research base was established there for Vegapunk to carry out his experiments.
From that moment on, Hachinosu became joint territory of the Three Emperors' Alliance. A massive garrison was stationed there, all for one purpose: to protect the world's greatest scientist, Vegapunk.
Backed by the Alliance's power and wealth, cutting‑edge research equipment poured into Hachinosu through black market channels. Within just a few days, a full-fledged research institute stood completed.
But at the same time, something infuriating happened to the Phoenix Pirates.
On Sphinx Island, everyone's expressions were dark.
The reason was simple: just last night, a Blackbeard Pirates flag had appeared on Sphinx Island—along with a letter.
The letter's content was straightforward: a battle challenge. Blackbeard proposed a decisive clash with the Whitebeard Pirates on the Grand Line, in the lawless haven known as Demon Valley Town.
After reading it, Ace burst out, fury blazing in his eyes. "That bastard Teach—how dare he provoke us?"
Vista spoke in a grave tone. "I've heard he's been doing very well on the Grand Line. He's bought dozens of warships and taken many pirates under his command."
Yamato slammed a fist into her palm, anger burning. "So this is Blackbeard—the one who killed Thatch, the former Fourth Division Commander, and triggered the Marineford War, which led to Whitebeard Old Man's death? We absolutely have to defeat him."
After everyone finished cursing Blackbeard, all eyes turned to Marco. He finally made his decision.
"Since Blackbeard's already sent us a challenge," Marco declared, "then we'll go. We head to the Grand Line and wipe out the Blackbeard Pirates."
Now, Marco had only two tasks left on his list: overthrow the World Government and eliminate the Blackbeard Pirates.
Whether out of duty or personal resentment, he had to take Blackbeard down. "But the first half of the Grand Line is under Marine jurisdiction," Marco warned. "We still need to be careful. If the Marines hit us from behind while we're fighting the Blackbeard Pirates, a pincer attack would be a real problem. Besides, the fact that Blackbeard dares to challenge us head‑on means he has a lot of confidence in his current strength."
Although Blackbeard has not obtained the Tremor-Tremor Fruit like in the original story, as long as he holds the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit, he can hunt down other powerful Devil Fruits for himself. In this world, there is never a shortage of formidable abilities.
Since Blackbeard has already made the first move against them, he must now be wielding at least two Devil Fruits.
"This matter must be discussed with Kaido and Big Mom, and even with the Revolutionary Army. We are now the World Government's number one enemy, and every move we make is definitely being watched by the World Government. Once we split up, the World Government will undoubtedly be eager to defeat us one by one."
Grand Line, Calm Belt—waters near Amazon Lily
At this moment, the newly appointed admiral, Figarland Gorum—code-named "Shura"—was on the move.
Just two days earlier, he had arrived at Marineford to assume his position as admiral, taking the title "Shura."
Although Gorum, one of the God's Knights, is a Celestial Dragon and carries the same arrogance as the others of his kind, he is unlike those pampered, powerless nobles. He is an elite among Celestial Dragons, and his combat strength is exceptionally formidable.
Now, as the new admiral and simultaneously the vice commander of the God's Knights, he had personally accepted this mission.
According to Imu-sama's orders, Monkey D. Luffy is highly likely to be the reincarnation of Joy Boy. Since the Marineford War, Straw Hat Luffy has vanished from the public eye. However, the Gorosei suspect that Luffy is connected to the Pirate Empress.
Figarland Gorum took on this mission without hesitation. He had also heard that Boa Hancock is known as the most beautiful woman in the world. He had seen her bounty poster before—she was indeed breathtaking. Although she was just a commoner, she was more than worthy of being added to his "collection."
On top of that, Amazon Lily is said to be an island of only women—perfect candidates to be turned into slaves.
Soon, a Marine vice admiral hurried over and reported respectfully, "Ashura-sama, we are about to reach Amazon Lily."
Figarland Gorum sneered. "Once we get close, open fire immediately and destroy the Amazon Lily."
"Ah!!!" The vice admiral froze, stunned by his order. "But Boa Hancock is one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea! Wouldn't it be inappropriate for us to directly attack a warlord?"
Figarland Gorum said coldly, "Harboring the criminal Straw Hat Luffy. Secretly sending him to Impel Down before the Marineford War, which triggered the Impel Down breakout and allowed hundreds of prisoners to escape. Such a disgrace has never occurred since Impel Down was founded. And after the war, she even continued to shelter criminals."
The marine vice admiral listened, looking troubled. "Harboring criminals? But we don't have any evidence!"
Figarland Gorum snorted, eyes full of disdain. "Hmph, evidence? This saint's words are the evidence. You, a mere vice admiral, only need to carry out this saint's orders."
A shiver ran through the Vice Admiral. He straightened up and answered respectfully, "Yes!"
At that moment, far away on Rusukaina—the island where Rayleigh had brought Luffy to train—
Rusukaina lay northwest of Amazon Lily, in the Calm Belt. The island's seasons changed once a week, cycling through forty‑eight different climates over the course of a year. It was said to be the site of a long‑vanished ancient kingdom, now deserted and ruled only by ferocious beasts.
Colossal lions, giant boars, elephants, and other monstrous creatures roamed the island. They were dozens of times stronger than beasts in the outside world. Ordinary attacks were useless against them; only users of Haki could break through their defenses.
This was exactly why Rayleigh had chosen this place. On this island, unless your strength vastly surpassed that of normal people, you had to rely on Haki just to survive against the beasts.
Today happened to be Empress Boa Hancock's turn to deliver food to Luffy, as she did every three days.
From a distance, Luffy waved energetically. "Yo, Hancock, long time no see!"
"Luffy." Boa Hancock's eyes lit up. After spending more than half a year—almost a full year—around him, she no longer froze up, blushing and tongue‑tied every time they met. Even so, she still cried out, "I haven't seen you for three days; I really missed you! I brought all this food for you; I hope you like it."
Luffy had already dashed over and started stuffing food into his mouth. "Mm! I like it a lot, thanks, Hancock!"
"Haah…" Hancock immediately drifted into a lovestruck daze. Rayleigh, watching from the side, spoke up with some annoyance. "Hancock, you're spoiling him too much. There's plenty of food on this island. I told you not to bring supplies so often."
Hancock's expression soured at once. "What do you mean by 'frequent'?" I haven't seen Luffy for a whole three days. And why are you still here, Rayleigh?"
Rayleigh was taken aback for a moment before snapping back, "I'm Luffy's teacher! Of course I'm here to teach him Haki."
Hancock only grew more displeased. "Hmph, I can teach Luffy Haki myself. You can leave."
Rayleigh let out a helpless sigh. "No. Your Haki isn't bad, but it's not at the level where you can be a teacher. Besides, with your relationship with Luffy, you're not exactly suited to guide him in Haki training."
"What did you say, Rayleigh?" In an instant, Hancock closed the distance between them. The pressure of her presence made Rayleigh instinctively draw back. She grabbed him by the nose and hissed, "Don't underestimate me, Rayleigh. Otherwise, even you—I'll turn you into stone."
Rayleigh felt completely wronged. As the saying goes, it's hard to deal with women. He quickly surrendered. "Alright, alright! I didn't say anything. But no matter how much you like Luffy, you should tone down how often you see him, okay? Luffy still needs to train!"
Even after he gave in, Hancock continued to glare at him, making Rayleigh a bit nervous. He raised his voice toward Luffy, who was still eating with gusto. "Luffy, hurry up and finish! Once you're done, your special training will be doubled to make up for all this eating time!"
Luffy answered enthusiastically, mouth half full, "Oh, no problem, Rayleigh…"
At that moment, Boa Marigold's transponder signal rang. She picked up, and an anxious voice burst from the other end. "This is bad, Lady Marigold! Ten Marine warships have appeared to the southeast and are attacking Amazon Lily. The Marines are about to land—our sisters can't hold them back at all..."
"What?" The single word stunned everyone present—Hancock, Sandersonia, Marigold, Rayleigh, and Luffy all froze.
Marigold immediately protested, "Impossible! My sister is a Shichibukai. The Marines have no reason to attack us!"
The Kuja warrior on the line replied, even more panicked, "The Marines somehow got information that Amazon Lily is sheltering Straw Hat Luffy! They're demanding we hand over Straw Hat Luffy!"
At those words, Hancock, Luffy, and Rayleigh all stiffened in surprise.
Marigold pressed on, "Who's the marine in charge? Is it an admiral or a vice admiral?"
The warrior on the other end of the Den Den Mushi answered loudly, "It's the Marines' new celestial dragon admiral, Shura."
The moment "Celestial Dragon" was mentioned, the Boa sisters trembled. Their terror of the Celestial Dragons was carved into their bones. And this time, it wasn't just a marine admiral—it was a celestial dragon as well.
The Marines hadn't concealed Figarland Gorum's status as a Celestial Dragon, nor did they have any reason to. A Celestial Dragon couldn't simply change his name just because he'd become an admiral. Once the surname "Figarland" was revealed, the whole world would know what he was.
The Figarland name belonged to one of the twenty kings who founded the World Government.
Because of that, the Marines and the World Government openly acknowledged his identity, using it to flaunt the power of the Celestial Dragons. For years, the public image of the Celestial Dragons had been nothing but swollen, useless nobles.
Now, with Figarland Gorum—a Celestial Dragon—serving as the new Marine Admiral, all the powers across the seas were being shown a different kind of Celestial Dragon.
Rayleigh's expression grew grim. "We've been found? I thought hiding inside a Shichibukai's territory would be very safe. I didn't expect to be discovered."
He followed up, frowning. "A Celestial Dragon Admiral? What's going on with that?!"
Sandersonia explained, "He's the new marine admiral who only took office not long ago. His real name is Figarland Gorum, code-named 'Shura.' His abilities are unknown, and his strength is unknown."
Luffy blinked in surprise at the idea of a Celestial Dragon becoming an Admiral. "Celestial Dragons? Are those the guys with bubble heads? I feel like they're really weak! They can become admirals too?"
Rayleigh's gaze hardened. "Luffy, you must not underestimate the Celestial Dragons. Not all of them are like the ones on the Sabaody Archipelago. Among the Celestial Dragons, there are some very powerful individuals—especially those with the Figarland surname. It reminds me of someone."
"The strength of a Marine admiral is extraordinary. This Celestial Dragon may have become an admiral largely because of his status, but if he doesn't have the power to match, it'll only disgrace the title of admiral."
For hundreds of years, the Marine admirals have stood as the World Government's ultimate fighting force—an unshakable rule that has never changed. Every Admiral is a top-tier powerhouse, one in a million. To guarantee their overwhelming authority, the rank has always been restricted to just three individuals.
Hearing this, Luffy finally understood how serious the enemy was this time. Feeling a bit guilty, he said, "Sorry, Hancock… it looks like we can't stay here."
He turned to Rayleigh. "Rayleigh, let's get out of here! If we leave, then the Marines won't have any reason to arrest Hancock and the others."
Rayleigh immediately shook his head. "No. If we show up in these waters now, it'll only prove that Hancock really did shelter us. At that point, she probably won't be able to keep her Shichibukai title."
"Then what should we do?" Luffy's voice rose, anxiety creeping in.
By now, Hancock's usual lovestruck haze had vanished. She understood the gravity of the situation and spoke up at once. "Luffy, Rayleigh, you two stay hidden here. I'll deal with the Marines outside. Let's go, Marigold and Sandersonia."
"Yes, Elder Sister," the two replied in unison.
"Wait a moment…" Rayleigh called out, stopping Hancock. After a brief, calm consideration, he said, "It's a Marine admiral this time, and they're coming in force. Your Shichibukai status might not be enough. We'll go with you. This whole mess started because of us—we have to take responsibility too."
Hancock was moved by Rayleigh's words. She had no doubts about his strength. She answered solemnly, "Very well. Then you two will disguise yourselves as women and come with my Kuja Pirates."
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