Chapter 150: Mary Geoise Was Furious
Shiki hated Roger, but he hated the World Government and the Navy even more.
And in the same breath, he utterly loathed Charlotte Linlin.
Just so happened, all three of those names, and all three of those forces, now pointed toward the East Blue.
A revenge plan that would satisfy him down to the bone bloomed in Shiki's mind.
"Set course for the East Blue," Shiki said suddenly, turning to his second in command, Indigo, and the navigators he had kidnapped. "I'm going to wipe it off the map, right now."
"Pfft pfft… bubu…"
Indigo flailed his arms wildly, still refusing to speak.
Shiki's fists clenched. His expression darkened until it looked like he was about to kill someone.
Indigo shuddered, then finally spat out the truth in a trembling voice.
"The cultivation of SIQ components, and the experiments to make the animals more ferocious, aren't finished. It'll take at least several more years!"
"Hahahaha!" Shiki threw back his head and laughed. "I'm destroying the East Blue. What does that have to do with your experiments?"
Indigo instantly shut his mouth.
Shiki was a cruel, ruthless pirate who would shoot a subordinate without blinking if the mood took him. Indigo had no desire to argue with a man like that.
His life was more important. If Shiki said go, then they went.
"Speak," Shiki snapped, glaring.
Indigo nearly jumped out of his skin. "No objections. We're leaving!"
He hurried to the navigators and barked orders, forcing them to map a route.
Shiki stood with his back to the overturned warship in the lake, arms crossed, facing the sunlight. His golden hair whipped in the wind.
"Men, be bolder," he roared. "Standing before you is Shiki, the man who once pushed Roger to the brink, who fought Sengoku and Garp for ages, who stands on the same level as Whitebeard!"
"I am one of the strongest existences in this era."
"I alone am enough to crush a weak little sea like the East Blue."
As he spoke, Shiki raised his right fist. The cherry blossom patterned scabbard strapped to his broken leg, and the withered sword on the other, flashed coldly under the sun.
Behind him, pirates erupted into cheers.
"Starting today, I recruit pirates from every corner of the world," Shiki declared. "I'm heading to the East Blue to capture the man Linlin cares about most, to ruin Roger's hometown, and to send every Marine base in that sea straight into the heavens!"
Bold. Unrestrained. Absolutely insane.
Capture the one Linlin valued most, destroy Roger's home, and toss the East Blue's Marine bases into the sky.
Even for Shiki, it was a statement that reeked of arrogance.
One day later.
Just as Shiki's floating island neared the Red Line, the Golden Lion let out a hoarse, pained sound, then collapsed.
He fell ill without warning and lost consciousness, and the floating island beneath him immediately spiraled out of control.
Several days later.
In the first half of the Grand Line, in a stretch of sea where no islands should exist, an island now floated, wounded and drifting.
Days earlier, Shiki had blacked out and only regained consciousness when the floating island was about to slam into the Red Line.
And then…
The island nearly crashed into the Red Line, frightening Mary Geoise, which was not far away, badly enough that the Celestial Dragons almost died on the spot.
According to what the Five Elders later discussed deep within the flower garden, someone, an adult presence, had nearly drawn a blade to cut Shiki down immediately.
Fortunately, Shiki woke up in time. Otherwise, Imu would have used Shiki as the first public "test subject," revealing terrifying power to the world for the first time.
Shiki managed to stabilize the island, but not before unleashing a number of berserk beasts onto the Red Line.
Indigo had said the research to properly refine SIQ's effects on animals would take many years.
He had not mentioned that there were already unstable prototypes, savage, uncontrollable monsters that were ready to snap.
That day, the Celestial Dragons of Mary Geoise were so terrified that they refused to step outside. Many filed requests for CP protection. Some even wanted to relocate.
Mary Geoise was thrown into chaos for a long time before it finally settled.
And for some reason, ever since a certain person entered this world, Mary Geoise had been plagued by misfortune.
First, several Celestial Dragons died.
Then, all the slaves escaped from the prison.
Now, a number of elderly Celestial Dragons died outright from the shock of a floating island nearly ramming into their holy land.
As if that were not enough, Mary Geoise was attacked again by a pack of terrifying beasts that very same day.
Meanwhile, Shiki was recuperating in the first half of the Grand Line. It would take more time before he recovered enough to head for the East Blue.
Rumor said Imu scolded the Five Elders, the Five Elders scolded CP0, CP0 used the Elders' name to scold the Commander, and the Commander turned around and scolded Sengoku.
Then Sengoku roared himself hoarse in the Marineford conference office.
Because…
Sengoku felt that if this cycle continued, it would never end.
"Damn it," Sengoku slammed his fist onto the table. "Find him. If Shiki is found, Vice Admiral Garp and I will go together and capture that filthy Shiki!"
He immediately dispatched Marine forces across multiple routes.
"Calm down," Zephyr said from the side, enjoying the rare peace. "Anger is bad for your health."
After all, he had already changed paths and become the chief instructor at the Naval Academy. He did not need to worry about these things as much anymore.
"Zephyr," Sengoku said, turning toward him, "I need you to come with me."
Roy's expectations had come true. As Roy had instructed, Sengoku had paid more attention to Zephyr's situation back then.
Zephyr's wife and child had still been hunted by pirates, just like in the original history. There had been no reliable Marines nearby to protect them, only useless ones who were wiped out almost immediately.
Fortunately, Sengoku had been cautious and rushed over.
Unfortunately, it came with both good and bad.
Zephyr's son survived, but Zephyr's wife succumbed to her injuries.
In short, Sengoku believed Zephyr owed both him and Roy a massive favor.
Now was the time to cash in.
Shiki had reappeared. Sengoku knew Shiki would not be captured easily by just him and Garp.
So he wanted Zephyr's help.
The three of them would work together, go all out, and kill the Golden Lion if necessary.
There was no choice.
The two "cute little gifts" Shiki had dropped onto the Red Line had driven the World Government nearly insane.
From top to bottom, the entire system wanted Shiki dead.
From Imu to the ordinary Celestial Dragons who functioned like decorative mascots, they were practically cursing in chorus.
"Alright… sigh." Zephyr shook his head, helpless. He had hoped to keep teasing the new recruits in peace for a while longer.
...
East Blue.
A Marine warship docked on the shore of a small island.
Wearing her cloak, Gion moved briskly through the streets. This was an island Roy had once visited after arriving in the East Blue.
She dispatched her subordinates to dig for anything, Roy's past, rumors, routes, scraps of information. They questioned elderly locals, fished for gossip in taverns, pulled records from local bases, and used every method they could justify.
It was not easy.
Roy used to travel on thunderclouds. The moment a trail looked promising, it would abruptly go cold.
Gion had been in the East Blue for days, and so far they had found only one lead, pointing toward the island where Cocoyasi Village was located.
The most irritating part was that the message did not even specify which village.
That island had many villages.
"Set sail for Cocoyasi Village," Gion said, rubbing her temple in frustration as she returned to the warship. "Hopefully our luck improves."
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