Egghead Island finally arrived in the sky, becoming Punk Hazard's neighbor.
Caesar, who fancied himself the master of Punk Hazard, poked his head out. Then he discovered that his new neighbor was none other than that detestable Vegapunk.
He could not help cursing his bad luck under his breath, then told Robin that he absolutely must not become Vegapunk's colleague.
Punk Hazard only needed one leading genius, and that person could only be him, Caesar.
Heaven knew how hard Robin had worked back then to keep herself from laughing as she agreed to Caesar's demand.
Yes.
Even now, this evil scientist still had not realized that he was no longer working for the World Government.
On one hand, Robin had done her job too well. Caesar basically got whatever he asked for.
The resources were so abundant that Caesar believed only the World Government could possibly provide them.
In truth, the real one footing the bill was Tesoro, while Chester played a major role in the sea-sky transport route.
On the other hand, Ren felt Caesar was genuinely quite useful, so he had used the Space-Time: The Creator card to make a few slight modifications to him.
Even Monet, who had once been so unwaveringly loyal to Doflamingo, could not resist mental tampering. Now, she had basically been molded into Ren's shape.
Only during negative-distance contact would she occasionally mention Doflamingo.
However, according to Ren the villain's observations, that was closer to the concept of flirting.
It was like a wife or lover deliberately bringing up her husband during a contest for dominance.
Caesar's intelligence was very high, but when it came to this sort of thing, he was truly helpless.
Incidentally, Ren had also put insurance on Bakkin. Only Law had been left out.
He still had some fondness for that character.
After Vegapunk settled down in Skypiea, he immediately began reaching out for this and that, demanding resources without the slightest self-awareness that he had been abducted.
He even proactively provided Ren with several proposals targeting the moves the World Government might make.
Compared to Vegapunk's personal looseness, the World Government's side had fallen into utter chaos.
Intelligence from every side was gathered and compiled into an astonishing report.
Egghead Island had been attacked. (X)
Egghead Island was entirely gone. (✓)
When Kizaru arrived in those waters, all he could see was an empty underwater sinkhole.
There was no Egghead Island, no escorting Marine warships. Forget warships—there was not even a single Marine hair to be found!
Vice Admiral Onigumo, who had been guarding Egghead Island, had left behind no trace whatsoever.
Kizaru could only helplessly return and report the situation.
At this time, because of the failure of the Buster Call, Sengoku formally submitted his resignation letter to Commander-in-Chief Kong.
Marine Headquarters was about to face a brief power vacuum. Then it ran into a major incident like this, giving everyone a headache.
Egghead Island had not only carried Vegapunk, but also the Seraphim system that urgently needed to be put into service.
With its root dug out, the future mid-to-high-end combat power of Marine Headquarters instantly became a problem.
"A chain reaction. This was definitely part of that guy's plan."
That was Tsuru's judgment. Although no information had leaked from the attack on Egghead Island, she could understand who had acted based solely on those scattered clues.
Vice Admiral Onigumo was powerful. There were not many enemies in the world who could leave him with no room to resist.
As for the ability to cut off Den Den Mushi communications over a wide area, had that not already been displayed during the Marineford War?
That man could even force Den Den Mushi to broadcast.
An underwater sinkhole. A similar example had appeared during the mysterious disappearance of Punk Hazard.
Back then, no one had known what had happened. Now, it seemed that Ren had done that too.
Tsuru had sought confirmation from the World Government. That unknown powerhouse was apparently a Paw-Paw Fruit user. If the ability had been developed to its limit, moving islands was not outside the realm of possibility.
And that mysterious powerhouse had already been confirmed to be acting alongside Ren and to be a member of Cross Guild.
Once all kinds of clues were pieced together, the only person who could fit into the gap was Ren.
"What a headache."
Dressed in lighter clothing, Sengoku spoke in a solemn tone. "Given that brat's habits, no matter how we counter him next, some unexpected factor will inevitably interfere.
"What are we supposed to do, Tsuru? He's far too troublesome."
"Do not think you can start teasing people just because you are about to step down."
Tsuru rolled her eyes. "I am only temporarily helping you handle the duties of Fleet Admiral. If you keep this up, you can find someone else to manage this gap yourself!"
"Kong has already accepted my resignation letter. I'm only waiting for the official order now."
Sengoku shrugged, then changed the subject. "I have a feeling that the world situation from here on will greatly exceed our expectations.
"Demon Ren's actions are usually linked one ring after another. I suspect he definitely has another move coming."
"Then what can we do?"
Tsuru sighed. "If we want to kill him, the price we must pay would be no less than fighting another Marineford War.
"If we can start from another angle, perhaps there may still be a chance."
"…I'm afraid not."
Sengoku shook his head. "The Cipher Pol Agency proposed one plan. They wanted to seize relatives of people connected to him.
"But… the entire Cocoyasi Village in East Blue has disappeared.
"Judging from the report, it should be the Revolutionary Army's handiwork. They did not leave us even the slightest opportunity."
"So you intend to leave the headache to your successor?"
Tsuru narrowed her eyes.
"This old man is already at this age. Even if I wanted to do something, there's nothing I can do anymore."
Sengoku thought of the battle on Sphinx.
If Red Hair had not had no intention of killing them, and if not for that sudden tsunami…
He likely would have died there. He would not even have had the chance to come back and retire.
Tsuru suddenly got straight to the point. "So, is it Kuzan or Sakazuki?"
"The order has not come down yet."
Sengoku turned his head slightly. "This should not be an easy decision to make. Kuzan's conduct…"
Before he could finish speaking, Tsuru tossed the file onto the table, her stance extremely clear.
"It is Akainu."
"They chose Akainu in the end."
Tsuru rubbed her brow. "What is the reason? In this incident, Sakazuki's performance was even more disgraceful, wasn't it?"
"They can have as many reasons as they want. For example, Robin, the survivor of the Ohara Incident."
Sengoku said, "If things are truly pursued, some matters cannot be muddled through."
"…"
Tsuru fell silent for a moment, then said, "It really is nice to step down. Nothing matters anymore."
Then she added, "What about Demon Ren's bounty? How should that be handled?"
"Let us discuss it. I feel that the speed at which his bounty rises may not be able to keep up with the speed at which he causes trouble."
Sengoku's expression was somewhat complicated. After discussing it, the two decided to set the bounty at 9.8 billion Beli.
He had single-handedly defeated Akainu and held an absolute advantage. He also possessed so many schemes capable of affecting the world.
The only reason they had not added a few more hundred million and surpassed Whitebeard was out of respect for Whitebeard himself.
They did not discuss too much about how to deal with Demon Ren.
Because they understood very clearly that the other party was no longer someone who could be easily eliminated.
Once the events of the Buster Call were fully sorted out, Demon Ren's achievements became glaringly conspicuous.
As a Celestial Dragon and one considered a king among Celestial Dragons, Saint Garling was confirmed to have died at Ren's hands. Afterward, in a one-on-one situation, Ren had placed Akainu at an absolute disadvantage.
There were also those numerous and complicated Devil Fruit abilities, as well as a group of powerful pieces.
Just as Tsuru had said, wanting to kill Ren was no less difficult than fighting another Marineford War.
However, Marine Headquarters no longer had the same foundation it had back then.
Even if they knew there would definitely be problems, and that all sorts of things would definitely happen…
They could only put the matter aside for now, because there was no way to handle it.
In Sengoku's eyes, Demon Ren was an enemy far more troublesome than Whitebeard.
More cunning than Whitebeard, younger than Whitebeard, and far better than Whitebeard at uniting forces. Such a person was also standing in opposition to the World Government.
All he could do was feel grateful.
Grateful that he was already about to retire.
"Garp really did retire decisively."
Sengoku could not help sighing over that friend of his.
However, this emotion was soon broken by a new incident.
"What? The NEO Marines abducted prisoners and then executed them?!"
The NEO Marines established by Zephyr stepped onto the stage at this moment, bringing even greater trouble to the already beleaguered Marine Headquarters.
Under these circumstances, Akainu, who had recovered somewhat from his injuries, began intervening.
In contrast, Kuzan himself did nothing. He merely stayed lazily in his own room.
Until the Den Den Mushi rang.
"Moshi moshi?"
"Ren?" Kuzan abruptly sat up.
"Relax. This call cannot be intercepted, nor will it leak."
"What do you want? Are you here to recruit me now?"
"I merely want to invite you to watch a great show, and completely kill off your illusions."
Ren placed his hand on the Limited Wishing Machine before him. The chips inside the Dimensional Roulette continuously decreased.
Amid the clashing sound of countless gold coins, a certain plan began to be pushed forward, then took shape completely at astonishing speed.
The Holy Land of Mary Geoise.
The previous great earthquake had produced a certain negative impact on this divine nation.
Afterward, the Celestial Dragons, feeling that they had lost face, executed everyone who had seen their disgraceful state. Even the Cipher Pol agents responsible for protecting them at the time did not escape.
After venting, the Celestial Dragons once again began seeking entertainment to relieve the gloom in their hearts.
Because the Five Elders had ordered the matter to be completely stopped, no one dared to touch that sore point.
Among those people, Saint Charlos and Saint Shalria, who had returned to Mary Geoise not long ago, headed down to the lower world together.
The original Cipher Pol agents had failed in their guard duties, and during the earthquake, they had made something of a spectacle of themselves. New agents were once again assigned to the two of them.
Probably because of this, not even their itinerary had been clearly reported. Their group came to the Sabaody Archipelago just like that.
Luck had always followed them, ensuring that the development of events on the Sabaody Archipelago remained within the calculations.
In the distant sky, a pair of eyes capable of seeing four thousand kilometers watched every change in the situation at all times.
"Then, begin."
Ren gave that order, and Stussy activated the piece she had placed inside the Marines.
This artificial human became even more willing to work for Ren after discovering that Vegapunk had chosen to cooperate with him rather than truly being abducted.
(End of Chapter)